WILOW-Ch.356: Victory Celebration
Riverrun Castle, Riverlands
POV of Domeric Bolton
Domeric sat in the main hall of Riverrun in the seat of honor beside Ser Edmure Tully, whom he had rescued from the Lannister captivity.
The Riverlanders and even his own men cheered as the servants brought in food and wine for the feast.
Words of praise for both him and his men were shouted amongst the cheers, but he could see that the Riverlanders were not as cheerful as his men.
Some of them did not seem to be enjoying themselves at all, while others looked fearfully at Varko, Raksa, and the skinchangers.
That was understandable.
They had slaughtered the Lannister men despite being only half the size of the Lannister army and had used wildfire, wyverns, giants, and skinchangers to attain the victory.
Plus, there was also the fact that the two Lannister armies had torn apart the whole of the Riverlands, and a single house from the North destroyed one of those armies and saved Ser Edmure Tully, their de facto leader.
He made the Riverlanders look like incompetent fools, and they were not happy because of that reason.
And the reason his men were so happy wasn't just because they had won a great victory. The biggest reason was that their losses were minimal.
And this minimality was not by Westeros' standards of warfare, but by Domeric standards.
In a battle fought on three fronts against a total of fifteen thousand men, only 14 men of his had lost their lives.
Frankly, even Domeric himself was surprised by this incredibly low number, despite having been the one who worked to achieve it.
One reason he chose to fight the war with his army in an old-fashioned way, rather than using magical means, was to allow his soldiers to gain battlefield experience and become war veterans.
But Domeric knew very well how laborious and time-consuming it was to train a quality soldier, especially in a medieval world where the human population was far smaller than in modern times.
Therefore, ever since the possibility of war arose, he had been working on a magic amulet that would allow his soldiers to gain experience but also prevent them from dying.
But these amulets shouldn't consume as many resources and time as magical armor.
Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to procure them for his army of thousands of soldiers. So, he worked on a magical amulet containing a shield spell with ten activation capacity.
And his efforts yielded results quite quickly and easily.
When the wearer of these magical amulets received a physical lethal attack, an invisible shield covering their body would activate, protecting the wearer and repelling the attack.
In this way, the men wearing these amulets gained an extra 10 lives, and when they faced a lethal attack, they could learn from it and continue fighting.
And the best part was that Domeric's enchanter scribes could produce 30-40 of these amulets per person daily, some even more than 50.
Moreover, these amulets could be refilled with magic for reuse, provided they remained undamaged.
Domeric had created chests containing magic circles connected to Heart Trees specifically for this purpose. And after each battle, the amulets were collected in these chests and refilled with magic.
Of course, these magical amulets weren't without any drawbacks.
They were only effective against physical attacks. They offered no protection against the Valyrian sword, Dragon's Breath, or Domeric's spells.
But the chances of his men encountering such threats were nearly nonexistent.
That's why Domeric's men were so happy, fueled by the invincibility they felt in battle and the excitement of their future "heroic" battles.
And this situation left Domeric facing two opposing factions: one that admired him and another that harbored resentment towards him.
But the soldiers' way of thinking was generally straightforward. They could hate someone one day and, depending on the situation, hold them in high esteem the next.
Someone just needed to know how to direct them.
And that was actually one of the qualities that made someone a good leader, as long as they didn't abuse it and didn't become manipulative.
Like… Dumbledore.
'Damm old dumb.' Just thinking about his manipulations angered Domeric.
-Haaahhhh
Domeric took a deep breath to calm himself. The past is the past.
There were other things he needed to focus on right now.
Firstly, he planned to give a morale-boosting speech to all the men.
A well-executed speech that united people against a common enemy usually resulted in the masses becoming more closely bonded.
After his speech, the delicacies of the Bolton lands, prepared by his army's cooks, would be brought into the hall and served to those present.
After all, people wouldn't grumble as long as their stomachs were full, and their hearts were full of hope. Right?
Especially if they are on the winning side.
Once the cheering started to die down, he got up from his chair.
His men saw this and stopped talking instantly. The Riverlanders noticed this and stopped talking as well.
The hall became silent in a few moments.
He raised his glass of wine, "The Lannister army has been defeated."
The men cheered at the announcement, and once the cheering died down, he continued, "But the war is far from over."
The atmosphere turned somber, and he continued, "Tywin Lannister still holds the trident, and the Mountain is still pillaging and razing your villages without anyone there to stop him."
The mention of Mountain and his men made some of the Riverlanders angry, while the other despaired, "But the tides of the war had turned."
The men looked hopeful, and he continued, "With this victory, we have broken one of the Lannister armies, have freed Lord Edmure, and once we gather the rest of the Riverlanders, we'll outnumber the Lannisters two to one."
The men roared and cheered at the announcement, and he continued, "The Knights of the Vale have already gathered behind the Bloody Gate and would join us against the Lannisters." The men went wild at that announcement, and even those who looked close to despair looked hopeful now.
"With their help, we'll destroy the Lannisters and pay them back for everything they've done to the Riverlands."
The cheering grew louder and louder, and Domeric thought it would be best if he finished his speech soon.
The most effective speeches were those that were short and concise.
"I have instructed my cooks to prepare for you the renowned delicacies of the Bolton lands," he said. With a gesture of his hand, the doors of the hall opened, and servants carrying Bolton regional dishes entered and began to serve the food.
"Now we share our food and satisfy our hunger together, but in the future, we will fight on the same battlefield against our common enemies." He said.
The cheering started to hurt his ears, and he shouted the last words of his speech, "Today we've won a great victory. So, feast, drink, and enjoy yourselves. For tomorrow. We go to War!!!"
The men cheered, and he drank his wine in one gulp before sitting back down on his chair.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.357: Deciding the Next Course of Action
Ch.358: All Mine!
Ch.359: Lord Stark Can Wait