Work Text:
The Mad Wolf
By
Samwell Tarly
While the famous proverb that "madness and greatness are two sides of the same coin" is most commonly associated with House Targaryen, few men in the history of Westeros embodied that saying more completely than Jon Snow, the infamous former bastard of Winterfell. In equal measure, he would come to be regarded as one of the greatest statesmen the Seven Kingdoms ever produced and one of the most eccentric men ever to walk its soil.
Jon Snow was born during the final days of Robert's Rebellion as the natural son of Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell and a woman whose identity remains one of the great mysteries of our time. Few questions have inspired more speculation among lords, maesters, and smallfolk alike than the matter of Jon Snow's mother. Theories abound, ranging from a nameless camp follower to women of the highest birth.
For my own part, I find it most likely that Jon Snow was born of Lady Ashara Dayne of Starfall.
The chronology aligns remarkably well. The earliest reliable accounts of Jon Snow coincide with Lord Eddard's return from Dorne following his victory at the now-infamous Tower of Joy. Lord Stark journeyed to Starfall to return the ancestral sword, Dawn, to House Dayne. It is not difficult to imagine that during this visit, he would reunite with Ashara Dayne, a woman long rumored to have shared a romance with him during the Tourney at Harrenhal.
It is therefore possible that Lady Ashara revealed to Lord Eddard that Jon was the child of their earlier affection. Being a man renowned throughout the realm for his devotion to honor, Lord Stark may have resolved to raise the boy himself rather than leave him to an uncertain fate.
If such a tale is true, it renders the tragedy all the greater. Ashara Dayne had already suffered the loss of her beloved brother, Ser Arthur Dayne, at the Tower of Joy. She had witnessed the destruction of House Targaryen and the brutal murders of Princess Elia Martell and her children, among her closest companions. Burdened by grief upon grief, she may well have found life unbearable and cast herself into the sea. After hearing her former lover's intention of taking her son from her.
Yet all this remains speculation. Despite decades of whispered court gossip and endless debate in castle halls across Westeros, the truth of Jon Snow's parentage remains concealed. Only Lord Eddard Stark knew the answer with certainty, and he carried that knowledge to his grave. Jon Snow himself proved no less secretive, maintaining throughout his life the same silence that had characterized his father's.
The appearance of Jon Snow alongside lord Stark, acknowledging him as his bastard, and his intention of raising Jon in Winterfell would cause no small amount of scandal. At nearly the same time, Lord Stark's first trueborn son, Robb Stark, would be born. While having a bastard and acknowledging them is not something unusual, having a bastard raised alongside his half-sibling would be considered highly unusual. The decision greatly angered House Tully. Lord Hoster Tully is said to have regarded the matter as a grave insult to his daughter, while Lady Catelyn Stark never reconciled herself to the arrangement.
The resulting tensions were so severe that Lord Eddard spent little time with either his wife or his young sons for three years. In addition to the difficulties with House Tully, he was occupied by his duties in King's Landing after King Robert Baratheon appointed him Master of Laws. Consequently, Jon spent the first years of his life within the Red Keep.
These early years would prove formative. Raised amidst the intrigues and pageantry of the royal court, Jon received the beginnings of the education expected of a highborn noble. He became familiar with letters, music, courtly customs, and the often-unspoken rules by which power was exercised in the capital.
Only after Lord Eddard and Lady Catelyn reached a fragile reconciliation did the Stark family finally return to Winterfell, bringing the young Jon north with them.
Even in childhood, Jon displayed the qualities that would later define both his greatness and his peculiarities. Contemporary accounts suggest that he possessed a natural talent for music, martial pursuits, and the study of warfare. Yet alongside these gifts existed a melancholy disposition and a fierce temper that appeared at unexpected moments.
Among the more curious tales preserved from his youth is his attachment to a black tomcat he discovered in the Red Keep. Jon named the creature Balerion, after the Black Dread, and was often found conversing with it as though it were a trusted companion. Though such behaviour might be dismissed as childish fancy, it would later be cited by his detractors as evidence of the eccentricity for which he would become famous.
Indeed, it was this reputation that Lady Catelyn Stark would eventually use in her efforts to remove Jon from Winterfell. Whether motivated by concern for her children's inheritance or by simple resentment, she persistently urged Lord Eddard to find another home for his bastard son.
Her efforts met with success when Jon reached the age of eight. It was decided that he would be fostered with Lord Howland Reed of Greywater Watch.
Few decisions could have pleased Lady Catelyn more. The Crannogmen dwelt deep within the Neck, a land of bogs and marches. Even among the Northmen, they remained an isolated people, seldom seen and little understood. To foster Jon with House Reed seemed an ideal means of removing him from Winterfell and consigning him to obscurity.
In this, however, Lady Catelyn's hopes would prove mistaken.
Far from causing the realm to forget Jon Snow, his fostering with the Reeds would provide him with his first opportunity to distinguish himself. Indeed, it was in the Neck that the boy first entered the chronicles of Westeros.
Jon's fostering under Lord Howland Reed coincided with the outbreak of the Greyjoy Rebellion, when Balon Greyjoy, Lord Reaper of Pyke, rose in revolt against the Iron Throne. As the banners of the North were summoned to answer King Robert Baratheon's call, Lord Eddard marched south with his levies, bringing the young Jon as far as Moat Cailin before continuing to join the royal host.
Even before the northern banners had fully assembled, Lord Eddard made the prudent decision to appoint Lord Howland Reed as Castellan of Moat Cailin. Few choices made during the rebellion would prove wiser. No man in Westeros knew the Neck as intimately as the crannogmen, whose people had inhabited its marshes and bogs since the Age of Heroes. Moreover, Moat Cailin was the sole reliable land passage between the North and the rest of the Seven Kingdoms. Should the fortress fall, the northern host would risk being cut off from its homeland, while supplies and reinforcements would struggle to pass without the Moat.
The journey from Winterfell to Moat Cailin passed without incident. Throughout the march, Jon served as his father's cupbearer. He attended councils of war, listened as the great lords debated strategy, witnessed disputes between bannermen, and observed firsthand the quiet authority with which Lord Eddard governed his followers.
Only a few days after Jon's arrival at Moat Cailin, the northern host would march south to join King Robert. It was then that the Ironborn struck.
A powerful raiding force commanded by Dunstan Drumm sailed into the Neck with the intention of capturing Moat Cailin and severing the vital line of communication between the North and the armies campaigning farther south. Had the attack succeeded, Lord Eddard would likely have needed to return to the North to liberate the moat. For nearly a month, the Ironborn sought to take the fortress. Time and again they assaulted its defences, only to be repulsed with heavy losses. Yet the Crannogmen lacked the strength to destroy the invaders outright, while the Ironborn proved too stubborn to abandon their objective.
The siege finally came to an end when news reached Dunstan Drumm of the royal fleet's victory over the Iron Fleet off Fair Isle. Recognizing that without the iron fleet, the way to the Iron Islands is open for an invasion, he ordered a withdrawal of forces toward the Iron Islands.
At this point, Lord Howland and Jon Snow reached a conclusion that would alter the latter's life forever.
They judged that Drumm's fleet could not be allowed to escape. Should the Ironborn rejoin their countrymen, they might yet hinder King Robert's planned invasion of the Iron Islands. Accordingly, the Crannogmen launched a relentless campaign against the retreating enemy.
Using their intimate knowledge of the Neck's waterways, the Reeds harried the ironborn day and night. Their shallow-bottomed boats moved swiftly through channels inaccessible to larger vessels. Ambush followed ambush, and with each passing day, the number of ironborn ships dwindled.
The pursuit culminated in a final engagement against Dunstan Drumm's flagship. Though still only a boy, Jon Snow fought in the battle with remarkable ferocity. Accounts differ regarding the precise details, as many later tales have undoubtedly been embellished, but all agree on the outcome.
During the fighting, Jon slew Dunstan Drumm in single combat and, with his death, would mark the end of the Ironborn's attempted invasion of Moat Cailin. More importantly, Jon claimed the fallen lord’s ancestral Valyrian steel sword, Red Rain, a prize of immense value and prestige.
Thus, at only eight years of age, Jon Snow achieved the feat that first brought his name to the attention of the wider realm. What had begun as an attempt to remove a troublesome bastard from Winterfell instead marked the beginning of one of the most extraordinary careers in the history of the Seven Kingdoms.
Jon would spend the next six years fostered under Lord Howland Reed. Unfortunately, the crannogmen are a notoriously private people, and surviving accounts of Jon's time in the Neck are frustratingly scarce.
Under Howland's guidance, Jon studied a remarkably diverse range of subjects. He learned the duties of lordship and governance, the management of households and supplies, and the arts of diplomacy necessary to maintain peace among quarrelsome bannermen. Yet his education extended far beyond what most young nobles received.
The crannogmen taught him how to navigate by the stars alone, how to survive in hostile terrain, and how to read the signs of weather and season. He learned to pole boats through marshes, identify edible plants, and recognize the tracks of men and beasts alike. Some sources even suggest he gained knowledge of herbs and poisons, though whether this was for healing or other purposes remains uncertain.
More curious still are the rumors surrounding his studies. Some claim that Howland Reed instructed Jon in the ancient lore of the First Men, while others insist he was taught secrets preserved from the days before the coming of the Andals. There are even tales that Jon learned certain mysteries associated with the children of the forest themselves. As with so many matters concerning both Jon Snow and Lord Howland Reed, the truth remains impossible to determine. Jon himself never elaborated upon such stories, and those few who questioned him on the matter found him either evasive or silent.
Whatever the truth of these stories, the results of Lord Reed's tutelage were undeniable. By the age of fourteen, Jon Snow possessed a breadth of knowledge uncommon even among the heirs of great houses. More importantly, he had developed a restless curiosity that would define much of his youth.
At the age of fourteen, Jon announced his intention to travel throughout the Seven Kingdoms. After sending a raven to Winterfell informing Lord Eddard of his plans, he departed Greywater Watch and began what would become one of the most remarkable tours ever undertaken by a noble youth.
His travels first brought him to the Riverlands, where he spent considerable time exploring Harrenhal. Numerous accounts place him wandering the vast castle's abandoned halls and towers, often accompanied only by servants or maesters willing to discuss its history and story.
From Harrenhal, he journeyed around the shores of the Gods Eye. Jon became fascinated by the lake's history and by the legends surrounding the Isle of Faces. Though no reliable account confirms that he ever visited the island itself, rumors persisted for decades that he somehow managed the feat. Characteristically, Jon neither confirmed nor denied the stories.
From the Gods Eye, he traveled to Raventree Hall, where his fascination with the history of the First Men found eager listeners among House Blackwood. Several surviving records mention lengthy discussions between Jon, Lord Tytos Blackwood, and the household maester concerning the Age of Heroes, the Andal migrations, and the remarkable survival of the Blackwoods' ancient faith and culture amidst a region long dominated by the Seven and Andal.
His journey next carried him to Crackclaw Point. Most highborn youths would have avoided such a remote and rugged region, but Jon had always displayed an unusual preference for places overlooked by others. He spent many months among the fisherfolk and petty lords of the peninsula, collecting stories and studying local customs.
Afterward, he journeyed to King's Landing before continuing south into the Reach and ultimately to Oldtown, where he arrived at the Citadel.
What was initially intended to be a brief visit soon became a stay of nearly two years.
There, Jon immersed himself in study with a dedication that astonished many of the archmaesters. By the time he departed Oldtown, he had forged six links of a maester's chain in history, warfare, geography, languages, mathematics, and agriculture. Achievement remarkable enough for a full-time acolyte, let alone a traveling nobleman.
Yet even this accomplishment was overshadowed by another curiosity.
Unlike virtually every other noble who had studied at the Citadel, Jon did not reside among the acolytes. Instead, he lived within the Hightower itself as a guest of House Hightower. The arrangement surprised many. Not even Prince Aemon Targaryen had been afforded such an honor during his years at the Citadel.
More astonishing still was the fact that Jon's residence in the Hightower had been personally approved by Lord Leyton Hightower himself.
The reasons behind Lord Leyton's favor remain unclear. Some suggest the old lord recognized exceptional promise in the young Stark bastard. Others believe Jon's growing reputation as a scholar and warrior had already begun to attract attention among the great houses of the realm. A few, naturally, have proposed more fanciful explanations involving Lord Leyton's supposed fascination with prophecy and the higher mysteries and with Jon spending his time in the Neck among the Cranogman it is possible jon has knowledge on the higher mysteries. Whatever the truth, the arrangement granted Jon opportunities unavailable to most students.
While pursuing his studies at the Citadel, he continued his martial training under the guidance of knights in Hightower service. As a result, he emerged from Oldtown as accomplished with sword and lance as he was with books and scrolls.
The arrangement also allowed him to participate in the many tournaments held throughout the Reach. Indeed, these tourneys became his primary source of income during his years of travel. Though still too young to compete among the great knights of the realm, he entered numerous contests open to squires and young men-at-arms.
His success was considerable.
Records indicate that Jon accumulated a respectable fortune through prize purses, ransoms, and gifts. His greatest triumph came during the grand King's Landing tourney celebrating the reign of King Robert Baratheon, where he emerged victorious in the competitions for squires and younger competitors, winning prizes sponsored by the King, Queen, Prince, and Hand alike.
By the time his travels came to an end, Jon had amassed a surprisingly substantial personal fortune—an unusual achievement for a fourth-born son, let alone a bastard.
His departure from Oldtown was marked by yet another distinction.
Shortly before he left the city, Jon was knighted by Ser Baelor Hightower. The honor was bestowed not as a reward for a single deed but in recognition of years of study, martial excellence, and personal conduct. Many contemporaries regarded the knighthood as a parting gift from House Hightower, though some later argued that it reflected the growing belief among those who knew him that Jon Snow was destined for greatness.
Thus, when he finally returned to the North, he did so transformed from the curious boy who had left it years before. He returned as a knight, a scholar who had forged six links at the Citadel, a seasoned traveler who had crossed much of Westeros, and a man possessed of wealth and experiences far beyond those of most youths of his age.
He was only sixteen years old.
Jon's return to the North proved far less remarkable than his celebrated journey through the southern kingdoms, though by the standards of ordinary men it remained an adventure in its own right.
Rather than travel overland, Jon elected to return by sea, securing passage aboard a merchant vessel sailing from Oldtown to the recently founded port city of Winterhold, situated at the mouth of the great river that cut through the Stony Shore and connected the region to the Rills.
The voyage carried him along much of the western coast of Westeros. The ship docked at the Shield Islands, Lannisport, and even stopped briefly at Harlaw in the Iron Islands before finally reaching the North.
It was during the stop at the Shield Islands that I, Samwell Tarly, personally saw the sort of recklessness that would become a recurring feature throughout Jon's life.
While staying with Oakenshield, he seduced the eldest daughter of Lord Humfrey Hewett. More scandalously still, he departed the islands in the company of Falia Flowers, Lord Humfrey's bastard daughter. The affair caused considerable outrage once it became known. Lord Humfrey reportedly swore vengeance upon the young snow, though by the time the truth reached him, Jon had already sailed beyond his reach.
His stay in Lannisport proved no less eventful.
At the time, the city was hosting a grand tournament in celebration of Lord Tywin Lannister's nameday. Jon entered the lists and, to the astonishment of many, succeeded in unhorsing Ser Jaime Lannister during one of the tilts.
Whether this defeat truly embarrassed the Kingslayer is impossible to say. Jaime himself rarely spoke of the event. Nevertheless, the victory earned Jon a substantial purse, which he promptly collected before departing the city with remarkable haste. Since it would soon be discovered that Jon somehow slept with Tywin Lannister's brother's widow, Darlessa Marbrand.
Compared to these adventures, Jon's time upon Harlaw was positively uneventful.
He spent the majority of his stay in the company of Lord Rodrik Harlaw, known throughout the islands as the Reader. The two reportedly discussed history, geography, and books for days on end. Though separated by age and station, they shared a mutual love of knowledge that would lead to a lifelong friendship.
Eventually, Jon departed the Iron Islands and continued northward, arriving at Winterhold. The friendship that Jon would develop with Lord Rodrik Harlaw and Tyrion Lannister would be among the many casualties of the Anarchy.
Jon had first made the dwarf's acquaintance during the tourney in Lannisport, and despite the vast differences in their birth and circumstances, the two found much common ground. After all, while Tyrion is a trueborn and Jon is a bastard, with Tyrion being a dwarf, many, especially Tywin, consider him not better than a bastard. It is said that they debated history, philosophy, engineering, and the governance of kingdoms long into the night.
Had the realm known peace, Lord Rodrik Harlaw, Tyrion Lannister, and Jon Stark might well continue their friendship. Instead, the Anarchy placed each man upon opposing sides of the conflict.
Though still the youngest city in Westeros, Winterhold was already showing signs of prosperity. Founded in the aftermath of the Greyjoy Rebellion, much of its population consisted of former thralls liberated from the Iron Islands. These freed men and women had settled the region in large numbers, working as farmers, fishermen, craftsmen, and shipwrights. Their labor transformed what had once been a sparsely inhabited coastline into one of the fastest-growing settlements in the North.
Upon his arrival, Jon was welcomed by the city's lord, his uncle Benjen Stark, and Lady Dacey Mormont, along with their children. After spending several days in Winterhold, Jon journeyed onward to Winterfell to reunite with Lord Eddard and the rest of House Stark.
This reunion would prove to be one of the most significant moments of his life. No one knows why or how, but somehow Jon was able to convince his lord father to make him lord of Sea Dragon Point, with a message being dispatched to King's Landing requesting that King Robert formally legitimize Jon Snow, thereby granting him full legal standing as a member of House Stark.
The decision provoked considerable controversy.
Lady Catelyn Stark was reportedly furious upon learning of the arrangement. Yet if she hoped to oppose it, she found little opportunity to do so. Jon departed Winterfell only hours after the announcement and immediately set about establishing his new domain.
Sea Dragon Point had once been home to the ancient stronghold of the Warg King, long abandoned and fallen into ruin. Jon selected this site as the foundation of his lordship and began rebuilding the fortress while simultaneously constructing a port town nearby.
The choice was an inspired one.
A naturally sheltered harbor lay close to the ancient stronghold, making the location ideal for trade and naval development. Recognizing this potential, Jon immediately began attracting settlers. Invitations were sent throughout the mountain clans and the clans of the Wolfswood, offering land and opportunity to any willing to relocate.
Thousands accepted.
Yet even this influx of settlers failed to satisfy Jon's ambitions. Seeking experienced sailors, he traveled personally to Skagos and invited many of the island's inhabitants to settle within his lands. The Skagosi, long isolated from the affairs of mainland Westeros, proved particularly valuable. Jon viewed them as the foundation upon which his navy could eventually be built.
At the same time, Lord Eddard entrusted him with assisting the ongoing resettlement of the New Gift. This territory represented one of the many rewards granted to House Stark following the Robert's Rebellion. Alongside the restoration of northern authority over the New Gift, King Robert had exempted the North from royal taxation for the duration of Eddard Stark's life. He had also granted city charters to Winterhold and several other growing settlements while approving Jon's eventual legitimization.
Indeed, Robert Baratheon's generosity toward House Stark was remarkable even by the standards of royal favor. Many historians attribute this not merely to personal friendship but also to Lord Eddard's invaluable service as Master of Laws.
In truth, the years Eddard Stark spent upon the Small Council formed one of the foundations of the peace that characterized much of Robert's reign. Working alongside his foster father, Lord Jon Arryn, Eddard helped consolidate Baratheon authority throughout the Seven Kingdoms in the difficult years following the rebellion.
Particularly important was the pacification of former Targaryen loyalists.
In Dorne, Lord Eddard successfully negotiated with House Martell to prevent open rebellion. Through a combination of concessions, reduced taxation, and justice for the crimes committed during the Sack of King's Landing, he helped secure Dornish loyalty to the new regime. Most notably, Ser Gregor Clegane's head was delivered to Sunspear, while the still-living Ser Amory Lorch was surrendered to Dornish justice.
Elsewhere, Eddard pursued reconciliation rather than vengeance. He successfully negotiated with Ser Willem Darry and other loyalist factions to preserve House Targaryen's position as Lords Paramount of Dragonstone, albeit under conditions favorable to the Iron Throne. The marriages of Targaryen heirs would thereafter require royal approval, ensuring that the dynasty remained integrated into the new political order.
Combined with Jon Arryn's administrative reforms, these policies helped make sure that, for the most part, Robert's reign would be peaceful. Yet the time was fast approaching when Jon Stark would earn the reputation for which he is remembered to this day: a man regarded by many as one of the greatest statesmen in Westerosi history and by nearly as many as one of its maddest.
For almost a year and a half, Jon devoted himself to the development of Sea Dragon Point. The ancient stronghold of the Warg King slowly rose from its ruins, while the port town beneath it expanded with remarkable speed. The defensive walls had been completed, the harbor fortified, and many of the principal buildings finished before events elsewhere in the realm brought his efforts to an abrupt halt.
The conflict that followed would later become known as the Anarchy. The death of King Robert Baratheon plunged the Seven Kingdoms into chaos. As Hand of the King, Lord Eddard Stark discovered that the king's supposed heirs were in truth the product of Queen Cersei Lannister's incestuous relationship with her twin brother, Ser Jaime Lannister.
When Lord Eddard attempted to expose the deception, he found himself betrayed by the City Watch. Rather than securing the succession in Robert's name, he was seized by men loyal to the queen and imprisoned within the Red Keep.
The consequences were immediate.
While the court descended into fear and distrust, House Lannister moved with characteristic speed. Lord Tywin Lannister unleashed his armies upon the Riverlands, devastating the countryside and attacking lands sworn to House Tully. Faced with the imprisonment of his father and the invasion of his grandfather's domain, Robb Stark called the banners of the North.
It was during these early days of the war that Jon firmly established himself as Robb's closest advisor. Before the northern host departed Winterfell, Jon persuaded Robb to strengthen his position through marriage. At Jon's recommendation, Robb wed Wynafryd Manderly, eldest daughter of Lord Wyman Manderly. The match secured the loyalty of the wealthiest house in the North and tied White Harbor's immense resources directly to the Stark cause.
Equally important was Jon's recommendation that Lord Wyman remain in Winterfell rather than returning to White Harbour. While Robb marched to war, Wyman Manderly would assist Rickon and Sansa Stark in governing Winterfell, overseeing taxation, recruitment, logistics, and trade. Though lacking the glory of battle, these measures would prove essential in sustaining the Northern war effort.
Jon's next recommendation demonstrated the influence his time in the Neck would have. Knowing that any southern campaign would eventually require crossing the Green Fork, he urged Robb to send word to Lord Howland Reed and request that the crannogmen search for alternative crossings. For centuries, House Frey had enjoyed immense leverage because the Twins represented the most practical crossing point in the region. Jon sought to remove that advantage before negotiations ever began.
By the time the northern army reached Moat Cailin, Howland Reed's scouts had already identified several hidden routes through the marshes and lesser crossings of the Green Fork. This discovery would dramatically alter the course of the campaign.
The strategy adopted by the Stark brothers was deceptively simple. Jon would command a substantial portion of the northern host and engage Lord Tywin Lannister directly. Meanwhile, Robb would lead a smaller but faster force across the river and move swiftly to relieve Riverrun.
The result was the twin victories that first announced the arrival of House Stark as a major force in the war.
The first engagement would become known as the Battle of the Green Fork.
Despite being outnumbered, Jon skillfully exploited the terrain and the mobility of his forces. Rather than seeking a straightforward clash, he repeatedly forced Tywin to react to feints, false reports, and sudden maneuvers. Crannogmen scouts and northern outriders constantly harassed Lannister foraging parties and disrupted communications between various elements of the western host.
For several days, the campaign resembled a contest of wits more than a traditional battle.
Tywin Lannister, one of the finest commanders of his generation, quickly realized that Jon had no intention of allowing himself to be pinned down. Whenever the Lannisters attempted to force a decisive engagement, Jon would withdraw to stronger ground. Whenever Tywin redeployed, northern cavalry would strike at isolated units or supply trains.
The final battle occurred near a series of wooded ridges overlooking the Green Fork. Believing he had finally trapped the northern army, Tywin launched an aggressive assault against what appeared to be Jon's main position.
The attack proved a costly mistake.
Jon had deliberately concealed much of his strength behind the ridges and forests. As the Lannister center advanced, northern infantry fixed them in place while cavalry struck both flanks. The fighting was fierce and often chaotic, but the decisive moment came with the death of Ser Kevan Lannister.
Accounts differ regarding the details. Some claim Jon slew Kevan personally during a cavalry charge. Others insist Kevan was killed by Ghost Jon Snow's direwolves or one of his pack. Whatever the truth, Kevan's death shattered Lannister morale and transformed what might have been a hard-fought victory into a disastrous defeat.
Although Lord Tywin succeeded in withdrawing much of his army in good order, he had still lost a considerable amount of his soldiers, and once news reached him of the defeat of his son in Riverrun, he would be forced to retreat from the Riverland and escape to kingslanding.
Robb Stark's campaign would become known as the Battle of the Whispering Wood , though many singers prefer the more romantic title of the Liberation of Riverrun. Robb's advance caught the western armies entirely by surprise. Using guides familiar with the Riverlands, he maneuvered around enemy positions and isolated the forces besieging Riverrun.
The most famous action occurred within the Whispering Wood itself. There, under the cover of darkness and dense forest, Robb's forces ambushed Ser Jaime Lannister and his household knights. The fighting was brutal and confused. Several prominent northern lords lost sons and heirs during the struggle, but the outcome was decisive. Jaime's escort was annihilated, and the Kingslayer himself was captured after a desperate fight.
Yet the victory in the Whispering Wood was only the beginning.
With Jaime captured, the northern army immediately turned upon the unsuspecting siege camps surrounding Riverrun. The attack came from multiple directions and struck before the western commanders fully understood what had happened in the forest.
The Lannister camps were overrun, thousands of men were killed or captured, and the siege of Riverrun collapsed entirely. The victory not only secured one of the most important strongholds in the Riverlands but also marked a deeply personal triumph for House Stark.
With the liberation of Riverrun, Robb Stark was reunited with both his grandfather, Lord Hoster Tully, and his younger brother Bran Stark, who had spent the previous two years fostered at Riverrun. The reunion was reportedly an emotional one, occurring amidst the celebrations that followed the lifting of the siege.
Yet the occasion was overshadowed by the grim realities of war.
Ser Edmure Tully, the only son of Lord Hoster, had fallen during the opening days of the Lannister invasion while attempting to organize the defense of the Riverlands. His death left House Tully without a direct male heir and forced Lord Hoster to confront the question of succession.
The aging Lord of Riverrun wasted little time in reaching his decision.
Before the assembled riverlords, Hoster Tully formally declared Bran Stark his heir. Through his mother, Lady Catelyn Stark, Bran possessed the strongest remaining claim to House Tully's inheritance, and with Edmure dead, there existed no rival claimant capable of matching his legitimacy.
The near-simultaneous victories at the Green Fork and Riverrun stunned the Seven Kingdoms.
Within the span of only a few days, House Lannister had lost Ser Jaime to captivity, Ser Kevan to death, and its grip over the Riverlands had been broken. What many had expected to be a brief war now threatened to become a prolonged struggle.
For Jon Stark, however, the victories carried a deeper significance.
The campaigns demonstrated many of the qualities that would define his later career. Leveraging logistics, intelligence, and careful planning allowed him to create circumstances in which victory became inevitable.
These methods would bring him extraordinary success in the years to come. They would also earn him no shortage of enemies.
Yet despite the victories at the Green Fork and Riverrun, the war was only beginning. Indeed, one could argue that the true war had not yet started, and the trigger of a wider conflict would happen. Upon the steps of the Great Sept of Baelor. When King Joffrey Baratheon ordered the execution of Lord Eddard Stark, he did more than murder the lord of one of the great houses in the Seven Kingdoms. He transformed a political conflict into a blood feud.
Witnesses claim that with his final breath, Eddard Stark proclaimed Joffrey, Tommen, and Myrcella to be bastards born of incest between Queen Cersei Lannister and Ser Jaime Lannister. Whether those words convinced the realm mattered little.
What mattered was that Eddard Stark died speaking them.
His death would unleash a storm unlike any seen since Aegon Conquest, with the Westerlands bearing the full force of that storm. In the years that followed, many men would compare Jon Stark's invasion of the Westerlands to the campaigns of the Dragonlords against the Rhoynar.
Such comparisons are, of course, exaggerated. Yet after studying the surviving records, I find it difficult to dismiss them entirely. For a brief and terrible period, death itself seemed to ride beside Jon Stark.
As Bran was still a boy, Robb ruled the Riverlands in his brother's name. He served as Lord Regent, while Ser Brynden Tully—the famed Blackfish—was appointed Lord Protector and entrusted with the kingdom's military defense.
During this period, there were also numerous calls from northern lords to proclaim Robb King in the North. Such sentiments were understandable. Lord Eddard Stark had been executed by Joffrey Baratheon, the North had carried the burden of much of the war, and northern armies had won victory after victory against the Lannisters. Many believed the time had come to restore the ancient Kingdom of Winter.
Yet Robb, after discussing it with Jon, would be cautious of the proposal. Since both understood the strategic realities confronting him. The Lannisters are still a significant threat despite their defeats. The Reach remained largely untouched by the war and could field armies greater than those of the North and Riverlands combined. Stannis and Renly Baratheon each commanded substantial hosts, while the outcome of the struggle for King's Landing remained uncertain.
To declare independence at such a moment would be foolish, and for a time, Robb Stark remained content to rule as regent of the Riverlands while continuing the war against House Lannister.
In hindsight, this decision demonstrated a political maturity often overlooked by later generations. Many remember Robb as a warrior and battlefield commander. Far fewer appreciate that, during the early years of the Anarchy, he displayed a degree of restraint uncommon among victorious lords.
Jon was given command of a separate host and dispatched westward while Robb secured the Riverland. The assignment appeared simple enough: raid the Westerlands and force House Lannister to divert forces away from the Riverlands.
Instead, Jon sought nothing less than the complete devastation of the region. The first sign of his intentions came at the Golden Tooth. Rather than assault the fortress directly, Jon bypassed it entirely through a treacherous goat path believed to be impassable for an army. When his host emerged behind the western defenses, panic spread through the region.
The army of Ser Steffon Lannister hurried to intercept him.
It ceased to exist.
The battle itself lasted less than half a day. Thousands died where they stood. The survivors broke and fled westward, carrying tales of northern warriors appearing from the mountains like vengeful spirits.
Then the burning began. Village after village disappeared in smoke. Storehouses were emptied or destroyed. Mines were flooded, and fields approaching harvest were put to the torch. Roads became clogged with refugees dragging what few possessions they could carry.
Jon's soldiers advanced relentlessly.
Whenever a settlement resisted, it was destroyed.
Whenever a castle refused to surrender, its lands were ravaged.
Whenever supplies were discovered, they were seized or burned.
The campaign quickly evolved beyond conventional warfare.
Jon was not attempting to defeat the Westerlands.
He was attempting to destroy them.
Records shows entire villages abandoning their homes at the mere rumor that Jon Stark's banners had been sighted nearby.
As refugees streamed toward Lannisport, they believed they were escaping the war. Instead, they carried it with them. The destruction of Lannisport remains one of the most horrifying events of the age.
Having no siege engines and unwilling to spend months starving the city into submission, Jon chose a solution that even today causes maesters to debate whether brilliance and madness are truly distinguishable.
Thousands of birds were gathered from the surrounding countryside.
To each was attached a small bundle of sulfur, pitch, and oil.
When released, they returned to their nests throughout the city.
Soon afterward, fires erupted across Lannisport.
Then came the wind.
The flames spread with terrifying speed. Entire streets vanished behind walls of smoke. Warehouses exploded into infernos. Merchant fleets burned in their harbors. Families attempting to escape were trapped beneath collapsing buildings or consumed by fire before they could reach safety.
Panic became slaughter.
Those fleeing through the city gates found northern soldiers waiting beyond them.
Those fleeing toward the harbor found burning ships and choking waters.
Those who remained within the city faced the flames.
For three days and three nights, Lannisport burned.
The fires were reportedly visible from Casterly Rock itself.
To this day, Western songs speak of red skies over the Sunset Sea.
The exact number of dead will never be known.
The catastrophe forced the garrison of Casterly Rock into action.
Determined to save what remained of the city, a large force marched from the Rock to attack Jon's army. This was precisely what Jon had anticipated. Leaving only a small force around the burning city, he concealed the bulk of his army in the surrounding hills. When the relief force advanced, believing the northerners were only near the city, the ambush would spring. The battle was brief and decisive.
The western host was shattered. With no field army remaining capable of opposing him, the road to Casterly Rock lay open. What followed ensured Jon's name would be remembered for centuries. The sack of Casterly Rock shattered the illusion that the Lannisters were untouchable.
For thousands of years, the Rock had stood as the symbol of Western wealth and power. It had survived kings, rebellions, and war. Jon Stark broke it in a single campaign.
Its treasuries were emptied.
Its tomb were desecrated.
Its mines flooded or force to collapse.
Its surrounding lands were left barren and smoking.
One surviving septon from the Westerlands recorded perhaps the most enduring description of Jon Stark during this period: "As I looked, and behold a pale wolf: and his rider was Death, and Hell followed with him."
Perhaps that is an exaggeration. However, it captures the reality better than numbers ever could. Jon's campaign in the Westerland would be considered apocalyptic, since by the campaign's conclusion, entire regions of the Westerlands had been transformed into wastelands. Tens of thousands were dead, countless more had fled, trade had collapsed, and no one worked either in the mine or the field. The richest kingdom in Westeros had been reduced to nothing.
Even Dalton Greyjoy at the height of his terror had never inflicted such devastation upon the west.
The wealth carried away by Jon's army was so immense that stories quickly entered legend. Common soldiers returned home richer than landed knights. Captains purchased keeps.
Yet the true significance of the campaign was not the treasure.
It was the fear.
For the first time since Aegon's Conquest, the great houses of Westeros remember, while the Starks are now considered an honorable house. In the past, they were able to unleash terrible death and destruction in their wake, with only them needing to converse with the sisterman of the three sisters, who, even thousands of years later, still spoke of the horror and terror that the Starks could unleash.
Of course, Jon did not attempt to hold the entirety of the Westerlands. Instead, he withdrew methodically back toward the Riverlands after this campaign, leaving a combined northern and riverlander garrison at the Golden Tooth to secure the riverland flank.
While Jon reduced the Westerlands to ruin, Robb Stark was occupied elsewhere.
His attention turned increasingly toward governance rather than conquest. The Riverlands required rebuilding, and alliances needed strengthening. At the same time, northern forces operating in the Crownlands steadily expanded their influence, tightening control over key roads and river crossings.
By the end of the year, the flow of food into King's Landing had slowed to a trickle. The capital was beginning to starve, but the struggle for the Iron Throne itself would be largely fought by the other players of the Anarchy. Especially since the regions surrounding King's Landing, together with the Stormlands and the Reach, became the domain of the stags.
By this point, the Baratheon brothers had each crowned themselves king. King Stannis Baratheon, Lord paramount of the Stormland and rightful heir according to the laws of succession, advanced upon the capital from the south and laid siege to King's Landing. Though lacking the numbers of his younger brother, Stannis possessed a disciplined army and a formidable fleet. His objective was simple: starve the city and seize the Iron Throne.
King Renly Baratheon, meanwhile, controlled the greater strength. The marriage alliance he secured with House Tyrell granted him access to the vast resources of the Reach. Through this alliance, food that would normally have flowed into King's Landing was redirected elsewhere. The capital soon found itself trapped between Stannis's armies and Renly's influence over the most fertile region in Westeros.
As a consequence, much of the fighting in the South occurred without Northern involvement. Indeed, once Jon and Robb reunited following the devastation of the Westerlands, both brothers reached the same conclusion.
There was little point in continuing offensive operations. The campaign had achieved all of its major objectives. The Golden Tooth had fallen. Deep Den and several lesser mountain fortresses were now occupied by northern and riverlander garrisons. The principal western invasion routes into the Riverlands had been secured, greatly reducing the threat posed by House Lannister.
For the first time since the war began, the Riverlands enjoyed something approaching security. Any future attack would now have to come from another direction. The most likely threats were the Reach and the Vale.
The danger posed by the Reach was comparatively straightforward. The border regions needed to be fortified, river crossings secured, and defensive positions established. Such preparations would require time and resources but posed no extraordinary challenge.
The Vale was another matter entirely. Ironically, the kingdom that had contributed almost nothing to the war effort now descended into conflict of its own. Many of the Vale's most powerful lords had grown increasingly frustrated with Lady Lysa Arryn's refusal to support either the Starks or the Tullys. Among the most vocal was Lord Yohn Royce of Runestone, one of the oldest and most respected nobles in the Vale.
Yohn Royce believed that the Vale's inaction dishonored its obligations to House Tully and House Stark alike. Over time, he began gathering support among like-minded nobles, ostensibly to organize assistance for the Riverlands.
Lady Lysa interpreted these actions differently. Viewing them as a direct challenge to her authority, she summoned Lord Royce to the Eyrie. What transpired afterward remains the subject of fierce debate. The official account claims that Lord Royce suffered an unfortunate accident while descending one of the mountain paths surrounding the Eyrie.
Few believed this explanation. Most contemporaries suspected murder. Regardless of the truth, Lord Yohn Royce's death ignited what would later become known as the War of the Mountains. The Vale is split between supporters of House Arryn and those loyal to the Royces and their allies. Ancient rivalries resurfaced, old grudges were revived, and before long, the mountains and valleys of the region echoed with battle.
Robb Stark moved swiftly to exploit the situation. Recognizing that a friendly Vale would secure his eastern flank while denying support to the Iron Throne, he dispatched Ser Brynden Tully alongside a contingent of experienced northern and riverlander soldiers to support the Royce faction.
The decision would tie the Vale's fate increasingly to that of the Kingdom of the North and Trident. Yet even as conflict consumed the east, another threat emerged in the north.
Balon Greyjoy had chosen his moment carefully.
While the northern armies campaigned hundreds of leagues away, the Iron Islands launched a massive invasion of the North. Many historians have questioned Balon's decision. Rather than striking at the weakened Westerlands, whose defenses had been shattered by Jon's campaign, he instead attacked the one kingdom that had repeatedly defeated the Ironborn in living memory.
Whether motivated by pride, hatred, or simple folly, the consequences would prove disastrous. The first Ironborn landings met with some success. Large portions of vacant Stony Shore were overrun, and parts of the Wolfswood fell under Ironborn control.
Yet the North of this era was not the North Balon Greyjoy remembered. The construction of Winterhold and the development of Sea Dragon Point had fundamentally altered the region's defenses. Winterhold in particular proved a formidable obstacle.
Its harbor, walls, and growing fleet denied the Ironborn an easy victory. Repeated attempts to seize the city ended in failure, forcing the invaders to concentrate on smaller settlements instead.
Likewise, Sea Dragon Point served as a rallying point for northern resistance. Supplies, reinforcements, and ships flowed through its ports, allowing local commanders to coordinate their defense far more effectively than in previous generations.
Thus, while Balon Greyjoy succeeded in establishing footholds along the western coast, he failed to achieve the decisive breakthrough he sought. The Ironborn had invaded the North. But unlike in other histories, the North had been preparing for them for years.
Command of the northern response was entrusted to two men: Lord Jon Stark and his uncle, Benjen Stark. Together, they were ordered to drive the Ironborn back into the sea and restore northern authority over the occupied territories.
Yet before Jon began the campaign, he first dealt with a matter that many regarded as both politically necessary and deeply troubling. Theon Greyjoy was executed.
The former ward of Winterfell had remained in northern custody throughout the opening stages of the war. For years, he had enjoyed the hospitality of House Stark, receiving the upbringing and privileges afforded to a noble hostage. With Balon Greyjoy's invasion of the North, however, Jon argued that Theon's value had effectively disappeared.
"why should we spend important supplied to a turncloack," one contemporary account attributes to Jon, though the authenticity of the quote remains uncertain.
Whatever his reasoning, Jon wasted little time. Theon Greyjoy was beheaded, and his death was proclaimed throughout Westeros as a warning to those who would side with the Ironborn.
Yet it was what followed that disturbed many observers. Rather than sending Theon's head to Pyke or displaying it upon a castle wall, Jon ordered it preserved. This was not an isolated act.
By this point in the war, Jon had already acquired a reputation for keeping the heads of notable enemies he had defeated. Ser Kevan Lannister's head had reportedly been preserved following the Battle of the Green Fork. During the Westerlands campaign, the heads of Ser Addam Marbrand and Ser Steffon Lannister were added to the collection.
Now, Theon Greyjoy joined them.
The preserved heads were transported with Jon's host and, according to numerous accounts, occasionally displayed during military councils or major marches. Several witnesses claim that they were carried upon specially prepared poles near Jon's command pavilion, though some historians suspect such stories were exaggerated by later generations seeking to enhance his fearsome reputation.
What is beyond dispute is that the practice became one of Jon Stark's most infamous peculiarities. His supporters viewed it as a symbolic reminder of justice and victory. His enemies considered it evidence of madness.
Even among his allies, opinions were divided. Many northern lords found the practice unsettling but tolerated it because of Jon's growing record of success. Others openly questioned whether a man capable of such habits possessed the temperament necessary for leadership.
For his part, Jon never explained. When questioned, he would reportedly change the subject, remain silent, or simply state that dead enemies could cause no further harm.
Such answers satisfied few.
Indeed, this strange fascination with preserving the remains of defeated foes would become one of the principal reasons later generations cited when debating whether Jon Stark's brilliance had always existed alongside a measure of madness.
Regardless of one's opinion, the sight of Theon Greyjoy's preserved head riding south with the northern army sent an unmistakable message. The war against the Ironborn would be fought without compromise.
The northern campaign against the Ironborn began at Moat Cailin. Victarion Greyjoy, unlike Dunstan Drumm before him, did not rely upon a mere raiding force. He came instead with the greater part of the Iron Fleet, intending to seize the Neck and sever all communication between the North and the Riverlands. Had he succeeded, the consequences for the Stark war effort would have been catastrophic.
The battle that followed was among the bloodiest fought upon the Fever River since the days of the holy war between the Andal kingdom of the South and the North. For weeks, the Ironborn launched assault after assault against the ancient fortress while their longships attempted to force passage through the surrounding waterways. The crannogmen harassed them ceaselessly from the swamps, while northern archers turned the narrow causeways into killing grounds.
Even so, the Ironborn continued to press the attack.
The battle reached its climax when Lord Jon personally led a sortie against Victarion Greyjoy's command ship. Contemporary accounts describe a savage duel between the two commanders. Victarion, renowned as perhaps the greatest warrior of the Iron Islands, fought with the ferocity for which House Greyjoy was infamous. Yet in the end, he fell beneath Jon's sword, his death breaking the resolve of the Iron Fleet.
With their commander slain, the Ironborn withdrew in disorder. Many expected that after the victory jon would rest his soldiers before he continued marching from the moat to the north-west coast. Instead, he issued what many regarded as a baffling order. Ravens were dispatched to White Harbor, commanding Lord Wyman Manderly to send every available sailor to Moat Cailin. At the time, few understood his intentions.
Within weeks, they became clear. Rather than marching his army from land, Jon decided to use the captured longship to attack the other Ironborn. The captured longships were repaired, recruited by northern sailors, and sailed beneath the banners of House Greyjoy. From a distance, they appeared no different from the vessels already terrorizing the western coast.
The deception proved devastating.
Again and again, isolated Ironborn garrisons welcomed what they believed to be friendly reinforcements, only to discover too late that the ships carried northern soldiers instead. One by one, northern territories were retaken through surprise rather than prolonged siege.
It was during this campaign that Jon briefly returned to Sea Dragon Point.
There, he reunited with Falia Flowers and, for the first time, met his infant son, Artos Snow. Contemporary accounts suggest Jon remained for only a handful of days before once again departing for war.
Duty, it seems, outweighed even fatherhood. Many expected Jon's next move to be an invasion of the Iron Islands themselves. Such expectations proved mistaken. Jon had already concluded that the invasion of Iron Island would require the North to have more ship than what the currenly posses. Not to mention, a far greater threat had emerged beyond the Wall.
Reports had reached Winterfell that the Night's Watch faced an unprecedented invasion under Mance Rayder, the self-proclaimed King-Beyond-the-Wall. Without hesitation, Jon turned his army north. The Battle Beyond the Wall was scarcely a battle at all.
Though Mance Rayder commanded an army said to exceed one hundred thousand souls, it lacked nearly every advantage possessed by a disciplined host. The free folk had courage in abundance, but little organization, almost no heavy infantry or mounted warriors, and no coherent chain of command.
Against seasoned northern soldiers supported by cavalry, the outcome was never truly in doubt.
The slaughter was immense.
Giants fell beneath flights of arrows. Mammoths stampeded through their own ranks. Entire clans broke before the first cavalry charge, and by the campaign's conclusion, the host of the King-Beyond-the-Wall had ceased to exist as an organized army.
Many urged Jon to finish the work. Instead, he committed what many contemporaries regarded as his greatest act of madness. He would give mercy to the survivors and admit them through the Wall.
Jon alone seemed willing to believe the stories carried by Mance Rayder and the black brothers concerning the return of the Others. Neither the night watch nor many of the northern lords shared his conviction, yet none could persuade him otherwise.
His reasoning was brutally simple.
The North needed soldier and worker. The wildling and the giants would able to fill that role perfectly.
The policy transformed the North.
Tens of thousands of free folk were eventually settled upon lands left vacant by the war. Many entered the service of northern lords, while thousands more enlisted in Jon's growing armies. In time, this decision would prove to be wise, especially once the war for the dawn starts.
It was also during these years that Jon's personal life became, if anything, even more controversial than his campaigns. He first sought the hand of Lady Alys Karstark, whose initial opinion of him was decidedly unfavorable. Such reluctance was hardly surprising. By then, Jon openly maintained relationships with both Falia Flowers and the wildling spearwife Ygritte, while his growing friendship with Val would later blossom into affection as well.
Few noble ladies would willingly marry such a man. Nevertheless, after months of persistent courtship—and, according to certain amusing accounts, an equal measure of stubbornness—Jon finally won Alys's consent.
Her family proved less accommodating. When Jon formally presented himself to seek Lord Karstark's blessing, the assembled Karstarks reportedly expressed their feelings with fists rather than words. Jon, perhaps wisely, offered little resistance and accepted the beating with what witnesses described as remarkable good humor.
He married Alys soon afterward, regardless.
While Jon campaigned in the North, two other conflicts erupted among the allies of House Stark. The first became known as the Bolton-Manderly War.
Its origins lay in the abduction of Lady Donella Hornwood by Ramsay Snow, bastard son of Roose Bolton. The outrage prompted House Manderly to demand justice. Matters escalated rapidly after Roose Bolton, who had died at the battle of Green Fork, left Ramsay effectively in command of House Bolton's remaining strength.
Jon intervened personally. Marching upon the Dreadfort, he defeated Ramsay's forces, executed the Bastard of Bolton, and ordered the ancient castle slighted. Thus ended the line of the Red Kings, bringing to a close thousands of years of Bolton rule in the North.
The second conflict was stranger still and, in many respects, should have been expected. By this stage of the Anarchy, Lord Walder Frey found himself in an unfamiliar position. Throughout his long life, the Lord of the Crossing had made a habit of withholding his allegiance until the winning side became apparent, selling his support to the highest bidder. Yet the war had progressed beyond him. Neither Robb Stark nor the other Riverlords had any further need to court his favor, while the Lannisters had been driven from the Riverlands altogether.
Some accounts claim that the remnants of the Lannister court nevertheless dispatched envoys to the Twins in a final attempt to secure Lord Walder's support. Whether this tale is true cannot be stated with certainty. If it is, the offer came far too late. Walder Frey, upon hearing the proposal, is said to have laughed so violently that he launched into one of his customary tirades, mocking the lions for seeking his aid only after they had lost nearly everything.
The outburst proved to be his last. In the midst of his rant, the old lord suffered a seizure before the assembled members of his household and died where he sat. His passing accomplished what decades of intrigue, ambition, and avarice had failed to achieve. Within hours, the descendants of Walder Frey began murdering one another in pursuit of the Twins. Brothers slew brothers. Sons poisoned fathers. Cousins ambushed cousins in the castle corridors, while rival branches of the family barricaded themselves within separate towers.
The struggle would be called the Frey Civil War, though many maesters have argued that the term grants the conflict more dignity than it deserves. It was less a war than a massacre between kinsmen, driven by naked greed and decades of festering resentment beneath Lord Walder's.
The struggle lasted only a matter of weeks. Robb Stark would eventually intervene in the civil war and march upon the Twins, disperse the surviving claimants, and annex the castle directly into the realm of the North. With no universally accepted heir remaining, few among the Riverlords objected.
Thus ended the rule of House Frey over the Crossing. While Jon Stark spent the greater part of these years ruling in the North, the fate of southern Westeros was decided not by wolves or lions, but by stags.
The struggle between King Stannis Baratheon and his younger brother, King Renly Baratheon, soon eclipsed the war against House Lannister. Having secured the allegiance of House Tyrell through marriage, Renly possessed the largest army in the Seven Kingdoms. Yet numbers alone could not compensate for Stannis's superior generalship.
The first major campaign was fought around Summerhall. There, Stannis succeeded in driving his younger brother from his seat of Summerhall, forcing Renly to withdraw westward toward the Reach. Many believed the elder Baratheon had at last gained the advantage.
They were mistaken.
The arrival of Lord Randyll Tarly transformed the campaign. Long regarded as one of the finest battlefield commanders of his generation, Tarly assumed command of much of the Reach host and met Stannis in open battle. The engagement ended in a decisive victory for the Reachmen and forced Stannis to abandon his offensive.
Thus began what later historians would call the War for the Stormlands. For more than a year, the Stormlands became a battlefield. Castles changed hands repeatedly, villages were burned, and the old loyalties of Robert Baratheon's bannermen fractured between his surviving brothers.
While Randyll Tarly contained Stannis in the south, Renly and Lord Mace Tyrell advanced upon the Crownlands with the remainder of the Reach host.
Their objective was King's Landing.
Lord Tywin Lannister attempted to halt their advance through a series of defensive engagements. Although he proved capable of delaying the enemy, he lacked the numbers necessary to defeat them outright.
Gradually, the Lannisters were forced back toward the capital. During his retreat, Tywin adopted a scorched-earth strategy, destroying granaries, mills, villages, and bridges in order to deny provisions to the advancing Reachmen.
The policy achieved its military objective. It also earned House Lannister the lasting hatred of the smallfolk of the Crownlands, many of whom suffered famine long before King's Landing itself began to starve.
The siege that followed became one of the strangest in the history of Westeros. By land, King's Landing was surrounded. By sea, however, the city remained open.
The royal fleet had sided with Stanning Baratheon and had anchored in the storm land, allowing the defender to gain supplies from the sea. Yet the Narrow Sea was dominated by another claimant entirely.
Lord paramount of the Narrow Sea, Viserys Targaryen, with his position in Dragonstone, controlled the principal sea lanes leading to the capital. No merchant vessel was permitted to sail for King's Landing without first stopping at one of his ports.
There, every cargo was inspected, taxed, and sold onward at prices many times its original value. Viserys aided the Lannisters only insofar as it enriched his own treasury. Every loaf of bread entering King's Landing filled the coffers of House Targaryen. Every barrel of grain increased the Iron Throne's debts.
In this manner, Viserys would enrich House Targaryen and preserve his strength while allowing his enemies to exhaust themselves. Eventually, Renly Baratheon recognized the futility of allowing such commerce to continue.
Rather than opposing Viserys outright, King Renly instead sought to win his cooperation through diplomacy. The terms he offered were considerably more generous than those previously negotiated by House Lannister. In addition to a substantial payment in gold, Renly recognized a greater degree of Targaryen autonomy over Dragonstone and the surrounding islands. Most significant of all was the betrothal of Prince Viserys Targaryen to Lady Desmera Redwyne, daughter of Lord Paxter Redwyne. The proposed marriage promised to bind the Targaryen claimant to one of the wealthiest and most influential houses of the Reach while granting Viserys access to the formidable Redwyne Fleet.
The agreement was concluded with remarkable speed. Within days of the agreement, merchant vessels bearing grain and other provisions ceased sailing for King's Landing. Those captains who had once enriched themselves by supplying the besieged capital now found the sea lanes closed by Targaryen warships acting in accordance with their new alliance. Bereft of fresh supplies and already weakened by months of privation, the city soon found itself on the brink of starvation.
Then came the riot.
Driven by hunger, the people of King's Landing turned upon one another. Order collapsed. Amid the chaos, the combined Reach armies finally succeeded in breaching the city's defenses.
Victory appeared certain.
Then disaster struck.
Wildfire, forgotten since the reign of the Mad King, ignited beneath the streets. Whether by accident, sabotage, or sheer misfortune remains unknown. The result was catastrophic. Entire districts disappeared beneath emerald flames.
Lord Mace Tyrell perished while leading the assault through the breach. King Renly vanished amidst the inferno. Nobody was ever recovered. Though many rumors persisted for years afterward, he was universally presumed dead.
With Renly's disappearance, his cause collapsed overnight. Yet Viserys Targaryen still refused to seize King's Landing. Rather than becoming embroiled in the chaos consuming the capital, he turned south to eliminate his remaining rival.
The Targaryen fleet descended upon Shipbreaker Bay, where it destroyed Stannis Baratheon's navy. At the same time, Viserys joined forces with Lord Randyll Tarly, whose army continued to pin Stannis within the Stormlands.
Caught between land and sea, Stannis's position became hopeless. After a brief siege, he was taken captive. With both Baratheon brothers removed from contention, Viserys methodically extended his authority across the Crownlands and Stormlands.
The Reach, however, descended into anarchy. The deaths of Renly and Lord Mace left House Tyrell without a viable claimant capable of maintaining its alliance or commanding the loyalty of its bannermen.
Before stability could be restored, a new threat emerged from the Sunset Sea. Euron Greyjoy.
Unlike his brother Balon, Euron possessed ambitions that reached far beyond simple reaving. Landing upon the western shores of the Reach, he unleashed a campaign of terror similar to what Jon did in the Westerland.
The war reached its dreadful climax with the Sack of Highgarden. The ancient capital of the Reach was put to the torch, its famed gardens reduced to ash and ruin.
Even today, the memory remains a source of sorrow throughout the Reach. For several years, Viserys found himself unable to complete his conquest, his armies occupied by the twin tasks of restoring order and suppressing Ironborn incursions.
Deliverance for the people of the Mander instead came from Oldtown. After months of relentless campaigning, Ser Baelor Hightower finally defeated Euron Greyjoy and drove the remnants of his fleet back into the Sunset Sea.
The victory transformed the political landscape of southern Westeros. Rather than acknowledge Viserys as his sovereign, Baelor proclaimed himself King of Oldtown, asserting dominion over Oldtown, the lower Mander, and much of the Honeywine.
Thus, another kingdom was born. It soon became evident that no ruler possessed either the strength or the desire to reunite the Seven Kingdoms. Accordingly, the surviving monarchs gathered upon the historic Field of Fire, where three centuries earlier Aegon the Conqueror had forged a united realm through dragonfire.
There, they accomplished the opposite.
King Robb Stark ruled the North, the Riverlands, and the mountain districts of the Westerlands.
King Andar Royce emerged as the undisputed ruler of the Vale after the extinction of House Arryn's line. With the death of Lord Robert Arryn, who was murdered by his own mother, Lady Lysa Arryn, during the taking of the Eyrie and Harrold Hardyng dying during the opening days of the war. Andar Royce was force to revive the ancient title of the Bronze king and becoming the new king of the mountain and the vale.
King Viserys Targaryen held the Crownlands, Stormlands, and much of the Reach.
King Baelor Hightower ruled Oldtown and the lower Mander.
Together, they formally acknowledged what had already become reality.
The Seven Kingdoms no longer existed.
The realm forged by Aegon the Dragon had passed into history. A discussion was held regarding invitations to the remaining claimants. King Euron Greyjoy was dismissed out of hand, no lord believing negotiations with him worth the effort. Dorne was likewise absent.
Following the death of Prince Doran Martell, the principality had descended into civil war between the supporters of Princess Arianne and Prince Quentyn. The conflict soon shattered what remained of Martell's authority. House Yronwood proclaimed the restoration of its own ancient kingdom.
House Dayne followed shortly thereafter. The Martells retained little beyond the Greenblood and the coastal lands surrounding Sunspear. Thus, by war, ambition, and misfortune, the realm Aegon I had forged with fire and blood finally came undone.
The Treaties of the Field of Fire brought an end to the great civil war that had shattered the realm.
Yet peace did not follow.
The war had left hundreds of thousands dead. Entire regions lay desolate, their fields burned and their villages abandoned. Roads once crowded with merchants became filled instead with refugees, beggars, and broken soldiers. Famine spread across much of Westeros, while disease claimed many who had escaped the sword.
Then came the winter.
It arrived earlier than many expected and lingered far longer than any living man could remember. As the snows deepened and the cold tightened its grip upon the land, stories once dismissed as wildling tales began to prove true.
The Others had returned.
In later years, many would argue that the Anarchy had done a lot to aid the Others. After all the Seven Kingdoms had broken themselves upon battlefields from the Neck to Dorne, leaving the realm exhausted when it could least afford such weakness.
The burden of the war would fell chiefly upon the Kingdom of the North, the Trident, and the Mountains, for they possessed the closet proximity to the army of the undead.
The War for the Dawn lasted many years.
Unlike the wars between men, it offered no glorious victories, no magnificent conquests, and little hope of lasting triumph. Castles were abandoned. Harvests failed beneath unending snows. Entire villages vanished without a trace. Every league gained against the Others was purchased with blood.
Many of the greatest heroes of the age met their end during those terrible winters. King Robb Stark fell while leading a counterattack beyond the wall. Smalljon Umber died beneath the walls, refusing to yield even after his men had been overwhelmed. Lady Dacey Mormont met her end upon the Frozen Shore, where she and the warriors of Bear Island held back the dead long enough for the evacuation to Sea Dragon Point. These were but the most famous.
Thousands of lesser men and women sacrificed themselves in equal measure, though history remembers few of their names. Throughout the war, Jon Stark remained at the forefront of every major campaign.
No commander slew more White Walkers than he, nor did any man lead more desperate battles against the armies of the dead. Time and again, he drove the Others farther north, reclaiming lands thought forever lost to winter.
At last, after years of relentless campaigning, the armies of the living succeeded in forcing the Others beyond the Frostfangs and back into the Lands of Always Winter. Some among Jon's commanders urged him to continue.
They argued that so long as the Others endured, no peace could ever be secure. Better, they claimed, to destroy the enemy utterly while victory remained within reach. Jon himself is said to have favored such a course.
Yet the realm could endure no more.
Supplies had been exhausted, soldier had perished in their tens of thousands, and famine has grip the kingdom. To pursue the Others farther into the frozen wilderness would have risked destroying the kingdom.
Reluctantly, Jon gave the order to halt.
Thus ended the War for the Dawn.
Victory belonged to the living. Whether it was complete remains a matter of debate among the maesters. With the death of King Robb Stark, the crown passed to his eldest son, Prince Eddard Stark, still a child scarcely old enough to comprehend the kingdom he had inherited.
Until the young king came of age, a regency council would be created with Jon Stark assuming the office of Lord Protector of the Kingdom of the North, the Trident, and the Mountains. While Wyman Manderly maintains his office as hand of the king and the king mother becoming his regent.
Many feared that the three realms united only by conquest would fracture following Robb's death. Jon ensured that they did not. Rather than relying solely upon the army or royal authority, he sought to bind the kingdom together through blood.
Northern houses received lands and titles in the Riverlands and the Western mountain, while Riverlords and westerlanders were granted estates in the North. Lords who had once viewed one another as foreigners became neighbors, allies, and, in time, kin.
Marriage became one of Jon's greatest political instruments. Foremost among these unions was that of Bran Stark, Lord Paramount of the Trident, to Lady Eleanor Mooton, strengthening Stark authority within the Riverlands through one of its oldest and most respected houses.
His sister Arya Stark was wed to Lord Lyman Darry, restoring House Darry's fortunes while securing the eastern Riverlands. Lady Sansa Stark was married to Ser Humphrey Hightower, forging a lasting friendship between Winterfell and Oldtown that would endure for generations.
Rickon Stark, lord of the newly built castle of Wolf point and its accompanying city of Victoria built in the mouth of the weeping river meanwhile, took Lady Liane Vance to wife, further intertwining the nobility of the North and the Riverlands. These marriages, together with countless lesser unions arranged between northern, riverlander, and mountain houses, accomplished what years of warfare could not.
In this, perhaps more than in any of his victories upon the battlefield, Jon Stark displayed the true measure of his genius.