New chapter! Thanks for all the support!
x
One month later, in White Harbor, inside the banquet hall of House Manderly's New Castle.
Robb and Lord Wyman sat in the main seats on the raised platform. Beside them were Sansa, Leona Woolfield, the wife of Lord Wyman's eldest son, Wylis Manderly, as well as her eldest daughter, Wynafryd Manderly, and her youngest, Wylla Manderly.
In the seats below the platform were the officials of White Harbor, along with Eddard, Crey, Gendry, and the others. Bloodwind had curled his enormous body into a coil and lay quietly in a corner of the hall.
"Lord Robb, my eldest son, Wylis Manderly, has already led three thousand soldiers from White Harbor to Winterfell in response to your summons.
In truth, I should have gone to Winterfell personally. But Lady Catelyn wrote to me specifically, asking me to remain in White Harbor. Now I see that this was also an arrangement of yours."
Looking at Robb, who still looked visibly worn down after learning what had happened to Lord Eddard, Lord Wyman tried to start a conversation to draw his attention elsewhere.
"Yes, I arranged it in advance. More than a month ago, I had already left Winterfell in secret for King's Landing. But my father..."
Robb merely nodded in response. But at the mention of his father, pain tightened in his chest again. Forcing himself to hold back his grief, he picked up the cup on the table and continued.
"I thank House Manderly for its loyalty to House Stark. In the future, the Manderlys and the Starks will rise together to the top of Westeros. A toast!"
"A toast!"
Hearing that, Lord Wyman hurriedly raised his cup and drank with Robb.
After taking a sip of wine, Wyman, as an experienced port administrator and a man highly skilled in trade, spoke with concern.
"Lord Robb, as far as I know, Winterfell has now gathered an army of around thirty thousand men.
Although each lord brought part of his own provisions, if this continues for too long, I fear Winterfell will not be able to bear that burden.
Ah, yes. House Manderly is willing to provide you with one hundred thousand sacks of wheat, fifty thousand of barley and rye, as well as two thousand fat sheep as military provisions."
"Lord Wyman, I thank you for your generosity. I understand your concern. For now, Winterfell can still manage its supplies, and we also have the wealth accumulated by House Bolton.
As for later... compared to the poor North, the wealthy South will be what truly sustains us.
In truth, I quite like the motto of Theon's family: 'We Do Not Sow.'"
Hearing Wyman's generous offer, Robb managed to force a faint smile and nodded.
"Then... when do you intend to march south?"
After hearing his answer, Wyman did not press the matter of provisions further and asked another question.
"There is no rush. There are still some matters that have not been resolved. I once heard someone say that external wounds may look serious, but what truly kills are the hidden injuries inside the body.
By the way, Lord Wyman, does White Harbor have a fleet of its own?"
"No. White Harbor's guard only needs to maintain order in the port. The great merchant ships and convoys that come here to trade, at certain times, even turn pirate themselves from time to time. We do not need to protect them."
Hearing Robb's question, Wyman shook his head and answered.
Robb nodded slowly, thought for a moment, and then said:
"I understand. Then let us have lunch. This afternoon, we will return to Winterfell."
"Lord Robb, in such a hurry? I have not even had the chance to receive you properly!"
"The lords in Winterfell have already waited too long. I need to return as soon as possible. Please send a raven to Winterfell and inform them of my return.
Ah, and I will also need to use the forges of White Harbor. My smith wants to modify a saddle for me."
...
Two days later, after receiving the raven from White Harbor, Catelyn calculated the travel time and sent riders out of Winterfell early in the morning to watch for any sign of Robb's return.
Only in the middle of the afternoon, when the scouts saw Robb's group returning, did one of them ride back to inform Winterfell.
At the entrance of the training yard, Catelyn waited with all the lords of the North, except Lord Wyman, waiting for Robb to arrive.
Unlike last time, all of House Stark's sworn lords were now present.
Thud, thud, thud!
Outside the yard, the sound of approaching hooves grew louder and louder.
The first to appear before everyone was Robb, seated atop the enormous direwolf, his expression cold and severe.
Behind him came Eddard, Crey, and the others. Sansa was inside a carriage.
"Lord Robb!"
When they saw Robb approaching mounted on the wolf, all the lords, household guards, and soldiers in the yard lowered their heads sincerely and greeted him in unison.
During that month, thanks to the exaggerated propaganda spread by the North's new intelligence network, created by Sam, Robb's story had spread everywhere.
With only a little more than a dozen Winterfell riders, he had invaded King's Landing to rescue his father, Lord Eddard, and his two sisters.
He had faced the Kingslayer and the Mountain, killed several powerful figures in the capital, and turned King's Landing upside down.
Everyone praised Robb's loyalty to his family and his outrageous courage in risking everything to save Eddard Stark, as well as his terrifying strength in facing thousands alone in the capital.
Compared to a month ago, when they had still seen him only as the Young Wolf, the lords of the North now privately called him the Hungry Wolf, like King Theon Stark of old.
And all of them were convinced that, in that rescue mission in King's Landing, he had not failed.
In their eyes, Lord Eddard had already been successfully rescued by Robb. But because of his righteousness and sense of justice, he had chosen to die in order to expose Joffrey Hill's true origin and reveal to the world the real cause of King Robert's death.
After jumping down from the special saddle strapped to Bloodwind's body, Robb looked at his mother, pressed his lips together, and prepared to say something.
But Catelyn immediately came forward, hugged him tightly, and murmured in his ear.
"Robb, you need to put these lords first. They need to feel that you value them.
As for your father... we will speak of that in private."
Hearing those words, spoken by a mother who was also suppressing her own pain just to think of her son first, Robb felt his chest tighten and nodded hard.
Seeing that her son had understood her intention, Catelyn released him, looked at him once more, clearly seeing how worn down he was, and then went toward Sansa, who had just stepped down from the carriage.
Robb took a deep breath, gathered his emotions, and walked a few steps forward.
His gaze swept over all the lords gathered in the yard, men dressed in different styles, but most of them around the same age as his father.
With a firm posture and an overwhelming presence, he spoke loudly.
"Lords of the North! First of all, I thank all of you for answering my summons.
King Robert Baratheon was murdered by the Lannisters. And my father, Eddard Stark, died loyal to him until the very end.
Because of that, the reason we are gathered here is no longer to rescue the Lord of Winterfell.
It is to overthrow the false king sitting on the Iron Throne, Joffrey Hill!"
"Overthrow the false king!"
As soon as Robb declared the new purpose of that summons aloud, Lord Rickard was the first to respond.
As if he had just remembered something important, he drew the sword from his waist, held it before his chest with the tip pointed toward Robb, knelt on one knee, and shouted.
"There is no longer a king in the Seven Kingdoms worthy of the North's loyalty!
In the name of House Karstark, I swear eternal loyalty to the Hungry Wolf, Robb Stark, the new King in the North!"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
"Loyalty to Robb Stark! Long live the King in the North!"
"Long live the King in the North!"
Seeing Rickard Karstark take the lead, the other lords, who had already been completely convinced after the capture of the Dreadfort and the chaos caused in King's Landing, drew their swords one after another, knelt on one knee, and began shouting in unison.
Around them, the guards and soldiers, swept up by the emotion of the moment, also began to roar.
Those voices spread like waves, echoing farther and farther until they spread across all of Winterfell.
Parte superior do formulário
Parte inferior do formulário
x
x
x
If you're enjoying the story so far, consider supporting me on Patreon ❤️
You'll get weekly early access to chapters, along with some exclusive content:
https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheDevotedReader