Lord Roboute Tyrell

- 261 AC -

Bloodstone had become a graveyard. The fighting on the island had devolved into jungle warfare and cave ambushes. With Lord Ormund Baratheon slain early and Jason Lannister butchered in a failed forward push, Ser Gerold Hightower and Lord Roger Reyne had held the line but paid a heavy toll in blood. No one was making substantial progress until Lord Tywin Lannister suggested that they needed to storm the defences. No one was willing to do that, though, and while the soldiers would accept the commands, the image of their respective Lords would have plummeted. This war was much more political than the king wanted everyone to believe. So Tywin Lannister came up with a solution for that. They would forcefully conscript the smallfolk and use them to storm the fortifications, breaking them up and then coming in to defeat the sellswords. 

It wasn't considered cruel. That was the reality everyone lived in. The smallfolk didn't understand what was happening; those poor sods were sent to be slaughtered under false promises. So, some progress could be made, but for a very bloody price and not even substantial either, since the dead bodies helped the defenders more than they helped the aggressors. 

For months on end, almost ten, this had been going on. 

The Golden Company, reinforced by Spotted Tom and Lashare, had entrenched itself at the Redfort Plateau, a rocky ridge crowned with palisades and siege weapons. Maelys waited there, surrounded by his finest and cruellest warriors. The Jolly Fellows, led by the cunning and cruel Nine Eyes, who was another member of the Band of Nine, roamed the jungle ridges, ambushing scouts and burning Westerosi camps. Logistics and planning were challenging due to the need to ship resources to the front lines across the sea. 

Lord Greyjoy, having lost a lot of ships during his encounters with the pirates, was doing the best he could, but he wasn't willing to use his ships for shipping. No matter what, the Greyjoy was unwilling to set his nature aside. So it fell to each kingdom to get more men, food and weapons to the front lines. The war wasn't ongoing for very long, especially compared to other wars, but it was still a relatively prolonged period, considering the very small area in which most fighting took place. 

In truth, it was the Reach who allowed them to remain oblivious to the larger stage of the war. Tyrosh was actively participating, which Lord Greyjoy could feel. Myr was also unhappy about it and was thinking about getting involved as well. Due to the declining economic numbers, Volantis was more than angry at the way Braavos was doing better than before the war, thanks to the Reach's military outposts. 

Volantis had already sent warships to probe the strength of the Reach outposts, and when the initial five ships didn't return, they sent another 10. After those also didn't return, they at least understood that it was not as easy as they had thought. Attacking on land would also be hard now. After understanding that the shipping lanes were controlled, they entered into a treaty of sorts with Xhobar Qhoqua and his sellswords, making trade with him and supporting him with weapons to fight the Reach. As we know, that didn't work very well, since now, all of it belongs to the Reach. 

So why didn't they send a full attack using most of their army? 

There was a cold, harsh fact at stake. The Reach wasn't even using 10% of the forces they could muster. Volantis would have to attack full-force and be quick about it, because the Reach could send reinforcements quite easily and hold them off in the meantime. And should they not manage to take all of the Reach outposts, they would have a full-blown war at hand, one they most likely couldn't win alone. But who would help them? The Eastern Free Cities wouldn't be able to, as they were suffering losses as the war went on. The only option would be the Slaver's Cities. And once they get involved, Braavos might not remain silent. 

And that's why an unspoken ceasefire had settled. And that's the moment Roboute chose to move to Bloodstone. A ballsy move, but the right one. He knew that any longer, and the Westerosi Lords would be unhappy with the assurance Jaehaerys gave the Reach. Jealousy would breed conflict. All the pieces had already been set in place, so Roboute gave the order. 

It was time to break the Band of Nine.

.

When the horn blew at dawn on Bloodstone, 900 Reachmen landed on the south-east beach. Green and blue armour and shields, the sign of the Ultramarines on their shields. 900 was almost 2/3 of the forces they now held in total. And that was talking about soldiers, not workers or farmers. Roboute had turned any willing slave into a functioning and productive member of the Reach war effort. 1'700 able-bodied men now listened to his every command and followed him into battle. 

Roboute stood tall, flanked by his core: Randyll Tarly, Mathis Rowan, Garth Crane, and the newly joined Achilles, former Myrmidon warlord. Androw Ashford was tasked with defending their territory, and Paxter Redwyne would protect and defend their waterways. 

The Ultramarines advanced inland like a scalpel, carving through mercenary outposts and hiding spots and seizing the Redfort's outer trenches within the hour. They cleaned the caves one by one, not allowing even a single one to remain intact and then moved on. The western host had been notified of the attack and responded. Aerys Targaryen, watching from the western ridge, observed the fighting. 

"And the boy-turned-man in blue returns..." he whispered. "Let's use his momentum. Attack!"

The Band of Nine's remaining commanders formed their battle lines, now having been pushed back by the fresh and powerful Reach army. Liomond Lashare took the left flank with his "Black Spears", known for brutal and quick attacks. Spotted Tom the Butcher commanded the centre, clad in flayed pelts, screaming profanities at the incoming soldiers like a mad half-wit. Nine Eyes and the Jolly Fellows took the rear, archers hiding in the trees.

Maelys himself stood at the summit, a large man with thick tree trunks for arms, waiting with the Golden Company elite. In his hands, he held the famed sword Blackfyre. How he had gotten a hold of it was uncertain, but it was one of the major reasons why the Golden Company even considered fighting for his cause. 

The Westerosi host launched a frontal assault on the ridge. They were met with fire, arrows, and a brutal cavalry charge from Lashare. The centre collapsed under Tom's butchers. Tywin Lannister, who had grown more experienced during these months and whose intelligence and cold decision-making had stood out, barely held the left line with the Westerland forces. 

However, the Reach forces did not only launch direct attacks. As usual, Roboute had his scouts check out the terrain and created a map to help his men visualise their roles in this final assault. Roboute sent a special group of scouts to assassinate the hidden archers belonging to Nine Eyes. In the dead of night, when the fighting usually died down, they slit throats and set the rear camp ablaze. Panicked, Nine Eyes tried to retreat, only to find himself encircled by Roboute's auxiliaries. Realising that he had been played and was now trapped, Nine Eyes refused to give up and ordered his sellswords to fight to the death. 

They weren't all that happy about it, but they had little choice. Garth Crane and the men under his command stood against the desperate attacks of the cornered sellswords and suffered through it. But it wouldn't be enough for them to make a reasonable dent in the Reach numbers. It was important to note that Garth Crane only had regular Reach soldiers under his command, with none of the Ultramarines. This was calculated since he had the easiest job. 

On the left flank, Achilles and the former Myrmidons, who were now all dressed in the appropriate colours, clashed with Lashare's spearmen in a precision counterstrike, shattering their momentum. They exploited the problem in the enemy's manoeuvrability and cut through them with precision. Lashare was eventually surrounded. Unlike Nine Eyes, who didn't yield and chose death, Lashare didn't possess that sort of commitment and surrendered. He threw his weapon to the ground and knelt, hoping that would be enough. Achilles didn't care. Lashare was gutted, and all of his men were killed as well.

On the right, Randyll Tarly crushed Spotted Tom and his fighters. He initially clashed with them and then employed a similar tactic they had used against Achilles. He dropped his centre back slightly and used the terrain against their enemies. Having hidden inside caves, the rest of his host sprung the trap and attacked Spotted Tom's fighters from behind as well. The fight would not take long from then on. Spotted Tom fled the scene of the battle after realising that he was caught in the trap. 

Now, only one remained, the hardest one. 

As the field cleared somewhat, the previous charge having been defeated by the Golden Company, smoke curled into the sky. Maelys stood with his bloody sword in hand, surrounded by deadly sellswords who believed in his cause atop the Redfort, the last of the Blackfyres, a brute with another's arm in one hand and Blackfyre he wielded single-handedly in the other. 

Below, the Reach army and the remaining Westerosi host met up and attacked the Golden Company, as well as the remains of the others together. The numbers were no longer equal; Westeros had far more soldiers on their side, and a victory was only a matter of time now. 

Roboute ascended the hill. Several members of the Golden Company roared as they attacked him. Roboute moved with powerful steps and slashed his sword through the air, decapitating two men at the same time. He grabbed their headless corpses and used them as projectiles, hurling them towards other sellswords, making their bodies compress in the process. Each of his movements was fast and deadly, cutting swathes through groups of grown murderers while he was walking in the park. 

"And who are you?" Maelys asked, confused, seeing Roboute. 

Roboute didn't reply.

"I killed my cousin and consumed my brother during my time in my mother's womb. I'll kill you too."

Maelys swung Blackfyre through the air like a giant, roaring with fury, but Roboute met him with equal force. Roboute dodged below a horizontal blow and cut deep into Maelys' leg. Even as Maelys roared, Roboute moved with unnatural speed and grace, smashing his armoured fist into Maelys' face.

"RAAAHHH!!"

Blood burst out of his nose and mouth, but the brutish fellow refused to give up at all. The last of the Blackfyres swung his blade through the air using more force than before, trying to kill Roboute. With ease, Roboute sidestepped, slashed Maelys through his right arm, and drove his sword upward through the Blackfyre's ribcage, lifting him in the air for all to see. 

"I am... the blood of dragons..."

"And I am the future of men," Roboute replied, swinging his sword horizontally, splitting Maelys in half and dropping him to the ground.

...

The battlefield turned silent. The fighting stopped, and the remainder of the Ninepenny Kings' warriors widened their eyes. And then all hell broke loose. With Maelys dead, the Golden Company broke. They fled, running away as fast as they could, trying to save face while that was still possible, and only very few surrendered. The Jolly Fellows were gone. All of them were killed. Tom, Nine Eyes, and Lashare were all dead as well. 

The Band of Nine was finished, their threat reduced to nothing with the last of their deaths. The Stepstones ran blood red, but now they were silent. 

Prince Aerys was among the first to arrive on the hilltop after. He found Roboute standing beside Maelys' split corpse. Roboute was looking into the distance, seeing the sellswords fleeing. His arms were folded as countless thoughts ran through his mind.

"Impressive, Lord Tyrell," Aerys said quietly.

Roboute didn't turn. There was respect in Aerys' voice. He saw how Maelys died and how helpless he was against the young man who was Roboute Tyrell. 

"The war is over."

"Wait... did you see his sword?" Aerys asked. 

"Whose sword?" Roboute asked.

"Maelys the Monstrous' sword. It is a sword from House Targaryen, called Blackfyre. Maelys was said to have wielded it during the war," Aerys said. 

"The sword he used lies there on the ground," Roboute said and pointed at a bloody greatsword next to Maelys' corpse.

Aerys walked up and looked at it. 

"This isn't Blackfyre. Did you take his sword, Lord Tyrell?" Aerys asked. 

Instead of answering, Roboute unsheathed his blade and stabbed it in the ground. Aerys went forward and examined it. Due to the war it had been worn and chipped in various places. The other Lords who were still alive arrived at the top as well. Ser Hightower looked at Maelys' corpse and shook his head. 

"This isn't Blackfyre either... But where is it?" Aerys asked. 

"What do you mean, Your Grace?" Tywin asked. 

Aerys went ahead and began searching the ground for Blackfyre. The sword was an ancestral Valyrian blade of House Targaryen, so it was important to him that he retrieved it. After a while, Roboute left the area without saying another word. His job there was done. He had what he came for.