The War of the Usurper
Mad King Aerys II demanded the heads of Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon from their guardian, Lord Arryn of the Eyrie. Rather than comply, Lord Arryn raised his banners in revolt
Aerys' Queen fled to Dragonstone from King's Landing. Aerys feared that Robert - Eddard Stark's best friend and Lyanna Stark's betrothed - would support Eddard in avenging the murders of his father and brother. He also believed that with Lord Arryn's men surrounding them in the Vale, it would be easier to see them dead
Prince Rhaegar Targaryen died at the hand of Robert Baratheon, fighting at the ruby ford of the Trident for the woman he loved
King's Landing was sacked by the Lannisters
Jaime Lannister of the Kingsguard opened Aerys' throat with a golden sword
Rhaegar's wife, the Dornish princess Elia, and their children were butchered
Daenerys Targaryen was born during a storm nine months after the flight from Dragonstone. Not long after Robert Baratheon's brother Stannis came with a new-built fleet to the island
By the time Robert's fleet sailed, only Dragonstone remained to the Targaryens of their old realm
The Tyrells, Redwynes, and Darrys fought for the Targaryens, among other houses.
Brandon Stark was heir to Winterfell, 20 years old, when he was killed by King Aerys only a few days before he was to marry Catelyn Tully. Eddard Stark, his brother, married her instead as custom decreed
Lyanna Stark died at 16, betrothed to Robert Baratheon
Eddard Stark remained only a short time with Catelyn Tully before he rode off to war beside Robert Baratheon and Jon Arryn against the Targaryens
The War of the Usurper lasted about a year
Eddard Stark and his companions faced three of the Kingsguard at the place where Lyanna was kept. Howland Reed, the crannogman, was present. It was said that Eddard Stark slew the Sword of the Morning singlehandedly, but Howland Reed in fact helped him, saving his life
Eddard Stark took Arthur Dayne's sword to Starfall and his sister, Ashara Dayne. Ashara Dayne threw herself from the castle walls
Tywin Lannister presented Robert Baratheon with the bodies of Rhaegar's wife and children. The children were wrapped in a crimson cloak so as to hide the blood. Lord Tywin knew that Robert was aware his throne was not secure while the children lived, but he also knew that Robert considered himself too much of a hero to dirty his own hands with it
Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon argued over the killing of Rhaegar's family. Eddard Stark fought the final wars in the south, and they were only reconciled by the death of Lyanna
Aerys also killed Lord Rickard Stark
Rhaegar is said to have kidnapped and raped Lyanna Stark
Robert was wounded by Rhaegar Targaryen during their single combat. When the Targaryen host broke, Eddard Stark was given the pursuit. He was the first of Robert's men to reach King's Landing, to find the Lannister lion already raised
The Lannisters appeared before King's Landing with 12,000 men after the defeat of Rhaegar at the Trident. Aerys threw his gates open, only to have the Lannisters sack the city and kill the Targaryens
Jaime Lannister sat the Iron Throne when Eddard Stark arrived at the Red Keep, but he stood
The Darrys fought for the Targaryens in the War of the Usurper
Aerys Targaryen left a treasury flowing with gold
Tywin Lannister gave knights at King's Landing who fought for the Targaryens the choice of having their heads on spikes or taking the black
Stannis Baratheon held Storm's End through a year of besiegement by the Lords Tyrell and Redwyne. Near the end he and his men were reduced to rats and boot leather
The Rygers, Darrys, and Mootons were sworn to Riverrun but took the side of the Targaryens in the war
The Freys brought their levies into the war on Robert's side only well after the Battle of the Trident was won, leading to Lord Walder being known as the Late Lord Frey by Hoster Tully
Jason Mallister cut down three of Rhaegar Targaryen's bannermen at the Trident
Gregor Clegane was a new-made knight of seventeen years at the sack of King's Landing. Some say it was Clegane who dashed Aegon Targaryen against a wall, and it was whispered afterwards that he raped the princess Elia before putting her to the sword
Barristan Selmy cut down a dozen men, friends of the Baratheons and the Starks, at the Trident. He was wounded nearly to the death, but Robert would not kill a man who kept his vows and fought bravely
Rhaegar brought 40,000 men to the Trident, but no more than a tenth were knights
Eddard Stark with six companions faced three of the Kingsguard at the Dornish mountains, before a tower that Rhaegar had been said to have called the tower of joy. Only two people, Lord Stark and Howland Reed, survived
The sister of Arthur Dayne, Ashara Dayne, threw herself into the sea after Eddard Stark brought her the familial sword Dawn which the Sword of the Morning carried
Lord Rickard Stark and his heir Brandon had gone south with two hundred of their best men. None ever returned
In the year of the false spring (approximately a year or two prior to the rebellion), when Eddard Stark was 18, there was a great tourney at Harrenhal which spanned over 10 days. He, Robert Baratheon, and Jon Arryn had come from the Eyrie for it. Many notables came there, including the King and Crown Prince, and Jaime Lannister was named to the Kingsguard on that day
At the tourney in Harrenhal, Rhaegar Targaryen seemed unstoppable and defeated even Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning. Taking the winter rose crown for the Queen of Love and Beauty, he revealed his interest in Lyanna Stark by passing his wife the Princess Elia of Dorne and setting it in Lyanna's lap
During the siege of Storm's End, Redwyne galleys blockaded the castle from support by the sea
The castle was in dire straits, living off of roots and rats after the dogs, cats, and horses were all slain, when the infamous smuggler Davos glided past the Redwyne cordon in his black-hulled ship crammed with salt fish and onions. It proved enough to keep the garrison going until Eddard Stark lifted the siege
Stannis Baratheon rewarded Davos lands in the Cape of Wrath, a small keep, and knighthood. He also decreed that Davos must lose the joint of each finger of his left hand in punishment for his years of smuggling. At Davos' request, Lord Stannis removed the joints himself
After the war was done and Stannis Baratheon had sailed to Dragonstone to secure it, Robert Baratheon gave his brother Dragonstone to hold - presumably as it was tradition under the Targaryens that Dragonstone was held by the heir to the throne - and gave lordship of Storm's End to Renly Baratheon
Aerys Targaryen's last Hand was killed in the Sack of King's Landing, although he had been appointed only a fortnight earlier. The Hand before him had burned to death. The two before them had died landless and penniless in exile. Lord Tywin Lannister was the last Hand of the King to depart King's Landing safely
The Hightowers of Oldtown were loyal to the Targaryens during the War of the Usurper
The pyromancers made many jars of wildfire for King Aerys II. It was his fancy to shape the jars as fruits
So many full-fledged pyromancers were slain in the Sack of King's Landing that the novices that remained were unable to deal with the large numbers of wildfire jars that should have been destroyed before becoming too volatile
Many of the jars of wildfire made for Aerys II were lost, unable to be accounted for, because of the massacres of the sack of King's Landing
Aerys II had at least 4,000 jars of wildfire prepared
Aerys II was known for roasting his enemies over fires with the aid of the pyromancers that he was patron to
Howland Reed had been one of Eddard Stark's staunchest companions during the war against the Targaryens
There are blood ties between Storm's End and the Targaryens, related to marriages some hundred year's past between "second sons and elder daughters." These ties were used as justification for Robert Baratheon's ascension to the throne after the rebellion
It was Grand Maester Pycelle who convinced mad King Aerys to open his gates to the Lannisters, which was done over the objections of Lord Varys. He felt the realm needed a new king after Rhaegar's death, and hoped it would have been Tywin, but Eddard Stark moved too quickly and Robert Baratheon was too powerful
Near the end of the war the master-at-arms of Storm's End, Ser Gawen Wylde, and three others attempted to steal out a postern gate to surrender. Captured by Stannis, he ordered them to be flung from the walls with catapults. Maester Cressen, serving at Storm's End, told Stannis that they might be reduced to eating their own dead. If it were not for Davos Seaworth, the Onion Knight, they might have come to that point. Ser Gawen died in captivity
Davos Seaworth's timely smuggling of supplies to Storm's End took place 16 years before
There is a vision which shows Prince Rhaegar and his wife Elia with their newborn son Aegon. There is a suggestion that Rhaegar has had a prophetic vision and dreams of a promised prince who has "the song of ice and fire" He also says that there must be one more, apparently referring to a Targaryen child
Brandon Stark was on his way to Riverrun to wed Catelyn Tully when he heard something about Lyanna, which made him angry enough to go to King's Landing and the Red Keep. There, he shouted aloud for Rhaegar to come out and fight him in a duel to the death. Aerys arrested him and his companions (his squire Ethan Glover, Jeffory Mallister, Kyle Royce, and the nephew and heir of the Lord of the Eyrie Elbert Arryn) for treason and the plotting the murder of the crown prince
Aerys ordered the fathers of the men to come south to answer the charges against their sons. When they did this, they and their sons were murdered without trial
Lord Rickard Stark demanded a trial by combat and Aerys granted the request. Lord Rickard prepared himself as if for combat, only to learn that Aerys chose fire as the champion of his house. To win the trial, Lord Stark would have to survive being roasted in all his armor over a fire. His own son was forced to watch and given the false hope of saving him - he was put in a strangulation device, with a sword a little from his reach. Brandon Stark strangled himself trying to reach it
Jaime Lannister stood at the foot of the Iron Throne as Rickard and Brandon Stark died, and the Lord Commander Ser Gerold Hightower may have been there as well
At Robert's coronation, Ser Jaime Lannister, Grand Maester Pycelle, and Lord Varys were made to kneel before the king to receive his forgiveness for their crimes before he would take them into his service again
The marriage between Jon Arryn and Lysa Tully was hastily arranged and loveless because of Lord Jon's prickly pride and age and Lady Lysa's youth and soiled state from a bastard child she had had aborted at her father's demand. Without the marriage, Lord Tully might not have joined the rebellion
Lord Jon Arryn's gallant cousin, Ser Denys Arryn, was killed in the Battle of the Bells
Of Aerys's Hand's after Lord Tywin Lannister, Lords Merryweather and Connington had been exiled, Lord Chelsted had been dipped in wildfire and burned alive, and Lord Rossart the Pyromancer was gutted by the Kingslayer
Lord Rossart was the last of King Aerys's Hand's, having the position only a fortnight before the Sack of King's Landing. He was killed by Ser Jaime Lannister before he went on to kill his king
King Aerys had commanded Ser Jaime Lannister to bring him the heads of all the traitors, especially Lord Tywin's
Lord Roland Crakehall, Ser Elys Westerling, and others of Lord Tywin's knights burst into the throne room in time to see Ser Jaime's kingslaying
Ser Gregor Clegane and Ser Amory Lorch were scaling the walls of Maegor's Holdfast even as Targaryen loyalists were doing in the armory and the serpentine steps and Lord Eddard Stark was leading his northmen through the King's Gate
Princess Elia and her child Aegon were in Maegor's Holdfast
Mace Tyrell has won few battles. His reputation rests on an indecisive victory over Robert Baratheon at Ashford, in a battle largely won by Lord Randyll Tarly's van before the main host had arrived. The siege of Storm's End, where Mace Tyrell actually held the command, dragged on for a year with no result
Lord Rickard Karstark stood with Lord Eddard Stark on the Trident
All of Lord Lychester's sons died in Robert's Rebellion, some on one side and some on the other
Babies were butchered in the Sack, and old men and children at play as well. More women were raped than could be counted
Lord Eddard Stark won a famous battle at the town of Stoney Sept in the riverlands. Aerys's men had been hunting Robert, trying to catch him before he could rejoin Eddard. He was wounded and being tended by friends when Lord Connington the Hand took the town with a mighty force and started searching for him from house to house. Before they found him, however, Lord Eddard and Lord Hoster Tully stormed Stoney Sept
Lord Connington fought back fiercely at Stoney Sept and there was fighting everywhere as the septons rang all their bells to warn the smallfolk to lock their doors and hide. Robert came out of hiding and slew six men, they say; one of them was Myles Mooton, a famous knight and Rhaegar's former squire. Robert would have slain Connington as well, but the battle never brought them together. The Hand wounded Lord Hoster gravely and killed Ser Denys Arryn, Lord Jon Arryn's cousin and the darling of the Vale
When Lord Jon Connington saw the day was lost, he fled and then was exiled by Aerys for his failure. The battle at Stoney Sept was called the Battle of the Bells, and Lord Robert always said that it was Lord Eddard who won the battle for him
Robert won three battles in a single day at Summerhall when Lords Grandison, Cafferen, and Fell sought to join their strength at Summerhall and march on him at Storm's End after he first came home to call his banners. He learned of their plans from an informer, however, and rode at once with all his knights and squires. As the plotters came up on Summerhall one by one, he defeated each in turn
Robert killed Lord Fell in single combat at Summerhall and captured his son Silveraxe. After the battles, he brought Lord Grandison, Lord Cafferen, and Silveraxe back to Storm's End as prisoners. He hung their banners in the hall as trophies and yet they would sit beneath those banners drinking and feasting with Robert. He later took them hunting, and threw axes with them in the yard, and they became fast friends. Silveraxe became his man, Lord Cafferen died at Ashford Castle, cut down by Randyll Tarly while fighting for Robert, and Lord Grandison was wounded on the Trident and died of it a year after. Lord Cafferen's head was sent to Aerys by Lord Tarly
Some say the rot in King Aerys's reign began with Varys, the Master of Whisperers
Lord Stark argued that Jaime Lannister should be stripped of the white cloak of the Kingsguard and sent to the Wall, but Robert chose to listen to Lord Arryn's council and allowed him to remain a White Sword
Aerys originally acted as if Robert was nothing but a mere outlaw lord, but Robert Baratheon and his allies were the greatest threat to House Targaryen since Daemon Blackfyre
Growing frantic, Aerys gracelessly reminded Prince Lewyn Martell that Princess Elia was in his power and sent him to take command of 10,000 Dornishmen coming up the kingsroad
Jon Darry and Barristan Selmy of the Kingsguard were sent towards to Stoney Sept to rally what they could of Lord Connington's scattered men
Prince Rhaegar returned from the south after the defeat at Stoney Sept and persuaded King Aerys to summon Lord Tywin from Casterly Rock, but the summons went unanswered, making the king even more paranoid about traitors. Varys was always present to point out traitors that he missed
King Aerys had caches of wildfire placed by his alchemists all over King's Landing, from Baelor's sept to the hovels of Flea Bottom, under stables and storerooms, at all seven gates, and even in the cellars of the Red Keep itself. He intended to leave nothing but ashes for Robert, and perhaps thought it would make a fitting funeral pyre or a suitable way to transform himself into a dragon
Prince Rhaegar was busy marshalling the royalist army after he returned from the south
Lord Chelsted, the last Hand before the pyromancer Rossart, saw what was being done and found courage somewhere to confront the king about it. He did all he could to dissuade him, reasoning, jesting, threatening, and finally begging. When he failed he took off his chain of office and flung it to the floor. He was roasted alive for that
When the word of Rhaegar's death and the defeat of his army reached King's Landing, King Aerys sent the queen to Dragonstone with Prince Viserys. Princess Elia would have gone as well, but he forbade her, thinking that Prince Lewyn must have betrayed Rhaegar at the Trident but that Dorne would remain loyal so long as he kept Elia and Aegon at his side
Varys warned against letting the Lannisters into the city but Aerys ignored him
Ser Jaime was left holding the Red Keep as the Sack began. He asked the king's leave to make terms but instead Aerys commanded him to bring him Lord Tywin's head, if he was no traitor. Jaime also learned that Rossart was with him, and he realized what that meant. He came on Rossart first, finding him dressed as a common man-at-arms hurrying to the postern gate. He killed him and then he killed Aerys before he could find someone else to carry his message to the pyromancers
Days after the Sack, Jaime hunted down Belis and Garigus, the two master pyromancers who with Rossart aided Aerys
No one knew of the story behind the Kingslaying because the Kingslayer decided to hold to his vow to keep the king's secrets, in part out of outrage at being judged by men like Lord Stark
Jon Arryn came to Sunspear the year after Robert took the throne, and was questioned closely, along with a hundred others, about what happened during the Sack and who was responsible for deaths of Elia and her children
Allyria Dayne says her sister Ashara fell in love with Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell at the great tournament at Harrenhal, and killed herself because of a broken heart
When Lord Goodbrook stayed loyal to the king even after the Tullys declared for Robert, Lord Hoster came down on him with fire and sword. Lord Goodbrook's son later made his peace with Robert and Lord Hoster after the Trident
Prince Oberyn attempted to raise Dorne for Prince Viserys. Ravens flew and riders rode, and Jon Arryn came to Sunspear to return Prince Lewyn's bones and ended all talks of war when he spoke with Prine Doran. Robert never visited Dorne thereafter, however, and the Red Viper rarely left it
Ser Amory Lorch killed Princess Rhaenys during the Sack, bringing the body to Lord Tywin. He killed her with half a hundred thrusts, claiming she had kicked him and would not stop screaming
Lord Tywin ordered the deaths of Rhaegar's children, but had not desired Princess Elia to be harmed at all
Ser Barristan Selmy was wounded by arrow, sword, and spear on the Trident
The Darrys once stood high in King Aerys's favor, and had been prominent Targaryen loyalists. This cost them half their lands, most of their wealth, and almost all of their power
Prince Rhaegar claimed that he intended to call a council after the Trident, to make changes which he had intended to put into motion long before
After burning Lord Chelsted, King Aerys visited Queen Rhaella's bedchambers and abused her while Ser Jonothor Darry and Ser Jaime Lannister stood outside the chambers, hearing her pleas but doing nothing. She would remain secluded until the morning of the day that she took ship for Dragonstone, hooded and cloaked from sight. Her maids gossiped that she bore scratches and bites as if some beast had savaged her
The men of Crackclaw Point were loyal to the Targaryens. Crabbs, Brunes, and Boggses were present in Rhaegar's army at the Trident
By the end of his reign, Aerys II had become so terrified of plots against them that he allowed no blades in his presence, except those of the Kingsguard. His hair and nails grew untended
Ser Lyn Corbray earned his spurs during Robert's Rebellion, first fighting against Lord Arryn at Gulltown and then beneath his banners at the Trident. He is said to have cut down a number of men, including Prince Lewyn Martell of the Kingsguard. It's said that Prince Lewyn was already gravely wounded before Ser Lyn killed him
Ser Lyn took up his father's sword when he fell wounded at the Trident, cutting down the man who injured them. While his brother, the heir Lyonel, took his father to the rear, Ser Lyn led the charge against the Dornish which was threatening Robert's left flank, breaking their lines to pieces
Lord Jon Connington was stripped of lands, titles, and wealth before being exiled across the narrow sea. A cousin of his, however, supported Robert and after the war was rewarded by having the castle given to him to hold as Knight of Griffin's Roost, less most of the lands and treasury
Ser Denys Arryn was a distant cousin of Lord Jon Arryn, from a poor but proud cadet branch. A famous jouster, handsome and gallant, he was wed to Jon's eldest niece by his sister Alys and Ser Elys Waynwood. Denys was killed at the Battle of the Bells, and his wife died of grief soon after, as well as their newborn child
Prince Lewyn of Dorne was an uncle of Doran Martell and died fighting on the Trident
Jaime Lannister and Barristan Selmy were pardoned by Robert Baratheon and were allowed to choose whether they would remain as part of the White Swords
Ser Jonothor Darry, brother to Ser Willem Darry, was the second member of the Kingsguard to die at the Trident
Jon Snow was born about 8 or 9 months before Daenerys Targaryen
Ashara Dayne was not stuck in Starfall the entire time of the war, apparently, and was a lady in waiting to Princess Elia in the first few years of her marriage to Prince Rhaegar
Ser Mark Ryswell, a companion of Eddard Stark who died at the Tower of Joy, was not the lord of House Ryswell which is a northern house
The Targaryens had lost a number of battles, and won some, but they were not really losing the war proper until Rhaegar's death at the Trident and the Sack of King's Landing
The siege of Storm's End was an important task, since the loss of it could have meant that some of the stormlords would have switched sides or refused to continue fighting against the Targaryens
Mace Tyrell had sizeable host, but a part of that was with Rhaegar
Rhaegar Targaryen outnumbered Robert Baratheon's forces at the Trident, but Robert's troops were the more battle-tested
There were a number of battles, sieges, ambushes, escapes, duels, and forays during the war. Fighting took place as far away as the Vale and the Dornish Marches
When Eddard Stark came to Dorne at the end of the war, he did not bring his army with him
There was no fighting in Dorne during the war, although there were minor skirmishes along the borders
There were Dornish troops with Rhaegar at the Trident, under the command of Prince Lewyn of the Kingsguard. However, the Dornishmen did not support him strongly, in part because of Rhaegar's treatment of his wife Elia and in part because of Doran Martell's innate caution
Benjen Stark joined the Night's Watch shortly after Lord Eddard had returned to Winterfell and Lady Catelyn had taken up residence with the infant Robb
Ashara Dayne's body was never recovered from the sea
The initial replacement for Lord Tywin as Hand as the elderly, amiable Lord Merryweather, famed for throwing lavish feasts and flattering the king shamelessly. When the rebellion began, he declared the rebels outlaws and sent commands to various minor lords to deliver them or their heads but he himself never stirred from King's Landing. His methods proved so ineffectual that he was exiled by the king and stripped of all his lands and wealth. Robert later restored the title of lord and the castle and the lands, but not most of the wealth.
Lord Jon Connington was Aerys's second hand after Tywin, and was chosen for his youthful vigor, courage, and fame as a warrior
There were tensions between King Aerys and Prince Rhaegar
Howland Reed fought with the northern host throughout Robert's rebellion
Sandor Clegane was part of Lord Tywin's host at the Sack of King's Landing
Robert proclaimed for the throne only some time around the Trident
Davos Seaworth smuggled his onions into Storm's End out of a belief that he'd be handsomely rewarded
Rhaegar's body was cremated, according to the customs of the Targaryens
Greyjoy's Rebellion
Balon Greyjoy's rebellion took place nine years before the start of the first book. It was the last time Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon had seen each other
Balon Greyjoy proclaimed himself King of the Iron Isles
Greyjoy's stronghold fell to the forces of the Seven Kingdoms, and Lord Greyjoy tendered his surrender. His son Theon, ten years of age at the time, was taken as ward of Eddard Stark
The warrior-priest Thoros of Myr scaled the walls of Pyke with a flaming sword in hand
Gregor Clegane was one knight amongst thousands when Greyjoy's Rebellion was put down
Balon Greyjoy wore his crown for only a season
Balon Greyjoy took his crown in an attempt to bring back the Old Way
The stronghold of the Botleys and the village of Lordsport beneath it were razed by Robert Baratheon as he put down the rebellion. It was later rebuilt in stone
The sept of Lordsport was also destroyed by Robert Baratheon's forces, but unlike the stronghold of the Botleys and the village it was never rebuilt
Rodrik Greyjoy, son to Balon Greyjoy, assaulted Seagard during his father's great rebellion. Jason Mallister slew him beneath the castle's walls and threw the ironborn reavers back into the sea
Robert Baratheon breached the south tower along the wall of Pyke, collapsing it
Maron Greyjoy, the second of Balon Greyjoys sons, was killed in the collapse of the old south tower along the curtain wall
The final battle during the rebellion was at Pyke. When the wall of the castle was breached, Thoros of Myr was the first to go through, but Jorah Mormont was not far behind. He won his knighthood for that act of valor
To celebrate his victory, King Robert had a tourney held in Lannisport
Jorah Mormont won the champion's laurels at Robert's tournament, and because of this received the permission of Lord Leyton Hightower to wed his daughter, Lynesse
Victarion, Lord Captain of the Iron Fleet and brother to Lord Balon Greyjoy, sailed into Lannisport with his other brother Euron Croweye during Balon's rebellion and burned the ships there. Victarion is a fearsome warrior, sung of in the alehouses, but it was Euron who made the plan
Thousands of men were mustered by King Robert at Pyke
Barristan the Bold led the attack on Old Wyk during Balon Greyjoy's Rebellion
The Iron Fleet was caught and smashed in a trap by Stannis Baratheon off the coast of Fair Isle. Aeron Greyjoy's ship, Golden Storm, was broken in half by Stannis's ship Fury during that battle
The Faith was little tolerated on the Iron Islands following the failure of the rebellion
Lord Rodrik Harlaw's sister, Lady Gwynesse, took up permanent residence at Ten Towers out of mourning for her husband, who died off Fair Isle during Greyjoy's Rebellion
Lord Rodrik Harlaw's two sons were killed off Fair Isle during Greyjoy's Rebellion
Balon Greyjoy proclaimed himself king beneath Nagga's Ribs, and was crowned by the priest Tarle the Thrice-Drowned with a driftwood crown
Baelor Blacktyde, Lord of Blacktyde, was a child when he was taken away to Oldtown as a hostage following the end of the rebellion; his father died in the war. He returned after eight years as a follower of the Seven
Ser Balman Byrch defeated a number of knights at the tourney in Lannisport following the defeat of Balon Greyjoy
Lord Balon believed that few lords would support Robert in supressing his rebellion