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Divide and Conquer, Chapter 4: The Siege of Harrenhal
🕑 Added 2024-08-13 16:50:59 +0000 UTCHarrenhal’s colossal curtain walls rose as sheer and high as mountain cliffs from the flat fields, made out of black stone but so immense...
Third Moon, 97 AD (5 BC)
Aegon
Harrenhal’s colossal curtain walls rose as sheer and high as mountain cliffs from the flat fields, made out of black stone but so immense that in parts they were discolored and fissured. Atop the battlements, the wood-and-iron scorpions looked as small and numerous as their namesakes. Behind the walls rose five enormous towers, with the two tallest in the center not even complete yet but imposing nonetheless.
Had he been any other man, perhaps Aegon would have been intimidated by the fortress before him, despairing at any chance of conquering it. He was not. Instead all he could do was admire the fine work that Harren had done in making his imperial seat ready for him, even going out of his way to stock its provisions to the brim in the vast subterranean vaults beneath the towers. Truly, how helpful of him.
The man in question had accepted his request for a parley and had ridden out to meet him in the field before the great gatehouse outside of the range of either the scorpions on Harrenhal’s walls or the archers in Aegon’s army. Two truce banners stood at the parley, one for the Seven and one for the Fourteen Gods of Old Valyria. He would have put the Drowned God’s symbol on a third truce banner as well but to be honest he cared not one whit for that particular religion and it seemed to be lacking a symbol that truly represented it.
Harren rode up to the parley with a host of guards and his maester and banner bearer accompanying him. He was an old and grey man, the years of power and decadence having given him a fat and round belly. There was fierceness in the way he carried himself, but as Aegon took in the evidence of the man’s age and sloth, he wondered if it was simply for show.
For his part, Aegon had brought his own maester so that the words exchanged at this parley may be remembered, a company of Dragonguard with a banner bearer, and two particular prisoners.
“Harren Hoare,” he greeted the Black Tyrant as he approached.
“Aegon Targaryen,” the Ironman greeted in turn, with a scowl on his face, one that only deepened as he beheld his sons Othgar and Qhorwyn in chains at Aegon’s mercy.
“Yield now,” Aegon began, “and I will spare all of your sons, those at my mercy today and those that will be at my mercy tomorrow. Yield now, and you and your sons and all your servants and soldiers will be granted safe passage to the Wall where you may take the black and live out the rest of your days in honorable service beside your kin, the Lord Commander Harras Hoare. You see my army outside your walls. You see my dragons.”
“What is outside my walls is of no concern to me. Those walls are strong and thick,” came Harren’s retort.
“Strong and thick enough to repel forty thousand men?” Aegon challenged.
“Forty thousand dead men if they dare to march on these walls. They are high and impenetrable, no siege engine may break them, no ladder may scale them,” Harren boasted.
“But not so high as to keep out dragons. Dragons fly.”
Harren the Black laughed then, a grim and cruel chuckling cackle. “I built in stone. Stone does not burn.”
“By the time sun rises on the morrow, your line shall end,” Aegon declared.
He turned his gaze over to his prisoners and at his nod the Dragonguard threw them onto the ground before Harren, drawing the Ironman king’s attention to them once again. “Starting with these two. You said that nothing outside your walls was of any concern to you. Does that apply to your sons as well?”
At that Harren spat upon his broken and pleading sons. “Do with the weaklings as you wish. I have three more worthier sons to replace them,” he said before he turned back to his castle.
As he rode away however, Aegon called out to him one last time. “You said that stone does not burn Harren Hoare. But what of men?”
To that, Harren gave no reply, riding off into the distance back to his walls. Aegon turned and rode back to his own army, the Dragonguard quick on his tail with their prisoners in tow.
As he arrived back in his encampment, he dismounted from his horse and pet it affectionately before handing the reins over to the stable hand. Though no mount could compare to Balerion, his black stallion Thunderer was a fine specimen of horseflesh in his own right and he was fond of him. All under his care would want for nothing, even the animals.
As he made his way through the encampment, Aegon espied some of the thralls that Harren had expelled right into the midst of his army when they had arrived yesterday. All of them had been emaciated and starved, with many on the brink of death due to overwork, exhaustion, and hunger.
Perhaps Harren had thought that the sight of the poor souls who were little more than skin and bones would weaken the morale of Aegon’s army and strain their supplies as they struggled to feed thousands more mouths. Perhaps it might have if the Rivermen hadn’t been eager to receive their kinsmen and give them aid and Aegon not made a speech about liberating and freeing more people from Harren’s yoke.
Harrenton outside the western walls of Harrenhal had been seized by their army once they had set camp and many of the thralls had been sent there to rest and shelter with a few of his most trusted units serving as guards and protectors. Aegon had formally decreed the thralls freed from their servitude before their grateful eyes and ears and then ordered them all fed and watered generously. Supplies were of no concern to him, not when Harrenhal and all the provisions within would soon be theirs.
His siblings and their commanders were waiting for him in the command tent. Visenya, Rhaenys, Orys, Quenton Qoherys, Josua Scales, Gaemon Gryvetheon, the Velaryons, the Celtigars, all the lords of the Riverlands and Blackwater Bay who had joined them, and all of the sellsword captains.
“The negotiations failed, as expected. Ready the army. The Free Companies will take point and lead the vanguard,” Aegon ordered.
As he had predicted, the sellswords protested. “Do you think us expendable King Aegon?” Gyllaro of the Bright Banners demanded. His fellow captains and commanders murmured in agreement.
“Far from it. It is out respect for your skill. Even with dragons, Harrenhal will be no easy castle to storm and only the finest and most skilled swords can take it. Who better to be the tip of the spear than the finest warriors of Essos?” he flattered them.
And to sweeten the deal he offered, “And of course, those in the vanguard will have the greatest share of the treasure.”
Flattery and the promise of rich rewards had them all salivating and eager to fight then. Aegon smirked. Pride and greed never failed to motivate.
Turning to the Rivermen he spoke again. “You all have your own pound of flesh to take from the Ironmen I am sure. You will go in next after the sellswords and exact your vengeance upon those who have oppressed you and your people.”
The Riverlords nodded eagerly in excitement, their eyes alight with righteous wrath at the promise of vengeance. Aegon was not done yet however.
“There are twenty thousand defenders inside Harrenhal but only seven in twenty are Ironmen. The rest are your fellow Rivermen. Kill all the Ironmen and any who would join them, but spare the servants for they are innocent and oppressed. If any Rivermen and lords who bear arms throw them down or would turn them against the Ironmen alongside you, let them. The same goes for all of you as well,” he concluded, turning to the sellsword captains and his other lords. All nodded their assent to his orders.
By the time the stakes had been readied and the brothers Othgar and Qhorwyn Hoare tied to them and screaming their pathetic pleas for mercy, the entire army had finalized its preparations and formed up in front of the gates waiting for the attack.
Harrenhal had only four gates, the enormous main gate, a smaller eastern gate, an even smaller postern gate, and a water gate. Before both of the two major gates on land, the cavalry components of each of the sellsword companies and some reinforcing Riverlander knights took point at the head of the vanguard while right behind them awaited thousands of sellsword and Rivermen infantry hungry for glory, gold, and vengeance.
The brothers Hoare had been tied to stakes diagonally to the main gate so that their pyre would not obstruct the impending charge but would still be within easy view of the defenders on the battlements and Harren in his tower. A warning of the fate that awaited all who defied the Dragon.
Mounted atop their dragons, Aegon and his sisters stalked round the stakes before Visenya finally had Vhagar set them on fire with a slight breath, the flames intentionally weak as his sister sought to make her would be rapists suffer. The screams they made as their flesh cooked and their skin charred was music to Aegon’s ears. Finally, Visenya tired of playing with her food and at her order Vhagar let loose a stronger blast of flame that instantly burned away the Hoares and the stakes into ash and ember blowing in the wind.
With that settled the three of them spurred their dragons into the sky, launching upwards at speeds that shocked all lesser men who beheld their ascent. They climbed up through the clouds, higher and higher until they were no bigger than flies upon the noon sun to those on the ground and even the great Harrenhal was naught but an anthill.
Only then did they descend, the wind seeming to whistle past their helmeted ears as their dragons dived, wings tucked in, snouts pointed straight down, and fires brewing in their bellies and maws. Until at last the great walls of Harrenhal appeared before them and they took aim and unleashed ruin and death.
Stone does not burn, Harren had said. And that was true enough. But Harrenhal did not have stone alone. Wood turned to cinders and metal into slag upon the ground as Balerion’s breath burned through the great gates. And even stone could crack and melt if the fire was hot enough. Whenever Aegon’s control slipped ever so slightly, Balerion’s flames would make the walls glow almost red as they warped, making him sigh at the damage to his new castle that he would have to repair.
Black flames met black stone walls as men screamed and smoked and died. The men in the courtyard before the main gatehouse died. The men about the eastern gate died when Vhagar and Meraxes fell upon them. All the men that manned the battlements burned and died as the three dragons soared overhead and bathed them in fire.
By the end of their onslaught, the curtain walls had been cleansed of all foes on its battlements and even those within the walls at the gatehouses manning the murder holes had likely been cooked to death by the sheer heat. The gates were broken and the courtyards on the other side had been laid waste and made empty.
Horns sounded through the entire army then as the cavalry charged for the two gates at a thunderous gallop, the infantry far outpaced as they ran up behind them. The remaining defenders scattered throughout Harrenhal had barely recovered and regrouped when Aegon’s cavalry fell upon them, their lances and swords tearing through them like a knife through butter. In some parts he even espied defenders and servants, especially Rivermen, surrendering to his army eagerly or turning their coat and joining them to attack the Ironmen in savage mobs.
As their infantry poured into the castle and fighting began in earnest within the towers, barracks, and halls, Aegon knew that their part in the battle was at an end. He took Balerion back to camp and when he made his way to his personal tent, he found his sisters abed and wanting, as naked as the days they had been born and eager to continue where they had left off earlier.
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The Tyrant’s Fall
How did it come to this Harren wondered? Only yesterday he had thought his great castle impregnable and now he laid besieged in the highest levels of his own tower. They could not go any further up, for construction was not complete and even if they could, there was nowhere to go, nowhere to hide anymore.
His last remaining Ironmen guards barred the doors desperately with anything they could, pushing against it with their own bodies even as the horde outside rammed against it. Sellswords greedy for his gold and Riverlander knights thirsting for his blood. The barbarians were at the gates and there was naught that he could do about it!
This was all the fault of those accursed Targaryens! He rued the days that those sibling-fuckers had ever been born. If only they had never come his reign and line would have been secure until the end of time and the Riverlands would have never escaped the grip of the black blood.
He would not weep, for tears were for the weak, but in his heart Harren mourned his sons Othgar and Qhorwyn. They had failed him but they had still been his sons and a small part of him had died with them when he had seen them immolated by the Targaryens’ monstrous beasts. The very same beasts that had destroyed his gates and scorched his walls and allowed the demons of hell to enter his castle, slaughter his vassals, and steal his treasures.
How he cursed Bracken and all the other filthy Rivermen traitors! They had turned their coats as easily as they breathed lies and falsehoods and with their might combined with the invaders, his seven thousand good and loyal Ironmen hadn’t stood a chance. Slaughtered to a man until now only they in this tower remained.
The last doors began to give way and Harren’s remaining three sons drew their swords beside him as he called his guards back from the door to join them. They would die here, there was no doubt about that, but they could still die as proud Ironmen, weapons in hand as they faced down their foes until an honorable warrior’s death came for them. Oh how the bards back in the Iron Islands would forever sing of their legendary last stand!
But when the doors broke open at last, it was not the sellswords of Essos or the knights of Bracken and Tully or some other Riverlord like he expected. Instead it was mere peasants, dressed in nothing more than their smallclothes and wielding the most rudimentary of weapons, broomsticks sharpened to a point to serve as spears, smiths’ hammers, kitchen knives, cleavers, and even simple rocks. Even the servants of Harrenhal had turned against him and joined the usurping invaders it seemed.
Harren almost laughed at the pathetic sight of the rabble before him but their numbers soon grew as more and more them poured into the room, backing them into a corner. Harren growled. He would not let mere filthy servants who did not know their place be the end of him!
He surged into the mob before him, his black plate armor making him nigh impervious to their puny primitive weapons as he bloodied his sword with their lives, cutting through their unarmored bodies like a scythe through wheat. His guards and sons were right beside him and for a time it looked like they had almost pushed the mob back before dozens if not hundreds more stormed in to replace every single one they killed.
One by one their ends came, ignominious as it was to die to peasants, die they did all the same. The peasants bashed his guards’ helms in with rocks and slipped their knives into the gaps of their armor. They threw his youngest son Harrag out the window to fall to his death, strung his eldest Harwyn up by his entrails, and ripped the armor off his second son Harlan and stabbed him over and over again until there was nothing left of his body but a hole-riddled bleeding mess of flesh and blood.
But for him they gave no such mercy. For Harren they reserved the cruelest and most painful death they could think off, slicing off his cock and balls and crushing them furiously before they used their knives and their hands and their hammers and spears and tore him apart, piece by piece. And the pain, so much endless, excruciating pain. As the mob descended upon him, Harren died screaming until he could scream no more for his very throat had been ripped out.
When the Riverlander knights and sellswords Harren had thought to face finally arrived, they found only the bloodied carcasses of the Hoares and their guards surrounded by scores of dead servants and the cold, grim, and satisfied smiles of those that still lived to enjoy their victory. The light of the rising sun peeked in through the windows.
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Author’s Note: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Stay tuned for Chapter 5! Let me know your thoughts and suggestions in the comments below or over on the Discord! https://discord.com/invite/NSEwuzpcWm
Comments
Tertius711
Exceptionalism might end up doing that lol. In any case I’m considering decentralising the Faith with the removal of the High Septon position and the autocephalisation of the organisation into its regional bodies to divide and weaken it further.
TyrantGod
I agree, dealing with the Faith will need good stratagem. If he can plan carefully, he could subtly cause a schism by introducing something similar to the Protestant movement (secretly of course) that will divide the power of the Sept.
Tertius711
He's already indicated that he won't to the Riverlords. Aegon has no interest in kowtowing to the Faith like his canon self did. This will have ramifications both good and bad. There will be a Field of Fire eventually but who it is against and where may be different than canon.
Tertius711
Thanks! Honestly estimates are hard to pin down. He'll probably give a portion of it out to pay his sellswords and the Riverlords but he will keep at least half of it if not more. Probably not. They didn't in canon. I'm uncertain if the Doom is really an event that they want to commemorate. There's nothing glorious about it, only a tragedy.
TyrantGod
Will Aegon showing that he supports the 7 star help deter the Faith? Historically, dealing with religion has been the biggest issues for ancient rulers? Will there be a Field of Fire in your story?
Omar Alshaikh
Awesome chapter. Is there an estimate in how much gold Harren had in his castle. That Aegon now has? Would Aegon have to return the stolen gold of the Riverlords? And since the 100 year anniversary of the Doom is in three years, is Aegon planning some sort of event or memorial. Or is that just not relevant enough for him to do.
Tertius711
Thanks! Glad you liked it! The Hoares got what they deserved. 100% Summerhall stonks indeed! Harrenhal has a lot of things going for it and a lot potential as has been pointed out. The Westerlands have the gold to fund future conquests though. They are also much easier to defend while the Stormlands would be extending their borders for little gain as a next conquest. That weakness also means it can be left for later because the added prep time won't help it out nearly as much as it would help the Westerlands.
Tertius711
I'm glad you liked that detail! Stay tuned for more! V+A+R indeed!
Tertius711
But objectively speaking Anonimacho, Aegon wouldn't really care for Starks now would he?
Tertius711
Stay tuned Jose Jimenez
Tertius711
Drifter090 , we shall see how it goes. The Starks may not still kneel in this timeline depending on how it goes.
Sukhraj Singh
Good chapter. Looks like Harren the Black and all his sons got what they deserved in the end. Cannot find it in myself to feel pity for them. So Aegon and his sisters have decided to rename Harrenhall to Summerhall and make it the seat of power of their empire. I suppose that would be for the best, especially if they manage to make sure that the castle is curse free and manage to remodel and renovate it to their Valyrian taste. I'm guessing that the next few years will be spent consolidating and centralizing their power and further training their armies before they begin invading the other kingdoms. I know you mentioned in the previous chapters that Aegon and his sister will move towards to the Westerlands next but I feel it would be better if they take the Stormlands first as it would be the weakest of all the other kingdoms and easier to conquer. Of course they will have to build fortications that will block the Vale from moving into the Riverlands and the North from marching down as well. Blocking off the Vale should be easy enough as they are probably only a few path in an out of it, the Vale's greatest strength can also be made into its greatest weakness. Hell if Aegon wants to play dirty, he can send smugglers to arm the mountain clans of the Vale and have them run havoc across it, to keep the distracted. Still I am looking forward to seeing what the reaction of the rest of Westeros will be once news of Aegon conquest of the Riverlands speads and he solidifies his hold over her newly conquered territories.
Anonimacho
If the author gets his way, they will get a much worse deal. In canon, only Torrhen was in favor of surrendering. This time Aegon's offer does not include remaining in charge of the entire north, he plans to fragment them. So it is much more likely that Torrhen will suffer a coup. Objectively speaking, they should be eliminated. A former royal family can make the entire north unite for their cause in future revolts. But, personally, I am not objective, I hope they at least survive, even if it is as simple lords. The rest of the kings on the other hand? I should eliminate them all.
SteveH
Agreed!
maryorin rosario
I love this chapter, I can't wait for more 😻 I love the detail that Visenya doesn't say what she wants but Aegon knows her so much. I love this triarchy V+A+R
Drifter090
Love it! I'mma be honest I hope the starks get treated better then in otl since they where the only kingdom to kneel in full.
Tertius711
Harrenhal was one guy deciding imma build the mountain myself lmao. Riverlands don’t really have good mountains for castle building
BaldRhaegar
You only need a Mountain to build Minas Tirith it a city-castle with multiple layers of protection and the royal family lives at the top, perfect for Dragonriders and for people to see them as closer to gods but you got a good point about Harrenhall, Harrenhall is already built and is in the middle of Westeros they could built something akin to the roman roads "All the roads lead to Summerhall"
Tertius711
Indeed. Sad but true.
Tertius711
Stay tuned!
Arcturus
Hope so🤩👍
Arcturus
As Tywin said "King and lord command from back and don't seek fame in battle". He is supreme chief-in-command of his army, so he should see full picture from side or sky and be main fire force when it's needed Daeron 1 and Daemon Blackfyre showed what happened with king who lead army from vanguard
Tertius711
Who knows maybe a bunch of it is locked up in that hidden vault on Dragonstone mentioned in Ch1... Chamber of Secrets fr fr lol.
Arcturus
Yep, creators confirmed that in some interview🤔 Well it's quite logical that even one of the weakest dragolords' family like Targaryens would have something more than 2 swords, dagger and crown from their national metal. I mean, with number of swords and other things owned by people around, Targaryens would be looking even more pathetic if they don't have anything else..😅🤷♂️ That's I remember, it was quite smart addition to Viserra's uniform😁🤝
Tertius711
Indeed Arcuturus. Wdym by 'fasad' Volcanoes aren't strictly necessary for Dragonstone and I don't think dragons bathe in lava in ASOIAF but yeah.
Tertius711
Build a Minas Tirith where? Harrenhal comes prebuilt and its size is a plus not a minus point for an empire's capital. Black ain't a problem either, that's a Targaryen color. Riverlanders can suck it, Aegon is their liberator. The curse is a valid concern but shouldn't kick in if the castle isn't outright burned
Tertius711
Thanks! Glad you think so! Daemon's helmet in the show is Valyrian steel? Anyway Valyrian armor he doesn't have right now but he can get it eventually if he collects enough VS from both Westeros and Essos to have it made. Wingsuits and parachutes were in High Tide so certainly something I'm familiar with and they could be made to avoid Rhaenys' canon fate.
Tertius711
Thanks! I honestly dk if Aegon will ever do much personal fighting tbch. He didn't OTL. It's an unjustifiable risk tbch. Harren got what he deserved indeed. Managed to give a death worse or equal to canon. The Ironborn do have some forces on the continent, namely at the castles of Seagard and Raventree Hall. They could easily escape back to the Iron Islands though. Abandoning Seven or easily accepting Exceptionalism/Secularism. Doesn't really matter to Aegon as long as they are more loyal to his house over the Starry Sept.
Tertius711
There will likely be a city around Harrenhal yes, expanded from Harrenton. Rename what, Harrenhal or Harrenton? Because what Harrenhal is being renamed to has already been stated in the chapter. The Empire will include the Stepstones... one day. It needs to include all of Westeros first.
Tertius711
Indeed. Any further thoughts on the chapter?
Maciek
Good one ;) I was bit disappointed that there was no Aegon fighting, but I guess his hour will come soon ;) You could say that Harren died as he deserved - and I doubt that anyone would disagree (maybe except those who wanted for him to get treatment a'la Theon ) ;) Now, that main opposition in Riverlands was destroyed, do Ironborn have any forces left on continent that could try resisting, or everyone escaped to Iron Islands? Now other aspect: In Chapter 3 "neutral" lords mentioned that Rebelion never received any support from Faith of other kingdoms. Could this be a nudge for abandoning Seven in favour of Valyrian faith in Riverlands?
TyrantGod
Nice chapter. So will you build a city around harrenhall? And will you rename it, maybe call it Avalon? Will the empire also eventually include the Stepstones?
Arcturus
Exactly valyrian style: black stone, high towers and a lot place for flying crocodiles🤔 Only need so redesign of fasad, some dragon statues and Targaryens would feel themselves like at home!😁👌 Only one problem, no vulcanoes around, but still they could visit Dragonstone time to time for lava springs and ash masks, they are so good for lizards skin 🤩
Arcturus
Nice and interesting chapter! By the way, does Aegon have some other stuff from valyrian steel from his essosies' bribes and gifts, like Daemon's helmet from TV show? Would be cool if he has some king of Euron's armor and helmet. Maybe even with valyrian shield(I think it would be something like Captain America's vibranium buddy with inertia nullification) Such warrior of Aegon level would be unstoppable in battle 💪 And for dragonrider suites, maybe he could think some kind of wingsuit and parachute? Emergency evacuation from fallen beast would be smart idea to save at least rider
Skruffy
Brutal
BaldRhaegar
Man you could have build a Minas Tirith as your seat of power and you want harrenhall? Black, too large and big to be tenable and a hated castle by the riverlanders it was also cursed in the original..
