Struggle for Strongsong

**The Struggle for Strongsong** is a name that encompasses two stages of a bloody event. The Struggle is remembered as the third of the Four Grave Atrocities of the War for the Mountains of the Moon, and is the only Grave Atrocity to be committed at the hands of the Clansmen.

The first stage of the Struggle, being the infiltration and capture of Strongsong by the Clansmen. With the second stage being the recapture of Strongsong at the hands of the then late Lord Belmore's three sons, and the accompanying Belmore, Hersy and Egen troops with them.

## Background

With the War for the Mountains of the Moon having raged for two years by this time, both the Valemen and the Clansmen were tiring and reaching points of frustration. Many of the Valemen, in places such as Strongsong, where the conflict had not yet directly touched, had become rather laze and lackluster in their duties, thinking themselves safe and secure behind their thick walls and tall towers.

Conversely, the Clans needed a win. Since the Battle for Ironoaks, Lord Robar Royce's host had been chasing down rogue groups of Clansmen where ever they could find them, while using Ironoaks as a base of operations. And so, for the Clans, the southern theatre of the war had proved most devastating and disappointing, with many a Clansman corpse now littering the lush Vale.

Strongsong, was to be the change.

## Engagement

###### *An Exert from the Writings of Maester Yorwyck's Work, "The War for the Mountains of the Moon".*

With a delivery of food and supplies came the infiltration. A handful of Clansmen, no more than ten, had infiltrated the caravan into Strongsong, having threatened the lives of the traders and forcing them to get them inside the walls, for elsewhere they held their wives and daughters hostage.

And so, once inside, the Clansmen waited until the wee hours of the morn, and then struck so. The Clansmen struck open the gates of Strongsong, waved a flaming torch in the sky, and some five thousand savages charged through the gates of Strongsong to a blood-curdling war cry.

The fighting was anything but fierce. Strongsong had but a garrison of two-hundred and fifty men. They were swiftly butchered, along with any other man, and women too old for breeding, found inside the castle.

Lord Andar Belmore himself was crisped by flame and then strung up in the main courtyard for all to see. The savages most enjoyed their butchery. And so, for more than a half moon, Strongsong remained in the hands of Conn of the Sons of the Mist, and Donn of the Sons of the Tree.

But of course, eventually, word reached the host of Lord Gunthor Arryn. At the time, the host was readying to march toward Coldwater Burn, for there had been most disturbing word of attacks in the region, and understandably so, for Lord Gunthor and his host had earlier forced the Clansfolk from their mountains, pursued them into the valley of the Newkeep, Longwake, and Shatterlance, so it was only natural that the Clansmen would continue their retreat east.

Understanding the urgency of the situation and the dire symbol that Strongsong in Clansmen hands was, Lord Gunthor ordered Sers Horton, Dunstan, and Benedict Belmore lead a combined host of Belmore, Hersy, and Egen men to retake Strongsong. Their march was swift, and they arrived at Strongsong within the week, while Lord Gunthor and the remainder of his host departed for Coldwater Burn.

Upon arrival, the Belmores three found the castle manned by drunk and tired Clansmen, who were most evidently enjoying the women of Strongsong a little more than is good for a man. Waiting for nightfall, the Belmores struck. They knew where the castle was strongest, and where it was weakest, and so their attack was as a needle, precise, and lethal.

The fighting dragged all through the night, with many a man falling on both sides. But the Belmores had blockaded the gates at the earliest instant, forcing all to remain within the castle. They were intent on butchering the Clansmen. And so they did. Some five thousand Clansmen died that night. Yet so too did the majority of the combined Belmore, Hersy, and Egen host.

The Belmores would not return to the war after the Struggle for Strongsong, instead opting to stay and ensure their castle was reinforced, repaired, and stayed theirs. They tried to convince the Hersys and Egens to stay with them, but they were not for it, and instead opted to return to the First Great Host.

## Aftermath

In the aftermath of the Struggle for Strongsong, the military might of House Belmore was drastically reduced due to a combination of the killing of all within Strongsong, save Lord Belmore's three daughters and the other young women present, as well as the cost of forcefully taking back the castle from the Clansmen.

Further still, Lord Andar Belmore's three daughters have not to this day ever been seen again, as they were carried off nigh instantly after the castle was taken.