Oh Brother

It took no longer than three days before the army arrived and settled down, we still had a fortnight before the invasion begun and it was my goal to make sure everyone was ready for it. I had found out last night that taking Harlaw would be a whole lot easier than before, a large chunk of the Ironborn casualties at the battle off Fair Ilse comprised of men from Harlaw as well as the only two sons of Rodrik Harlaw. This didn't mean that it would be a breeze, but it meant that my soldiers would have an easier time fighting and a higher chance of living.

The biggest problem that we faced was the islands size, it was the second largest out of all of them, only the Great Wyk was bigger. However, the Great Wyk was mostly mountains and its terrain was too harsh for a large population, a large contrast to Harlaw. Harlaw was mostly flat, causing it to be the most densely populated island in the archipelago, therefore meaning a larger pool of people to conscript from.

With its size, the number of noble Houses ruling the island was high. House Harlaw of Harlaw rules from the Ten Towers, its cadet branches were: Harridan Hill, Tower of Glimmering, Grey Garden and Harlaw Hall. Rodrik Harlaw's bannermen consisted of the Kennings, the Myres, the Stonetrees and the Volmarks of Volmark. If I was to besiege any one of these castles then they would join together in one large force and try to flank and smash us against the castle walls. I do not have the amount of men needed to besiege every fortress on the island at once. Thus, the plan is to besiege the Ten Towers and try to take it as swiftly as possible with all 18,000 men, fortunately the castle lays on the eastern coast, meaning there was no need to march across the island and that we could get supplies straight from Seagard within a few days.

My plan was to take Rodrik Harlaw and any members of his family as hostages, forcing his bannermen to surrender. I'm not sure if it'll work or not, I expect some Houses to resist, specifically the cadet branches of House Harlaw, after all one of them are set to inherit the Ten Towers after Rodrik's death. I would use the Ten Towers as a forwarding base, splitting up the army to take the surrounding castles. I had no intentions of killing the Lord of Harlaw, not if I can help it anyway, he was said to be amongst the more 'reasonable' of all Ironborn Lords and was an avid reader, someone preferring to think matters over than rush in blindly and could be of help in pacifying Harlaw efficiently and more peacefully.

The sound of something being dropped on the table next to me as well as a deep sigh brought me out of my thinking, I didn't have to look up to know who it was, after all there wasn't any people who would act so nonchalantly around me.

"What's got you in such a foul mood?" I ask sarcastically, looking straight up at Monty. The boy in question just shook his head at me, almost disappointingly, "I don't know how you manage all this paperwork." He groans out.

I laugh at him, "I just do, no doubt I'll be dealing with even more when I become Lord of Casterly Rock. I'm surprised you haven't adjusted yet, its been years since you became my page." I didn't delegate all my paperwork to him, I wasn't that lazy, most of what he dealt with was the minor stuff that I didn't really need to worry about too much, just verifications and finances mostly.

Monty had grown well over thee last three years. His height was above average for his age, he most likely will be as tall as his father when an adult. He kept his black hair short, he didn't like having it long because it would sometimes get in his eyes when he would use a bow. His temperament had changed the most though, he wasn't the shy and asocial child anymore, instead he was a lot more confident and outspoken, a whole other person to his previous self.

Monty just shakes his head and takes a seat next to me, looking out onto the filed in front. "They seem to be getting quicker each day." He tells me, I nod in agreement.

The sight of the field in front of us no doubt causes some kind of confusion to the other armies outside Seagard. Large groups of people were spread out, working on their own projects. Some were digging trenches in the ground, others were laying down and building wooden fortifications and a few were assembling siege engines. These were sappers, men I had recruited into the Lannister army to help build fortifications, mine and build siege equipment. Most came from a background of carpentry, mining or other artisan professions, and they would prove essential in taking the Ten Towers in a short time span.

They were recently recruited and thus, were not fully trained in building defences, something that I wish to rectify in the fortnight that we have left. They were not proper soldiers and they had the minimal equipment, only enough to distinguish themselves as a Lannister soldier. I do not expect them to fight alongside my soldiers as they are too important to be placed in such a dangerous position but they will have to if it comes down to it.

They were currently training, assembling then disassembling, trying to beat their record each time. I promised rewards as an incentive to work harder and improve themselves.

"Before I forget, Alysanne has sent word." Monty announced, handing me a letter, too big to be delivered by raven, must've been a rider. I break open the seal, one which had Alysanne's personal sigil on, a weighing scale with a longsword down the middle, meaning that it wasn't confidential information, if it was then the seal would have been blank and the letter written in a code.

𝘊𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘞𝘪𝘴𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘔𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘭𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘎𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘞𝘦'𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥, 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘈𝘭𝘴𝘰, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘷𝘰𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰. 𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘖𝘳𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥.

-𝘈𝘭𝘺𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦

"What does it say?" Monty asks. I look up at him, "The Alchemists guild is moving to Lannisport and we've located the Brave Companions." I answer, "She also wishes that we come back safe and sound." Monty gets a dusting of red on his cheeks as I say that, I smirk at him and Orton behind me chuckles lightly.

In the last three years, I have been recruiting intellectuals and highly educated people. Healers, scholars, master craftsmen and a whole variety of skilled people. I did this because I can't advance the West by myself, I lack key knowledge and skill in a lot of subjects, I was like a jack of all trades, master of none.

The Alchemists Guild is probably the second largest gathering of intellectuals, after the Citadel that is, by recruiting them I had access to not only those knowledgeable of science but also magic, pyromancy. It wasn't hard to negotiate with them, as long as I could provide them with their own guildhall and grant them a large budget, then they would drop everything they were doing in King's Landing and move to Lannisport.

The reason why I wanted to find out where the Brave Companions were, is because of one, disgraced and former Maester, Qyburn. There is no doubt that he is one of the greatest scientific minds in Westeros at the moment, having him as an asset would be extremely beneficial. Furthermore, whilst his experiments in necromancy are disturbing, they could provide some advantages, for example: cures to maladies, new forms of medicine or just a better overall study of magic.

"Cerion." I turn around to look at Orton, who jerks his head to the left, I look to where he indicated and spotted Jaime walking his way over. Jaime walked over to our tent and had taken a seat, we haven't had the chance to speak to each other, he was busy with Kingsguard duties and I with my duties as commander of the army. I look at both Monty and Orton, who both get my message and leave the tow of us, though Orton didn't stray very far.

"You're all grown up." Jaime told me, "Starting to look like me." My face turns sour at that, "Don't say that, that means I look like Cersei." He chuckles for a bit before sobering up.

"Why are you here, Cerion?" Jaime asks me, looking at me seriously. "I'm just watching my men train."

"No, no, you know what I mean. Why are you here?" He asks again. "Father gave me the command of the army, hoping it'll toughen me up, prepare me for my role as heir and future Lord of Casterly Rock."

"He's wrong. A battle field is no place for someone your age." Jaime countered. "I thought you said I was all grown up." I say, throwing his words back in his face. "You've just reached your age of majority." He tells me.

"And?" I ask, "You were younger than me when you fought the Kingswood Brotherhood. You were six and ten when you were knighted and raised to Kingsguard, albeit you were a hostage, you were the same age as me now. You were a year older than I am now during the Sack of King's Landing. You are in no position to lecture me on where I should or should not be."

I stare at him in the eyes, "You don't understand Jaime. I need this, I need to prove myself, prove my capability, not only in front of father, but every single enemy of House Lannister. Father is getting old, people question if House Lannister is fading. You're a Kingsguard, sworn to life, Cersei's queen, Tyrion's a dwarf, no matter how hard he will try, he will always be questioned by our vassals. I must do this, a show of strength, opportunities like this are rare and I will try my hardest to make the most out of this war, for both myself and House Lannister."

"I understand." Jaime replies, standing up from his chair, "Just make sure that you are safe and well protected, I don't want to see you die in this war."

"I'm fine." I tell him, "Besides, if anyone gets too close then I'll have Orton split him in half." Jaime smirks slightly before walking away.