Blood and Winter
The Young Wolf and the Old Lion
Chapter LIX - The Mountain
With a shout, Robb swung his sword around, cutting deep into the neck of one Lannister soldier before continuing to charge on, his horse knocking two more soldiers out of the way. Down by his side, Grey Wind, Nymeria and the wolves continued to bound along the floor, claws flashing and teeth digging deep into the neck of any soldier they could get their hands on.
And behind him, all the men of the Stark army followed.
The cavalry taking point and the infantry close behind, both taking a wedge formation that just barrelled through any defence the Lannisters tried to make. The cavalry dealt the initial blow that caused massive disruption amongst their ranks. Many of them did survive this cavalry strike, but they were still winded and injured. Too slow to react to the infantry that followed soon after, unable to defend themselves properly meant that they were easy pickings.
As a result, they just smashed through them continuously.
With every Lannister killed, the morale of the Stark army skyrocketed while the morale of the opposition just continued to plummet. It was when the Vale made their move that things seemed to change and before Robb knew it, they had broken through the Lannister army.
He glanced back and his eyes momentarily widened as he saw the Stark banner they had raised. 'So, they've declared for me.' He deduced, he and his men army continuing to charge across the field towards the retreating Lannister reserves. 'Is it because I'm winning or did they always plan to aid me? If so, why did they not send a messenger?'
Putting it out of his mind, for now, Robb turned to Ser Brynden and Lord Piper who were following close behind him on either side. He made sure that each made eye contact with him before indicating with his head to break off.
They did so, Lord Piper and Ser Brynden taking command of half the army each, breaking off left and right and curving back around to strike the rear of the Lannister flanks just as the Vale cavalry struck the remnants of the Lannister centre that had attempted to stop them. This three-way pincer manoeuvre resulted in only one outcome, a slaughter.
Without a proper commander to lead them, Ser Addam and Kevan attempted to try and stop both armies that were attacking them from three directions. And considering that many hundreds were already fleeing the field in order to save their own lives. This had a ripple effect upon the entire army, the moment one person began to flee in fear, their comrades followed. Addam and Kevan could do nothing to properly defend and in a single moment, the entire army was routed.
On the eighth day of the Battle of the Bloody Antlers, Robb Stark with the aid of the Vale scored a decisive victory that destroyed the Lannisters once and for all.
Riding urgently rode down the Kingsroad, over two hundred mounted knights following after him. And as they did, they came upon the sight of a battle taking place. It was shocking for sure, Robb was hesitant to engage as he questioned as to what exactly he was seeing. Initially, he had thought that the Vale commander had snuck some forces down the Kingsroad, out of sight of them all in order to ambush any retreating Lannister forces.
But as he looked at those fighting closer, he realised that was not the case. He was watching as men clad in red and gold armour, clashed against those in purely gold armour.
"The Golden Company?" Garlan questioned in shock, unsure of what exactly he was seeing, much like everyone else. "Have they joined us?"
Robb remained silent, questioning the same thing himself. It did make sense in a way, the Golden Company realised they had lost and while he knew that their losses in these eight days of fighting were minimal, less than a thousand in total, we're attempting to recoup their losses by joining the winning side.
"It does not matter, the Lannisters are our enemy and if the Golden Company wishes to taste out wrath also, then all that will await them is death!" Urging his horse on once more, Robb led his men towards the battle once more.
His cavalry charged into the mess of men below, some of them, both from the Lannisters and Golden Company turned towards them. They couldn't do much however as the mounted knights of the Stark army cut through whatever defence they tried to put up. And the answer as to where the loyalties of the Golden Company lay was left unanswered. They were neither for the Lannisters nor him, so the question remained, where did their loyalties lie?
Either way, it was taken completely out of his mind when a Lannister spearman, came up and pierced his weapon into the side of his horse. Robb let out a cry of shock, scrambling to get out of his saddle just in time as he rolled along the ground, avoiding being crushed by his dead mount.
Even so, he came under attack almost instantly and parried one sword strike down, swinging his blade back up and cutting deeply into the neck of the Golden Company warrior that attempted to kill him. He then spun around seeing a spear swinging that had been made to either cut into his face or stumble him. This failed as Robb stepped in and raised his free hand to cover his face, the wooden pole bouncing off his forearm harmlessly.
Thrusting forwards, his sword pierced into his stomach and then kicked the man away.
Just as another two Lannister soldiers came up, Garlan rode by on his horse and cut through them with ease. "Form up around the King!" He shouted, Robb, seeing Ser Emmon Cuy, Robar Royce, Lucas Blackwood, Perwyn Frey, Daryn Hornwood and a few other men form up around him. They acted as a buffer that surrounded him protectively, stopping any Golden Company or Lannister soldier from getting close to him.
As he did, he took a look round, analysing the situation for what it was. Their arrival had changed the once relatively equal battle into a slaughter. His cavalry was running rampant, sowing chaos throughout the battle. The Lannisters and Golden Company were not only having to fight one another but them as well.
So far, things were looking good for them.
The Golden Company had no clear command of any part of the battle which did not bode well for them, they had the numbers for sure, but they were not dominating any flank or the centre. Robb knew that the left flank and centre were firmly under their command and while there was still fighting, things looked to going well for them. On the other hand, the right flank was a worrying problem.
He didn't know what was going on over there, but it was worrying. If the right flank was still held by the Lannisters then there was a possibility that they could slip away.
"We're cutting through to the right flank!" Robb ordered, pushing past Ser Robar and charging into the battle once more, those that had formed up around the King following after him soon after. They made short work of them, Robb having picked a path that seemed to have naturally formed amongst them and those in the way were too busy fighting one another to turn to them.
And as they burst out, Robb quickly took another look round and he cursed upon what he saw. 'Fuck, so the Mountain's here!' He frowned upon seeing this having hoped that he would be in the main force.
Yet that didn't seem to be the case as he was seeing Ser Gregor cut through men with ease. He hadn't seen the man fight before, only heard tales of what he could do, but seeing was different. The man was big, bigger than even Smalljon and despite that, the man was deceptively strong. His blade swung round with speed and strength that just shouldn't be possible. But above all else, he was skilled.
Despite Robb's initial belief, the man wasn't just a brute with no skill, he was very skilled. The way in which he swung his blade, manoeuvred his body around suggested that he had the skill to match his strength.
That alone was a worrying thought and Robb was beginning to realise that he had vastly underestimated the Mountain and the impact he had on the Lannisters around him. He was a figurehead for his strength and power, a figurehead that inspired men to fight harder and stronger. It was upon seeing the Mountain in action for the first time that Robb began to understand why Edmure lost so many men in the initial battle in the Stony Septs.
But Robb's eyes then trailed towards the man a little further away from the Mountain.
The Golden Company had done a good job and had separated the Mountain from the Old Lion who was surrounded only by a few men in total. Which was good news for him.
Pushing forwards, flanked by Robar and Emmon, he cut his way towards the Old Lion. Both men rushed forwards in front of Robb who clashed their swords against the two directly in front of him, pushing them to one side leaving it open for him to burst inside the loose circle that had formed up around the Old Lion. The man had just finished stabbing one Northmen that had broken through the defensive ranks surrounding him.
Tywin barely managed to raise his blade in time to block the downward swing and even then, the strength of Robb proves too much for Tywin and knocks him to his knees. Robb didn't let up and came back down with another swing that the Old Lion scrambled to avoid.
As his blade dug into the ground of where Tywin once was, another Lannister soldier who recognised Tywin's predicament rushed to try and stop Robb, but a quick number of parries kept him safe and sound for a while. Then, as an opening formed, Robb pounced upon this and cut through the man.
Turning back, he noticed Tywin running away and he cursed about to give chase only for his instincts to scream at him. It was a chill that descended upon him, a shiver running up his spine and a feeling of death hanging over him. He didn't know where these instincts came from, they had never been prevalent when he was younger. Maybe it was war and the constant battle that had honed them, he didn't know, he just knew that they had saved his life on a number of occasions.
Quickly he spun around, raising his sword parallel to the ground and gripped it in both hands. But even he was unprepared for the weight behind the blow and Robb found himself forced to his knees much like Tywin had been previously, and the sword he was trying to block, dug into his shoulder.
He cried out in pain, gritting his teeth and glaring up at the knight who had done this.
Ser Gregor Clegane.
So, another chapter is done and I hope you all enjoyed it. Anyway, if you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know.
