What winds blow from the Wall? We have not had a raven in over a week. The Citadel awaits updates with bated breath.
The Young Wolf - A Stark AGOT AAR
- Thread starter XavierPeanut1
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Sorry for the lack of updates, my life has been very busy at the moment so I have lacked the time to fully devote to writing. I have finished the first draft of the next chapter, but I still need to re-read it and make any necessary changes. I am hoping I can get the next chapter out by the weekend but I can't make any promises as of yet. Thanks for being patient though, I know how excruciating it can be to wait for the next part of a narrative when you don't have any ETA on when it is arriving.
Subbed! I always loved Robb. My biggest problem has always been a combination of awkward borders and an indefensible southern belly. I find that if I don't take the Iron Throne, it's a big struggle to stay independent for even a century.
I am still really busy with work at the moment and have had little to no time to do anything but work. Sadly it looks like it will be like this for a little while longer so there is no telling when I will have the time to devote time to writing again.
However, I do have a proposition. I have fully written and edited HALF of the next chapter, which roughly amounts to 1300 words. If people wanted to I could publish that as a taster for the chapter as a whole which would tide you over until I get time to write again. If people do not want that then that's fine, but you will have to wait a while longer. It's up to you guys.
Personally, I'd say take your time so we can get the full experience when you're ready 
Agreed with the previous two! As someone who's also come across a surprise attack workload and not had time to work on their own AAR, I'd personally be happy if everyone came back in force when we can!
Take the time, work on your next chapter at your own pace. Better to knock us out with a great come-back than anything else! I'll be waiting for the notification!
Take the time, work on your next chapter at your own pace. Better to knock us out with a great come-back than anything else! I'll be waiting for the notification!
Chapter 24
Chapter 24 - Aftermath
Robb
The smell of soot and rot was thick in the air as the army entered the Riverlands, clear evidence of what the land had been subjected to for the last three years. Every so often they would pass the site of a battle where the piles of rotten corpses stood as a reminder of the price they had to pay to win the war. Many of the fields and villages between the Blackwater Rush and Harrenhal were either looted or burnt, and the majority of the local smallfolk had fled or were killed. At one of the few standing villages, the local peasants regaled their tales of woe, many of which were harrowingly similar. Murder, rape, and theft were the most common crimes, but there were also tales of men being pressed into service and even enslavement by Essosi sellswords. “Tywin's dogs have ravaged this land,” the Blackfish said to Robb after they heard the stories, though it was less a statement and more of a reassurance that it wasn't House Stark's fault for the slaughter.
The reassurance did not cover up the truth that was clear to Robb, and to all those who bothered to open their eyes and listen. It wasn't just the Lannisters who had brought the sword to the Riverlands, the men of the North had also subjected the land to plunder, murder, and rapine. At the village of Swinehollow, fourteen men in Lord Karstark's service were found guilty of murdering women who they claimed had slept with Lannister soldiers. It was also reported that the Brave Companions, a band of sellswords who joined Robb after turning cloak from their Lannister employers, had been raping and thieving with impunity with no thought given to the plight of the smallfolk. It was even claimed that Bolton outriders had burned down a sept filled with cowering septons and septas. The men who had committed such crimes should be punished, Robb knew, but a fine line also had to be crossed. Angering the lords who had followed him to war and who had sacrificed so much would not be wise, no matter how dishonourable the actions of their bannermen were. With the feeling of shame, Robb chose to turn a blind eye to all but the most heinous of crimes.
As the Northern army ventured deeper into the Riverlands, more and more lords began to detach themselves and their banners and return home. By the time they reached Lord Harroway's Town, half of the Riverlords were gone. Of them, only the men of House Tully, Blackwood, Mallister, Bracken, and Frey remained. Lords Piper and Vance had chosen to stay at Harrenhal and then travel back to their holdings, whilst the men of House Darry, Roote, and Vypren had crossed the Trident as soon as the army arrived at Harroway.
During the march to Riverrun Robb learnt of the events taking place in the North, and it both concerned him and filled him with pride. “It seems the North has taken a liking to their new Queen,” said his uncle Edmure as he and Robb cantered on their horses “never has House Frey been so loved, or powerful.” Despite Edmure's smile, the acidity of his tone was clear to hear. Houses Tully and Frey had not been on the best of terms and it seemed that even Robb and Roslin's marriage would not heal that rift.
“The North respects strength and decisiveness” replied Robb as he tried to hide his displeasure at his uncle's words.
Edmure let out a half smile “I suppose that's why they love my sister, for strength and decisiveness is what we Tully's possess in spades.” My mother certainly does thought Robb but you? Robb's uncle had always been loyal and steadfast in his support, and would often be the first to volunteer for the vanguard during battles. However, his comprehension of military strategy was hampered by his pride, which often lead him to make rash judgements that would endanger the chance of victory. He reminds me of myself when I first marched south with my father's army. I was so headstrong and vengeful and naïve. Yet I grew up, when will he?
“You speak truly, uncle” Robb conceded “yet my mother is a Tully no more, she is a Stark, as is my wife.”
It was the end of the fourth day of marching when they finally reached the castle of Stone Hedge, the seat of House Bracken. If the holdfast ever had some beauty it was no longer there for when Robb arrived it was a charred husk held together with timber and twine. It was Gregor Clegane and his Mountain's Men who were responsible for the castle's state, a fact that Lord Jonos Bracken constantly barked whenever Robb gave him an audience.
“The work of Clegane” Jonos spat as he led Robb and Sansa into the blackened remains of the castle's main hall “he butchered all my servants and men-at-arms still in the castle, even my maester was put to the sword.” The aged lord looked up at what must have been a large wooden sculpture of the prancing horse of House Bracken, only now it was ashen burnt. “Clegane kept my daughters alive, only to ravage them like common whores. But even with that, the gods didn't seem satisfied with my punishment...”
Jonos trailed off as he continued to stare at the burnt sculpture, his face forlorn and weary. He had reason to be, Robb knew, for it was not just his holdfast and his daughter's maidenhead that Gregor Clegane had taken from Jonos, he had also killed his nephew and heir, Hendry, and his bastard son, the handsome and honourable Harry Rivers. As it stood House Bracken had no male heir, no money, and no harvest for the coming winter.
“Lord Jonos” Robb abruptly called as he thought on the Lord's predicament “for what little it is worth, I am sorry for the losses you have had to face whilst fighting for House Stark. I know I could never replace the things you have lost, but I can at least help lessen the burden House Bracken now has. I will make it my mission to fund the reconstruction of Stone Hedge and your surrounding lands as recompense for your loyalty.”
The Lord's salt and pepper beard quivered as he turned to face Robb “Your Grace, I don't know what to say...” quickly he went to one knee and bowed “thank you, Your Grace, thank you!”
Robb grabbed Jonos by the shoulders and lifted him up to his feet “I should be thanking you for your good service.” In truth, Robb had never fully trusted or appreciated Lord Jonos, his obsession with outdoing Lord Tytos Blackwood had led him to make tactical blunders on the battlefield, some of which had threatened the success of the war. However with all that said it was hard not to pity the man after all his House had gone through, especially as in the end he remained loyal to House Stark.
It was well into the night when Lord Jonos' new maester informed Robb that his rooms at Stone Hedge were ready for him. When he entered the smell of soot and corpses gave way to incense and perfume, an obvious attempt to at least make the room smell better. Grey Wind, who had seemed to have taken a fancy to the aroma of the castle, seemed almost disappointed when the sweet smell of the incense hit his nose.
As Robb was settling in he heard a knock on his door. Normally he would be suspicious of someone calling for him at night, but when he looked to his direwolf he saw only contentment. Grey Wind was always good at assessing whether a situation was dangerous, so good in fact that Robb used him as if he was his sixth sense. When he called the person to enter he was pleasantly surprised to see Sansa, who was dressed in a nightgown covered by a silk robe. She had grown tall and womanly during her captivity at the Red Keep, and at times Robb didn't even recognise her. The only thing that gave her away was the auburn hair and high cheekbones, features which she had inherited from their mother.
“I didn't mean to wake you, I was just walking past and I thought...”
Robb beckoned his sister in “it's fine, I wasn't sleeping anyway”
Sansa made her way to the small hearth in the room, resting her feet near its grate. “I have not felt cold like this in a long time. King's Landing is not like Winterfell, it was always hot, be it day or night. It felt like I was being covered with a suffocating blanket.”
“They say Northmen melt when they come south of the neck.” It was a claim Robb had heard throughout his life, one that he hadn't believed until the death of his father.
Sansa rolled her eyes and looked into the flames. “They say krakens live in the deep, giants live in the north, and dragons sing in the east. They say just men and honourable men and men of virtue are always protected by the gods and always succeed. All falsehoods, all lies.”
“Perhaps they are truer than you think” replied Robb, who had begun to tire the continued cynicism of his sister.
“They said you were half man, half wolf. They said you and your men ate the bodies of the slain. They said you could never be beaten. I didn't believe it...I chose not to believe it. Not after father...” Sansa's eyes began to shine with tears as she stared into the burning hearth. It was clear she had been through a lot, but Robb knew that her feelings clouded the clear reality that vengeance, no, justice was served.
“It's over Sansa, Joffrey is dead, Tywin Lannister is defeated, his daughter is now my prisoner. We have won, justice has been served.”
“Justice?” replied Sansa incredulously “Look at what 'justice' has done to the realm, look what 'justice' has done to father, Arya, Jeyne, me.”
“Well, what did you want me to do? Let Tywin and his dogs ravage our Grandfather's lands with impunity? Leave you and Arya to rot in King's Landing whilst Joffrey displayed our father's head on a spike?”
Sansa suddenly shot to her feet, her face bright red and streaming with tears “No!” screamed Sansa “No...” All of a sudden she slumped onto the floor, her arms limp at her side, her eyes staring into the middle distance behind Robb. “I just wanted to be in love with a Prince” Sansa said with a defeated whimper.
Shocked by the sight of his sister's sorrow, Robb stood from his seat and knelt down next to Sansa, his arm placed around her back. “We all have wants and desires,” he said as he thought of his night with Jeyne Westerling at the Crag and the ensuing conversation in the Tower of the Hand “we all make mistakes. We all lose something. I've learnt that what matters is how we correct the mistakes, and how we move on from those losses. Father did it after Robert's Rebellion, his own father was dead, so was his older brother too. Even Aunt Lyanna died during the war. He lost people, those who were closest to him, and yet he moved on.” In his mind's eye Robb saw all those who had died for him, all those who would not return to their families. “Moving on, that is what we must do, for our sake, and for the sake of the people we love.”
“The work of Clegane” Jonos spat as he led Robb and Sansa into the blackened remains of the castle's main hall “he butchered all my servants and men-at-arms still in the castle, even my maester was put to the sword.” The aged lord looked up at what must have been a large wooden sculpture of the prancing horse of House Bracken, only now it was ashen burnt. “Clegane kept my daughters alive, only to ravage them like common whores. But even with that, the gods didn't seem satisfied with my punishment...”
Jonos trailed off as he continued to stare at the burnt sculpture, his face forlorn and weary. He had reason to be, Robb knew, for it was not just his holdfast and his daughter's maidenhead that Gregor Clegane had taken from Jonos, he had also killed his nephew and heir, Hendry, and his bastard son, the handsome and honourable Harry Rivers. As it stood House Bracken had no male heir, no money, and no harvest for the coming winter.
“Lord Jonos” Robb abruptly called as he thought on the Lord's predicament “for what little it is worth, I am sorry for the losses you have had to face whilst fighting for House Stark. I know I could never replace the things you have lost, but I can at least help lessen the burden House Bracken now has. I will make it my mission to fund the reconstruction of Stone Hedge and your surrounding lands as recompense for your loyalty.”
The Lord's salt and pepper beard quivered as he turned to face Robb “Your Grace, I don't know what to say...” quickly he went to one knee and bowed “thank you, Your Grace, thank you!”
Robb grabbed Jonos by the shoulders and lifted him up to his feet “I should be thanking you for your good service.” In truth, Robb had never fully trusted or appreciated Lord Jonos, his obsession with outdoing Lord Tytos Blackwood had led him to make tactical blunders on the battlefield, some of which had threatened the success of the war. However with all that said it was hard not to pity the man after all his House had gone through, especially as in the end he remained loyal to House Stark.
It was well into the night when Lord Jonos' new maester informed Robb that his rooms at Stone Hedge were ready for him. When he entered the smell of soot and corpses gave way to incense and perfume, an obvious attempt to at least make the room smell better. Grey Wind, who had seemed to have taken a fancy to the aroma of the castle, seemed almost disappointed when the sweet smell of the incense hit his nose.
As Robb was settling in he heard a knock on his door. Normally he would be suspicious of someone calling for him at night, but when he looked to his direwolf he saw only contentment. Grey Wind was always good at assessing whether a situation was dangerous, so good in fact that Robb used him as if he was his sixth sense. When he called the person to enter he was pleasantly surprised to see Sansa, who was dressed in a nightgown covered by a silk robe. She had grown tall and womanly during her captivity at the Red Keep, and at times Robb didn't even recognise her. The only thing that gave her away was the auburn hair and high cheekbones, features which she had inherited from their mother.
“I didn't mean to wake you, I was just walking past and I thought...”
Robb beckoned his sister in “it's fine, I wasn't sleeping anyway”
Sansa made her way to the small hearth in the room, resting her feet near its grate. “I have not felt cold like this in a long time. King's Landing is not like Winterfell, it was always hot, be it day or night. It felt like I was being covered with a suffocating blanket.”
“They say Northmen melt when they come south of the neck.” It was a claim Robb had heard throughout his life, one that he hadn't believed until the death of his father.
Sansa rolled her eyes and looked into the flames. “They say krakens live in the deep, giants live in the north, and dragons sing in the east. They say just men and honourable men and men of virtue are always protected by the gods and always succeed. All falsehoods, all lies.”
“Perhaps they are truer than you think” replied Robb, who had begun to tire the continued cynicism of his sister.
“They said you were half man, half wolf. They said you and your men ate the bodies of the slain. They said you could never be beaten. I didn't believe it...I chose not to believe it. Not after father...” Sansa's eyes began to shine with tears as she stared into the burning hearth. It was clear she had been through a lot, but Robb knew that her feelings clouded the clear reality that vengeance, no, justice was served.
“It's over Sansa, Joffrey is dead, Tywin Lannister is defeated, his daughter is now my prisoner. We have won, justice has been served.”
“Justice?” replied Sansa incredulously “Look at what 'justice' has done to the realm, look what 'justice' has done to father, Arya, Jeyne, me.”
“Well, what did you want me to do? Let Tywin and his dogs ravage our Grandfather's lands with impunity? Leave you and Arya to rot in King's Landing whilst Joffrey displayed our father's head on a spike?”
Sansa suddenly shot to her feet, her face bright red and streaming with tears “No!” screamed Sansa “No...” All of a sudden she slumped onto the floor, her arms limp at her side, her eyes staring into the middle distance behind Robb. “I just wanted to be in love with a Prince” Sansa said with a defeated whimper.
Shocked by the sight of his sister's sorrow, Robb stood from his seat and knelt down next to Sansa, his arm placed around her back. “We all have wants and desires,” he said as he thought of his night with Jeyne Westerling at the Crag and the ensuing conversation in the Tower of the Hand “we all make mistakes. We all lose something. I've learnt that what matters is how we correct the mistakes, and how we move on from those losses. Father did it after Robert's Rebellion, his own father was dead, so was his older brother too. Even Aunt Lyanna died during the war. He lost people, those who were closest to him, and yet he moved on.” In his mind's eye Robb saw all those who had died for him, all those who would not return to their families. “Moving on, that is what we must do, for our sake, and for the sake of the people we love.”
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The losses are heavy for all sides and the consequences of the war are great, let's hope Robb will bring a peaceful time to the North and continue his sovereign rule as King in the North. I feel pity for Lord Bracken. Hope he will get another heir (despite his advancing age) before his death.
Robb has compassion, but in a twist and broken sense Sansa has wisdom. But then, compared to her Robb had it easy.
Thanks! I'm glad to be able to start writing again.
Sadly for the people of the North there is still a war with the wildlings and their King Beyond the Wall, as well as other horrors that lurk in the Lands of Always Winter...
Yeah that's true. Both have suffered during the War of the Five Kings but Sansa had to face not just living with the enemy, but being married to the king who murdered her father for nearly two years. In that situation it gets to the point where you either learn and adapt to the situation or wither away.
Just binged the entire AAR and I've quite enjoyed things so far. Looking forward to more.
Now that the abortion known as S8 is over, I need my fix of well-written AGOT content,
Update, plz!
Update, plz!
Sorry for my prolonged absence!
I did not plan for this pause (or has it become a hiatus now?) to be so long, I had originally hoped that I would be able to have a new chapter out by the end of April, yet life found a way to mess all that up. I have currently been knee deep in work for nearly four months now and sadly it seems like there is no end in sight, the project I am working on has overrun by nearly a year already and we are still no closer to finishing it. This means long nights and minimal sleep and free time (yay...). As you can imagine this leaves little to no time to write as I spend what little time I have outside of work with my family and friends.
However, this does not mean that I have not been working on the next chapter, I have been chipping away at it for nearly two months whenever I can, and I hoping that I can get it out soon. As a hint lets just say it takes us further north than we have ever been before with a new POV character...
Same here. I'm happy you did not fall of the Earth
Real life, that ungrateful cur, does take priority.
Real life, that ungrateful cur, does take priority.