The Glorious Death of Lyn Corbray

WINTERFELL - A FEW DAYS AFTER JON ARRIN'S DEATH

Catelyn took the hand of her husband, Eddard 'Ned' Stark, in hers.

"Sorrowful news has arrived, my lord… I am so sorry, my love. Jon Arryn is dead."

His eyes met hers, and Catelyn saw what it cost him, as she knew it would.

"Jon…" Ned said. "Is this news safe?"

"It bore the king's seal, and the letter was written in Robert's own hand. I saved it for you. He says Lord Arryn left quickly. Even Maester Pycelle couldn't do anything, but she gave him milk of the poppy so that Jon wouldn't suffer too long."

"That was a small mercy, I suppose," he said. Catelyn could see the grief in her face, but even then his first thought was for her. "Your sister," Ned said. "And Jon's son. What news is there from them?"

"The message just said they were fine and had returned to the Eagle's Nest." she answered. "I wish they'd gone to Riverrun. The Eyrie is a high and lonely place, and it has always been Jon's place, not theirs. Lord Jon's memory will haunt every stone. I know my sister. She needs the comfort of family and friends around her."

"Your uncle waits in the Vale, does he not? I heard Jon made him Knight of the Gate."

Catelyn nodded.

"Brynden will do for her and the boy what he can. It's some comfort, even so…"

"Go find her." Ned tried to cheer her up. "Take the kids. Fill those halls with noise and shouts and laughter. That boy needs other children around him, and Lysa must not be left alone in her grief."

"I wish I could do that." Catelyn said. "The letter carried other news. The king travels with his family to Winterfell in search of him."

It took Ned a moment to realize the meaning of those words, but when he understood them, the darkness left his eyes.

"Is Robert coming over?" when she nodded, a smile spread across her face.

***

THE VALE

Before long, Artys's forces reached the city of Heart's Home and camped out of range of enemy fire, but well within their own. With the firepower of a battalion of artillery, Artys decided to divide the battalion into three, focusing on three different points on the wall, so that his troops could attack from three routes when the cannons opened the breaches.

Artys was currently sitting outside the city walls within the confines of his siege camp. He was having breakfast, which consisted of rye crackers and salted pork. He ate the same food as his soldiers and refused special treatment while in the field. As such, he was seated alongside an officer, a sergeant, and an enlisted soldier. The cannons echoed across the countryside as they continuously bombarded the walls of Heart's Home; one would think that a storm occurred if they weren't used to these advanced weapons.

It's been three days since the siege began, and Artys was confident that the walls would soon crumble after all the sections they'd bombed were already in a miserable state.

Just as Artys was about to speak to his soldiers, he heard the sound of stone collapsing in on itself and the applause of his men. Seeing that the wall had collapsed, Artys quickly donned his steel cap and helmet before marching to the front line, where his troops quickly rallied. Finally, they would manage to take over the city, since the bombardment of the inner fortress would probably take some more time. Sword in hand, Artys shouted at his strength as he ran towards the broken section of wall.

"To charge!"

The overwhelming majority of soldiers in their camp ran to the broken wall with bayonets affixed and swords in hand as they withstood incoming missile fire from the archers and crossbowmen above. Luckily for them, their vitals were covered in hardened sheet steel armor, so as long as they didn't get shot in the face, they could withstand the rain of arrows raining down on them. Artys's forces quickly arrived in front of the wall where they formed a line of fire and rained musket balls on the defenders who filled the gaps, the mighty wall of spears that the city's garrison had formed quickly collapsed under the lead bullets that pierced their armor as if it was non-existent and sent them to the afterlife.

The defensive line collapsed in a single volley and was quickly attacked by a sea of ​​bayonets and swords. Those troops at the rear of Artys's formation continued to fire at the defenders on the walls, quickly cutting down the number of archers desperately trying to fight the tide of blue and bronze that was working its way through the breaches within the city wall.

The wall was brought down under concentrated fire from Artys' artillery battalion in three sections; each region was experiencing a similar vision. Artys deflected a spear out of his way with the edge of his sword before launching himself straight into the city defender's open bascine, piercing the man's eye and thus his skull, ending his miserable existence. He was leading the attack in the middle span of the city's defenses; Slowly but surely, his troops were overwhelming the local garrison.

Ser Ben Coldwater; a knight of House Coldwater, vassal of House Royce, who had joined his army and was second only to Artys and Julius in command, was leading one of the other locations where he used his musket and bayonet to maneuver a spear that was hurled towards him. before piercing the man's mail and gambeson with the long bayonet, which was shaped perfectly to fit through the openings in the mail. As Artys, he led the forces into battle as the city's defenders began to slowly retreat. Eventually, the defensive line was broken. Rather than pursue the fleeing garrison to the fortress, Artys's forces lined up, reloaded, and fired on the city's defenders while their backs were turned, instantly firing on them without remorse.

Artys, Ben, and the Third Section Commander all shouted similar commands to their forces.

"Don't give quarters!"

As soldiers from Artys's army advanced through the city, they shot anyone remotely dressed in armor or equipped with a weapon. At the time, Artys was leading his forces through the city, where a crossbow bolt was fired from a window and struck his breastplate, where it left a slight dent. Artys immediately ordered a nearby grenadier to throw his grenade through the window; after lighting the fuse, the grenadier obeyed instructions, and within seconds the grenade went off, after which Artys led his forces into the building to completely eliminate it.

When Artys burst through the door, he witnessed a gruesome scene; the crossbowman inside the building was torn apart by the terrible explosion and shrapnel from the grenade, but what was surprising was the longsword on the ground, with a heart-shaped ruby ​​on its pommel and its smoke-gray looking blade.

Artys couldn't help but sigh as he recognized the sword, as he spoke aloud while the rest of his soldiers cleared the building.

"The Lady Forlorn Valyrian steel sword… So it was the treacherous Lyn Corbray who tried to stealthily kill me. Better for me, I have a sharper sword now."

The battle raged on, enemy archers and crossbowmen taking refuge in buildings before firing at the advancing enemy, which would result in a grenade or two being thrown into the structure, killing every living thing within. Though Artys forbade deliberately attacking civilians, he didn't stop his soldiers from clearing a room with the most effective methods available, even if it meant the death of innocents.

As such, the city was quickly taken and the city's defenders fled to the inner fortress as a last defense or were killed in the streets. Artys' casualties were extremely low due to the high degree of protection that hardened and tempered half-plate armor provided his soldiers. The cavalry suffered even less than the infantry, as they were equipped with three-quarter armor and, although dismounted, they also took part in the siege.

Soon, the city was protected, and all that remained was to tear down the fortress and the lord within it hiding behind its walls. Thus, the artillery was moved to the city and lined up in order to attack the walls of the Fortress; within a few days, Heart's Home would fall completely into Artys's hands.