The Vale stretched out before Gendry all the way to the mist-veiled east. It was a peaceful, tranquil land, sheltered on every side by mountains. Within lay fertile black soil, broad and gentle rivers, and hundreds of lakes, large and small, shining like mirrors beneath the sun. The fields were heavy with barley, wheat, and corn. Even the pumpkins grown in Highgarden were no larger than those here, and its fruits were not as sweet.
Gendry and the others entered the western end of the Vale. After passing through the last mountain pass, the road began to wind downward toward the foot of a mountain nearly two miles high. The gorge here was so narrow that it could be crossed in less than half a day. The mountains to the north seemed close enough for Gendry to reach out and touch. The tallest peak was called the Giant's Lance, rising above all the surrounding ranges. Its summit soared three and a half miles from the ground, vanishing into the cold mist.
"That is Alyssa's Tears," Bronze Yohn Royce told Gendry, pointing toward the gleaming silver ribbon. The ghostly torrent of Alyssa's Tears poured down from the high western slopes, clear to see even from so far away.
"That is where The Eyrie is as well," Gendry thought. He knew The Eyrie stood beside Alyssa's Tears, the seat of House Arryn. Robert and Eddard had both been fostered there by Lord Jon, and their friendship had lasted their whole lives. Unfortunately, both had been badly ruined by their wives.
With a sharp enough eye, and when the sunlight struck the walls just right, one could glimpse a flash of white. Seven high towers rose into the clouds like pure white daggers stabbing into the belly of the sky. Standing upon those battlements, even the clouds lay beneath one's feet.
"The Vale truly is a fine place," Gendry said in admiration. "The Vale has beautiful sights to enjoy, and cavalry ready to use." Every kingdom had its wonders, and the Giant's Lance of the Vale was probably the highest mountain outside The North.
"They say the waterfall was formed after Alyssa Arryn died," Ser Barristan said. "Alyssa Arryn was a woman of House Arryn in ancient times. Legend says she watched her husband, brothers, and children slaughtered before her eyes, yet never shed a single tear. The gods punished her after death, making her weep without end until her tears watered the black fertile fields of the Vale below, where all those she had loved were buried."
Blackfish's expression darkened. Pitiless Alyssa. He had never expected his own niece, Lysa, to become such a cruel woman, suspected of poisoning her own husband and worthy of condemnation by the gods above.
"The Bloody Gate has been settled," Brynden said. "We can reach the foot of the mountain by this evening. But climbing up will take another day."
"Let us hope we guests arrive safely." Gendry nodded. Once they reached the Gates of the Moon, the most urgent moment of today's battle would begin. They still had to force their way into The Eyrie.
"It is our honor to receive them as guests," young Ser Donnel Waynwood said, trying hard to sound solemn and courteous. "The birds have flown not only to The Eyrie, but also to Runestone."
"My son will come in secret, I guarantee it," Lord Yohn promised. "Once the matter is settled, more lords will follow."
Ser Donnel, having been "persuaded," had already sent out the ravens. After the Bloody Gate was brought under strict control, Lysa Tully would receive news of a visit from her uncle, Ser Brynden, while Ser Donnel led them south.
"This land is peaceful and beautiful, but how long can it last before chaos reaches it?" Gendry thought. By the true balance of strength among the Seven Kingdoms, after the Westerlands and The Reach, the Vale was probably third.
The Vale had the steep Mountains of the Moon as its shield, making it nearly impregnable, while within lay fertile plains, rivers, and lakes. In an age without dragons, invaders would die beneath the Bloody Gate while the Arryn lords slept soundly in The Eyrie. Such natural defenses had only deepened the Vale's conservatism, its comfort, rigidity, and sense of honor.
Moreover, as descendants of Andal blood, House Arryn had never been numerous. It was often left with widows and orphans, and during the age of the dragonkings, the main line had been cut off more than once. That had made the Arryn Great Lords even more bound to old ways, cautious, conservative, and steady.
"Apart from these mountains, how much land does the Vale have?" Gendry asked Bronze Yohn.
"Not much. The Vale is one of the smaller regions in the Seven Kingdoms, only somewhat better than the Stormlands and Dorne, though the Vale has more people," Yohn replied.
"But the Vale also has good harbors, and trade across the Narrow Sea has always been smooth. Gulltown is closer to Braavos, and when I went north to Winterfell, I traveled by sea," Ser Brynden said. Fertile land alone could not have made the Vale so wealthy. Trade routes accounted for a large part of it.
Gendry looked at the road before him. The Vale's population had likely reached the limit of what the land could support, and the Vale had close dealings with the Free Cities. The ports of the Crownlands and the Vale were both well placed: King's Landing on one side, Gulltown on the other.
The Vale was a divided geographic unit. Many of its nobles were conservative but poor, while many wealthy merchants had money but no status. Littlefinger's true base lay precisely among the city folk represented by minor nobles and merchants, entrenched in Gulltown. Littlefinger was nothing more than their spokesman.
"Removing Littlefinger is not enough. The entire Gulltown faction must be brought over as well," Gendry thought. Littlefinger relied on money, but two-faced lords like House Grafton, with both wealth and noble blood, could jump ship at any time.
Many weary soldiers also gathered their courage and rested briefly. Apart from the few left to guard the Bloody Gate, the soldiers there were glad to see Ser Brynden. Blackfish warmly greeted every soldier of the Bloody Gate. He had been their old commander and friend for many years. More cavalry rested for a short while before mounting again, and they brought out every energetic, shaggy-maned horse from the stables that knew the mountain roads.
The men Gendry had found were the toughest soldiers and the ones most familiar with the mountain paths, yet even he had not expected the roads of the Vale to be so hard to travel. Without dragons, the Vale was practically an independent kingdom.
And so they set out toward the Vale plains below, with Blackfish and Bronze Yohn riding beside Gendry, along with Ser Barristan, Anguy, Ser Donnel, and the others.
Their mounts picked their way carefully down the steep rocky path.
Gendry guessed that some of the lords of the Vale of Arryn were uncertain in their attitude toward him. After all, neither the Vale nor The North had gained much by following Robert. King Robert had also given a post inherited by House Arryn for nearly three hundred years to Jaime Lannister, and everyone had taken that as a deep insult.
This time, he had come to The Eyrie to make trouble. He might even have to cut down a few blind fools himself. So they had to move quickly, stay as friendly as possible except with Lysa, and persuade rather than crush by force.
"I should have known Lysa had changed beyond recognition. As for Catelyn, my brother's children..." Blackfish sighed, his voice full of worry. Not one Tully stood above the rest.
"The Imp was not brought to The Eyrie, but the war still began. Great Lord Tywin had been plotting it for a long time," Gendry replied, though the two women of House Tully were almost entirely fools.
"Lysa enjoys the game of being courted. I believe she means to rule personally until her son grows up and becomes the Great Lord of The Eyrie in truth. I thought she was merely making a scene. I never imagined she had gone mad," Blackfish said gloomily. He had realized his niece was suspicious of everything, but he had not imagined her heart could be so black.
"There are a few people we must pay special attention to on this visit," Bronze Yohn said. "My cousin Nestor at the Gates of the Moon, young Great Lord Robert, Lady Lysa, and Lyn Corbray. And then there is that long string of Lysa's suitors."
"Our blades have already crossed the mountains. Now it is time to draw them." Gendry looked at the Arakh scimitar he carried, its edge peerless.
"I will handle persuading that fool cousin of mine," Bronze Yohn promised. "If he is still willing to listen to me."
"I hope you succeed, Lord. Otherwise, I will have to rely on my blade," Ser Barristan said.
"Prince, your attention should be on Lyn. The finest swordsman in the Vale has always been a savage one," Blackfish reminded him.
"That is right. Ser Lyn is also up in the mountains, and rumor says he is a strong contender," Ser Donnel added.
"Lyn will find the Stag more dangerous than he is," Anguy snorted. "Is he stronger than the Kingslayer? The Stag's warhammer does not kill nobodies."
"As for that child, I can only pray to the gods that he listens to me. I did once help coax him, after all," Blackfish said, deeply worried.
"Is the young Great Lord truly that bad?"
"He is only six years old, sick all day long, and cries if you take away his dolls. He is Jon Arryn's trueborn son, by the gods above, yet some say he is too weak to inherit his father's seat."
"I suspect he has been poisoned as well, though I am not completely certain," Gendry said.