A/N: Axel goes to deal with an old mess only to find that it mostly cleaned itself up.
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Axel felt no guilt for what he'd done to Lysa Arryn and Petyr Baelish. If anything, he felt a deep sense of satisfaction… and no small amount of relief as well. After all, if he'd waited any longer to take care of things in the Vale, Nestor Royce would probably be dead.
They might have stopped at just locking the High Steward in the Sky Cells due to his rank and reputation, but Lysa had apparently happily thrown other innocent people out the Moon Door. And all for the 'crime' of daring to question her authority as her son's Regent. Much longer and she would no doubt have grown emboldened enough to do such a thing to even Lord Royce as well.
In the end, it would be up to Nestor and Ser Brynden to see if anything could be made of young Robert Arryn. Jon's only son was a sickly, simple-minded boy by all accounts, overly coddled and spoiled by his mother… when she wasn't secretly and spitefully wishing he had a different father, apparently.
With Lysa Arryn's influence removed from the occasion, perhaps Robert Arryn still had a chance to become something more. Only time would tell on that front.
As for Petyr Baelish… there was no chance in the Seven Hells that Axel was ever going to let the man live. It didn't matter what he said, it didn't matter what he offered. Secrets and gold were meaningless in the face of the Master of Coin's treasonous acts.
It was interesting to learn that Stonehart came from Euron Greyjoy, Axel supposed. To know that the exiled Greyjoy was plotting against him for all that time was… strange. Why had Euron tried to help Renly win the throne? Had it simply been to make Westeros weaker for his eventual invasion? Or was there more to it than that?
Axel didn't really care though, in the end. Just as he hadn't cared when Petyr offered him millions of golden dragons in exchange for his life. Oh sure, Axel fully intended to pay down the debt and see the Crown free of such shackles by the time he passed on and his eventual son inherited the Iron Throne… but he wouldn't do it by compromising his own values. Not even for a second.
No, Baelish had to die. That was set in stone from the moment that he killed Jon Arryn. Nay, even from the moment that he first made Jon a cuckold. There was only one fate for a traitorous, self-serving bastard like Littlefinger. A fate that Axel had made sure he suffered by leaping out the Moon Door with him and following Petyr all the way down.
They said that the Moon Door opened to a six hundred foot drop. Axel could confirm that was fairly accurate. To be fair, the likelihood of Littlefinger surviving the fall had been pretty much zero, but Axel wasn't taking any chances. Not with this.
He'd dropped and watched Petyr Baelish die. The man had exploded under him as Axel effectively rode him to the ground. He'd also confirmed Lysa Arryn's death at the bottom of the plunge as well. And then he'd climbed his way back up the sheer cliff face that the Eyrie sat on, a one hundred foot leap at a time.
Truthfully, it had been easy for him. Even easier than traversing the Mountains of the Moon had been back before he'd been legitimized and made King. He felt lighter these days, after the wildfire in King's Landing. Sometimes, he even felt like he was flying through the air.
… But that would be ridiculous, of course.
Regardless, just because his business in the Eyrie was concluded, that didn't mean his time in the Vale was over and done with. Talking with Lord Royce had led to some interesting news and so Axel found himself traveling to the Vale's lowlands, searching out a certain… gathering.
It turned out that the Mountain Clans had continued following his orders since he left the Vale all those months ago. They'd just chosen a rather… unconventional way to go about it. To be fair, after months of tutelage under Jon and learning more things than he'd ever known before, Axel now recognized that his original orders to the Mountain Clans had been unintentionally cruel.
The First Men who inhabited the Mountains of the Moon did not know farming or animal husbandry, or even fishing. They were not foragers, they were raiders. They understood how to fight and how to take and not much else.
When Axel came along and forced them all to acknowledge his strength and stop their raiding, he hadn't really thought about the long term effects of what he was demanding of them. In all honesty, he was pretty sure none of them had either.
But… it seemed like there had to be at least one or two intelligent men or women among the Mountain Clans, because rather than return to the old ways once the going got tough, they'd gone in a different direction entirely, completely without Axel's interference or involvement.
Arriving outside of the encampment that the Mountain Clans have made in the Vale Lowlands, Axel lets out a sigh as he slows down and walks more casually the rest of the way to the camp's entrance. The guards outside look him up and down with curiosity and distrust in equal measure.
"Eh. Who the fuck are you supposed to be?"
Axel just smiles.
"I was sent by High Steward Royce to meet with the Chieftains."
True, technically. But obviously he's leaving out his true identity. Still, there's a pause as the Mountain Warriors guarding the encampment entrance exchange looks. Finally, they grunt and one of them gestures with his head for Axel to follow him in.
Axel does so, looking around curiously. This has to be the largest concentration of First Men from the Mountains of the Moon in one place… maybe ever. They've come down from their mountains, making camp here in the Lowlands… but not to raid or conquer or pillage as Axel would have thought. No, rather, they're here for something else entirely.
Shagga of the Stone Crows is the first Chieftain to come out, his eyes widening when he sees Axel and a big grin spreading across his face.
"Axel Stone! You have returned to us! And would you look at that! You've finally managed to start growing a proper beard too!"
His joyful exclamation causes the warrior escorting Axel to rear back and look to him in shock and surprise, having no doubt heard tales of him. At the same time, more heads poke out of tents and more mountain warriors begin to gather.
Axel just smiles easily, bringing his hand up to scratch at the scruff on his face as he lets out a rueful sigh.
"Shagga. It's good to see you again. Though it's not Axel Stone anymore."
Shagga raises a brow at that.
"Oh?"
"… Let's wait for the other Chieftains to assemble."
Grunting, Shagga shrugs. Soon, more and more Mountain Chieftains show up, with some having to come from far deeper in the camp once word of his presence reaches him. Not all of the leaders he remembers still live. Some have been replaced, though even the newer Chieftains look at him with cautious, wary respect in their eyes.
The deaths aren't that surprising, all things considered. If anything, the most surprising thing is seeing Chella, Chieftain of the Black Ears, visibly pregnant. And from the way Shagga grabs her and pulls her to his side while grinning proudly as she scowls and pouts, it's obvious who put the baby in her as well.
Time… really does pass by, doesn't it? Axel lets out a breath, even as he looks around at everyone.
"So… first things first, I'm not Axel Stone anymore. I'm Axel Baratheon now. First of His Name and Bearer of Too Many Titles. But most importantly… they made me King. Of the entire Seven Kingdoms."
Eyes widen at that. Even Mountain Warriors, who most of the Vale's population would deem mere 'savages' and 'brutes' knew what a King was. They'd been fighting Vale Kings for thousands of years before the Targaryens came along and made the title far more unique, after all.
"Hah! So they recognized your strength and put you in charge! Guess it makes sense… not like the kneelers would have anyone stronger than you."
Axel grins fondly at the rather… simplistic view of things. Some of them are smarter than that, clearly recognizing that it's a lot more complicated… but Axel just shrugs, not really feeling like explaining all the details.
"Sure. Let's go with that. And you lot… you've certainly been busy in my absence, haven't you?"
The reaction there is… mixed. There's a few fearful looks, a few defiant looks, and even a few ashamed looks. Shagga though holds himself tall, his head held high as he grunts and pulls Chella a little bit closer.
"Aye. We adapted, just like you wanted us to."
There's a note of challenge in the Stone Crow Chieftain's voice, as if he's daring Axel to decry their actions. But Axel just smiles and nods.
"You're right. You did. You've all done better than my wildest expectations."
Truthfully, he hadn't put much thought into the Mountain Clans since leaving the Vale all those months ago. Maybe he should have, but he supposed he expected a letter from High Steward Royce to arrive if there were any problems and that had never happened.
Instead, the Mountain Clans had taken matters into their own hands… and started selling themselves as protectors to the villages of the lowlands, rather than raiding and pillaging them as they'd done in the past.
It was actually rather ingenious for so-called 'savages'. There were dozens of Mountain Clans after all, and at least a dozen large clans with Axel having only really beaten down and united the majority under himself before leaving. The majority… but not all of them.
And beyond that, there were far more dangers in the Mountains of the Moon than just the Mountain Clans too. From big predators to landslides and even sometimes avalanches, there were many threats that the lowland villages could suffer from, all things considered.
That was what the Mountain Clans that Axel had subjugated had ultimately banked on. They had approached the village headmen and made deals with each and every one of them. In exchange for payment in the form of resources and goods, the Mountain Clans would defend them from rogue mountain warriors and other threats.
When Nestor heard of this, he'd taken a collection of Vale Knights and rode out to see what exactly was going on and if anyone was being taken advantage of. However, remembering what Axel had told him, Nestor had been cautious and even willing to give the Mountain Clans the benefit of the doubt… and that apparently had made all the difference.
In the end, the Mountain Chieftains had made a deal with Lord Royce himself, and from what Axel had been told, they'd actually been upholding their end of the bargain. They fended off wild animals, they helped out during natural disasters, and they'd even been responsible for retrieving more than one lost child who would otherwise have died and returning them to their homes.
It was impressive… no, more than impressive, it was beyond anything Axel would have thought possible. They'd really outdone themselves.
The Mountain Chieftains look a strange mixed of pleased, proud, and generally uncertain in the face of his positive reinforcement. In the end, Shagga just grunts and grins.
"Heh, so that's why you came all the way down here, huh? Just to tell us you're not going to slaughter us all today? Or did you miss having men who could give you a real fight? We could arrange for a wrestle right now, if you like!"
Shagga flexes his free arm even as Chella rolls her eyes and the others watching on hoot and holler in excitement.
Axel finds himself smiling wider still, the excitement more than a little infectious. For a moment, he's very tempted to say yes… for a moment, he's able to forget everything that brought him here. But then it all comes crashing back down and his smile drops as he lets out a sigh and shakes his head.
"… No. I'm afraid there's another reason I'm here, Chieftain Shagga."
Sweeping his gaze around the assembled warriors surrounding him on all sides, Axel lifts his voice.
"I may be King of the Seven Kingdoms… but one of my kingdoms has decided to rebel against me. The Ironborn of the Iron Islands have risen up against me and their ruler has crowned himself King and named himself my equal… my rival."
They might not understand everything, but they definitely understand that last bit. Axel brings his hands together, smacking a fist into a palm as he bares his teeth.
"I'm going to show him how wrong he is. My armies assemble even now to take the fight to the Ironborn. But since I was in the Vale on other business, I thought to myself… who are the greatest warriors in all the world? Who do I know that deserves to be involved in such an amazing battle… and reap all the rewards that will come from fighting alongside me?"
Understanding dawns on more and more faces as even the dimmest of the Mountain Warriors start to pick up on what Axel is saying. The assembled men get more and more excited by the moment. Chuckling, Axel spreads his arms wide.
"What say you, Warriors of the Mountains? What say you, Men and Women of the Moon? Will you venture out with me? Will you go to war with me?"
He might as well have asked them if they wanted to get drunk and feast with him. A veritable roar of approval builds up from all around him and Axel just chuckles as weapons are raised into the air and howls of bloodlust echo through the area.
Axel knows he's talking them all up a bit, admittedly. But he also knows that this right here was the absolute best way he could reward them all for sticking to their pact with him all this time. He could give them more gold than they would ever know what to do with, but they wouldn't appreciate it, not really. The Mountain Clans craved battle after all, and this way they could take spoils from the Ironborn instead of the innocent people of the Vale. It was a win-win situation, really.
Once the clamor has died down a bit, Axel speaks once more.
"I see I have your approval! Then prepare to move out. We will leave through the Bloody Gate and join with the rest of my armies to the South!"
He'd told Ser Bryden as much, making sure the Blackfish went ahead to prepare his garrison for the oncoming exodus of the Mountain Clans. Axel would lead the Mountain Clans as far as the Kingsroad before going on ahead back to King's Landing. They could catch up from there.
Many would likely return to the Vale eventually… some would not. Some would fall in battle, while still more would be rewarded with riches beyond their wildest imaginations wherever Axel could find a moment to do so.
To be fair, it was better than his first instinct, all the way back when he'd initially arrived at the Bloody Gate. When he'd thought that Ser Brynden might be in on it, that the rot went as deep as the bone marrow, and didn't know whether Nestor Royce still lived or not…
Axel had briefly considered whether he was going to leave the Eyrie in the hands of the Mountain Clans by the time he was done excising the infection. Simply because everyone else who held a claim to the Vale might be dead by his hands at that point.
Fortunately, it didn't seem like it was going to come to that. The Vale would recover from Littlefinger's manipulations and Lysa Arryn's treachery. And the Seven Kingdoms would not fall to Euron Greyjoy's ambitions. Not while Axel Baratheon still drew breath.
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A/N: Next time, back to King's Landing~
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