The street fighting and the devastating explosion in the military camp had cost House Tyrell twenty thousand men, yet Mace Tyrell still believed he held the upper hand.
On paper, King's Landing still had fifty thousand soldiers, while Roman's regular troops barely numbered twenty thousand. Mace was convinced they could crush Harrenhal immediately.
Roman's forces were now poised near Rosby, where Myrcella and Tommen were hidden. Duke Mace saw the perfect opportunity: he could avenge Garlan, protect the royal children, and prove his military leadership all at once.
Lord Inflated Fish summoned his generals to King's Landing to plan the attack on Roman.
Most of the generals shared Mace's confidence, believing a single dragon lord was nothing to fear. Only Lord Randyll Tarly voiced doubts.
"Roman's troops have never been easy opponents," Tarly said, pointing at the map. "In the Riverlands they shattered Tywin's much larger army. They routed the Crownlands coalition and recently slaughtered ten thousand Westermen on the Goldroad. I do not believe attacking him now is wise."
He gestured to the northern Crownlands, now firmly under Roman's control.
"Roman has governed this region for nearly a year. We know almost nothing about it except that the smallfolk love House Whent and love Roman. If we march in blindly, I fear we will suffer a heavy blow."
Lord Tarly's words fell like cold water on the room. The generals fell silent, afraid to speak.
As expected, Mace flew into a rage. He had always been sensitive about his military reputation and deeply resented anyone who questioned his command—especially Randyll Tarly.
During Robert's Rebellion, Tarly had inflicted the only defeat Robert Baratheon ever suffered. More recently, after Renly's assassination, Tarly had single-handedly stabilized the army at Bitterbridge.
Seeing this capable general contradict him, Mace's face flushed red and his neck thickened with anger.
"Very well!" he shouted. "Do you think you understand the strength of the Reach better than I do? Has one dragon frightened the great Lord Tarly? We will lead the main army straight in and reclaim the Crownlands. What can that boy from Harrenhal possibly do?"
Tarly replied bluntly, "Then I fear we may witness a second Field of Fire, Lord Mace. Roman is clever and cunning, but do not forget—he is a dragon. Even Lord Tywin only dared hide from him. If you underestimate him so carelessly, you may follow in the footsteps of House Gardener."
Tarly's famous bluntness spared no one. Mace's face turned even redder, his chest heaving.
He was furious, yet Tarly's warning had struck home. Roman's power could not be ignored.
Seeing Mace momentarily speechless, the other generals quickly began flattering him. Lord Inflated Fish was easily provoked, but equally easy to soothe with praise. Soon enough, he was smiling again.
Lord Tarly ignored the flattery and continued studying the map, his wariness of Roman growing. In his eyes, Roman was a patient and extremely cunning hunter. Though he possessed world-shaking power, he rarely flaunted it. Most people first saw only his good governance and benevolence.
Yet in every battle Roman joined, his enemies suffered catastrophic losses.
Roman excelled at developing his territory, which allowed his smaller army to fight with terrifying effectiveness. Opponents often found themselves pinned down by Harrenhal's disciplined troops while trying to guard against Roman's sudden strikes from above.
When Roman did strike, he targeted siege engines, commanders, or formations, causing entire armies to collapse.
Tarly had never believed Roman's smaller numbers made him weak. In every major battle he had studied, Harrenhal had faced superior forces—and Roman had won.
One victory against greater numbers could be luck. Many victories could not.
His final proposal to Mace was cautious: send cavalry to probe Roman's territory first, observe his reaction, and then adjust strategy accordingly.
Under the combined flattery and persuasion of his generals, Lord Inflated Fish reluctantly agreed to the test.
In the days that followed, large numbers of Reach scouts rode into Roman's lands.
The southern cavalry set out in high spirits. They had never faced dragonflame and had never seen Roman fly overhead. They assumed evading a dragon would be simple.
At first they advanced quickly, but they soon realized something was wrong.
The population density here was astonishing, rivaling even the Reach. The local militia's vigilance was exceptional. Almost as soon as scouts entered a village, Harrenhal cavalry would appear and drive them off.
After several attempts, the Reach scouts not only failed to gather useful intelligence—they lost over a hundred men. In one case, an entire scouting party was surrounded and wiped out by local militia.
Lord Tarly immediately grew alert. This was no ordinary noble's territory.
"Every village and town seems to have its own militia. Patrols are frequent, and they always seem to detect our scouts before we expect… Could it be because Roman has those talking ravens?"
Before he could formulate a countermeasure, an attendant burst into the tent in panic.
"My lord! The Harrenhal cavalry have raided our forward camps! All the strongholds have been wiped out!"
"What?!"
Outside Rosby
Roman patrolled high in the air, calmly observing the battlefield below.
His control over magic had grown far more refined. He could now compress his power into small, spinning magic missiles—perfect for precise strikes at close range without risking friendly forces. The technique proved especially useful against scouts.
Several overconfident Reach cavalrymen had already lost their horses' heads to these missiles and been taken prisoner.
From their confessions, Roman quickly mapped out Lord Tarly's deployments. Ser Barristan then led a mobile cavalry strike that cleared every forward Reach stronghold in a single night.
"House Rose," Roman murmured, watching the smoke rise, "you knew I was a dragon, yet you still chose to marry into the lions. I wonder whether you are truly clever or simply foolish."
"It is time to make you feel some pain."
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