Land of the King

Chapter 43: Annals of Kings III, The Dark Years

The Dark Years were a time of despair and weakness. Arnor plummeted from the prosperity, peace, power it had enjoyed and entered an age of strife, struggle, war, weakness. Yet when one hits the bottom, the only place left to go is up.

Though dark and full of struggle, the kings in this period ruled with an expectation and hope that their realm would not remain weak forever. Arnor would rise again one day.

XXIV Araphant the Queenless 3021-3149

Araphant was born in 2750 and died in the year 3149 at the age of 399. He inherited the throne from his father in the year 3021 and would rule Arnor for 128 years.

His succession to the Throne was not secure due to a clause in an ancient law in Arnor, the Act of Succession, which demanded that all members of the Royal House who married a person that was not of pure Númenórean descent, to renounce their right to the throne.

Araphant was however much beloved in Arnor and enjoyed great popularity and so his father King Araval was able to repeal the law to retain his eldest son as his heir.

For the entirety of his reign, Araphant would carefully hold on to power and prepared the realm for his son's future governance. Important alliances such as the marriage of his son, Arvedui, to Firiel, daughter of Lord Ondoher of Minas Anor, earned Araphant great support for his son's ascension.

Tragedy however struck when in only the ninth year of his reign, the king's wife died of old age. His queen, Lyarra, had been a fair and noble lady, but short-lived according to the fate of lesser men, and the Dúnedain feared that her descendants would prove the same and fall from the majesty of the Kings of Arnor.

To the ageless Dúnedain, the swift aging and withering of the Queen before their very eyes was simply proof of their worst fears.

And so upon the death of Queen Lyarra, the Purists were reinvigorated and began rallying around the nephew of Araphant, Prince Argeleb, and began pushing for the king to recognise him as heir.

Araphant however refused their demands and threatened to charge any who called for his son to be passed over with treason. Faced with such a threat, and not yet prepared for conflict, the Purists backed down from their claims, but they remained stubborn and defiant, and their support for Prince Argeleb would only grow.

The Purists' resentment of their king would thus grow further and in quiet whispers, they mocked him, calling him the 'Queenless King'.

There are many who place the blame for the Kin-Strife at the feet of Araphant, arguing that he should have taken more punitive measures against those opposed to his son's ascension.

This view is arguably true but ultimately was not possible at the time. The Kings of Arnor before the Kin-Strife were still subject to the demands of the nobility, and half of Arnor was in support of the Purist Faction. Any attempt to force the Purists to submit to avert a future rebellion against Arvedui would only cause the very same rebellion they were trying to avoid to start decades earlier.

Araphant thus chose not to escalate matters in the hopes that cooler heads would prevail and that war would be averted. It would however, prove to be but a fool's hope. And despite his efforts, Arnor remained divided during his rule and there was already rebellion in the more discontent regions when Araphant grew old.

Upon Araphant's death, Arnor fell into civil war and the Golden Age of the kingdom came to a violent end. And that is why, regardless of whether the blame for the Kin-Strife was his to bear or not, the reign of Araphant is remembered by all as the Twilight of the Golden Age.

XXV Arvegil II 'the Great' 3149-3400

King Arvegil II was born Prince Arvedui in the year 2978 in Winterfell. He was the first king of mixed heritage to sit upon the throne of Arnor and it was that very same heritage that saw half of Arnor rise up in rebellion against him. It was in his day that Arnor would plunge from the heights of its Golden Age into the mire of defeat and decline, through no fault of the man himself.

In his youth, the young Arvedui was noted to be very close to his cousin and later usurper, Prince Argeleb, who tutored him in the art of war and swordsmanship. Many were relieved at their close relationship, believing that Argeleb would never betray his beloved cousin. They were wrong

In the year 3030, Arvedui's mother died of old age. Argeleb, like many others, was exceedingly troubled by how fast the queen had expired and petitioned the king to be made heir over cousin. History does not remember if this was pure ambition, actual concern and belief that Arvedui would prove short-lived, or simply Argeleb giving in to the requests of the Purists. Whatever the reason was, Arvedui found out about his cousin's petition and was enraged at his betrayal, resulting in an argument and fight that King Araphant needed to stop personally.

It is believed by historians that though they had been close in their youth, the relationship between Prince Arvedui and his cousin was irreparably damaged by the argument they had had.

Though neither wished ill of the other openly, their once brotherly camaraderie was gone and observers at court noted with unease, the growing tension between the pair.

The Purist Faction believing that Argeleb was the true heir, rallied around him. On the other spectrum, the Reformists gathered around Arvedui and rebranded themselves as the Loyalists, those loyal to who, they claimed as the rightful and lawful heir, in a move that many thought to be an attempt to claim more legitimacy.

King Araphant was completely powerless to stop the formation of factions in his own court. Having failed to prevent factionalism from dividing Arnor, he began giving what many believed to be preferential treatment to the Reformists in an attempt to discreetly strengthen his son's faction and weaken the Purists that sought to oppose them.

This however was seen as provocative and unfair to the Purists and further widened the rift between the two factions. Moderates on both sides were soon forced by their respective factions to stop cooperating with each other as the factions' distrust of each other grew more and more. Soon there was gridlock in the Council of the Sceptre and only the royal command of King Araphant and the reluctance of the two princes to commit to any conflict kept the factions from going to war.

In the year 3100, Arvedui married Lady Firiel of Minas Anor, a year after the passing of her grandfather who was noted to be opposed to the match. Only two months later, Prince Argeleb married Morwen of Hyarmenna, a descendant of Prince Celeborn, the second of Celepharn the Conquerer, who was given rule over the city. The marriage was without the King's permission.

As nephew of the King, Argeleb did not technically require his uncle's blessing yet it was still expected of him to gain it. That he did not even attempt to do so was a clear sign to all of the disunity in the Royal House.

It was not long before the two princes had sons of their own. Aranarth, born 3118, and Anducar, born 3126, to Prince Arvedui and Arantar, Orodreth, and Barahir, born to Prince Argeleb in the years 3102, 3113, and 3125, respectively. A daughter, Princess Amarië was also born to Prince Argeleb in 3130.

While there was distrust between Arvedui and Argeleb, remnants of the close bond they had once shared still prevailed and the two maintained some form of mutual respect for the other. The same however could not be said of their sons, of whom there was only strife amongst.

Consequently, when King Araphant finally died in 3149, all of Arnor took a deep breath in anticipation. The deep breath before the plunge… into civil war.

The war had its beginnings a few months before the aged King Araphant breathed his last. The forces of the Purists mustered in preparation. Even before Araphant died, Purist armies took Arcalen and a force personally led by Argeleb himself marched north from Minas Ithil to seize the capital.

When Araphant finally died, Argeleb's army marched on Annúminas even while ravens flew across the whole realms proclaiming Argeleb the rightful King and denouncing Arvedui as the mongrel spawn of a lesser and alien race.

Arvedui was trapped in Annúminas as his cousin's army surrounded it. Even the harbour was blockaded, for the greater part of the Western Fleet had joined the usurper, and the remainder were burned in port with wildfire. The walls of Annúminas had never been breached before, yet in the face of such an army, even Arvedui feared that the city would fall. A herald also came from Argeleb, promising to spare the city a sack if the citizens surrendered Arvedui and his family. The selfless king had almost surrendered then, to spare the lives of the people of the city. He was convinced not to by his son Anducar.

Anducar was the right name of the second son of Arvedui, but most called him 'Palantir'. From a young age, the prince had been wise beyond his years, demonstrating a level of wisdom and knowledge not thought possible for one so young. He had been blessed, or cursed some would say, with the foresight that some among the Dúnedain were known for. His powers of telepathy and perception were stronger than any in his family and from his grandmother's side of the family, it is believed that the prince inherited his skinchanging abilities and greensight as well.

Anducar prophesised to his father and told him not to surrender for they would all surely perish if he did so. When his father replied that the lives of the people of Annúminas were not worth less than theirs, Anducar declared that the people had to make the choice to surrender Arvedui or not, fulfilling the prophecy of the greenseer. Fortunately, the people refused to surrender Arvedui, yet their decision lead to Argeleb starting his assault.

The momentum of the war had been in the favour of the Purists at that point. Argeleb had been a noted genius in the art of war and had mustered his armies faster than anyone had thought possible. By the time he reached Annúminas, Purist Armies had already seized Arcalen and had begun overriding Raumdor. Most of the entirety of Ithilien, Calenardhon, Hyarwinion, Tol Winion, Tircarnë, and Angren were under the control of the Purists at this point, and if Annúminas fell, the war would be lost. The expected relief of Annúminas, the army of Anórien, would never have reached in time.

At sunrise the next morning, the army of the self-proclaimed Argeleb III broke through the Great Gates of Annúminas after hours of battering. The gates had been built centuries before. During the reign of Alcarin, they were plated with mithril and hence thought unbreakable. Yet not even they could stand forever.

With the breaking of the gates, Arvedui prepared to lead the garrison in one last desperate defense. It was at that moment, as the rays of the sun rose over the horizon in the east, that great horns were heard sounding in the hills to the north.

Charging down upon the army of Argeleb was a great host of shining steel-clad warriors, bearing the heraldry of a white swan upon a field of silver and blue. The Swan Knights of Dol Amroth had come.

Dol Amroth was a fief known for its neutrality in the squabbles between the Loyalists and the Purists. When Araphant had become bedridden and near death, the Prince Earendil of Dol Amroth commanded that the peninsula be fortified and declared his neutrality to all. It was thus never expected by any that Dol Amroth would intervene in the war.

Weeks before the siege had begun, Arvedui's eldest son, Aranarth, had been dispatched to Dol Amroth in an attempt to convince them to join their side. Yet the last missives from Aranarth before Argeleb blockaded the city had stated that the Prince had refused and would not be convinced.

By some miracle, Aranarth changed the mind of Prince Earendil and together they rode to relieve Annúminas.

The army of Argeleb was soundly defeated in the Battle of Annúminas, but it was not routed. Argeleb skilfully withdrew his forces before the Swan Knights could encircle him and he retreated to Minas Ithil. The war would not be a quick one.

All around Arnor, armies rose against each other. Kin turned upon kin, brother against brother. The blood of Númenor watered the ground and the rivers ran red for miles. And some there were who paused before the bloodshed and thought to wonder what their founders might think.

One poet famously wrote in his lament, "Tears unnumbered Silmariën sheds for her children slaughter each other."

Silmariën was the first Queen of Arnor, and wife of Elendil. And no doubt the gentle queen would have wept bitterly indeed if she knew what her descendants had done.

Arvedui's support was strongest in Malldolan, Anórien, Carsiriand, Neledsiriand, Nammatil, Morfalas, and Raumdor. These territories were populated a great deal by descendants with mixed heritage, especially amongst their nobility and this could be traced back to the way the kings who conquered them had assimilated them into the realm.

Elendil, Malvegil, Arveleg I, and Argeleb II had been lenient, allowing conquered houses to kneel and keep many of their ancestral holdings.

For the most part however, Tarondor, Beleg and Celepharn had wiped out the nobility of the lands they conquered and replaced them with pureblooded Númenórean families.

And so the war raged for five years, until finally, Arvedui executed his once beloved cousin when Arcalen was conquered by his armies. Within weeks, Hyarmenna too fell to Arvedui and with it the Purist cause.

Yet the rebellion was not truly over. Though Princess Amarië, the daughter of Argeleb was captured by Arvedui, her brothers escaped from Hyarmenna with a great fleet, and Arvedui had no ships to stop them from fleeing to Angren, the Iron Islands, the last holdout of the Purists.

When the war had begun, almost the entirety of the Western Fleet of the Royal Arnorian Navy had joined with Argeleb and the fleets stationed in Seagard and Annúminas destroyed at the start of the war.

However, though the Western Fleet was lost to him, Arvedui still had a great deal of ships stationed in the east, mainly at Osgiliath, Morlond, Peluicarnë, and Lys. These ships however, could not come to the aid of Arvedui in the west because they were defending Arnor from an exterior foe.

For centuries, the Freehold of Valyria had looked upon Lys and the Stepstones with envy and lust. The greed of the dragonlords knew no bounds and they hungered to control the trade routes that passed through the Stepstones rather than allow Arnor to control their trade.

Consequently, in 3151, the second year of the war, the Valyrians gave secret backing to King Anders Yronwood, one of Arnor's many vassals in Dorne.

Dorne had long chafed under the rule of Arnor. With the financial backing of Valyria, House Yronwood successfully rallied together every major house in Dorne, save House Dayne, in rebellion against Arnor. The rebels proclaimed a unified and free Kingdom of Dorne, one free of Arnorian overlordship, with Anders Yronwood as High King.

With the Kin-Strife ongoing, Arnor was powerless to prevent the Dornish from taking the Towers of the Teeth at the north end of the Wide Way, along with most other passes in the Orocarni (Red Mountains). With their border secured, the Dornish turned their attention upon the haven of Vinyambar at the mouth of the Greenblood, under direct Arnorian rule, and laid siege to it.

Concurrently with the outbreak of the Dornish rebellion, Valyria sent a great fleet and a thunder of dragons to take Lys and the Stepstones. With a swift surprise attack at night, the city of Lys fell and the Stepstones shortly after.

Arnor was stunned, for a moment, both sides almost united against their joint foe, but old prejudices died hard and soon the war resumed, this time with even more viciousness as each side accused the other of weakening Arnor to the point that Valyria could invade its territories.

By the time Hyarmenna fell to the Loyalists in 3154, almost five hundred thousand Arnorians had died over the course of the war, the most devastating in Arnor's history. Among them were great lords on both sides, such as Lord Castamir of Hyarmenna and Lord Tarcir of Minas Ithil for the Purists and almost the entirety of the House of Anárion on the side of the Loyalists.

Lord Ondoher, his sons, Artamir and Faramir, and his nephew Minohtar, were all slain in the Disaster of Tircarnë, one of the bloodiest battles in the war and the worst defeat suffered by the Loyalists. The army of Ondoher was almost completely destroyed, the remainder retreating under the command of Captain Eärnil who was promoted to General by Arvedui in the aftermath of the battle.

For his services in the remainder of the war, Eärnil was made the Lord of Minas Anor by Arvedui at the end of the war. Yet though all praised the bravery of the now Lord Eärnil, many bitterly regretted the loss of Lord Ondoher and his sons.

Queen Firiel almost broke down in grief when she learned of the deaths of her father, brothers, and cousin. Indeed, the deaths of Lord Ondoher and his kin is one of many reasons that the Loyalists refused to reconcile with the Purists to counter the Valyrians who were invading. That alongside with the execution of prisoners at the Battle of Morlond earlier in the war. There was too much bad blood between the two sides by that point.

By the war's end, Arnor was utterly exhausted. Angren remained defiant under the sons of Argeleb, Dorne had revolted, and Valyria occupied Lys and the Stepstones still, but Arnor had no strength to deal with any of them yet.

The aftermath of the war was brutal. The now King Arvegil showed no mercy to those that had joined the Purists. Entire families were extinguished, with all sons being either executed or sent to the Wall, with daughters wed off to sons of loyalists. Many ancient lines were ended by order of the King, including two of the cadet branches of the Royal House.

Minas Ithil and Hyarmenna were revoked and placed under direct royal rule. Any remaining scions of the houses that had once ruled them were dealt with. Countless lands of rebel lords were added to the direct royal demesne or granted to loyalists.

To those who had supported the King however, rich rewards were given. Many families in Raumdor or Siriand were granted privileges and rights they had long desired that had been denied them on account of their mixed blood.

Prince Earendil of Dol Amroth was granted funds and the right to expand the Swan Knights of Dol Amroth into an even larger and mightier force. He was also offered the Stewardship but turned it down. The Stewardship was then given to Lord Pelendur of Emyn Arnen.

The House of Hurin of Emyn Arnen was an old and proud line. They were descended in the female line from Elendil himself and had descended in the male line from survivors on board the Nine Ships and had held Emyn Arnen since the establishment of Arnor.

As the only house in Ithilien who had joined Arvedui, they reaped rich harvests. While a great part of Ithilien became part of the royal demesne including Minas Ithil itself, the remainder was transferred to the rule of Emyn Arnen. Furthermore, Lord Pelendur proved himself so competent and able as Steward that it became almost a tradition for the Kings to choose their stewards from the House of Hurin and in time the position became hereditary in the House of Hurin.

Arvegil intended for there to be no possibility that a civil war like the Kin-Strife to ever come again. According to laws he passed, the Sceptre held sole power over royal succession and the last vestiges of the Act of Succession were permanently swept away.

Furthermore, with the exception of certain trusted lords such as Prince Earendil of Dol Amroth, the rights of the nobility to maintain large private armies was suspended in the case of the pardoned rebels and reduced for Loyalists. This was compensated with increased commissions of nobles in the Royal Administration and military.

The practice of Alternate Attendance became mandatory in Arnor, by which every noble house of high enough rank and power was required to maintain residences in the capital and have a member of the main line of the family attend court. Often this was either the lord himself or his heir, and they were hostages in all but name, though for the Loyalists, the court position was seen as an honour.

Arvegil made the power of the Sceptre near-absolute and unquestionable and reasserted his right to pass laws without the assent of the Council.

It was with these newfound powers that Arvegil permanently dismantled the legal inequalities in the kingdom, fulfilling his Proclamation of Unity decreed after Arcalen capitulated in which he declared that the old classes of Dúnedain, Tergil, and Casterrim now mattered less than the greater Arnorian identity. The name of Dúnedain would eventually become synonymous with Arnorian and so remained in usage.

And so in the aftermath of the Kin-Strife, Arnor was more united than it had ever been before under the near absolute power and wisdom of its great kings. Yet the consequences of the war had many long-lasting effects.

The sons of Argeleb in Angren retained control of not only the Iron Islands but the Arbor as well. In the years following the Kin-Strife, the former fleet of Arnor turned to piracy, preying upon their previous countrymen but most especially on the western coast of the Kingdom of the North whom they laid much blame for the Kin-Strife on. They became known as the Corsairs of Angren and became a great menace to Arnor's western coasts and a hindrance to its recovery, made even more dangerous by the two palantiri in their possession, the Orthanc-stone which had remained in Angrenost since Tarondor had placed it there and the Hyarnuminas-stone which they took with them when they fled Hyarmenna.

True to his name, Arvegil fought many wars during his reign and is remembered as one of the greatest kings in Arnorian history for his long years of service defending the weakened kingdom.

During his reign, the longest in Arnor since Beleg the Young's, Arnor fought off invasions and raids from all directions. From the Corsairs in the west, the Dornish and Valyrians in the south, and a new enemy to the east, the Andals.

The Andals were a people hailing from the north-western territories of Essos, a region named after them, Andalos. More of their history is written elsewhere, all that is needed to be known in this particular text is that the Andals were greatly influenced by Arnor in their early history. They too possessed traditions of knighthood, modelled after the Arnorians, and their religion, the Faith of the Seven is believed to be a corruption and misinterpretation of the Seven Maiar.

Long had the Andals envied Arnor, desiring to be like the Arnorians and become as wealthy and powerful as them. Many adventurers had even harboured dreams of claiming parts of Arnor for themselves but none had dared act on it during the height of Arnor's might.

As the population grew in the realms of Andalos, the more ambitious and adventurous began serving as mercenaries for foreign powers, fighting in many wars in both Essos and Westeros. Many began fighting in the Vale beginning sometime after 2800 E.L.

In time, the Andals had tired of serving the local First Men lords and began seizing parts of the Vale for themselves, carving out petty kingdoms and slowly but surely taking more and more territory. There was little difference in technology between the Andals and the First Men and so the Andals utilised superior organization, strategies, and tactics to defeat the First Men, using guile to turn them against each other as well.

The migration of the Andals into the Vale was intensified by Valyrian predation on Andalos. After the defeat of Qarlon the Great, a powerful Andal king who had foolishly attacked the Valyrian colony of Norvos and the scouring of his keep on Lorath, the Valyrians began raiding and conquering Andal kingdoms, enslaving much of the local populace.

Fearful of Valyrian domination and enslavement, many Andals began migrating to the Andal realms in the Vale, sparking new conflicts with the local First Men. The wars came to a head when the First Men of the Vale united under King Robar Royce of Runestone. In turn the Andals united under Ser Artys Arryn who slew Robar at the Battle of Seven Stars, uniting the entirety of the Vale under his rule in 3173 E.L.

With the Vale as a foothold in Westeros, the Andals began invading Arnor. Their failure to take the Bloody Gate however lead to them attempting to cross into Nammatil, Morfalas and Raumdor by sea.

The invasions of the Andals were troublesome to the weakened Arnorians who faced threats on their southern and western borders as well. The last intact fleet of Arnor, the Northern Fleet could not move to contest the Corsairs of Angren.

Finally, Arvegil ordered the Arnorian Navy to sink every Andal ship that attempted to cross into their territory. Yet Arnor could not destroy them all, and the Andals continuously harried and invaded the eastern territories of not only Arnor but their ally, the North as well.

In those days, Arnor and the North were both harassed on their western and eastern coasts, by the Corsairs and the Andals respectively, and so the two kingdoms drew ever closer in their alliance.

Matters came to a head in the year 3245 E.L, when there was war on all the west coasts of Westeros. The Corsairs of Angren led many raids and attacks, sacking Barrowton in the North and many other towns in Arnor. Taking advantage of the chaos, the Andals too beleaguered the east of both kingdoms and in the south, the Dornish raided deep and far into Tircarnë and Raumdor

King Arvegil formally allied with his distant kinsman, Theon Stark, called the Hungry Wolf, to drive back the invaders who were attacking both their realms.

In the North, the Hungry Wolf won a great victory at the Battle of the Weeping Water against the Andals, before leading great fleets to take the Andal-controlled Three Sisters and raid Andalos itself.

Arvegil also coordinated with his kinsman to win great victories against the Corsairs and for a time, the coasts were made safe again. He then waged war against the Dornish and forced them back to their deserts and there was a brief respite in Arnor. Yet for the remainder of Arvegil's reign, there was constant war on the borders of Arnor and its northern ally and Arvegil was almost always on the frontlines, doing his duty to defend his people.

Tragically the last Arnorian giant died during Arvegil's reign in 3383. The giant population had long been limited by their small lands as their original grant was only expanded once to include the entirety of the northern hills excepting Fornost. Combined with a naturally low birth rate, the giant population had always been capped in a few thousand. More than enough for them to fight in Arnor's wars and help in its building projects but not enough to pose a threat to the Kings of Arnor, which was the intent. Arvegil however rewarded the giants with an increased grant but their losses in the Kin-Strife were so grievous that their population never recovered. Further losses in the following years from attacks by the Corsairs (the giant lands were closest to Angren) and a plague caused the population to plummet further and sealed their doom. Arnor would now have to fight its future wars without one of their greatest advantages.

Towards the later part of his reign, Arvegil rebuilt the fleets of Arnor and though they were not yet at the strength they had once boasted before the Kin-Strife, they were put to good use in retaking the Arbor and reuniting the province of Tol Winion with Arnor in 3270 E.L.

King Arvegil finally died in the year 3400 at the age of 422, a greater age than any of his line since Elros Tar-Minyatur, the legendary first King of Númenor. Many believed that the warrior king had lived so long to spite those who had contested his ascension on the basis that he would be short-lived. In the end it would be Arvegil who had the last laugh.

He is remembered exceedingly fondly as one of the greatest kings in Arnor's history. No one other than Arvegil the Second could have not only emerged victorious in the Kin-Strife but safeguarded the weakened Arnor long enough for the kingdom to begin its recovery. Throughout the entirety of his long reign, the great king faced down many a foe, from the Purists in the Kin-Strife and their Corsair descendants, to the raiding Dornish scum and the Andals warriors of the northeast and even a few Valyrian dragonlords who had strayed too far into the mainland. He truly was a mighty king and he did so very many great deeds and accomplished so much, it would require a book all of its own to name and list them all.

XXVI Aranarth 3400-3461

Aranarth was born to then Prince Arvedui and his wife Princess Firiel in the year 3118. Though not as mighty or great as his father before him, Aranarth was no less devoted to the kingdom and fought valiantly in its defense.

He was very close to his younger brother Anducar, the seer known as 'Palantir' in all of Arnor. Anducar lost an eye to one of the Corsairs during their many raids but it did not affect his skinchanging or future-seeing powers in any way and a famous saying emerged during the rule of their father, Arvegil, about his extraordinary powers. "How many eyes does Prince Palantir have? A thousand and one." Anducar served for many years as his brother's chief intelligence officer and advisor yet his sight was not perfect and he would always bitterly regret that it did not save his brother from an early death.

In the aftermath of the Kin-Strife, Aranarth was betrothed to his second cousin, Amarië, the daughter of Argeleb the Usurper who was captured at the end of the Kin-Strife, to reconcile the remaining Purists in Arnor to his father King Arvegil. They were later married in the year 3220.

Princess Amarië was well treated for a hostage and though she was fond of Aranarth, their marriage had many hurdles, greatest of which were her still living brothers who swore an oath of enmity against her husband for forcibly marrying their sister.

And so for the entirety of Aranarth's reign, the Corsairs raided Arnor with renewed hatred and spite and in the sixty-first year of his reign, Aranarth was slain at the hands of the sons of Argeleb. He was only 343 years old. Falling alongside him was his trusted companion and friend, Eärnur, the son of Eärnil. With their passing, the Sceptre and the Lordship of Minas Anor passed to Aranarth's son Arahael.

XXVII Arahael Angrendacil 3461-3674

Arahael was born in 3263 and died in 3674 at the age of 411. He had a troubled childhood due to the often tense and awkward relationship between his parents, of whom he was closer to his mother Amarië.

However, Arahael still loved his father and it was a grievous blow when he was slain by none other than his own uncles, his mother's brothers.

Swearing to avenge his father, Arahael built a great fleet to put an end to the Corsairs but his coming was seen at sea by the Corsairs with their palantiri and his fleet was destroyed.

Arahael tried again many times to invade Angren, finally succeeding in 3600. Angren could not stand against Arnor forever and Arahael overwhelmed them through sheer numbers at great cost.

Intent on ending the usurper's line, Arahael executed his uncles and sent all their male descendants to the Wall before forcibly pacifying the Purist-controlled Iron Islands. In his actions against them, he was considered the second coming of Tarondor Hirgaer and his relationship with his mother was forever strained afterwards.

Arahael is also otherwise noted for his inheritance of Minas Anor. At the end of the Kin-Strife three centuries earlier, the claimants to Minas Anor were the victorious general and war hero, Eärnil. and Arahael's own father Aranarth. King Arvegil chose to reward Eärnil for his services in the war and granted him the lordship which he eventually passed to his own son, Eärnur.

Eärnur was a great general and warrior like his father before him though perhaps less wise. For reasons unknown, he never married and the male line of Anárion is believed to have ended with him when he died defending his friend and king, Aranarth. Upon his death, Minas Anor passed to Arahael as the closest living relative as Eärnur had left no heir and no will.

The rest of Arahael's reign was more peaceful as with the end of the Corsairs, the west coasts were once more made safe, but in the south and the east, skirmishes and raids were still fought with the Dornish and Andals.

XXVIII Aranuir Falconbane 3674-3860

Aranuir was born in 3458. He fought during his father's invasion of Angren and distinguished himself during the war.

By his time, the attacks by the Andals across the Narrow Sea had died down. The remaining Andals in Andalos submitted to Valyria and those that had settled the Vale were occupied with the remaining First Men, many of whom had fled into the mountains and remained defiant. Therefore, the guard on the east borders became lax and were not prepared for the sudden invasion.

In 3702, the Andals of the Vale seized the Bloody Gate by trickery and launched a sudden and great invasion into Arnor. Wholly unprepared, Arnor was forced to withdraw until the Valemen were decisively beaten at the Battle of Osgiliath.

Aranuir, knowing that he could not seize the Bloody Gate back directly, opted to invade the Vale by a different route. Making use of their naval superiority, the Arnorians crushed the Vale fleet off Gulltown before invading the city itself.

With the fall of Gulltown, the Arnorian army was in reach of Falconrest, the seat of House Arryn itself. Knowing his vulnerability, the King of the Vale sued for peace.

According to the terms of the Treaty of Gulltown, the Kingdom of the Vale would return the Bloody Gate and all other occupied territories to Arnorian sovereignty and pay indemnities for damages to the regions that their army had invaded. The Kingdom of the Vale was not allowed to build more than twenty warships in total across its entire territory. The Kingdom of Arnor would assume the responsibility of protecting the waters of the Vale and would be paid tribute for this service annually from the treasury of the Arryn kingdom. Arnor was also granted safe and free harbourage for its warships in Gulltown and a part of the city to govern as a concession with extraterritoriality for its citizens there. Furthermore, the Vale would give up all claims to the Three Sisters, which they had long contested with the neighbouring North.

Some glory hungry Arnorians had called for a total Arnorian annexation of the Vale but Aranuir refused. He saw little of value in the Vale that Arnor did not already have in plenty, and nothing worth the extreme cost in money and men to occupy and assimilate the hostile Vale. What little Arnor did desire from the Vale had already been secured with the treaty and Aranuir left satisfied.

Furthermore, Aranuir knew that Arnor had not wholly recovered from the Kin-Strife centuries earlier and that the occupation of the Vale would be a hindrance and not an aid to their true long-term objective of reclaiming Lys and the Stepstones from Valyria.

It was also during Aranuir's reign that Arnorian explorers finally charted the oceans of the entire world and circumnavigated the globe. During the Golden Age, Arnor had fought few wars and few adversaries had dared contend with it and so stagnation had set in. Few had the incentive and none had the technology or knowledge required to truly explore the world. However, the Dark Years after the Kin-Strife and the near endless wars had spurred on technological advancement, especially the naval arms race between Arnor and Angren, which Angren inevitably lost, and the loss of the Stepstones which threatened Arnorian trade.

With new and advanced ships, some even able to sail diagonally against the wind, Arnor was finally able to easily explore the whole globe and chart new lands and faraway peoples and civilizations, though the importance of these faraway lands in the rest of the Annals is little hence why they will not be mentioned very much again.

XXIX Aravir Hyarmendacil II 3860-4001

Aravir was born in 3600 and died in 4001 at the age of 401.

It was Aravir who destroyed the Kingdom of Dorne and reclaimed the territory for Arnor. As the Dornish rebels had seized the mountain passes during the Kin-Strife, Arnor had invaded through the Torrentine river valley ruled by House Dayne of Starfall, and had smashed the Dornish garrison at Vinyambar to sail up the Greenblood.

Of all the Dornish Houses, House Dayne had been the closest to Arnor, culturally and ethnically, and were so honoured that they were even considered Tergil for the Blood of Númenor ran through their veins.

So it was that during the reign of Aravir, House Dayne willingly swore fealty to Arnor and joined the realm. The rest of Dorne was not so willing and it was many years before Dorne was fully and truly subjugated and assimilated under Arnorian rule. The palantir of Hyarmenna, reclaimed from Angren centuries earlier, was transferred to Vinyambar to aid in the process.

All Dornish Houses sans House Dayne and a select few others who had remained loyal to Arnor were made extinct and Dorne was divided into two provinces, the original province of Vinyambar was restored and expanded to contain the entire eastern half of Dorne up to the source of the Greenblood River. The remainder was organised as the province of Lissenardhon.

The honourable and chivalrous House Dayne would also begin sending the Sword of the Morning to serve in the Royal Court.

After his famous ancestor, Argeleb I Hyarmendacil, Aravir also claimed the title of Hyarmendacil for subduing Dorne.

Some have questioned why Arnor annexed Dorne, a mostly sandy and desert territory but not the Vale. It could be attributed to various reasons. Chiefly that it was two different kings who oversaw the invasions of the Vale and Dorne. Also unlike Dorne, the Vale had never sworn fealty to Arnor, some ancient petty Vale kings had paid tribute to Arnor but for the most part, before the Andal Invasion, Arnor had paid little heed to the region.

Dorne on the other hand had been an Arnorian vassal for over a thousand years. It was strategically positioned near the Stepstones and could be more easily controlled than the more mountainous Vale by way of its rivers.

XXX Aragorn I 4001-4144

Aragorn I was born in 3735 and ascended the throne upon his father's death in 4001. He died in 4144.

It was Aragorn who strengthened ties with the North and reconciled with the Kingdom of the Vale. Charismatic and charming, the eloquent king brought peace and friendship between the North, Arnor and the Vale. He renegotiated the terms of the old Treaty of Gulltown to be more lenient on the Valemen and he is remembered for binding the Kingdoms of Arnor, the North, and the Vale in the Alliance of the Three Kingdoms, a defensive pact that bound the entirety of Westeros south of the Wall in a pledge to come to each other's aid.

Though some have criticised the alliance as Arnor was no doubt the senior partner in the relationship, it was seen as Arnor exerting its power over its neighbours as the continental hegemon.

Aragorn the First's reign is most remembered for two other events. The Founding of Braavos and the Exodus of the Rhoynar.

In 4010, a slave fleet on route to the Valyrian colony of Gogossos in the Basilisk Isles, mutinied. By some fortune, the fleet was able to slip past the Valyrian-controlled Stepstones and came to a lagoon in the north-western promontory of Essos where they founded the Free City of Braavos. Braavos was found first by the Alliance, and it was the Three Kingdoms that gave it aid and support in its early years, turning it into a strong ally in the rising coalition against Valyria.

As for the Rhoynar, beginning a few years before the Kin-Strife, tensions had risen on the River Rhoyne between the Rhoynar Principalities and the Valyrian colonies. These tensions flared up into a series of wars that were mediated by Arnor and Valyria and peacefully settled. However, with the conquest of Lys and the Stepstones by Valyria during the Kin-Strife, the Rhoynar were permanently cut off from the support and friendship of Arnor.

In the following centuries, Valyria encroached more and more on Rhoynar territory until finally the Rhoynar united and attempted to drive them from the Rhoyne. In response, Valyria sent hundreds of dragons to quash the Rhoynar, and in their fury the Rhoyne River boiled.

Several Rhoynar principalities were destroyed and the remainder were forced to pay tribute in slaves and monies. The Valyrians were also excessively cruel to Rhoynar water mages, persecuting and killing most while seizing some and forcing them to serve Valyria. Many Rhoynar, especially water mages, were unwilling to serve Valyria or abide by its domination of their homeland.

Leaving in an exodus, a great portion of the surviving Rhoynish water mages and their families came to Arnor where they were welcomed.

In Arnor, the Rhoynar exiles flourished, teaching their magics to the Arnorians who devised a new means of using water magic. Arnorian water mages were not bound to the waters of the rivers like the Rhoynar had been and they learned to call upon the power of the Sea itself.

The Rhoynar's coming also altered the culture of Arnor somewhat. Due to the nature of water magic, (which I will not delve into here needlessly), female water mages were far more common than their male counterparts. Furthermore, this in accordance with the Rhoynar tradition of absolute primogeniture restarted the movement in Arnor to make the inheritance of men and women equal like it had been for the Royal House in Old Númenor, though it would be many years before the movement saw fruit.

XXXI Araglas 4144-4283

The reign of Araglas was one of mostly peace. With the North and the Vale friendly and allied, and Dorne and the Corsairs long destroyed and reintegrated into Arnor, Arnor had peace and prosperity like it never had since the reign of Araphant. Yet peace is often simply the period between wars.

Born in 3868, Araglas was a young and ambitious king. Growing up on stories of his famed ancestors, Araglas desired nothing more than to emulate them, but by that point there was but one enemy left that Arnor had to defeat, Valyria.

So it was that the rule of Araglas sparked a grand new period of innovation. The culmination of years of research and preparation forged many weapons and tools by which Arnor could defeat Valyria. More skinchangers, greenseers, and water mages than ever before were recruited and trained and the armies of Arnor swelled in preparation for war.

Many like to tell tales of the Arsenal of Braavos, able to build a war galley in a single day or so the Braavosi claim. Yet the Arsenal of Braavos is but one and pales in comparison to the great and many shipyards of Arnor who churned out great and massive ships of war. So vast was the fleet prepared, that the masts of the ships were like a forest upon the sea, and ancient memories of Ar-Pharazôn and his Great Armament were awoken.

Yet Araglas's war was not to be for he suddenly and unexpectedly changed his mind and cancelled his war plans in 4230. Many questioned his decision but the King would not be moved.

Regardless of his change of heart, Araglas had already set into motion a chain of events that could not be stopped and the people of Arnor were stirred to war, believing that they could reclaim their lost territories and avenge their enslaved kinsmen.

And Araglas's son was much like how his father had been before his sudden change and wished to continue the war. Under his leadership, preparations for war continued and were not hindered by his father, the King.

Valyria watched carefully, knowing that war was imminent. In the waning years of Araglas, the Dragonlords of Valyria would wrestle with the Royal House of Arnor and their servants by way of the palantiri and dragonglass candles, their wills clashing as both sides attempted to scry and spy upon the actions of the other.

Author's Note: Remember to leave your requests for chapters on particular kings below. No requests for events before the Kin-Strife will be considered.

Chapter 44 will be titled 'Beyond Arnor' and will be about the lands and civilisations outside of Arnor, their histories and relationship with Arnor.

After that will be the usual short arc chapters on individual kings before we get to the next big arc.