He was not as clever as his father, nor as brave and wise as his uncle.
Even his two sisters were better liked and more attractive than he was.
His authority over the Riverlands rested entirely on his noble family.
He was the only son of the Lord of Riverrun and the brother-in-law to both the Lord of Winterfell in the North and the Lord of the Eyrie in the East.
In the original timeline, when old Lord Hoster fell ill and his uncle Brynden left home, Edmure could not handle the responsibility on his own.
He wasted the strong position his family had gained during the war.
He was also too weak to deal with the untrustworthy Walder Frey, who had once disobeyed Lord Tully’s orders.
This mistake allowed Lord Frey to secretly build his strength and wait for a chance to betray the family.
Eventually, Lord Frey used a fake wedding as a trap.
He murdered Edmure’s sister and nephew, threw Edmure into prison, slaughtered his loyal soldiers, and stole control of Riverrun.
In the process, the Riverlands were destroyed by war.
While the original Edmure was not a great ruler, he was a good man.
He was kind, generous, and friendly with many Riverlands families.
He treated the children of his father’s former enemies like friends.
When war broke out, he even risked his own troops to protect the common people.
If the two versions of Edmure had anything in common, it was this kindness.
That shared nature was likely why the transmigrator, who knew what the future held, was reborn as Edmure Tully with a chance to change his fate.
In the first fourteen years of his new life, Edmure focused on four major goals: improving his own skills, helping his father manage the realm, building up resources, and gathering a group of loyal allies.
His uncle, Brynden Tully, was the most important member of that team.
Among all the Riverlands nobles capable of leading an army, no one was better than Brynden.
Getting him to return home had taken a lot of effort.
Because of a fight over an arranged marriage years ago, Brynden had argued with his brother, Lord Hoster.
He had remained single and distant for nearly twenty years out of sheer stubbornness.
When Edmure first invited him to teach at the new school, Brynden refused, assuming the invite came from his brother.
But once the school’s success became widely known and he heard rumors that the family was preparing for future wars, Brynden willingly returned to help.
Having the “Blackfish” back immediately made Riverrun stronger and greatly improved the quality of the school’s military training.
Currently, major decisions for the Riverlands were made through small council meetings between the three Tully men: Edmure, Lord Hoster, and Brynden.
Edmure often had to team up with one elder to convince the other, or present such strong arguments that both had to agree with him.
These meetings were also where they settled personal family conflicts.
“Brynden…” Lord Hoster spoke softly and hesitantly.
“About your marriage all those years ago…
I was too forceful.
I didn’t listen to you, and for that…” Edmure gave his father a encouraging nod, urging him to finish.
“I am sorry.
From now on, your marriage is your own choice.” In his younger days, Lord Hoster had been a stern ruler.
During the rebellion against the old king, he used force to bring all rebellious Riverlands lords into line, sparing only the hesitant House Frey.
As both ruler and head of the family, he had always demanded absolute control over his family’s marriages.
Getting the proud old lord to apologize to his brother was not easy.
Edmure took advantage of his father’s failing health and lingering guilt, carefully explaining the benefits until his father finally gave in.
The reason was simple: House Tully had very few male heirs.
In contrast, their rivals, House Lannister, had a large family with many relatives and branches.
If a war broke out, the Lannisters had plenty of family members to lead their armies and keep their vassals loyal.
House Frey was an even bigger concern.
Lord Walder Frey was nearly eighty years old and had dozens of children and grandchildren from seven wives.
He used these family connections to build alliances across the realm, making House Frey far too powerful.
Edmure knew that Lord Walder would have even more children in the future, making it urgent to deal with him.
Of the three unmarried men in House Tully, only Brynden was at a good age to marry and have children.
If something happened to the main line, the Tully family could lose everything they had ruled for thousands of years.
“Brother, are you trying to command me to marry again?” Brynden asked with a slight smile.
“No.
I am not speaking as your lord right now,” Lord Hoster said, looking into his brother’s eyes.
“I am speaking only as an older brother who wants you to be happy, start a family, and carry on our line.” Brynden’s face softened.
Instead of making a witty remark, he answered quietly, “I…
I will think about it seriously.” Edmure was relieved.
Now that his father had released the pressure and his stubborn uncle had softened, it would be much easier to arrange a good match later.
In fact, if his father were healthier and not still mourning his late wife, Edmure would have tried to find a wealthy widow for his father to marry as well, just to strengthen their family alliances.
“Father,” Edmure asked, changing the subject.
“My sister Catelyn is furious about Lord Eddard’s bastard son, Jon Snow.
When I meet Lord Eddard in the North, how should I handle the situation?” Eddard Stark was famous for his honor, yet after the war, he had brought his bastard son home to Winterfell to raise him alongside his noble children.
This insulted Catelyn and brought embarrassment to House Tully.
Lord Hoster had remained silent on the matter for years.
Edmure suspected his father knew the secret truth behind the boy’s origin, so he brought it up to test his reaction.
“When you visit someone’s home, be a polite guest,” Lord Hoster replied.
“If you dislike the boy, simply ignore him.” “Brother, we ought to formally complain to Lord Stark about this,” Brynden argued.
“Father,” Edmure pressed further, watching his uncle frown, “is that boy’s mother really just a fisherman’s daughter, or is there more to the story?” Lord Hoster struggled with his words for a moment before speaking firmly.
“As long as that child remains a bastard, we will stay patient.
Catelyn’s children will always inherit Winterfell first.
Do not start an argument with Lord Eddard over this.” “I understand,” Edmure thought.
He wouldn’t pick a fight, but he could still find subtle ways to put pressure on his brother-in-law.
Lord Stark’s bastard was a sensitive topic for the Tullys.
By bringing it up, Edmure wanted to clear the air between the two families.
Seeing the look on his uncle’s face, Edmure knew Brynden understood his intentions.
Edmure knew that Jon Snow had an important destiny ahead of him.
Because of this, he hoped his trip north would also help convince his sister Catelyn not to let the issue ruin her family’s relationships.
For a noble family, personal matters were political matters.
Managing these relationships was a major part of Edmure’s work.
Once the meeting ended, everyone returned to their duties.
His father handled administration, his uncle managed the military, and Edmure oversaw his own group of followers.
Since his journey north would keep him away for months, Edmure decided to spend two days visiting the local orphanage.
He regularly inspected the children’s living conditions, especially during the cold winter.
The Riverlands Orphanage was a large estate located away from major roads for safety.
It was surrounded by a tall wooden fence with watchtowers, gongs, and guards at the gates.
Edmure rode out with two Riverrun guards and three former orphans, including Bronn.
The six of them rode fine horses and brought six packhorses loaded with supplies.
After half a day of travel, they arrived at the estate before dinner.
Three knights were stationed at the orphanage: Warren, Ormond, and Pate.
While they were not elite fighters, they knew the region well and could easily deal with common thieves.
Edmure paid them to train the orphans in basic fitness, drill formations, and self-defense, as well as lead the adult workers in keeping the estate secure.
The knights greeted Edmure calmly, while the staff and children smiled and ran over to help unload the horses.
Edmure brushed the snow off his cloak and walked into the Great Hall.
The large wooden building served as both a dining area and a classroom.
Instead of a standard fireplace, a large stone pit roared with a bright fire in the middle of the room.
Riding in the cold winter air was exhausting.
Edmure took off his gloves, warmed his hands by the fire, and instructed his men to distribute the gifts he had brought.
He had brought three small barrels of strong cider for the knights, five jars of honey for the staff, and dried fruit for the orphans.
Children under eight received sweet preserves.
He also brought sausage, eight cured hams to mix into the daily soup, and six large wheels of cheese.
Edmure followed the workers carrying the supplies to the kitchen.
Dinner for the orphans consisted of three items: hard dark bread, a thick stew made from vegetables, dried fish, and meat offal, and two baskets of boiled eggs.
Edmure had worked hard to ensure every child could have an egg every few days.
As the fresh meat was added to the cooking pot, an old priest named Septon Omid walked over.
His heavy wool robes were wet with melted snow as he chatted about daily life at the orphanage.
The Septon taught the children basic manners and knew each child well.
Edmure listened happily as the old priest gave him an update on the estate, walking alongside him through the grounds.