Seeking powerful alliances, Queen Rhaenyra sent her eldest son Jacaerys upon stormcloud
to the Vale of Arryn and the North, while Lucerys rode Arrax to the Stormlands.
Hoping to keep them from harm Rhaenrya sent them as messengers only, forbidding them from
engaging in combat.
Her husband Daemon Targaryen atop Caraxes however had no such restriction when he flew
to the Riverlands.
Fortunately for the locals no violence was necessary as House Strong surrendered Harrenhal
without a fight.
Winning the support of House Blackwood, the Blacks won the Battle of the Burning Mill
and Battle of Stone hedge, defeating House Bracken, the greatest Green supporters in
the region.
While Daemon completed his conquest of the riverlands, 15 year old Jacaerys embraced
his role as a diplomat, securing alliances with house Arryn of the Vale, as well as several
of the most powerful Houses in the North, including the Manderlys, Borrells and Sunderlands
before securing the Pact of Ice and Fire with Lord Cregan of House Stark, promising a marriage
between house Stark and Targaryen.
Yet while their two northern ventures succeeded, the southern mission led by Lucerys, thought
to be the safest of the three, ended in complete disaster.
Making the mistake of assuming Borros Baratheon was with the Blacks because his father was
an ardent supporter of Rhaenyra, Lucerys arrived to find Aemond of the greens negotiating an
alliance.
Borros informed Lucerys, that Aemond offered to marry one of his daughters, and since Rheanyra’s
boys were already betrothed, the Blacks could not beat that offer.
Still holding a grudge for the loss of his eye, Aemond wanted to attack the boy, but
Borros forbid it in his hall.
However, once Lucerys flew away, Borros gave permission for Aemond to give chase.
Engaging in the Dance over shipbreaker bay, young Arrax was no match for Vhagar and so
both Lucerys and his dragon were killed.
While Rhaenyra cried and raged over the death of her son, Daemon Targaryen swore vengeance
and reached out to his underworld contacts in the capital, arranging for the assassins
Blood and Cheese, to infiltrate the Red Keep using secret tunnels underneath.
Killing a handmaiden, they captured Alicent, Helaena, Jaehaerys, Jaehaera and Maelor, before
forcing the king’s wife to choose which of her 3 children would die.
Threatening to rape her daugher and kill them all if she refused, Helaena was reluctantly
chose her youngest Maelor, reasoning that he did not understand what was happening and
would not suffer.
But the assassins instead cut off the head of her eldest son Jaehaerys before fleeing
into the night.
Blood was soon after caught trying to escape the city with the prince’s head in a bag,
and so was tortured and killed, but Cheese and the prostitute Mysaria who arranged it
all for Daemon were never caught.
This powerful act of vengeance then did further damage as Queen Helaena grew depressed and
despondent, unable to look at her son Maelor since she named him to die.
The King meanwhile fell to drink and rage, consumed by hatred.
Though Aegon enjoyed the company of many woman aside from his wife, their marriage remained
amicable until the death of their child, when they stopped sleeping together or even communicating
at all.
Hoping to strike back against the Blacks, Ser Criston Cole sent the Kingsguard Arryk
Cargyll on a mission to infiltrate dragonstone posing as his twin brother Erryk, who served
as a queensguard for Rhaenyra.
On a mission of assassination, possibly against the queen or her children, his target was
never discovered as he was spotted and exposed by his brother before completing the mission.
Engaging in single combat to the death, stories say the brothers killed each other out of
knightly duty but died in each others arms, while others like Rhaenyra’s jester Mushroom,
claimed they suffered grievous wounds quickly and cursed each other as traitors.
With the Blacks winning allies and striking back with fury against the Greens, the Hand
of the King Otto Hightower did his best to strengthen their position, but largely failed
in many areas, as he was unable to secure an alliance with Dorne which claimed neutrality,
was receiving no reply from his messages to the Ironborn, and could not even secure his
own homeland of the reach, where only the Houses Hightower and Redwyne pledged for Aegon,
while the Houses Costayne, Mullendore, Tarly, Rowan and Grimm sided with Rhaenyra.
House Tyrell, seeing their realm divided, declared neutrality.
Sending word to his son Ormund Hightower to destroy the enemy Lords of the reach, Otto
next set his sights across the narrow sea to Essos, where the Kingdom of the Three Daughters
agreed to ally with Aegon Targaryen in exchange for the stepstones and trade rights.
Yet this victory was too little to make an immediate impact, and the corrupt, inefficient
Kingdom of the Three Daughters needed time to prepare their forces.
Therefore, the king dismissed his grandfather and appointed Criston Cole as Hand of the
King.
Far more violent and warlike then his predecessor, Cole implemented a more aggressive strategy,
beginning by executing all Black faction prisoners unless they bent the knee to Aegon.
Yet only three men submitted while the rest chose to keep their honour in death.
Entering into a new phase in the war, Westeros was properly fractured, with the North, Riverlands,
and Vale pledged to Rhaenyra, the Westerlands and Stormlands siding with Aegon, the Reach
and Crownlands divided, Dorne remaining neutral and the Iron Islands undeclared.
Therefore, Cole first elected to focus on the nearby Crownlands, which outside the capital
largely stood with Rhaenyra, sacking Duskendale and beheading it’s lord.
Cole then moved on to Rook’s Rest, but House Staunton had time to send for aid, prompting
Princess Rhaenys of the Blacks to arrive on her dragon Meleys.
Engaging in the battle of Rook’s Rest, Criston Cole attacked the enemy from the ground with
scorpions and archers while King Aegon flew upon sunfyre and Prince Aemond on Vhagar.
Badly outnumbered, Rhaenys nonetheless put up a valiant struggle, seeing Meleys viciously
bite sunfyres neck which caused a chaotic melee between all three that sent them crashing
to the ground.
Suffering a terrible defeat, Rhaenys and her dragon were killed, while Aemond and Vhagar
emerged unharmed, completing the conquest of Rook’s Rest.
The King and his dragon meanwhile also survived, but were both critically wounded, with Sunfyre
losing a wing and Aegon suffering burns and broken bones.
The king was so injured he required months of painful recovery, spending most of his
time sedated with milk of the poppy.
As Aegon II was incapacitated, his brother Aemond Targaryen was named regent as protector
of the realm.
A harsh, courageous and bloody-minded warrior bonded to the oldest most powerful dragon
known to exist, Aemond was prepared to escalate the war and achieve victory at any cost.
As Sunfyre was unable to fly, a garrison was left to feed and protect him, but this small
force could not stand when House Mooton recaptured Rook’s Rest and sent their warriors slay
the dragon.
Yet somehow, the wounded Sunfyre defended himself and took flight to escape further
harm.
Devastated by the loss of his beloved wife, Corlys Velaryon nearly left Rhaenyra’s cause
but was convinced to stay when Jacaerys named him Hand of the Queen.
Though the Blacks had many powerful allies, most were far from the center of the conflict,
making it difficult to respond quickly and with adequate force in or near the Crownlands.
Thus the death of Rhaenys prompted the Queen to send away the younger children in her family
as well as their dragons for safety, sending Joffrey, Tyraxes, and three dragon eggs to
the Vale of Arryn, alongside Rhaena Targaryen Daemon’s daughter from his first marriage,
while Aegon, Stormcloud, Viserys and a dragon egg were sent to be fostered by the Prince
of Pentos.
With his brothers gone, the Queen’s heir Jacaerys Velaryon took on increasing responsibilities
in the next stage of the war.
Knowing that Targaryen men over the years fathered many illegitimate children with smallfolk
and nobility alike, Jacaerys thought up a plan to raise more dragonriders by putting
out a call to the people of Dragonstone, promising great reward to any who could successfully
bond a dragon.
Though many failed were wounded or even burned alive, some few succeeded, like Hugh Hammer
upon Vermithor, Ulf the White atop Silverwing, Addam of Hull on Seasmoke, and the girl Nettles
riding Sheapstealer.
Addam of Hull and his brother Alyn were bastard born children, supposedly fathered by Laenor
Velaryon, though they were more likely the children of Corlys Velaryon.
Therefore, when Addam claimed a dragon, Rhaenyra legitimized both brothers, allowing the Lord
of Driftmark to name the eldest his heir.
With the Dragonseeds at their backs, the blacks gained a decisive advantage over the enemy,
but soon suffered a catastrophe in the Battle of the Gullet, remembered as one of the bloodiest
sea battles in history.
At last fulfilling their agreement, the Kingdom of the Three daughters sent a fleet of 90
ships to break the Velaryon sea blockage around the capital but first they ran into the vessel
carrying Rhaenyra’s sons to Pentos, able to capture Viserys and his dragon Egg, while
Aegon fled atop Stormcloud, who was gravely wounded but nonetheless made it to Dragonstone,
ensuring his riders safety before dying.
The fleet then attacked the Velaryon ships at the Gullet, causing Jacaerys to lead the
Dragonseeds into battle, destroying 62 of 90 ships.
The foreign fleet however had experience fighting dragons, able to bring down Vermax and kill
its rider Jacaerys.
The remaining fleet was also able to sack and burn nearby Spicetown and High Tide on
Driftmark, eliminating a third of the Velaryon Fleet, slaughtering their people and destroying
much of Corlys Velaryon’s wealth.
Though the Fleet limped back to Essos with much treasure and a valuable war hostage,
the overwhelming loss of ships and men caused the Kingdom of the Three daughters to consider
the battle a miserable defeat, leading to a political crisis and their very own civil
war.