King Stannis Baratheon's first move was to magically assassinate the defiant garrison commander of Storm's End. The brutal act drew King Renly Baratheon back to the ancestral fortress in a desperate attempt to secure his supply lines.
When Renly arrived with fifteen thousand elite Reach cavalry after a grueling forced march, Stannis was already waiting. The two brothers exchanged bitter insults under a peace banner, each demanding the other submit to his claim. They parted on the worst possible terms.
A few tense nights later, after a secret rendezvous with Ser Loras Tyrell, Renly sat alone in his ornate command tent, drinking fine wine. Only Brienne of Tarth stood guard outside.
The southern knights mockingly called her "Brienne the Beauty," but it was never a compliment. She was unusually tall, broad-shouldered, and heavily muscled, with a flat chest. Her face was round and rough, covered in freckles. Her nose had been broken many times, her teeth were uneven, her mouth too wide, her lips thick, and her hair a dull straw-yellow.
Apart from Renly — who had no interest in women anyway — the superficial lords of the Reach rarely noticed her martial skill or pure honor. Brienne had been ridiculed since childhood and craved genuine respect. When Renly had treated her with true knightly courtesy during a melee, she fell deeply in love, even knowing the feeling could never be returned.
That night, she lost her king forever.
A terrifying shadow assassin stabbed Renly through the chest right in front of her. Brienne's agonized screams brought the Rainbow Guard running. In the chaos, they assumed the unnatural-looking Brienne had murdered Renly and drew their swords to execute her on the spot.
Brienne knocked the guards unconscious with her armored gauntlets, then collapsed over Renly's body in tears. But the commotion outside snapped her out of her grief. She knew she had to fight her way out if she wanted any chance to avenge him.
With grief and hatred burning in her heart, Brienne carved a path out of the camp and escaped into the night.
The Crownlands – Rosby
Roman had led his Vanguard troops to the coastal port town of Rosby. Capturing it would give House Whent direct control over naval trade on the Narrow Sea.
Fili came running, breathless, clutching a decoded raven scroll.
"Lord Roman! Lord Renly Baratheon has been found dead in his own camp! The Tyrell alliance has collapsed in chaos, and the entire South is descending into madness!"
Roman patted her blonde head gently to calm her. "Don't worry, Fili. I already knew this would happen. It's nothing serious."
"But my lord!" she protested. "Doesn't this mean Stannis is guaranteed to take the Iron Throne? What if he turns on us after he seizes King's Landing?"
Roman looked at her flustered face and sighed fondly at her political naivety.
His industrialized military strength was now comparable to any Lord Paramount. Any victorious king who hoped to rule wisely would prefer to cooperate with House Whent rather than make an enemy of a dragon.
"Don't worry," he said. "I have a plan. First we take Rosby. Then we'll decide our next moves. Go prepare the supplies for the siege."
Reassured by his calm confidence, Fili nodded firmly and left to handle the logistics.
At the ancient stone gates of Rosby, Harrenhal's armored troops had already begun battering the reinforced doors with siege rams.
Roman's terms were simple: open the gates, surrender all land and noble wealth to the state, and the Rosby family would be allowed to live comfortably in Harrenhal manors and participate in House Whent's trade network.
Lord Rosby, however, proved surprisingly defiant that day.
"Get out of here, you Harrenhal dragon!" he screamed from the battlements. "We will never surrender to traitors! House Rosby will fight to the end until His Majesty Joffrey sends troops to save us!"
Roman was mildly impressed by the minor lord's foolish courage. Not many would dare stand against both him and the Vanguard army.
He wasted no more words. Two hyper-concentrated magic missiles slammed into the towers flanking the iron gate, trapping the terrified Lord Rosby on the isolated wall.
Roman then scaled the sheer stone face in a blur, grabbed the screaming lord by his expensive steel armor with draconic claws, and lifted him high into the air above the deadly drop.
After a few seconds of wild flailing, Lord Rosby's bravado vanished. His teeth chattered in terror as his wife and children wept below, begging for his life. They finally agreed to unconditional surrender.
Because the family had refused the generous initial offer, they would now be treated as political prisoners of House Whent. Their future would depend entirely on their own merit.
With Rosby captured, Roman finally possessed a strategic outlet to the Narrow Sea. It offered both economic opportunity and a vulnerable point for potential amphibious attacks.
Vanguard officials immediately began managing military supplies, conducting a civilian census, and legally confiscating the lands of lower knights and local nobles.
Once the bureaucratic work was underway, Fili delivered fresh intelligence.
"Kevan Lannister has secretly sent an envoy to contact the Tyrells in the Reach?" Roman muttered, reading the scroll. "The Lannisters are moving fast. Even without Littlefinger, the golden lions still have some teeth."
There was no doubt the Lannisters were arranging a marriage between Joffrey and a Tyrell daughter to counter Stannis.
In the following days, Fili's ravens tried to follow the Lannister messengers, but the paranoid Tyrells kept their high-level meetings tightly guarded. The intelligence blackout frustrated Fili, who prided herself on flawless results.
Roman comforted her gently. "Olenna Tyrell is called the Queen of Thorns for a reason. She won't lower her guard against my famous spymaster. If you can't hear the lords, listen to what the servants are whispering instead."
The idea sparked in Fili's eyes. She immediately intensified surveillance on the Reach's lower classes. Days later she returned with valuable information.
"My lord!" she reported proudly. "There is solid evidence the Reach and Lannisters plan to marry Margaery Tyrell to King Joffrey to oppose Stannis. In return, the Tyrells will gain many seats on the Small Council and share in all trade between King's Landing and the Westerlands."
The information matched Roman's knowledge of the canon timeline. Still, he stroked Fili's hair with genuine pride.
"You didn't disappoint me. Thank you, Fili. This is extremely important. Tell me what reward you want."
Fili blushed and stared at him with a silly, lovestruck grin, already lost in romantic fantasies.
It seems the outcome of the Battle of the Blackwater will play out exactly as I predicted, Roman thought with satisfaction. No need to interfere further. Let them exhaust each other.
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