The torches and braziers in Gendry's tent burned bright, lighting every face around him. Each man was still absorbing the war's shifting and unpredictable course.
"A true world war is coming," Gendry thought. "And once we are caught in it, we will have to maneuver and bargain on every side."
With the Iron Islands, Lys, and Volantis all making major moves, the war had clearly split into a great eastern front and a great western front. The western front stretched across the Riverlands, the Westerlands, the Iron Islands, and even the distant western coast of The North. The more important eastern front centered on the line at King's Landing, the Three Daughters Across the Narrow Sea, Volantis, and the city-states of Slaver's Bay.
"A group of passionate, brilliant young men," Ser Barristan thought as he looked around the tent. Being among them almost made him feel younger.
The tallest man in the tent was Gendry, black-haired and blue-eyed, strong and solidly built. Those were the traits of House Baratheon, or rather, House Durrandon. His eyes were clear and bright, his shoulders broad, his arms powerful in the way only a Smith's could be. Jon Snow was leaner, with a long face, brown hair, and gray eyes, the typical wolfish face of House Stark. Yet he was not tall, unlike a traditional Stark.
Anguy was older than them, slender as a longbow, though not quite as tall as one. Red-haired and freckled, he wore studded armor, high leather boots, and his favorite fingerless leather gloves, with a quiver on his back and gray goose-feathered arrows inside. Ser Lothor was a middle-aged man, calm, quiet, and loyal.
In the firelight, Gendry felt as if he could hear the snap of a rope, the rope that had held the world's peace together. It had broken, and the beasts of the Iron Islands, Lys, Volantis, and Slaver's Bay were beginning to break loose.
"He is a Greyjoy after all, not a Stark," Jon Snow said with a sigh, watching the coals in the brazier. He and Theon had never gotten along. Even so, hearing that Theon had fled back to the Iron Islands, and that King Balon had raised a rebellion, still left him with a complicated feeling.
Everyone had assumed Balon would sweep through the richer and weaker Westerlands. No one had expected him to sail north along the coast instead, raiding The North, where there was little enough to plunder.
"Balon is following Dagon's path," Gendry said. Nearly a hundred years ago, another Kraken had done much the same. In 211 AC, Dagon and his Ironborn began raiding the Sunset Sea and the western coast of Westeros, plundering the lands of House Stark and House Lannister.
"I saw it in the fire. The Drowned God is a cruel god, wreathed in skulls, his lips stained with blood. His people are cruel as well. Balon has already crowned himself king, which makes him a usurper. When the time comes, you may as well hand the Greyjoy captives over to me," the red priestess said mysteriously.
"Lady Melisandre, we will cut off the squid's head on the battlefield, but we will not let you burn him alive," Ser Barristan said.
The red priestess smiled and said nothing more.
"Whether he is a Kraken or a Direwolf is not for us to decide. Perhaps he is simply Theon," Gendry said. A twisted Theon Greyjoy, a vain young man. If Theon tried to have it both ways, he was destined to become a tragedy. The key was what choice he would make during King Balon's uprising. Even Gendry could not say whether Theon would join the fleet or refuse to fight.
"Theon knows The North and Winterfell well. He is no small threat. I am better with a sword, but he is an excellent archer," Jon said worriedly. "Robb failed to keep watch over him. He actually escaped Seagard on his own."
"Excellent archer? I'd like to test that myself," Anguy snorted. His own gift with the bow was extraordinary, and he had been trained by Fletcher besides.
"We all warned Robb about this before. I did, Ser Brynden Blackfish did, Ser Barristan did, even Lady Catelyn did. Still, it is understandable that Robb valued Theon. They lived together for so many years," Gendry said.
"Prince Gendry's letters have been going back and forth with Riverrun and The Twins, whether to Robb Stark or Roose Bolton. Winterfell's defenses have already been strengthened, and so have the coastal patrols. Lady Mormont is guarding Moat Cailin. Everyone knows the northern defenses must be reinforced," Lothor Brune said. "We all thought King Balon would have learned his lesson. We never expected him to remain so stubborn."
"That is good," Jon Snow said with a nod. With the worst possibility anticipated and guarded against, the Ironborn's raids would be less disastrous.
"Ser Rodrik is too old, and Bran is too young," Gendry said. "For the early stage, we can only send Lord Manderly to help with the defense. Later, Lady Catelyn will have to return as well." The eel might be fat, but his head was still clear, and Gendry had made the stakes plain to him. The main problem was that before Eddard's generation, the main Stark line had withered far too badly.
In truth, they had once had better choices. If Benjen Stark had not joined the Night's Watch, or if Jon's identity were not so sensitive, those two men would have been better suited to protect the rear at Winterfell.
Jon nodded awkwardly. In truth, he could have gone to defend Winterfell as well, but that would only have deepened the conflict.
"King Balon hates King Robert and Lord Eddard most of all, and he has never forgotten it. It seems he has chosen swords and fire as his revenge against us," Ser Barristan said. "He knows most of the wolves and stags have gone south, and he fears Tywin."
"It seems the late King and Lord Eddard were too gentle with Pyke back then. Balon treats me and Robb Stark as children. I will show him what children can do," Gendry said. Only sharp swords and ruthless blood would make the madmen of the Iron Islands behave. He would raze Pyke to the ground.
"But once Balon rebels, the soldiers of The North are bound to be scattered. The Ironborn are used to raids and small strikes, relying on the speed of their longships," Ser Barristan said. "The North's only navy is at White Harbor. If the Ironborn harass northern camps and supply trains, and repeatedly raid the northern lords, the northern army will have little heart left for marching south."
"So long as we hold the line from Moat Cailin to Winterfell, the Ironborn will not be able to stir up much of a storm. The northern army need not come too far south either. What I want is Robb's cavalry, and the new Winter Wolves Roose has selected for me," Gendry said calmly.
Ser Barristan nodded. The main theater of war was the east, not the west. Once they won the battle at King's Landing, they could free their hands and beat the Kraken bloody.
"Our greatest trouble now is still the battlefield at King's Landing," Gendry said. "Near that battlefield, the enemy has Tywin's army, Tyrion's city garrison, and possibly new players joining later. Slave-master armies that hate me. The Lyseni and the Volantene may cross the island chain."
"But Lys is not Westeros. The Lyseni have always opposed dictators," Ser Barristan said. His age had not dimmed his handsome bearing. "Even the great Lysandro could not completely suppress Lys in his day."
"Outside powers have intervened," Gendry said. These upheavals were as good as a declaration of war. "The exiled slave-owning nobles from Myr and Tyrosh, and the local slave-owning nobles of Lys, all want Lys to go to war with us. With Volantene support, Rhaen Haen used their strength to kill the other peace-minded Magisters, then followed Lysandro's example and named himself First Magister for life."
Across the Narrow Sea, in Myr and Tyrosh, Gendry's men were also preparing. Little Silvertongue, the Freefolk Guild, and the army were handling matters in Tyrosh, while the guilds and free folk of Myr were preparing for a Lyseni attack.
"Volantis joining the war is actually good for us. Some people may hate me, but they hate Volantis even more."
In the past, Volantis had conquered Lys by sea, seized Myr by land, and laid siege to Tyrosh. The people of the Three Daughters had not forgotten that.
"But does Volantis not have three Triarchs?" Anguy asked. "They say the three are like a three-horse chariot, each pulling in a different direction. And the Tigers and Elephants have always hated each other."
"But they need slaves," Jon Snow said. Slavery was at the heart of many Free Cities. They could not do without slaves.
"Jon is right." Gendry looked at Jon with approval. Unlike the other Starks, the bastard was gloomy, but he had the mind and calculation of a lord. "In Lys, the ratio of free men to slaves is one to three. They say in Volantis it is even higher, one to five. Slaves work for them and crew their warships. They are bound to make war on us."
"It seems the Tiger Party's Triarch has persuaded at least one Elephant Party Triarch," Lothor Brune said.
"That is right. The city-states of Slaver's Bay and the exiled slave masters of the Three Daughters have poured countless gold into Volantis. All of Volantis is eager for war against the Twin Cities Alliance. Malaquo of the Tiger Party needs no explanation. As for Nyessos of the Elephant Party, much of his fortune comes from the slave trade, so he has no choice but to side with Malaquo," Gendry said with a nod.
"But apart from them, I suspect some of the money also came from my old friend in Pentos," Gendry added. The fat man, Illyrio Mopatis, had probably paid Malaquo and Nyessos enough to buy them eight times over, all to make them send troops against him.
Ser Barristan looked at the city-states and cities marked on the map. "With Lys and Volantis driving events, this war has grown larger and more intense. Though Volantis was badly defeated in the Century of Blood, the tiger's lingering might remains. It is, after all, the most populous of the Free Cities and calls itself the eldest daughter of Valyria."
"If Tywin has allies, we will not lack allies either," Gendry said after a moment's thought. "I have already sent letters to Qohor and Norvos. They have been Volantis's enemies to this day. And the Dothraki as well. Drogo's Kobono has now become a force in its own right."
"And Braavos," Lothor suggested.
"Exactly. So long as Braavos remains still and neutral, that will be our greatest advantage," Ser Barristan agreed. No one could ignore the strongest and wealthiest of the Free Cities.
"I gave the Iron Bank a large sum of money. I think they will appreciate my good faith," Gendry said.
"Prince, as far as I know, you also have new allies in Volantis," the red priestess suddenly said.
"Could it be that even in the Red Temple, some are saying Prince is Azor Ahai?" Anguy asked curiously.
"I believe some priests will pray so. The night is dark and full of terrors, and the rise of the Storm is like a heroic epic." The red priestess bowed her head respectfully.
***
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
[email protected]/PinkSnake (50 Chapters Ahead).
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.
***