Lord Corlys Velaryon
King's Landing was in the grips of a heat wave, the streets were lined with the refuse of the millions of people who lived within the city, bodies were rising as people died from a shortage of water and food. The king and council were doing their best to ensure that all were better, and yet there was still some issues within the city. Of course that was not the main reason why the king had called a meeting of his immediate family, along with the king and the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard Ser Ryam Redwyne, there was the Prince and Princess Aemon and Rhaenys Targaryen, the king's nephews Princes Viserys and Daemon Targaryen, and finally there was Corlys and his eldest son Laenor. The king spoke slowly, his voice weary from age and tiredness. "So the Triarchy have refused once more to cease their hostilities in the Stepstones have they?"
Prince Daemon nodded. "They have Your Grace. The man leading the Triarchy at present, Aledo Saan said to me that they will not consort with us, nor will they cease their trading with Dorne even with Prince Alric behind bars."
Corlys heard the king sigh. "These Essosi have always been too damn stubborn for their own good. Surely they know that they could never hope to truly best us in combat. Not with the dragons and the strength of Westeros behind us? What more did this man say?"
Prince Daemon was silent for a moment before he said. "He also said that should the Iron Throne not agree to pay the taxes for sailing through the straits of the Stepstones, then the Triarchy would launch an invasion on the Stormlands and the Reach and would use all their might to bleed those regions dry."
Prince Aemon spoke then. "That is completely outrageous! We offer the man an olive branch and he spits back in our faces? The man clearly has a death wish hovering over his head if he thinks we will simply sit down and take that offer. Why should we have to pay a tax for sailing through a strait that has never been formally recognised as belonging to anyone?"
The king looked at his son and then said. "Because the Triarchy have more resources then they do brains. They stood against Volantis during the bleeding years, they have enough power and resources to intimidate Bravos and Pentos into doing whatever they say. They would not know just how foolish this request is. We could always place our own candidate on for the election of head of the Triarchy in two months time. But of course by then it could be too late to do something like that. After all I do not plan on paying any such tax."
Corlys spoke then, having grown up with the King and his siblings he felt confident in his notion that he knew the king just as well as anyone else. "What then would you suggest we do Your Grace? After all my fleet has to sail through those straits to bring trade in from across the narrow sea. The Three sisters are also levelling heavy taxes on our fleets through going through alternate routes. Either we pay these taxes that the triarchy is insisting on us paying or we remove them from power completely. And I know that you have been reluctant to use the dragons since the Dornish engagement."
The king was silent for a long moment and then he turned to Prince Daemon and asked. "What was it you were suggesting before we met here Daemon?"
All attention was now fixed on Prince Daemon the commander of the gold cloaks. The Prince took a sip of wine before he spoke. "Well negotiations have clearly failed with the Triarchy. Neither one of us will budge on the issue of the taxes. They will not see reason, and though Dorne might come to their aid, it is very likely that Princess Loreza will not risk the dragons coming down on her people again. Therefore I suggest, why do we not simply take perhaps three of four of the dragons and an army and take the Stepstones for our own? Why not make the Stepstones part of the Iron Throne?"
"And if we were successful in taking the Stepstones, who would rule them in the name of the king?" Corlys' son Laenor asked.
Corlys saw the Prince smile and thought he knew the answer. "Me. I have dealt with the pirates and cutthroats who work on the Stepstones before. I have dealt with their type my whole life. I believe I am the right person for the job; I can bring them into line. Give me enough men and the Triarchy will never again be such a threat to us."
Corlys looked at the king and saw that he was mulling it over. Eventually he let out a deep breath and said. "Very well then Daemon. End the threat of the Triarchy in the Stepstones and do it as efficiently as possible and I shall name you Lord Paramount of the Stepstones."
Shortly after that the meeting came to an end and Corlys walked back to his chambers, where he spent a fair bit of time thinking about his life and his family. As the eldest son on Lord Athean Velaryon, Corlys had spent a fair bit of time at court growing up, he had been born during the twilight years of King Aenys reign, and had his childhood through the reigns of King Maegor and Jaehaerys. He and his father's family had been close to the Targaryens for as long as he could remember. He had been knighted by King Jaehaerys himself just before the battle beneath the God's Eye. As a fifteen year old he had been introduced to the king's twelve year old daughter Princess Saera, the two of them had developed a friendship that had soon developed into something more, and when his now wife had turned sixteen Corlys had asked the King for his daughter's hand in marriage. The King had consented to a betrothal, but wise as always had told him that once he had gotten the travelling he had wanted to do out of the way he could come back and marry her. And so Corlys had spent five years travelling through the known world returning at the age of twenty four and he and Saera had wed in King's Landing before the whole court and half the kingdom. Their first son Laenor had been born some three years later. Corlys loved Saera fiercely; she was a fighter, a warrior princess who was proud of her lineage and her abilities. Their children were a mixture of the two of them, Laenor was fierce and proud and very headstrong, something Corlys recognised from his own youth, age and children had not slowed him down at all. Daemon was quiet and reserved and often the more composed of his sons, he supposed that what came from not having a dragon of his own. Aemon his third son was a mixture of both Laenor and Daemon, wild and quiet in equal measures, and often played mediator between his two older brothers. Then there was his daughter Alysanne, she was a real sweetheart the youngest of his four children she was betrothed to Prince Daemon and had been for the past four years.
As to the rest of his wife's family, well Corlys deeply respected King Aemon, the two of them had grown up together pretty much, and had been as thick as thieves when they were younger, the king was a man who knew what was what, he was smart, kind and charming. The king's two children, Prince Aemon and Rhaenys were also very charming people, Corlys got the feeling that it was more Princess Rhaenys who did most of the political manoeuvring for the couple, whilst Aemon simply charmed people to like them. As to Prince Viserys, Corlys thought the man was smart and capable but that he was too eager to please, and Corlys did not like how much he hung around with Ser Otto Hightower a man who grasped for power no matter where it came from. As for Prince Daemon, Corlys respected and liked the man, he was a rogue that much was for sure, but he was a loveable rogue who did what he did when he wanted to.
Over the next few months the plans for the war on the Stepstones begun. Corlys began to appreciate just how good a mind Prince Daemon had for war, and how good a mind Princess Rhaenys had for discussing the political implications their conquest would have. It was during one such meeting that Corlys began to see the golden future of Westeros. "If we land at Bloodstone that would give us a base of operations. My sources say that the Triarchy have been using the other islands as bases for their own operations. Sharko Saan has written to me to say that the pirates under his control will fight for us for the right price." Prince Daemon said.
Corlys then asked. "How reliable is this Saan, and is he related at all to the ruler of the Triarchy? We could land at Bloodstone and take the operations from there. After all the Velaryon fleet shall be able to bring roughly 20,000 men to the island, and with the numbers that are signing up for this conquest we should have more than enough."
Prince Daemon was silent for a moment and then he replied. "Saan is a cutthroat aye, but he hates his brother. Hates him enough to wish to end his reign of terror. And I believe that more men have been signing up for the task, ever since we made it known that myself, Princess Rhaenys, Prince Aemon and Ser Laenor were to be leading the fighting with our dragons."
Princess Rhaenys spoke then. "Aye of course they would. The dragons are a sign of strength and that we are serious about what we intend to do. Lords Baratheon and Tyrell have been particularly appreciative of the plan, and the Redwyne Fleet is even going to be assisting us in this task. That does mean though that you shall have to find offices and places for the second sons and cutthroats that aid us in this."
Prince Daemon nodded and said. "Aye of course. That is to be expected, I was thinking of making Bloodstone my seat after all it is the biggest of the isles and is the one where the most ports and trade comes to. That does mean that we shall need to set bases and perhaps engage in more naval warfare than we had first thought."
"That should not be too much of a problem my prince. After all my boys know just how to engage in naval warfare. And with the Redwyne Fleet there to assist us, we should easily overwhelm whatever force of ships the Triarchy bring to the table. No all we need to consider is the pirates and the ground forces that they have." Corlys replied.
Rhaenys spoke then. "Then perhaps we might consider landing the men in different parts of the Stepstones. The Triarchy will be expecting a large force to land on Bloodstone and so shall make plans for such an attack. If we attach a rider and dragon to say four different forces then we should have enough strength to overwhelm them and make capturing the islands quicker."
"Where do you suggest we land the men then Princess.?" Corlys asked.
Princess Rhaenys looked at Prince Daemon and then said. "I believe that Prince Daemon should lead the force that lands at Bloodstone, and that Ser Laenor should lead the force that lands at Ghost Barrows. My husband should lead the force that lands at Grey Gallows and I will lead the force that lands at Barrow Meadows. These are the islands that will have the men and as such will see battle."
Corlys nodded as did Prince Daemon. And so it was that on the fourth day of the fifth month of the 105th year After Aegon's Landing the invasion of the Stepstones began.