Chapter 474: Hammer of Justice, king meets king
Year 300 of the Conquest Calendar, the Riverlands.
Amid the vast wilderness, House Mudd's castle stood on a hill overlooking the Blue Fork. Its ruins were now called Oldstones.
This had once been House Mudd's royal seat, the strongest fortress in all Westeros at the time, but it had fallen into ruin with the house's decline.
The road to Oldstones had long since become overgrown, rocky, and rough.
Balerion's dragonfire burned a road straight through. Riding a magic dragon, reaching Oldstones on the hilltop was still easy.
Oldstones' former walls encircled the hill on which it stood. Now only their foundations remained, with lichen covering several waist-high piles of rubble.
Most of the original stone had been taken by local residents to build houses, septs, or pigsties.
The tomb of the most illustrious ancient King of the Rivers and the Hills, Tristifer Mudd IV, the Hammer of Justice, remained. Nothing else was left.
Three magic dragons perched on the broken walls, and the smell of fire filled the air.
The kings of the Trident had changed again and again. The lords were practically turncoats to a man, well versed in the art of self-preservation.
Otherwise, they could never have survived the chaos.
House Tully was a typical example, following whoever was strongest.
The first Edmure Tully had fought beside Tristifer IV, the Hammer of Justice, winning ninety-nine battles.
After the Hammer of Justice died, Ser Edmure submitted to Armistead Vance, the most powerful Andal conqueror of the time.
Later, when the Storm King came, they followed the Storm King. When the Blackheart King came, they switched to him. When the Dragon King came, they followed the Dragon King.
The people of the Riverlands had never liked King Harren from the Iron Islands,