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Raiden's Storm Chapter 32: As High As Honour
🕑 Added 2024-02-12 00:12:17 +0000 UTCBOOOOOOOOOOOM.
Where the arrow landed, a line of lightning followed - scorching nearly fifty men. The sight, naturally, terrified the mountain clans. The being who stood at the top of the hill... did not look human. His arrows kept soaring down, killing a man with each. Almost like a hivemind, they determined that he was the greatest threat... and moved away from Mistwood.
He remained atop the hill, killing twenty men before loading another lightning arrow. He let it fly straight into the sky. It soared swiftly before beginning its descent... and plummeting down like a shooting star.
BOOOOOM.
It exploded into a chain of lightning, zapping everything near it. Another thirty men met their end in the blink of an eye. He continued using normal arrows, picking the ones closest to him. If anything... the men were stubborn.
By the time they had come close to the hill, a hundred and twenty of them had fallen to Edric alone. But... he was not alone.
"Slaughter them!"
Edric ordered his own warband to charge, who had been waiting on the other side of the hill. They charged down and took advantage of the high ground, bashing into the opposing men. Edric, all the while, continued to pick them off in the background. With the knights leading the vanguard, the mountain clans didn't stand much of a chance... despite having more significant numbers.
The opposing forces began to surround Edric's men, using their numbers. Edric began to hunt heads, aiming for the big ones who tended to be leaders. Even though his knights were carving through them, his own mountain clansmen were not all that impressive against their kind... and began to collapse.
Two hundred became a hundred and fifty...
Though, the opposing force had dwindled to four hundred and eighty.
Edric continued to shoot arrows as swiftly as his body let him, enhancing himself with the Storm. In turn, the weather began to reflect the rage in his heart. Thunder cracked in the skies, and rain poured down. Rough winds emerged, strong enough to throw men to the ground involuntarily.
These winds targetted the opposing force, granting him a great advantage. Almost in the blink of an eye, the mountain clans had lost fifty men.
The battle continued to rage, with blood spilt on both sides. Edric began to grow noticeably weary as his firing speed decreased. The heavy use of Storm Magic had caught up with him. His forces numbered less than eighty against three hundred and fifty...
"Edric, you are too weak to continue this battle, and your forces will soon be overrun." Raiden Shogun stated, looking at him. "Retreat."
"No... I have them right where I want them. Only a little longer." He took a deep breath. "We have to hold them."
However, his ranks were utterly collapsing, and his archery alone couldn't stop the bleeding. He decided to draw his warhammer and take to the field directly, joining the left flank.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
He began crushing through men, one after the other. Like a frenzied animal, he dodged their attacks and countered with fatal blows. His Warhammer grew heavy, so he returned it to his inventory and began using his castle-forged steel sword.
Slash... slash... slash.
He cut through five men consecutively, seeing only red.
Enemies... enemies to kill.
A mix of killing instinct and hyper-focus fueled his body forward, turning him into a walking killing machine. He drew his throwing knives and threw them around, killing another eight with lethal accuracy. He grabbed an axe off the ground and tossed it right into a man's exposed head.
"Die... die... die!!!"
Edric roared, slicing a man's throat open before dancing with another. He overwhelmed him with a precise combination, slicing his hand and then driving his sword straight into the man's chest.
The left flank rallied behind their invincible demon, beginning to fight with the same fury that possessed him. Despite being heavily outnumbered... they were carving through the mountain clan ranks. It was as if each man had become the worth of ten.
Meanwhile, the mountain clans began expanding outwards through the right flank, completely surrounding Edric's forces.
"Edric... save yourself," Raiden stated, almost pleading. "You are pushing too much, not even you can handle this level of strain."
A warrior struck his axe against Edric's armour, hardly doing anything.
"That tickled."
Edric laughed, grabbing his axe and disarming the man. He then used his axe against him, cleaving into the man. He heard a scream and turned to the side- seeing Garlan Tyrell fall. Most of his Kingsguard seemed to have sustained wounds, and three Vale Knights had fallen. Three of his young village recruits had also died.
Edric's rage only grew as his sword lit up with lightning.
"Mountain dogs..."
One clansman tried to slash Edric with his axe, but he sliced his head right off with one simple gesture. Lightning cracked over the darkening sky, and the shadow of a black stag loomed over the world. He began his charge to the centre, carving a path of lightning and blood through the opposing outlaws.
When he finally reached them, he cut through the surrounding clansmen, saving his men...
Then he saw it in the distance...
The shaking of the earth... the horses... the shining plate armour peeking through the forests... the banners raised high.
"Fucking finally." Sandor took a sigh of relief.
Edric's anger did not subside, however. They continued to hold their ground until the Vale's reinforcements clashed against the flank of the mountain clansmen and thoroughly destroyed them. They aided Edric's forces and routed the rest. They continued to chase down the mountain clans, slaughtering all of them.
Edric stood in a waterfall of rain, dropping his helmet.
"What... took so long?" He questioned, seeking an answer.
"We did not think they would attack so soon, Your Grace." Gilwood Hunter bowed his head. "Forgive us for the losses you've suffered..."
"Hahaha..." Edric laughed. "Hahahaha... hahahaha... hahahahahaha!"
"Your Grace... are you alright?" Arthur approached, holding his right arm.
"Your incompetence... is glaring!" Edric's eyes glowed an unforgiving purple. "Not only do I have to kill your outlaws myself because none of you seem to be capable enough to hunt them down, not only do I have to arm the villagers who have no means of defending themselves... but I managed to gather the rest of them on a single field! No hiding, no mountains, no forests, an open fucking field..."
"And what did you do? Take your sweet, sweet... fucking time!" Edric looked around. "My judgement tells me to take the heads of every lord responsible and replace them with men who-"
"His Grace is unwell." Arthur interrupted, stepping in front of him. "Please do not pay heed to anything he says."
"I..." Edric touched his head. "Fuck's... sake..."
He collapsed from exhaustion.
~
Edric's campaign against the mountain clans would draw to a close after nearly four moons of conflict, with all the major mountain clans being put to the sword. News of his great deeds would spread like wildfire, from sniffing out even the most well-hidden mountain clans to forcing all the major clans to rally against him from sheer fear... which led to them being crushed in the open field under his orders.
Among the smallfolk of the lower Vale, he was a figure akin to a legend. Someone who put down a scourge that had tortured the region for generations... practically alone. Even the lords were grateful they wouldn't have to deal with those bastards anymore.
...
I felt like absolute dog shit after the battle. Riding all the way to the Castle of Sky was difficult, though a girl called Mya Stone made it easier. She knew almost every shortcut and the most straightforward path along the Giant's Lance.
"You... like her?" I glanced at Arthur, chuckling.
"Don't spread baseless gossip, Your Grace." Arthur denied, shaking his head. "I am a sworn brother of the Kingsguard."
I smiled slightly. "I didn't castrate you when I put the white cloak around you, did I?"
"... No."
"Aye... so it's perfectly normal to like girls." I shrugged. "The oath doesn't say you can't have a heart."
"Even so, it would only burden me."
"I'll admit, she does have a certain charm," I remarked, ignoring his statement. "Did you know... she's my big sister?"
"Your... what?" Arthur's eyes widened.
"Robert's firstborn, from his time at the Vale," I explained. "It is somewhat openly known, though it seems that she is not aware... or perhaps doesn't pay much attention to it."
"Perhaps it's better not to know," Arthur stated.
"I think otherwise..." I smiled, shaking my head. "These bastards from Robert... they are my truest brothers and sisters. We share the blood of Robert Baratheon and possess great gifts that others do not, as you can see. I should like to keep them close if I can."
"... I see. You didn't grow up with any siblings." Arthur remarked. "It must be nice knowing you have so many, in a way."
"Yeah..." I chuckled. "All thanks to my father's ability to drink and fuck whatever he liked."
We kept riding on, reaching the castle of Sky. I dismounted from my mule and watched the gate open. Yohn Royce had been waiting with the good news, though I knew full well what he had to say.
"The Eyrie has fallen, Your Grace! The men garrisoned there had a change of heart and rallied to your cause a moon ago, leading to a brutal battle within the Eyrie. Led by Ser Harrold Hardyng, the men loyal to you emerged victorious and imprisoned Lady Lysa in her own stronghold."
"Good... let's not idle further and ascend to the Eyrie."
...
I took the high seat in the High Hall, overseeing Lysa Arryn's trial. I allowed Arya to sit down on the second lesser seat, where it was tradition for the consort to sit. Lysa was brought out at the centre of the hall by the knights of the Vale, struggling angrily.
"Murderer..." She muttered, staring at me. "Murderer!"
"Murderer of whom?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Sweet Petyr... you had no right to kill him!"
"Oh, Sweet Petyr, is it?" I tilted my head. "You sound most fond of him, Lady Arryn."
"I grew up with him... I..."
"You, what?" I questioned. "By all accounts, Petyr Baelish is a man who committed many forms of treason throughout his time. A man who selfishly used his station as Master of Coin to siphon gold for himself. Not to mention his plotting... what part of that makes me a murderer? Your love for him?"
"No, I..." Lysa shook her head. Her mind certainly wasn't in the right place.
"So you did not love him?" I stroked my chin. "How strange; what even is your reason for standing against me?"
"You're a bastard... a lying, little, bastard who twists the truth."
"What truth have I twisted?" I blinked with a confused expression. She was the type of woman you could not win a debate with. Not because she was always right... but because she would never stop talking.
"Everything... everything!" She shouted. "You showed mercy to the Lannisters, who killed my husband! You unjustly took the life of Petyr and forced your way into the Eyrie. You are no King... you're just a bastard with a crown!"
No one in the hall looked convinced of her words, just looking at her like she was some crazy woman... which she is.
"..." I sighed. "Even now, you object to my rule?"
"Your rule?" She laughed. "There is nothing to object to."
"..." Arya looked at her. "You're such an idiot... just bend the knee. You don't have to die."
"No... he would only separate me from Sweetrobin. What is a life without him?"
"... Then there is truly nothing that can be done." I acted like it was 'unfortunate', slowly standing up. I walked down to the centre along the stairs. "My enemies who fall to their knees the first time and learn to bow their head can be raised from the ground. However, the enemies who fall to their knees and refuse to bow..."
"They will never be allowed to rise again."
I stared at Lysa Arryn before glancing at the Moon Door.
"Open it."
The knights by the door removed the bars, and the heavy wind thrust the door open.
I grabbed her hand and forced her along despite her protests. She tried pushing me through the door, but I kept steady - despite feeling weary. She was a weak woman, and I could easily overpower her despite my lack of energy. With a simple twist, I turned her toward the door.
"Farewell, Lady Arryn."
'Fly high.'
I Sparta kicked her off into the open skies.
