The Dawn Age Prehistory: Westeros is inhabited by non-human races: the Children of the Forest, a diminutive species of greenseers and wood-dancers, and the Giants. The Children of the Forest worshiped the gods of nature and are believed to have carved the faces into the Weirwood trees. c. 12,000 Before Aegon's Landing: A human ethnic group, the First Men, invades Westeros across the Arm of Dorne, bearing weapons of bronze. The Children of the Forest destroy the Arm with magic, creating the island chain known as the Stepstones, but the First Men are able to reinforce by ship. A fierce battle for control of Westeros begins. Eventually the Children of the Forest call down the Hammer of the waters to shatter Westeros in two but only succeed in flooding the Neck and transform its fields into swamps and bogs.

c.10,000 BAL - Signing of the Pact. After years of warfare, the two sides agree to a truce, signing the Pact on the Isle of Faces. The First Men take control of the open lands and the Children take control of the forested interiors. In time, the First Men adopt the worship of the Old Gods of the Forest. The signing of the Pact marked the end of the Dawn Age, and the beginning of the Age of Heroes.

The First Men who settle in the Iron Islands, separated from the mainland, develop their own unique culture based on seafaring and raiding. They become known as the Ironborn, and unlike their First Men cousins on the mainland, develop their own local religion worshiping a deity known as the Drowned God.

The First Men who settle in the Neck branch off to form their own unique culture, known as the Crannogmen. They still worship the Old Gods like their neighbors, but their society has adapted to the swampy climate of their territory.

The Age of Heroes

c. 8,000 BAL - The Long Night: A great winter that lasts a generation descends on Westeros, followed by a night that goes for years. Under the cover of darkness, the White Walkers invade Westeros from the uttermost north, causing immense suffering and destruction. In the War for the Dawn, the Children and the First Men unite to defeat the Walkers, eventually throwing them back into the north. In the eastern tradition they are led by a great hero of the east, a warrior named Azor Ahai wielding a sword of fire named Lightbringer, but Westerosi accounts do not mention him. A great leader named Brandon Stark raises the Wall with artifice and magic to bar against the Walkers' return. He also founds the castle of Winterfell, founds House Stark and the Night's Watch and, according to some, is named as the first King in the North. Despite their victory, the Children of the Forest suffered heavy losses in the war and begin to disappear from Westeros.

The Nightfort is the first castle built on the Wall, and remains the headquarters of the Night's Watch for almost six thousand years. Eighteen additional castles are later built along the Wall, sometimes centuries apart.

Those First Men tribes unlucky enough to be living north of the Wall when it is constructed are trapped in the lands beyond. They become isolated from the developing kingdoms to the south and eventually hostile to them, despite their shared ethnic background. These tribes call themselves the "Free Folk", though the kingdoms south of the Wall consider them to be barbarians, and derisively call them the "wildlings". Despite their differences, the Free Folk continue to follow the same religion of the Old Gods, just like their cousins to the south of the Wall.

One of the first Lord Commanders of the Night's Watch is, according to legend, seduced by a white-skinned woman from beyond the Wall. He sets himself up as king of the Wall and the Night's Watch, and conducts human sacrifices. The Stark King in the North as well as the wildling King-Beyond-the-Wall, Joramun, unite to defeat him and restore the Night's Watch. Afterwards the evil Lord Commander's name is ordered to be purged from history, so the legends remember him only as the "Night's King".

At some point in these centuries, according to legend, a king from the south visited the Wall but gave some great offense to the Nightfort's cook. In revenge, the cook killed the king's son and served his flesh to him in a pie. The legend says that the gods cursed the cook by turning him into a giant rat who eats his own offspring, and he is remembered as the Rat Cook. Later generations would remember this legend as an infamous example of a violation of Guest right, a crime which the gods cannot forgive.

The Andal Invasion

c. 6,000 BAL: A race of men from Essos, the Andals, cross the Narrow Sea in numerous ships and make landfall in the Vale of Arryn. Under the banner of the Faith of the Seven, riding horses and wielding weapons made of iron, they overrun and conquer all of Westeros south of the Neck. Their attempts to invade the North are frustrated by the North's natural defenses, namely the swamps of the Neck and the formidable fortress of Moat Cailin, so eventually they make peace with the King in the North. A shifting quilt of small kingdoms takes shape in southern Westeros. The Andals kill the few remaining Children of the Forest as they encounter them, and the survivors disappear.

c. 4,000 BAL: By this time the Andals make their last conquest, of the Iron Islands which are separated from the mainland of Westeros. While ethnically similar to the First Men of the mainland, the islanders had long before diverged into their own separate culture, known as the Ironborn. While Andals did conquer the islands, they simply integrated into the local culture, even converting to the local religion of the Drowned God. Thus the ironborn of later centuries are composed of the same First Men/Andal ethnic mix of most of the rest of Westeros, and they took up the language of the Andals, but otherwise, their unique culture was not drastically affected by the Andal Invasions.

The rise and fall of Valyria

c. 5,000 BAL: On the eastern continent of Essos, the peaceful sheep-herding folk of the peninsula of Valyria find dragons lairing in the Fourteen Fires, an immense chain of volcanoes extending across the neck of the peninsula. The Valyrians tame the dragons with magic and begin expanding their influence. They fight five great wars against the Ghiscari Empire before finally throwing them down in defeat, expanding the Valyrian Freehold to include all of Slaver's Bay.

c. 700 BAL: The Valyrian Freehold begins settling the region of the modern Free Cities. Their expansion brings them into conflict with the native inhabitants of the region surrounding the River Rhoyne. Nymeria, the warrior-queen of the Rhoynar, realizes that they cannot stand against dragons and they flee to Dorne, in southern Westeros. There Nymeria marries Lord Mors Martell and helps House Martell conquer the rest of Dorne, finally unifying the region as one kingdom.

c. 500 BAL: A religious sect, the Moonsingers, leads refugees from the Valyrian-controlled areas of western Essos to a secretive lagoon protected by mountains and narrow access channels. Here they found the Secret City of Braavos.

c. 200 BAL: The Valyrians annex Dragonstone, an island in the Narrow Sea just off the eastern coast of Westeros. The Targaryen family takes control of the island, which is used as a trading post with the Seven Kingdoms. According to legend, Aenar Targaryen had a vision of impending catastrophe and arranged to have his family removed from the Freehold.

c. 100 BAL - the Doom of Valyria: The Fourteen Fires erupt in a titanic explosion that obliterates the heartland of the Valyrian Freehold. Most of the Valyrian dragons, who lair in the volcanoes when not needed, are killed outright. The City of Valyria is partially buried under vast amounts of ash. The Valyrian Peninsula fractures and breaks apart. A large part of it is torn away from the mainland, low-lying areas are flooded and many offshore islands are formed. The waters around Valyria remain poisonous until the present day.

c. 100 BAL - c. 2 AL: The Century of Blood. In the aftermath of the Doom, Valyria's outlying colony-cities began breaking away and asserting their independence, becoming the nine Free Cities. leading to a free-for-all between them. The following one hundred years are chaotic free-for-all of almost constant warfare between them, also known as the Bleeding Years. Worse, without the Valyrian dragons to keep them in check anymore, the Dothraki mounted hordes spilled out of the central plains of Essos to sweep across most of the continent, in their first great wave of pillaging. For a time the Dothraki sacked cities at will, until their attacks were finally checked at the Battle of Qohor. Raids would continue afterwards but never on the same scale. Paralleling the Free Cities to the west, east of Valyria the Ghiscari cities of Slaver's Bay also reasserted their independence. Towards the end of this period Volantis grew enough in strength to try to conquer and unite all of the other Free Cities, but Volantis was ultimately defeated. Afterwards the Free Cities settled into somewhat more stable political patterns - just as Aegon Targaryen was uniting the Seven Kingdoms in Westeros.

Westeros: the Age of a Hundred Kingdoms

c. 6,000 - 700 BAL - Over the centuries following the Andal Invasion, hundreds of petty kingdoms form across Westeros, eventually aggregating into several larger powerful nations, and ultimately, seven large kingdoms.

c. 4,000 BAL - The Andals finally conquer the Iron Islands, much later than the mainland of Westeros due to their isolated location. However, the few Andals who invaded the Iron Islands (such as House Hoare) essentially "went native" and acculturated to the distinct ironborn culture, even abandoning the Faith of the Seven to convert to worship of the Drowned God. The cultural impact of the Andal invasions was therefore relatively minor in the Iron Islands.

c. 2,000-700 BAL - The final "Seven Kingdoms", as they were later known, formed from previous smaller kingdoms during this time period as they absorbed their neighboring rivals. This is roughly said to have occurred anywhere from a thousand years before the Targaryen Conquest to a thousand years before the War of the Five Kings (varying by region). The Stark Kings expel pirates from the mouth of the White Knife river on the east coast, and to defend against further incursions founded the settlement that will later grow into White Harbor, the North's only major port. Another Stark King defeats the Marsh King, and marries his daughter to cement the North's annexation of the Neck.

c. 4,000 - 700? BAL - The ironborn enter into their first great age of expansion under House Hoare, conquering much of the western coasts of Westeros (as signified in their heraldry). Their possessions range from Bear Island in the far north to the Arbor in the far south, and many lands along the coasts in between. They penetrate as far as Raventree Hall in the northern Riverlands, but their dominion is mostly concentrated near the coasts. Over time, however, as major kingdoms centralized and grew in power on the mainland, such as the Starks of Winterfell and Gardeners of Highgarden, they gradually expelled the ironborn, until they were pushed back to the Iron Islands themselves.

c. 700 BAL - the Rhoynar migrate to Dorne, after being driven from the Rhoyne River network in Essos by the Valyrians. House Martell intermarries with the Rhoynar and with their extra numbers unifies Dorne. House Manderly is exiled from the Reach but given safe haven in the North, where House Stark rewards them with rule over White Harbor. House Bolton is finally subdued by House Stark in the North.

c. 400 BAL - House Bolton rises again in rebellion against House Stark, but is subdued once again. Due to his actions in suppressing the Bolton rebellion the younger son of the King in the North, Karlon Stark, is awarded lands confiscated from the north of the Bolton's former possessions, founding a cadet branch of House Stark. Over the generations, "Karl's Hold" becomes known as "Karhold", and the "Karl's Hold Starks" become known as House Karstark.

c. 360 BAL - The Stormlands successfully invades and conquers the Riverlands, under the Storm Kings of House Durrandon. This reduces the number of nations to seven: the Kingdom of the North, the Kingdom of the Vale, the Kingdom of the Isles and Rivers, the Kingdom of the Rock, the Kingdom of the Reach, the Storm Kingdom, and the Principality of Dorne.

c. 300 BAL - The newly-enobled House Frey begins construction of a massive bridge and castle complex across the Green Fork of the Trident, which when completed is known as The Twins. The Freys rapidly amass great wealth from bridge tolls and rise to became one of the major noble families of the Riverlands, though they are looked down upon by other more ancient families as upstarts.

c. 200 BAL - House Targaryen, one of the aristocratic families of the Valyrian Freehold, settles on Dragonstone island in Blackwater Bay, to establish a Valyrian trading outpost.

c. 100 BAL - The Targaryens relocate their entire family and household to Dragonstone, convinced by a prophecy that the destruction of Valyria is imminent. This proves true, as the Doom of Valyria follows only a few years later. The Targaryens and their vassal Houses on other islands in Blackwater Bay remain uninvolved with outside affairs, slowly building up their strength.

c. 60 BAL - Some three generations before Aegon's Landing, the Iron Islands enter into their second great era of expansion, conquering the territory of the Riverlands from the Stormlands. Unlike their first era of expansion, which conquered coastal territories across Westeros, this push focuses on conquering specifically the Riverlands, penetrating deep inland. The ironborn hold everything between the Blackwater to the south and the Neck to the north, and from the west coast to the east coast. The ironborn invasion is led by King Harwyn of House Hoare, and the Iron Islands continue to rule the Riverlands until the time of Harwyn's grandson, Harren Hoare, also called Harren the Black. Wishing to demonstrate his wealth and power, King Harren spends years and vast resources constructing a castle far more massive and formidable than any other in all of Westeros on the north shore of Gods Eye lake: Harrenhal, a fortress almost completely impregnable to ground attack. The enslaved local Riverlanders are forced to toil on the castle's construction, to build the tool of their own domination.

The Targaryen Conquest

2 BAL - 0 AL: Despite pleas to intervene in the Free Cities, Aegon the Conqueror, the ruler of House Targaryen, decides to invade Westeros, along with his sister-wives Rhaenys and Visenya. With only a small number of soldiers, his forces make landfall at the mouth of the Blackwater Rush. On a tall hill overlooking the bay, he builds a wooden redoubt on the site of what is now the Red Keep. He then begins his military campaign using his secret weapon: the only three dragons known to have survived the Doom. The construction of Harrenhal castle finishes the same day that Aegon lands in Westeros. When King Harren the Black refuses to surrender, Aegon uses his dragons to overcome Harrenhal's defenses and burns Harren alive in what is later called Kingspyre Tower. The remaining ironborn flee back to the isles and capitulate to Aegon, naming Vickon Greyjoy of Pyke to rule over them. Aegon is joined by Lord Edmyn Tully of Riverrun, who leads a popular rebellion of the rivermen against the ironborn. Aegon rewards Tully by naming him overlord of the Riverlands. Aegon's army then defeats the allied forces of King Mern IX Gardener of the Reach and King Loren Lannister of the Rock on what becomes known as the Field of Fire, as more than 4,000 men are burned alive by the dragons. House Gardener is extinguished, so Aegon names the stewards of Highgarden as overlords of the Reach: House Tyrell, a cadet branch of House Gardener. King Loren surrenders to Aegon, who names him overload of the Westerlands and allows House Lannister to continue its rule. Aegon's bastard half-brother, Orys Baratheon, kills the Storm King, Argilac the Arrogant, and seizes his castle of Storm's End, along with his daughter whom he takes to wife. Aegon rewards Orys by naming him overlord of the Stormlands and allowing him to found House Baratheon. Aegon is then legitimized when he enters the city of Oldtown and his war is blessed by the High Septon of the Faith of the Seven. King Torrhen Stark of the North also bows the knee, as does King Arryn of the Vale, but Aegon's attempt to conquer Dorne is thwarted by the Dornish refusal to give battle openly, preferring guerrilla warfare. Aegon decides to allow Dorne to remain independent for now, and returns to the site of his landing to found the city of King's Landing.

The Reign of the Targaryen Dynasty

37-48 AL: Upon Aegon I's death, his son Aenys, born of incest, takes the throne. The Faith of the Seven rejects his legitimacy to rule and the Faith Militant lead a popular uprising against the Targaryens. The weak and indecisive Aenys makes his younger half-brother Maegor the Hand of the King and gives him authority to deal with the crisis. Maegor's response is bloody and ferocious, resulting in the deaths of thousands in battle, slaughter and dragonfire. Aenys rules for only five years before his death, after which Maegor usurps the throne ahead of Aenys's children. The slaughter of the Faith Militant uprising lasts all of Aenys and Maegor's reigns.

48 AL: Aenys's son, Jaehaerys I, becomes king. Jaeharys declares a truce and agrees to end the slaughter in return for the Faith Militant disbanding and accepting (but not approving) the Targaryen practices of incestuous marriage. They agree, and the Faith and the Throne are reconciled. Jaeharys I becomes known as the Conciliator for his ability solve crises without the need for violence.

During the reign of Jaehaerys I, the Night's Watch had declined to the point that it could no longer fully man a castle as large as the Nightfort, which had fallen into disrepair. The Watch officially abandons the Nightfort, and moves its headquarters to further east along the Wall at Castle Black.

103 AL: Upon Jaehaerys I's death, after an unmatched fifty-five year reign, he is succeeded by his grandson, who becomes King Viserys I Targaryen.

129-131 AL: The first major civil war in the history of the unified Seven Kingdoms. Upon the death of King Viserys I Targaryen, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Ser Criston Cole, names Viserys's son Aegon II as King, despite Viserys's command that the crown be passed to his eldest child, his daughter Rhaenyra. The resulting war pits brother against sister and dragon against dragon in the war known as the Dance of Dragons. Aegon II's dragon consumes Rhaenyra, but the war continues in the name of her son, Aegon III. The death of Aegon II resolves the war, since Aegon III is the only heir to both of the combatants. The conflict is costly, with most of the Targaryen dragons being killed in the fighting. The last surviving Targaryen dragon, a sickly green runt, dies during Aegon III's reign, earning him the nickname "Dragonbane".

157-161 AL: The reign of the Young Dragon, King Daeron I, who takes the throne at the age of fourteen and almost immediately launches an invasion of Dorne. Daeron's military genius is notable and he eventually forces the Submission of Sunspear. Unfortunately, he leaves a Tyrell of Highgarden, who have warred with the Martells for a thousand years, in charge. Tyrell's tyranny triggers an uprising against the Iron Throne. When Daeron I returns with a fresh army, he is killed, his cousin Prince Aemon the Dragonknight is captured and his army defeated. Daeron I died childless so the throne passed to his brother Baelon, who forged a peace treaty with Dorne (including the marriage of his first cousin once removed Daeron to Princess Myriah Martell).

161-171 AL: The reign of King Baelor the Blessed, the Septon King. Baelor is pious and holy, keeping the realm at peace. Upon his death, a huge new sept he is building in King's Landing is named the Great Sept of Baelor in his name. Baelor is so religiously zealous that he remains celibate: instead of marrying one of his sisters in Targaryen custom, he has all three locked away in a tower of the Red Keep known as the Maidenvault, so that they will not tempt him with carnal thoughts.

172-184 AL: The reign of King Aegon IV, Aegon the Unworthy, held to be the worst king in the history of Westeros. A glutton and a cruel, petty man, Aegon has a total of nine mistresses he keeps at court, to the dismay of his sister-wife Naerys. He holds his son and heir, Daeron II, in disfavor due to his Dornish wife and peaceful ways, and gives a Valyrian steel blade of House Targaryen, Blackfyre, to his bastard son Daemon, whom he thinks is more martial and worthy of it. He takes the new name Daemon Blackfyre, after the sword, and founds the cadet branch of House Targaryen known as House Blackfyre. Upon his death, Daeron II succeeds to the Iron Throne.

195-196 AL: Claiming that Daeron II is actually the product of an illegitimate relationship between Queen Naerys and her other brother, Prince Aemon the Dragonknight, Daemon Blackfyre claims the Iron Throne. Half the realm declares for him and the resulting civil war is known as the First Blackfyre Rebellion. This is a brutal and bitter conflict that kills many tens of thousands. Eventually, Daemon amasses enough strength to march on King's Landing, allied to the forces of his bastard half-brother Aegor "Bittersteel" Rivers. Daeron II's sons, Baelor and Maekar, lead an army to stop him, assisted by another of Aegon IV's bastards, Brynden "Bloodraven" Rivers. The resulting engagement, the Battle of the Redgrass Field, is one of the largest battles fought in Westerosi history. Bloodraven slays Daemon Blackfyre with arrows and then fights Bittersteel in single combat. The arrival of a Dornish army in support of the King routs the Blackfyre forces. Bittersteel flees the field with Daemon's surviving sons, taking them to safety in the Free Cities.

197 AL: In thanks for the Dornish assistance on the Redgrass Field, Daeron II marries his younger sister Daenerys to Prince Maron Martell, formally bringing Dorne into the Seven Kingdoms. Due to the peaceable union, Dorne is allowed to maintain a number of its own customs, including allowing women equal inheritance rights and the ruler of Dorne is allowed to retain the title "Prince".

209 AL: The Great Spring Sickness tears through Westeros, killing King Daeron and most of his heirs. Aerys I Targaryen becomes king. He names Bloodraven as his Hand. Ser Duncan the Tall begins his great friendship with Maekar's fourth son, Aegon. Duncan runs afoul of Aegon's older brother, the arrogant Aerion Brightflame. "Dunk and Egg", as they are known, embark on numerous adventures across Westeros in the following years.

211 AL: Blackfyre loyalists attempt to launch a Second Blackfyre Rebellion, but Bloodraven exposes the plan, captures one of Daemon Blackfyre's sons and executes many of the conspirators before a battle needs to be fought.

221 AL: After Aerys I dies childless his younger brother Maekar I, fourth son of Daeorn II, becomes King of the Seven Kingdoms.

233 AL: Maekar I dies fighting an outlaw knight. With his eldest two sons dead (one from a pox, and Aerion from drinking wildfire in a fit of madness), the council offers the crown to Maekar's third son, a maester of the Citadel named Aemon. He refuses and removes himself to the Wall. Maeker's fourth son (also known as "Egg"), takes the throne, becoming King Aegon V Targaryen. He is called Aegon the Unlikely, because as the fourth son of a fourth son he was initially far behind in the line of succession. Ser Duncan joins Aegon V's Kingsguard. During his reign Bloodraven is exiled to the Wall for reasons unclear to history.

233-259 AL: The rule of Aegon V. This is a period of peace and plenty for the Seven Kingdoms. During the last year of Aegon V's reign, Pycelle is named as Grand Maester.

ca. 257-259 AL: The War of the Ninepenny Kings (also known as the "Fifth Blackfyre Rebellion") erupts in the last years of Aegon V's reign. A group of mercenaries, fortune-seekers, and ne'er do-wells known as the Band of Nine combines their strength to carve out their own territories: among them is Maelys the Monstrous, the last of the Blackfyre Pretenders. After taking over the Disputed Lands and Tyrosh, they conquer the Stepstones as the opening move of an invasion meant to claim the Seven Kingdoms in the name of House Blackfyre. Ser Barristan Selmy kills Maelys in single combat, ending the Blackfyre line, and the Band of Nine are soon dispersed. The young Barristan and Ser Brynden "Blackfish" Tully win great fame and glory during the war, and return home as celebrated heroes.

259 AL: King Aegon and his son Prince Duncan are killed in a great fire at Summerhall, the Targaryen summer palace, apparently during an attempt to hatch the last three dragon eggs left in the west. Aegon's son, Aerys II Targaryen, becomes king. The eggs are assumed destroyed in the fire.

The Reign of the Mad King

259 AL: King Aerys's reign begins with great promise. He sweeps aside the old men of his father and grandfather's courts and replaces them with young, vigorous replacements.

260 AL: Maelys Blackfyre, the last of the Blackfyre Pretenders, plans to invade Westeros from a base in the Stepstones but Aerys sends an army against him in a preemptive attack. In the resulting War of the Ninepenny Kings, Maelys is killed by a promising young knight named Barristan Selmy. During the war Hoster Tully of Riverrun makes the acquaintance of a Baelish of the Fingers, later accepting his son Petyr as a ward at Riverrun.

~270 AL: Young Tywin Lannister puts down the Reyne Rebellion to restore Lannister dominance over the Westerlands, and has any surviving Reynes - man, woman, and child - put to the sword, as an example to any vassal who would dare challenge Casterly Rock again. The eradication of House Reyne is the first major step in the return to glory of House Lannister, in which Tywin almost singlehandedly rebuilt the fortunes and strength of his House. Impressed with Tywin's ruthlessness, King Aerys Targaryen appoints him as his new Hand. Tywin continues to ably serve in this position for twenty years, during which the Seven Kingdoms and the Lannisters in particular enjoy peace and prosperity.

270s AL: Cracks begin to appear in Aerys's demeanor. He refuses to marry his son Rhaegar to Tywin's daughter Cersei, instead having Rhaegar marry Princess Elia Martell of Dorne. Aerys becomes paranoid over talk in the castle that Tywin is the true ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. When Lord Darklyn of Duskendale refuses to pay his taxes, Aerys resolves to crush the problem himself without Tywin's aid. Unfortunately, the situation gets out of control and Aerys is imprisoned for several months in Duskendale before Tywin and Barristan Selmy assault the castle and rescue him. The Darklyns are burned alive for their treachery. Later historians claim that the Defiance of Duskendale marked the beginning of the end for Aerys's sanity.

c.270s - c.290 AL: According to Tyrion Lannister, Westeros has experienced nine winters during his lifetime, the last ending around 290 AL. Tyrion states that the winter during which he was born was the longest of these, lasting three years.

c. 280 AL: In a year of false spring, a great tournament is held by Lord Whent at Harrenhal. King Aerys and Prince Rhaegar attend, as do many lords from across the Seven Kingdoms. Prince Rhaegar wins the tournament, but names Lyanna Stark of Winterfell as the Queen of Love and Beauty rather than his own wife Elia. Lord Tywin Lannister is enraged when Aerys names his son Jaime to the Kingsguard, disinheriting him as Tywin's heir in favor of his ugly, misshapen younger brother Tyrion. Furious, Tywin resigns the Handship and returns to Casterly Rock. A few years later, Rhaegar allegedly kidnaps Lyanna against her will and disappears with her. Lyanna's brother Brandon and father Lord Rickard demand justice from King Aerys, but he has Rickard burned alive and Brandon strangled to death for daring to question what the Targaryens would choose to do.

Robert's Rebellion

280-281 AL: In response to the king's murder of Rickard and Brandon Stark, the new Lord of Winterfell, Eddard Stark, raises the banners of the North. Robert Baratheon, Lord of Storm's End and betrothed to Lyanna, joins the rebellion, raising the banners of the Stormlands. Lord Jon Arryn of the Vale, a mentor to both Robert and Eddard, does the same. Lord Hoster Tully of Riverrun, who had planned to marry his daughter Catelyn to Brandon Stark, instead agrees to marry her to Eddard in exchange for his support in war. In addition, he marries his second daughter Lysa to Jon Arryn to shore up the alliance. The Stark, Tully and Arryn armies begin gathering north of the Trident, but Robert's forces are cut off far to the south. Leaving his brother Stannis to hold Storm's End, Robert marches his army north-west through enemy territory. He is defeated at the Battle of Ashford by Tyrell forces loyal to the king, but manages to cross the Trident and link up with the other rebels. While Lord Mace Tyrell besieges Storm's End for a year, Prince Rhaegar leads a royalist army to directly engage the rebels, but is defeated at the Battle of the Trident and killed in battle by Robert. Lord Tywin's army arrives at King's Landing to defend the city, but once the gates are opened the Lannisters sack the city brutally. Aerys II is killed by Jaime Lannister, while Targaryen loyalists smuggle his surviving children Viserys and Daenerys to safety in the Free Cities. Robert Baratheon, due to a blood relationship with House Targaryen, is proclaimed King of the Seven Kingdoms. With Lyanna dead, Robert instead marries Cersei Lannister to shore up the alliance that brought down the Targaryens.

King Robert's Reign

289 AL: The Greyjoy Rebellion - Lord Balon Greyjoy leads a rebellion against King Robert's reign, attempting to secede the Iron Islands from the rest of the realm. After several months of furious fighting in the Westerlands and Riverlands, King Robert's forces push the ironborn back to Pyke and storm the castle. Balon capitulates and surrenders his only surviving son, Theon, as hostage and ward for his good behavior. Robert instructs Eddard Stark to take Theon under his wing.