The Tully family of the Riverlands bore a fish on their family sigil and was also known as the Fish House. Like the Stark family of the North, they were a great house that ruled over one region, holding the title of Duke, and were the object of loyalty for the majority of the Riverlands' nobles.
So why had the Tully family ended up fighting the Lannister family?
Naturally, it was in response to the call of House Stark—to march on King's Landing and rescue Ned.
House Tully and House Stark were bound by marriage. Robb's mother was the eldest daughter of the Duke of Tully. Blood ties combined with a political alliance meant the interests of these two houses had long since been tightly intertwined—prosper together, fall together.
On the continent of Westeros today, there were seven great dukes, and among them, only the Duke of Tully was an absolute ally on Robb's side.
But now, the Tully army had been utterly crushed by Jaime the Kingslayer. A count had died as well, plunging House Tully into immediate peril. This, in turn, put Robb in an extremely passive position. With their ally surrounded, the next strategic choice became critical. One wrong move could trigger a chain reaction and cause morale to completely collapse.
According to scout reports, after winning his battle, Jaime the Kingslayer's troops were riding high with morale. He had gathered the forces of the Westerlands, departed from the Golden Tooth, and was charging straight toward Riverrun, the main stronghold of House Tully in the Riverlands. Along the way, they encountered almost no resistance. Riverlands troops fled at the sight of the Lannister lion banner—there were already signs of collapse before battle had even begun.
The army halted to rest. Dusk settled in, and the lords great and small gathered at the fortress of Moat Cailin had all received the news. Their mood was just like the sky above—dark and without light.
Inside the council chamber, Robb looked at the assembled lords. Just as he was about to begin the meeting, a rapid knock sounded at the door.
Robb's subordinates were all well-disciplined. At such a crucial moment, unless it was an emergency, no one would dare knock on this door.
"Come in."
Robb's voice was not loud, but it carried strength. Even amid the noise outside, the person beyond the door heard the commander's words clearly.
The door was almost slammed open. What rushed in first was not a person, but a pungent stench of blood and rot. Then a soldier in armor stumbled in, his face caked with dried blood, his body covered in wounds that hadn't even been bandaged yet.
Robb stared for quite some time before finally recognizing him as one of the knights who had accompanied his father to King's Landing.
The first words out of the man's mouth sent a chill down the spines of every noble present:
"Lord Robb! Our army has suffered a crushing defeat—Lord Tywin is coming!"
Robb waved his hand to signal the man to calm down, then walked up to him. Before the knight could say anything else, Robb clenched one fist and bowed slightly. In an instant, a golden sigil appeared on the floor. Golden light burst forth from both the sigil and Robb's hand, enveloping the knight's body.
The wounds on the knight's body began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye. Under the stunned gazes of everyone present, he slowly straightened up, moving his limbs in disbelief. After confirming that he had recovered seven or eight tenths of his strength, his heart was filled with shock, and for a moment he didn't even know what to say.
Huifu Daogao—a divine miracle performed by drawing upon the power of the Aier Deng Fa Huan.
"Th-this…"
"By the Old Gods, this is a miracle!" Greatjon Umber was the first to recover from his shock, roaring at the top of his lungs.
"Is this magic? Or a miracle wrought by the Old Gods?" Rickard Karstark was dumbfounded.
Robb casually raised his hand, signaling all the lords to quiet down, then asked the battered knight in a calm tone, "Tell all the lords here everything you know, clearly."
"Yes… Before Duke Ned was captured, he sent us, in the king's name, to find Lord Tywin and order him back to King's Landing to explain his false accusations against House Tully. But by the time we arrived, the king had already died suddenly. Lord Tywin refused to acknowledge that we bore the king's command and led his men into battle against us. We were no match for Lord Tywin. Most of our men were killed. I was lucky enough to escape, but I got separated from the others."
At this point, the knight still felt lingering fear. "I originally intended to return to King's Landing to find Lord Ned, but I heard that Lord Ned had been imprisoned. Meanwhile, Lord Tywin was leading countless troops to invade the Riverlands, burning, killing, and looting along the way. Several noble castles have already fallen to him. Now Lord Tywin has approached the Kingsroad and is preparing to seize Harrenhal."
Boom!
The knight's words sent a chill through the hearts of all the lords present. Tywin's achievements exceeded everyone's expectations. The war had only just begun—before their side had even moved, the enemy was already slaughtering without restraint.
Now, that old lion Tywin was advancing along the Kingsroad, while his son Jaime led troops from the Westerlands in pursuit of the defeated remnants. From the very start, this father-and-son pair of House Lannister had displayed formidable military prowess.
At present, House Lannister had many options. Tywin could join forces with the Kingslayer and attack Riverrun. Once Riverrun fell, the Northern army would have no hope of marching south.
Tywin could also choose a more circuitous approach—letting Jaime attack Riverrun. After all, they held the advantage, and the people of Riverrun had long since lost the will to fight. Tywin would only need to besiege positions and wait for reinforcements, lingering near the Kingsroad. The moment Robb made a move, he could act immediately, trapping the Northern army between two fronts.
The current situation could only be described as extremely grim, and divisions began to appear among the Northern lords.
Rickard Karstark was the first to voice his opinion. "We should rush to their aid at once! Jaime is biting down on one of House Tully's main forces. If this drags on, our ally will be ground down and destroyed! As long as we can join forces with the Tully troops, we can capture the Kingslayer!"
"No, no!" Greatjon Umber bellowed in opposition. "We should go after that old bastard Tywin first! The Kingslayer is just a green boy. You have no idea how devious that old monster Tywin is. We should catch him off guard and strike Tywin first. As long as we capture Tywin, we win!"
The Leech Lord did not offer a concrete strategy, only an analysis of the current situation. "The Neck is guarded by Greywater Watch for us. Tywin can't reach us from that direction. I think there's a high chance he'll turn back to find his son Jaime."
"Perhaps we should hold Moat Cailin and wait until the situation outside becomes clearer before moving out."
"Hide like turtles? If you want to, go ahead—and do we even have enough food?!"
The lords below erupted into a chaotic argument. Robb simply listened in silence, not rashly expressing his own view. That was what a supreme commander should do.
The other lords were his bannermen, not his friends. He could listen to their opinions, but he would never join their arguments. All he needed to do was hear all the information, then make a decision.
The debate dragged on for a long time. Everyone was starting to feel exhausted from arguing when they finally realized that Robb, seated at the head of the table, had not spoken a single word, only listened intently. Gradually, the noise died down. All eyes turned toward Robb, and without realizing it, everyone began to hope that he would provide an answer.
After all, someone had to make the final call.
"Young Lord Robb, you should give us a decision," Roose Bolton, the Leech Lord, spoke up first.
(End of Chapter)