A Maester's interlude.
Aegyl Targaryen, the fifteenth Targaryen King to sit the Iron Throne died in Duskendale trying to bring about an end to House Darklyn's defiance. The King died from wounds taken during the battle, taking with him some twenty men before his wounds became too severe for him to continue fighting. Tywin Lannister, the hand of the king and King Aegyl's childhood friend enacted his revenge on House Darklyn as every single member of that house be they the lord, the lady, the children, cousins, aunts or uncles were put to the sword, the same was done to their fellow belligerents House Hollard. Duskendale was given to House Rykker with Tywin Lannister as the hand giving them lordship status.
Ser Barristan Selmy was sent in to the Dun Fort whilst the fighting raged around him and managed to sneak out of the castle with both Prince Aerys and Prince Aenar, ending their months long captivity. The white knights of the Kingsguard bore two loses during that campaign, Ser Harrold Grandison who died defending Prince Aerys during the initial siege, and Prince Aenar Targaryen, King Brynden Targaryen's son, who died fighting off men during his nephew's storming of the castle. These two brave knights who died doing their duty to their king, were replaced by Ser Oswell Whent a fiercesome fighter, and Ser Arthur Dayne the new sword of the morning and one of the deadliest knights to roam the seven kingdoms it was said, the great, great grandnephew of Ser Oberyn Dayne and thrice as deadly.
For King Aegyl's death had left a power vacuum in both the capital and the kingdoms, the lords waited to see who would fill this power vacuum, and as such waited to see who they would need to hang around with in order to have their own interests met. It soon became clear that there were two factions in court, those who wished for Prince Maekar to become Regent of the boy king Aemon, and those who wished for Prince Aerys to become regent for the boy king. Prince Maekar the youngest of King Brynden's sons and his only surviving one, had always been known as a cutthroat and a rogue, spending as much time with pirates and corsairs as with knights and lords. The prince had been knighted at the age of fifteen by Lord Commander Ser Oberyn Dayne, and from the day of his knighthood until the day of his father's death he had spent a great deal of time across the narrow sea fighting in sellsword companies and earning his stripes as a warrior in the Disputed Lands and in Yunkai and Slaver's Bay. Many wished for him to become the regent because he was popular and well liked and the fact that along with Lord Tywin Lannister there would be security in the Targaryen regime, which would benefit all it was argued.
Others wanted Prince Aerys to become the regent, due to the fact that the Prince had spent time serving on his cousin's council as master of laws and knew how the game of thrones was played, and as such was less likely to do something or say things that might insult or cause the lords of the kingdom grievance. Aerys Targaryen was seen as a noble man, and one who could be amiable to suggestion, those lords with ambition such as Lord Luthor Tyrell and Princess Arianne Martell wished to further their influence at court and get closer to the Iron Throne. In fact in the years that followed the struggle for the regency there would be rumours that the Martells had even wanted Rhaegar to become king, but that is something that will be dealt with much later. Unbeknownst to most Aerys had slowly fallen into madness following his yearlong captivity in Duskendale. The Prince saw shadows and enemies in every corner and had even begun to distrust his own wife and son, still above all else Aerys desired the power that he thought had been unjustly denied to him during both his uncle and his cousin's reigns. Using his influence over the Gold Cloaks he began a steady process of removing any potential allies for Prince Maekar, these people's bodies either turned up in the Blackwater or they completely disappeared.
Things eventually came to a head one day in the middle of 277 A.L. when Prince Maekar had gone to a brothel for some amusement, and ran into trouble with a group of men who seemed to have the look of Essos about them. Now Prince Maekar had made his fair share of enemies in Essos during his travels, and so it is not hard to imagine that perhaps Aerys had been in contact with them, still that is speculation. As such the hard facts are that, Prince Maekar and some of his own men got into a brawl with these Essosi men, the prince brought down four of the men before he was overwhelmed. He was brutally murdered by the men sent to hurt him. News of Prince Maekar's death, caused panic and worry amongst those lords who had been his supporters driving them from the city, and causing the small folk to begin to brew trouble in the streets through preaching and other means.
However, Aerys power was not completely solid over King's Landing, he had a hand on the regency but he wanted two on it. The only way he could do that was to remove King Aemon's grandmother from the game, the trouble was that Princess Rhaenys known by some as the Queen Who Never Was, was far too clever to fall for some ploy or the other that Aerys might cook up, she was also too popular for any ambitious lord to have her bumped off on the sly, and so Aerys resorted to other fouler means. Bullying the maester at Summerhall to come to King's Landing, Aerys had the man slip Tears of Lys into the Princess' tea, and when the Princess drank her morning tea on the morning of the fifth day of the ninth month of the 277th year after Aegon's Landing, she was found dead in her bed the next morning the poison had done its work. News of the Princess's death caused Queen Alyssa to flee with her children to Dragonstone, though the King and Princess Rhaena were left behind, for Tywin Lannister had told the Queen that he would keep them safe and that Aerys would not get his claws into them. Rhaenys death though caused a much more violent atmosphere in the streets of King's Landing. Riots broke out, men were slaughtered, women were raped chaos reigned in the streets for a good month and a half before peace was eventually restored by force.
His position as regent confirmed, Aerys made changes to the small council. Prince Maron Martell who had served as master of whispers under two previous kings was dismissed from the small council and replaced by a man from across the narrow sea, the eunuch Lord Varys, whose reputation as a gatherer of secrets proceeded him. Ser Benjen Rykker the master of coin under King Aegyl was replaced by the regent's own cousin Lord Steffon Baratheon the Lord of Storm's End. Varys got to work quite early, whispering in the regent's ear about the need to keep enemies close at hand, and so Prince Rhaegar was brought to court and named as master of laws. Tywin Lannister remained hand of the king, for Aerys was not so far gone in his madness that he could not see the advantage of keeping the man at court. Victarion Greyjoy remained as master of ships as well, Varys doing that was, better to keep Balon Greyjoy in check.
As with any period of time which sees confusion and chaos ruling the royal family, there were those who sought to make more for them by taking advantage of the chaos. Secret meetings took place in both the north and Dorne, regions that were traditionally much more different than other kingdoms, with the various lords calling for a breaking away from the Iron Throne. Lord Jon Umber argued that there was no point serving a boy king when they had a perfectly capable lord ruling them now, and that "what did those pansy southerners know about winter." Many other lords, Glover, Ryswell, Dustin alike all agreed with Umber's thoughts, and many whisper Rickard Stark did as well, or at least he would have done had his two eldest boys not still been fostering in the south. His second son Eddard, fostering in the Vale was allowed to come every so often, however his eldest son and heir Brandon fostering in King's Landing had not been allowed home since King Aegyl's death, Aerys using him as a hostage to his father's good behaviour, and so the northern lords could whisper all they wanted no independence would be forthcoming.
As for Dorne, the rumours continue to this day to float about over what exactly it was that Princess Arianne who had served as a companion for Aerys wife Rhaella in their youth wished for kingdom. There are those who believe that she wished for her daughter to be queen, the frail Princess Elia who was eight years older than King Aemon but only two years older than the full grown Prince Rhaegar. There are others who believe that she had grown tired of Targaryens and their breed of madness, and wished for Dorne to rule itself. We shall never know what it was the princess wanted exactly, all that we can do is speculate from the various meetings and letters that survive from the time.
Others such as Lord Luthor Tyrell sought to wean themselves into Aerys' favour, by using flattery and being very obedient to him when he came knocking for things, at least they were until Lord Luthor rode himself off a cliff and his son the young oaf of Highgarden Mace Tyrell became Lord of the South. Then that was when things truly became interesting, the flattery continued and more and more things were done according to how Aerys wanted them to be done, causing unrest in the kingdoms and disquiet.
Tywin Lannister suspected that there could be another war on their hands unless they acted soon, and so suggested a marriage between Prince Rhaegar and Princess Elia in order to soothe over an ill feelings that might be present from the dismissal of Prince Maron from King's Landing. In a rare moment of clarity, Prince Aerys agreed to the suggestion and the betrothal was announced quite quickly, with the wedding following some three moons later. Rhaegar and Elia Targaryen were wed on the fifth moon of the 278th year After Aegon's Landing with the whole court in attendance and half the nobles of the realm present. Their first child a girl named Rhaenys, after the conqueror's sister though some whispered the Queen Who Never Was, was born on the third day of the second moon of the 279th year After Aegon's Landing, with her mother's dark hair and Dornish skin and her father's violet eyes.
It was at their wedding that King Aemon, turned thirteen met Princess Elia's best friend, and lady in waiting the lady Ashara Dayne of Starfall, sister to King Aemon's idle Ser Arthur Dayne. A courtship began that day, that would later be made into songs and other such romantic nonsense. Still Tywin Lannister saw the king courting the lady Dayne, and silently fumed at his own daughter's foolishness, and pondered the best ways to try and convince the King that his daughter would make a far better Queen than some Dornish harlot. For the Lady Ashara had already developed a reputation for being quite the seductress, and that too of grown men, she herself was only fifteen when the wedding of her friend happened. And at that wedding many a grown man including the regent himself found their heads turned by her, what was a thirteen year old boy to do.