After the fatal and aptly named Dance of Dragons, House Targaryen's position was severely weakened. Their dragons were dwindling and many members of House Targaryen were lost. Aegon 'the Broken' was in constant anger at House Stark and House Martell. It is his firm belief that had they supported his mother, House Targaryen wouldn't be in such a dire situation and his mother would have survived. In his anger, he broke Aegon 'the Conqueror's' promise and declared a war of conquest against House Stark.
Ser Aemon 'the Dragonknight' commanded the Targaryen forces, whilst King Cregan 'the Whiteking' commanded the Northern armies. They had three noteworthy battles over the course of 3 years. The battle of the Trident when Ser Aemon overwhelmed the Northern Riverland's defence force, routing and trapping a large Riverlander host. The Siege of Oldstones, where King Cregan retaliated with a surprise attack against the siege of Oldstones and forced Ser Aemon back down to Riverrun. And finally the Battle of Fairmarket, where the two armies clashed. King Cregan technically won the battle, however, when King Cregan and Ser Aemon fought on the field of battle with both fighters scoring a major wound against each other. King Cregan received a cut on his left eye down to his jaw, whilst Ser Aemon received a cut down his back. The duel is said to be the most legendary and the greatest fight of the century. It is said King Cregan received his wound first, but kept on fighting with the wound and only collapsed after watching Ser Aemon fall. Both fighters had to be carried off the battlefield and it was only due to the firm command of Highmagnar Mudd and Magnar Greywolf that allowed the North to find its victory.
With the fall of Ser Aemon and the dragon Longstrid, House Stark offered peace withHouse Targaryen, which King Aegon was forced to accept. After the war, Ser Aemon would claim King Cregan to be the greatest swordsman he had ever faced and King Cregan, when asked about the battle, would merely point to his scar and proclaim that he didn't have any other scars.
King Aegon was a broken king ruling over a broken kingdom. His negligence allowed the capital to grow corrupt and the wealth gap between the poor and wealthy grew. The once proud organization, the Goldcloaks, founded by Jaehaerys Targaryen, grew corrupt as they began to take bribes, bully the smallfolk, and fight for power. He had children but none survived to continue on his line. The only joyful event was the return of Prince Viserys who had been presumed dead. King Aegon neglected to maintain the sewers of King's Landing, which would lead to the famous stench of King's Landing.
He was succeeded by Daeron "the Young Dragon" who moved to conquer Dorne. Learning from the mistakes made by Lord Orys Baratheon in the first war, Daeron used goat paths located in the pass to avoid traps and ambushes which Dornishmen usually implemented to repel invaders. A second army led by Lord Lyonel Tyrell marched down the Prince's Pass. The third army was a naval assault by Alyn Oakenfist along the Dornish coast and the royal fleet broke the Martell fleet on the outskirts of the Planky Town.
After several battles, the Prince of Dorne and two score Dornish lords bent the knee in the Submission of Sunspear in 158 AC, within a year of the invasion's beginning. Daeron became the first Targaryen king to truly conquer Dorne and unite all lands below the Northern Riverlands for the first time, despite the loss of ten thousand men in taking the peninsula. Daeron wrote The Conquest of Dorne about his achievement. The book was known for its style and simplicity, but in it Daeron exaggerated the numbers of his foes to make his conquest seem grander.
Daeron spent some time in Dorne to consolidate his conquest and eliminate rebels. An assassination attempt on the king was prevented by the actions of his cousin, Prince Aemon Targaryen, who threw himself in the path of a poisoned arrow meant for Daeron. Aemon "the Dragonknight" survived the poison, however, and was sent back to King's Landing to recover. Leaving Lord Tyrell in charge in Dorne, Daeron returned to the capital in 159 AC, bringing fourteen Dornish nobles with him as hostages.
Although the Dornish nobility had submitted to House Targaryen, the Dornish smallfolk continued to resist. Lord Lyonel Tyrell, attempted to stamp out rebellion and forty or fifty thousand men on both sides are said to have died in the next three years. A clever trap at Sandstone killed Lyonel and sparked a great uprising leading Daeron to return to Dorne in 160 AC.
The Young Dragon achieved many victories along the Boneway while Lord Alyn Velaryon dealt with the Planky Town and the Greenblood. Thinking the Dornish were again willing to submit, Daeron met with them under a peace banner in 161 AC. The eighteen-year-old king was assassinated by Dornishmen, however, with three knights of the Kingsguard slain—including Ser Olyvar Oakheart— and one yielding after Prince Aemon the Dragonknight captured, though Aemon managed to slay two of the liars before being taken into custody. The Young Dragon's seemingly bright future was snuffed due to betrayal and intrigue.
Daeron was succeeded by his brother, Baelor, and the Dornish hostages in King's Landing were thrown into the dungeons by Prince Viserys, the Hand of the King. The Weeping Town received its name from the townspeople's reaction when Daeron's corpse arrived from Dorne. Although most lords were vengeful after Daeron's death, Baelor 'the Blessed' forgave the assassins and brought about a rapprochement with the Dornish. This angered many lords, as they perceived Baelor to be a coward.
Baelor 'the Blessed' began mending relations with Dorne after their conquest by completing the 3 miracles. His journey barefoot to Dorne and surviving is considered to be his first miracle. His second is the forging of peace between Dorne and the Iron Throne. And finally his third miracle is his walk into the snake pit and returning without a single bite to free Aemon.
Highscholar Edrick gives a far more logical explanation for these 'miracles'. His first miracle can be completed by any man with a good enough determination. He under parley would have received water and supplies from the Dornish. His so called barefoot journey, was actually not completed completely in barefoot, but rather with shoes that wore out past the boneway. His second miracle was not an impossible task. In fact, it is recorded that Baelor took a loan of 1 million gold dragons from the Iron Bank of Winterfell (A/N: The Branch of the Iron Bank that came over to Winterfell for the Westerosi lords), to gift the Dorne, as well as all of the captured lords and a marriage contract. With such substantial gifts, most relationships would mend. Finally, Baelor did not make it through the snake pit unbitten, it is recorded by the Maesters that he had around 6 bites that nearly killed him. Highscholar Edrick also writes that these injuries and taxing acts could be what drove Baelor mad enough to drive the Targaryen Kingdom into further debt and even imprison his three sisters into the Maidenvault.
He also burned a great many one of a kind novels, some of which are not even found in the Great Library of Winterfell. The Testimony of the Mushroom was burnt next to a hundred other books. The Kingsman was able to rescue Dragons, Wyrms, and Wyverns: Their Unnatural History by Septon Barth, which was perhaps the most important book which was to be burnt. He gave foolish tax exemptions to lords who gave the chastity belts to their daughters, angering House Stark and the Iron Bank further. He then took another loan, this time from the Iron Bank of Braavos and heavy taxes to build the Great Sept of Baelor, one of the most extravagant buildings in King's Landing, to lure the High Septon to King's Landing instead of Oldtown. In the end, however, Baelor died 3 years before its completion during one of his foolish fasts.
Viserys II took over the throne and began the process of rebuilding all broken bridges with House Stark. He immediately began economic plans he had made whilst he was the Hand of the King, which were stopped by Baelor's maddened piety. He began to optimize and reduce costs of the Sept of Baelor, which was originally planned to have each individual stone blessed by the seven and covered in scented oil. He immediately moved to free the women trapped in the Maidenvault, only to be shocked when it turned up empty. Viserys sent out dozens of search parties only to come up completely empty handed. They seemingly disappeared into thin air. As Baelor had failed to even check up on them, after only allowing female servants to see them for a year. Said servants also disappeared when Viserys looked into the matter. He never gave up on the search however, refusing to let his family members disappear. Some say House Stark recused the poor maidens, others say they escape to Volantes.
Viserys after ending all foolish tax exemptions, began to collect the wealth of House Targaryen back. He began to pay back the debts owed to the Iron Bank and began to work to remove the rampant corruption that could be found in the capital. He ruled for a half a dozen years before falling to his illness. It was only thanks to the Northern medicine that he had lived for so long. House Stark tried to keep King Viserys 'the Brilliant' alive as long as possible as he was their best bet in recovering debts. Viserys issued reforms of the royal household and its functions, established a new royal mint, increased trade across the narrow sea, and made positive revisions to the already progressive code of laws established by the Old King Jaehaerys I. Although Viserys only ruled for 6 years, he is often considered the only Targaryen king, who could compare the King Jaehaerys.
After Viserys "the Brilliant" died, his eldest son Aegon took the throne. He immediately earned the title 'the Unworthy' for his complete disregard for everything. In the six years he was King, he was not even a poor imitation of the man he once was. He used to be a handsome, skilled fighter, with great battle prowess, yet when he took to the throne he was so fat, his eyes were almost lost in the fat of his face, his legs too weak to support his belly. He had a small mouth and a large beard used in an attempt to cover the fat of his neck and face. He wore a new crown he had made, huge and heavy, red gold, each of its points a dragon head with gemstone eyes.
He had nine mistresses who bore him many bastards, and slept with more than a dozen other women. He gave away priceless artifacts, titles, and gifts on a whim. He gifted a dragon egg to Lord Butterwell, after guesting at his castle and allegedly impregnating his host's three maiden daughters in one night. Aegon used promotions of the City Watch of King's Landing as a way to shower largesse on those he most favored and they in turn made sure that the brothels - and even the decent women of the city were made available for Aegon's lusts whenever their King desired. He is often considered to be the reason the Targaryen Dragons to die out, after insulting House Veltigar and refusing the brethoryal contract King Viserys had worked on for the last 3 years of his life and House Targaryen's only hope of strengthening their dragons. Without the extra dragons, the Targaryen dragons died out, with Aerys 'the Mad King'.
Naerys Targaryen was tormented, frequently in the presence of Ser Aemon "the Dragonknight" who loved her, but could do nothing due to his oath. Aegon squandered a lot of the progress made by King Viserys and borrowed thousands of gold from House Stark to build a large fleet to attack Dorne, only for it to be destroyed in a great storm on their way to Dorne, after he ignored all of his commanders and the Masters of Ships and their suggestion to wait.
When Ser Aemon protected him from the assassins of Dorne with his own life, after his declaration of war, and his wife died of childbirth, he began accusing his eldest son, Daeron, of being a product of adultery between the two. He did nothing two honor the two, and instead made insults and accusations he couldn't to them to their faces when they were alive.
However, his arguably worse action was when he gave the blade Blackfyre not to his heir, Daeron, but to one of his bastards, Daemon, when he knighted Daemon at the age of 16, formally recognizing him as his son. Talk of Daemon becoming Aegon's heir instead of Daeron began after this point. The only reason why King Aegon "the Unworthy" did not disown Daeron as his son, was because he was worried that he would face a civil war he could not win, should he do so.
The reign of the unworthy monarch finally ended in 184 AC. At only forty-nine years of age, he had become so morbidly obese he could not walk anymore, making many wonder how his last mistress could endure his embrace. Aegon died a horrible death, his bloated body so swollen that he could not even lift himself from his couch that became covered in his feces. Aegon's limbs were rotting and crawling in hosts of flesh worms, and the maesters said they had never seen the like of this before.
Aegon's last decree before his death was bitter poison that would lay the seeds to generations of war, bloodshed, death, and woe to the realm. Aegon legitimized all his bastard children and grant his eldest Daemon Blackfyre, the ancestral blade of House Targaryen, Blackfyre, causing five generations of strife as the Blackfyre Pretenders tried to claim the Iron Throne and created the five Blackfyre Rebellion
King Rickard XI Stark was a long faced stern man with a low authoritative voice, with skill in politics and war. Rickard was skilled with a blade, earning second place within the proving day tournament, only being beaten by a boy of 14 who later earned the apprenticeship to Servant Saber. He was far larger than the average Stark, perhaps due to the giant's blood of the Umbers from his mother's side, standing at a height of 197 cm tall, with massive shoulders and rippling muscles he tower over most men. This voice, body, and skill would be needed to quell the wolf blood within his two of his children.
Crowned Prince Brandon XXV Stark was nineteen namedays old, was 187 cm with broad shoulders, with the classic Stark eyes and hair. He was very gregarious and handsome so sought after by many ladies of the North and Essos. His wolf blood ran strong within him as he was quick to anger. Rickard often has to rein in and control Brandon. After Brandon brutally destroyed a guard's arm for unsavory comments about Lyanna, Rickard set Brandon serve at the Wall, starting as a common soldier in the Northern standing army, and all over the North hunting bandits as a punishment to temper his anger. He was the best swordsman of his age group and a fine jouster. He was found often dueling with 4 or 5 guards or the Servant Saber to hone his skill with a blade. During his formative years of training, his constant urge to be on the offensive was brutally beaten out of him in the yard by Servant Saber. Many wonder who would be victorious should Ser Arthur and Prince Brandon fight. He was a fine rider as well, often being compared to the centaur, the mythical creature of the woods. He was not a stupid man, but would often let his anger cloud his judgement leading to stupid mistakes. He was not yet betrothed as Rickard could not find a suitable match.
Prince Eddard Stark was eighteen name days old, was 183 cm also with broad shoulders, although not as broad as Brandon's, with a slightly longer face than the average Stark with the colorings of a classic Stark look. He was often just called Ned, as his name took a long time to say. While handsome, he was not as handsome as his older brother and was often overlooked by the girls, leading to his shy nature. Eddard was a very skilled fighter, not the best of his age group but very much up there, comparable to the likes of Ser Jaime Lannister and Ser Gerold Hightower. Eddard detested jousting, prefering to play a game of Cyvasse with his father, or secretly singing in the Godswood as he was afraid of being mocked. He was more level headed then his brother being very hard to anger, but when his anger was roused he is said to effectively dismantle his enemies, using his anger rather as motivation than being clouded by it. He was an intelligent honorable man, able to lead but preferring to follow. He was taken in as a ward by Sealord of Braavos where he also became skilled at mathematics, naval command, and managing trade.
Princess Lyanna Stark was fifteen namedays old, with 174 cm tall and was arguably the most beautiful women in all of Westeros. She surpasses the likes of Cersei Lannister, Catelyn Tully, and Elia Martell all other noble girls in her beauty, often being called the Winter Rose of Winterfell, cemented by her love of the scent of a Winter Rose. She was a skilled embroider and singer, but her wolf blood would not allow her to only be chained by the southern view of ladies. She was as nearly skilled as Eddard with a sword or dagger and surpassed even Brandon with a bow. She was as good of a rider as Brandon and just as quick to anger. She had often beaten Brandon over the head with a stick when he bothered her younger brother Benjen. Using her strong will, fought her father for an entire year to allow her to carry a sword, with Rickard finally relenting and allowing her to carry two daggers, under the condition that she was not to fight him when he chose a betrothal for her. Lyanna quickly agreed knowing that she would not receive a better deal. She then was betrothed to Magnar Tristifer XVI Mudd to closely tie the Northern Riverlands to House Stark, whose company she greatly enjoyed. She was the perfect depiction of the Spearwife of the North.
Finally, Prince Benjen Stark was only fourteen with the height of 173 cm, 1 cm shorter than Lyanna, who would often tease Benjen. Benjen was very mediocre with a blade and only with intensive training did he become better than the average. His real skill was in tracking, hunting, and information gathering, with Benjen seeking to join the Kingsman. He was as skilled as Lyanna with a bow, especially after receiving personal training from her and he was also a skilled rider. He was level headed like Eddard, but was not as strategy oriented like Eddard and often felt overshadowed by his siblings.
The four Starks and the rest of their entourage rode from Oldstone being accompanied by Tristifer Mudd to Duskendale, the once greatest castle and structure purely built only by man's hand, with the invitation to the greatest tourney of all time. This would be the first time in 5 decades that a Stark traveled below Oldstone.
All houses in Westeros, Braavos, Volantis, etc, all received the invitations. The current Sealord's son, Syrio and a small host came with Eddard to test himself against the Westerosi. Some minor nobles from Volantis came, but House Veltigar refused to join, preferring to stay in Volantis. This paranoia stemming from the fact that House Veltigar was nearly wiped out 12 times in the last 3 centuries.
The Starks were not impressed by Duskendale, why the castle was as large as Winterfell or Moat Catlin, the castle itself was bent, burnt, and melted from when the Targaryen wiped out House Darklyn. It lacked the beautiful surrounding city of Wintercity, their defences were laughable and they lacked the manpower to fully man a castle of such size. The great many animals and objects fluttered in the sky as all of the different sigils of the world were here.
"Brandon, I will remind you again. Do not let your temper get ahead of you. You are the Crowned Prince, a title meaning that you represent the entirety of the North. You must act perfectly civil and well mannered, do you understand?" said Prince Eddard while they were riding toward the front of the gate.
"For the thousandth time, I understand. You are sounding more like a father every single day. Live a little Ned! I thought you would have become less uptight during your time in Braavos! Are you even a man yet?" said Brandon laughing.
"Oh be quiet Brandon, just because Ned isn't a man-whore like you doesn't mean he isn't a man." said Lyanna with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.
The four siblings jested and joked, but as soon as they reached the gate, their relaxed demeanor completely changed. Brandon stood proud upon his horse, with his shoulder firmly back, with his chin lifted high and his crown firmly upon his brow with the Titian's Bite firmly at his side. Eddard's relaxed face became firm. Lyanna became almost haughty, as she fixed her hair that had become messed up after riding. Benjen has also adopted a face similar to Eddard and made sure to tie back the strand of hair that had fallen out of his bun. The gates opened and they rode forward with the two riders bearing the Direwolf of House Stark at their side. With Umbers, Giantsbane, Iceriver, Manderly, Gryffin, Black, Ryswell, and the 20 other major and minor houses that had come with them.
The courtyard was filled with people that wished to see the legendary Northern Kingdom. Ser Jaime Lannister "the Young Lion" was present to see the legendary House Stark and the memory would remain with him for the rest of his life.
Crowned Prince Brandon looked like any king should with the perfect posture, handsome face and facial expression that revealed nothing, his crown fitting perfectly on his head with his greatsword by his side. Every part of his body was well muscled, with his eyes immediately scanning for any sort of danger. Next to him had to be Prince Eddard, who was looking more regal and uptight. He held himself with confidence just like his elder brother and looked like he could handle himself in a fight, if one was to judge him by his sword by his side and muscular but lean body. Princess Lyanna was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his entire life, more beautiful than any woman in the south and even more beautiful than even his ethereal sister. That left Prince Benjen to look as princely as a fourteen year old boy could, but he still looked comfortable and used to the attention he was receiving as his calm expression never faltered. In all they were the four most beautiful royal looking people in the world, as much as or even more so than Crown Prince Rhaegar.
Behind them was three of the legendary Wintersguard. Servant Saber, Archer, and Lancer had accompanied them to the southern kingdom and they quickly located the possible threats and immediately moved to be in a better position to protect the princes and princess.
They dismounted at the same time and approached King Aerys, Queen Rhaella, and Prince Rhaegar.
"King Aerys, it is a pleasure to meet you." said Brandon, refusing to bow or bend the knee.
Aerys threw a dirty look at Brandon before opening his mouth.
Realizing that his father was going to insult Prince Brandon, Prince Rhaegar quickly spoke "It is a pleasure to meet you to Prince Brandon. How are you enjoying the weather of the south?"
"It's too hot down here for my liking."
"Ah yes the North is famed for its cold weather. If you find this hot, I suggest never visiting Dorne. You will promptly melt."
"Thank you for the advice and I will try and heed it."
"The beautiful lady to my left is my wife, Princess Elia."
"It is very nice to meet you princess. I have heard many stories about your beauty." said Brandon while kissing her knuckles lightly. "Over to my right is Prince Eddard, next to him is my beautiful sister Princess Lyanna, and finally all the way to the right is Prince Benjen."
Brandon's eyes narrowed the tiniest amount as he watched Rhaegar ogle Lyanna when his wife was present right next to him, but other than that nobody could see his annoyance at Prince Rhaegar.
The tourney was to take place over fifteen days with ten of those days being dedicated to jousting, melee, archery, singing, wrestling and all sorts of other competition. The first two days of jousting was to remove all of the less skilled jouster with the remaining matches being more spread out throughout the week and a half. The melee had the participants split into 10 groups where the top three of each group would be later merged together to fight again in a big melee.
Brandon decided to participate in jousting, melee, and wrestling. Eddard decided to participate in the melee and wrestling, blissfully unaware that Lyanna signed him up to the singing competition.
Lyanna was strictly forbidden by her father to participate and she was planning on keeping her promise to her father until she met a five squires beating Howland Reed.
She screamed "That is my father's men you're beating!"
Her rage clouded her judgement and she quickly ran in and beat the five squires, who lacked any skill and was only able to beat Howland through the superior numbers and by surprising him. After trashing the squires, she took Howland back to her brothers, where he would make fast friends with them, particularly Ned.
The very first day of the Tourney of Duskendale began with the admission of Ser Jaime Lannister into the Kingsguard. Aerys wanted to send him back to King's Landing with the Queen but decided against it, as he wanted the best chance to beat the North and commanded Ser Jaime to compete in the jousting and melee competition.
Brandon had his competition first as jousting began right on the first day, he was drawn against few hedge knights, minor lords and second sons. He had unhorsed them all in a single tilt, and was quite bored for the first two days. It was only on the last match of the second day, where he met a person who could last more than a single tilt.
The second day was the day in which he had to participate in the first melee with over a hundred participants. Brandon dawned on his steel and leather armour, picked up Titan's Bite and walked onto the melee grounds. He saw Benjen joining the field as well, looking out of place due to being one of the youngest participants. Benjen, however, was remaining calm and focused. Focusing back on himself he drew Titan's Bite and gave it a few experimental swings. He could feel the participants around him focusing purely on him and making alliances to attack him first.
He bent his knees slightly and started to move on the balls of his feet, warming his body up as he started to lightly bounce. As soon as they blew the horn, he sprung into action and charged at the nearest fighter. He quickly disarmed them, knocking their blade away with brute strength and putting Titan's Bite to his neck.
"I yield!"
As soon as he heard that word he quickly pulled his blade back and blocked two incoming attacks at once. Seeing somebody charging at him from the back, he disengaged and twirled around to kick them in the chest and sent them into another man. By the first ten minute, Brandon had already dispatched 15 men that were surrounding him with some difficulty. He was lucky that the men couldn't work together, which he used to his advantage, often getting one person to accidentally strike another.
The Northerners were cheering his name, which was even picked up by some of the southerners watching. By now only the more skilled or lucky fighters were left. Amongst them Ser Barristan Selmy and Ser Gerold Hightower. Ser Barristan true to his title, charged toward the group of men, starting the fighting once more.
That left Brandon to duel Ser Gerold Hightower. They circled each other carefully, before Brandon started the duel with a quick flick of his blade. Ser Gerold quickly blocked and retaliated. They traded blow after blow in a dance of steel and swords. But Ser Gerold is not as young as he used to be, nor did he have as much natural talent as Brandon, so slowly but surely Ser Gerold kept losing ground. Brandon kept up his unrelatening offense, refusing to even allow him a second to retaliate. Ser Gerold knew that he would lose if nothing changed, so in a desperate attempt threw a fast jab with his left hand. Brandon saw it coming, sidestepping just enough to dodge the fist and disarm Ser Gerold, before putting Titan's Bite underneath Ser Gerold's chin.
"Do you yield?"
"I yield." said the old Commander of the King's Guard.
The match ended as soon as Ser Gerold yielded, allowing Benjen to move on to the next round. Ser Barristan was destroying Benjen forcing Benjen into a complete defensive style, finalizing the top 3 who would go on to fight in the last melee. Ser Barristan panting hard, raised his hand and most of the southerners cheered for him, while the Northernmen cheered for Brandon.