The world is peaceful now, and there are plenty of verbal spats among the nobles, but aside from the long-standing feud between the Brackens and the Blackwoods, there haven't been any reports of armed conflicts between the noble families of the Riverlands and the Westerlands. So, why the sudden large-scale military mobilization?
When Robert toured, he took all the kingdom's ministers from King's Landing with him, leaving only the city officials behind. Wherever he went, it was almost like moving the capital itself. All information now goes to Robert instead of King's Landing. Those still in the city wanting information are either getting outdated reports or need their own channels.
Davos: "The news came as a surprise. It's been confirmed by our spies, retired navy men, and merchants, all agreeing on its accuracy."
Renly raised an eyebrow and asked Davos: "Is Edmure and Tywin about to fight? That doesn't make sense. Tywin's forces are heading north, so why would the Riverlands face them? Shouldn't they be gathering at Riverrun to confront Tywin's army, not heading to Old Frey's Twins?"
"Do you have a map?" Wright asked Stannis.
"Yes," Stannis replied, nodding toward the door. Davos understood and went out. Less than a minute later, he returned with a map and laid it out on the coffee table.
Davos bent over and pointed to Twin Rivers on the map: "My lords, the Riverlands aren't gathering their forces by Edmure Tully's order, but by the Frey."
"Old Frey? He's 93 this year and still has the spirit to fight? Who is he planning to go after?" Wright thought Old Frey must have passed away in the Westerlands, as no news had come from that direction for a long time.
"Unknown! The message from the Riverlands is incomplete. Old Frey gathered his sons and his knights, and started recruiting peasant soldiers. The House Charlton, House Erenford, and House Haigh—Houses loyal to the Freys—have all answered the call. But Old Frey hasn't declared who he's going after. This force is no small matter; there are already over 4,000 troops gathered near The Twins."
Davos's finger moved from Twin Rivers to the south:
"The Westerlands' army wasn't gathered by Tywin. Only the Lannisters has sent troops north. However, Jaime Lannister, on his own accord, has called on many young knights from the Westerlands to follow him to the Riverlands."
Jaime has great prestige in the Westerlands. As the heir to the Westerlands, in his thirties, handsome, and with formidable martial skills, he ranks among the best warriors in the Seven Kingdoms, second only to magicians. At the age of fifteen, he wiped out the Kingswood Brotherhood, earning the title of knight from the previous Dawn Sword, Arthur Dayne. He had served in the Kingsguard, a symbol of the highest honor, and even decapitated a king—something no ordinary knight could do. His disgraceful affair with his sister Cersei was covered up by Tywin, and in the eyes of many, Jaime was the epitome of a flawless knight.
Tywin was the core of the older noble class in the Westerlands, but Jaime was the second idol for young people in the region, with youths rallying around him. With his name alone, he easily gathered at least five hundred young knights to follow him north to the Riverlands.
In the hearts of young men from the Westerlands, Jaime was only second to one idol: the great artistic pioneer, Wright Baratheon! Artists from the Reach and Tyrosh had spread their influence through traveling merchants, reaching even Lannisport. Once, in front of the towering, two-meter-high marble statue of Wright's pristine rear in the port, Jaime had publicly admitted that he was not as good as Wright, since he didn't want to strip down right then to prove it.
"The army at The Twins, combined with the Westerlands forces, numbers at least 5,000. The Freys and the Lannisters have had multiple intermarriages. Could they be scheming together against the Vale? No, that doesn't make sense. Old Frey can't just launch an attack on the Vale without Edmure Tully's orders. That would be a treasonous offense, one that could result in the loss of his lands," Renly said, puzzled by what these forces were planning.
"Has something happened to Lord Edmure?"
Stannis thought of a possibility: the Freys, in alliance with Tywin, might be scheming for the Riverlands Kingdom.
Davos: "Edmure is alive and well in Riverrun. He seems to know something, and even vetoed Old Frey's suggestion to recruit all of the Riverlands. The closest city to The Twin, Seagard, hasn't responded to the war call either. The son of the Lord of Seagard, Patrek Malister, is also in Riverrun."
"The Westerlands' army is definitely not going to attack the Freys. If these two houses are mobilizing so many troops, is Old Frey trying to clear out the wildlings from the nearby lands?" Renly laughed.
Clearing the wildlings from the Mountains of the Moon was an old joke in the Riverlands and the Vale, though many nobles often recruited troops under this pretext to collect taxes and make some profit.
"It's actually possible!"
Wright pointed back to the map: "Look, remember when Cersei and Joffrey were in King's Landing and were labeled as frauds with a bounty placed on them? They couldn't travel overland, so if they took the sea route to bypass the Vale, they would run into the wildlings near Neck. And Jaime, with his status, would be leading the rescue. Who else could he be going after but his lover Cersei and son Joffrey?"
Thinking of the humiliation of being deceived by Tywin, Renly's expression darkened. "If they were captured by wildlings in the Neck, and the Freys and Westerlands go to rescue them, the timeline matches up with the time it takes to sail from King's Landing! But then there's another issue—wildlings are spread across many tribes. Would it really take 5,000 men to rescue someone from one tribe? Old Frey doesn't have the heart to wipe out the entire Mountains of the Moon."
Stannis: "Indeed, it's not necessary to use so many troops to deal with wildlings, and to hunt down the wildlings in the Vale without troops, the Frey family alone can't form a siege."
"Vampires!"
Wright suddenly started, squinting his eyes and tightening his fists as he asked Davos, "Has there been any news about vampires in the Riverlands?"
Davos carefully thought for a moment and then shook his head. "No news so far. The Riverlands are currently undergoing a large-scale recruitment of peasants. Military management is in place, and no information is able to get out. If Lord Edmure had any issues, he would have reported them directly to King Robert."
Stannis: "Robert's progress on his royal tour has him heading north from Oldtown to the city of Goldtree, where the Rowans live, and then north up the western coast from Old Oak to the Westerlands. He's now passing through Crakehall, and is on his way to Lannisport."
Wright: "No wonder Tywin dared not move his forces and only sent Jaime under his personal name. Robert must be getting close to his house."
The King was touring the Seven Kingdoms, and the Westerlands could not ignore it. Tywin had just finished paying the last installment of compensation to Robert this year. Robert had now contracted a terminal illness, and it was the first time in years that he was seeing Tywin in person. With Cersei and Joffrey "resurrected", no one knew what the two would discuss.
As for Tywin plotting against Robert, Wright thought that as long as he and Renly were still alive, and Tywin hadn't lost his mind due to old age, it would not happen. Instead, Tywin would go to great lengths to ensure Robert's safety in the Westerlands.
"With Old Lord Frey causing such a stir, Edmure must have reported it to the King. Looks like we'll have to change our plans," Wright said as he turned to Renly.
"Forget about their plot for now, we'll do what we need to do. Once we find even the slightest clue, we'll act immediately. What's urgent now is the Riverlands! I'm worried that the Freys are after vampires. I'll hold off on going to the Riverlands for now. I'll head to the Westerlands to find Robert instead."
Renly: "I'll arrange for the vampire to be paraded through the streets tomorrow morning."
Stannis: "Most of the royal fleet's soldiers are currently resting in King's Landing. I'll have them assist the gold cloaks in maintaining order."
Wright then added, "Renly, I have no personal ties to Old Lord Frey. You should write a letter to him on behalf of the Magic Administration Committee. If it's really vampires, Old Lord Frey will likely seek the help of a mage."
"You two seem so worried. Are vampires really that troublesome?" Stannis asked. He had received Wright's report about the vampires on Tyrosh and thought they were no more difficult to handle than Maester Qyburn or Thoros.
"My reports were intentionally toned down," Wright said, rubbing his forehead. "The most troublesome part of vampires is that after they bite, they can inject blood and rapidly breed offspring. Like the White Walkers, it won't take long before their numbers multiply exponentially."
"I'll take care of it immediately," Stannis replied.
Seeing is believing, and Stannis still trusted Wright and Renly more than anyone else. It was hard to trust anyone else. It had taken almost ten years for Westeros to accurately recognize the use of magic. It took nearly five years for the Nine Trading Cities to learn of Wright's true power. Now, with vampires emerging, many people still believed that vampires were just some trick conjured by mages to deceive people, with greedy Lord Wright just looking for more money.
Wright was frustrated by this. Information dissemination was a delicate matter. It wasn't as simple as saying something and expecting people to believe it. Even in the real world, many foreigners still thought that men in Wright's homeland wore long braids in the back of their heads like they did a hundred years ago. Wright had tried his best in this world.
The peaceful atmosphere was shattered by the news brought by Davos. The four of them walked out of the small room with solemn expressions, not saying a word and walking quickly in different directions. Wright and Renly were no longer as young as they once were, and even though they were angry, their magical powers wouldn't spill out of control.
As they were studying a large decorative vase with a small rose, Margaery noticed the four of them and quickly hid her relaxed expression. She walked over to Renly and linked her arm with his, asking, "What happened? Is there anything I can help with?"
Renly: "Write a letter to your father and your brother Willas, telling them to start smelting silver weapons in the Reach."
"Ah! Are there vampires in the Riverlands?" Loras asked in surprise. He and Margaery had heard Wright's analysis at Storm's End, and besides the two from Tyrosh, four other vampires were still unaccounted for.
Wright: "Most of these vampires are former wildlings. Their knowledge and strategy are inferior to ours. I'll go find Robert in the Westerlands. If there are vampires in the Riverlands, I'll handle it personally. If there are no vampires, then the issue with the Frey recruitment will be dealt with by King Robert."
"I really hope Old Frey is just causing trouble," Margaery said worriedly, touching her chest. She really didn't want to see that ugly monster again.
That night, after removing the vampire from the deck of the Wave-Rider Knight ship and escorting it to Renly's house for confinement, Qyburn and Thoros arrived to take over as temporary guards.
Renly's personal guard, which currently only consisted of Loras, was only four men. He planned to announce tomorrow, during the parade, that he would recruit more members for his personal guard.
Renly changed Sir Parmen Crane's cloak and the robe over his armor to purple, Lord Robar Royce's to red, and the tall female warrior Brienne's to blue.
Inside the hall, everyone was curious about Wright's dragonbone armor.
Many of Wright's battle stories featured this armor, but Wright was a man who disliked trouble. Unlike other nobles who often wore their armor, he preferred comfort in everyday life. The dragonbone armor was usually kept in the castle's bedroom, gathering dust. It had never been worn in Tyrosh, and this was its first appearance on the continent of Westeros.
"Lord Wright, may I touch it?" Encouraged by Robar and Brienne, Parmen Crane walked up to Wright and asked.
Parmen's sister was Lord Renly's magic apprentice, now known as Hawk of the Red Lake, Meredyth Crane, and his relationship with Wright was a bit closer.
Wright didn't mind but still warned him, "The armor is very hot! You'd better take off your gauntlets, or they'll get so hot you won't be able to remove them."
Parmen nodded, and Robar and Brienne also moved closer. The three of them removed their gauntlets and touched Wright's large dragonbone shoulder pads. They quickly pulled their hands back, feeling an intense heat, like touching a red-hot piece of iron.
Robar, who had a large collection of armor at home, was especially interested and tried again.
"Ah!" He quickly withdrew his arm after only a couple of seconds of contact with the dragonbone armor. The three tips of his fingers that had touched it were already red.
"Haha, you're going to have three big blisters by tonight! You got what you deserved," Parmen joked. The three of them didn't know what major event was unfolding; they only knew that their task tomorrow was to escort the vampire through the streets. Without a clear conclusion, Wright and the others hadn't disclosed news of the Riverlands yet to avoid causing panic.
The dragon took off from the hill of the magic school, spreading its wings low over King's Landing at night. Citizens walking the streets looked up to see a figure from Renly's rooftop reach out and grab the dragon's claw. The figure jumped across the scaled body, jumping onto the dragon's head every few moments. After circling high above the city, it flew west.
At this moment, King's Landing was no longer the information center of the Seven Kingdoms. Ravens didn't function like broadcasts, each having its fixed flight path. All messages were gathered at King Robert's mobile court. Wright, unable to access up-to-date information, had no choice but to seek out Robert.
"Is Lord Wright a mage or a warrior?" Brienne asked her two companions, watching the dragon fly away.
Parmen: "A mage, I guess."
Robert: "Lord Renly wears robes like that, so he must be the mage. A mage doesn't wear heavy armor and wield a two-handed sword, that's not the image I had in mind."
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The five hundred fully-armored young knights led by Jaime moved quickly. On the same night that Wright set off, Jaime arrived at Riverland's bustling city. Edmure Tully led his castle's troops out to meet him, and after some negotiations, the two set off north toward The Twins.
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