Robert Baratheon had only been back in Storm End a month before he received the bad news that Lords Fell, Grandison and Cafferen had refused his call to arms and instead joined the Targaryens. "THEY DARE BETRAY ME!!! THEIR LIEGE LORD!!!" He boomed out before he slammed his hand down on the table breaking through it. He had expected some to betray him such as Connington, that poof was always licking the Dragon Prince's arse.
"How many men do we have at the ready!" He asked his steward.
"15,000 my lord, we have 10,000 more that have yet to arrive," he replied.
Robert growled, the traitorous houses along the Dornish marshes had refused to send troops. They believed that as soon as they did then the Dornish would make their way through the pass and attack. He would make them pay for their disobedience when this war was other. "Make them ready! We move to intercept them before they can join the Targaryen forces!" He commanded.
The traitorous houses would undoubtedly be making their way to Summerhall where Gerold Hightower and Oswell Whent marshalled their forces. It would push their troops up to 60,000 and would make victory impossible; even now the chances of victory were slim, but if he could kill those lords and incorporate their men into his army. 35,000 men against 50,000 were much better odds.
People were afraid about confronting the two Kingsguards, but he was not. He would smash their heads open with his hammer; his blood pounded with excitement at showing his power against the Kingsguard, the supposed beat in the realm. "I will kill them and then Rhaegar!" He growled to himself.
He would even fight against the King, the man wasn't what he used to be and wouldn't be able to beat Robert, at least that's what the Stag Lord believed.
"Robert."
Robert turned to see his younger brother Stannis walk into their father's solar —though he supposed it was his solar now. "Stannis," Robert replied forcing down his distaste, he had never much liked his brothers, especially in moments like these. He didn't even need to read his brother's mind to know what he was going to say. "You must stop this madness, Robert, fighting 60,000 men with only 15,000, you will accomplish nothing but your death," Stannis said sternly, his stance was stiff and he ground his teeth together while looking at his elder brother.
Robert waved him off "I have no plans to attack 60,000 men, I will intercept the traitorous lords long before then." He said dismissively.
"If you do intercept them what's to stop the Targaryen forces from reinforcing them!" Stannis said loudly his composure slightly breaking.
"We should stay in Storms End, the walls have never been breached," he advised.
The castle seemed to rumble as Roberts's fist connected with the wall. "I WILL NOT HIDE FROM THE SUPPORTERS OF THE DRAGONSPAWN!!!" He boomed out loud enough to overtake the storm outside. His eyes glowed blue and the whole room seemed to smell of rain, the necklace Stannis wore seemed to spark and float.
"Enough Robert!" He shouted and luckily his elder brother seemed to listen. Stannis breathed out a sigh of relief "I will go and make sure the army is properly provisioned," Stannis said before leaving the room.
Stannis believed that people often overlooked Robert when it came to his ability as an aura user. They probably thought he was strong, but not great, that was a mistake. Robert was a talented man when it came to martial skills and he was absolutely single-minded when he pursued them; Stannis still remembers when Robert stood atop the tower of Storms End daring the gods to strike him and strike they did, he worried for his brother when he was hit with the wrath of the gods.
However, he did not break but instead was reforged into something stronger. Now Robert commands lightning a power none in the Seven Kingdoms possess, he'd not seen King Aerys fight before, but he had seen Robert use his full power and it was terrifying, to say the least.
Robert did not have the natural talent that Stannis had seen others born with, but he had an inhuman will to improve and worked himself raw to get better. He had a lifetime full of scars inflicted from his training and now he was going to war. Stannis shuddered for their enemies.
...
Robert rode out at the head of his column, he was marching his army quickly; they didn't have time to rest they needed to catch those traitors before they reached Summerhall. Riding next to him was Stannis, as his brother and another strong aura user he could ill afford to leave him behind. The levies behind had trouble keeping up such a rigorous pace, but the Stormlanders were a hardy and strong people, almost as much as the Northerners. They all believed in their lord and would crush the flower boys of the reach.
"My Lord!" A scout shouted from atop a horse as it rode to the front of the column.
Robert looked at the scout he had sent ahead "Speak lad!" He said loudly making the poor man jump.
"Lord Fell knows he can't escape you, he has taken up a fortified position and has sent a request for reinforcements to both Ser Hightower and Griffins Roost," he reported.
Robert growled but dismissed the scout with a hand gesture "Will we be able to fight them before the reinforcements come?" He asked his brother.
"No, it's likely they'll smash into us from behind, Griffins Roost still keeps a large garrison," Stannis replied.
"SEVEN HELLS!!!" Robert shouted as he jumped off his horse with a hammer in hand.
"Make camp, tell the men to get rested," Stannis instructed the other lords. Robert would be useless for at least a few hours as he ravaged the forest with that hammer of his.
"RAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"
Roberts's voice boomed out as he snapped a tree in half with a swing of his hammer.
...
"There is little we can do my Lord, if we move in then the forces of Griffin's roost could attack from behind, not to mention Lord Fell being reinforced by Gerold Hightower," Lord Dondarrion said, trying to reason with his liege lord.
"If I had asked your opinion Lord Dondarrion you would've seen my mouth move!" Robert growled out as he drank from a pitcher of wine in the current command tent.
"He's right Robert, we are outnumbered and have been outmanoeuvred, we need to retreat back to Storms End or perhaps we can push through the Kingswood to go and meet up with the Starks and Arryns," Stannis bluntly.
The clay pitcher in Roberts's hands shattered as he considered the idea of retreating. Him! Retreating! To a man such as Lord Fell, he was a craven, constantly scheming to get more power for himself but never directly confronting anyone. He would crush the man's skull with his bare hands. "Stannis, you will take 2,500 men and guard the rear from Griffins roost," Robert commanded.
Stannis breathed out "We will be routed if the Targaryen forces arrive, this is a foolish risk brother!" He said standing up, his chair hitting the ground as he did.
Robert was slightly unsettled at Stannis' use of the word 'brother' but he let it go. "Perhaps we should attack Griffins Roost, sack the castle and fortify ourselves on the hill it rests on," Lord Selmy suggested.
Stannis felt his head start to throb "Lord Selmy the simple matter of fact is we have lost the battle before it's even started, it would take a miracle for us to regain our advantage," he said through gritted teeth.
"My Lords, we have someone approaching the camp," a guard said as he entered the tent.
"What are his colours?!" Robert booked out.
"Plain your grace... but he does have silver hair," he said in a low tone.
Roberts's eyes sparked blue as his aura leaked out of his body, he stood up and picked up his hammer. "Robert wait! It could be-"
With a swift backhand, Stannis was sent tumbling to the ground and Robert rushed out of his tent. "SHOW ME WHERE BOY!" He shouted at the guard who looked as if he'd piss himself in front of the giant before him. He weakly pointed in the direction and was blown away as Robert ran like a charging bull; he set the entire camp in a panic with his movements and his malicious aura leaking out.
When he reached the edge of his camp he saw him, to his disappointment it wasn't Rhaegar. However, this didn't cool his blood, as Daemon Silver stood in the field before him. He still remembered what the man had tried to do, to steal his betrothed and kill him in the process. "RAAAAAAHHH!!!!" Robert yelled as his aura exploded into sparks of lightning and he rushed towards Daemon who had hopped off his horse and sent it running away. Daemon calmly drew his sword out and released his aura.
*BOOM*
The earth beneath them cracked as Daemon blocked the blow from Roberts's Warhammer. "I was honestly hoping for a warmer reception," he said pushing Robert back and creating a gap between them.
"THE ONLY RECEPTION I'LL BRING YOU IS DEATH!" He replied as he rushed forward slamming down his Warhammer again, Daemon avoided it but was blown back by the force of it. He flipped midair before slashing the air and sending a wave of aura at Robert who punched the air with such force it dissipated it.
By the time Daemon landed on the ground, Robert was there with his Hammer swinging, aiming at his ribs. Daemon grabbed the top of it and flipped over it before spinning around and hitting Roberts's face with the flat part of his blade. Despite it not being a lethal hit Robert felt like he'd been kicked by a horse.
Robert roared before he flared his aura and went on a rampage swinging his hammer. Any one of those hits would be enough to injure Daemon, but with his 'Aura Tether' connected to him he could read his movements as easily as breathing. "You have no reason to hate me, why attack me like this?" Daemon asked as he deflected the Warhammer into the ground before backhanding Robert forcing him back.
"You tried to steal my betrothed! And murder me in the process!!!" He boomed out, he then caught Daemon off guard when his speed increased dramatically and he slammed the shaft of his Warhammer into Daemon's stomach sending him tumbling over the ground; Robert followed him sending him even further with a powerful kick.
Daemon smashed into a boulder with enough force to shatter it, he cursed before rolling away to avoid a jumping Robert who slammed his Warhammer down again destroying a large section of the earth. "Who told you I was going to do that!" Daemon shouted as he lifted his shirt, his ribs were heavily bruised and it pissed him off.
Daemon charged at Robert who had just removed his Warhammer from the ground. He slid under a wild swing and slid behind Robert where he kicked behind his knees, when he buckled he jumped up and smashed the hilt of his blade right into the centre of his torso forcing the wind out of him. Robert slammed his fist into the ground rupturing the earth, he used the distraction to thrust the head of his Warhammer into Daemon's stomach, but Daemon avoided it before grabbing the shaft and pulling on it. Robert was brought up from the ground as a result of this where Daemon sent a vicious combination of punches to his stomach before slicing up with his sword and hitting underneath his chin with the flat of his blade once more almost making him flip.
"Who told you!" Daemon shouted at Robert who growled on the ground as he spat out a mouthful of blood. His eyes began to spark, he was done playing around and he was going to activate his ability.
"Rhaeger told me!" He spat back.
Daemon laughed at him "Rhaegar told you and you believed him?! The man who kidnapped Lyanna! You believed him! You are a fool!" He shouted.
This comment stopped Robert in his tracks, and all of a sudden the ability Rhaegar had used on him seemed to shatter as he made sense of the situation. "I don't know... why I believed him," Robert said in an uncharacteristically morose tone.
Daemon sighed in relief before sheathing his sword and reaching down to help Robert up. "His ability can affect the mind, he used it on me for years, it is not your fault."
Robert felt his head throbbing in pain as the ability was shattered. "That damned dragon spawn! I'm going to kill him!" He growled, taking Lyanna was unforgivable, but playing with his mind, it enraged Robert more than he could express.
'Let my rage never cease or my aura will deplete... I Vow.'
Roberts's anger made him make a foolish decision, he made a vow that linked his aura to his anger. The angrier he got, the more his aura would grow, but inversely if he was calm his aura would be a lot weaker.
Daemon who was unaware of this tried to urge Robert back to the camp. "Come, Robert, we have a lot we need to speak of," he stated.
"Yes... of course."
...
Daemon stood in front of the Lords of the Stormlands, while many knew who he was, they did not know the whole truth. He could easily lie to them, but some trust could go a long way. "I've come here to ally with the rebels," Daemon stated.
Murmurs echoed out through the tent, they weren't surprised by this as Daemon had been labelled a traitor, if the Rebels won then he would likely have his lands of Duskendale restored. "What do you have to offer?" Stannis asked bluntly.
"13,000 men with a dozen elephants," Daemon replied with a stoic expression.
"What!"
"That's impossible!"
"QUIET!" Robert boomed out before gesturing for Daemon to continue.
"I have the full support of the Golden Company, they are currently resting in the Kingswood, I left them there so the enemy would remain unaware," he explained.
Stannis looked suspicious "Forgive me Lord Silver, but what possible reason would the Golden Company support you?" He asked.
Daemon breathed out before drawing his sword. "My birth name is Daemon Blackfyre, I am the last male heir of House Blackfyre," he said in a loud clear voice.
Shouts echoed from the tent as Lords stood up, some even reached for their weapons, but Daemon sheathed his sword again and held his hand up. "I am not here for the Throne, I do not care about it," he said trying to reassure them.
"Then what are you here for?" Stannis asked.
"Revenge..." Daemon said coldly.
(AN: So next chapter is the battle of Summerhall, Robert and Daemon fighting against Gerold and Oswell, you'll soon realise why he's Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. While he isn't as strong as people like Arthur, he is old and experienced. He will no doubt give Daemon a good fight. Anyway I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
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