"That'll be fun." Aenar Targaryen looking at Brynden Tully, The Blackfish and Knight of the Gate.
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Aenar glanced towards the Riverlands and narrowed his eyes. A mysterious smile appeared on his lips, as if he was thinking about something very interesting.
"Well, Euron is really interesting," he murmured in a calm tone.
As for the relic containing blood magic in his hands, Aenar wasn't worried. If he were a pure-blooded Valyrian, he might have been slightly apprehensive about Visenya and Rhaenys, but in Euron's hands, the Horn would just kill anyone who dared to use it.
And even if, by some miracle, the Horn actually sounded, the supposed power to control dragons would be nothing more than an irritating noise to dragons, especially when used by mortals who didn't even know how to wield blood magic.
"Is there a problem, Your Grace?" Eddard asked when he noticed Aenar's thoughtful expression.
"It's nothing. Just a clown who thinks he's important because he's carrying a relic from Ancient Valyria," Aenar replied casually to his uncle's question, while watching the mountains that looked like spears piercing the sky.
He had to admit: the Noble Houses of the Valley were really brave for building their homes in the mountains. It was fortunate for these people that Westeros didn't suffer from earthquakes, as it was on a stable tectonic plate. To be more precise, there were earthquakes, but they were so small that they weren't even noticed.
It was this stability that really made it possible for these people to build their homes in the mountains - places that usually no one dared to occupy because of the risk of rockslides.
"Uncle, what can you tell me about the The Eyrie?" asked Aenar, casting a calm glance at his uncle.
It had been four days since Aenar had parted ways with Visenya and Rhaenys. Now they were almost at the entrance to the Arryn Valley.
"Honestly, with our numbers, the castle can be claimed easily," replied Eddard, before continuing: "The The Eyrie is small, it can't hold more than five hundred men."
"The problem is getting to the The Eyrie. The three castles below the mountain and their paths represent the real challenge. There is no way that more than two hundred men can cross the three paths that lead to the Nest and, along the way, we will be completely exposed to enemy attacks."
When Eddard had finished speaking, the Northern lords showed helpless expressions.
They had already heard of the impregnable fortress, but when they heard the detailed explanation of the difficulty of invading it, they finally understood that trying to occupy the The Eyrie by land would be an arduous task, with a high chance of death for everyone.
"Fortunately, we have dragons," said Eddard in a relaxed tone.
Just as Visenya had made the entire Vale of Arryn bend the knee, Aenar could do something similar without too much difficulty.
Eddard's words met with everyone's approval. Although they liked war, no one wanted to die for stupid reasons. If there was a way to conquer the castle without bloodshed, they would gladly accept it.
"Yes, but first we'll go to Waynwood House in Ironoaks."
Aenar's words confused everyone, including Eddard himself.
"Robert Arryn is not fit to be lord of the Vale. I will name as heir presumptive the one Jon Arryn considered before his son was born."
Aenar decreed the fate of the sickly young Robert Arryn with an indifferent tone.
"Is that appropriate, Your Grace?" Eddard couldn't help but ask, his gaze filled with a complex feeling. The idea of hurting his adoptive father's son seemed immoral in his eyes.
"Don't feel bad, Uncle." Aenar certainly knew what Eddard was feeling at that moment. "Lysa Tully and Petyr Baelish grew up together. The woman even gave her virginity to Baelish. Even if the chance is small, do you want to risk an impostor taking control of House Arryn?"
Eddard's resolve was shaken by Aenar's words. The hatred he felt for Lysa Tully grew along with the suspicion that Robert might not be Jon's son.
"Don't worry, Uncle, House Arryn will still be controlled by Arryn blood." Aenar continued. "Harrold Hardyng was Jon Arryn's heir before Robert was born, so there's no reason to feel guilty."
Eddard's face relaxed at his nephew's words. Just as Aenar had said, Harrold was indeed Jon Arryn's rightful heir, without any doubt. Rather than risk House Arryn's heritage being usurped, Harrold was the best option to inherit the title.
"Harrold is at House Waynwood in Ironoaks," said Aenar, and everyone understood why they needed to go there.
"But first, we have to go through the Bloody Gate to enter the Vale," said Eddard with a serious tone.
"Uncle, you're forgetting something," interrupted Aenar in an amused tone.
"We don't need to fear anything. We're here to conquer this place. All those who refuse to bow will burn in the flames of Caraxes."
As soon as Aenar's words echoed, a gigantic shadow covered the sky. A long, distant guttural sound reverberated among the Mountains of the Moon.
The strong winds caused by the dragon made everyone's hair flutter, while the horses were frightened by the overwhelming presence of the biggest predator in the world's food chain.
Eddard couldn't help but smile bitterly at the sight of the gigantic dragon. He had forgotten about the crimson beast.
"Yes, there will be no suspense in this conquest. They have no choice: submission or death." Eddard muttered to himself with a determined look.
Aenar nodded when he heard Eddard's whisper, and the whole army advanced along the High Road. However, the road was so narrow that only four men could march side by side, making it difficult to break into the Vale.
This caused the army of seventy thousand men to form a long line of marchers, stopping only in front of a castle with sturdy wooden gates.
"Who would pass the Bloody Gate?" Aenar heard a man's voice at the top of the Bloody Gate. He narrowed his eyes and smiled.
"Brynden Tully." Aenar murmured with a cold tone. Although that honorable knight had nothing to do with his brother Hoster's plans, Aenar still felt no goodwill towards the Knight of the Gate.
Upon hearing Aenar's whisper, Eddard's face closed in coldness. His dislike of House Tully had reached a level so deep that it could hardly get any worse. Honestly, Aenar thought his uncle was too honorable - any other man would have divorced him and sent Catelyn back to Correrrio.
"Who stands before you is King Aenar, of House Targaryen, first of his name, and the Lord of Winterfell, Eddard, of House Stark!!!" One of Eddard's men stepped forward and proclaimed loudly.
Looking at the long line of soldiers, Brynden's eyes narrowed, and a bad feeling filled his chest as he heard the words of the men below. He looked up and saw the gigantic crimson dragon flying nimbly over the surrounding mountains.
Brynden didn't know about his brother's plans. He only thought that House Targaryen's army was attacking because of his great-nephew's rebellion.
Brynden still didn't understand why Lysa had declared Robert King of the Vale. In his eyes, it would have been better to remain silent, just waiting for the winner to sit on the Iron Throne so that the Vale could kneel without losing soldiers.
But Robert's coronation destroyed Brynden's plans. The entire Vale of Arryn was thrown into the center of the war in a single day, and everyone knew that the self-proclaimed King of the Vale wanted the Iron Throne for himself.
However, Brynden felt fortunate to see that his niece's husband was present. This could allow things to be resolved much more easily and without bloodshed.
In his eyes, after seeing the dragon, Lysa would make Robert give up his royal titles and kneel before the Targaryen King.
"Open the gate." Brynden ordered without any hesitation. His men hesitated for a moment, but accepted the order, opening the gates that led to the Vale of Arryn.
Aenar smiled. Brynden Tully really was a sensible man, saving him from having to use Caraxes to burn everything in front of him.
"Let's go, uncle. We'll have an interesting conversation." Aenar said as he moved his horse forward, a smile on his face.
Eddard nodded and followed his nephew. The Northern lords followed with amused expressions. They all knew of the resentment between Houses Targaryen and Stark towards House Tully.
They felt that the next scenes would be very interesting.
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