Eddard stood on the battlements of Winterfell, surrounded by his bannermen. Outside Winterfell, banners snapped in the wind, and the land teemed with people.
Eddard saw the steel gauntlet of Deepwood Motte's Lord Galbert Glover. A few days prior, Galbert Glover and his brother Robert Glover had arrived at Winterfell with eight hundred soldiers from Deepwood Motte and three hundred from the Forest Tribes. They were all skilled archers.
Merrick Cerwyn's spearmen had arrived earliest, numbering seven hundred. Cerwyn Keep was the closest noble house to Winterfell. Their sigil was a sharp battleaxe. Whenever Winterfell summoned its banners, House Cerwyn was almost always the first to arrive, truly living up to their motto, "Sharp and Ready."
Ser Herman Tallhart, the lord of Torrhen's Square, had brought eight hundred mounted archers. The three trees of House Tallhart's banner flew proudly over their camp.
Moat Cailin sent eight hundred cavalry. Lord Rodrik Ryswell, due to his advanced age, had chosen to remain at Moat Cailin and sent his brother, Roger Ryswell, to command the cavalry. The cavalry of Moat Cailin bore the horse head emblem on their shields.
Lady Barbrey of Widow's Watch sent Daryn Dustin with five hundred infantry from Widow's Watch. Considering Lady Barbrey Dustin's vast lands and numerous population, sending a mere five hundred men was rather stingy.
Lady Barbrey had always been rather uncooperative with Winterfell's commands, and Eddard's taking of Domeric Bolton, the heir to the Dreadfort, as a ward had not changed this.
Domeric was the son of Barbrey's sister, Bethany. After Bethany's death, Barbrey took Domeric to Widow's Watch to raise him. Ever since her husband, William Dustin, died at the Tower of Joy and was buried in the foreign lands of Dorne, Barbrey had been a widow. Naturally, she had no children, and this sorrowful widow had always treated Domeric as her own son.
Fortunately, Lady Barbrey sent strong young men. If she'd sent a bunch of the old and infirm, Eddard would have been truly cross with Widow's Watch.
The knights sent from White Harbor numbered a thousand, led by Ser Wendel Manderly, Lord Wyman's second son. Ser Wendel, like his father, was a large man, though a size smaller than Lord Wyman.
Arriving with the White Harbor knights were five hundred soldiers from the House of Hornwood.
According to the news brought by Ser Wendel, his brother, Wylis Manderly, heir to White Harbor, had set sail by sea with a thousand soldiers, departing from White Harbor to sail towards Roose Bolton's lands via the Bay of Seals.
White Harbor had generously provided a thousand cavalry and a thousand foot soldiers to deal with the Skagosi Pirates. Although the pirates hadn't threatened White Harbor's territory directly, their actions had affected trade. If allowed to continue, captains from all over the world would be reluctant to trade with White Harbor because of the pirates. This was clearly something Lord Wyman couldn't tolerate.
Following Eddard's instructions, Lord Wyman commandeered a dozen merchant ships that were in White Harbor. These included swan ships from the Summer Isles, Ibbenese whaling ships, large Lysene sailing ships, and merchant vessels from all over the Seven Kingdoms, plus ten ships of varying sizes belonging to the Manderly family.
After arriving at the Three Sisters, Wylis Manderly's makeshift White Harbor fleet would hire "Sistermen" ships as scouts. The Three Sisters were desolate and impoverished, and historically, the "Sistermen" pirates had been a major headache for White Harbor and the Vale, and their naval combat skills were far superior to those of the northerners.
In addition, Oldtown and Widow's Watch would send the few ships and forces they had to join the White Harbor fleet along the way.
Eddard couldn't help but worry about the fleet of over a thousand ships, entrusted to the portly Wylis Manderly.
Northerners were notoriously inept at naval warfare. This hastily assembled fleet of White Harbor's included captains and sailors from Ibben, the Summer Isles, Lys, Pentos, and other corners of the world. Even a capable commander would find this a challenge, let alone Wylis Manderly.
As the heir of White Harbor, Eddard had no doubt about Wylis' loyalty, but loyalty and competence were two different things. Because White Harbor had contributed both money and manpower to this expedition, and had even lent Winterfell a hundred thousand gold dragons, Eddard hadn't appointed the commander of the White Harbor fleet himself, instead letting Lord Wyman make the choice. The result was that he'd chosen his own heir.
White Harbor wasn't short on valiant knights, with Lord Wyman of White Harbor alone possessing over a hundred landed knights. If Eddard had been picking the naval commander for this expedition, he would have chosen Maron Manderly. He was a cousin of Lord Wyman and also the commander of White Harbor's garrison.
Eddard knew he could only pray that the White Harbor fleet would fare well. Otherwise, even if the Northern army gathered at Seal Bay, they wouldn't be able to cross the sea, let alone sweep Skagos.
Standing atop the walls of Winterfell, Eddard was lost in thought.
"Maester Luwin, send a raven to Roose Bolton at the Dreadfort. Tell him to spare no effort in assisting the White Harbor fleet."
The plan was for the White Harbor fleet to first stop at Roose Bolton's territory, helping the Dreadfort drive away the Skagosi Pirates before heading north.
Eddard had never trusted Roose Bolton, with his soft-spoken manner, but no one could deny the Dreadfort's Lord's abilities. He was sly, skilled in battle, and experienced.
Standing beside Eddard, Galbert Glover, clad in a black moleskin robe, asked, "My Lord Eddard, I've been wondering, does it really require such a large army to deal with the Skagosi Pirates?"
Eddard said, "If we weren't driving the Skagosi Pirates back into the sea, we wouldn't need so many men. But our goal this time is to pacify Skagos."
When the army marched north, after the Mountain Clans warriors, House Umber, House Karstark, and the Dreadfort's forces joined, this army would undoubtedly exceed ten thousand. Maester Luwin, based on information from the Skagosi rebellion over a hundred years ago, deduced that the combined forces of all the Skagosi tribes couldn't possibly exceed five thousand. However, if there were Ironborn on the island or mercenaries from across the Narrow Sea, that would be another matter.
"Of course, I have another consideration, which is to deter the enemy. Imagine, when the Skagosi Pirates are defeated by the North's army and flee back to the island, the news spreads, and fear will spread among the various Skagosi tribes. This will be more advantageous for our landing operation."
Now that the army had gathered, it was time to set out. Every day the army stayed in Winterfell meant wasting a significant amount of food. Eddard understood that it was time for the Skagosi to taste the North's fury.
The Skagosi's armor and weapons were made by the Ironborn, so there was a high probability of Ironborn influence on Skagos. Regardless of whether the Skagosi were colluding with Balon Greyjoy, Mance Rayder, or some shadowy schemers from across the Narrow Sea, the North's army would tear away the enemy's mask and expose those behind it.
.....
Completed eng PDF of this fan-fic on my Patreon shop if you want to support and own the full fan-fic in one go. Just grab the PDF and binge the entire story from start to finish!
Guys, I've uploaded some NEW High Quality english translated fanfic on my Patreon shop! Feel free to check it out—if you're interested, you can grab a copy and support me there.
Here are a few titles of recently uploaded fanfics:
" Game of Thrones: I've Loaded the Witcher System "
" Game of Thrones: I Became the Crown Prince for a Day "
" Game of Thrones: Viserys the Three-Headed Dragon "
" Game of Thrones: Holy Flame King "
" Game of Thrones: King of the North " many more are available for you,
Your support means a lot—thanks in advance, legends!
Patreon.com/AniFic
(End of Chapter)