— Rodrik Ryswell, Hand of the King of the Kingdom of the North, to his son and heir Roger Ryswell.

"To Winterfell we pledge the faith of Riverrun.

We entrust our hearth and our crops to you. Our swords and spears are at your command. Grant mercy to the weak, help to the helpless, and justice to all. We will never abandon you.

I swear on earth and water.

I swear on Bronze and Iron.

I swear by Ice and Fire."

On the tenth day of the Maidenpool council, it was clear that the fragmentation of Westeros was inevitable, and soon after, it was time for Hoster to make a choice: to join the North Kingdom or the Vale Kingdom. Independence was never an option.

In the lands of the Trident, many kingdoms had been established before, with the most famous being House Mudd, which had a history as old as House Stark. For a thousand years, they had managed to hold the title of King of the Trident, successfully repelling every invasion attempt until the Andals came. They even resisted the Andals for a long time. But even a house as successful and glorious as House Mudd could not save the Riverlands from its inevitable fate, and eventually, the kingdoms fell under the weight of invasion. Although several more kingdoms were established later, none were as successful as House Mudd. Hoster, proud of his ancestors and the legacy of House Tully, was not arrogant or foolish enough to claim he could succeed where House Mudd had failed. He certainly wouldn't place his money on such a high-risk wager.

Once this matter was settled, the next question arose: which kingdom should he join? Outsiders probably considered the Vale Kingdom to be the most reasonable option for Hoster, as the Riverland people were culturally closer to them, and in the event of an invasion, they could quickly gather their forces to come to their aid.

This was the situation from the outside, but what about for the Lord Paramount of the Riverlands, Hoster? The answer to this question, for several reasons, was a resounding no.

First, the Vale Kingdom could not send troops every time the Riverlands were invaded—which happened frequently during the times of chaos.- They had their own troubles, constantly engaged in active war with the mountain clans and coastal pirates.

Second, protecting Riverrun was never going to be a priority for Jon Arryn. The most important product from Riverrun was wheat and grain. The Vale already produced enough wheat for themselves, so they wouldn't see the need to allocate significant resources to protect the Trident.

What about for the North? Definitely not. It was true that after gaining independence, they would take back the rich agricultural area of New Gift, but they would have to deal with settling farmers in the region and building fortifications to protect it from the wildlings. All of these tasks would take a long time, and even if they succeeded, New Gift would never produce enough grain to sustain all of the North.

Connecting the Riverlands to the North meant that this region would become the grain supply for the North, making it crucial for the North Kingdom to protect the Riverlands. They wouldn't hesitate to use all necessary resources and military power. This would solve the first two problems.

It was true that there were religious and cultural differences between the Riverlands and the North, but Hoster was planning to arrange marriages between the lords of the North and the Riverlands. These marriages would intertwine the fates of both lands. Moreover, these nobles had fought together in Robert's Rebellion, so they already held great respect for one another. Men who fought side by side on the battlefield formed a bond stronger than that of blood relatives.

Hoster had a third reason for choosing the North, and that was the issue of inheritance. Jon Arryn was old, had no heir, and it was doubtful that Lysa would give him one. The truth was that the foolish girl had managed to hide Petyr Baelish's bastard that she carried in her womb for a long time, and by the time Hoster found out, it was already several months along. Of course, Hoster could never accept such a disgrace to the family name, so he forced the girl to drink moon tea. After the procedure, Maester Vyman spoke with Hoster, informing him that the miscarriage had been very painful and traumatic. In short, the foolish girl might have lost her ability to give birth, and what use was a woman who couldn't bear children?

Jon Arryn knew of Lysa's situation before marrying her, but he had accepted the marriage to solidify the alliance. Back then, his heir, Denys Arryn, was still alive and had two children, so even if Lysa didn't bear a child, there wouldn't have been an issue with the succession of the Vale.

However, things didn't go as planned. Denys Arryn had died in the Battle of the Bells, and his sons had died in a disease outbreak in Gulltown. Now, Jon Arryn's heir was a young child named Harrold Hardyng, a distant relative, and it was doubtful whether he would be qualified to become the future King of the Vale. In short, Jon Arryn urgently needed an heir, and it was highly unlikely he would be able to do this with Lysa, whose fertility was in question. Hoster was expecting Jon to divorce Lysa soon and find a more fertile woman, and even if he didn't, the idea of his grandchildren becoming the King of the Vale—(if such grandchildren were even born)—made linking the Riverlands to the Vale Kingdom a highly uncertain decision.

What about the North? Definitely not. His eldest daughter, Catelyn, was a perfect copy of her mother, displaying all the qualities a woman should have. She was beautiful, fertile, and knew her duties as a lady. She had already given King Stark an heir and would give him more children. The North's succession was far from being in danger.

And there was one final reason Hoster chose the North. It seemed like a minor reason on the surface, but it was significant to him. Hoster would rather jump through seven hells than kneel in front of Lysa and address her as "Your Grace." That arrogant and incompetent girl had managed to marry a Lord Paramount despite all her mistakes, but instead of showing gratitude to her father, she complained about Lord Arryn's sour mint scent. Hoster would pity any kingdom where she was queen.

The rebels declared their independence in a ceremony held in front of the Maidenpool godswood. The ceremony was blessed by the High Septon, who personally crowned the three kings, making the declaration of kingship a public event in the presence of both the new and old gods. The area had already begun to be called the "Three Kings' Square," and Lord Mooton spoke to Hoster about plans to establish a tavern and turn it into a tourist attraction. Hoster was not surprised; the Mootons had always been a family that knew how to make money.

Eddard Stark became the first King in the North to be crowned by the High Septon in history, and this deeply disturbed some northern banners, though they were forced to accept it quietly. Ned Stark was now not only the king of the North, which still followed the Old Gods, but also the king of the Riverlands, which followed the Seven. This meant he had to show respect for the Seven, as the ceremony had taken place in front of a godswood, so the three kings had given the proper reverence to the Old Gods as well.

After the coronation, the three kings withdrew to a quiet room with their newly chosen council members to discuss the future of the alliance. Well, two kings discussed it, and the third one slept. Robert Baratheon, the new Storm King, had never been too involved in the matters of governance. The country's administration had mostly been left to his grandfather and the new King's Hand, Eldon Estermont, and his brother Stannis, who had not yet been assigned any formal titles.

Jon Arryn, on the other hand, was the complete opposite of Robert. Due to his old age, he had distanced himself from the matters of war. However, he was an expert in the matters of governance and politics, with years of experience. Thus, he made his choice for Hand of the King accordingly, selecting Yohn Royce.

Eddard Stark, the good son and new king, made a choice that Hoster was not pleased with, though he understood the reasoning behind it. As the first Hand of the King in North history, he chose Rodrik Ryswell. Hoster hated that man, and had he the chance, he would have drowned him in a spoonful of water, but the Serpent Lord had proven himself an expert in politics and intrigue. Eddard lacked experience in this regard, as Hoster's good son had adopted too much of Andal culture during his time in the Vale. Thus, he would need someone like Rodrik Ryswell's help.

As the Lord Paramount of the Riverlands, Hoster was the second most important person in the Kingdom of the North after the King himself. However, neither he nor his brother would take a seat at the small council, and the reason was simple. There would be a chaotic period following the fragmentation of the kingdom. Hoster and Brynden would have to remain in the Riverlands, constantly overseeing the Trident region. For this reason, he had spoken with Eddard and rejected all offers for seats beforehand. However, Riverland lords would undoubtedly take several seats at the small council.

It was actually a funny situation. Despite the Targaryens being a cursed house, the three kings of the rebel alliance saw no problem in adopting their governing system. In fact, even the Kingsguard system had been taken. Robert had his Stormguard, Jon Arryn had the Winged Knight, and Eddard had the Wolfguard. Barristan Selmy had been chosen as the first Stormguard—after all, he was a marcher, and his homeland was Stormlands. However, no other members had been chosen yet. Hoster was determined that Riverland knights would take the lion's share in the Wolfguard.

When Hoster entered the hall, he heard Jon Arryn say, "Robert can't marry Janna Tyrell. The Tyrells are a dead investment."

"Adding the Reach to our kingdom would be a great advantage," murmured Eldon Estermont.

"Lord Eldon, you weren't at the Battle of the Trident, so I think you're unaware of how many losses we sustained," King Stark explained. "After the battle, almost the entire Storm army was wiped out. Even if you annex Reach to your lands, you will undoubtedly have to fight, and right now, you don't have enough military strength. We also aren't in a position to allocate resources for any war," he continued with further details. "Reach is already under siege. I've heard Lord Quellon Greyjoy is raiding the coast."

"All this talk is pointless," Robert Baratheon interrupted everyone, "I'm already betrothed, I'll be marrying Lyanna. Ned, have you heard anything from her?"

A grim expression appeared on Eddard Stark's face. "Unfortunately, I've asked the lords who've come to the council, but all we know is that they went to Dorne. Prince Doran swore he would search for her, and if he finds anything, he'll inform us."

"Speaking of Lyanna," Jon Arryn looked at Ned, "Where are Aerys' last three Kingsguard? Do you know anything, Ser Barristan?"

"As I told King Stark before, the remaining three Kingsguard—Ser Arthur Dayne, Oswel Whent, and Richard Lonmouth—entered Dorne with Rhaegar and Lyanna and went into the Red Mountains, Your Majesty," Barristan Selmy reported respectfully. "Unfortunately, that's all the information I have."

"I'll offer a reward for any information," Jon Arryn assured, "I'm sure we'll learn something soon. Now, let's discuss how we'll split the royal navy. I recommend Stannis take command…"

"The royal navy?" Hoster exchanged a curious look with his brother Brynden.

"Oh, you just arrived, so you don't know," Blackfish said. "During the Greendoom catastrophe, only part of the royal navy was in King's Landing, the remaining 120 ships are anchored at Dragonstone. After Rhaella Targaryen fled, there's been no one to command them; even if that woman had stayed, they wouldn't have served her," Brynden explained. "They want to pledge their loyalty to the Three Kings' Alliance."

Hoster experienced a pleasant surprise at this news. Despite the Three Kings' Alliance being newly formed, it had already gained a fleet of 120 ships—this was truly good news.

"I demand that five ships stay in Maidenpool and twenty ships in Segard for protection," Ned's voice was heard. "The remaining ships should be tasked with guarding the trade routes. Since King's Landing is no longer operational, Gulltown and White Harbor will largely take over trade with Essos. We also need to negotiate the timber flow and the expenses…"

Hoster thought to himself, I think I can understand that. He looked at the Storm King, who had fallen asleep at the table from boredom, with a sympathetic expression. This conversation was going to take a long time.