(Third-person perspective)
Lady Olenna Tyrell pondered the information in the letter. The consistent reports about the Druid from various sources led her to believe the information was true. The fact that it was not a natural messenger further supported this view, namely that it was indeed possible that Druid had sought her help.
However, Olenna was no stranger to the kingdom's intricate politics. She decided not to act rashly. If the news was false, or if there were ulterior motives, she had to proceed with caution. Turning her merchant ships towards Essos remained a viable option. If all of this was true, and her guess was correct, then she might gain an unexpected friend and a substantial profit.
However, given the Druid ' hostility toward faith, openly acknowledging him could be challenging. For her, faith was a tool of control, and she understood the necessity of maintaining a delicate balance between appearances and strategic alliances. She turned her attention to the advisors in the room; she had to prepare for what was to come.
A few days later, everything was confirmed by her men. She sent all their surplus grain to the Vale and wrote a reply as instructed in the letter. She went to the old spot in the garden and held up the letter as instructed. Margaery was beside her. She found it somewhat ridiculous, but she did as she was told. A few seconds later, she saw the huge black bird fly down from a tower in the Highgarden.
Erebus was getting incredibly bored waiting for this woman. Finally, she replied. He perched on the table, letting her tie a letter to his lap. At that moment, Margaery mustered her courage and spoke.
"Grandma, may I touch it?"
Olenna grabbed her hand, stopping her; Erebus spread his wings, as if to say they dared not. Erebus never understood why humans wanted to touch them the moment they saw them. He was not a pet; he was the ruler of the sky, and he would not allow those featherless, naked monkeys to touch him.
He turned his gaze to the reddish-brown mouse on the ground and said.
"Jilim, as Aermir instructed, you stay here and observe this old woman. I will return in a month or two to take you away."
"Jilim said angrily."
"Brother Erebus, don't call our adult by his first name; it's disrespectful."
"Hmph, he's not an adult. He's just stupid Aermir. You can call him 'adult,' but I won't. Goodbye!"
He began to fly back to Aermir. Jilim was furious at Erebus's disrespectful behavior, but he was powerless to do anything about it. Erebus was stronger than her, otherwise she would have certainly given him a beating. Their master usually indulged him, but when his behavior went too far, he would punish Erebus by plucking all his tail feathers and leaving him naked.
Aermir used the feathers to make more Ravenguard Cloaks, and as long as Erebus continued to rebel, they would have even more cloaks. Jilim was beginning to find himself enjoying fighting their adults.
Although Erebus's claws were sharp enough to shatter skulls, he was no match for an adult's magic. Jilim snapped out of her reverie and turned her attention to her task. She had to write down all the important decisions Olenna had made before Erebus returned.
After robbing the Vale of Arryn of all its harvest, Aermir withdrew his army to the mountains. He dragged all the Crow and every other animal he could control into the Vale. He wanted to have eyes in every corner of the kingdom, but this was somewhat limited, for Erebus was in the Reach, and his 90 Crow were essentially useless until he was within communication range with them.
He deployed almost all of Po's Crow and their families around his army and the hidden mountain villages. If any village was discovered or the army approached, he would have ample time to evacuate the villagers.
As for the army, since Arryn was coming to Vale of Arryn, they would be coming north of the valley. Aermir planned to withdraw the army to another, less protected location. After making all the preparations, Aermir left them to see Lord Stark; he was going to attend a banquet.
These past few days, Lord Stark has been exhausted and resentful. He deeply resents Aermir's invasion of the lands of Jon Arryn, whom he respects as his second father. Ned acknowledges that Jon Jon not a perfect man; in matters concerning the Vale, he has mostly acted in his own self-interest. However, as Hand of the King, Jon has always striven for the well-being of the Seven Kingdoms.
At the upcoming meeting, he hoped that Aermir and Jon would reach an agreement. Nominally, he was the sole ruler of the North, and Aermir always treated him with utmost respect, but he wasn't stupid; he was the ruler because Aermir allowed him to.
This hurt his pride, but he was powerless to change it. Aermir had become the spiritual leader of the North; when the other was practically speaking for the Old Gods, what did it matter whether he came from the lineage of the Winter King?
He wanted to pass on his birthright to his son, and Aermir would never take away what belonged to Robb. Many families would stand by him for at least a generation or several generations, but it still didn't feel good to know that there were people more powerful than him on his own land.
Just as Eddard was lost in thought, an eagle swooped in through the open car window and transformed into Aermir. It was a truly mesmerizing sight; no matter how many times he saw it, it was as magical as the first time he saw Aermir turn into an eagle. Aermir gave a polite half-bow and said...
"Sir, I hope you are in good health."
Eddard glanced at Aermir dejectedly and said...
" Aermir, how can you expect me to be healthy when you've already won? You're not a greedy man; you don't even intend to rule those lands. Why are you inciting the Mountain Clans against the Vale?"
If Aermir said he wasn't a little surprised that Lord Stark could figure things out so quickly, he would be lying, so he decided to test him to see if he knew or was just fishing for information.
"My lord, why do you say I'm instigating them? Everyone knows the Mountain Tribes and the Vale are mortal enemies."
Eddard shouted sternly.
"Yes, they are, but as everyone knows, Mountain Clans could never defeat Vale armies in open field battles. Someone united them, provided them with weapons, and trained them to act as an army. Others might believe that the Moon Brothers unified the Mountain Clans, but I would never believe it."
Eddard asked again, puzzled.
"Why did you do this? I don't believe you did it to help the Mountain Clans."
Aermir smiled. Eddard had made many assumptions, but because Eddard knew him well enough, he could guess most of it. Aermir looked at Ned's confused face and realized it was time to tell him everything.