Shadows of the Realm: Rhaegar's Resolve (ASOIAF) (Completed)

283 AC

Riverlands, North of the Trident Ford

NIGHT BEFORE THE BATTLE

REBEL CAMP

Eddard Stark

Eddard Stark, the Lord of Winterfell and one of the main rebel leaders was tired. He was just utterly tired of dealing with both Robert's ranting and his bannermen who don't trust the Southern rebels now more than ever, it all began with Rhaegar's proclamation and now several Riverlords want to take Rhaegar's offer but are kept in line, for now, thanks to Robert's wrath.

This entire war began with the intention of removing the Mad King from the throne and getting justice for my father and brother and along with that rescuing my sister but now the Mad King is dead and along with him any chance for justice, he was either murdered by his spymaster as they are claiming or more likely he was murdered by his son and knowing the Targaryens, the latter seems likely, they kill their own family as if it's second nature to them.

So now the goal of the rebellion is to remove Rhaegar from the throne and rescue my sister but then Rhaegar gave a ridiculous offer of amnesty with absolutely no hostages, no tax increases, no ransoms, no nothing, it was just too good to be true and yet it was, a few houses did take Rhaegar on that offer and he came good on his promise and just like that the rebellion is fracturing, barely being held together by Robert's charisma and charm.

To make things worse, Rhaegar has begun to spread stories that Hoster and Jon were responsible for the capture and murder of my father and brother, normally I would have passed this off as slander from the Royalists but some of my thickheaded bannermen believe it and to make things worse, that untrustworthy bastard named Roose Bolton is just antagonizing the other Northern lords and sowing discord amongst our ranks.

My father did tell me to never trust a Bolton. And right now I can't do anything against him without causing more discord in the Rebel army.

Just then a voice reached me "Ned you need to watch where you are walking otherwise you will end up in a pile of horseshit"

I look around to see Howland Reed, one of the few Northerners not to believe Rhaegar's words and also now one of my close and loyal friends, he has a small smile on his face and so I turn to look where I was walking and sure enough I walked past my tent and nearly walked into a pile of horseshit, that was a close save

"Thank you Howland" I thank him, he waves it off and opens the flap of my tent, and says "Come let's have a drink" I follow him in.

I sit at the table while Howland pours out ale for the two of us, I take it gratefully and drink a long gulp from it and then he asks "Are you still worried about what the others are thinking of Rhaegar's letter"

I nod "How can the others be so thickheaded to believe something like that?" I ask him and Howland just shrugs and says "Well, most of it is Bolton's doing" Damn that man and his bloody house.

"I wouldn't worry much about it, tomorrow during the battle they will all forget it and go back to their usual self" Howland tries to reassure me but I can only hope, because if they don't put aside their differences then we will lose.

"But how are they believing his words? I still don't understand that" I ask Howland, hoping that he might explain the mindset of the northern lords and thankfully he does.

"Well Ned, it has less to do with the fact that Rhaegar said a few things and more with the fact that they believe that someone tricked both Brandon and Rickard"

And before I can say anything, Howland continues "The fact remains, Ned, that someone told Brandon that Lya was kidnapped and they believe that someone convinced Rickard to go to King's Landing instead of rebelling then and there and that is the crux of the problem"

I can't argue with that so all I do is sigh and bury my face in my hands for a while and then Howland says "You know a few like Umber and Karstark were hoping that we declare independence from the Crown entirely and leave the Southerners to deal with Rhaegar"

I look up aghast, "WHAT??!!, THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT INDEPENDENCE AND WHAT ABOUT OUR ALLIES, WE LEAVE THEM BEHIND TO RHAEGAR'S TENDER MERCIES AFTER EVERYTHING THAT THEY HAVE SACRIFICED FOR US, AND WHAT ABOUT MY SISTER?" I lose my temper at that but thankfully Howland calms me down.

"Calm down, Ned that was just talk and no one is going to leave until we get Lyanna back and get justice for your father and brother and clean up the mess in the South following that, alright now just calm down" Howland's calm voice washes over me and I slowly back down from my anger.

For a moment we don't speak but just stay silent, and then I tell him "I just want to go home, to Winterfell, back to my family, my wife is pregnant and due to give birth soon, I don't want my child to be born in and to grow up in war or live under its scars, I just want justice for my family and get my sister back"

Howland tries to comfort me "Don't worry we will do all that and more, it's just a matter of time, you need to have faith" I nod and after a while, he leaves the tent.

I think for a while, about how my ancestors will be watching me tomorrow, how my father, brother, and mother will be watching to see if I can protect the pack, this was not supposed to be my cup but now I am made to drink from it and I will not fail, for my parents, my brothers, and sister, for my wife and my unborn child and the North.

I thought of going to sleep but before I could I heard a commotion and sounds of a fight so I ran out to see what was going on.

ROYALIST CAMP

Barristan Selmy

Ser Barristan Selmy of the Kingsguard did not know what to make of this new King Rhaegar, this Rhaegar was completely different from the Bard Prince that he saw growing up in the Red Keep.

The Prince was a melancholic one while the King was completely different, he would be at times completely cold to everyone, and then at times he would jape and make fun of others in good humor and sometimes even about himself and but the one thing that is constant in him would be his eyes that gleam with a certain cunning that he last saw in Tywin Lannister whereas the melancholic Prince's eyes are usually filled with sadness.

To make the change complete just before they left King's Landing, the King had all of his scrolls and tomes with which he used to spend nearly his entire childhood burnt to ash, and then he left the city.

And this is not to include the fact that he killed his father, committing Kingslaying and Kinslaying at the same time but as of now it is nothing more than unsubstantiated rumors also there is the fact that he killed Grandmaester Pycelle who according to the Lord Commander was nothing more than Tywin Lannister's pet.

That was not the only change in the King, his fighting style has changed as well, the King has begun practicing with both me and Ser Jaime on an almost daily basis, and the Prince used to have a fighting style reminiscent of Ser Arthur Dayne, that is his fighting is more of a dance with the blade and more based on speed and precision but the King is more aggressive, he is more fierce and more interested in the kill and his attacks are based on power.

I asked Ser Gerold about this complete personality change and he told me that after Lady Lyanna bashed him on the head with a shield this sudden change occurred, I didn't quite know what to think about that and I wondered what happened with Lady Lyanna and though Ser Gerold is tight-lipped about the matter, I believe that Ser Arthur and Ser Oswell are protecting her which must mean that the two fell in love and that she is now pregnant.

A love that started a war, the singers will be having a gala time over this, and the Dornish not so much. This explains Prince Lewyn's sour look toward the King.

I looked around the King's tent, earlier whenever the Prince used to travel, he used to take the tomes with him, and his tent used to be adorned with tapestries of dragons but now the King's tent has no time and there are no tapestries whatsoever, it has a very functional look with more emphasis on practicality rather than looks and you will know that it is the King's tent only because it is the largest tent around and not because it is the fanciest.

Then there is the change in armor, which is a more reasonable change, his old armor which had rubies studded in it was meant more for the Tourneys rather than the battlefield, and his new armor is similar to that of the Kingsguard except that instead of white it is black and with the three-headed dragon that is colored in red.

Even his choices in weapons have changed, the Prince preferred to use swords meant for quick and precise attacks at the gaps in a person's armor but the King instead prefers to use maces, morningstars, and flails that are more suited to his new aggressive style of fighting. He reasoned that unless he uses Valyrian Steel he will be useless with a sword since a sword won't exactly cut through the plate, mail, brigandine, or a gambeson, and looking at his new fighting style it might probably be for the best.

Then Ser Gerold came to me, "Ser Barristan, your watch is over it's mine now and it would be best if you got some sleep for tomorrow is the battle" I nod and I head over to the tent of the Kingsguard and I see Ser Jaime removing his armor after arriving from his sparring with the King, the boy who is seven and ten is now about to be in his first real battle.

Robert Baratheon is a man who breathes and lives War, his display at the Melee in Harrenhal gave a good insight into his skills and the only reason why Lord Royce managed to defeat him was that Robert was tired, and now he has a reputation for defeating three armies in a single day at Summerhall, escaping Lord Tarly at Ashford and slipping through the fingers of Jon Connington at the Stoney Sept. I doubt that the King will be able to defeat Robert despite his change in fighting style.

I must kill Robert Baratheon before they meet on the battlefield.

BATTLE OF THE TRIDENT

Royalist Army, Center

Rhaegar Targaryen

My name is Rhaegar Targaryen, the First of my name and a buttload of more titles that I don't bother to recall. I showed up in this world after Lyanna bashed Rhaegar's head with a shield and the old Rhaegar might as well have gotten a brain aneurysm and died.

As for me, I was just walking down a street after coming from my friend's home when a rich and drunk kid driving his fancy car ran over me and I died. Thankfully it wasn't a long and painful death just a short and painful one.

And the next thing I knew was that I was bombarded with Rhaegar's memories at first, I thought that the brownies that I ate at my friend's house were actually hash brownies or maybe I drank too much alcohol but then I realized that I didn't eat or drink anything in his house and after a while of being in the abyss of Rhaegar's memories of a life that ran based on a bloody prophecy I regained my consciousness to see a certain concerned Ser Gerold looking towards me and hearing Lyanna sobbing.

At first, I didn't know what to do but then I decided to just roll with it, my opinion of human life was already low when I died, and with my induction into the world of ice and fire it is practically nonexistent so it was really easy to kill 'my father' because right now I have no morals whatsoever. If I ever meet the Alien Spacebat or whatever thing that is responsible for sending me to this world, I will murder them no questions asked but now I have to deal with the rebels who are also coming to kill me.

Why me? and more importantly, why did I reach in such a time? I mean if I had to be sent into this world as a Targaryen why now, wasn't Daemon the Rogue Prince or maybe the Conqueror or any other guy with a dragon available? And if it had to be Rhaegar, why right now when the rebellion is in full swing?

I have read the books and seen the show along with that I have read a few fanfictions so I might as well roll with it because no use crying over things that are gone and also because I have no intention of getting back to my student loan debt and the mortgage for my house.

My parents are dead and I have no siblings so maybe that is how we are chosen, the ones with no family whatsoever. In the meantime, in this world, I have carefully crafted a completely different persona of Rhaegar.

Right now I am waiting for the Rebels to arrive, I mean these Rebels have no punctuality whatsoever it's been an hour or so since we've arrived, and still no sign of those bastards.

In the meantime, the delay caused by the rebels has allowed me to send men to spread gravel on the riverbanks, especially in the wet and muddy areas to help the soldiers not slip on the mud. I believe that Jon Snow did something of this sort in the books on top of the wall as part of his steward duties in the first book to make the top of the wallless slippery.

And finally, after another thirty minutes, they arrive, I may not have gone through the rule book on battlefield etiquette but surely it must be bad manners to make your enemy wait on the day of battle, the chivalry code must have something on that.

And of course, the man leading them is the would-be usurper Robert Fooking Baratheon, he is very easy to spot, I mean what is it with that antlered helm, surely it must be a liability on the battlefield like literally anyone can grab it and yank it away causing him to lose focus and concentration allowing somebody else to kill him or maybe he is so intimidating that nobody has dared to do it.

It's like Rhaegar's ridiculous ruby armor, why did Rhaegar even bring that to the battlefield I will never know, that sort of thing is meant to be on the Tourney grounds, not the battlefield.

But then again this is Westeros and everything here is, in the end, nothing more than a dick-measuring contest between dickheads.

Soon enough the rebels begin their advance with Robert leading the charge and so I give the order to the Longbowmen

"NOCK" They are my best at getting rid of Robert right here and now

"DRAW" And even if they fail, they might take out his horse which might cause him to break a leg

"LOOSE" Only the best plate armor can withstand a longbow arrow shower and as for a person in chain mail and gambeson if the person doesn't die they will at the very least be severely injured because of a longbow arrow that comes with a force of a truck.

And I watch as the arrows ascend and time stops with it and then the arrows descend and it has the desired effect, Robert survives but loses his horse but at the same time he doesn't break a leg and he is now wading through the water. That's alright all the longbowmen have at least twenty arrows with them so I can try again and a longbowman can fire at least six arrows a minute.

"ONE MORE TIME"

"NOCK"

"DRAW"

"LOOSE"

He is still not dead, this time he uses a shield, How is that man holding a shield in one hand and a Warhammer in the other? Is that even possible? His booming voice carries over to me, and he is encouraging his men to not give up.

"ONCE MORE"

"NOCK"

"DRAW"

"LOOSE"

Everyone else around him is dying but not him and now the Northerners have arrived to reinforce the battered lines of the Stormlanders and they continue to press forward

"AGAIN"

"NOCK"

"DRAW"

"LOOSE"

This time when his shield becomes useless, he takes a dead man as a meat shield while still leading the rebels through, and then they engage the Dornish spearmen.

I don't have to worry about hitting my men as the range of the longbowmen is as far as the Ford so I can continue with the onslaught.

I tell the Longbowman captain to continue firing until everyone's arrows run out.

Sure enough, after like three minutes, all the arrows have run out, So I tell them to put down their bows and draw out their knives and join the second line under Ser Barristan.

The melee is becoming fierce and though the Dornish spearmen are holding their ground I can see them being pressured and if that goes on they might break.

Then after a while, something catches my eye, I see Prince Lewyn in a duel with Robert Baratheon, I see the antlered helm and the white cloak dancing around each other but I can't see anything else as I am quite far from them and there are many people ahead to cover up my view even though I am on a horse and at the same time I have a feeling that Robert might kill Lewyn,

So I send word to Ser Barristan to move ahead and reinforce the first line and if Lewyn falls then he has to take command and prevent a rout.

After the second line moves forward, I pull back with Jaime to the third line where Richard is waiting, I grip my Morningstar flail tightly waiting for my turn to charge into the meatgrinder. Rhaegar is already well versed in all forms of combat so I already have his muscle memory in using a flail and Morningstar and now with my aggressive mentality in a fight, it's become more useful than ever.

After a few minutes, I see the banner of House Martell fall.

REBEL ARMY, LEFT FLANK

Jon Arryn

Jon Arryn, the Lord of the Eyrie is at his wit's end. This entire day has been a nightmare since the moment that he woke up, when he went to sleep he thought that he would have to fight only the Royalists in the morning but instead, he had to fight with Lords and Knights who tried to defect or desert in the dead of night and the rest of the night was spent executing the deserters and coercing and cajoling the ones that were left.

Then, compounding on that, the main battle began to go terribly for the rebels.

The night before the battle which everyone was supposed to spend resting was spent wasted chasing people who have turned cloak and had tried to desert or defect mostly because Rhaegar gave an offer that was so good that they would be fools not to accept it,

At first when I heard such an offer I snorted in derision because I didn't believe that Rhaegar would follow through on such a ridiculously good offer that was too good to be true, and in my experience, if anything is too good to be true then it usually isn't true,

But in this case, however, it was true and people began taking up on the offer Rhaegar did well on his promise so even more people began to defect and with their main rallying cry being to remove Aerys from the throne and with Aerys now dead, the rebellion lost its momentum.

While the major Lords may not have deserted the Rebel cause because they were honor-bound although a few of them did have second thoughts, especially the Riverlords they mostly stayed loyal the main problem however was minor nobles and the knights, the Hedge knights began to desert en masse along with a bunch of landed knights, they were all promptly hung once caught as all deserters are but it cost them precious sleep, it cost them time and it cost them morale.

And to add to all of that rumors began to spread that the Northerners wanted independence and even though Ned assured me that there would be no such thing, the rumors helped to further undermine our cause and cause more dissension amongst the regions.

We ended up coming to the battle late, demoralized, tired, and hungry as a good number of our men didn't get to eat as a few deserters tried to burn down our food stores, and though most of the fire was put out before it could get out of hand a good amount of our supplies was burnt and so a few soldiers had to go hungry before the battle.

And then finally the battle began and it went disastrously for us, the pikemen of House Tarly were waiting on the edge of the riverbank in a shield phalanx.

No matter how many times the Knights of the Vale charged at the phalanx, the Tarlys held their ground, not budging an inch, and to make things worse the casualties on our side were mounting while we still have no breakthrough to speak of.

The dead of the Vale along with their horses simply piled up on the river. Every time we charged the pikes came down and we stopped nobody was able to get past the pikes and even the lucky few who got through the pikes ended up dying because the archers who are behind the shield wall give out targeted strikes on those who get through.

They don't target the Knights directly, but rather the horses, the pikemen usually attack the horses which causes most of the knights to fall, and after which it makes them easy targets for other pikemen or archers.

Upon seeing that the Royalists were holding their lines too close to the river I wouldn't have agreed to force a crossing but then Robert in his usual headstrong manner ended up charging causing me to follow suit otherwise a gap would have opened up in the rebel lines.

Then Lord Royce came up to me "My Lord, we must pull back, we are not getting anywhere like this"

I grit my teeth, "Surely there must be a way", But Royce shakes his head "It's useless, you will be sending more men to their deaths"

He is right, I need to find another way "Have you tried going around the phalanx" I ask him,

He shakes his head saying "I tried to do that but the phalanx stretches out until the end of the Ford and after that, the river becomes faster and deeper"

I can't give up just yet "Still send a few men to try to cross beyond that" But he shakes his head again, "You think I didn't think of that, I sent twenty of my knights to try to cross, the river took them away while the others drowned, the river is too fast and too deep beyond the ford"

Then I see the banner of House Martell fall, which means Robert might have killed Prince Lewyn but the banner of House Targaryen is still behind.

You are our only hope, Robert, you need to kill Rhaegar otherwise all is lost.

REBEL ARMY, RIGHT FLANK

Brynden Tully

Ser Brynden Tully, otherwise known as the Blackfish was having a horrendous battle, he knew that this battle wouldn't be easy but before the battle itself began, the shit began. In the middle of the night, the minor Riverlords and knights tried to desert, and dealing with them was an entire matter that took hours, and soon enough it was morning.

So he came to the battle sleep-deprived which made him quite irritable to the point he had to pull back from the fighting several times if only to think properly, he couldn't give orders and fight at the same time as he would normally do, his squire had to calm him down and take him away from the fighting and after three times of being forced to pull back, Brynden decided to just stay in the back and direct the fighting instead because if he stayed any longer in the melee then he would be killed by his carelessness.

But the same cannot be said about my brother Hoster, I believe that Hoster too wanted to leave the melee and command from the rear when the fighting got too thick for him but he got caught up in the fighting and with the standard holder of House Tully right next to Hoster everyone in the Royal army is going after him, from Lords to Hedge Knights to men-at-arms who have suddenly gotten brave.

Everyone wants to kill the Lord of Riverrun to make a name for themselves and just like that Hoster is being constantly attacked, I warned him not to be a part of the melee but he didn't listen and said that he had to do it as an example for the other Riverlords now needed ever since all the desertions that they suffered and despite my pleas, he refused to budge on that and he calls me stubborn.

I had to go through more or less the same situation but I managed to somehow cut my way through. Lords Tytos Blackwood and Jason Mallister are doing their best to protect Hoster who is injured and are trying to get him off the battlefield but they are being swarmed by a never-ending horde of Loyalists soldiers coming their way, so I send more men to help bring Hoster back to the rear.

But in the end, it is not enough because the White Bull himself comes after Hoster,

Oh by the Gods, I need to help him now, I quickly grab my helmet and ride back into the melee on the river in an attempt to get to my brother when he begins his duel with the White Bull, there used to be a time back when I used to admire the White Bull and even now I still do but now I am filled with dread for my brother, Hoster is already injured from the constant attacks and he won't stand a chance against Ser Gerold who is wielding a mace.

Family, Duty, Honor, those are the words of House Tully and it comes in that order, Honor be damned I am going to save my brother before he gets killed and if I need to interfere in their duel I will,

But before I can reach him I have my path blocked by a certain Darry whom I utterly despise right now for their treachery without a second thought I go for his head and while the idiot can stave off my attacks for a while, I am relentless, my brother is about to die and I don't have time to waste fighting him so I quickly manage to find a gap in his armor and thrust my sword through his neck. He is dead by the time I pull my sword back.

But the second I nearly reach my brother I see the mace crashing down on his head.

"NOO" I scream and I gallop towards Hoster without thinking but then someone kills my horse underneath me and I fall into the water I manage to get myself up just as I see the mace descending once more on Hoster's head and the reeling man rocks back and just like that he falls from his horse.

'NO NO NO NO NO' This can't be happening, "HOSTER" I scream but he lies unmoving I scramble towards him and I don't see anything but him and I reach him but he lies unmoving despite my best efforts in trying to revive him but he doesn't respond, then before I can do anything my squire tries to move me

"Ser, Ser we need to leave now before it's too late"

I snap at him "What could be more important?" Then he points behind our lines where I see the smoke rising from where the camp should be, at first I don't understand what's going on but then from the trees, I can see soldiers riding out, soldiers wearing the heraldry of House Hightower and that of House Frey.

The Freys have betrayed us, they were never trustworthy and now they have stabbed us in the back the Hightowers have somehow come behind us now we are surrounded and upon seeing that we were surrounded the rebels have already started surrendering but the Hightower and Frey horsemen form a line and then they descend upon the rebel rear.

There is no mercy.

I turn to find either Robert or Eddard and while the grey Direwolf banner still stands I can't find the Baratheon standard but then I see both Robert and Rhaegar having a desperate duel for their lives.

But before I can do anything, somebody hits me on the head hard and the world goes black.

ROYALIST ARMY, CENTRE

Rhaegar Targaryen

At first, I didn't know what to do when I saw the Martell banner fall, the Dornish spearmen did break but thankfully Ser Barristan Selmy managed to arrive on time and manage to take command and manage to prevent the rout from occurring. Although Ser Barristan is a man from the Dornish Marches, the Dornish have accepted his command, maybe Lewyn already told the Dornish what to do should he fall.

The second line begins to engage the rebels while the Dornish spearmen left of the first line were not allowed to merge with the second line but were made to position themselves at the wings of the second line.

And soon the death struggle commenced again, this time the Royalists having a clear advantage over the rebels, the rebels are tired while the Royalists are relatively well-rested compared to them and the melee goes on. At the rate at which the fight is going, I might not have to even deploy the third line, hopefully, Ser Barristan will be able to kill Robert and the rebels who are already hard-pressed will break.

I haven't gotten word about the Hightower army that was sent to Harroway's Town but hopefully, they will have captured the town and are on the way to attack the rebels from the rear.

But I have gotten word from the other parts of the battlefield, in the right flank Lord Tarly has been able to push back all attempts by the Knights of the Vale and is causing them to pay dearly for every charge that they do.

The shield phalanx that I made Lord Tarly do was inspired by the Battle of the Bastards in which Ramsay uses his shield phalanx as a noose around the Stark army, although this isn't the same per se the phalanx is still the same.

I wonder if a certain Vale Lord named Corbray is present with a certain sword, with the White Walkers coming I could use a Valyrian Steel sword.

From the left flank, I have received word that the Hoster Tully is being constantly attacked with no respite, Good serves that opportunistic bastard right, hopefully, someone will kill him. I send word to Ser Gerold that under no circumstances should Hoster Tully survive this battle. The White Bull will do as he is told.

Richard then tells me why the Rebels were late, apparently the previous night many minor nobles and knights tried to leave the rebel army after hearing my generous offer and it caused a lot of problems for them. A few did manage to defect and reach the other side of the river and come over to me but most were caught and most likely hung.

I would say that my offer was too generous that even my loyalists didn't like it and felt that I was being too soft on them but seeing the number of minor nobles escaping while the main Lords are busy tearing their hair out has caused my plan to be vindicated.

I honestly thought that I wouldn't need to fight today thinking that my numbers would carry the day,

But I seriously underestimated Robert's charisma and charm and the man has managed to rally his men into a final mad charge into the second line which is starting to crack, I have to intervene before it's too late.

Just then a messenger from Ser Barristan arrives "Your grace, Ser Barristan bids me tell you that we are being hard-pressed and we need help for the rebels are pushing hard"

I am silent for a while before I tell him "Tell Ser Barristan that the third line will soon be deployed and tell him to position his men on the wings, they will be not allowed to merge into the third line" He nods and runs off.

I signal to Ser Richard to begin the charge and at the head, both Jaime and I draw out our weapons, I grip my Morningstar flail tightly and then we descend into the meatgrinder.

I wade into the melee and I smash my Morningstar at a few rebels who are in my way and most of them are either dead or dying after the blow. The momentum is back in our hands and after seeing me join the fight the Royalists are invigorated and they push back with renewed vigor.

And soon enough the tide of the battle is in our favor. I quickly lose all inhibition at killing and I happen to kill a lot of rebels most of them are already too tired and all of them are on foot, my longbowmen took care of all the mounted knights and now all of them are on foot which has given me an advantage over the rest.

I look around the battlefield checking if I can spot Stark or Baratheon and while I can see the banner of the Starks I can't see Ned himself.

But I do see Robert Baratheon and I find him in the middle of a duel with Ser Barristan Selmy normally I would leave them be and I won't interfere with it but I wanted to kill Robert and then before I could do anything a man in Karstark colors come after me and I don't even bother to use my morningstar on him, I just run him over with my horse. Maybe that was Rickard Karstark but I wouldn't know that.

Then I notice Robert prevailing in his duel with Barristan which is supposed to be impossible, HOW ON EARTH IS HE WINNING AGAINST BARRY? And I get my answer when I see that Barristan has tripped over a dead body on the river which has allowed Robert to gain the upper hand and I cannot let that happen.

I decide to intervene and I gallop over to him and I raise my Morningstar although Bobby B realizes that something is wrong it's too late for him and I bring the Morningstar right down in his helmet behind his head.

KLAANNG, the sound of metal hitting metal reverberates throughout and it even rings in my ears

It hits home and hard and the poor sod is at the very least suffering from a concussion but I don't let up and before he can regain his bearings I give another and then another and then another, I am running circles around him

WHY IS HE STILL NOT ON THE GROUND? If this was anybody else they would have either been dead or dying but this one is still up, what kind of a person is he? He is still disoriented but not down and I see Barry being brought out of the water by Jaime while I think the rest of the army has stayed back to watch me kill him.

I think about dismounting and fighting him honorably but screw that I need to win and then I continue my attack on him, unfortunately for me in the time I took to look at everybody else that time was enough time for Bobby to regain his wits and prepare himself, and while I did land another hit on him he managed to take out my horse,

I really shouldn't be distracted in the middle of a battle. Thankfully, I can jump from my horse on time and now we are both on the water and we begin our duel to change history.

We start exchanging blows and I am smart enough to realize that one well-placed blow from Robert and that's the end of me so I use my speed to stay out of his reach, my reflexes are faster and he is tired from fighting all day.

All I need to do is wear him out and then give the final blow. And soon it becomes a repeat of dodge and feints for me while giving out an occasional strike at his openings, he is getting more desperate and tired and more injured with each hit, and finally, his injuries take their toll, and then he completely misses me in one of his swings which is my cue to begin my attack.

I strike at his gauntleted hands hoping that he will drop the Warhammer but he doesn't, what kind of an ox is he?

So to bring something new into this fight and also because I am desperate I go after the antlers of his helm and I grab one of them and try to pull his helm off with that, he finally drops his Warhammer mostly in surprise, and then I drop my morningstar and use my other hand to grab the other antler and I lift my leg and place it on his chest and I pull and he stumbles back and I finally get that helm off him and finally get to see the man who dares to challenge me.

He is bleeding, his head is quite banged up, and his eyes are glazed but they quickly take their focus back on me and he tries to burn a hole in me with his blue eyes, and then finally he screams "DRAGONSPAWN, ROT IN HELL" but his scream doesn't have the same power as before, a clear sign of him losing his strength.

Then we both turn to hear a horn from behind the rebel lines, I see the banners of Hightower and Frey, the smoke rising from behind them means that they have destroyed the rebel camp and are now ready to give the final blow.

Robert realizes this as well and before he can react I swing his helm back at him and one of the thorns on the antlers pierces and punctures his cheek causing him to curse in pain.

Then I throw the helm away and scramble to take my Morningstar while he does the same for his Warhammer and we both take our weapons swing at each other, my Morningstar heading to smash in his face while his Warhammer is heading to cave in my chest.

Under ideal conditions, he would have easily won, he has been using the Warhammer since he could hold it, whereas I have been doing nothing more than a crash course on Morningstars over the past few weeks along with muscle memory to help out.

But these are not ideal conditions, he is more tired than ever while I am not, I am faster than him and I got to my Morningstar before he could reach his Warhammer.

My morning star finds his face first and smashes it in.

His hammer finally stops for good just before it touches me and for a moment time stills and then the hammer drops from his hands and he falls into the water.

After that, there is stunned silence and then the Royalists erupt in cheers.

There is no more resistance after that and the rebels surrender.

THE BATTLE IS OVER AND THE WAR IS WON