Game of Thrones: Battle at Winterfell 299 AC

It is late afternoon and the sun is yet to set below the trees of the nearby Wolfswood. A long shadow casts over the slouching figure of young Theon Greyjoy as he descends from the battlements, heading back to his chambers. A mere quarter later the guards sighted movement to the east. To their consternation, a sizeable column with a flayed man on their banners was marching towards the castle. One of the ironborn rushed to alert Theon, while the others mustered for what was coming. The nearing future was but a blur, yet almost certainly soaked with blood. A decisive clash that would set the fate of the North is about to begin. This video is sponsored by Raid: Shadow Legends! With over 80 Million people playing around the world, Raid: Shadow Legends is the biggest mobile RPG game, ever! And perhaps you should find out why. Completely free to play, Raid: Shadow Legends has over 650 unique and customizable heroes for you to collect in order to tackle ever growing challenges. Fight epic bosses or even pit your skills against other players, how you play is up to you! But let’s be honest playing with friends or making new one’s online in the games massive social environment is always more fun! And there’s never been a better time to start. To celebrate the new year and Raid’s 4th anniversary the game is launching its Titan event update. With some truly legendary rewards. Not the least of which is the introduction of special new legendary champ, wrestling and MMA phenom Ronda Rousey which new and old players can get for free simply by logging in and playing 7 times before 20 Feb. Help support our channel. Click the link in the description below (or scan this QR code) and not only will you be helping us, but new players will receive amazing bonuses including the epic champion, Jotun 100k silver, 50 gems and 2 epic skill tomes. With a start like this, you simply cannot lose. It is the first half of the year 299 after Aegon’s Conquest. The untimely death of King Robert Baratheon sparks a widespread civil war as many of the great Houses of Westeros set at each other’s throats. Young Robb Stark, leading a sizeable host of rivermen and northmen camps in the vicinity of Riverrun, planning his next steps against the Lannisters and Baratheons of King’s Landing. The Young Wolf scored some important early victories, but despite his successes against the Lannisters, Robb was concerned that most of the troops loyal to him were fighting in the riverlands, thus leaving the North all but undefended. These developments were closely observed by Lord Balon Greyjoy of the Iron Islands, well known for his ambitions and lust for power. He still had a vivid memory of the rebellion he incited a decade earlier, but this defeat apparently didn’t quench Balon’s desires. Robb Stark was well aware of the warlike nature of the ironborn and sent an envoy to hopefully secure his back by forging an alliance with the Greyjoys. Admittedly, a sensible move, and yet, Robb’s envoy failed miserably. Lord Balon was deaf to the proposal of joining forces with the Starks, and instead declared himself King of the Iron Islands, preparing to invade the North at the same time. Balon’s plan was relatively simple. The main strike was to assault strategically important Moat Cailin and thus cut off Robb’s army. The second group of boats was to undermine the northernmost coasts by assaulting Deepwood Motte. The remainder of ships was tasked with raiding the Stony Shore to provide a distraction for the former two forces. Within weeks, the Greyjoy campaign had begun. The sudden attack proved to be highly successful, as undermanned northern towns and strongholds were unable to withstand the rapid assaults of the ironborn. King Balon’s audacious plan worked well, and the morale among the reavers seemed to be as strong as ever. The ironborn triumphed, but not everyone was satisfied. Balon’s youngest child and only living son, Theon felt that leading this seemingly unimportant mission of harrying the Stony Shores was beneath him and he deserved better. Theon’s case was a curious one indeed, as for the last ten years he was a ward of House Stark to ensure his father’s loyalty after his unsuccessful rebellion. Upon returning to the Iron Islands as Robb’s envoy, Theon learned the hard way that his station was deferred in favour of his own sister. Hence, as the last defender on the Stony Shore perished, young Greyjoy was bent on proving his worth. While most of the longships continued to plunder the shore, Theon devised a plan that would earn him much fame among both his kin and his proud father. He convinced old reaver Dagmer Cleftjaw to attack the inland stronghold of Torrhen’s Square in order to draw the Winterfell garrison out of the castle.

The ploy worked and the northmen marched south-west to hammer through the shieldwall of Dagmer’s warriors and lift the siege. In the meantime, a few dozen ironmen led by Theon stole through the land and captured the then undefended Winterfell. To underline his success, Theon eagerly styled himself as “Prince of Winterfell”, much to the chagrin of the local populace, among which he spent half of his life. Although the bold plan of taking Winterfell succeeded, the idea of holding such a large stronghold was a different matter. Two of the captured Stark boys managed to escape to the extensive crypts of Winterfell. Unable to seize them, Theon killed two boys of similar age and displayed their charred bodies, claiming them to be the Starks. Determined to fortify inside the castle, Theon sent ravens to his relatives, hoping for reinforcements, but this bore scant result. Seeing things going awry, the young Greyjoy quickly grew desperate for help. Eventually, Theon followed the advice of one of his new servants, an unsettling man going by the nickname Reek. The latter was allowed to ride east to his former masters at The Dreadfort, promising to come back with two hundred men. A fool’s hope no doubt, but Theon was out of other options. In the following weeks the self-styled Prince of Winterfell stood by his choice to defend the castle, essentially praying to avoid the inevitable. But help never came and soon a number of northern banners flapping in the wind heralded the arrival of the Winterfell garrison, bolstered by House Cerwyn, Tallhart, Manderly and others. Almost two thousand warriors in total, led by Ser Rodrik Cassel, master-of-arms at Winterfell. A solid force against the paltry seventeen ironmen that agreed to stay by Theon’s side. And yet, Ser Rodrik wished to parley, giving the young Greyjoy a bitter moniker - Theon Turncloak. The negotiations were short and unfruitful, as Theon’s demands were unrealistic given his position. The northern nobles treaded carefully to avoid bloodshed, but alas no accord could be met. The sun was well past noon, Ser Rodrik rode back to his men, still hesitating to give an order to storm the walls. But before he was able to make up his mind, the upheaval among the northerners made him turn around. A sizeable column with a flayed man on their banners was marching towards the castle. Boltons of the Dreadfort, some proper, albeit late, reinforcements, thought Ser Rodrik upon riding forward to greet whoever led the Bolton men-at-arms. He noticed the bland, inexpressive faces of the newcomers. Then, instead of shaking Ser Rodrik’s hand, the Bolton commander swung his sword, cutting half of Rodrik's arm. The treacherous man turned out to be Reek, briefly Theon’s servant, who then led this kinslaying outside the gates of Winterfell. The Boltons caught the Starks entirely by surprise, mounting charge after charge. Many buildings of winter town caught fire, and both the smoke and the dust obscured the struggle. The neigh of dying horses mixed with the clang of steel as the Starks tried to organise in the market square. Ser Rodrik had a force thrice as numerous, but the Boltons were well commanded, denying every attempt of the enemy to form up either under the gates or in the tight alleys of the town. Fighting under the walls took a good part of an hour, but at last the noise of battle abated giving way to faint wailing of the heavily wounded. Ser Rodrik Cassel perished along with many nobles, but many men loyal to the Starks scattered in every direction, escaping the slaughter. Among thick smoke, the Boltons gathered on the market square. The immediate price of this treachery was light. Out of the original six hundred, they had lost but twenty or thirty men. Relieved, Theon Greyjoy allowed his saviours inside the castle just to learn that their leader, up to this moment known as Reek, was in fact Ramsay, the bastard son of Lord Roose Bolton, one of the most powerful men in the North, at the time campaigning in the riverlands with Robb Stark. Plotting to undermine the Stark’s power in the North, Ramsay struck Theon down, had his men killed and orders the castle to be sacked and burned, subsequently placing the blame on the young Greyjoy. Thus, the first step of the devious shift of power in the North had been made.