Editing Butcher's Ball (section)

==Prelude==
After the [[Battle at Rook's Rest]], Aegon II was badly injured and his brother Aemond was given command of the greens' forces in King's Landing, as [[regent]] for his brother until he recovered. An aggressive young man, Aemond decided to attack the blacks' forces gathering at [[Harrenhal]] under his uncle Daemon, before they had sufficient force to strike at the capital. Aemond devised a plan to catch the river lords on two fronts, by having the Lannister army invade the riverlands from the west while he led their forces from King's Landing to attack from the east. 

Aemond led a force of 4,000 men in total out of King's Landing, also led by Ser [[Criston Cole]] of the Kingsguard, now [[Hand of the King]]. Aegon II, Aemond, and Criston had previously led an army of more than 2,400 to the [[Battle at Rook's Rest]], where they lost some 800 men. While in King's Landing Aemond reconstituted his forces and sent forth all their remaining strength for the advance on Harrenhal. 

This was exactly what Daemon had hoped for, however, to lure Aemond away from King's Landing - leaving only a skeleton defense force behind, enough that a smaller force from Dragonstone and Driftmark could [[Fall of King's Landing|quickly seize the capital using dragons and the Velaryon fleet]]. Combined with the betrayal of the city watch, who were still loyal to Daemon, the city fell within a single day with little fighting. 

Meanwhile, the main black land army at Harrenhal did not simply wait to be caught in a pincer, but abandoned Harrenhal to attack the Lannister army in the west. They succeeded in annihilating the entire Lannister host in the [[Battle by the Lakeshore]], though with heavy losses. It was now Aemond and Criston's host who were trapped between two fronts at Harrenhal: though they still had more men as well as the great dragon Vhagar, they were caught out of position in hostile territory, and with the river lords using scorched earth tactics to deny them new provisions.

Unaware of these developments, Aemond and Criston's host advanced northwest to Harrenhal. They faced little opposition, only to find the castle abandoned. Red Robb Rivers shot down messenger-ravens from the Lannister army to the west warning of their imminent destruction, so news of the twin disasters only arrived at Harrenhal after it was already too late.

Criston and Aemond disagreed on how respond. With their supplies running low, Criston decided to march south from Harrenhal though the [[riverlands]] to join the army of [[Ormund Hightower]], [[Lord of the Hightower]], and Prince [[Daeron Targaryen (son of Viserys I)|Daeron Targaryen]], which was marching through the [[Reach]]. Rather than accompany Criston, Aemond One-Eye flew into a rage and decided to burn the riverlands with his [[dragon]], [[Vhagar]].{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Triumphant}}

Criston marched out of Harrenhal with 3,600 men - having lost about 400 due to enemy raids, disease, and desertion. They traveled south along the western shore of the [[Gods Eye]] lake, but their riverlord enemies practiced scorched earth tactics, burning their own forests and villages. The blacks used guerrilla warfare against the greens, and by the day more of Criston's host deserted or joined the blacks. On one occasion the greens came across a grisly display of feasting corpses, the bodies of men who had fallen at the Fishfeed. Later at the village of [[Crossed Elms]], Criston's forces were attacked by blacks disguised as corpses, losing twelve men before realizing [[Black Trombo]]'s ruse.{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Triumphant}}