War of White and Gold

Siege of Brightwater Keep

Battle of the Apples

First Battle of Starpike

Retaking of Brightwater Keep and the Duel of the Roses

Second Battle of Starpike

Lord Paramountcy of the Honeywine formed

The **War of White and Gold**, colloquially known as **the Sundering of the Reach** or **the White Rose Rebellion**, was a revolt within the Reach that advocated for home rule directly from Highgarden, rather than the region remaining a constituent part of the overall crownlands under House Tyrell of King's Landing. It took its name from the white rose coat of arms adopted by Lyonel Tyrell, the popular brother of King Alester I Tyrell for whom the lords of the Reach rose against the gold roses of the royal house.

## 357 AC

In the year of 357 AC, a son was born to King Alester I Tyrell and his wife, Queen Leona Hightower. They named him Garlan after the Gallant Knight in the days of Queen Myrcella and the Defender of the Coast until his death some years prior, and Alester, filled with joy over his new heir, decided that from his very birth on, Prince Garlan should be named Prince of Highgarden.

However, that title was currently held by Prince Lyonel, Alester’s brother, whom the king had appointed thus upon his ascension to the Iron Throne in 351 AC for the lack of a child of his own. In the years that had passed, Prince Lyonel had become popular among the lords of the Reach over whom he ruled, both through the charismatic nature of the man now of nineteen years, and through the prospect that from him could spring a line of House Tyrell to rule the Reach separate from the royal one, as some Lords had found themselves disrespected by being not more than extended Crownlands for the decades since Lord Willas’ death in 324 AC.

When Prince Lyonel received the news that he had been stripped of his title in favour of his newborn nephew, he called his closest friends to Highgarden, Lords Tarly and Rowan, and the young heir to Cider Hall. Those lords assembled there declared that they would accept no other ruler in Highgarden but Lyonel, and raised their arms in rebellion. They flew a banner of a white rose upon a field of green to distinguish themselves from the golden rose of the royal line and to call back to the colours of House Gardener, despite it was not independence that they demanded for the Reach.

Many houses followed that declaration, raising their levies to be ready to fight should the Crown not relent and insist on the appointment of the infant Prince Garlan. King Alester, furious about his brother’s defiance, did not relent and war was upon the Reach.

While for centuries the Lord of Highgarden had been the Warden of the South to defend against Dorne, now King Alester called upon the Prince of Dorne as the new warden to defend him against his rogue brother in Highgarden. The Dornish forces assembled in the Red Mountains and some of the southron lords answered as well. House Baratheon of Storm’s End answered the call and their bannermen with them. Even in the Reach, some houses found themselves more loyal to the Crown than to Highgarden.

Among those houses were House Hightower, always feeling separate from the rest of the Reach, as well as House Florent, who hoped to be rewarded for their loyalty by gaining influence over the infant prince once his appointment was established. Lord Florent was also no friend of Lyonel Tyrell, for the prince, who now simply called himself “the White Rose”, had seduced his daughter Rylene upon his last visit to Brightwater Keep some moons earlier and she now lay pregnant with his bastard child.

On the rebel side, not only Reachman houses were found, either, though. The Lannisters of Casterly Rock had long considered the combined province of the Reach and the Crownlands a dangerous concentration of power, and thus, the Westerlands lent their support to Prince Lyonel, hoping to in turn forge an alliance against the dominance of the capital.

King Alester himself rode to the Reach to confront his brother, and as he left the Crownlands on the Rose Road, he found that the lords of the northeastern Reach had stayed loyal. At Bitterbridge he combined his host of Crownlanders with their men as they continued to march on towards Highgarden.

As the westermen marched into the Reach to strengthen Lyonel’s forces, they were welcomed at Goldengrove, whither Lord Rowan had returned from Highgarden, and at Old Oak, as well, as Lord Oakheart would not fight for the Crown on the same side as the Dornish. At Red Lake, however, the westermen were held up by the defiant Cranes, who would not refuse their king. Thus the first battle of the war was fought on the shores of the Red Lake, with the host of Lord Crakehall emerging victorious and occupying the Cranes’ castle.

Ahead of King Alester’s march, the Green Fossoways, also remaining loyal to the Crown, ventured along the Mander to assault their distant relations at Cider Hall. What became known as the Battle of the Apples was the first victory for the loyalists, and Cider Hall was occupied by the Green Fossoways, welcoming the king and stormlander reinforcements under Lord Baratheon and Lord Grandison some time later while the Red Fossoways retreated towards Highgarden.

House Florent stood alone in its support for the Crown in its vicinity, save for the Hightowers and those among Oldtown’s vassals, who had not joined the White Rose, all the same. Thus, quickly was their castle besieged by men from House Tarly and several houses of the Lower Mander, while inside Lady Rylene remained, carrying Prince Lyonel’s child. For months, the siege dragged on, and in its course, distraught by the quarrel between her lover and her kin, Rylene Florent gave birth to a son but died of her labour. The boy called Mace Flowers was fiercely defended by his grandfather and uncles, who withstood the siege, resolved to deny the White Rose a potential heir at his disposal.

Hightower relief for Brightwater Keep (and further contribution to the loyalist effort) was delayed as Oldtown itself was faced with rebellion from some of its vassal houses, as well as a blockade from the seaside, men of House Redwyne, who had declared for the White Rose, landing on their coasts and occupying their levies, while incoming supplies were shut off. To relieve the blockade, after a while reinforced by ships from Lannisport, King Alester sent his Master of Ships Lord Redwyne of Dragonstone with the royal fleet and further ships from the Stormlands to drive his cousin away.

The Lord of Dragonstone, although his cousin’s fleet outnumbered his, with the Westerman support, proved a skilled naval commander deserving his seat on the small council, as he broke the blockade and drove the Arbor fleet back to Ryamsport. As the attacks on the mainland abated, House Hightower’s men were freed up to come to the aid of Brightwater Keep and there relieved the siege.

At the end of the year the Dornish host had assembled on the Prince’s Pass and, together with stormlander allies led by Lord Caron, they marched into the part of the marches held by the Reach, a crucial base of support for Prince Lyonel. Starpike was swiftly taken by the overwhelming might of Dornish and stormlanders fighting side by side, for once, but the advance towards Highgarden was halted by Lord Tarly, who had retreated from Brightwater Keep, as well as other rebels, who held the strategic position between the two loyalist hosts encamped at Cider Hall and Starpike.

## 358 AC

The new year saw the war continue as a stalemate, with minor skirmishes between the forces that held their respective ground, until the westerman host joined up with Lyonel’s own men at Highgarden, and the White Rose now dared to fight his brother in the field, outnumbering the host at Cider Hall. His companion, the heir of the Red Fossoways, alongside whom he once had squired, put his knowledge of the castle to use to infiltrate it, overcoming the strategic position between Mander and Cockleswent. In the camps outside, the westermen led by Lord Swyft fell upon the stormlanders while Lyonel’s Reachmen entered the castle.

King Alester came upon his younger brother in a corridor as the latter strode towards the Great Hall with determination, and the two began to duel. Each gave the other an injury until Alester was drawn away from the inconclusive fight by his Kingsguard, as Ser [Placeholder] stepped forward to cover his King’s retreat, seeing that the battle outside was lost. Prince Lyonel slew the white cloak before him, and then took over the Great Hall, as the remainder of the royal host with a cursing king among them retreated to New Barrel.

From the retaken Cider Hall onwards, Prince Lyonel turned southward to face the Dornish host that occupied Starpike. Elated by the victory at Cider Hall, he led his Reachmen and the westermen that marched with them against the Warden of the South and his allies. Despite his injuries sustained by his brother’s sword, Lyonel took command of the vanguard and clashed with the Dornish spears led by the Prince of Dorne himself. He fought valiantly and from atop his horse cut down several Dornishmen, before a spear struck him in the thigh and he fell off his mount. Another spearman skewered the falling prince, and as the Reachmen saw this, some already began to retreat while others, led by Lord Oakheart, furious at the Dornish, rushed to his defence, but it was too late. Prince Lyonel Tyrell, the White Rose, lay slain on the field beneath Starpike.

When King Alester received the news at New Barrel, despite his victory, he was struck with grief, and the wound Lyonel had struck him began hurting more sharply. It dawned upon Alester that he had wronged his brother and thus he rode to Highgarden under a banner of peace.

There, after paying respects to his fallen brother, the King met with the assembled rebel lords, and rescinded the appointment of his son. Instead they agreed that paramountcy would be granted to the Lord of Greenshield, Garlan the Gallant’s son Raymun Tyrell, who had remained neutral in the fight between his kinsmen. Thus Highgarden would have a ruling house distinct from the Crown, and the Reach would once more become its own province as the rebels had demanded. To reduce its might, however, the king appointed Lord Hightower, who delivered the infant Mace Flowers to Highgarden, as Lord Paramount of the Honeywine, to rule over a province that would become known as the Southlands.

## Timeline of Events

* Garlan Tyrell appointed as Prince of Highgarden
* Highgarden Declaration; White Rose Banner flown
* King Alester Tyrell rides to Bitterbridge
* Westerman Invasion; Battle of Red Lake (Rebel Victory)
* Hightower Vassals rebel; Redwyne Blockade begins
* Siege of Brightwater Keep begins
* Battle of the Apples (Loyalist Victory); Cider Hall captured
* King Alester arrives at Bitterbridge
* Mace Flowers born at Brightwater Keep
* Redwyne Blockade lifted by Royal Fleet
* Dornish Host assembled
* First Battle of Starpike (Loyalist Victory); Starpike captured
* Siege of Brightwater Keep lifted by House Hightower
* Retaking of Cider Hall (Rebel Victory); Duel of the Roses
* King Alester retreats to New Barrel
* Second Battle of Starpike (Loyalist Victory); Lyonel Tyrell is slain
* King Alester rides to Highgarden
* Agreement at Highgarden

## Factions

* The Golden Rose - Royalists - King Alester I Tyrell
	+ House Tyrell of King’s Landing
		- The Crownlands
		- House Redwyne of Dragonstone
	+ Houses of the Reach
		- House Hightower
		- House Florent
		- House Crane
		- House Fossoway of New Barrel
		- Other Reachlords
	+ House Martell
		- Principality of Dorne
	+ House Baratheon
		- The Stormlands
* The White Rose - Rebels - Prince Lyonel Tyrell
	+ House Tyrell of Highgarden
		- House Fossoway of Cider Hall
		- House Oakheart
		- House Peake
		- House Redwyne of the Arbor
		- House Rowan
		- House Tarly
		- Other Reachlords
	+ House Lannister
		- The Westerlands
* Neutral: House Tyrell of Greenshield