As always my upload schedule is about as consistent as the official series release dates


Extract from the formation of the modern state by Maester Harris 2208AC

Differing from the noble oligarchies of the free cities and the absolute monarchies seen in Westeros before this point the High King system implemented by King Japer Arryn was less of a unified system of government but closer to the federal system seen today to an extent that some consider it a proto form of the system.

The system was governed according to set rules written in a readily available document (which would today be referred to as a constitution) which set out the powers of the High King and what was referred to as the imperial court. The states were effectively semi-independent with their kings being allowed to issue laws, regulate taxation, and control other domestic sectors. The imperial court handled the foreign policy of the kingdom with the high king functioning as the head of all military matters. The king could also legislate for the entirety of the realm but all legislation had to pass the high council which was legally made up of the 3 kings or representatives they choose and a representative from the high king's region chosen by the vote of the lords of that state. For a law to pass it must be by vote with each member of the council receiving one vote except for the High King who received two. This means that the high king must have at least the support of one other member of the council.

While the constitution did not set out the location of government the capital was implied to always effectively be the seat of the High King. It was however established early on that the court would rotate yearly during the summer years across the state capitals. It was during this time that all the kings would personally sit upon the council.

The lower council would form the government of the realm reflecting the small council system seen during the time of the Iron Throne with ministers in charge of specific areas.

The position of the High King itself was not hereditary but rather elective, in theory, each kingdom elected 11 lords from amongst themselves as electors who voted for their choice of the high king in a secret ballot once of the first of its kind. While the idea was certainly that the High Crown would stay within the royal families it should be noted that the only requirement included in the constitution to stand for election was being landed and receiving an endorsement by at least 5 other lords.

The High King system is considered democratic for its time and was a reflection of the new kings of the era to maintain independence but also to band together for security.

Contrasting it to the government of say the New Valyrian empire….

Extract from the Royal Baratheon's by maester Samwan 1867 AC

The atmosphere in King's Landing during this period is not recalled well from surviving accounts. Following the battle of Harrenhal and the establishment of the High Kingdom what had been squabbles between vassals had escalated into an open revolt against the Iron Throne.

King Jofferys temper must not have been improved when both of his uncles also put forward their claims to the throne. With both King Stannis and King Renly declaring against him, the young boy would have found himself faced with enemies on all sides with 5 kings rising to topple him. Records of the time do not paint the child king in a positive light his anger was well known and it would most certainly have not been a good time to be at court in Kings Landing reports and descriptions would recount the Kings cruelty often referencing his treatment of the captured Sansa Stark with public beatings being confirmed by multiple sources. His mother the Queen regent Cersei proved unskilled at controlling her son's tendencies and there was a rapid degradation of the standards of the royal court a stance that was not well received by the people of Kings landing local Septon records show a negative public opinion in relation to the King and when House Tyrell cut of food imports in addition to the loss of those from the Riverlands discontent quickly formed and the city was up in arms rioting by the time Ser Kevin Lannister arrived with the remains of the Harrenhal army. Seeing the situation Ser Kevin quickly took command being named acting hand of the king by his brother and then shortly after deposing Queen Cersei to take on the regency his stern hand saw a renewal of order in the city that at least allowed the Lannister faction to retain direct control of the city and the crownlands.

The Kevin reforms discussed in detail later resulted in a mass overhaul of the royal budget, the gold clocks, and city defence as well as food distribution later called by many as horrific but necessary. Ser Kevin ruled much as his brother did but King's landing was not the west and its people were not used to such frim enforcement of the law the remnants of Ser Jamie's army were put to use both purging and conscripting the city.

Kings landing was estimated to have a population of nearly 500,000 during this time with nearly 100,000 not employed by the standard sense. The Lord Regent actively purged first the gold clocks removing the corruption quite literally at the head with Lord Commander Ser Janos and then replacing most of the command structure with Westerland Knights. It is unknown how many died in the riots of Kings landing but conservative estimates suggest at least 10 to 20 thousand were put down in riot suppression with a further 5 thousand being hung in the course of the following moon in what is now called the Lions Roar response, the same time frame also saw a vast reduction in crime within the city.

Kevin's conscription efforts are also considered effective by history, following the purges he had aproximenty 7000 Lannister levies in addition to 1500 gold clocks and was able to raise a further 10,000 men from the local population bringing the total defenders of kings landing on paper to nearly 18,000, of course, the effectiveness of these levies is well known but his rota conscription method in itself would be adopted on many other cases in the following century's.

In addition to this careful rationing at all levels ensured that starvation didn't run rampant through the city and in an early example of an effective propaganda campaign The Regent made sure it was known to the smallfolk that the nobles of the city were also engaging in a modest diet. A claim that records from the Red Keep kitchens seem to show as truth if not slightly exaggerated.

While not a lord himself Ser Kevin grasped that having the support of the population on the side would be vital in holding the city his actions in reducing crime saw a surge in public support for the regime from the wealthy of the city but is today considered to have likely permanently turned the darkest side of Kings landing against House Lannister.

Meanwhile, at the same time, both the Rival Baratheon Kings had called their banners and began marshalling forces while it is unknown if Stannis would have been aware of Renly's claim it is no shock that the younger Baratheon seemed a strong contender for the Iron Throne With the armies of both the Reach and Stormlands on side the two together are estimated to be capable of raising upwards of 140,000 men, with Renly's host likely numbering around 100,000 including at least 25,000 calvary in comparison The elder Stannis could only marshal around 5000 fighting men in the form of direct levies being supported by only the houses of the narrow sea. He did, however, have the support of the royal fleet, having served as master of ships most of the captains of the fleet had been appointed by and were loyal to King Stannis. At 150 warships this was arguably the strongest Westerosi fleet at the time crewed by another 5000 sailors, it is important to note however that Stannis could not equip these men to use as a fighting force nor to pay them and desertion could have easily developed into a serious problem if the fleet was not at harbour on an island.

King Stannis was likely aware of his weakness as he turned first not towards the capital but rather towards his younger brother….

Extract from The Steel Falcon written by Maester Toman 1922 AC

The declaration of the High Kingdom saw a distinct shift in the goals of the rebel forces, with the death of Lord Stark removing the original motivation for the Northern army marching and with the Riverlands for the most part safe the High Kingdom now had to refocus its objectives towards securing recognition of its succession from the Iron throne for those unfamiliar I shall briefly summarise the factions key players of the time and their military capabilities.

Firstly we have the rebel High Kingdom The North had marched with 15,000 men with orders for another 10,000 to be raised to Moat Cailin, The Vale had raised 30,000 with 10 of those still mustering in the Vale itself but loses meant these forces was in actuality closer to 27,000 by this point. The Riverlands had raised a further 20,000 which is shown as a classic example of the inability of the region to effectively raises men of those 20,000 half held the Golden Tooth under Sir Brynden. While the rest joined the host at Riverrun bringing its total to around 50,000. It should be noted that even at the time the issues of supplying this force were apparent neither the North nor Vale were abundant in food and so it fell largely to the Riverlands to become the High Kingdoms breadbasket. Although the seizing of the defeated Lannister armies supplies did help in reducing this issue somewhat.

Secondly, we have the 'Loyalist' faction which realistically consisted of the Crownlands and the Westerlands. The west had raised 35,000 men initially with orders to raise 15,000 more in process. With the breaking of Ser Jamies host, the effective Lannister host in the field was 20,000 under Lord Tywin. At the capital, a further 7000 Lannister men were joined by 10,000 men conscripted from the city. While the crownlands Houses were called to arms they were mostly slow in responding.

King Renly was next with the reach and Storms lands he had a host of 100,000 slowly moving along the rose road.

King Stannis had only 5000 men with him at Dragonstone.

The two neutral parties to this point the Ironborn and the Dornish had both called their banners and formed hosts of around 15,000.

The next actions of High King Jasper must therefore have been a difficult choice. To attain independence he realistically only had to maintain his borders, as you would expect however the reality was far more complicated. King Robb naturally wished to push toward the capital to rescue his sisters while the Rivermen of the host were more concerned with Lord Tywin and did not wish to allow his host the chance to move into the Riverlands. Also as news came into Riverrun as to the size of King Renly's host naturally the lords were concerned as to what would be done when the Baratheon King came looking for the rest of his Kingdom.

The High King first turned to diplomacy sending envoys to both the Ironborn (under the command of Ser Sevron Frey) and the Dornish offering them a chance to break free in addition to a place within the High Kingdom. While this position was not mandatory this is counted as the first time the idea of unifying all of Westeros under the high Kingdom system was mentioned. It is also known from contemporary Dornish sources that King Jasper offered them the head of both the mountain and promised Lord Tywin's death.

In addition, a delegation headed by Lady Caitlyn Stark was sent south to negotiate with King Renly While it is unknown what her objective was it seems likely this was either a method to buy time or to attempt the formation of a non-aggression pact while the Lannisters were dealt with.

A minor note to be raised is that it was also around this time that King Jasper issued a summons to Lord Baelish demanding he resigns from the small council in Kings Landing on the threat of attainment.

In the short term, it was Lord Tywin that moved first to break the military deadlock he abandoned the siege of the Golden Tooth to instead return to Casterly Rock where he would join with the hoast there. When news of this reached Riverrun Jasper deployed Robb Stark with his 15,000 Northern men and the 10,000 rivermen to follow linking up with the Blackfish along the way they would have a host of 30,000 with orders to begin sacking Westerland castles.

King Jasper, on the other hand, issued a further call to arms throughout the Riverlands managing to raise 5000 more men which he left at Riverrun under the command of Prince Edmure and Lord Royce while he began to march south towards the crownlands.