The Glory of the Seven Gods of Ice and Fire

Chapter 184: War Resolution in the North

While Hugo was defeating the rebels on the border of Myr, on the other side of the sea in Westeros, something happened that was enough to change the situation in the Sunset Kingdom without Hugo's knowledge.

That was the disappearance of Eddard Stark.

When Eddard Stark, as Prime Minister, did not attend Joffrey Baratheon's coronation, his whereabouts aroused suspicion among many people, but the suspicion did not cause much waves at that time, and his absence for a while was not a big deal. But as the Prime Minister has not appeared in people's sight, things have changed.

The Lannisters tried their best to suppress these rumors, but as Eddard Stark never appeared in front of people, it was useless to suppress the rumors, so the Lannisters simply announced the disappearance of Eddard Stark.

This can be said to have caused a thousand ripples. People originally thought that the Lannisters and Starks would form an alliance to fight against the Baratheons who had risen up in the south, but with the disappearance of Eddard, things changed again.

Even the Lannister army gave up on moving south, and most of them chose to move north again, gathering at the edge of God's Eye Lake. There were also rumors that a new Lannister army was being organized in Lannister Harbor.

The atmosphere of war hangs over Westeros and may break out at any time.

In the Neck of Moat Cailin, the armies of the northern lords have arrived continuously in the past few weeks, and the number of coats of arms flying on the ruined towers of Moat Cailin has increased.

Beyond the Gulf of Cailin, the narrow defile was dotted with tents and shacks, with wisps of smoke rising from them.

Where there are many people, there will naturally be a market. So many northern soldiers naturally attracted the arrival of merchants. Even the shy swamp people came out of the swamp and brought clams, frogs and various swamp crops to trade with the soldiers.

Thanks to the reduction of long winter's pressure, there were not too many Winter Wolf troops accompanying the army south this time. Moreover, after learning the lesson in the Battle of the Avenue that more troops were not omnipotent, the troops assembled in the North this time were not large, only a little over 10,000. However, this was also the population of a town.

It was impossible for so many people to gather in Moat Cailin and sit there all day long, so under the order of Robb Stark, the soldiers found stones and wood to repair this tower which was of vital importance to the North - however, their repair was just piling up a bunch of building materials together to form a wall, but it was enough for Moat Cailin, the existence of this fortress was the best defense.

In the tower of Moat Cailin, the northern lords are holding a meeting that will determine the next war or peace.

All the lords of the North are listed here. Over the years, the North has made a lot of money from wars and trade with the East, so many lords have more gold and silver jewelry.

Her son, Robb Stark, was facing a map with a curled corner that was pressed down by a dagger. He was still so young, but now he was posing as a duke. Catherine felt very distressed when she saw him and wanted to protect the child behind her, but she also suppressed her restless maternal love - if she did this at this moment, Robb would never be able to inherit his father's position in the future.

"We must go south! The Lannisters have apparently captured Lord Eddard again. This is an insult to all of us! This is an insult to the entire North! Only when we put a knife to the necks of those southern bastards will they obey!"

The Greatjon from the Last Hearth was tall and spoke loudly, and he did not forget to use various body movements to show his power, as if this could increase the persuasiveness of his words.

The Greatjon had won the approval of many of the Northern lords, and Catelyn noticed that Karstark, Hornwood, and Mormont all agreed with Umber's opinion.

"Lord Jon, I still think this is a misunderstanding. Since the Lannisters have released Lord Eddard, there is no need for them to capture him again. Why would they take such a risk?"

Roose Bolton spoke in a leisurely tone, and no emotion could be heard in his voice. The Earl of the Dreadfort was just analyzing calmly, but this immediately aroused the dissatisfaction of the Greatjon.

"Lord Bolton, what do you mean by this? Lord Eddard has been captured by the Lannisters, and you are saying this here? Or do you care more about those eastern territories and are afraid of being affected after the conflict with the Lannisters?"

The Greatjon showed strong aggressiveness from the beginning, which caused disgust and helplessness to appear in Bolton's colorless eyes. This surprised Catelyn. After so many years in the North, it was the first time she saw the Earl of the Dreadfort show his emotions so obviously.

"Lord Jon, that may be true. Of course, we have to stand up for Lord Eddard, but we must also find out what is going on. Otherwise, we may be used and misled by some people. My lords, I don't think you want this." The fat Earl Manderly came out to smooth things over and ease the once tense atmosphere.

Earl Wyman was fatter than Catherine remembered. How could he not be fat? The land his family had acquired in the East was second only to the Bolton family in the North. One of Earl Wyman's sons was serving the God's Favored Ones across the sea.

The Earl also had many emblems of the Faith of the Seven on his body, which made Catherine feel very familiar, but this was the North.

Catherine couldn't help but think of a report that Ed had heard from the maester before he left. The content of that report was the growing concerns of the lords around White Harbor about the followers of the Seven Gods. The Manderly family had come to the North for a long time. They brought the Seven Gods from the South, but the faith of the Seven Gods had always been confined to the White Blade River Basin, and many of them were fusion variants of the faith of the Seven Gods and the faith of the old gods, such as the Heart Tree of the Seven Gods.

But now, more and more people believe in the pure faith of the Seven Gods, and the belief in the Heart Tree of the Seven Gods has also spread. Many northerners near White Harbor have built altars for the new gods while worshipping the old gods.

This is an unprecedented phenomenon, and it has caused many people to worry. At a time when the Seven Gods are walking in the world, if this continues, will the faith of the ancestors be lost? Will the North be reshuffled by Andal culture?

Eddard was at a loss as to what to do. He believed in the old gods but was never fanatical, and those who believed in the Seven Gods had never done anything excessive. All he could do was summon Manderly to Winterfell for a discussion - but before Manderly arrived, Robert arrived.

"So, Lord Eel, what do you think about going south?" asked Dacey Mormont, attracting the attention of everyone present.

This is forcing Wyman to take sides. Catherine immediately analyzed the meaning behind this behavior. As the news of the spread of the Seven Gods' faith spread in the North, the northern lords also remembered Manderly's "heterogeneity", and Manderly's situation became somewhat awkward. Lord Wyman showed a reluctant expression on his face, "Of course I support going south to rescue Lord Eddard, but we must figure out what is going on behind all this. We can't be used by others!"

Although Lord Eel tried his best to show his attitude, no one listened to what Weman said afterwards. Everyone just needed his attitude.

The northern lords split into two factions and started quarreling. They accused each other of being disloyal to their feudal lords. The scene was extremely chaotic for a while. However, Catherine was very happy to see that Robb was not frightened by the chaos, nor did he rashly express his opinions. Instead, he showed the calmness of a duke and watched the quarrel of the nobles coldly.

At this point, Catherine had a clear understanding of the current situation. Those who had won land and wealth in the East were more cautious about war, while the lords who had not gained much in the East were full of enthusiasm for war and looked forward to gaining wealth in the South.

Screw the old and new gods, I don’t care, Catherine frowned after figuring out the interests involved, I just want Eddard to come back, I want Sansa and Arya to come back, so they must show their force to the south, and the northern army must move south.

As for whether there might be some hidden secrets... The Lannisters must not be trusted! They wanted to murder Bran back in Winterfell, and used a Valyrian steel dagger from Qohor, fearing that they would not be able to reveal their identities, right?

When thinking of this, Petyr's face involuntarily emerged in Catherine's mind. It was Petyr who told her where the daggers had gone. She was very grateful to this childhood friend. It was Petyr who had helped Stark manage his fiefdom in Myr - which was forced on Eddard by Robert.

When Littlefinger led his troops to Westeros, Catherine thought they would have a solid ally in the center, but she never expected that Petyr would be transferred to the valley by Tywin in the name of suppressing the mountain clans.

However, thinking of the Vale and Lysa's current predicament, Catelyn felt a surge of pleasure in her heart. She had already captured Lord Tywin's dwarf son, but her stupid sister actually let him escape! This made them lose a big bargaining chip.

Thinking back to the present, looking at the chaos in front of her, Catherine understood that she had to say something and must unify the will of the northern lords.

"Everyone, everyone, please listen to me. I am Catelyn Tully, the wife of Eddard Stark and the lady of Winterfell. My son was murdered by the Lannisters, and my daughter was detained in King's Landing by the Lannisters."

As the Matron of the North, Catherine successfully made everyone focus their attention on her, which was good and a good start.

"My Lords, this war is inevitable. The Lannisters have been targeting us for a long time. As early as ten years ago, King's Landing was consciously restricting the development of the North. I think you all still remember those days."

Catherine's words aroused a lot of agreement. The northern lords did still have impressions of that period. At that time, they would gather together from time to time to curse King's favoritism and the South's targeting of the North.

"Although we have had a good time since the expedition began, don't forget that the Lannisters have never given up targeting us, Lord Wyman. I think you still remember the conflict with the Lannister fleet."

Wyman Manderly was stunned for a moment, then he reacted, "Of course I remember that time when the Lannister bastards insisted on the right to enter the port first, and after being rejected by us, they targeted the ships from the North. Damn, these bastards."

In fact, what Catherine mentioned was just a normal trade conflict, but different interpretations of the incident could achieve different results. Catherine was very grateful to Lord Wyman for understanding her meaning. Manderly never let Stark down.

Manderly's words made many northern lords united against the enemy, and the Greatjon continued his roar. Catelyn looked at Roose Bolton with some concern. She knew that other people were not a problem, but the Earl of the Dreadfort was the one who needed to be persuaded the most. As long as he expressed his position, everything would be fine.

Perhaps it was the blessing of the Seven Gods, Catherine saw that Bolton still expressed his agreement, which made her greatly relieved. Dealing with Bolton meant that the next step would basically not be a problem.

"So, we must show our attitude, my lords. We must rescue our duke, my husband! Rescue my daughter!"

Catherine was responded with cheers. The northern lords were very fond of this. Catherine knew that the situation was now completely stable.

Although her words were all for the North, Catherine felt guilty in her heart, because she knew that her purpose was not as simple as she said, but also for her family and for Tully.

As the daughter of the Lord Commander of the Riverlands, Catherine is well aware of the decline of the Tully forces. If a war breaks out, the Lannister forces will soon reach Riverrun. Half of the river lords no longer obey her father, and her brother is extremely incompetent. She must save her elderly father.

Robb stood up and said, "My Lords, I have made up my mind. We will go south to rescue my father and the Lord of the North."

Catherine agreed with the timing of her son's speech and completely grasped the atmosphere she created. She was also happy that her son showed the qualities that Eddard once showed. Robb had shown what a duke's heir should be like.

Robb began to give orders to the Northern lords. He gave orders just like his father. Catelyn was proud of him. It would be better if Eddard and the girls were not in the hands of the Lannisters.

However, the next sentence Catherine heard made her stunned.

"Mother, I must trouble you with something. The messenger I sent to the south has told me that the attitude of the Twins is still ambiguous. Therefore, I need you to meet with Marquis Walder and have a good talk with him. It would be best if I could lead my army to the Twins and cross the river."

Catherine thought of the old face of Lord Frey, and a strong feeling of disgust surged from her heart, but for Eddard, she suppressed the disgust and was willing to meet that old thing, that old bastard.

(End of this chapter)