War for the Mountains of the Moon

A lone man in the wake of the Battle for Ironoaks.

Battle for the High Road

Attack on Gulltown

Murder of Corwyn Arryn

Bloody Battle on the Redfort Road

Red Parlay

Slaughter of the Villages

Battle for Ironoaks

Struggle for Strongsong

Battle of the Coldwater

Slaughter Between the Four Forts

Massacre in the Mountains of the Moon

Countless Unnamed Lesser Battles and Skirmishes

**The War for the Mountains of the Moon**, sometimes referred to as the Great War, or the War for the Mountains, though not officially declared until 85 AC by Lord Gunthor Arryn after the deaths of his two sons, Ser Corwyn Arryn, and Arthor Arryn, is now officially regarded by Maesters and men as having begun in 50 AC, with the passing of Lord Hubert Arryn, and lasted until 88 AC, when Lord Gunthor and his forces prevailed in forcing back the Clansmen into the deepest reaches of the Mountains of the Moon.

## History

### 52 AC First Conclave of the Clans

The First Conclave of the Clans was the first time in recorded history that a large number of the Mountain Clans of the Vale united behind a single leader in order to achieve their own goals. At the time of the conclusion of the First Conclave, Timett the Tearless, Chieftain of the Milksnakes took command of a number of the Clans.

### 53 AC Strife in the Snakewood

The Strife in the Snakewood was the first act of violence carried out under the leadership of Timett the Tearless against the Lords of the Vale. It was ultimatley unsuccessful in capturing Lord Qarl Corbray, but did indeed raise the stakes within the Vale as it had been sometime since the Clans had been so readily brazen in their attacks.

### 54 AC Battle for the Mountains

The Battle for the Mountains came as Lord Darnold Arryn faced mounting pressure from both his vassals and the people of the Vale to attack in the face of Clansmen aggression. Ultimately, with the attack on Lord Corbray, Lord Darnold was left with little choice but to act.

Alas, this would prove to be the act that led Lord Darnold to his end, as he was led into a trap by the Clansmen and slaughtered alongside the entirety of his host, only for their remains to be discovered some moons later.

### 54 AC Battle for the High Road

The Battle for the High Road came in the aftermath of losing Lord Darnold Arryn. The newly appointed regent, Lord Denys Hunter, proved a quick man with a strong martial prowess and so set a trap for the Clansmen on the High Road. It was here, that Lord Hunter brought an end to the Clansmen ambitions for the next few decades as he crushed thousands beneath his heel and even so brought their leader, Timett the Tearless, back to the Eyrie for execution.

### 73 AC Second Conclave of the Clans

The Second Conclave of the Clans was a rather meager and sad event compared to its earlier predecessor. Where previously a great many Clans had seen fit to unite behind a single leader the Second Conclave served more as a mockery of a young ambitious upstart, from a similarly young clan, Ruryk, later known as 'the Ruin', from the Metal Men.

### 73 AC Attack on Gulltown

The Attack on Gulltown was the attempt of Ruryk the Ruin to garner for himself respect and power within the eyes of the Mountain Clansmen. Ultimately though, with only two hundred poorly trained Clansmen, he was wildly unsuccesful and was later brutally executed by Lord Grafton.

### 73 AC Law of Mother's Mercy

The Law of Mother's Mercy was brought into edict in the wake of the Attack on Gulltown by Lord Gunthor Arryn. Having heard of the cruelty done unto Ruryk of the Metal Men, Lord Arryn deemed it only appropriate to have stricter laws in place to ensure the fair treatment of all, and more especially so, so that his people did not become blood-hungry monsters, as he saw it.

### 85 AC Murder of Corwyn Arryn

The murder of Ser Corwyn Arryn, the widely-liked and friendly heir to the Vale came as a shock to both House Arryn, and the wider Vale. It had been before this some ten and two years since the Clans had acted in such violence against the Lords of the Vale, for their actions over the past decade and some more had simply been their usual raids and the odd noteworth skirmish, but nothing of such a vile calibre as to see the heir to the Vale sent to the Seven. The loss of Ser Corwyn Arryn would prove the first of a great many tragic losses.

### 85 AC Bloody Battle on the Redfort Road

The Bloody Battle on the Redfort Road gained its . . Unpleasant name from the loss of Lord Gunthor Arryn's second and last son upon the same road as his first had fallen barely a week before. While we do have the words of one of Arthor Arryn's five-hundred to speak of the battle, the man bearing them died within hours of his arrival at the Gates of the Moon and spoke very little, leaving us, for the most part, with only the words of Ser Rodrik Redfort.

### 85 AC Third Conclave of the Clans

The Third Conclave of the Clans was a wild success. Where the First Conclave had seen marginal success with a number of the Clans uniting behind Timett the Tearless, and whre the Second Conclave had seen none join with Ruryk the Ruin, the Third Conclave saw the entirety of the Clans of the Vale unite beneath the banner of Dremond the Devil of the Vale.

### 85 AC Raise the Red

Raising the Red was a symbolic act by Lord Gunthor Arryn that set aside virtues and traditional values of knightly and Andal honour in favour of a policy of brutal violence against the Clansmen of the Vale. Effectively, it signalled the beginning of one of the bloodiest wars experienced in living memory. Further so, the levies were ordered raised, and troops movements commenced.

### 85 AC Red Parlay

The Red Parlay was the first slaughter of the War for the Mountains of the Moon proper to come at the hands of the Lords of the Vale. It would come to be remembered as the first of the Four Grave Atrocities during the War for the Mountains of the Moon.

Vengeance, many named it, for what had happened to Ser Corwyn Arryn and Arthor Arryn. Justice, others did name it. Some, a quiet, nigh silent some, named it cruelty and butchery. But this was no time for questioning the Lord of the Vale, not with the loss of his two sons.

### 85 AC Slaughter of the Villages

The Slaughter of the Villages came to be remembered as the second of the Four Grave Atrocities during the War for the Mountains of the Moon. It would see a great many dead, including both Clansfolk and Valemen, though the former suffered the most by a wide margin.

### 86 AC Battle for Ironoaks

The Battle for Ironoaks would prove the bloodiest and most costly battle of the war, for both sides. All in all, over eightteen thousand men lost their lives that day. Eternally stained with the blood of the lost souls, the fields outside Ironoaks will long be a place of both reverence and fear.

### 87 AC Struggle for Strongsong

The Struggle for Strongsong is remembered as the third of the Four Atrocities of the War. It is the only of the Four Atrocities to be committed by the Clansmen. The Struggle for Strongsong saw both the castle population and the levy of House Belmore severely reduced. Further still, Lord Andar Belmore was crisped by the Clansmen, and his three daughters carried off.

### 87 AC Battle of the Coldwater

The Battle of the Coldwater was more a slaughter than anything. By the time the host of Lord Gunthor Arryn caught up with the Clansmen, they were trapped between a fast moving river and the Vale host, and it did become rather evident in the fighting that the heart of these Clansen was not in it, and that they were, simply, too beleaguered for battle.

### 87 AC Slaughter Between the Four Forts

The Slaughter Between the Four Forts saw a great victory for the Valemen. With the conclusion of the Slaughter, the Clansmen were now renderred without a noteworthy host outside of the Mountains of the Moon.

Though, in the aftermath of the battle, the host that had been led by Lord Robar Royce for some years now, swiftly disbanded, as its morale had long been suffering, and with this battle over, it nigh all the men had no further appetite for war and desired only peace and home.

### 88 AC Massacre in the Mountains of the Moon

The final act of the War for the Mountains of the Moon, the Massacre in the Mountains of the Moon saw a tense peace come to settle over the Vale of Arryn. With the Lords of the Vale having seen firsthand, by the loss of over two-thirds of what remained of Lord Gunthor Arryn's host in a single day, and with the Clansmen having experienced the harsh reality that they simply cannot win a pitched battle against the Lords of the Vale, both sides were forced to limp away and retreat to lick their wounds. Peace followed.

## Aftermath

The aftermath of the War for the Mounains of the Moon saw a begrudging and tired peace fall over the Vale of Arryn and the Mountains of the Moon.

Never was said peace officiated, but with the drastic losses of numbers on both sides, the Lords of the Vale could hardly afford to continue on fighting, for their own levies were low, their knights beleaguered, bruised, and dying, while their sons, brothers, uncles, and even sisters and daughters in the unfortunate case of House Belmore, were dead, dying, or carried off, and their coffers could hardly afford to take another breath.

Contrastly, the Mountain Clansmen had been pushed back so deep into the Mountains of the Moon that they were not heard from again for nigh a half decade, and even still to 98 AC remain largely quiet and unseen, with their numbers rumoured to be at an historic low, the likes of which never before seen. Yet, even if the Lords of the Vale wished to resume their campaign against the Clans, as was seen in the Massacre in the Mountains of the Moon, the Lords of the Vale are no match for terrain they are so incredibly unfamiliar with.