George R R Martin - The Rise of the Dragon

on Vhagar to the Vale of Arryn and the Eyrie, where Queen Sharra and her son, King Ronnel, had sought refuge. The castle high on the Giant’s Lance proved no barrier to a dragon, however, and Visenya landed unopposed in the castle’s courtyard. By the time Sharra and her knights arrived, Visenya had the boy king Ronnel on her knee, begging to fly on her dragon. Sharra was forced to submit while her son got his promised flight, circling the Eyrie three times on Vhagar’s back—taking off as a little king and landing as a little lord.

Rhaenys, meanwhile, turned her attention to Dorne, and like Visenya chose to fly deep into the heart of Dornish power rather than make war in the treacherous deserts and mountain passes. Yet each castle she arrived at was deserted, their lords gone—and the Planky Town was similarly deserted, with only old women and children remaining in the floating city at the mouth of the river Greenblood. At Sunspear itself, however, Rhaenys found the ancient Meria Martell in residence—fat, blind, and wizened but still keen of mind. Meria informed Rhaenys that Dorne had no king, and would neither bow, bend, nor break for the Targaryens. So Rhaenys was forced to depart with Dorne unconquered.

At the time, the greatest city in Westeros was Oldtown: the ancient seat of the wealthy House Hightower, and home to both the Starry Sept, where the High Septon ruled over the Faith, and the Citadel, where the maesters trained. Aegon now turned his attention to that city, for the Hightowers had been conspicuously absent from King Mern’s host yet had not allied with Aegon either. Aegon brought an army, expecting to lay siege to the city, but instead found its gates open and its lord, Manfred Hightower, riding out to meet him. Lord Hightower swiftly surrendered the city. For as it happened, when Aegon and his sisters had first landed in Westeros, the High Septon had fasted and prayed and, in return, received a vision that Oldtown and the Starry Sept would burn if they opposed the Targaryens—which convinced the pious Lord Manfred to stay clear of the fighting.

Welcomed with open arms into Oldtown and the Starry Sept, Aegon Targaryen was crowned a second time by the High Septon three days later, having successfully conquered six of the existing seven kingdoms. Hundreds of lords and knights from throughout the newly forged realm witnessed this coronation, and tens of thousands of smallfolk acclaimed the king in the city. Though many expected—and even hoped—that Aegon would make Oldtown the royal seat, he instead announced that the Aegonfort and the new town of King’s Landing, growing amidst the three tall hills, would be his seat in the Seven Kingdoms.

At his command, the weapons surrendered to his armies were used to create the Iron Throne, forged in the black fires of Balerion: a hulking mass of twisting, barbed steel designed to strike fear and awe into any who stood before it.

Ronnel Arryn with Visenya.

Aegon I and the Iron Throne.

Lodos and his followers.

AEGON’S SECOND CROWNING in Oldtown reset the Westerosi calendar and established the current dating convention of AC (After the Conquest) or BC (Before the Conquest). The crowning was said to occur in 1 AC—but crowning a king and changing a calendar did not mean that peace immediately fell in all corners of the realm. Indeed, the first decade of Aegon’s rule was marked as much by war as by the establishment of a new order.

The rebellious Three Sisters were first on Aegon’s agenda. He had Torrhen Stark dispatch northmen to the islands on hired galleys, while Queen Visenya accompanied them with her great dragon, Vhagar. The sistermen quickly deposed the hapless Queen Marla, and her brother, Steffon Sunderland, offered his fealty to Aegon. Marla Sunderland was imprisoned until 6 AC, when her tongue was removed and she was dispatched to live among the silent sisters for the rest of her days.

The Iron Islands were more problematic, as the destruction of House Hoare led to a bloody power struggle in its wake. Qhorin Volmark was among a number of claimants who came forward, while the drowned priests crowned Lodos, one of their own, after he declared himself to be the son of the Drowned God. The year of civil war that followed was brutal, and many ironborn perished.

In order to quell this rebellion, Aegon arrived in the Iron Islands in 2 AC, riding on Balerion and accompanied by a great fleet. By this time, however, many of the ironborn had wearied of the conflict and welcomed the arrival of the Targaryens. Aegon killed Qhorin Volmark with the Valyrian steel sword Blackfyre. As for Lodos, the priest-king attempted to raise krakens to destroy Aegon’s fleet—and when none arose, Lodos loaded his robes with stones and walked into the sea, claiming he would speak with the Drowned God. Thousands of his supporters followed him, drowning in turn. With peace restored, King Aegon considered whether to grant the Iron Islands to a mainland lord or to choose from among the ironborn. After some deliberation, he named Vikon Greyjoy, the Lord Reaper of Pyke, as ruler of the Iron Islands. But the riverlands—formerly part of House Hoare’s dominion—remained firmly under the control of the Tullys. And Harrenhal was granted to the master-at-arms at Dragonstone, Ser Quenton Qoherys.

By 3 AC, nearly all of Westeros was secure—save for Dorne. At first, Aegon and his sisters attempted to use diplomacy to win Dorne’s peaceful submission, to no avail. So the First Dornish War began in 4 AC, when Rhaenys Targaryen and Meraxes burned the Planky Town while Orys Baratheon led a company of knights up the Boneway, and King Aegon and Lord Harlan Tyrell marched a huge army through the Prince’s Pass. Yet, once again, the Dornishmen refused battle and melted away, even after Aegon split his forces. Although it was the second year of autumn, the Dornish sun was relentless, causing much suffering to the Targaryen forces—especially those under Lord Tyrell as he marched on the Hellholt. Orys Baratheon’s march up the Boneway was even less successful, as he and his forces were caught in a trap. Most of his followers were slain, though Orys and some dozen other lords were taken captive by the Wyl of Wyl, also known as the Widow-lover.

Only Aegon had any real success in the campaign, taking several castles and slaying the Toland champion in single combat before realizing that he had only defeated Lord Toland’s fool. When he reached Sunspear, it was to find Queen Rhaenys already there—after she, too, had discovered several Dornish castles abandoned along the way. The shadow town was half empty, and Sunspear itself was abandoned by all but the servants. Even the aged Meria Martell was gone. Despite this, Aegon declared victory. He installed Lord Jon Rosby as the Castellan of Sunspear and Warden of the Sands, ordered Lord Tyrell to put down any resistance, and departed through the Prince’s Pass.

In the wake of their departure, the Dornish rose up in rebellion, taking back the castles that Aegon and his sisters had conquered and slaughtering the garrisons. Meria Martell reappeared from hiding and—in an act that would later be called the Defenestration of Sunspear—tossed Lord Rosby out of the highest window of the Spear Tower. As for Lord Harlan Tyrell, he and his host were never seen again after they marched into the desert in an attempt to conquer Vaith.

The Defenestration of Sunspear.

After 6 AC, the Dornish war grew increasingly bloody—although with long periods of quiet and many attempted truces, punctuated by murders, assassinations, reprisals, and raids. In 7 AC, Orys

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