Archive Entry: The Riverrun Scribbles
Date: 310 AC
Source: The Book of the King of Rivers (Restricted Collection, Oldtown)
Historical Context
[This document became famed around the world when the pulp-selling book The First Rebellion misused its fragments to paint a dramatized narrative. Scholarly discussion continuously attempts to decipher its contents. It was one of many sources regarding that rebellion found across Westeros. Edmure Tully restrained his hands from usual censorship of nobles, so we are certain about many facts of the time. Though less factual than its contemporaries, this document holds an unusual place since it reportedly came directly from the chief architect of the rebellion—or so the dramatists claim.]
[Part I: The Descent into War]
As always, the first casualty in war was the truth. It was the same in my first rebellion, though most nobles had clearer glimpses of what really happened than what a commoner might claim. The spark came from my routine inspection tour. On a whim, I patrolled the lands near what peddlers now call the Seventh Edict, but which I simply call a random village I stole from its lords. Like always, the gods favored me and put me squarely on a crash course with a Western pillaging party. I made short work of it, but the fallout proved to be a bit beyond the norm.
Word spread through the Trident that the Tully heir had killed the towering Ser Gregor Clegane in single combat. I carried his and Ser Amory Lorch's bodies to the Golden Tooth, informing the West of their demise. I anticipated a response, but only as a minor rise in tension. As I had already beaten the Lord of the West, killing a few low-ranking nobles seemed like nothing in comparison.
But fate had a surprise. Within days, the West spread word everywhere that, the Tullys had tried to assassinate Jaime Lannister who was returning from Tourney. That, two of its noblemen had paid with their lives to save Lannister blood. The Crownlands found this convenient, and all the nobles began sending letters threatening repercussions. The Reach followed suit while proposing a compromise: that Lysa should be married to one of the Tyrells and the title should pass to that line in the future. The rest of the Seven Kingdoms—the North, Dorne, and the Vale—kept quiet while jockeying for position. The Ironborn were the loudest, as if I had killed one of their own; but sanity prevailed, and no one thought it a good idea to let those pirates meddle in the business of the mainland.
Soon, the Crown sent the official judgment: I was to be removed from my position as heir and fostered in the capital. Further, since the Tully's actions for the past few months were supposedly threatening the King's peace, we were to be stripped of our paramountcy. Failure to comply would result in the exile of all males of Tully blood from Westeros, with the succession of Riverrun to be decided by the Small Council at a later date.
Thankfully, we were already prepared to rebel, so this simply gave us an excuse. Uncle Brynden rode to Stoney Sept and roused the people into defiance. He theatrically made a vow to fight until his last breath in the region as long as the Crown did not back down. His existing popularity served to create what paltry mass support we had at the beginning of the rebellion. In actuality, the place was already our supply hub, capable of catering to fifty thousand men at full capacity. Soon, the Tully knights were joined by some of the bannermen from the Riverrun heartland, and an army of three thousand knights gathered.
Our actions caught most off guard; they expected us to fight the West, but we simply rebelled against the Throne. The Crown saw it as the gravest of insults—a mere second-rate house barking, emboldened by a measly force. It sent a swift force to crush us and make an example of our house. The royal response consisted of five thousand knights made up of many younger nobles and career seekers. But it had teeth, possessing exceptional gear and a core of veterans of the finest quality led by the legendary Ser Barristan Selmy.
The Lannister response was more cautious. My friendship with Tyrion in our later years gave me glimpses into the Old Lion's mind. Lord Tywin already knew of my identity as a Warlock and treated me as such. He knew the worst thing would be to rush in without precaution and be humiliated on the field. So, he sent Ser Kevan Lannister as a patient hunter, along with two thousand knights and three thousand armored sergeants. This last part is something I envied even at the time of writing—after all, who doesn't want a legion of red-cloaked infantry drilled to fight in formation? Ser Kevan sent harassing forays followed by knights for rapid response and heavy infantry to hold captured land. It was a textbook example of how wars should be fought under uncertain conditions.
The situation seemed grave from the outside, especially as the eastern vassals supported the Crown and proclaimed Harrenhal the new seat of the Trident. Ser Desmond Grell bore the brunt of their pressure with his fast cavalry. Our goal from the beginning was to prevent these houses from mustering their levies. Ser Desmond kept harassing their rallying points, drawing fragments into futile chases while other units threatened the interior, thus forcing them into a defensive posture. The plan was to fool them for a few months, as any blood spilled here was unnecessary. They were all my vassals after all, rebels or otherwise.
The rest of the course carried on according to our plans, with the northern vassals simply mustering men but keeping them in their own lands. All these actions created a mirage from the outside that the Tully rebellion was rash and politically fragile. My bad plans worked phenomenally because it involved doing nothing while receiving aid from my family. Had things gone south, those same vassals would have backstabbed us using the very material we had just sent them.
The only surprise in the opening conflict came from the Stormlands. For some reason, fate played a trick. Lord Robert Baratheon secured the vast resources kept at Summerhall, preventing the Reach and the Dornish from helping themselves doing this good work. The most prized loot—I mean, the item to protect—was none other than Prince Rhaegar! I had plenty of laughs myself; the King must have been furious. His son also had the pleasure of living as a captive to his own vassal. For me, this was the point where the Targaryens lost all legitimacy. Two successive members held against their will is a precedent that could only be recovered when dragons announce their comeback. Robert made a killing there, negotiating private treaties with the Targaryens; at least he held a token of immunity among those of us who rebelled.
But time waits for no one—not even for me, and not even for my venerable teacher. I still remember our conversation; I still try to make sense of it.
[Part II: The Dialogue in the Woods]
"Aren't you curious about why I took the decision? We are never to meet again; I thought you would pester me someday."
"Will it matter? I have no compulsion for chasing rabbit holes."
"That would be more convincing if you spoke while looking directly into this old man's eyes. But do not detest me; irking you is the last thing I wish. For all know by now how you handle things. I simply used your own trick: Trust can be bought cheapest with sincerity. But you see, my child, our interactions with others are never mere exchanges, but a show of good faith. You are far too self-assured and self-reliant, thinking that because you have figured out the world, you can afford to be flippant. But my grey hairs have taught me otherwise. If you remove people from all that you profess to do in society, all you are doing is interacting with a mirror. Not the real world."
"Old man, I have walked the path before, I walk it now, and I will walk it again in the next life. I found that the way of the world can be followed best without attachments. I hold no negative emotions, not against anyone. Is that not enough?"
"The way of the world is but a concept. And even if what you say is true, it is not a compulsion, nor the only way. This is precisely why I chose to die. You are someone who will not change by external pressure, and your father is merely playing his role in the act, not actively teaching you. Being unattached and being unable to interact are different things. Otherwise, even someone as wise as you will fall into folly. Birds think flying is supreme; fish think water is life. I hope you will try to walk other paths and then decide. If you feel that walking unattached is still the best, then I hope your next teacher is someone better."
[Part III: Reflections]
That conversation is still fresh in my mind; perhaps my teacher did succeed in a way. But the path still eludes me. What is it? Or should I not worry? After all, I have countless lifetimes to ponder; maybe in one, I will have the dumb luck to find liberation.
Commentary from the Historians of Oldtown
1. This is another example of the fragmented mind of the favorite King of Rivers. It is a jovial account with zero regard for factuality. The King could have written about what actually happened during the opening of the rebellion; instead, he wanders off in every direction. As exasperating as it may be, it coincides with his political stance that 'facts are self-evident to those who look for them.' Thus, anyone actually looking for a factual record should not bother reading this jumble. There are much cleaner records in the Stark, Lannister, and Arryn sections of the library.
The later bit about the Way of the World, however, draws in a different crowd. After his reign, the Trident saw a flood of philosophers, mendicants, and shady peddlers. All claim that doing nothing is an esoterically invigorating thing—that contemplation breeds clarity. A lazy bunch, if you ask me. That one time I traveled along the Red Fork... [The rest of this comment contained too much personal rambling from a materialist and has been redacted from the records].
2. It is curious to read about the way the world was described by the venerable King. Is it really made of a cycle? A place where people return to enrich their experience, sense, and actions in order to leave the cycle? What happens outside the cycle? Is it some primordial essence or just another blessed land? The surety with which the King wrote so casually suggests perhaps he had the entire framework in his mind, but he thought it common knowledge and thus never wrote for the uninitiated like us. One of my trusted associate claimed with high authority that there are notes of King's revelations with him. I paid a large sum to acquire those, but for some reason I couldn't contact him for 20 years. Knowledge is revealed to those who are open minded—something our materialist friends would never understand in their puny lives.....[The rest of this comment contained too much personal rambling from a medicant and has been redacted from the records].