Snippet #1515040

(OOC: Sorry for the long stream of useless input, trying to get a feel for Jamie. Feel free to skip down to the important part.)

Flames. Jamie was riding through a sea of flames. They beat wildly at his face, licked up the legs of his horse. For a single moment, he wondered at the seeming courage of his horse. But then he realized that he was not directing this horse at all. There were no reins in his hands. His hands were tangled in the horse’s red mane, and he was clinging tenaciously as the fearful horse plunged through the endless stream of flames. It was screaming, leaping, trying desperately to flee, though its strength was waning. The foam that speckled its mouth was red from the gnashing of teeth and gum. Its heaving neck and sides sizzled softly as the heat of the flames burned away the sweat.

“Turn around!” he demanded, kicking at the horse uselessly. The air at his back felt a great deal cooler than the heat on his face. That must be the way out. Jamie turned around and realized why he and his horse were plunging into the flames. Behind him rode a great host. They pursued him, and were they rode, the ground turned to ice beneath their horses’ feet.

And suddenly he had reigns in his hands. He wheeled his horse around by sheer brute strength. Jamie was no craven. He would not die fleeing. And as he laughed a great army rose from the flames behind him, crying out his name. “The Dragon! The Dragon!”

Without his command, the two armies clashed together. Fire met ice with a hiss, equal in strength and virulence. And Jamie laughed. Beautiful! The destruction was perfect.

But when it was still, when the last of the battle fizzled away, there was nothing left of the two armies, nothing to show for the great battle except for a vast wasteland studded with swords and spears. Jamie stood in the middle of it all, empty and alone.

A few heartbeats later, a form appeared in the distance, walking toward him. Jamie raised his sword dripping with snowmelt and flame. And she laughed.

“Kill me again, Jamie, why don’t you? You killed me the first time, didn’t you?” It was the bard from, gods it felt so long ago, the feast at King's Landing. The woman that had sung the Rains of Castamere and turned her back on the king.

Jamie dropped his sword. Memory clattered on the other abadoned swords hollowly. “It was not me, but Lionel. And he will pay for it, I swear on my life.”

She bent to pick up Jamie's sword. “We do not forget. The words of House Winsler, are they not?” She laughed and opened her mouth. And out poured a song, a song of life and a song of destruction, a song of hope and a song of despair, a song of cold, and a song of warmth a song of light and a song of night. A song of ice and fire.

Jamie closed his eyes to remember the words, words that would give him strength and courage in the days to come. But when he opened it, it was not the bard with song he saw.

Nuala stood there, and blood, not song, flowed from her mouth. “Life means nothing, Jamie. Look how easily mine was taken!”

“Nuala…” Jamie reached out for her, but she cried, “You slew me, just as you slew the bard woman!” and burst, transforming into a thousand locusts that flew at Jamie’s face…

And he woke, heart pounding, breath shuddering. For a moment he wondered at the unfamiliarity of it, and then remembered that he was sleeping in the Lord of Highgarden’s chambers. He eyed the unfamiliar door warily. Good, he hadn’t cried out in his sleep. He got out of Lord Tyrell’s bed and dressed quickly.

The victory at Highgarden had been hard earned. He had been surprised by how few men Lord Tyrell had left behind. Even so, considering that his only plan was hitting Highgarden with brute force (and with an army of only cavalry and no siege weapons at all, it was a miracle they had even won at all. It was strange that most of the army had been massed outside the keep, but it was a godsend. Most of the Tyrell’s ships were gone, and none of the actual Tyrell nobles had remained. Pity, he could have ransomed them. However, the Highgarden’s larders and armory had greatly helped to replenish Jamie’s supplies and his troops’ morals. The mountain clans had all but emptied the armory, and the horses remaining in the stables had been divided among his ragtag little army. Though he suspected that Tyrell had taken the best of his horses with him, these were actual war trained horses, not like the flighty little cart horses he had taken from the supply wagons. It was a relief. But the price had been so high. Many horses had died against the Tyrell pike men. And for ever man that had switched sides to Jamie, he had lost almost two. Including Nuala.

Jamie had to admit, her death had left him a bit shell-shocked. He had burned her on a funeral pyre, as was the way of the Northern wildlings. He had resolved that nothing good could have come from a marriage with the wildling woman, but he often thought of her fierce ways, her fierce words, and her fierce kiss.

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He broke his fast with the others in the Highgarden hall. While they rested and took stock of their losses, Jamie and his men had taken advantage of their conquered keep. No longer did they have to camp in the wilderness and eat base meals wrested off the lands. Here was wine and meat aplenty, and the cooks and servants would serve whoever lived within the castle walls. He ate quickly, disinterestedly, and went up down to the rookery to impatiently await the reply of his family.

They had sent a raven to the Eyrie bearing a message with news of Jamie’s victory. It had also detailed their losses and hinted that they might need reinforcements from the Eyrie. He didn’t know if he was addressing Teralo or his father, but it mattered little to him.

We have won Highgarden. They were supplying the Kinslayer, but we have ended that. Our small forces have taken a battering. Though 553 Tyrell foot soldiers have pledged allegiance to me, in the storming, we lost 832 men. Have you ransomed Kervall back yet? What news of the bastard, Lionel Storm?

Marching on Highgarden with just cavalry was a mistake that Jamie would learn from. He would have to solidify his troops as an actual army now, not just a guerilla attack force. He had gained some men, but had lost much much more. Those who were not on battle trained horses after they had seized all the Tyrell horses would be demoted to infantry (and it helped that many men were now horseless anyways). They would take some of the Tyrell’s smallfolk to drive supply wagons with the marching army. But… that was when he marched.

They had sent another raven to Sunspear to seek an alliance. Their message had requested an audience at Starfall, a good halfway point between Highgarden and Sunspear. Ser Edgar himself had given Jamie that idea. Jamie had taken Highgarden, the principle seat of the Tyrells. The Dornishmen had long held a feud against the Flower Knights. Perhaps now that the Tyrells had joined up with Lionel, Jamie could convince the Dornishmen to join him in bringing down the ancient old House once and for all. And that dammed Kinslayer along with it.