It could be argued that House Mudd has long been preparing for its eventual return to Westeros, and there may be some truth to it, especially when taking into account the marital ties made during the past century or so…
Notable marriages to House Mudd after the conquest would be Princess Viserra's marriage to Edger Mudd 'The Spirited'. After fleeing her betrothal to Theomore Manderly, the exiled princess reportedly met and fell in love with the then young Mudd Head on one of his many infamous expeditions. It was well known that the pair would invite many women to their bed-chambers, regardless of their marital status, their most notable lover being none other than her sister Princess Saera Targaryen.
Another marriage that would raise eyebrows was that of Celia Tully who after being spurned by Prince Jaehaerys for his sister, would end up wedding Tristifer Mudd, the then heir to House Mudd, gaining House Tully both mockery and respect from the River Lords.
House Arryn, a former enemy of the Mudds would end up reconciling after the wedding of Lady Aemma Arryn to the late John Mudd, younger sister to Lord Jon Arryn and twin to Alys Arryn. Lorimas Mudd, John's brother, would wed Lady Dalia Mallister, partially bringing House Mudd into the fold much to the dismey of the Red Dragon.
Excerpt from 'A Tale of Mudd and Steel' by Maester Alyn Feld
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(Erlend Mudd, Summerswind Manor)
Everyone was dead.
Robert, Eddard, Jon, Denys, and even the Tully brothers were all killed, he was sure that even the stranger was taken aback by the number of high-profile deaths that occurred so swiftly.
Some would say this was to be expected, after all this universe cared little for one's identity, but this was still ridiculous.
Who's to blame one might ask themselves, well it would be none other than Walder 'Squib Lord' Frey, the ambitious rat having finally decided to join the war… on the crown's side.
Does this mean that the Targaryens won?
God no, good old Bobby managed to kill the delusional 'last dragon' and with him went down all hopes for the Targaryens, because no one wanted to fight for King Scab, nor his remaining mad son.
The old scab didn't fare too well either; due to a bit of miscommunication, a raven was sent to the Old Lion informing him of the rebel's victory over the crown, and canon followed in its wake.
Until the last minute, because Fate was a very naughty girl and little Jaime was too late to stop the Mad King's wildfire party, and down went an old lion with his mad lizard, as well as a significant portion of the Westerlands' able-bodied men.
Elia and Rhaenys survived, but little Aegon did not. Before his shadows could get them out, they had to cut through swathes of panicked and confused Lannister men, fleeing civilians and the princess didn't make it any easier, refusing to heed his shadows warning till it was too late and little egg became yoke.
Forcing her maternal instincts to finally kick in, so that she decided to follow the wardens to save her remaining child.
Westeros was undoubtedly screwed, with a significant portion of its noble heads dead, and with them any shred of hope for his long-term plans.
Granted, not all was lost. Standing in front of him was a potential solution to his most recent headaches.
Ser Nestor Royce, Ser Vardis Egen, and Ser Marwyn Belmore. Mostly good men, and quite influential within the Vale.
"Let me get this straight, you three on behalf of the Lords of the Vale, have decided to name me Lord Paramount, what about my cousin?" Staring at the three, Erlend looked perplexed.
"He and his mother have unfortunately passed away from the sickness, my Lord." Taking the lead, Nestor was the first to respond grimly. Looking and feeling genuinely despondent about the whole situation, at least his kin wasn't murdered.
"What of the Hardyng brat, I doubt the Waynwoods would approve of their claimant being skipped over."
This time Egen responded eagerly "A mere child of a lesser knight cannot be expected to rule, especially within these chaotic times, my Lord".
"Not to be too presumptuous My Lord, but you also have the closest blood claim to the Vale, with the late Lady Aemma's blood running through your veins" Belmore added.
It made sense he supposed, the Vale was all about honor and prestige, as for religion, ever since Erlend's grandfather married Celia Tully, House Mudd had converted to the seven for practicalities sake, though like the Royces, their faith was still heavily influenced by the Old Gods.
His father's marriage to his mother certainly helped ease any tension remaining between the two sides. Add Lorimas's wardship with the Royce's and you had a lot of people pushing for closer ties between the former enemies.
As far as the Vale's nobility were concerned, Erlend was a follower of the seven who merely had heavy sympathies to the old gods like the Royces and he saw no reason to deny that.
House Mudd's prestigious legacy and fortune, as well as a strong blood claim, there was no doubt many pushed for his ascension over that of distant cousins and a child, not wanting one of their own to gain too much influence.
Admittedly, the Vale of Arryn had never been a target, but with all his plans effectively destroyed, it was the best way to enter the seven kingdoms without facing too much backlash or outrage that could prove troublesome.
His powers were unlikely to be inherited by any children he had and they would need firm support to maintain any seats he conquered.
That train of thought was broken by Nestor's following comment "My Lord, we only await your command, the lords of the Vale have already agreed upon this decision and we would be honored if you would accept."
"Well if you put it that way, then I'm duty-bound to accept your decision, I simply can't allow the work of my maternal legacy to be destroyed." Was Erlend's shameless response, he would be damned if he didn't take the lifeline offered.
…
(Catelyn Tully, Riverrun)
"Are you sure about it?" Catelyn asked worriedly.
"Unfortunately I am my Lady, it's unlikely he'll survive the moon's turn." was the Maesters response.
Angry, afraid, and more than a little mournful, in just a few days, her house had been reduced to only 3 members, and if the Maester was correct, Sweet little Edmure would follow suit, leaving only herself and Lysa.
It seemed those treacherous Freys had been planning the betrayal of House Tully for far longer than just the Trident. Yet, what could she do about it? House Tully barely had enough men to defend their lands from bandits, raiders, and deserters, let alone go after the fortified Freys.
The only good news was that nearly all seven kingdoms were still reeling from the devastating 'Battle of the Trident', and the ruins that were King's Landing, with both loyalists and rebels scrambling to secure their territories.
House Tyrell was the only great house that had come relatively unscathed, yet they retreated to Highgarden, wary of their fellow Reachman, now that there was no higher authority to restrain them.
They were well aware that this peace was only temporary, eventually the neutral houses would decide to take advantage of the chaos. Not to mention the Ironborn wouldn't stay still for too long.
The Maester coughed, getting her attention, "My Lady, a raven just came in that might interest you."
Catelyn raised her eyebrows at that, having been too deep in her thoughts to have noticed him leaving and returning.
She eyed the parchment in his hand, before opening it. The news it carried shocked her to her core.
It seemed that Erlend Mudd had finally made his move, having been unanimously declared Lord Paramount of the Vale, with the Hardyng child named his heir till he had a child of his own.
Staring at it, she couldn't help but think on the matter, her cousin had approximately 20,000 seasoned veteran soldiers at his command, not to mention what remained of the Valemen that survived the 'Battle of the Trident', he had approximately 30,000.
Lord Mudd now had what could arguably be the strongest army within Westeros, combine that with his fleet and he was now the most powerful ruler within the seven kingdoms.
One could argue the Tyrells were more substantial, but that they lacked both the experienced commanders outside of Lord Tarly and Rowen, veteran soldiers and the support needed to rouse the northern Reach Lords, who would not heed them.
"Lord Erlend, he's currently unwed isn't he?" She asked the Maester.
"Indeed my Lady, it's said that Lord Mudd had been primarily focused on dealing with the Dothraki incursions and considered weddings to be distracting."
Staring at the parchment, she pondered the words of her house, 'Family, Duty and Honor', there was only one way House Tully would survive this mess and she couldn't show hesitation in taking it.
"Might I trouble you for a raven? Some letters need to be sent and people to be contacted."
…
(Tyrion Lannister, Casterly Rock)
Tyrion had learned from Ser Benedict Broom that his father was traveling to King's Landing with a large host. It was both exciting to think of the glory father would earn from saving his friend, earning the young dwarf odd looks from Ser Benedict.
While he was aware that it would be unlikely for him to wield a weapon or be deadly like Jaime, he couldn't help but imagine himself leading armies like Father and earning glory.
Father had made it clear that he was to remain out of sight while the lords gathered. It was disheartening, but the thoughts of a victorious Lannister army kept him distracted.
Only a sennight later did he begin to suspect that something was off, the solemn mood that took over the castle being the first sign, and Cersei's reaction to him being the second.
He had attempted to approach her and inquire about the current situation, but her response was less than friendly.
"A demon like you dares to speak to me! It should have been you, not him." Cersei shouted with fury.
Confusion and anger gathered within him, as he could not understand why she was speaking to him like that. Yes, she had never liked him before, but now he could feel the pure malice within her eyes as she stared at him.
"I… I just wanted to know about Father and Jaime." Tyrion whimpered.
"Leave you wretched creature and don't you dare speak to me again!" This time she raised her hand ready to strike at her youngest sibling.
Closing his eyes as she approached, there was nothing he could do but accept it, for Father would side with her, regardless of what he said. Yet, the blow never came. When his eyes opened again, there was an arm holding her back, it was Aunt Genna and she looked furious!
"You dare to strike a child, your brother no less!" Aunt Genna yelled furiously, for the first time Tyrion saw genuine anger in her, long gone was the kind yet maternal figure.
"This demon…"
He could only stand wide-eyed as Aunt Genna slapped his sister. Who stood there aghast, seemingly dazed by her strike.
"You… You can't do this to me, Father will..!" Cersei let out a shrill scream, only to shrink at the look on his Aunt's face.
"Do nothing, nor will he care if he was still here with us today?" Aunt Genna said coldly before gently grabbing his arms, beginning to guide him away from his tearful sister.
Cersei continued to scream threats at them both whilst she tried to stem her tears, a look of defeat that was marred by pure hatred.
"Come Tyrion, it's time to teach your duties."
"Duties?" was his confused response.
"Aye, your duties as Lord of the Rock…"
…
(Olenna Tyrell POV, Highgarden)
Oleanna still found herself trying to wrap her head around what had occurred these past few weeks, even though it had been quite a while since the damn Battle. It certainly didn't help that Highgarden was now filled with tension as if waiting for the executioner's axe to drop.
Her Oaf of a son was being his usual foppish self as if they weren't at the imminent risk of Civil War, one more dangerous to House Tyrell than the previous one.
The last time her martial house had it this bad was when the Targayens foolishly lost all their dragons in a very much preventable war.
While she marveled at the stupidity of her son, she was also grateful that Willas seemed to have inherited most of his intelligence from his mother, though some of mace's traits did show themselves when it came to his obsession with those filthy animals.
"What do you think of our current situation, Willas?" She asked her precocious grandson.
"Like a bowstring about to snap," Willas said, his mind as troubled as her own, despite his young age.
"Take a look at this." Handing a lengthy parchment filled with critical information on it. You could never be too young to learn.
Willas nodded in understanding and began reading through the parchment.
She, on the other hand, was looking towards her son who was busy talking off poor Alerie's ears about grand plans and such other rot.
'No doubt helped by the arbor gold Paxter sent.' She thought.
"Lord Erlend agreed to the Vale's proposition and has already been confirmed as Lord Paramount within the Eyrie?" Willas interrupted her thoughts.
She nodded to Willas's query, quite surprised that those peacocks would bend over and willingly take it from the Mudd King because make no mistake he was a King, just not officially anyway.
A large part of that came from the influence the Mudds had on Braavos, It wouldn't be a surprise if its first inhabitants had asked the Mudds to be their rulers at the time, yet with the ferocity that the Valyrians chased them, they couldn't afford to accept and stay in one place too long, lest they doom both their House and the settlement.
Seeing her confirmation, Willas went back to reading the rather lengthy parchment.
House Tyrell, despite its precarious situation, was the strongest it had ever been, Largely due to the Dance and 'Longthorn's' reign, having consolidated the southern territories all under their firm control.
The main issue came from Houses that lay north and west of Highgarden, thankfully the western Houses were largely preoccupied with the raids of the Ironborn to be much of a nuisance.
Unfortunately, the same could be said about the Hightowers and her Redwyne kin, who were their strongest supporters and thus couldn't directly come to their aid immediately, as that would leave their lands at risk.
The Florents themselves were at risk, thus why they have yet to do anything aside from riling up the Reach against her House.
Simply put, with the Targaryen's nearly destroyed, largely thanks to their own foolishness, whatever legitimacy they provided House Tyrell and its hold over the reach no longer mattered, something the northern lords and Florents would make sure to use when they eventually got themselves back in order.
Considering all this, even her Oaf of a son realized that besieging Storm's End was pointless, and hence why he and the rest of the troops had returned to the reach.
Most places outside of Highgarden had become far too risky for a Tyrell to traverse these days.
Even if they were to try their luck in a preemptive strike against their enemies, they'd be ill-received by almost everyone. Seven knows what Stannis would do, once he manages to reorganize the Stormlands.
The Reach houses might have the largest and best-maintained army compared to the rest of the kingdoms, but its clear division made that advantage particularly useless, and with no exact figure to rally behind, there was only so much she could do.
In such a situation, the Mudds were looking to the most politically stable entity to get close to, which was rather ironic considering their history of being exiled and chased either by assassination or eager claimants seeking legitimacy.
There were also other reasons why she considered allying with them, they had a reliable veteran army behind them, a blood claim to two Westerosi kingdoms, one which they were practically handed over, and a proven and respected Head.
It didn't help that many Maesters liked to sing their praises, seven knows she heard more than enough about them during her early days, either of the part they played in keeping the freehold dead or their impressive achievements throughout their exile.
Such a nauseating thought that those old worms could get excited over anything.
"Do you think Lord Erlend would be agreeable to a match with Aunt Jenna?" said Willas, an inquisitive look on his face.
"It's not a terrible thought to go with, I suppose an alliance between us would be for the best." Olenna pondered.
"Perhaps, it wouldn't hurt to look into it."
As Mace regaled a bored Alerie tales of his 'valor' and skill, She herself was worried and elated in equal measure. While there was some pity in her for the unfortunate souls that witnessed either Trident or the Capital's burning. It presented House Tyrell a golden opportunity to truly rise not in just the Reach, but rather the whole continent.
The key to that rise lay undoubtedly with young Erlend Mudd.
"Willas, be a dear and go call your aunt for me, it's time she contributes to the family."
…
(Stannis Baratheon, Storm's End)
The Stormlands were exhausted, they barely had any men left to raise, at least without leaving them defenseless.
The constant assaults by the Reach had cut through their numbers, while a significant portion of the men raised previously had fought and died with Robert within the trident and they had quite a dire situation on their hands.
Something that both his grandfather and father-in-law had made sure to spell out for the more rowdy Lords. One couldn't forget the marcher lords who constantly warned against the possibility of a Dornish raid on the more vulnerable lands while they were still weakened.
There was little to no motivation by most of his Lords for an offensive against the weakened dragons.
An understandable conclusion, he had little to no stake in Robert's war with them, the fact that the foolishness of both sides had led to what appeared to be the near collapse of House Targaryen, Stark, Arryn, and Tully hadn't escaped anyone's grasp.
It was just that most people had better things to do than ponder the ramifications of the most recent war.
House Arryn was likely only barely holding on from going extinct, through Lord Erlend Mudd, and his distant cousins. Maester Cressen reported that according to ravens being sent, Lord Erlend intends for his second son to take up the name Arryn and inherit the Vale. As for his firstborn, well there's a reason his forces have been amassing on the borders of the Riverlands.
The Starks were reduced to just Benjen Stark, who had wed Bethany Ryswell in the chaos after the Trident, and what little information they could gather from the north suggested that the Freys would soon face their due, something he wholeheartedly supported.
Stannis may not have gotten along with his brother, but he still loved him.
Duty and love for the family he now had forced him to forgo any plans for vengeance at the moment.
Dragon and trout faced similar situations, one was a queen of none but the Lords of the Narrow Sea, and the other was holed up with her sister and allegedly dying brother within their ancestral home.
Outside of that, he couldn't care less. The main focus was ensuring that his people would not starve and that there were enough men to harvest the fields.
Admittedly, the Stormlands had never been the richest or most fertile kingdom. There was a good reason why most Storm Kings either sought to conquer the Riverlands or the Reach.
At least they could make do with what reserves they had, though eventually a deal would have to be made once those reserves ran dry.
While some Lords suggested taking up the mantle of Storm King, Stannis chose not to. It would gain them unwanted attention, something they couldn't afford right now, as they focused on rebuilding.
He was confident that the rest of the kingdoms wouldn't target his kingdom till they consolidated and that would take time. Time he could use to prepare for the future.
He cared too much for his family to force another war, the previous one had already taken too much from them. He had a son he wanted to be there for, there was no reason for him to throw himself into a pointless death just to stroke his ego.