Halfhand's Legacy: A Dance of Dragons - A Self-Insert Tale

129 AC

Golden Tooth

The entire valley was turned to ash, burnt corpses, and cinders of a camp that stood there hours before the Blood Wyrm descended. Elmo Tully could do nothing but marvel in awe and fear as he saw the handiwork of a dragon. A burning and blackened Golden Tooth stood on a hill, a strong castle between the West and the Riverlands. No River King or the bloody Hoares could capture it. But now, within a night, the Golden Tooth was left a burning ruin by Prince Daemon whilst the Lannister army encamped underneath was destroyed. The flames also destroyed the town underneath the castle and its survivors were put to the sword.

From the other side of the Golden Tooth, Elmo and the others watched as the once formidable castle of the Golden Tooth was put to the flames. In the black of the night, the castle glowed like a candle in the dark but even more light came from down below on the side of the Golden Tooth wherein the entire Lannister army was destroyed. It looked like the sun was rising from the West. It was truly an awe-inspiring and fear-inducing sight for fifteen thousand Rivermen and Northmen marching on the River Road.

The screams of horror from the castle and the camp were drowned by the shrill roar of the Blood Wyrm and the loud cheers of the Black army on the other side of the Golden Tooth. The watchtowers of House Lefford noticed them marching up the River Road and the Lannisters knew of their march, yet there was nothing they could do for by the time the Lannister scouts reported to Jason Lannister, Prince Daemon had attacked.

Jason Lannister had raised nearly twenty thousand men, ready to descend into the Riverlands, now they were all ash and bones. The flower of the Westerland chivalry lay burnt in the valley, the West was now open to them.

Rivermen scoured the burnt camp searching for loot but nothing could be found. The plentiful spoils many imagined finding from a Lannister camp were now ashes. Elmo noticed his sons, Kermit and Oscar riding with young Benjicot Blackwood. They had struck a fast friendship, and Elmo was grateful for it.

"Father, we have captured stragglers and foragers who escaped the flames. They were hung as commanded by Prince Daemon," Kermit said first as they rode up to him. Elmo nodded in approval before the boys rode off to the new camp.

He knew it was far too young for his sons to watch men hang but this was a war of dragons and the sooner they got used to death the better. Compared to all the atrocities that were being committed in this war, hanging stragglers was tame.

Then a familiar screeching roar was heard, the Blood Wyrm. Elmo looked up to see the dragon that circled Riverrun nary a month past. Upon hearing the word of the burnings of Bitterbridge and Goldengrove, Elmo feared that Daemon would retaliate by attacking Riverrun, a fear only increased by the burning of the Eyrie.

Fortunately, Prince Daemon was merciful enough to give him one final chance to bend the knee before he attacked. Elmo had no compulsions for bending the knee regardless of his grandfather's wishes. The Usurper didn't even bother to give them a chance to surrender before he ended two ancient bloodlines from the Age of Heroes.

Elmo noticed the old Northmen walking through the cinders, most had come down South to die gloriously on the battlefield but now the war reached the North with the Boltons turning cloak for the Usurper. Most wanted to return home but Lord Roderick Dustin declared that they would stay and fight in the south. He believed that the Boltons would be defeated long before the Usurper arrived in the North, with Prince Daemon's plan to split the Green dragons, there would be no dragons left to head north in support of the Boltons.

A messenger then rode up to him and said, "My Lord, Prince Daemon has called an assembly of all the Lords. All the Lords are to meet in the command tent by noonday."

"I shall be there," Elmo replied as the messenger nodded and rode off to inform the other Lords.

The noonday sun burned brightly over them as Elmo entered the tent with his sons to find all the Lords assembled with Daemon Targaryen at the head of the table looking over a map of the Riverlands. Elmo walked over to Prince Daemon's side as he looked at the map with a stony face. Ever since the death of his daughter in the Vale, the Prince had changed, while outwardly Prince Daemon showed no signs of breaking down in grief, Elmo knew it wouldn't take much to set the famously volatile Prince off. Had Elmo not surrendered immediately after seeing the dragon, the Rogue Prince would have destroyed Riverrun something the Vances of Atranta learnt the hard way.

Prince Daemon opened his mouth as everyone closed theirs, "It is time, my Lords. For too long, the Usurper and his dogs have attacked our Queen's loyal subjects with impunity, it is time we showed them the price of defiance. We shall break the backbone of the rebels by destroying the West. I will make the Westerlands howl."

This declaration was greeted with welcoming emotions from everyone around the table as Prince Daemon continued, "Tyland is the Usurper's Hand, once we attack the West, my drunken nephew of a Usurper will be forced to defend his Hand's lands. His dragon is much smaller than Caraxes which means that he will take both or either one of his brothers with him which will leave King's Landing defenceless against our Queen, she will attack King's Landing the minute she receives word that the Usurper has left the city."

"And if he is so foolish to come on his own to attack me, then he will die. No matter what happens, I will kill that drunken fool," Prince Daemon declared with gritted teeth.

Prince Daemon turned to the map, "My Lords, we shall march on the Rock but destroy the West as we march. We are leaving our supply lines here at the Golden Tooth, take as much as you can and burn the rest. We will rely on the entire countryside for sustenance, we shall live off the land. Foraging units are to be dispatched to all villages along our route to gather as much food as possible. Seize all the livestock, meat, and grains you can carry with you. Once you are done ransacking a village or town, burn it down to the ground, houses, mills, septs, farms, orchards, vineyards, steal horses it doesn't matter, everything must burn and kill those who resist you. Make the survivors run to the Rock so that Jason Lannister's bitch knows that we are coming for her."

"The more ravens she sends to King's Landing, the more likely the Usurper will come to save them. In addition, my Lords, a raven has arrived from Pyke, Lord Dalton Greyjoy has left the Iron Islands with his fleet, and they shall descend upon the West from the sea and the West will fall." Elmo with the other Riverlords and the Northmen felt uncomfortable fighting on the same side as the Ironborn but it seemed that war made for strange bedfellows.

Prince Daemon continued to explain, "Lord Elmo will lead the right flank while Lord Roderick will lead the left flank. We shall devastate the farms and leave the people, noble and smallfolk alike so cowed that they will never be able to wage war. I shall fly above and destroy any attempt by the Westerlords to counter us and I shall burn any castle that doesn't surrender immediately. All castles that surrender are to be subjected to a thorough ransacking of their stores and their soldiers are to be executed to ensure that they cannot wage war against us behind our backs. We shall break the spirit of the West for good."

It was a plan for destruction unlike anything ever seen before in Westeros. After nearly a year of defeats for the Queen's cause, all of the Queen's Men in the tent were ready for revenge. The deaths of Prince Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Lady Baela had lit a fire of vengeance whilst the Greens stood unharmed. This would not go unanswered. The burning of Storm's End was merely the start. The Westerlands would burn as well and it would keep burning for a long time.

Elmo looked to his right to see both his sons eye the map of the Westerlands with an excited gleam even as the other Lords looked eager. Elmo then asked, "My Prince, shall we attack only the towns and castles along the River Road or shall we spread out and attack all the castles?"

Prince Daemon replied, "Yes, Ser Elmo, you and Lord Roderick shall spread out and attack all castles to the north and south of the River Road as much as you can, destroying everything before converging on Lannisport. For the larger castles like the Castamere, Ashemark, and the Crag, I shall be present to destroy them. While I can fly straight to Lannisport and burn it to ash, I want the Lannister bitch to send as many ravens as she can begging for help."

Prince Daemon took a deep breath before continuing, "Jason Lannister has built fortifications across the coast in the event of an Ironborn attack. This leads me to believe that Lannisport is well-defended from the sea and the Rock is well-stocked and ready to weather a siege. We need to break the spirit of the West and for that, we need to send as many refugees as we can in front of us and herd them all into Lannisport. These many extra mouths will eat into whatever they have stockpiled and they will spread fear in the Rock breaking their will to fight. For by the time the Usurper should arrive in the West, the Rock should be ours."

"Sow fear, spread fear as you go. Let them think that the Usurper will not come to their rescue. Those who win the battle of the wills are certain to win the battle of the sword. Before you know it, frightened guardsmen will throw open the gates of their castle in hopes of mercy," Prince Daemon finished as the lords nodded in approval.

"Winter is coming, these sods are fucked in the arse. They will not recover for another ten years at most," Lord Roderick remarked before turning to Prince Daemon, "My Prince, most of these castles in the West are built on mines on hills. What if they close the gates and go deep into the mines? We cannot afford to siege every castle and we cannot afford to storm every one of them either if we are to capture Lannisport and the Rock."

Prince Daemon snorted before saying with a wicked look, "I am well aware of that, which is why if any of these families wish to seek refuge in their mines, they are free to do so. I shall destroy the surface fortifications and then we shall seal off the entrances to the mines. And if there are any streams or lakes nearby, we will have the builders dam and divert the water into the mines for the benefit of those hidden inside."

As the plan began to sink into all who were present, Lord Benjicot muttered with a horrified look on his face, "Bury them alive."

"Or drown them," Kermit finished with an equally horrified look. Elmo knew well before they left Riverrun, that this campaign would unleash a monster within Prince Daemon and he was right. The Rogue Prince was not to be underestimated and now the West would pay the price.

"Yes boy, we shall bury them alive," The Prince replied with a stone-cold voice, "Before anyone of you prattle about honour and whatnot, tell me, do you think that the Usurper gave any terms to Caswell and Rowan? He did not, he came out of the sky with no warning and burned them to ash. Lady Jeyne tried to surrender to save the lives of her subjects in the Eyrie but do you think that the Usurper even bothered to read the damn missive. He just told her to fuck off before attacking."

Prince Daemon finished with a furious look on his face, "The Usurper has dealt grievously to our Queen's cause with the blood of her loyal subjects and we shall pay him back with the same coin he has given us."

"And should the drunken fool wake up from his stupor to save the West, after we are done with the Rock we shall march down the Oceanroad dealing the same methods as before as we march into the Reach and head for Highgarden."

As the year drew to a close, fifteen thousand Rivermen and Northmen at last turned their backs to the charred castle as smoke snaked into the autumn sky they pointed in the direction of the Sunset Sea and so began the March to the Sea. The old and the young, the rich and the poor, the smallfolk and the nobles. all in the West would receive the hard hand of war.

Castamere

Every village was plundered before it was put to the torch, and every town was burnt to the ground after it was thoroughly sacked. Elmo led a thousand horsemen to the northern Westerlands as they unleashed relentless devastation in their wake. There was no one to oppose them other than green boys and grey beards, old Lord Roland Westerling sought to mount a counterattack only to find himself set upon by the Blood Wyrm and his hastily assembled army of old men and green boys destroyed.

Elmo knew that the remaining soldiers holding the fortifications by the coast would have moved inland to face them if not for the Ironborn sails filling the horizon before the Ironborn boldly attacked every village and tower by the sea. While several of the earlier raids were repulsed by the Westermen, the devastation that Elmo wrecked inland broke their will to fight, soon the Ironborn found empty forts by the sea as they were abandoned by the soldiers who wished to protect their families only to find their families driven from their lands and themselves at the end of a Riverman's spear.

The smaller castles surrendered immediately and Elmo treated them with the courtesy he could afford given the circumstances with many minor nobles choosing to shift their allegiances from the Usurper to the Queen. The larger castles stood out for the Usurper and so Prince Daemon arrived to change their minds. The Marbrands were the only major house of the Westerlands to immediately surrender and switch sides. Once Roland Westerling's army was destroyed, Ashemark dipped its banners, Elmo

accepted their surrender and welcomed them into the fold of the true Queen for Ser Lorent Marbrand was a member of the Queensguard. Fortunately, Prince Daemon approved.

Castamere stood defiant, the castle of the second most powerful house in the West looked more like a hedge knight's abode but most of the castle was underneath. Elmo sent a messenger asking for their surrender and they refused, Elmo had herded all smallfolk of the Reyne lands into Castamere and they had been taken in yet they refused to surrender. Whatever Prince Daemon said about dealing with castles built into mines, it fit Castamere perfectly.

By sundown, his men were burying the entrances of Castamere beneath stone even while the others began to dam the pool's stream. It was an ugly business but Elmo had no intention of explaining to Prince Daemon why he did not follow his orders. All the while, the sky had a red glow from the fields set alight.

"My Lord, your sons are returning," Lord Tristan Vance informed Elmo as the sun went down and the men began to prepare the camp.

"Thank the Seven," Elmo breathed a sigh of relief before muttering a prayer of thanks as he saw his sons ride forward. He had sent them with a couple hundred men to capture the Crag.

"My boys, you return victorious I hope," Elmo said to them as he embraced his sons as they dismounted.

"Indeed Father, the Crag now belongs to the Queen," Kermit said as he returned the embrace.

"Was there any fighting?" Elmo asked as he looked over his sons, they did not sport new scars or injuries.

"No, it was just like how Benjicot captured Tarbeck Hall. The guardsmen threw open the gates as we approached." Oscar replied. It seemed that the seeds of fear that Prince Daemon had sown had taken root well into the Westerlands.

Kermit followed up from where his brother left, "But that is not all, Father for we met the Ironborn, they captured one of the abandoned forts by the sea. We talked with a few of them, it seems Fair Isle has been captured by Dalton Greyjoy. They are preparing to gather together at Fair Isle before they begin their attack on Lannisport."

Elmo nodded, "We will be riding for Lannisport after Castamere falls. Prince Daemon will arrive soon, perhaps by daybreak."

"My Lord," A man-at-arms rode up to Elmo as he was talking with his sons, "The Greyjoys are here to see you."

"I know that we Ironborn and you Rivermen have had our blood differences in past but no need to be so frosty today for we are all on the same side," Dalton Greyjoy said with a smarmy smile as he walked over to Elmo as they were about to eat the stag Benjicot Blackwood had killed.

"Provided you don't switch sides when things go the other way," Lord Tristan Vance muttered under his breath. While Elmo didn't fault any of his fellow Rivermen for their hesitance for no Riverman worth his salt would trust an Ironborn yet here they stood on the same side.

"Of course, come and warm yourself by the fire and have some venison," Elmo said with as much hospitality as he could muster.

"Thank you for your hospitality," Dalton replied with a smile that Elmo disliked. He was younger than Kermit, as old as Oscar yet he was a Great Lord and twice as experienced in war.

"So what brings you here? I last heard that you were joining your ships for the coming attack on Lannisport," Elmo asked him as things slowly went back to normal and the soldiers began to talk and eat around their fires as before.

Dalton nodded his head, "We are, we are. I have come here to Castamere to meet Prince Daemon. After all, we need to coordinate our attacks from the sea with yours from land and his from the sky."

Elmo couldn't find much fault with that so he left it. Then Dalton asked, "How is the siege going? Castamere is a difficult bitch I hear."

Elmo chewed on the meat before answering, "She is, but by daybreak, once Prince Daemon arrives, the castle will be ours or at the very least will no longer belong to House Reyne. The entrances have been sealed with stone and the stream diverted, as we speak water is flowing into the castle. Everyone inside will be dead within a day or two." According to the prisoners, there were a few Reynes in Casterly Rock, so even if all the women and children of House Reyne would drown, the lineage of the Red Lion would survive provided they surrendered before it was too late for them.

Dalton laughed, "Drowning them and burying them alive, I never took you for a bloodthirsty man, Tully." He said with a knowing smirk, "Or was it the Prince's idea." Elmo's silence was his response. Fortunately, the rest of the meal went on in relative silence.

It was barely dawn when Prince Daemon announced his arrival by attacking the surface fortifications of Castamere. The stout towers, the curtain walls, and the squat keep were abandoned by it was symbolic.

"Tell me, have you both done as I have asked?" Prince Daemon asked of the two of them as he stood by his dragon. Elmo and Dalton were made to report to Prince Daemon in front of his dragon Caraxes. It was a mean old beast, the huge serpent-like red dragon regarded them both warily but found Dalton Greyjoy even more untrustworthy. For once Elmo found more than a little satisfaction to see that the reckless young Ironborn lord did not have the stones to deal with a dragon. The dragon smelled of sulfur as did all dragons, Elmo presumed but it was the first time that Dalton had ever seen a dragon much less smelt it and it showed on his face whilst Elmo had now grown used to the smell.

"Yes, Your Grace," Elmo spoke first, "The entrances to the mines have been sealed and even now the diverted stream is flowing into the mines. They are as good as dead, a few of my men have heard screams but nothing much."

"All the forts have either been abandoned or they have been captured, " Dalton then spoke once he found his tongue. "We are massing our ships on Fair Isle for the final assault."

"Good," Prince Daemon nodded before turning to Dalton, "Have your captains wait until I attack, I will destroy whatever fleet they have in their docks before turning to the walls." Then he turned to Elmo, "Lord Roderick has begun his march to Lannisport whilst Lord Forrest Frey must have reached the city by now with the main column. Be sure to ride hard if you don't want to miss the fight. It seems that the Usurper will not be coming but no worries for we shall make an example out of Lannisport and the Rock."

"Do not use your best troops for the attack on the city," Prince Daemon then said to them, "Spare your best men for the Rock. Lord Frey shall lead the assault on the city while your younger brother Lord Dalton, Lord Veron shall lead the attack from the sea. Once the city has been stormed, I shall turn my attention to the Lion's Mouth. Whilst the Rock can withstand the same cannot be said about its gates. I shall destroy the Lion's Mouth and you Ser Elmo along with Lord Roderick shall charge through it, Lord Dalton while this happens you shall attack the sea gates which will be stripped bare for the defence of the city and the Lion's Mouth."

"Yes, Your Grace," Elmo and Dalton said at the same time.

Prince Daemon then revealed, "The people in Lannisport are crushed in fear, the city is overcrowded with refugees filling it beyond its capacity and while Lady Johanna has taken in as many as she can into the Rock, she cannot take them all for she does not have the food to feed them. The morale inside the castle is low, once the Lion's Mouth is blasted open and your men charge through, they will break and run. Lord Dalton's attack from the sea gates will be the anvil for the hammer."

"This will be a battle to remember," Dalton replied with a wide grin and Elmo couldn't help but agree.

Casterly Rock

The Lion's Mouth was an enormous cavern going up to two hundred feet high that served as the entrance to the Rock. Its gates were strong and made of bronze and gold and fashioned as its name suggested, the Lion's Mouth. The last time Elmo came to the Rock for a tourney, he had heard that the stone steps leading up to it were wide enough for twenty knights to ride abreast. Yet now, with around four thousand horsemen behind him, it felt like the gates weren't wide enough. Two thousand Winter Wolves and two thousand of the best knights of the Riverlands were mounted and ready to charge into the mouth of the lion.

Prince Daemon placed the older Lord Roderick in charge of the attack, not that Elmo protested, only a madman would ride through those gates and Lord Roderick was more than happy to be the first one to do so. The old man was half-crazy. They were waiting for Daemon right in between Lannisport and Casterly Rock positioned a little further behind to the west upon a hill. The lack of sorties from the castle against their position meant that either Lady Johanna did not have enough men for a sortie or most of them were too scared to do one.

The Rock itself was a monstrosity that took the breath away, even old Lord Roderick looked shocked for it was bigger than the Wall and much bigger than Winterfell. The most impregnable castle in all of Westeros. Elmo could spy the small arrow slits in the rock, they would make any assault a nightmare even if the Lion's Mouth was blasted open. Elmo could only hope that the archers and crossbowmen would lose heart and run once they saw the Blood Wyrm destroy the gates.

"Are you nervous?" Lord Roderick asked as they waited for Prince Daemon's attack to signal the destruction of Lannisport.

"I would be a fool if I am not nervous," Elmo replied clutching the reins of his horse tighter. His sons wanted to join the charge into the Lion's Mouth but Elmo would have none of it. They would have to be content charging into Lannisport.

"Don't be, your nervousness is nothing compared to the people in the city," Lord Roderick replied pointing to the city down south that was on the verge of tearing itself apart. Even from this far of a distance, Elmo could see that the city was going crazy with fear. He heard that some of the gates were thrown open by some of the traitors within the city who wanted mercy but Lord Frey did not attack. He would not attack until Prince Daemon's attack. The people of the city were fucked.

The black sails of the Ironborn filled the seas while Lord Frey with eleven thousand men prepared to storm the city with battering rams, scaling ladders, and siege towers. Elmo was impressed by how quickly they built the siege engines. Elmo had no illusions that his sons weren't on one of those siege towers waiting to be the first ones over the walls.

The old hoary lord was right, Elmo thought as he took a deep breath and steeled himself for the fight.

Then came the familiar shrill shriek of death from the Blood Wyrm.

The Blood Wyrm came out of the sun and he descended straight down into the city as a flash of red lightning. Before Elmo could blink, hot red dragon fire gushed out of the dragon's maw as Prince Daemon began to destroy the Lannister ships in the harbour and then turned to the boom chain protecting the harbour. Cheers began to ring out from the ships, from the army outside the city walls, and the army outside the Lion's Mouth.

Prince Daemon and Caraxes then made a ring of fire across the city as he flew over the high strong walls of Lannisport burning them in a continuous stream of red flame. Within a minute, the entire city was surrounded by a noose of fire before the Blood Wyrm unleashed a burning sword through the centre of the screaming city before turning his attention to Casterly Rock and the Lion's Mouth.

"GET READY MEN, IT IS TIME," Lord Roderick roared as he raised his warhorn. The old Northmen with him roared as they too raised their warhorns and spears before blowing the horns as Caraxes came ever closer to the Lion's Mouth.

A trumpet was sounded and the army under Lord Frey attacked the city. The gates were already burnt as knights and freeriders rode in first followed by the screaming footmen to charge into the city even as the Ironborn longships began to turn their oars to the city and began their attack unleashing what could be the most terrible sack for any city in the history of Westeros.

Caraxes once more opened his maw and unleashed an unrelenting stream of red-hot flames upon the gates of the Rock. Caraxes stayed aloft over the stone pathway with each flap of his wings spreading the flames. Caraxes moved across the entire length of the gate, breaking for a few seconds before resuming. The heat of the flames could be felt as far as they stood. The horses were discomforted as the heat stayed unrelenting. Elmo began to sweat and boil inside his armour as did the others though all were mesmerized by the flames that now engulfed the entire Lion's Mouth.

It felt like a lifetime had passed watching Caraxes burn the gates with the occasional archer shooting at Prince Daemon and missing and then finding their arrow slits engulfed in dragon fire. After a few such attacks the arrows ceased and then Blood Wyrm landed upon the stone stairway with a huge 'THUD' Before Elmo could understand it, the dragon swirled and with its tail smashed into the now weakened gates breaking them open with a huge 'CRASH'.

Caraxes then ascended into the skies, leaving them alone with a burning and broken gate of the Rock.

Lord Roderick then drew his sword out from his sheath, "MEN, ON MY COMMAND."

"Wait," Elmo hissed, "Shouldn't we wait for the fires to cool down before we attack."

"FUCK NO," He roared back, "WE WILL NOT GIVE THEM THE CHANCE TO REGAIN THEIR WITS AND MOUNT A DEFENSE."

"What if they are prepared for something like this and have made a trap?" Elmo pressed before the madman would attack through the burning gates.

Roderick merely laughed, "THEN WE ATTACK!!! ON ME, MEN, WITH ME." The men behind him roared as He raked his horse with his spurs and began the attack with the Northmen following him into the burning mouth of the Rock.

"OH, FOR FUCKS SAKE," Elmo shouted in anger as he drew out his sword even as the Northmen charged into the opening around him. If he was going to die he might as well die a warrior's death, He screamed with all his might, "JUST ATTACK." The Rivermen followed him as he followed the Northmen into the burning mouth of Casterly Rock.