Goathead Mountain, Eastern Mountain Range — Gongyangmen Fortress
Gongyangmen was an important fortress on the eastern side of Goathead Mountain. It sat at the confluence of the Broken-Branch River, somewhat similar to Twin River City—a crucial gateway to the eastern region of the Two Rivers Plain.
Once you passed the Broken-Branch River from here, the land ahead opened into the flat Two Rivers Plain. The White Harbor coalition had stationed nearly 3,000 troops here, along with a small fleet of more than twenty longships.
These longships were extremely fast—pirates' favorite troop carriers and ramming vessels. With them, soldiers could move along the river to attack the enemy at any time, or quickly support the defense of Gongyangmen.
Ten kilometers away from Gongyangmen, in an unnamed forest, a force of more than 3,000 soldiers lay hidden. Most of them were light cavalry riding the same breed of horses—Huangzhong horses). A closer look revealed many robe-clad Druyin among the troops.
And not far to the north, in a certain valley, Morford Velaryon descended slowly from the sky on his fire-dragon, Silverfire. After receiving Ma Ke's raven message, he had flown here from Skagos Island.
To avoid leaking information, Morford Velaryon had been traveling only by night. As soon as Silverfire landed, the dragon sensed the surroundings and let out a low, warning growl to its master.
A moment later, Morford saw Aenon Targaryen approaching on horseback, accompanied by more than fifty cavalry. After soothing Silverfire, Morford jumped down from the saddle.
"May I ask, are you Lord Morford Velaryon, Imperial Minister of Naval Affairs? It's an honor to meet you. I am Aenon Targaryen."
Aenon greeted him politely. Right after, a flash of blue light shimmered beside him, and a beautiful, translucent figure materialized at his side.
"It is an honor to meet you, Dragon-Knight Aenon, and you as well, Lady Lyanna. I have long heard of both your names—only never had the chance to meet."
Before the era of Aegon the Conqueror, the Targaryens and Velaryons had always been in a lord-vassal relationship. Morford's father had once served as naval minister to Aenon's grandfather. None of them expected that the descendants of these two great houses would one day serve in the same imperial court.
After exchanging greetings, the two men walked deeper into the forest. A path had already been cleared beforehand to allow Silverfire to enter safely.
Along the way, they exchanged ideas for the coming battle. Ma Ke had only provided a general outline of the operation without offering detailed countermeasures. Everything still depended on Aenon to plan and formulate a complete strategy.
Compared to Brynden, both Aenon and Morford were lacking. Ma Ke's intention this time was partly to let them gain experience.
The position of Gongyangmen was extremely important. Once captured, Stannis would be unable to watch both fronts. He would be forced to divert attention here.
Moreover, controlling this fortress would restrict part of Stannis's fleet. With his powerful ships, Stannis could send troops to the Two Rivers region at any time—unless Gongyangmen blocked the route.
At a simple wooden table, Aenon and Morford were discussing the next steps when a soldier suddenly rushed in. He whispered a few words into Aenon's ear.
Aenon's face changed repeatedly. Morford glanced over in confusion, and Aenon quickly explained:
"The enemy seems to have noticed the falling water level. They've sent people to investigate!"
Aenon believed the longships patrolling the river were a major threat, so he proposed cutting off one of the supply tributaries. Using the strong water pressure to smash the enemy longships would block the river and stop other ships from passing.
The tributary Aenon chose was the largest one. At first, the enemy might not notice. But once the water level dropped, someone sharp-eyed was bound to realize something was wrong.
碎流河 — the River of Broken Currents — was famous for its countless tributaries. The largest of these came from directly north of Gongyangmen. And now, at its outlet, a dam of earth and timber had been erected.
Langya was monitoring the dam. This section was about twenty kilometers from Gongyangmen. The dam's outlet sat roughly 300 meters above the river below—yet no water flowed anymore.
Because of long-term water pressure, the earth-timber dam was already showing signs of strain. Just as Langya prepared to send another message, a chorus of raven calls echoed through the sky.
A large blue-eyed raven landed on the grass before him. A flash of green light followed—and an elderly woman in a white robe appeared.
"Tsk, that master of mine… ordering me around day and night. Still, this is the first time I've flown this far. Not bad at all."
The muttering old woman was Ai Ju, once Aenon's forest-witch servant—now a powerful Druyin. Aenon had summoned many Druyin from the great forest-city Wenlan near Long Lake to participate.
He wanted to test the Druyin's true combat capacity. Until now, they had never participated in real war. Ma Ke's attention toward Wenlan rarely extended past the gryphon fortress.
"Ai Ju-dashi, can we begin?"Langya asked anxiously. He wanted to join the battle too, but this task was assigned to him—so all he could do was wait.
This method of attacking with stored floodwater had inspired Langya greatly—and made him realize his own shortcomings.
"Don't rush. Wait until the enemy's ships below catch fire. Then we attack. If we release the dam too early, the impact won't reach full force. Let the water build a little longer."
Ai Ju spoke calmly, as if everything had already been planned.
Main Channel of the River of Broken Currents
About thirty minutes later, Cyclops Karl—commander of Gongyangmen's small fleet—stared at the dramatically lowered water level with suspicion.
He had once been a smuggler near Bite Bay, an acquaintance of the "Onion Knight" Davos Seaworth, one of the first Bite Bay pirates to join Stannis.
His foresight had earned him this relatively easy position. But Karl was cautious—and he was the first to notice the problem.
Their mission was to prevent an enemy attack via the river. But once the Gongyangmen commander heard that the enemy's main force was attacking Howwood City, he relaxed his vigilance and hid inside the fortress. Northern weather changed every day—clear skies yesterday, snowfall tonight.
So this distant Manderly relative, Fodding Manderly, hid inside the keep. In his opinion, White Harbor stank, but at least it didn't suddenly snow. So he left everything to Karl.
Karl had sensed the water level dropping during patrol and ordered his ships to investigate. Just as confusion set in, the lookout atop the mast suddenly shouted.
Before Karl could react, a terrifying roar echoed behind the fleet. Three horn blasts followed.
"A dragon…!"
"Boom!"
The shouts of panic were drowned out by an explosive blast of fire. The two rearmost longships were instantly set ablaze.
"Boom—rumble—!!"
Before anyone could respond, a thunderous sound rose from the mountains behind them. Under the moonlight, a column of green fire shot into the sky.
"Run!"
"Save me!"
Screams, curses, and chaos erupted. The pirate fleet collapsed instantly, but all had the same thought—escape to Gongyangmen.
Main River, Gongyangmen Fortress
Gongyangmen resembled the famous Twin River Castle, though smaller. This half-fortress, half-drawbridge structure was extremely popular across Westeros.
Easy to defend and hard to take—even if the enemy captured half the fortress, the other half could still hold. This was the Manderly family's confidence in guarding the River of Broken Currents.
North of the fortress was a special military dock built for the fleet. The civilian docks were to the south, for fishing boats.
Today, the east keep was unusually lively. On the upper floor, people were gathering around a bonfire roasting meat. Earlier in the evening, a sheep merchant had delivered four goats to Fodding Manderly, the fortress commander.
Fodding despised Karl's pirate troops. So once the patrol fleet left, he brought out the prepared goat meat and started a rooftop barbecue feast.
He even violated Stannis's strict rules by drinking openly in a military stronghold. Once drunk, he began ranting nonsense.
Fodding Manderly had the signature Manderly build—fat like a giant ale barrel, with a bushy beard and the appearance of a man in his thirties.
His eyes were hazy, nose red like a berry, beard dripping with oil and spices. His mouth showed yellowed teeth—clearly not a noble who cared for grooming.
"You country bumpkins… know who I am? I am the great Earl of White Harbor, Defender of the Whiteknife, Shield of the Faith… nephew of the mighty Wyman Manderly—uh!
Do you know the Manderly bloodline? Let me tell you—our blood descends from Garth Greenhand himself! Even the Kings of Winter took lineage from us. I want to see just how powerful that so-called silver-haired Emperor really is.
Magic? Hah! We have magic too. A talent passed down from Garth Greenhand—the ability to bless women with strong children.
Why don't you believe me? Fine! I'll show you now—the mighty Da-Fodding-Manderly! They say that silver-haired emperor has a harem of queens? When he comes, I'll show him something that'll shame him to death!"
After rambling endlessly, Fodding pushed aside his guards and staggered to the fortress sluice gate to relieve himself.
As he listened to the growing roar of water, pride filled his drunken heart. He turned around and shouted:
"Hahaha! Hear that? The might of Fodding Manderly! That water—just like a flash flood—uh…"
He finally sensed something was wrong.
He turned north—and froze.
A massive surge of floodwater was racing toward them, higher than the riverbanks.
Some sharp-eyed soldiers even saw longship wreckage tumbling within the torrent. Ships in the military dock were flipped like toys. Others smashed together and shattered instantly.
"Rumble—!!"
The enormous flood slammed into the fortress. The wreckage of longships jammed the two drawbridges. The force was terrifying, but not enough to break the fortress itself.
But the entire dock and fleet were destroyed. The river north of Gongyangmen became a wasteland of wreckage and corpses.
The flood climbed over the first level of the castle and rushed through the windows and gates of the second. Many resting soldiers were caught completely off-guard and swallowed by the water.
Fortunately, the second and first floors drained quickly once the force weakened, so fewer people drowned. But the sudden disaster left many in utter shock.
On the rooftop, Fodding and his men were drenched like drowned rats. He touched the water on his forehead, wondering if he was dreaming.
"Fu*k! What in the… I—"
"ROAR!"
Before he finished, a massive shape flew from the north. In the moonlight, he recognized it—a dragon of legend.
"Run!!"
Fodding sobered instantly. With surprising speed for his size, he bolted down the stairs.
"BOOM—ARGH—!! HELP—!!"
Scorching air blasted through the stairwell. The flames knocked Fodding tumbling onto the lower landing. Hearing the screams of his soldiers, he wet himself in terror.
Paralyzed against the wall, he stared blankly as chaos erupted between the east and west keeps.
"SKREEEE—!!"
From the sky came the cries of gryphons and ravens—Ma Ke's gryphon unit. Gryphons landed on the eastern rooftop, more than twenty riders dismounting quickly.
Then ravens landed as well, transforming into girls and elderly women. A beautiful woman with an elegant figure commanded:
"Do not linger in battle! Our goal is to open the main gate! His Majesty is testing us—let our brothers see that we are not mere gardeners or flower-witches. We are the strongest warriors of the Divine King! Wansheng!"
"WANSHENG—!! ROAR—!!"
More than ten male Druyin instantly transformed into roaring giant bears and charged down the stairs.
Fodding fainted on the spot. A female Druyin wrapped him in vine tendrils like a wriggling cocoon, binding him tightly from feet to shoulders.
Battle erupted across the first and second floors of the east keep. The bear-Druyin's explosive force shattered the defenders' formation instantly.
Behind them, the raven-Druyin hurled thorn-vine seeds into the enemy ranks. The poisonous black vines caused maddening itching and pain—an absolute nightmare. But the thick-skinned bear-Druyin ignored the vines completely and smashed through every gap.
Led by the female Druyin captain Dog-Head Hama, they charged toward the main gate. Three bear-Druyin rounded a corner—and were met by a hail of arrows.
On Hama's signal, a raven-Druyin flew up to the lantern platform, scouted the defense, then returned. She and four others grabbed seeds in their beaks, flew above the lantern stand, and released them.
Moments later, screams erupted as vines entangled defenders. The bear-Druyin seized the opening and smashed into the gate line.
"RUMBLE—!!"
The main gate burst open.
A wave of Valyrian Imperial soldiers surged inside—troops from Sevenport and the First Men's Barrowlands. More than 2,000 troops overwhelmed the defenders and seized the east keep.
Aenon and Morford, escorted by soldiers, linked up with the Druyin unit. In short order, the entire eastern keep fell under Valyrian control.