Kingdoms at War
is an A Song of Ice and Fire Alternate Universe fic where Ned, Arya, and Sansa are helped out of King's Landing the day before his execution by mysterious forces. As word of the escape spreads the various houses begin to change how they wage the war and the alliances they forge. Robb is able to get past the Twins without a marriage pact leaving him open to a marriage alliance with Margaery Tyrell. Will the union of the wolf and the rose be enough to bring down the lion and what new enemies wait in the wings ready to bring fire and blood to the seven kingdoms
This story has examples of the following tropes:
- The Ace: Robb Stark. Even more then in the show or books, due to him fighting in more and larger battles.
- Action Girl: There are quite a few women who go onto the battle field but the stand out is Lady Brienne of Tarth. Rather then the one on one fights or small skirmishes she fights in the show and books, Brienne is on the front lines of major battles and is a force to be reckoned with.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Robb is far from a bad person, but his inexperience and youth causes him to tie the knot with Jeyne Westerling, reneging on a marriage pact with the Freys. Here, he still meets Jeyne, but nothing happened between them due to his marriage with Margaery and the rumors revolving around that incident are slander spread by the Lannisters to spread dissension among his ranks.
- Adaptational Wimp: House Lannister is in a much more precarious situation due to having no hostages and no allies, with the Tyrell-Tully-Stark alliance invading the Westerlands. They were to repel Stannis' forces from King's Landing with the help of the Golden Company but at the cost of practically retreating from the Riverlands.
- Anyone Can Die: It's ASOIAF, so it's expected, though subverted in that the Starks and Tyrells largely avoid this even in situations where they should have died.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: The excuse Robb uses in Ch. 56 for why the Westerlands are a part of his kingdom.“Except the Westerlands,” Connington grumbled, “By what right is that region yours?”Robb looked at the middle aged lord, “It’s got my troops all over it. That makes it mine.”
- Also used as justification for his rule of the Seven Kingdoms when he deposes the Targaryens, as his troops have conquered opposing armies.
- Big Badass Battle Sequence: The Battle of Harrenhal, in chapter 45.
- Later topped by chapter 74, the Battle for King's Landing. This single chapter is over 63,000 words.
- Big Damn Heroes: Randyll Tarly, the Tyrell Brothers and the Blackfish arrive in time to save Margaery, Robb and Catelyn at the Red Wedding.
- Blinded by the Light: The tactic used by Robb's troops to defeat Dany's dragons in chapter 74, the Battle for King's Landing.
- Blood Knight: Sandor Clegane.
- Bury Your Gays: Renly is still killed by the shadow baby. Loras is later killed by the Mountain.
- Canon Foreigner: House Forrester from Game of Thrones (Telltale) are incorporated. Mira Forrester is handmaiden of Margaery.
- The Cavalry: A few notable, and sometimes literal, examples, often in the story's major battle chapters.
- Ch. 35: Lord Tarly interrupts the Red Wedding.
- Ch. 45: Ned Stark finally returns to the action hundreds of thousands of words later, after his mysterious escape from King's Landing started the whole canon divergence. Luckily he arrives Just in Time for him and his army from the Vale to save Robb from Jaime Lannister and rout the Lannister forces.
- Cavalry Betrayal: The Boltons at the Red Wedding, again.
- The Chessmaster: Downplayed with Tywin. While brilliant and determined, the war is slowly turning against him as House Lannister is standing alone. Played straight with Varys who is plotting to restore the Targaryens.
- Cool Sword: Dark Sister, which Varys gifts to Daenerys. It's wielded by Ser Barristan Selmy.
- Dead Guy Junior: Robb’s and Margaery’s newborn son is named Rickard, after Eddard Stark’s late father / Robb Stark’s grandfather Lord Rickard Stark. He's also named to annoy Targaryens.
- Decomposite Character: Aegon shares some of Dany's darkest traits she had in seasons seven and eight, as well a Hair-Trigger Temper and being an Entitled Bastard. Subverted in that Dany is also entitled and easy to anger, but to a far less extent than her nephew.
- Defensive Feint Trap: If there is a big battle chapter, you can expect to see this used as a military tactic, most frequently planned by either Robb or Randyll Tarly to take advantage of their opponents' arrogance. Even Ned gets his chance to set one of these in Ch. 63.
- Demoted to Extra: Catelyn has some POV chapters earlier on, but gradually fades in relevance to the story.
- Dragon-in-Chief: Tywin to Joffrey, which the latter fails to realize until Tywin tells in no uncertain terms that he is the Man Behind the Man.
- The Good King: Robb Stark, often described as such because he doesn't want to be king, but accepts his duty to protect and defend those that have sworn themselves to him.
- Groin Attack: How Lewys Lydden dies in the battle of Deep Den.
- Heel Realization: Harry realizes that his arrogance towards Gendry is just due to his pride and jealousy towards his apparent closeness to both the Stark girls.
- Honor Before Reason: Amusingly, it's Tyrion that falls to this trope as he refuses leaving King's Landing without Cersei and the children. It gets him captured by Daenerys’ forces and thrown into the Black Cells.
- Hypocrite: Harry repeatedly insults Gendry with the reminder that he is a bastard. Gendry quickly retorts that Harry has two bastard children.
- Implied Death Threat: This how Catelyn manages to make Walder Frey open the Twins' gates by reminding him that refusing to lend aid to his Feudal Overlord would render him The Oathbreaker.
- Inevitable Mutual Betrayal: Roose Bolton and Walder Frey planned to mutually blame each other for the Red Wedding.
- In Spite of a Nail: Oberyn and Gregor Clegane still fight in a Trial by Combat though this time Oberyn wins.
- Ironic Echo: in failed Red Wedding Roose Bolton said to King Robb Stark Lannisters Send Their Regeards as subverted Pre-Mortem One-Liner . Chapters later, during Battle for Winterfell between Lord Eddard Stark and Boltons, Ned Stark's bannerman and friend Howland Reed said to Roose Bolton ''Ned Stark sends his regards''
- Karmic Death: At the Red Wedding, Lord Frey is killed by Grey Wind.
- Kill It with Fire: Like in canon Tyrion and Cersei plot to use wildfire against Stannis' forces laying siege to King's Landing. Unfortunately for them Melissandre is on hand to pray for the wildfire destroy the city's walls instead.
- Know-Nothing Know-It-All: Mace Tyrell. Lady Olenna has to spend her entire chapter convincing him to not crown Renly king due to the volatile situation in King's Landing.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Tywin refuses to share information with his children regarding his plans, mostly to avoid them becoming Spanner in the Works. Also played straight in that other factions are slow to gather intel of events happening elsewhere.
- Ruling Couple: King Robb and Queen Margaery become this after they get married. Robb is the better military leader while Margaery is the better politician and diplomat. This makes then a true force as the weakness of one is balanced by the strength of the other.
- So Proud of You: Ned Stark's reaction to Robb Stark becoming King-in-the-North, his marriage with heiress of Reach Margaery Tyrell and his military victories, after their reunion.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Matthos Seaworth survives the Battle of Blackwater.
- Token Evil Teammate: Victarion Greyjoy for the Targaryens.
- The Dog Bites Back: A thrall Euron Greyjoy abused spoiled his escape.
- The Starscream: Varys.
- The Strategist: Many, but Robb stands out as great military strategist while Margaery shows how good of political strategist she is.
- Stupid Evil: House Frey still decides to do the Red Wedding even though the conflict has turned into a Hopeless War for the Lannister.
- Sympathetic P.O.V.: Inverted. Chapter 8 is a Perspective Flip of Tyrion's POV chapter in A Clash of Kings from the viewpoint of Cersei. However Cersei is not portrayed sympathetically at all.
- Switching P.O.V.: Like the books, the fanfic uses the same set up. So far the narrators have been Robb, Catelyn, Tyrion, Cersei, Daenerys, Margaery, Eddard, Brienne, Melisandre, Jon.
- The Rival: Harry the Heir to Gendry. It later becomes the case of Unknown Rival, as Harry thought that Gendry was his romantic rival for Sansa. They later become Vitriolic Best Buds.
- Unreliable Narrator: Invoked with Cersei. Her narration is just her bragging about how she took over King's Landing after Robert's death by gaining allies in the Small Council and arrest Ned, even though it was all Littlefinger's doing.
- Virtue Is Weakness: When Varys suggest that the Targaryens seek a peaceful resolution to the war, Victarion claims that peace is weakness and that Might Makes Right.
- Wham Episode: Chapter 35 aka the Red Wedding;
- Chapter 47 Tywin Lannister dies;
- Chapter 48 Varys tells the Small Council that the Stark-Tyrell alliance was defeated. Tyrion realizes he's lying and that the Golden Company, currently outside the capital, has betrayed them;
- Chapter 50 Daenerys arrives in King's Landing;
- Chapter 51 Dany has her alleged nephew Aegon go through a test to prove his legitimacy by having him burned by her dragons. He survives;
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Tyrion's reaction to Tywin's proposal to marry Joffrey to Daenarys Targaryen.
- Cersei’s reaction to Perfectly Arranged Marriage between King-in-the-North Robb Stark and Lady Margaery Tyrell
