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CHAPTER 237
295 AC
POV THIRD PERSON
Aermir allowed word of his victory to reach outside. This way, he was also able to see who was still vehemently on the side of the Sistermen. He had already sent all the male ruling nobility of Sistermen islands, and after his show of force on each island, the rest of the men were just content living under his rules, not caring who ruled them. They were just thankful to be alive, but there were still those who wanted to help the Arryns. Most of them were knights and servants. Those who were left on the island couldn't be counted as nobles anymore; every female heir was matched with a Northern knight or paladin in Aermir's service. He had full control of them, and with time, he would clean up all those who had support for the Arryns.
...
Jon Arryn had returned to the Vale with permission from King Robert. He couldn't allow his army to be ruled over by other lords or branch family members. He got out of his tent on the shores of The Bite. They were right across the Sisters, but they were not able to pass it and reach the island because of the accursed familiars of the Druid. The killer whales were sinking all their ships. His men were able to reach Pebble and Paps; they had fortified it, and he was sure they couldn't be defeated with that many men, but he had no idea how he could take the Sisters back from those invaders.
He looked at his army, showing force he had brought a massive army to the shores of Vale. There were 25,000 men, 10,000 of whom were levies, but it was still a powerful army. His fleet was ready to ferry this army, but those killer whales were destroying every bit of his plan. This big army had become nothing but a useless sight.
He returned to his tent and called for a council. While they were in a heated discussion, a servant brought him a message. The Sisters were lost, and Yohn Royce was defeated. He crumbled the paper and threw it in anger,
"Damn it!"
Right now, he was contemplating if he should march for Moat Cailin. He had no chance to pass the sea; he could use everything he got to pass it, but he would at least lose half of his army and ships in the process, maybe more, and the Sisters weren't worth that much loss. Everyone had underestimated the Druid and Lord Drasil in this war. Horton Redfort said,
"If the reports were to be believed, they had only lost around 800 men conquering all three islands."
Benadar Belmore said,
"My lord, what should we do? We can't even reach the islands. He had taken all three islands, but I don't think he would attempt to attack Pebble and Paps, too, with his 7 thousand army. He should already be stretched thin as it is, and it would be unwise to attack those islands, too."
Gerold Grafton slammed his fist to the table and talked with a voice full of rage,
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"If we could come face to face with him, we could destroy him and his army. I don't care how powerful his magic is. He can not fight a 25,000 army with 7,000 men."
He turned towards Jon Arryn and said,
"My lord, we should make some deal with your good-father and march through the Riverland, then attack Moat Cailin."
Jon Arryn shook his head,
"It would be a bad idea. He might be my good father, but he is also Ned's too. And if we march North, we won't be only fighting against House Drasil and the Druid anymore. It will be a North against Vale war. Can any of you, in all honesty, tell me we can win a war against North and the Druid at Moat Cailin?"
He waited for a bit, and none of the lords said anything. Then he continued,
"That is why it is a bad idea; if we go on the offensive against the North, we will lose our number advantage. Right now, The Druid is the invader; even if he has a cause against the Sistermen, he cannot rally the North, but if we attack Moat Cailin, things will change greatly."
He sighed with great resentment and said,
"We have no choice but to count the Sisters as a loss; I am not going to lose more men for it. If we can't kill those killer whales, we cannot go forward with any one of our plans. We have only one choice before he pulls those orcas to the Pebble and Paps. We need to reinforce them more."
With a confused face, Lyonel Corbray said,
"My lord, aren't we putting too many of our men on those islands? We are getting weaker on the mainland."
Jon Arryn showed a confident smile and said,
"I don't think that Druid is arrogant enough to attack our mainland with only what he has. Even if he pulled all his men, he only had 9 thousand men. Even with his spells, in our own land, do you think he poses a threat to us?"
As they were continuing their discussion without knowing Aermir was almost about to reach Pebble, they still thought he was on Littlesister. The bright side for the Vale was that they had already sent 4 thousand soldiers and 2 thousand levies as reinforcement to the island. Pebble itself had 2 thousand soldiers and 2 thousand levies, and Aermir was only able to take 5 thousand men.
...
The moon hung low in the ink-black sky as Aermir led a fleet of ships toward Pebble Island. The night was their ally, shrouding their approach in the darkness. Five thousand determined Northern warriors stood ready to descend upon the unsuspecting lords of Pebble.
Aermir, standing at the prow of his flagship, felt the cool sea breeze as the fleet silently cut through the waves. Beside him, Harlik, the Iron Colossus, towered over the deck, a massive war hammer slung across his broad shoulders and he was leaning on a giant tower shield.
As the fleet approached the shores of Pebble, Aermir unleashed his flying familiars, Poe and Erebus, to scout the land. Their keen eyes surveyed the terrain, searching for every road and path along the land and the locations of enemy forces. His deft hands moved swiftly, and he drew a map of the land in an hour.
The Northern forces disembarked silently, their footsteps muffled by the sandy shores. They reached their first target, a reinforcement of the Vale army, 2000 men strong. They were on top of the hill so they could defend the shores, but the attack was shifted and silent; they were taken by surprise and had only enough time to create their defensive line, let alone release defensive volleys.
Aermir, his eyes ablaze with the power of the elements, raised his hand and shouted. "Let the earth heed my command!"
The ground beneath the defenders' feet trembled as roots burst forth, entangling them. Aermir's spell, "Incoinfra" – dwellers below, ensnared the unsuspecting warriors, and giant thorny roots started beating their line, creating an opening.
Harlik, the Iron Colossus, stepped forward, his massive war hammer gleaming in the moonlight. With a thunderous roar, he swung the hammer, crushing the enemy soldiers mercilessly. Then he braced himself behind his giant tower shield and charged into the thick of the enemy like a stoppable force. The first clash erupted as Northern warriors surged forward, their battle cries mingling with the clash of steel.
Sir Reynard Stonegate, a skilled Vale knight and commander of this force, was unprepared for this nocturnal onslaught. He tried to rally his forces. Vale nobles were doing everything to keep their men together,
"Hold the line! We can't let them breach our defenses!"
Jory Flint orchestrates a flanking maneuver with his Knight Order.
"Press forward! Break their lines."
As the first battle raged on, the Northern forces proved relentless. Harlik, with each swing of his war hammer, carved a path through the defenders, but Aermir, with his familiar, was the most terrifying thing on the battlefield. He rained down elements to his enemies. He would turn into an eagle, dive into a spot, cast a few spells, and fly away into another spot; thanks to this, he disturbed all the Vale army's lines, creating pockets of weakness for his army to exploit.