27 Narrow Sea

I smashed my heavy tankard down to the table amongst the yelling and roarings of the lords. "My lords, we filled our bellies and wetted our throats! Come the morning, we will march to White Harbour and sail to the high seas. It is time for our swords to be dyed with blood!"

Roarings and laughter invaded everyone's ears as I rose from my seat and left the lords to their own. I returned to my chambers as it was deep into the night. Berena was already asleep and I was left to my own devices as I lay to my bed.

Robb was already on his way from Flint's Finger and there were at least a hundred men escorting him. He was my heir and the times were dangerous even for a common peasant. I wasn't going to risk him just for a few men so I sent my personal guards to escort him.

However, I was going on my way even before he came to Winterfell. I wanted to stay to welcome him to his home but the war was already coming to our doorstep and I didn't want our lands to be bloodied and razed by these foreigners.

Bravoosi and Myrish were preparing their ships for the invasion so I was planning to meet them on the sea. A bloody naval battle was sure to happen and the North's eastern fleet was ready for it. I even called for Lord Elric Seastark from the western seas as he was very competent in sea battles.

However, half of his fleet was also going to sail around Westeros and put a blockade on Myr. If both cities were to fully focus on me from the start, I would be in a bad position as they both had sizable navies.

There was also some good news as to when I called for my banners, Brynden Tully brought a number of knights and Hoster sent at least 500 archers from Blackwoods to come to our aid. Even Robert sent a thousand men from Stormlands under the orders of Lord Renly Baratheon with Lord Beric Dondarrion and several other nobles as his advisor.

Robert also sent a letter offering his apologies for not being able to come with me and fight side by side. Honestly, I was expecting this as he was the king of the Seven Kingdoms. If he did attend the war, then it would have been seen as a war between the Iron Throne and Braavos/Myr. Politically, it was wrong for him to come so sending "free men" to join my war efforts was enough to support me. All of them were going to join us in White Harbour as journeying to Winterfell and then going back to the White Harbour was an unnecessary journey.

Another good thing was I was going to test the giants in this war and they were eager to prove their mettle for me. Armours made from thick steel and spiked clubs and hammers made from big chunks of steel were given to them. They were literally walking war machines and nearly a hundred of them were coming with us.

Anyway, I was in need of good sleep as it was a long journey from Winterfell to White Harbour and I needed to talk with each lord during the journey to be sure of their support in this campaign.

…

The marching of the gathered army took nearly three weeks but, in the end, we arrived at White Harbour. Lord Manderly greeted us at the gates and the men began setting up their camps.

We moved into the great hall with Lord Manderly. The other lords from Moat Cailin, Barrowtown and the South were already present in the hall and they rose to their feet when they saw me. A silence took over the great hall and some lords came to greet me.

"Lord Stark," Renly greeted me with a wide smile on his face, "We came with regards from my brother. Unfortunately, he couldn't come as the matters of kingdoms bound his hands but he sent me with a thousand of the best Stormlander warriors you could ever find."

I wore a smile on my face despite my dislike of the young man, "Your help is appreciated, my lord. It is an honour to have the gallant warriors of the Stormlands amongst us."

I hugged him like I would have Robert. It was important to establish good relations between kingdoms. Although I didn't like him due to what he did in canon, right now he was still a young man that could be moulded into the right mould.

Then came Ser Brynden Tully and Lord Yohn Royce and they offered the same promises, except Ser Brynden's promise was one of vengeance as it was his nephew who was nearly killed.

Lord Manderly came to me with a letter from Winterfell. Robb was back to his home and his wound was already healing thanks to Mistletoe's herbs. He was going to be like his old self in no time. I was happy about this news.

While I was talking with Lord Manderly, one of my spies came to me with news about our enemy. He told me that the navy of Braavos and Myr left the shores of Essos a day before our arrival to White Harbour.

The news was good because we were also going to sail the next day in the morning. With my wargs watching every move of the enemy, they were not going to escape from us. Death awaited them and with Elric's command, we were going to be victorious in the coming sea battle.

As we were drinking in the great hall, suddenly the doors opened with a bang and several drunk Stormlander nobles ran in while yelling, "There are monsters! Monsters are attacking!!"

I frowned as the hall silenced and everyone looked at the noble. He ran to Renly's side and sputtered out the words, "There are giant monsters out there, my lord!! I tell you, giant monsters!"

All of a sudden, Lord Umber's roaring laughter took over the great hall as he spoke while trying to stop laughing, "You Southrons finally saw a giant, haha!!!"

Northerners laughed while the Southerners looked at them with confused looks. Finally, Lord Renly decided to head out to look so we escorted him, lest any unwanted thing happen.

The sight of a giant setting up a giant tent greeted us. It was a sight to behold and I could see the movements of the Southerners still as they saw the giant. Southron soldiers did see them coming from afar so they were not stunned like their lords but the Southron lords were another matter as all of them were inside the castle when we came.

"The rumours were true…" Someone from the crowd of nobles muttered to himself and only then did Lord Renly and others woke from their stunning slumber.

"Lord… Lord Stark, what are these creatures?!" Lord Renly's wide eyes were a sight to see as he tried to speak. Likewise, his rather handsome squire, Loras Tyrell, was also stunned and he was still looking at the giants with his mouth agape.

"I thought the merchants had already given the news, my lord. The giants passed from the Wall and, now, they reside in Winterfell." I said with a small smile. It was really satisfying to see these Southrons gaping at the sight of these magical creatures.

"They have fuckin' armours!!!" A small noble yelled at the top of his lungs.

Lord Royce's eyes grew wide when he saw a giant with steel armour on him, "My lord, from what I see, you don't need us as they would be enough to crush the Essosi."

I shook my head and said, "Aye, they would be beasts on the battlefield but they can't get into castles or houses in a city. Their size is their obstacle."

"Lord Renly, you must show us your strength by wrestling one of their children when we return from the war!!" Lord Umber japed sinisterly as many still remembered his loss at the hand of a giant girl.

Their reaction was what I had expected but there were also some nobles who murmured about them being abominations and cursed creatures. They were on my watching list for sure and I wasn't going to trust them in any battle or war. Their surprised expressions were short-lived, but the night's topic was already decided. The war was a distant matter as the giants became the centre of attention.

By the marrow, the men were prepared and we sailed in great haste as the winds were in our favour. My men were lusting for the blood of the enemy but they needed to wait as we were five days away from them.

The giants were a problem on the sea as a hundred of them needed nearly thirty ships. Of course, they were not going to attend the sea battle as they would be a hindrance even if they wanted to help. I was planning to use them for a specific purpose and tools, specially made for them, we're prepared and loaded to the ships.

Over a hundred ships were carrying at least forty thousand men and sailing towards the foreign lands of Essos. I had more men to bring but there weren't enough ships on the eastern coasts of the North. And the giants were big creatures and they covered large parts of the ships so at least twenty thousand able-bodied men remained in the North, in case an attack from another party happened.

When we sighted the flags of Braavos and Myr at first light, on the fifth day, I realized that their numbers were more than us as they had at least three hundred ships. However, their ships were rather small as they were made for trade but ours were made for war, they were bigger and sturdier. They had heavy bronze rams and I was intending to fully utilize them. Of course, with Elric's command over the sea, we were sure to win this battle.

Elric pulled back the ships which housed the giants as they were going to wait out the battle. The remaining ships were split into three groups as we advanced upon the enemy ships. My guards formed a shield wall around me as Elric ordered the archers to rain fire arrows upon the enemy.

The longbows of the Blackwoods were a wonder from a distance. Arrows lit by fire were already burning several ships but the arrows of the enemy were falling a distance away from our ships.

However, as we moved forward in full sail, the arrows grew in number and both sides pulled their shields up and waited for boarding. Burning ships were a common sight in battles but I was never going to get used to it as I saw the men screaming and jumping to the sea to save themselves.

"Hold tight, my lord! We are closing in!" Mors Umber yelled from my side. He was insisting on being by my side as he said he made a promise to his daughter to protect me. However, I was suspicious about that as, most probably, it was going to be me who was going to protect him.

Still, I listened to him held onto the rails of the ship and pulled out my sword. A big tremor ran through the ship and I heard sounds of wood crashing to each other. I raised my head and tried to see the state of the ship but the only thing I saw was men with colourful hairs jumping to our ship.

Roars became music and clashing swords turned into lyrics as the battle began. I was far behind my men so I wasn't able to see the first clash but my men were doing what they were trained for as the men who descended into our ship were cut down one by one.

The men with colourful beards realized that they were losing so they retreated back to their ship in hopes of receiving help from other ships who were rather close to them. However, the help came rather late as we jumped on their ships as they had descended onto ours.

I swung my great Valyrian steel sword and a man was cut down with only one swing. Valyrian steel cut him like a hot knife cutting butter. I felt a wind on my side and turned my head to see Mors Umber smashing the head of a sellsword.

I saw another coming towards him and quickly moved forward to block him but a loose arrow got him on his shoulder and he staggered. Seeing this as my chance, I swiped my sword and cut his arm off.

He yelled and fell to the ground holding his arm from its root. I raised my sword and brought it down, cutting the man's skull until his neck. I felt my insides churning but suppressed it as I turned to another enemy but didn't see anyone on the ship. My men already cleaned the ship and moved towards another to board it.

I tried to wipe the sticky blood from my face but my clothes were already bloodied so there wasn't anything I could use to clean the blood.

"Come, my lord! There are men to slaughter!" Mors held me from my shoulder and yelled to my face amongst the screams of war.

I moved after him as we climbed onto another galley. However, this one was filled to the brim with proper fighters, unlike the other one. They were wearing golden arm rings and one of them had at least five golden rings on his arm.

I didn't recognize the man but his eyes were trained on me. "Stark!!!!" He raised his sword and attacked with a ferocity that would shame a bear.

I welcomed his attack rather calmly and counterattacked with a swing of my sword but he quickly avoided it by stepping aside.

"Who the fuck are you?!" I yelled to him while swinging my sword again. I didn't have time to look at his status as I was continuously attacking and defending.

I could see the fire burning in the eyes of the man as he repeatedly avoided or parried my attacks. However, he was slowly losing his ground as my attacks were getting heavier with each blow.

"Are you that shallow Stark?! Did being the lapdog of the Baratheon dog made you stupid?!" He yelled while backing off slowly and taunting me to attack more.

I did not know what game he was playing but he was slowly getting on my nerves. Only when he said "the Baratheon dog" did a memory flash in my mind. Despite his raven black hair, I recognized him from his words; Jon Connington.

However, there was something wrong as the young Aegon should have been with him and a battlefield was no place for such a young child. While I was distracted with my thoughts, Connington hit me with the hilt of his sword as I felt my brow being split open.

I snorted after touching my wound and seeing the blood on my hand. I looked at Jon Connington who was grinning from ear to ear as he attacked me again. However, there was no distraction anymore so I fully focused on bringing him down.

I parried his attack and swung my sword right after that. He tried to parry my attack but it was too heavy and the sword parted from his hand and fell to the ground. He held his hand and tried to back away but I swiped my sword and slit his throat.

He fell to his knees and gurgled as the blood spurted from his throat. He clawed with his hand but the blood did not stop. I turned my head to look around and saw another ship coming towards us but at the last moment, one of our ships rammed it from the side and Northerners boarded the ship.

Just as I was going to move to check on my men, something pushed me aside and yelled, "Father!"

I regained my balance and looked at what pushed me and saw a small child with dark blue hair and roots of white. I gaped at him as I realized who he was. He shouldn't have been here as it was not a place for a child. He was hugging the head of the corpse and crying his heart out but I didn't pity him. I kicked him on his head and he fell to the ground lying unconscious on the wooden ship.

"Mors, come here!" I yelled for Mors as he turned his head and came towards me.

"What is it, already bored of killing?!" Mors tried to mock me but I had other things on my mind and wasn't in the mood for it.

"The battle is long, Mors but it is over for you. I need you to take this child and retreat with several men to our ships." I said.

"Eh, why? Is he a noble or something?" he asked, unwillingly.

I smiled wickedly, "He is something more…"