The Mountain of Ice and Fire

The Lord of the Vale, Robert Arryn, was only eight years old, physically frail and mentally slow. His mother, Lady Lysa Tully, ruled the Vale as regent in the name of Duke Robert.

The great and small nobles of the Vale all followed Lady Lysa Tully's lead! Until Littlefinger arrived, the Vale began to stir with unrest.

However, no one had the power to prevent Lysa Tully from remarrying, and of course, no one could stop Lysa Tully from choosing whom to marry.

In the end, she chose Littlefinger, Petyr Baelish, and all the Vale's noble suitors became losers.

To prevent Littlefinger from seizing power, Bronze Yohn Royce, the Earl of Runestone, secretly formed the League of the Righteous, preparing to use force to drive Littlefinger out of the Vale.

This plan bordered on rebellion!

Lysa Tully was unaware of this, but Littlefinger had received the news early on.

Eliminating Bronze Yohn Royce was imperative!

Facing 'Littlefinger, who had been baptized in the treacherous schemes of King's Landing's Red Keep,' the Vale's nobles made a fatal mistake: underestimation.

They were still stuck on the stereotypical view of Littlefinger as a nobody. The great nobles of the Vale fundamentally looked down on Littlefinger, who had no fertile land, no subjects under his command, and no military power.

Littlefinger, lacking all three, had unexpectedly defeated all the romantic rivals, won Lysa Tully's heart, and announced that they would be officially married in seven days.

Some nobles chose to stay in the Eyrie for the wedding, while others began to leave one after another.

Bronze Yohn, Earl Corbray, and Earl Redfort chose to leave on the first day. More nobles chose to leave early the next morning, and as they descended the mountain, Littlefinger asked them to stay.

"My lords, I have some unfortunate news. The Mountain raided Runestone the night before last, killing Ser Andar Royce, the heir to Runestone, and capturing Miss Ysilla Royce. Yesterday morning, he swept across all the Royce family's vassals on Runestone Island and captured them. If the Mountain does not receive a document of the Vale's surrender today, he will land at any point on the east coast and raid a family on the Vale's plains at any time. Please stay, my lords, we need to discuss countermeasures."

First, there was a brief silence, even the air seemed to freeze, and then a clamor erupted in the Moon Door Hall. The nobles were excited, some wanting to go down the mountain to fight, some cursing the Mountain, some accusing Littlefinger, in short, all kinds of voices could be heard.

Littlefinger coldly watched the nobles' quarrel, sat down, and drank the comfortable warm milk, without saying a word.

Drinking milk is good for your health at breakfast!

In the end, the hawks gained the upper hand, which was very dangerous, because the Mountain had many hostages, but they were hostages from the Royce family, and most of the nobles were not concerned.

"Are the lords sure they want to go to war?" Littlefinger signaled the maid to add honey to the milk, making it taste more comfortable, and gestured for the maid to stir the honeyed milk more.

"We want to see Lady Lysa Tully," a noble proposed. They disdained discussing 'Vale affairs' with Littlefinger, as if Littlefinger were the Lord of the Vale.

"My lady is sleeping. Duke Robert was unwell last night, and the mother and son both went to bed late. My lady has fully entrusted me to handle this matter. I am a very good person to talk to and negotiate with. As long as you are sure you want to go to war, I will order the Vale nobles to gather their armies and fight the Mountain. If you want to negotiate a peace, I will choose the most suitable person to negotiate with the Mountain. Although my lady has entrusted me with full responsibility for the Vale's affairs, it is you, my lords, who truly make the decisions," Littlefinger took the honeyed milk from the maid, took a sip, the taste was just right, comfortable, and he gave the maid a smile.

"We cannot go to war," a slightly aged female voice spoke, full of majesty. - Countess Anya Waynwood, the head of House Waynwood, had risen early and come to the Moon Door Hall. The nobles who decided to stay for the Vale lady's wedding got up later, while the nobles who were going down the mountain got up very early.

"The Mountain has taken Runestone, which is equivalent to a declaration of war. Lady Anya, do you think the Vale lacks warriors?" a noble pressed aggressively.

"Lord Wyghte, if you want to go to your death, I will not stop you. Please go down the mountain and lead the soldiers of House Wyghte to attack the Mountain. Your few soldiers are not enough for the Mountain to kill."

Baron Wyghte's face flushed red.

Lady Anya had great prestige in the Vale and was one of the eight great nobles. House Waynwood's strength was second only to House Royce. Currently, the Vale's Bloody Gate was guarded by the lady's second son, Ser Donnel Waynwood.

The generals who guarded the Bloody Gate and their families were the most powerful, and their martial arts and bravery were recognized by the Vale. Before Donnel, the Vale general was the famous Blackfish Brynden Tully, which shows that Donnel's talent was not mediocre.

The Bloody Gate was the most important defensive gate in the Vale, without exception. The Vale generals of all ages were famous generals.

"Indeed, we cannot go to war," the voice of Knight Templeton sounded from another side door.

Templeton of Ninestars, invincible in bravery, the adult males of the whole family were knights. This was the only knight family in the Vale, famous for its bravery and skill in battle.

"If we go to war, Royce's Runestone and the entire Runestone Island will be destroyed. I believe the Mountain can do it," Knight Templeton walked out of the side door, came to the Moon Door Hall, and stood with Countess Waynwood, "If the Mountain wants to attack the Vale's plains, who can know from which point he will land? Who will be his next target? The Vale's plains stretch for hundreds of miles, and some families are still in the mountains. The Mountain has more than ten thousand soldiers. If they attack each of us individually, what should we do?"

"Well said, Knight Templeton," Littlefinger stood up, "Perhaps the Mountain's next target is my Fingers, the Fingers are by the sea, undefended. He can land and occupy it. You know, there are more than three hundred goats on my peninsula," Littlefinger said playfully, his frivolousness making many nobles dissatisfied.

"But perhaps the Mountain's next target is Heart's Home, or Redfort hundreds of miles away, or Ironoaks, or even deep into the Vale, raiding the Gates of the Moon is not impossible. I would not be surprised even if he suddenly appeared under the drawbridge of the Moon Gate Fortress in the middle of the night. Do you remember Randyll Tarly? The Mountain was clearly hundreds of miles away, but suddenly appeared in front of Randyll, and then won with fewer soldiers than Randyll, killing all of Randyll's cavalry, and killing Randyll Tarly and his heir, General Dickon Tarly. Lord Wyghte, is your bravery and military talent more powerful than the Seven Kingdoms' famous general, Randyll Tarly, or is Earl Randyll stronger?"

Littlefinger's mischievous smile climbed to the corner of his mouth, making Lord Wyghte's neck turn red.

"The Mountain raided and defeated our most powerful House Royce. Even if we gather the strength of the entire Vale, where will the Mountain land? Who will be the next target of the attack? Can anyone tell me? Lord Wyghte, do you know?"

Lord Wyghte was silent, hating Littlefinger to the bone.

"How long will it take us to gather the army of the entire Vale, Lord Templeton?"

"My lord, it will take a day to prepare the soldiers in the castles of the various lords, and a month to gather all the soldiers on the territory and gather the Vale's military forces together, with all kinds of logistics, horses, and food preparations."

"Who can defeat the Mountain's ten thousand soldiers with only a thousand or three hundred soldiers from his own castle? Stand up, and I will immediately grant him the glory of the vanguard and immediately order him to lead his troops to attack Runestone, establish meritorious service, and glorify his ancestors," Littlefinger's mean and harsh words were as sharp and ruthless as knives.

Everyone in the hall was angry, but no one spoke.

Littlefinger's words were unpleasant, but they were the truth. The army of the most powerful House Royce had been killed by the Mountain and Runestone had been occupied. The soldiers of Lady Anya's family, who were next most powerful, numbered less than three thousand. No family could defeat the Mountain single-handedly. To gather all the Vale's forces, there would be more than twenty thousand elites, but this would take at least a month, and they would also need to fight the Mountain in a decisive battle in an open area.

"My lords, if the Mountain fights guerrilla warfare, his cavalry is fast, and if his troops reach the territory of any noble, that noble can only be slaughtered. He only needs to defeat two or three of our great nobles, occupy the castle, and capture hostages. At that time, we will have to agree to any of his conditions," Littlefinger said slowly, "My lords, my opinion is: after losing the natural barrier of the Bloody Gate, don't compete with the Mountain, who is attacking from the eastern coastline, in strength. Let's negotiate!"

"My lord, perhaps we should listen to Lord Royce's opinion," Templeton said in a deep voice.

"Your opinion is good, Knight Templeton. Lord Royce will return to the Eyrie tonight to discuss rescuing his daughter, Ysilla Royce. We only need to wait patiently for one day. Tomorrow morning, when everyone gets up, they will see Lord Royce in the Moon Door Hall," Littlefinger said calmly.

His indifferent expression was always hateful, his mischievous smile was always infuriating, but everyone could only endure it. No matter how unpleasant or hostile they felt towards Littlefinger, they could only accept it for now. Although everyone naturally resented and opposed Littlefinger's words, every time, when everyone discussed to the end, they found themselves walking on the path of Littlefinger's advice.

This - was - fucking - bullshit!

*

In the middle of the night, the Eyrie's basket bells rang wildly. Royce and others were lifted up one by one in the basket. They hurried up the mountain, using mules to reach the snow line and then walking. After a day and a night, Mia Stone brought the lords back again. By the time everyone had been hoisted up to the Eyrie from the entrance of the sky ladder, the dawn appeared in the east, scattering golden light all over the Eyrie.

Littlefinger instructed the maids to cook bacon soup, the chefs to bake bread, all kinds of roasted meat, milk and honey, and fruits were also laid out on the long table in the dining room.

Littlefinger sat at the head of the long table, holding a steaming piece of toast in his hand, honey dripping down onto his plate.

"My lords, you have worked hard. Actually, it would have been enough to send a raven up to the Moon Gate Fortress. Tell me what you want to do, and I will obey," Littlefinger said with a smile.

"We want to see Lady Lysa," Bronze Yohn Royce said in a rough voice.

"My lady and Duke Robert are both feeling a little unwell. They need to rest. My lady has fully entrusted all the affairs of the Vale, whether large or small, whether political, military, or maritime, to me. Do you need me to show Lord Royce my lady's order?" Littlefinger nodded to the maester. The maester took out a piece of paper from his arms...

"No need to read it!" Earl Royce said, "The Mountain has started a war, my lord. Your little trick of verbally surrendering to deceive the Mountain has failed. I have never seen such a terrible and stupid idea. Runestone has been occupied by the Mountain. You must take the main responsibility, Duke Petyr."

"Is that so, my lord? I only offered a small opinion. You were the ones who voted to agree," Littlefinger said with a smile.

His smile always carried a hint of sarcasm, a hint of mischief, a hint of playfulness, and a hint of ill will. What was left was arrogance. This made Royce furious. His little daughter was still in the Mountain's hands, Runestone had been occupied by the Mountain, and he didn't know how the family's accumulated money and food had been ruined by the Mountain.

"The Mountain is humiliating the Vale, attacking us. My heir was killed, my daughter was captured, and my vassals were captured, but you are here gloating," Royce stood up and said sternly.

"Don't make a loud noise. Watch your words and demeanor. This is my lady's dining room," Littlefinger said calmly.

Bang!

Royce threw the plate in front of him at Littlefinger. The plate shattered. A soldier dodged in time to stand in front of Littlefinger, and the debris splashed onto his armor.

Littlefinger gently patted the soldier's shoulder, signaling him to step aside, and smiled: "Ser Rorso Broon, if Earl Royce dares to be rude to me again, kill him."

"Yes, my lord."

A burly man with rough skin on his face, as black as a lowly farmer, stood at the door of the dining room in armor, his hand on the hilt of his sword, answering respectfully. The nobles noticed that this was a strange guard, but Petyr called him a knight, so he should not be an ordinary soldier, but this guy looked like a farmer who had been doing rough work in the fields for many years. He had wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and on his forehead, and the skin on his face and hands was black and rough.

Rorso Broon walked into the dining room and stood behind Littlefinger with his hand on his sword.

A knight next to Royce stood up: "Rorso Broon? A knight of House Broon?"

Rorso Broon looked at the knight, without saying a word, just like a statue.

He had once killed someone in King's Landing and was saved by Lord Petyr. He swore allegiance to Petyr. Petyr arranged for him to guard the bare Fingers, which had nothing. This guy took a boat to the Fingers and made a living by raising sheep and fishing, guarding Littlefinger's so-called territory.

Littlefinger would send ships to the Fingers to deliver supplies at fixed times. But the war started and it stopped for a very, very long time. Rorso Broon stayed on the desolate peninsula and supported himself, until Littlefinger reappeared on the peninsula and brought him to the Eyrie, and he ended his life of hardship.

Besides raising sheep and fishing, Rorso Broon practiced swordsmanship on the island. His swordsmanship was as strong as his loyalty, but the harsh life on the Fingers in recent years had worn away his noble knightly demeanor, leaving him with the appearance of an old farmer.

But Rorso's age was actually not that old! The sea breeze, waves, and harsh living environment made him look more than ten years older than his actual age.

"Russell Bren, are you deaf? I'm talking to you!" Royce's knight slowly rose, speaking with a chilling tone.

Russell remained motionless, his gaze so calm it was almost blank. His hand rested on the sword hilt, relaxed. Only a relaxed hand could have relaxed muscles, allowing for the fastest draw.