After the death of King Robert Baratheon and the execution of Lord Eddard Stark, civil
war became inevitable. The major Houses of Westeros rallied to their allies and factions
that had long been preparing behind the scenes now put their plans into motion. Nearly every
major territory would ally itself with a would-be King. In the North, there was King Robb Stark.
Who commanded the loyalty of the North and the Riverlands. In an attempt to court the
Iron Islands to his cause, he sent his greatest friend Theon Greyjoy, to treat with his father
Lord Balon Greyjoy on behalf of the Northern King. He proposed an alliance against the
Lannisters and a treaty recognizing the Sovereignty of the Iron Islands as well as the North and
Riverlands, making Balon Greyjoy a King, but true to his traditional ways, Balon refused
to be given a crown and instead would take it, convincing Theon to betray Robb and planning
to use the war in the south as an opportunity to attack the North. The capital of King's
Landing, the surrounding Crownlands and the Westerlands, were loyal to King Joffrey Baratheon,
though his support came not from House Baratheon but rather House Lannister on his mother’s
side. With the King still a young boy, his Queen Mother Cersei Lannister acted as Regent,
and her Lord father Tywin Lannister serving as Hand of the King, but while he commanded
the armies on the field, his youngest son, the dwarf Tyrion Lannister is sent as Acting
Hand of the King. On Dragonstone, King Stannis Baratheon, eldest brother of King Robert Baratheon
declared himself the rightful King of Westeros based on the claim that Joffrey Baratheon
was a child of incest between Queen Cersei and her brother Jaime Lannister. This claim
would make all of Robert’s children illegitimate, and as the eldest Baratheon male, Stannis
would inherit the Throne. Yet he is supported only by a small fraction of the Baratheon
Bannermen. With most of the Stormlands declared for King Renly Baratheon, the youngest brother
of King Robert, who was also supported by the powerful armies of House Tyrell and the
Reach. Though Renly had no legitimate claim to the Throne, he was more well liked than
Stannis and had strong ties to House Tyrell as a base of power. Dorne, remained nominally
aligned with King’s Landing and King Joffrey, though their loyalty at this point was uncertain
and they had made no great effort to publically declare for a faction. The Vale was another
territory whose loyalty was in question. They remained neutral throughout the conflict but
many suspected they would eventually ally with Robb Stark, given that Lysa Arryn, Lady
of the Eerie, was his aunt through Catelyn Stark. The ensuing chaos became known as the
war of Five Kings. And the Riverlands would be the first territory to feel its devastation,
with its land trapped between warring armies. Yet the war was not contained to the battlefield.
Instead other means were often used, sometimes going to extreme measures for seemingly noble
ends. Stannis Baratheon, facing overwhelming odds, adopted the religion of the Red God,
with plans to use his priestess Lady Melisandre and her dark magic on his behalf. She agreed
to aid him, believing he was an ancient hero reborn, a savior who would defeat the coming
armies of Darkness. She was a sorcerous of powerful magic who saw visions in flames and
had convinced herself she must guide him to his destiny at all costs. Stannis, confident
in his new power, gave Renly one last chance to abandon his ambitions and pledge himself
to the rightful King, but Renly refused. And so Stannis ordered his death. Melisandre used
her magic to birth a shadow assassin, that made its way into Renly’s camp and killed
the claimant king.
Upon learning of the death of Renly, the Stormlands rally around Stannis, while House Tyrell and
the Reach retreat to their territories. Rethinking their plans. With his forces now marshaled,
Stannis, and his newly named Hand of the King Ser Davos Seaworth,* set sail to invade King's
Landing and take the Throne from Joffrey, the pretender, once and for all. Meanwhile,
King Robb Stark was winning battle after battle against the Lannister armies but suffered
a major setback with the betrayal of Theon and the Ironborn invasion of the North. In
his despair, he found solace in Talisa Maegyr, a noble woman from Essos. This however was
problematic as he was betrothed to the daughter of Lord Frey, one of his most important Riverland
allies. In addition to all this, his most prominent hostage Ser Jamie Lannister, was
freed by his mother Catelyn who hoped that this would convince the Lannister's release
her daughters, which she believes were both being held in King's Landing. King Robb was
greatly angered by this betrayal and confined his mother to her quarters. An important Bannerman
Lord Rickard Karstark was also made furious, as he wanted to exact vengeance upon Ser Jaime
who murdered his son Torrhen Karstark, in a failed escape attempt. Robb, now facing
a number of complication, devised a way to free the North from the Greyjoy invasion.
He decided to send the son of his general, Roose Bolton with an army of 500 men to free
his home of Winterfell. After spending so much time with Talisa, he finally gave into
temptation, marrying her and breaking his betrothal to House Frey. His mother was shocked
and warned him this would create a rift between his allies. Though he had won every battle
in the field, he was struggling with the internal politics of being a King. In the North, House
Greyjoy had invaded and plundered the land. Theon Greyjoy, son of the King and former
ally of King Robb, took it upon himself to capture Winterfell and held the two Stark
children, Bran and Rickon hostage. Fortunately, with the aid of their Direwolves
Summer and Shaggydog, and their servants Hodor and Osha, the Stark boys managed to escape
captivity and eventually head North hoping to find help from Jon Snow at the Wall. As
for the other Stark children, Sansa continued to live as a hostage of House Lannister in
the Capital. While Arya Stark travelled north with Yarin of the Night’s Watch, while pretending
to be a boy named Harry to hide her true identity. Robb's Northmen, led by the bastard son of
Roose Bolton, managed to take back Winterfell without a fight, by bribing and then betraying
the Ironborn, capturing Theon Greyjoy. In King's Landing, Tyrion Lannister was named
acting Hand of the King while Tywin was in the field leading the Lannister armies. Tyrion
immediately set to work reforming and reorganizing the capital, as it had fallen to ruin under
the tenure of his sister the Queen Regent and his nephew King Joffrey. Tyrion prepared
them as best as possible for the coming invasion from Stannis. Organizing defense forces and
preparing a wildfire attack against their ships. When the battle commenced, Tyrion was
able to hold the enemy armies outside the city walls, even leading a charge of men into
battle. And suffering an injury to the face that left him unconscious. Eventually the
Baratheon forces overwhelm the city defenses, but just when all seemed lost, the armies
of Lord Tywin rode into battle with his new allies in House Tyrell, beating back the Baratheon
forces, who fled on whatever ships remained. The Lannister's were victorious. In the end
Tyrion was stripped of his titles, and it was Tywin who was praised as savior of King's
Landing. Stannis was forced into retreat and was now faced with finding a way to reassemble
the remains of his armies. House Greyjoy had some secure holdings in the North but had
lost Winterfell and the son of King Balon. King Robb continued to win in battle but faced
the wrath of his own men as his alliances fell apart. And in the capital Lord Varys
the Spider and Littlefinger, the Master of Coin, both openly remain loyal to the Crown,
while in secret continue to work, manipulating events for purposes as yet unknown.
Beyond the Wall, the men of the Night's Watch ventured in full force ready to face whatever
dangers lurk in the frozen North. To aid them in their journey was the Wild man Craster.
A man of depravity who married his daughters and used them to birth more daughters for
his future pleasure. Despite his obvious faults he had long been a friend to the Watch and
lent his home as a sanctuary for the Black Brothers on their journey. Craster told the
Lord Commander of a vast army being raised by the King Beyond the Wall, Mance Rayder.
He also speaks of rumors surrounding the undead who now walked the land in service to the
White Walkers. The Lord Commander decided to send a scouting mission, including Jon
Snow and the veteran Qhorin Halfhand, to find the gathering Wildling army and collect whatever
information might be useful in the battle to come. As the men moved across the frozen
waste lands they encounter a group of Wildlings and kill all but a young woman, Ygritte. Jon
Snow was left to finish the job while the others continued to move forward. However,
Jon could not bring himself to kill a defenseless women. Ygritte takes advantage and runs away
forcing Jon to run after her and bind her hands. Unfortunately, by the time he caught
her he was lost and unsure how to catch up to his Brothers. A bond grows between Ygritte
and Jon, though at first he refuses her advances because of his Oath to the Watch. It's not
long before other Wildlings found them and to his surprise Qhorin Halfhand was already
their prisoner. Ygritte convinced the Wildlings to spare Jon and bring him before Mance Rayder
due to the fact the he was the son of the Lord of Winterfell. As they marched, Halfhand
told Jon that he must infiltrate the Wildlings and learn as much as he could. And when possible,
return to the Lord Commander and make his report. Jon was confused and does not understand
how this could be accomplished. But it was all made clear when Halfhand attacked him
and forced Jon to kill him. Having seen Jon murder a fellow Brother, the Wildlings were
convinced that he could be trusted and released him from captivity. Meanwhile, Sam Tarly,
Jon's friend, and some of the other Brothers are out collecting wood for the camp which
was further south, waiting to hear from the scouts. As they work they hear the bellow
of a horn back at camp. They heard the first blast, which meant Jon and the scouts have
returned. They heard a second blast, it wasn’t Jon, it was Wildlings attacking the camp.
They heard a third, which could only mean, White Walkers. Daenerys Stormborn, known as
the last daughter of House Targaryen, Khaleesi of the Dothraki Horde, and now, Mother of
Dragons. With her rebirth in the funeral pyre of her beloved Khal Drogo, Dragons had returned
to the world and with them many believed the magic of old Valyria. Yet despite this tremendous
gift, Daenerys found herself in perilous circumstances. The majority of the Dothraki army had abandoned
her after the death of her husband and she became lost in the desert of the red waste,
stranded with the last of her starving and dehydrated followers. Desperate for salvation,
she sent riders to seek help and they led her to the prosperous city of Qarth. Upon
arrival she addressed the Council of Thirteen, who ran the city, and plead for refuge. She
was denied but for one man, Xaro Xhoan Daxos who vouched for her and grants her sanctuary
in his home. Unfortunately, things quickly took a turn for the worst and her Dragons
were kidnapped by the warlock Pyat Pree. Pree executed the Council of Thirteen and revealed
himself to be the partner of Xaro Xhoan Daxos who had betrayed Daenerys in exchange for
being made King of Qarth. As she returned to gather her men she discovered that they
too had been slaughtered and only her man adviser Jorah Mormont remained. Together they
travelled to the House of the Undying, where the warlock had placed her dragons. She entered
and discovered a maze of illusions and magic that preyed upon her vulnerabilities and desires.
Eventually, she is captured by Prat Pree, but she is able to call on her dragons to
burn down the House of the Undying and kill the Warlock, freeing them from captivity.
Upon escaping with her Dragons, she found Xaro Xhoan Daxos with her handmaiden, who
she discovered had also betrayed her. Daenerys locked them both inside Xaro’s vault, leaving
them to die slow and painful deaths. She then claimed his riches for herself and prepared
to buy ships and soldiers for her return to Westeros, where she would retake the Iron
Throne with fire and blood. A special thanks to all those who have contributed
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