Sometimes, the pain only truly begins after you die.
Robb Stark rises alive from the waters of the trident, but this isn't the Robb you knew. His only passion is to wage bloody war on the hosts of the Lannisters and their vassals.
In the far North, Jon Snow receives a letter that will change his life forever, and in the East, Arya's mad dash to Braavos is cut short by an old friend.
Red Robb and the Burning of the Riverlands is an A Song of Ice and Fire Fan Fiction by Strangebloke (or The Oddfather), the premise being "What if the Red Wedding went different and (amongst other changes) Robb Stark was raised from the dead instead of Catelyn." Focal characters include Robb, Dacey Mormont, Jon Snow, and Arya Stark.
It can be read on Archive of Our Own here
, on FanFiction.Net here, or on SpaceBattles.com here with an extensive story discussion thread.
Red Robb provides examples of:
- Apocalypse Cult: It's strongly implied that the worshippers of R'hllor in Robb's army have come to view him as a messiah figure of sorts. Whether Robb knows (or cares) about this himself is another question entirely. Stannis' followers view him in a similar light.
- Attempted Rape: Baelish attempts to force himself on Sansa right before she's married to Harrold Hardyng. Fortunately for Sansa, Arya comes to her rescue.
- Audience Surrogate: Dacey Mormont serves as this as the POV closest to Robb. Not only is she the lens through which the audience views the actions of the revived Robb, her reactions to his actions are also meant to reflect the reactions of said audience.
- Back from the Dead: The premise of the story. While Catelyn Stark is resurrected as Lady Stoneheart in canon, here Robb Stark is resurrected as... something else.
- Bastard Bastard: Ramsay Bolton (formerly Snow) is hated and reviled for his illegitimacy... and all the murders, rape and torture.
- Big Good: Bran becomes this after becoming the last greenseer, eventually ending up defeating the Voice in the Dark and ending the war between humanity and the Others.
- Bittersweet Ending: The war between humanity and the Others is over and the Bloodstone Emperor is defeated for good. Westeros is once again reunited under House Targaryen, yet has to deal with recovering from years of war and a harsh winter. Robb ultimately sacrifices himself to save his siblings, who all survive.
- Body Surf: It's revealed later in the fic that the real Robb sent his consciousness to Grey Wind, and the latent skinchanging and greensight abilities of the Stark children allow him to communicate with his siblings in their dreams. OTOH, whatever is occupying Robb's body is much, much worse.
- Came Back Wrong: Something about Robb is different. His hair has turned white, his skin a pale red, and he's fixated on vengeance to the point of becoming a mass murderer. It's later revealed that the...thing inside Robb's body is not Robb Stark as the real one sent his consciousness to Grey Wind, and the latent skinchanging and greensight abilities of the Stark children allow him to communicate with his siblings in their dreams. Whatever is wearing Robb face is something much, much darker.
- It's later revealed to be Robb's darker side combined with the influence of the Voice of the Dark.
- Death by Adaptation:
- House Frey, at least the ones at The Twins, die wholesale to Robb and his army. Including Roslin and her unborn child.
- Tyrion Lannister dies after losing a trial by combat to Balon Swann.
- Sansa and Arya kill Littlefinger after he attempted to rape the former.
- Samwell Tarly is sacrificed by Euron Greyjoy in an attempt to bring down the Wall.
- Stannis Baratheon sacrifices himself by stabbing himself with his sword and setting himself on fire, in an attempt to allow his army to retreat from the Others.
- Deconstruction: The fic was written as an answer to Revenge Fics of A Song of Ice and Fire, showing how the initial catharsis of giving the antagonists their just deserts would eventually give way to horror as vengeance gives way to brutality and the protagonists lose whatever moral high ground they had in the process.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation:
- Dacey Mormont manages to survive the Red Wedding, yet ultimately loses her life trying to assassinate Robb after realizing he's too far gone.
- Robb himself dies for good after merging the two halves of his soul together and holding off the Voice in the Dark, protecting his siblings from its influence.
- Demonic Possession: The Bloodstone Emperor, aka the Voice in the Dark, has agents all across the known world by virtue of putting his influence into them, with Robb being one of them.
- The Dragon: Euron Greyjoy serves as one to the Bloodstone Emperor.
- Flaming Sword: Robb lights his sword on fire with wildfire to scare the enemy horses and win a cavalry engagement.
- Greater-Scope Villain: The Bloodstone Emperor, also known as the Voice in the Dark. He influences agents around the known world, and is even revealed to have started the conflict between humanity and the Others.
- Heroic Bastard: Jon Snow is one of the most consistently heroic characters in the fanfic, saving tons of lives and working excessively hard to save everyone despite the long history of mistreatment he's undergone.
- Keystone Army: Downplayed. The defeat of the Bloodstone Emperor releases his hold over the Others, but the war only stops when Jon takes the opportunity to negotiate with them.
- Literal Split Personality: Robb's soul was split into two halves when he died and Beric revived him. His conquering avenger half, combined with the influence of the Voice in the Dark remained in Robb's body and became Red Robb, while Robb's kindness and compassion retreated to Grey Wind.
- Made of Iron: Dacey takes an absurd amount of physical and emotional punishment over the series and yet never really seems to quite be rendered incapable of fighting.
- Never Found the Body: Presumably this is what all the Freys assumed when Robb went over the cliff into the river.
- Offered the Crown: Jon is practically forced to take the crown of the North.
- Raised by Wolves: Robb's wolf Grey Wind follows Arya around a lot and tends to behave in a very fatherly fashion to her, trying to keep her out of trouble despite her best efforts.
- Start of Darkness: Robb's resurrection hasn't been the best thing for his mental state. Or for those of his enemies. Or his allies. Or people in general.
- Switching P.O.V.: Three points of view have been the centre of all the chapters so far. Dacey Mormont, Jon Snow, and Arya Stark.
- Take a Third Option: In the epilogue, Aegon wants House Stark to bend the knee. The Starks, represented by Jon, don't want to repudiate their sworn loyalty to House Baratheon. The impasse is eventually resolved by Aegon betrothing himself to Shireen, who is as of that moment the head of House Baratheon, allowing both sides to get what they want.
- Taking the Bullet: Catelyn Stark dies shielding Robb from a sword strike meant for him.
- Talking in Your Dreams: Arya has quite a few chats in her dreams with Robb. Except, as she keeps reminding herself, Robb is dead.
- To Be Lawful or Good: Dacey's core conflict is her attempting to reconcile her vows to serve Robb even as he engages in a campaign of murderous vengeance, or to do the right thing. She decides on Good in the end, but it's too late for her, paying the price for her betrayal of Robb.
- Violence is the Only Option: Many people keep wondering what Robb's long-term diplomatic posture is, and they keep coming up with their own explanations as to why he never seems to be able to reach an acceptable peace settlement.
- War Is Hell: Dacey has had a very rough time in the Riverlands.
- We ARE Struggling Together: The relationship between Stannis and Jon, as they can't stand each other but are forced to cooperate due to how desperate they are.
