Friends in the Stormlands

[Lost Melnibonean]

4 hours ago, Lord Varys said:

I know, but you have to keep in mind that some lords and noblemen must have remained with the foot at Bitterbridge. Loras, Tarly, Rowan, Oakheart, and all the Reach Lords not joining Stannis went back to Bitterbridge, presumably with a decent portion of the horse they had brought with them to Storm's End. However, Renly had allegedly 60,000 foot at Bitterbridge - minus the 20,000 horse he took with him to Storm's End.

The idea that Tarly could have committed a virtual holocaust on a lot of Stormlander foot resembling the Red Wedding just doesn't make a lot of sense. However, there clearly is a decent enough chance that Tarly and Loras went out of their way to silence any Florent men and other Reach men pushing them to join Stannis.

The best way to explain why the hell the foot of the Stormlords in Renly's retinue who joined Stannis at Storm's End did not join Stannis is that there weren't all that many Stormlanders men-at-arms there in the first place. Renly was crowned at Highgarden and did his huge royal progress through the Reach where so many men gathered around him. Many of his lords seemed to have joined him but not necessarily with as many men as they could have brought if they had had more time. The best example for this is the few men Brienne brought with her.

If some of the Stormlanders were mistreated I could see that.

I would imagine that Randyll, backed by Loras, had the captains and sergeants frm the houses whose leaders went over to Stannis present themselves and declare their allegiances. Presumably, the smart ones did not say Stannis. 

4 hours ago, Lord Varys said:

However, a much more interesting part is what the Stormlanders in the Tyrell army in KL right now will do if they are supposed to fight against their kin and lords in Aegon's camp.

The Stormlanders fighting for Stannis on at the Blackwater all throw away their weapons when Renly's ghost showed, submitting to Joffrey later on. Many of those men might still be in the army Tarly took with him to Duskendale and Maidenpool as well as the men Mace took to Storm's End and back.

The men Garlan took back to Highgarden in AFfC would be predominantly Reach men, not Stormlanders.

Thus we might be in for a surprise on the side Stormlords/Stormlanders amongst the Tyrell men marching against Storm's End - or later, if many of those men are deliberately left back to hold KL in Mace's and/or Tarly's absence.

I would expect that once men from the Stormlands see their home banners across the battle lines, they might very well say bugger this and run, or perhaps even turn on new sergeants and captains. But a funny thing happens to the loyalties of a fighting man when he serves with other fighting men, so their loyalties might not be as clear cut as the colors on a banner anymore. 

4 hours ago, Lord Varys said:

Sure, that could work. But how much time do you think they have for this kind of thing. Nothing of this sort seems to be done in Mistwood, and the Connington lands seem to be pretty empty - Red Ronnet took quite a few men with him to Renly. Perhaps they will have more luck with the Wyldes and the Morrigens. We will have to wait and see. Lord Lester Morrigen and Ser Ormund Wylde remained loyal to Stannis, though.

Like I said, I wouldna count on more than a few thousand men from both islands, all of Cape Wrath and the lands southeast of the Wendwater. I expect it would take about as much time to raise them as it would to march men from Nightsong to Storm's End or King's Landing.