Chapter Text
The fate of Westeros was sealed when Aegon Targaryen, Lord of Dragonstone, sent out ravens to the seven kings of Westeros, declaring himself the one true king, ordering the other monarchs to kneel or die. The rulers of Westeros reacted with bewilderment- Mern VI Gardener, Loren I Lannister, Queen Regent Sharra Arryn and Torrhen Stark ignored the letter entirely, Harren Hoare was said to have laughed, and Meria Martell offered alliance as an equal, not as a vassal. In Storm’s End, Argilac Durrandon’s fury was said to have been a sight to behold. Not only had Aegon rejected his daughter Argella as a bride and offered a bastard for her hand, he dared to claim the Stormlands.
Of the seven kingdoms, the most powerful was the Kingdom of Isles and Rivers, under Harren Hoare. The Hoares had made enemies out of all their neighbors in addition to their vassals, resulting in Harren choosing to raise a new castle on the shores of the God's Eye. Harrenhal, the largest castle ever built, was meant to be an impregnable fortress against rebels, as well as a centrally located capital from which Harren could launch future conquests, in particular that of the Stormlands. The Stormlands had been in a perpetual decline since their loss of the Riverlands to Harren's grandfather Harwyn, and while Argilac's victory over the Reach at the Battle of Summerfield stayed the decline, it was only for a time. Argilac's only heir was a daughter, and it was expected civil war would erupt upon his death. Looking to seize his lands was Harren, alongside the Dornish who sought to seize the Marches, and Mern VI Gardener who sought to avenge his father's death at Summerfield and retake the historic Gardener territories of Nightsong and Harvest Hall. Knowing how desperate his situation was, Argilac needed an external alliance to ensure Argella's ascension, and decided Aegon, whom he had fought alongside in the Disputed Lands, was the perfect choice. Of course, matters did not turn out how Argilac hoped.
Aegon landed at the mouth of the Blackwater Rush. Under the Storm Kings, a thriving city had sprung up among the three hills, but now as a borderland between Harrenhal and Storm’s End, the city had been abandoned, and its structures had been used to raise the Ironfort on the highest hill. Harren Hoare’s youngest son Harlan was in command, and his refusal to surrender was met with death by dragonfire atop the palisade. To the north, Lords Durran Darklyn and Benedict Mooton gathered their armies, hoping that Aegon’s defeat would earn them great honors in Aegon’s court. They would be proven wrong, as both would succumb to dragonflame outside Duskendale. Durran’s son Geremy and Benedict’s brother Jon bent to Aegon, followed by the lords around Blackwater Bay, whose territories formed the future Crownlands. From there, the Targaryens split their forces- Aegon marched against Harren, Rhaenys and Orys against Argilac, and Visenya against Sharra.
Aegon led his men north to the God's Eye, where Hoare soldiers ambushed their camp in the Battle of the Reeds. Harren used the defeat to issue a call to arms. However, it went unanswered by the ironborn, who saw Harren as a Greenlander rather than an ironborn. Of the Riverlords, Lord Edmyn Tully actively chose to declare for Aegon, and was quickly followed by Mallister, Blackwood, Bracken, Piper, Frey, Strong, and both Vance branches, for the Riverlands despised Harren's harsh rule and high taxes used to pay for Harrenhal's construction. Faced with a general uprising, Harren was forced to barricade himself in his castle, refusing to surrender as stone could not burn. In response, Aegon burned Harrenhal into a smoking ruin, wiping out Harren and his sons Harmund, Harras and Hammond. The last Hoare left was Harragad Hoare, Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, who wisely chose not to challenge Aegon. Edmyn Tully was named the Lord Paramount of the Trident in recognition of his loyalty.
Rhaenys and Orys marched their forces into the Stormlands, where Lords Errol, Buckler and Fell ambushed their host as they crossed the Wendwater. Argilac marched his armies north, even as the Tyroshi and Dornish attacked the south. Having fought in the Disputed Lands, Argilac knew the power of dragons- he fortified his troops on a hill overlooking Bronzegate, and took advantage of a storm that blocked visibility for Rhaenys. In the battle known as the Last Storm, Argilac seemed to be winning against Orys's troops, which were faced with having to attack up a hill- until the storm broke, and Meraxes lit the hill aflame. Argilac led a mad charge down the hill, where Orys slew him in single combat. Storm’s End came under siege after Argella declared herself Storm Queen. Her soldiers were not so eager to die, and opened the gates to Orys, who swiftly married Argella and adopted the Durrandon sigil and colors for House Baratheon, the new lords of the Stormlands.
Visenya led the Velaryon Fleet against the Vale, but Lord Lucos Grafton managed to defeat it in combat, killing Lord Daemon Velaryon. However, Visenya burned the Arryn Fleet and killed Lord Grafton before retreating. Sharra Arryn ordered for the Bloody Gate to be heavily fortified. Leaving the Velaryon fleet to sail back home, Visenya flew to the Eyrie, landing in the courtyard. The young king Ronnel V of the Mountain and Vale proved quite taken by the dragon, and requested the queen for a ride. When Sharra and her retainers arrived, Sharra quickly gave up his crown, and Lord Ronnel got his dragon ride. For the Lords of the Vale, the idea of submitting to the same Valyrians who conquered Old Andalos was a betrayal, and they turned on Queen Sharra. Under Sharra’s regency, her relatives of House Corbray had filled in the administrative apparatus of the Eyrie, and many a fool japed the Falcon’s Nest was now a roost for ravens. Growing angry with this state of affairs, now the Lords of the Vale took action- Lord Allard Royce of Runestone led an army to the Eyrie, forcing Sharra to name him Regent. Lord Royce took custody of young lord Ronnel, and expelled the Corbrays and their allies from the Eyrie. Wanting to maintain peace with the Corbrays, he allowed Lord Gerold to foster Ronnel’s younger brother Jonos. As for Queen Sharra, the rather healthy queen passed away within the year, and it was whispered throughout the Vale that Allard had her poisoned. Allard quashed those rumors, but they survived in Heart’s Home, where they reached the ears of Lord Jonos.
Mern VI Gardener and Loren I Lannister had already formed an alliance to combat Harren Hoare's expansionist ambitions- Loren was keenly aware of being surrounded on two sides by ironborn, and allying with the Reach to secure their borders had been policy since the ironborn conquest. Said monarchs of the Reach had rejected it, seeing a chance to weaken their historic northern enemy, until the death of Garse VII Gardener at Summerfield- Mern VI was a different man to his father, and sent his agreement to Loren. With Harren's defeat, they turned that alliance on Aegon. The combined army arrived near the Blackwater Rush, only to be burned by the three dragons in the Field of Fire. King Mern was among the dead, along with his sons Edmund, Gawen and Loras, his grandsons Garth and Willas, his brothers Leo, Theo and Thaddeus, and his nephews Rycherd and Mace. His last nephew, Garlan, died some days after of his burns. Aegon flew to Highgarden, where Steward Harlan Tyrell opened the gates. Aegon named Harlan the new Lord Paramount of the Reach- this was fiercely opposed by the Lords of the Reach, especially Lord Alester Florent who had married Mern’s niece and thus had the best claim, but dragonfire cowed them. Approaching Oldtown, the High Septon counseled Lord Manfred to open the gates, fearing the city’s destruction. Aegon knelt before the High Septon in the Starry Sept, where he was crowned king. As for Loren, he was swiftly captured and made to bend the knee.
Torrhen Stark, having heard of the defeats, had brought his army south, crossing the Trident near the crossroads. Wisely, he chose to bend rather than see the North doused in dragonflame. The Iron Islands had been embroiled in civil war ever since the fall of the Hoares, and Aegon led his fleets into the Sunset Sea. Qhorin Volmark was slain by Aegon himself, while Lodos and his followers walked into the sea to be with the Drowned God. Despite calls to partition the islands, Aegon had the lords call a kingsmoot, and they elected Vickon Greyjoy of Pyke as the new Lord of the Iron Islands. With the islands’ submission, Aegon had control over six of the seven kingdoms of Westeros.
The arrival of winter in 2 AC caused the conquest of Dorne to be put on hold. Due to the harshness of winter, it had long been tradition for all wars to end with a ceasefire, and resume once spring arrived. Once winter abated in 4 AC, Rhaenys flew to Sunspear, demanding submission from Princess Meria Martell, The Old Toad of Dorne. Meria refused, and Aegon had his armies gather in the Red Mountains. The Dornish had prepared for him however- the Boneway had been rendered impossible by rocks and mud, forcing him to march through the Prince’s Pass. The Dornish host launched repeated ambushes, culminating in the Battle of Skyreach where Aegon’s host was shattered, at the cost of many Dornish knights. Many lords, including Orys Baratheon were captured, and others like Harlan Tyrell were killed. Aegon was forced to turn back, and for the next few years the dragons burned the castles of Dorne, while the Dornish launched counter raids into Nightsong, the Rainwood and the fields east of Oldtown. The crimes committed by the Dornish during this period have been well told in other sources, so there is no point in dwelling on them in this text. The Free Cities, terrified of a united Westeros, sent the Dornish money and supplies. In 7 AC, Rhaenys led a new campaign, only for her and Meraxes to be shot down at Hellholt. In a rage, Visenya burned Hellholt and other Dornish castles, and the fertile lands of the Brimstone were burned, permanently decreasing their agricultural yield. In contrast, Aegon chose to favor peace, as the death of a dragon had sent shockwaves through Westeros, and threatened to topple Aegon's fragile regime. Meria had died the year before, and her son Nymor sent his daughter Deria with a peace delegation. The Treaty of Pentos ended the war in Dorne’s favor, but the Martells had to pay reparations to the noble families whose members they took prisoner, as well as release the prisoners. With the treaty, the conquest had ended.