Prologue of War for the Realm

[GM]

In this world, a world much like the world of a Song of Ice and Fire; many races co-inhabit. At times the cohabitation isn't exactly peaceful. The races wage war and populations die as everyone tries to find their true enemy. The Children of the Forest, one of the old races, has dwindled after eons of confrontation with man. So few of the small people exist that below the wall in the north, they're talked of as if nothing but the things of old fantasies. In drastic contrast to the Children, Giants are another seldom heard of race. These mighty beings exist few in pure-blooded numbers, however they are found in several places throughout the world including the north; beyond the wall. To the far north of Essos exists a small island where a small race of people live. Unlike the Children these people are master craftsmen and like the Children these people are small in number. The most populous race are humans, they think themselves the true owners of the land, while some from the other races believe they are nothing more than a terminal infection. White Walkers and their Night's King are an artificial race created from combining both sacrificial humans and the greatest magics of the Children of the forest. This race's goal is nothing less than the complete annihilation of all warm-blooded life.

Most of the events that took place in the Game of Thrones or the Song of Ice and Fire are also a part of the canon for the world our players will be inhabiting. Some small changes will drastically change the scene of our playground. Certain events like the Blackfyre and Robert's rebellions did not occur meaning that the Targaryen's still rule over the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros (for now). The massacre of the dragons in the Dragon's Pit did happen but didn't exactly turn out the same way. Dragons do still exist to this day (even if the number has drastically decreased since the days of yore). In our world three generations of Lords and Ladies ,known to the series, never existed. The characters of the site are the descendants of men and women vastly different from those shown in the series.. Some events such House Clegane's creation still occurred. If any questions arise, about events and what is or is not canon, talk to the staff and they will formulate a decision on the matter. Do not assume any event that occurred within the last three generations did or did not happen based on the previous setting.

[GM]

One year into the bloody civil war between the two factions of house Targaryen, rebellious smallfolk of Kingslanding was brewing. The damage done between the two factions; the Blacks and the Greens, was great and terrible. Unfortunately the dance between the two dragon factions harmed none more than the smallfolk caught in between. The ever-growing animosity between the people and their rulers came to a boiling in 130 AC when, rumor has it; a group of like-minded Septons and Maesters riled up the peasants behind the scenes. A plan concocted and a date was marked for the Storming of the Dragonpit. A number of smallfolk lead by a few knights fought their way through the city guard and several of the Queensguard.

During the confusion Joffrey unleashed his mothers dragon Syrax, rider-less upon the squabbling crowd. Syrax, later known as Syrax the Betrayer from there after, rained down hellfire upon the unsuspecting crowd. The dragon burned and tore apart friend and foe alike. Only men the dragon recognized were safe from the beast, unleashed to attack indiscriminately by a young naïve boy prince. The fire so hot melted stone and set fire to nearby buildings surrounding the Dragonpit. Fighting and killing chained dragons was one thing, however fighting back against one on the loose was akin to suicide. Many of the mob, made primarily of small folk, ran from the area upon first sight of the enraged dragon. Others ran when it began to rain down fire, and still more ran away while themselves ablaze however they didn't make it as far. Turning on their prince it took most of the city watch with the joint efforts of the remaining knights and smallfolk to finally fell the dragon. Now a smaller enraged and emboldened force of both smallfolk and the city guard turned their attention towards the door of the Dragonpit. Ser Glendon Goode, the Lord Commander of the Queensguard was all that stood between the pit and the vicious and bloody mob. The Lord Commander took several of his attackers with him before being torn apart by the sheer number and barbarism of the mob.

By the time the crowd was able to break into the pit; there were four, roused, angry, and unchained dragons stood before them. Joff, a spry lad, quickly made his way through the tunnels and hidden doors throughout not only the Redkeep but also led out into various places in the city. One such tunnel the Velaryon boy and his brothers had explored lead to a trap door going into the Dragonpit. With the combined confusion from the battle and the massacre caused by his dragon, the boy had more than enough time to free all four dragons from their restraints.

The enclosed pit was the best shot that the mob had at killing the dragons. Even with the advantage, slaying four dragons was nigh but impossible. Hundreds of smallfolk died being slaughtered by the dragons. During the Feast of Dragons one of the four went mad from its wounds. The crazed dragon broke through the dome covering the pit. Dreamfyre used her claws and flames to burrow through the stone until it collapsed. Then heavy rock rained down in massive pieces burying man and dragon alike. With the massive cloud of dust that the collapse created they thought that most of the people and all the dragons in the pit at the time met their ends.

Weeks later smallfolk startled to find a body of one of the dragons, everyone believed were in the pit at the time of the collapse was found rotting away in the Kingswood. It wasn't until months later when the pit was finally, fully excavated they discovered that two the of the bodies of the dragons were missing, both the rider-less dragons Morghul and Shrykos. The body of Tyraxes was found later under a large piece of debris. It coiled around the dismembered and crushed body of his first and last rider, Joffrey Velaryon. It appeared that the young prince had been brutally sliced into sections for his part in the attack of Syrax the Betrayer before his dragon Tyraxes returned the favor. The dying prince and his dragon were both crushed to death by the rubble. No further effort into finding the dragons; one was already found dead, so there was no way such a massive creäture would have been able to make it out of the pit without suffering mortal wounds.

[GM]

Several years into the reign of the "Broken King", Aegon III, a wildfire reportedly broke out by the dry conditions of the ongoing winter. The child king watched as the blaze consumed a part of the Kingswood. Several rumors of small fire-breathing lizards soon began to spread around the smallfolk of the area outside of Kingslanding. The presiding regents then, sent rangers and members of the city watch to survey the area in the name of the king. Afraid of adding flame, so to speak, they tried to explain away the rumors of the expedition; as an effort to survey the burnt area for a new castle outside the stink and squalor of Kingslanding. In reality the earlier rumors of dragons in the mountains and passes separating Dorne from the Reach combined with both the fire and new rumor had the overreaching regents worried. All that remained of the captive Targaryen dragons were four. One old and dying dragon that managed to survive the Dance of the Dragons and three more that were sickly and stunted from birth.

Rumors of wild dragons spread like wildfire throughout the kingdom. The areas where the rumors originated were thick. After the death of the last captive Targrayen dragon, Aegon III, now known as "The Dragon's Bane"; along side his brother attempted to use blood magic to hatch a clutch of dragon eggs still on Dragonstone. It was a failure, as was every expedition the king and his hand sent out looking for the rumored dragons. The eyewitness accounts of the smallfolk were unreliable and extremely vague. Most of the stories came from travelers at night or from farmers looking to receive a compensation for cattle that suffered mutilation. One case of an ox that being burned and torn apart seemed promising. During the investigation into the fiery slaying of the livestock a farmer in the same village claimed he had a herd of sheep attacked in the same way. A second party dispatched to investigate the new claim found something odd. There were similarities in both cases, however the damage to the second was much less severe. Within a fortnight a shepherd boy came forward claiming it was a pack of wolves that killed the sheep. The second farmer had threatened the boy and forced the boy to help him burn the remains of the sheep. They executed both farmers for lying to the Kingsmen while on official kings business while the boy had his tongue pulled out with hot pincers for his involvement.

[GM]

It wasn't until the rule of Daeron Targaryen I that the first confirmed sighting of a dragon came about. The king wore the crown of Aegon "The Conqueror". With the black valyrian steel crown upon his brow he headed south with great ambitions. He would not only doing what no other could. The king wanted to conquer Dorne as well as obtain the dragon sighted in the southern part of the Reach near Dorne. With his host Daeron made his way to Dorne. The king accompanied by the Tyrell force fought many battles against the resourceful Dornish. Eventually the lords of Dorne broke and took the knee however it was at the cost of over ten thousand men.

While in Dorne the young king saw several soring figures high above the Prices Pass. The dragons were smart enough to know better than to attack or even come close to a part as large as the armies that fought on either side. All efforts to send riders and scouts out to follow the wild dragons to their lairs ended in failure. Many of the scouts were never seen again. It was unknown whether they were able to find the dragon's lair or if it was even the dragons behind the disappearance. A few of the rangings found that the dragons would often travel far to the south or north before they ultimately out paced their pursuers. Begrudgingly the king left the unstable region without a dragon, leaving the peace to the lord of the Reach in his absence. King Daeron took several highborn captives with him to Kingslanding to make sure the lords obeyed.

Unfortunately the hostages meant little to the smallfolk of Dorne who continued to wage war against the occupying force. The smallfolk of Dorne killed the Tyrell lord who was left in charge. Daeron called his banners and once again marched for the land of sand beyond the mountains. Once again the king put down the rebellions and recaptured Dorne. This time the cost of the battles was much greater. The king and another ten thousand men died fighting the Dornish. Despite the death of the king the Dornish lords once again bent the knee to the crown to regain peace. With the king dead and the dragon knight captured during the attempt at subjugating Dorne all seemed lost. Attracted by the carnage and the weakness in the dwindling number on both sides, several of the wild dragons that Daeron has wished would descend; descended upon the battle field to feast upon the remains of both sides.

The news of the king's death hit the realm hard. People of the court wanted revenge and readied the hostages that the previous king had taken for execution. Stepping up as the next king, Baelor "The Blessed" stopped the murders. The new religious king wanted peace, an end to the war. King Baelor wearing no shoes and only a barley sack as a walk of atonement for the wars. The king comes to the place where his cousin Aemon was held. The captors of Aemon the dragon knight refused Baelor's pleas. Offering his prayer; Baelor made his way all the way to seat of the Martell, Sunspear. Conferring with the Prince of Drone, Baelor and the prince agrees to peace. The Prince gave Baelor an order for the release of his cousin as well as an offer to have a galley take the haggard king back to Kingslanding. Baelor refuses the offer and begins to make his way back to his cousin. Afraid that the king's death would spark another war, he ordered his people to watch over and give the king aid along his way.

Miraculously the king made it back to the place that Aemon was being kept. The captors took it upon themselves to hang the Targaryen Princes cage over a pit of vipers before giving Baelor the key to release him. Even though he was thin, frail, and barefoot the blessed king made his way through the pit and unlocked the cage. The king succumbed to the poison from the dozens of bites he had received. Aemon the Dragon Knight pulled his king into the cage as his captors watched and laughed. The starved and beaten knight pulled the king upon his back before climbing the cage and leaping over the pit to safety. Aemon carried the king out and made his way up through the Boneway. The king and his kin were beset upon by a beast from the sky. Aemon watched as the dragon devoured the mule the septon gave them along the way. It was a marvelous beast, a pure white with golden lines running down its back and on its sides. Drawing a sword that he had obtained along the way Aemon prepared to defend his hallucinating king with his life. The dragon opened its mouth and flames began to flare through its sharp dagger like teeth. A mumble came from Baelor and the dragon closed its mouth before moving toward the two Targaryens.

Panic ensued as a large dragon descended upon Storm's End. The seat of the Baratheon line readied for the worst as the massive beast quickly flew down towards them. Archers shot arrows up at the beast with seemingly no effect. A hushed silence fell upon the courtyard when the winged beast landed. Upon the back of the white and gold dragon was Aemon the Dragon Knight and King Baelor. It was more than half a year before Baelor was able to return to Kingslanding. Hosting the dragon proved quite the problem for the Lord of Strom's End. It was only willing to obey Aemon, however it would not allow him to mount. Its rider was the king.

[GM]

In the remainder of Baelor's short reign the great gold and white beast laid at least one clutch of fresh eggs in the Dragonpit.  The pit had fallen into disrepair since the dragon's disappearance.  With little to keep it there, Baelor's dragon often flew off, flying away for weeks at a time.  The dragon was well fed during its stays in the pit, resulting in few situations where the beast went forth and wreaked havoc.  There was an occasional farmer who came with the charred remains of livestock; seeking compilation, however there was always little to no proof.  Despite the baselessness of the accusations, Baelor the Blessed always handed out something to those who sought out repayment.  The king passed a law that allowed those who had animals taken by dragon to seek aid from the crown or their lord.  King Baelor created a funnel system that would send the crowns funds to the Liège Lords and then to the Lords would distribute to the claimants.  The law also enacted a new tax on the lords of the realm that would force them to help with the payment to any claimants.  

Viserys II removed the widely unpopular law the moment he took the throne after Baelor's passing due to sickness.  The new king distributed the second clutch of eggs laid by Baelor's dragon to those with any Targaryen blood.  All but one of the eggs from the first clutch failed to hatch.  The dragon that hatched favored the first son of Aegon, Daeron, to the dismay of Aegon.  It wasn't long however, until yet another egg hatched.  An egg placed into the cradle of Aegon's first bastard, Daemon hatched and bonded with the boy.  Two more eggs from the second batch hatched without taking to a rider.  With Baelor dead the gold and white dragon's visits to the Dragonpit became few and farther between.  When a Aegon IV became king, he swore he would mount the great beast that Baelor had brought back and conquer Dorne.  Prince Daeron horrified to hear of his father's declaration, spoke against it, as he and the prince of Dorne were fast friends.  Rumors spread that Daeron had vowed to the Dornish prince that he'd mount his own dragon to defend Dorne from his father.  Aegon called his son back to answer for his crimes of treason, however the king had no proof and the charges faltered.    

The great gold and white dragon's third and last clutch of eggs were laid in the Dragonpit the same day Aegon attempted to mount the beast.  Accustomed to the guards around the pit the dragon was relatively calm, they were the ones that brought it food during its stays.  This allowed the king to get close enough to the dragon to attempt and mount it.  The attempt to mount the dragon ended in failure.  Baelor's golden dragon nearly bit off the head of Aegon the Unworthy when rose up and spun around.  The pudgy king lost his balance just avoiding the dragon's dagger like fangs.  Aegon fell to the floor of the pit landing solidly on his backside.  Reeling around the golden dragon went dove down toward the king, as he rolled on the floor shouting and cursing.  One of the members of the Kingsguard jumped in front of the beast with his shield in front of him.  The dragon, focused on only the one attempting to ride him didn't notice the knights closing in.  A loud clunk sound reverberated as the large dragons head smashed into the steel shield.  The shield bent backwards, in around the knight as the weight of the dragon caved in his plate armor, killing him instantly.  Stunned by the blow to its head the dragon hesitated just long enough for several of the knights to get spears and sword into the dragons back and legs.  The dragon roar sounded more like a blood curdling cry as it struck out.  Despite being in the middle of its death throes the beast was able to take two more lives.  One of the knights was nearly cleaved in half, plate and all by the dragon's mighty claws.  The dragon's horns skewered the other knight through both his shield and plate.

Three eggs hatched from the dragon's final clutch. With his plans dashed the Unworthy King relied heavily upon the alchemist guild. Aegon had the guild build him large wooden dragons filled with wildfire, with intending to taking them to Dorne. The costly venture took much of the crowns treasury, especially after the costly compensation law passed by Baelor. Barely enough coin was left to run the realm when Daeron advised his father to sell the dragon eggs that turned to stone. Aegon was utterly insulted by the advice he received from his son. The king took it as an insult to not only the Targaryen line but also as an insult to his plans to conquer Dorne. Instead of listening to the advice of his son the resentful king threw away the eggs into the Kingswood. He ordered his troops to head for Dorne with the massive wildfire filled dragons in tow. Something went horribly wrong and both a large part of the Kingswood and many of his solider burned. One of the containers of wildfire must have broken open and the volatile substance somehow ignited. Blood and fire spilled upon the stone dragon eggs that day.

[GM]

Good King Daeron Targaryen had a difficult but successful reign. The start of his problems began when Daeron's father, Aegon IV (The Unworthy) decided to legitimize many of his bastards. Tensions in realm became thick with the death-bed declaration. To further push the limits the wild dragons multiplied at an astounding rate. It wouldn't be hard to imagine the kind of devastation a large population of feral dragons could bring. Fortunately two of Daeron's sons ended up bonding with dragons. The oldest, Prince Baelor and the youngest, Prince Maekar. Daeron used the tamed dragons in his and his families possession to attempt to slow the growth of the wild population. The king sent the able-bodied riders out to slay the feral beasts. One or two dragons a month was the best the dragon riders could manage. They were much more effective than the wild beasts but the wild ones were far more.

Daeron enacted a declaration that added dragon hunting as a tourney event. Droves of knights were slain attempting to slay the larger adult dragons however they soon learned it was much easier to slay a nest full of hatchlings. Even slaying a clutch of hatchlings came with its fair amount of consequences, as enraged dragons would often attack villages. The programs were making headway in reducing the over all number but the dragons could live for a very long time. Massive dragons prowled the skies, likely directly hatched from the original two dragons that escaped the Dragonpit. These mighty beasts required special treatment when hunting them down. Dragon riders would be forced to lure the creatures towards a castle equipped with scorpions that then would rain down bolts upon the unsuspecting beast. It was always ended in fire and blood. Even if the large dragons were gravely wounded, they fought back with scorching fire and great ferocity.

Sensing the disorder in the realm one of Aegon IV's bastards saw an opportunity to take the kingdom. Aegor Rivers, better know as "Bitter Steel", attempted to steal the dragon from Prince Baelor. The attempt failed when another of the bastard, Brynden fought him. Aegor took one of Brynden's eyes and managed to escape with several un-hatched dragon eggs. In secret Bitter Steel moved from one place to another garnering support from various lords. The lords wouldn't and weren't pledging for Aegor but they did for Daemon Blackfyre. Daemon was more impressive than Daeron and he was the one Aegon IV passed on the family sword too. When Aegon legitimized his bastards he planted the seeds of doubt and confusion into the minds of more than one lord.

Daemon hosted his half-brother in his hall, the army he had gathered ready to strike. Blood Raven (Brynden Rivers) amassed a host outside of the Blackfyre fortress, demanding Daemon release Bitter Steel into his custody for trial. The Blackfyre bastard refused to release his brother while he was still under his protection. Aegor used the time to tell Daemon of the situation and all the lords that were willing to back him if he were to put a claim forth. Daemon took a walk to clear his head and weigh his options. He came upon his dragon, saddled and ready to fly at a moments notice. There were others he kept that had hatched from clutches his dragon laid. Surely if he had to, he could match at least a few of them to riders. Daemon knew the cost and it was far too great.

When Daemon returned his servants informed him that the army Bitter Steel had formed, was surrounding the enemy forces. It was a trap all along, Bitter Steel allowed intelligence of his visit get to Blood Raven, to lure the Hand of the King in place for the trap. He was livid with his half brothers. Both were out there, trying to kill the other without realizing the consequences. Daemon forbid the army, gathered in his name to attack Brynden and his forces. They were still brothers after all. Within the hour King Daeron arrived aback his dragon with reinforcements at his rear. Daemon hated the fact they forced him into the situation but none the less he mounted his dragon. A shudder went through both sides as two dragons soared through the skies. It appeared as if the dragons would once again dance. Daemon's approached slowly so his brother didn't respond rashly. Coming to a stop before his half-brother, Daemon pointed up before ascending. The two dragons flew high into the air. They flew above even the clouds themselves. When the two came down from the clouds, Daeron had Blackfyre in his hand. Oddly enough, Daemon's scabbard was full, as if the two had traded swords.

Daemon gave up Blackfyre and ended the rebellion in return for Dark Sister as well as reduced punishment for Bitter Steel and some of the lords that supported him. Instead of imprisonment or death, exile to Essos awaited Bitter Steel. Most of the lords received light punishments for their treasons. Some lost castles or land, while chose execution or the black to save their family holdings. It was a rebellion in which no one died in combat nor was any shots fired. The threat of mutual annihilation was far too great for Daemon to risk a claim to the throne. If there was a way to remove the dragons, then just maybe, Daemon would have rebelled.

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