Riverrun's sluice gates had been raised.
West of the castle, the waters of the Red Fork surged into the man-made moat, joining the rushing Tumblingstone River to the east.
In moments, the entire castle became a vast island surrounded by the waters of two rivers, stranded amid the surging waves.
Thick walls, towering keeps, narrow gates, and these uniquely advantageous water defenses made Riverrun one of the hardest fortresses in the Riverlands to take.
Yet Edmure Tully, standing atop the main keep's highest tower, felt not the slightest sense of safety.
Cold seeped through the icy stone walls into his bones, but more biting than the damp river wind was the fear he could not dispel.
Those silent, crimson heavy cavalry, like a blood-red host risen from the Seven Hells, had become a nightmare he could not escape.
Whenever he closed his eyes, he saw his uncle Brynden donning his magnificent armor and turning to face that sea of blood. Then the blood-red iron hooves in his dreams would turn and thunder toward Edmure himself, jolting him awake, drenched in cold sweat and choking for breath.
He braced himself against a battlement and looked across the river.
At least it was not those nightmare horsemen besieging him.
What met his eyes were endless camps, covering almost the entire southern and western horizons.
Thousands of soldiers bustled on the opposite bank, felling trees, building equipment, assembling pontoon bridges, and driving mules and horses to haul parts for siege towers and catapults.
Most of those soldiers wore armor edged with gold, reflecting an unsettling golden sheen in the daylight.
The Golden Company, a mercenary company renowned throughout Essos, now served Aegon Targaryen.
This army might lack the Blood Oath Band's devastating ability to punch through an enemy in a single strike, or