(Erlend Mudd, Harrenhal)
The siege of Harrenhal had been over for nearly a week, instead of immediately going on the move, he had the Banners recuperate and secure supply lines, lest they be stretched too thin.
While the Riverlands harvest could feed the Banners, it could prove a hindrance to his plans should the population turn hostile if his men stole from them as was the norm for invading lords. With it making up the primary area of his future domains, that would be quite foolish.
Aside from securing the territories under his control, the supplemented men that had joined up from the Riverlands were put to purging bandits and deserters, earning House Mudd a lot of goodwill from the smallfolk. As well as ensuring that the Banners didn't face shortages due to supplies or equipment being stolen in the night.
Those that weren't doing so, had been sent to aid the 6th banner in their campaign within the Crownlands.
House Whent could muster approximately 7,000, nearly half came from their vassals, hence when his Banners had methodically besieged and captured each of those vassals, it ended up limiting their number to 4,000 that came from lands directly under their control.
This was the same for nearly all the major houses in the Riverlands which could raise about 4,000 to 5,000 men, when including their minor vassals.
For all the jokes that tended to be made at the river lords' expense, they had a ridiculous amount of men they could raise levies from.
Despite joining the side of the rebels, the Tullies could only muster 10,000 - 15,000 men out of about 45,000, since most of their major vassals either remained neutral or joined the loyalists. With only the minor houses and House Mallister heeding their call.
The irony that House Tully could only personally muster around a third of what it had during the rebellion on its own when not counting on its vassals wasn't lost on him. There was a reason it was one of the weakest Great Houses, despite being on the wealthier end.
Even the Greyjoys were better off on a strength basis.
Ravens had already arrived in regards to the Crownlands campaign. Strong was making good progress, having successfully besieged Rook's Rest and now heading towards Duskendale where he would be joined by Valemen under old Horton.
As he continued to look through potential strategies that could be used going forward, a faint noise could be heard coming from outside the solar.
Curious about what was going on, he decided to get up and check out the issue.
The sight he walked into was that of Yohn and Uncle Lorimas arguing about something, choosing not to interrupt them and motioning for the guards to remain silent, Erlend listened on in curiosity.
"Damn it Lorimas, You can't just go making such a decision without consulting anyone" He could practically feel the exasperation in Yohn's voice.
"It wasn't sudden old man, I can assure you that I've been thinking about it for a while." was his Uncle's response.
"I've seen you making decisions Lorimas, it doesn't exactly take all that long." Yohn looked disbelievingly at his friend.
Deciding to interrupt them, Erlend made his presence known "I see you're up to your usual shenanigans Uncle."
Whatever they were going to say was lost as both men swiveled towards him in surprise.
"Hey… Lenny, how much did you overhear exactly?" There was a tinge of nervousness in his Uncle's tone.
"Enough to know that it would either piss off Aunt Dalia or amuse her"
"Ahem, maybe we should relax a little bit, there's no need to bring your Aunt into this."
Raising his eyebrow at that, Erlend turned his eyes towards Yohn, clearly looking for a proper answer.
Sending an apologetic look towards his friend, Bronze Yohn chose to be honest with his answer. "Your Uncle has chosen to adopt Mya Stone, natural-born daughter of Robert."
Silence, absolute silence was all that could be felt throughout the corridor, so much so that not even the crickets dared break it.
It would be Raymond's response that described Erlends thoughts near perfectly "Bloody hell, my Lord, I hope you've prepared good plating, you'll need it when Lady Dalia hears of this."
…
Little Mya was a sweet little girl, her mother had unfortunately recently passed away from the same sickness that took Cousin Deny's wife and son and Nestor had decided to take her in as his ward out of respect for the late Baratheon.
Lorimas being the sentimental fool he was, decided to adopt her, after having met her during their time in the Eyrie. Nestor had been unable to convince him otherwise and had decided to inform his cousin Yohn, a good friend of his uncle, to do so.
Frankly, he had no problems with this, the issue lay on whether his aunt would be pleased about it or not.
While he knew his Aunt cared little about which side of the sheets one was born on, she was also someone who tended to think long and hard about any decision. Suddenly adopting Mya would give her a lot of trouble to deal with, due to the political ramifications it would mean for him and indirectly Erlend.
Still, it was already too little too late, word had quickly spread about his Uncle's decision, and a few of the more traditional Lords made their displeasure known, though they were quick to go silent. Their reactions had been mitigated by the fact that she was Robert's bastard, and that smoothed a lot of feathers due to the not-so-insignificant amount of friends he had made over the years.
There would be a bit of displeasure but it could be dealt with, Erlend just hoped his uncle was ready to sleep on the couch for the foreseeable future.
Wait, did Westeros even have couches?
His attention was now focused on ravens that had been sent by his good-uncle Jason, who sent word that House Mallister, House Blackwood, and Ryger had rallied to his cause and were now intending to besiege the Brackens whilst keeping the Freys trapped within their lands.
House Ryger joining his cause certainly surprised Erlend, as it had been assumed they'd fight against him in the name of the Targaryens or such other rot, but it seemed they wanted to avoid meeting a gruesome ending. Something that was rather smart, since they weren't important to Erlend's plans.
Blackwood joining his banner was to be expected, as they were quite close to the Mallisters. Unfortunately, this also meant that the Brackens would oppose him on principle, which he didn't mind as much, they were just giving more justifiable reasons to weaken them.
"Well isn't this interesting, it's your turn to make a move Vance."
…
(Banners Encampment)
Looking over a map of the Riverlands within the War tent. Erlend pondered his opponent's actions.
The east was secured, including the territories that bordered the Crownlands.
The north was somewhat divided, with the Vyprens and their allies having been destroyed by the Mallister coalition before they could link up with the Brackens. Following that, Stone Hedge was put on siege by said coalition, who had declared for his House.
As for the Freys, they were now defending against a northern siege led by Benjen Stark and surprisingly enough the Charltons had begun raiding Frey camps after declaring for him. There were suggestions about making allies with the Starks but that was put off for now, as no one wanted to involve another kingdom in this conquest.
No reason to share the spoils as one would say.
The west and south were a mess, Piper and Tully having chosen to hole up in their seats, with their minor vassals following suit.
Erlend knew that Catelyn had initially intended to send a raven to him but it seemed that she was hesitant to do so at the moment, worried that it might be intercepted by the Vances. Respectable, given that she was trapped within her own lands and effectively surrounded at all sides by hostiles.
Now came the real issue, both Vance branches have united and were intent on marching toward the Stoney Sept. They were under the assumption that he would end their House for something that occurred several millennia ago.
Marcus Darry, the current Lord Darry had attempted to send ravens to Norbert, his former squire to stand down and willingly kneel, but the stubborn fool ignored it.
Originally, he had no intention of making a direct move against the Vances. Yet uniting and gathering a significant portion of his enemies with them was something Erlend was all too happy to exploit to his advantage, as it would allow him to get rid of his most irritating enemies in one fell swoop. Instead of having to look for justification to do so in the future, should they have knelt immediately.
Don't get him wrong, it wasn't personal, he was merely using this to further build his image as someone you would want to avoid crossing, not for something that happened thousands of years ago.
"I take it that the Vance's have made their move?" It was his Uncle, having just arrived from writing his letter to Aunt Dalia.
"They've launched several small raids, testing the waters so to speak." Erlend sighed.
"Should we not respond?" Lorimas asked.
"Not yet, they haven't gathered all their support base yet," He said, a look of concentration on his face. "They're handing us the perfect opportunity to quickly finish this conquest, we can't be too hasty."
"The younger lords might not like this."
"Perhaps, but they'll change their minds once they realize it would be more 'Glorious' if we remain patient for a decisive battle you could say."
"Will the Pipers stand aside?" His worry was warranted, the Pipers were the last of the Major Houses that had enough men to be an issue, but Erlend was confident that Clement would remain silent.
"Unlikely, he can't afford to make a move as his nephews have been eyeing his seat and any move could give them the opportunity they seek."
"And what of the Tully Sisters?" He continued.
Lorimas was no politician, he could lead men in the middle of the battle and inspire them for the cause, but when it came to politics or long-term planning, he tended to lean on himself or his Aunt. It's why Erlend had Yohn stationed with him most of the time, since Aunt Dalia couldn't be here for obvious reasons.
In that regard, he was better than most lords, since you tend to get what you expect. Only on rare occasions, such as after his parent's death did Lorimas truly show a crueler side to him.
"After holding funerals for their deceased kin, they seem to be afraid of stepping out of Riverrun, especially since Edmure's death."
There was a look of pity on his face, but he ignored it, while Erlend understood their worries and pitied their situation, they were inconsequential. Not to mention House Tully's current situation benefited them the most.
…
"My Lord, ravens have arrived from the West." Yohn looked troubled.
"I take it the Vances are ready?" He asked him.
"The Scouts have sent word that the Vances have raised approximately 12,000 men, and are nearing Stoney Sept," Yohn said.
He nodded at that, it was just a confirmation of the information his shadows had already gathered.
"We march as soon as we can, I want to deal with them before they can hole up in the Stoney Sept." Erlend made it clear to the gathered Lords.
"They will know about us, it isn't easy to hide the Banners march, my Lord." Ser Symond stated.
Erlend agreed, it was common sense with an army of this size. "Aye, but it would be better than simply marching into their territories, where we would be vulnerable to ambushes and our supply lines being cut."
Symond nodded in understanding, It would be the height of foolishness to go deep into enemy territory, as whilst their host was smaller, it was also more familiar with the land. Far better to meet on open grounds, where we could make full use of the Banners.
As formerly neutral land, Stoney Sept wasn't the worst place they could've done battle.
"Any news from the rest of the Kingdoms? my Lord." Belmore spoke up.
"Indeed there is, the Florents have been agitating the northern Reach Houses to rise against the Tyrells who enjoy the support of their southern Lords, whilst the marcher lords look south, wary of Dornish incursions," Erlend responded.
Symond continued from there "House Wylde has attempted to convince Stannis to interfere here but the Stag Lord refused; as it is, the Stormlands has barely enough men to guard their borders and gather their harvest."
Nodding in understanding, Lord Belmore was put at ease, and the rest of the Lords followed suit, it was a rather pressing worry for them that the other kingdoms would try to interfere.
As for the Westerlands and Iron Islands, little attention was paid to them, Genna had taken over regency for Tyrion and was focused on making sure none of their vassals got out of hand. There would be no aid coming from her end towards the Freys as she detested them greatly, regardless of what her puppet husband desired.
The Ironborn were squabbling among themselves, as Baelon and his brothers went against Quellons reforms, seeking to revive the 'Old Ways'.
The Dornish were at each other's throats, with no viable target to push their hatred towards. Doran was now squarely in the unpopular zone and had to be cautious around his brother who blamed him and their mother for Elia's supposed fate.
Erlend could've sent ravens in regards to Elia and Rhaenys survival, but that would give the seven kingdoms someone to rally behind. Even if barely any responded to the call due to the Targaryen's actions, he would rather avoid making his conquest any more difficult than it had to be.
There was no need to agitate the former royalists that had sworn themselves to him just yet.
Minimizing his use of magic till he could get a proper handle on the faith was another minor issue. Hence why he had trained hard to make its usage as subtle as possible.
There was also his children's recent accelerated growth which was also more important than short-term awe and fear. It would be better to continue as he was now so he could deal with the rats immediately rather than have them kneel publicly and plot behind his back.
No reason for him not to take the given opportunity and save himself the trouble of having to deal with them in the dark.
Westeros was ripe for the taking, and he intended to take full advantage of it.