War of the Wicked

The War of the Wicked was a war fought following a failed Great Council to determine who would inherit following the death of King Aerys I Blackfyre. Though some supported Aegor Bittersteel, there was still much support for the infant son of the late Aerys I, Aenar Blackfyre, and Daena Blackfyre.

## The Great Council

At the Great Council of 225 AC there are three claimants. Aenar, the recently deceased King’s three-year-old son. Daena Blackfyre, the recently deceased King’s twenty-year-old maiden sister. And finally Aegor Bittersteel, Lord Paramount of the Trident.

Unbeknownst to the other Lords attending the Great Council, Bittersteel invites the remnants of House Targaryen. Whilst the Bloodraven warns of the risks of such a move, and the likelihood of his half-brother turning his blade upon the red dragons as soon as they land, the sole surviving son of Maekar Targaryen, Aerys, decides to attend the Council. He is emboldened by Bittersteel's false promises of support, and how the Kingdoms now cry for proper leadership, falling straight into the trap laid out before him. Upon his arrival, Aerys Targaryen is captured and slain in front of the gathered Lords by Bittersteel. While most of the Lords present were opponents against the Targaryen’s in the Bloodraven Rebellion, almost all saw the act as heinous and dastardly, causing Aegor to lose the support of some.

On the night before the council, assailants attempted to murder Aegor Bittersteel just after Forrest Frey, the heir to House Frey, leaves Bittersteel’s tent where they were negotiating. A short time later two assassins with swords burst into his tent. After a short and violent scuffle where he is wounded, he succeeds in killing the two assailants with nothing more than a flagon of ale and his bare hands. He leaves in the midst of night to go back to Harrenhal and raise his forces.

The next day when news of Bittersteel’s attempted assassination and abrupt departure surfaces, insults and threats are spread by the remaining parties as well as fears of what Bittersteel may do. The Lord Arryn convinces the Lord Stark to rally around Aenar and it is decided to spirit him and his mother to the Eyrie. Meanwhile, Daena cut a deal with Lord Lannister to marry his heir in exchange for their support but as part of the agreement leaves King’s Landing to seek refuge in Casterly Rock.

As the Great Council turns into a flurry of politics and backroom deals the Master of Laws Lord Jason Darklyn meanwhile steals away from the council and takes possession of Blackfyre, intending to give it to the claimant whose cause proves itself worthy. The Great Council ends and everyone goes their separate ways, vigilant to see which side strikes first. Many eager to find the winning side.

The Kingsguard itself quarreled with Florian Meadows and Kevan Lefford traveling to serve Bittersteel while Loras Cordwayner and Bruce Waynwood travel with young Aenar and his mother to the Vale. Ser Duncan the Tall and Ser Ossifer Storm both denounce Bittersteel as an evil greedy man. They come up with a plan; Ser Duncan will stay in the Crownlands and drum up support for Daena while Ser Ossifer travels with Daena to Casterly Rock.

## The War Begins

### Bittersteel's First Strike

Bittersteel strikes first and has his maesters send letters to the realm, proclaiming himself to be the rightful King as he was the eldest living son of Aegon IV Targaryen. He raises the Riverlands, gathering forces from all the Houses except for Frey and Blackwood whose Lords looks to the North and East towards the side of the Starks and Arryns.

The heir Forrest Frey, however, favors another course of action and sends a secret message to Bittersteel, promising to convince his father to rally to Bittersteel if he doesn’t march on the Twins. Bittersteel agrees, knowing the Twins are strategically vital. House Tully simply refuses to march. Intending to stay in their keep and lands and bide their time.

As events unfold in the Riverlands, many in the Crownlands believe Daena to be the only stable successor, fearing the instability in a long regency. However, many more also fear Bittersteel’s wrath, leading to most remaining neutral, unable to choose a side.

Those opposed to Bittersteel and wanting to fight, rally behind Lord Jason Darklyn who, having hid the sword Blackfyre to nobody’s knowledge, decided that Bittersteel cannot win at all costs. Some doubt his true intentions and many fear the price of facing Bittersteel. Support is slow to come at first, but Lord Jason swears an oath before the steps of the Sept of Baelor.

> "I swear upon my life, my lordship, and my family name that my only intention is to stop an evil and dark hearted man from usurping the position that should be rightfully taken by his brother’s blood. I will not stop. I will not surrender. I will not admit defeat. I will see the true and rightful Blackfyre heir upon the throne or die in the attempt. May the demons of Seven Hells torment me for eternity if I break my oath."
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And thus Darklyn’s Demons, as his followers began to call themselves, were born. Ser Duncan the Tall finds Lord Jason to be a just an honorable man and is the first to join his cause, knowing that by fighting Bittersteel, he will help Daena and recruit others to her cause. Hundreds of men are inspired by the oath and join the two men against the Riverlord.

### The Gambit of the North and Vale

In the North and Vale, the Lord Stark is ready to call his banners and immediately march to the south to join forces with Lord Arryn, but the wily Lord of the Vale counsels caution. He eventually gets the Stark Lord to agree to let Bittersteel spend his strength fighting the Crownlanders and others in Daena’s cause and to strike when they are weakened.

### Resistance in the West

Across the realm minor Lords flock to Bittersteel’s cause. Some hoped to reap the spoils while others believe that his aggression and brutality was unacceptable. In the West, Houses Reyne, Lefford and Westerling all rise for Bittersteel and cause House Lannister all sorts of trouble. They raid farms and villages, completely catching Lord Gerold Lannister off guard.

It is some time before he can raise much of his strength, which proves difficult with some Houses wanting to be neutral and not declare for any side. House Payne sees their success and rallies to their side as well. House Lannister eventually fights back and forces all the rebel lords to bend the knee, not without bloody battles, except the Lord of House Reyne who cannily bends the knee before any heavy fighting against the Lannisters, getting the least harsh of terms offered to the rebels in the Westerlands.

### The Coalition in the Reach

In the Reach Houses Florent, Rowan, Oakheart and Vyrwel rise up for Bittersteel, however, they do not capture the same success as the supporters in the Westerlands. Lord Tyrell dithers at Highgarden but Lords Hightower, Tarly, Beesbury, and Peake form a coalition and smash Bittersteel’s followers in a bloody Battle at Old Oak, which was thereafter known as the Massacre of the Oaks. Lord Tarly cut down Lord Oakheart during the battle as Lord Hightower cut down his second-born son and Lord Peake cut down Lord Vyrwell. Lord Florent was gravely wounded and their supporters were smashed. Thus ended any widespread support for Bittersteel in the Reach.

### Walter's Rebellion in Dorne

Meanwhile in Dorne, Bittersteel had offered House Yronwood the chance to be declared Lord Paramount and the Princeship of Dorne should he take the throne and they rise up against the Martells. Walter Yronwood eagerly takes him up on the offer, earning support from Houses such as Jordayne, Wyl, Qorgoyle, Ladybright, Uller and Santagar. The Dornish civil war quickly devolves into a bloody series of raids, skirmishes and minor battles.

Notable ones include:

The Sacking of Sandstone, where the knight and heir of House Toland cuts down Lord Qorgoyle and takes his keep in a bloody assault.

The Harrying of High Hermitage, where Lord Uller leads a mad charge upon the lines of both Houses of Dayne, almost killing the Sword of the Morning in single combat.

The Weeping of Wyl, where Ser Dickon Manwoody leads a daring nighttime raid upon the encamped forces of House Wyl. He takes the youngest son of House Wyl prisoner and tortures and kills him in front of his father’s army the next morning, prompting a hasty and foolish charge by his father and his forces which resulted in them being decimated. The Lord Wyl being taken prisoner and takes House Wyl out of the conflict.

The fighting stretches out over the best part of a year and a half and only ceases after a desperate battle on the Plains before Sunspear. The Battle of the Unbowed was a last desperate throw of the dice by the rebellious lords of Dorne where they summoned what forces they had left and faced the larger Martell forces. The Prince of Dorne called upon the rebel leaders to surrender before the battle but they responded with the now famous single line.

> "A Martell isn’t the only one who can be Unbowed."
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The fighting was desperate and despite the Prince of Dorne’s superior numbers the tide of the battle raged back and forth. The infamous Ser Dickon Manwoody was cut down by a cousin of the Lord Wyl, a bastard knight named Ser Artos Sand. Lords Ladybright and Santagar fell fighting back to back, cut off from the majority of their forces by a charge from the Prince of Dorne who subsequently lost an eye fighting Ser Artos Sand. He was only saved by the healed Sword of the Morning, who slew seven men, including Ser Artos Sand while standing over the Prince of Dorne’s unconscious body. He then took over command from the wounded and unconscious Prince and aggressively charged the rebels, who lost most of their men and the majority of their leaders. The battle finally ended with a bloody duel between the Sword and Lord Walter Yronwood, which ended with Lord Yronwood's beheading. The rebelling Houses' heirs, including Trevyr Yronwood, were kept at Sunspear as prisoners and hostages until the duration of the rest of the war or until they became of age. Thus ended the Dornish struggle.

### Strategy of the Stormlands

The Stormlanders largely were held together by the Lord Baratheon, resolving to stay neutral after a council is called at Storm’s End upon the commencement of hostilities. The Lord Baratheon successfully encourages his lords to look to their borders and ignore Bittersteel’s summons. They resolve to watch and wait, convinced they have no need to bathe in blood and they can easily support the eventual victory at a time when victory looks imminent.

### The Demon's Cause

Lord Jason Darklyn and Ser Duncan the Tall eventually end up gathering five thousand men from various Crownlander Lord’s, sellswords and free-riders and base themselves out of the northern Crownlands between Antlers and the God’s Eye. They begin by raiding Bittersteel’s lands as he gathers the bulk of the Riverlands, eventually gathering almost three times the men they can field. Knowing they can’t meet Bittersteel directly in battle they resort to splitting into small bands to take out his outriders, plunder his supply lines and harry his camps.

Bittersteel, however, was too stubborn to let this phase him and had too much aggression to sit back and allow this to continue. He resorts to having any prisoners taken tortured for information and puts a large bounty on Darklyn and Duncan the Tall’s heads. Eventually, he gets informed about their main camp and after a swift night march surprises Darklyn’s Demons. He personally leads a furious assault that catches the Demons off guard in the early morning hours. Most there are slaughtered in the bloody 'Damning of the Demons'.

Ser Duncan sees Lord Jason Darklyn surrounded and personally leads a charge of twenty men to bust them free. He initially succeeds only to see that Bitterstel had baited him into a trap and was personally leading a countercharge. Ser Ducan selected two men to drag the wounded Jason Darklyn to safety and with a cry of “For Daena!” led the remaining men to ward off Bittersteel.

In a duel where both men became unhorsed, Ser Duncan gave Bittersteel a cut to the cheek that barely missed his throat and left him with a nasty scar. Bittersteel, however, didn’t miss his riposte and mortally wounded the Lord Commander. As he lay dying some say Ser Duncan cursed the Riverlord with

> “Bitter is your name and Bitter will be your line. Forsaking your bond of blood to Blackfyre will tilt the Gods’ favor against you.”
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Some say he died with Daena’s name on his lips. It is said when she heard of his death she wept as if for a lover. Shortly after the battle several of his supporters rescued Ser Duncan’s body from where he had fallen. It is said they buried him on a high hill, under a great Elm tree.

As Lord Jason Darklyn recovered from his wounds, he mourned the Lord Commander and wondered why he made his sacrifice. He had started his fight primarily opposed to Bittersteel rather than as a supporter to the other two claimants, but having Ser Duncan save his life started him upon the path he would later embrace. He had the remaining three thousand men split into many small bands and ordered them to disperse among the northern Crownlands and Riverlands to bleed Bittersteel from a thousand tiny cuts and help the people he had oppressed. He meanwhile went to Duskendale to heal and try to drum up more support. However many Lords either ignored his pleas, convinced he could not win or decided that the time wasn’t right to fight.

### The Warped West

Having put down the rebels in his own lands, Lord Gerold did little else to Daena’s frustration. He made it clear that, although she was technically not a prisoner, she was to be a guarded guest until she married his son. Daena found that although he seemed smitten with her and treated her with every courtesy, she felt nothing for Tywald Lannister, the heir to the Rock who was barely old enough to marry, if old enough at all.

She took to practicing her skills with a bow a pastime she was remarked upon to practice twice as much after hearing of the death of Ser Duncan the Tall. She soon began to realize that if she did not take up her own cause and find a way to escape that she may never leave Casterly Rock. It is about this time that she is said to have fallen in love with Ser Benjen Marbrand, their heir of Ashemark and he is said to have fallen just as hard for her. He, being a companion to Tywald Lannister, and often being her assigned guard gave the pair plenty of time for solitude.

They soon began to plot with her remaining Kingsguard, Ser Ossifer Storm and Ser Benjen enlisted as co-conspirators his friends and fellow knights Ser Kyle Footly, Ser Jason Turnberry, Ser Ronnel Ferren, Ser Jaime Bettley and Ser Willem Hawthorne. They came up with a plan to flee to the Crownlands to drum up support via the Gold Road. However, on the day they plan to escape they are caught in the act in the stables by none other than Tywald Lannister himself.

He calls for the guard but then amazingly has a change of heart. Not being as manipulative or as hard-hearted as his father, he declares that he loves Daena even though she doesn’t feel the same. He decides to let her go and tells them to flee by the River Road as he will claim they went by the Gold Road as the River Road will never be suspected. When Tywald tells his father about this, adding that he is not interested in marrying Daena, Lord Gerold does not want to hear it and immediately sends patrols to the Gold Road. However, they do not discover a trace of the Blackfyre and her followers. Gerold Lannister apparently hanged a portion of the men sent to look for her. Realizing that she was beyond his reach, he was left brooding at Casterly Rock and looking on at the war, dreaming about the missed opportunity of getting a claim on the Iron Throne.

### The Queen's Companions

The Queen and her companions travel mostly by night and hide up during the day. Ser Willem Hawthorne starts to despair immediately and turns to drinking in any inns and taverns they see along the way, as Daena would usually send a couple companions looking for news of the road and the realm. The rest of the companions notice this and Daena forbids him from any further scouting trips. Ser Willem grew quiet and sullen but none knew then of how treacherous he would become. The travels went well and without incident and they quickly reached the Riverlands to find a region of peril and terror.

They reach the lands of the Vance’s of Wayfarer’s Rest when they hear of the fighting among Darklyn’s Demons and the men of Bittersteel all throughout the Riverlands. They specifically hear that all travelers are intercepted or searched and often killed around the border’s of house Tully’s lands so they resolve to cross the Red Fork and the Mummer’s Ford instead of following the River Road past Riverrun. They strike off towards that way riding very cautiously when they find that most of the Riverlands had endured hardship due to Bittersteel sending his bands of vagrants to confiscate any food or valuables to help support the ongoing war effort. Any who resist are beaten or maimed or killed and Daena, having had some medical training from her Maester and Septa in her youth, insists on treating anyone she can in the villages she passes. This act of kindness draws attention from atravelling knight by the name of Ser Jory Norcross; a tourney knight famed for singing - both in the taverns and the lists. Jory drops to a knee, swearing her his blade.

The companions at first are firmly against her behavior, knowing that that tarrying can mean capture or death and that her actions are holding them up from their desired task of building her a support base and making her Queen. Ser Willem is against it the most out of all of her companions and causes discontent with much of the others. They come to a sept southeast of Pinkmaiden when she senses that a mutiny is close to happening and has enough.

With Ser Benjen and Ser Ossifer at her side she has the company enter the sept where she demands they pledge fealty to her and take an oath of obedience. All assent except for Ser Willem, who accosts her with coarse language in his wrath and flatly refuses. She stops several of the other’s from cutting him down and tells him to take his horse and leave them. He flees but instead of going back to the Westerlands he makes for Stone Hedge and Bittersteel’s kin, intent to turn her whereabouts in for a reward. Fearful of that exact situation, the Queen and her companions leave to skirt to the north of one of the tributaries of the Blackwater Rush and then to strike south to the Gold Road using it to cross the river and then make a straight strike for Duskendale and to the supposed safety in Lord Darklyn’s city.

### Bittersteel's Ascent

At about this time, Bittersteel decides to take King’s Landing and Crown himself King of the Iron Throne and Lord of the Seven Kingdoms. Before he sets out, he sends a courier with a secret letter to Forrest Frey, heir of the Twins and within days the Frey heir sets out for the Eyrie to visit with Lord Arryn but whether it is at his father or Bittersteel’s behest is not known.

Bittersteel, having to his knowledge cut the head off the snake of Darklyn’s Demons, after slaying Ser Duncan the Tall and beating back Lord Jason Darklyn, feels secure and makes his move striking at King’s Landing. He is surprised that he meets with little resistance from the Crownlander Lords as they bend the knee to him and throw open their keeps while he marches his men further and further south. When he marches to Duskendale to find the gates to the city and wide open and the Darklyn family, without Lord Jason or his heir, Daemon, ready to bend the knee. He searches the entire city for Lord Darklyn but finds nothing. Lord Jason’s family says nothing when questioned until Jason’s second born son, Aegon, comes forward and says that his brother and father are with the Demons again and that he wishes to pledge fealty to Bittersteel then and there. Bittersteel is impressed by the boy and names him the new lord and his squire all at once. He takes the lad hostage and leaves two hundred men and a captain to make sure the city and rest of the family stays loyal.
Little does he know that Jason Darklyn planned for it all, and as Bittersteel was in Duskendale, Jason and Daemon were at Dragonstone negotiating with the Castellan, who was a younger brother of the Lord Velaryon, to join Daena’s cause.

Bittersteel takes King’s Landing with hardly a whimper and is negotiating with the High Septon to crown him when word comes of the death of Daena’s little brother Aenar Blackfyre.

### Dishonor in the Vale

No one know’s what was said between the Lord Arryn and Forrest Frey but a mere week after the Frey heirs departure someone, most tales name Edmund Blanetree, a companion of the Kingsguard, as the one who sent the little boy flying through the Moon Door to his death. Mere moments after, Loras Cordwayner and Bruce Waynwood stumbles on the assassin trying to make his escape. They engage in a fierce sword fight where Blanetree struck down Ser Robin Egen, called the Moonlight Knight, as well as wounding Ser Loras before being brutally killed by the guards of Lord Arryn before having his dismembered corpse tipped out the Moon Door as well. Whether the rumours of Bittersteel being the instigator behind Blanetree's plot were true or not, the incident greatly elevated the tensions between the Realms.

When Lord Stark found out about the treachery, it is said he became enraged and cleared his desk with fury. He immediately called for a march, moving the men he had stationed at Moat Cailin south. Lord Stark got in contact with Lord Frey and requested access to the Twins. The heir of Lord Frey learns of this and, in his continued scheme to play both sides, tells Bittersteel of the Stark army marching south.

When Bittersteel hears of the news, he immediately begins drafting plans to march north as fast as possible. However, during one of the war councils, Ser Willem Hawthorne arrives and tells Bittersteel and his council of a better prize than Lord Stark.

### The Fleeing of Daena

By this time, Daena Blackfyre was just east of Stoney Sept with her companions. During their travels, the Princess caught a fever and began to worry the men. Her nights were spent tossing and turning, muttering unintelligible words. One night, just south of the God’s Eye, Ser Ronnel Ferren described hearing her speak the names of those who opposed her in her fever dreams. Though all her other words were mumbles and could not be discerned, the names of her opponents were as clear as if she were awake.

Their original plan was to move south to the Gold Road and make their way after they passed the Golden Tooth. However, with Daena’s fever, they could not wait. Instead, the Princess and her companions crossed the river just south of the God’s Eye and made east to Duskendale. On the way, they stopped at an inn covered in ivy vines, seeking refuge. A few of the inhabitants recognized her in her feverish state, but only one had the gall to run.

The night before they were meant to leave the inn, the men of Bittersteel along with Ser Willem Hawthorne, surrounded the inn and demanded the Queen’s Companions surrender Daena. They refused, leading to a standoff throughout the evening as they barred all the entrances, preventing entrance.

### The Last Leg

In the early hours of the morning, Lord Darklyn and his Demons arrive, breaking the Bittersteel men and sending them running. Ser Willem Hawthorne was captured and kept in chains for the remainder of the war. The traitor was dragged through the mud and left to lay in his own shit.

Lord Jason rescued Daena from the inn and immediately brought her back to Duskendale where she recovered quickly. Daena came to learn that in his absence, Jason Darklyn had negotiated Dragonstone to earn their support. Once the Dragonstone men landed in the Crownlands, most of the other Crownlander houses flocked to their cause. After he told her of the events, he revealed that he had the sword, Blackfyre, and bestowed it upon her, lending her the final piece of legitimacy she needed for her claim to the throne.

In the south, Ser Ossifer Storm negotiated with the Lord of Storm’s End to declare for Daena. Though neutral throughout the war, the Stormlands finally declared for Daena once it was clear that the support for Bittersteel was waning. With what men he could muster quickly, Lord Baratheon marches north to meet with the Crownlander army at Duskendale.

### The Field of Tears

Once the forces of the Stormlands and Crown met, they marched north, but only for a short time. Just east of the God’s Eye, they crossed paths with the majority of Bittersteel’s army who were headed south to secure Daena’s capture.

The battle looked to be short, as Lord Baratheon was unable to rally many men before leaving Storm’s End. Though reinforcements were on their way, they would not make it in time. The forces of the Crownlands and Stormlands were being battered by Bittersteel and his men. The battle seemed to be over when suddenly Bittersteel turned to see the Frey heir charging at him. Quickly ducking out of the way of the Frey’s sword, Bittersteel immediately mounted his horse and made for his guards. He noticed quickly that those bearing the banner of House Frey seemed to be slaughtering his men, and not the Queen’s men. It became apparent that with the sudden betrayal, there was no way they could come out on top as all of his men were taken off guard.

Bittersteel retreated to Harrenhal with what men he could save.

### The Death of Bittersteel

Upon his arrival at Harrenhal, it is said that there was non-stop wailing and screaming from the man himself. Echoes of dispair could be heard throughout the haunted keep, though if it was Aegor’s it was unknown. Bittersteel watched from the highest tower as forces began to diverge on the keep, practically all of the Riverlands turning against him.

The next morning, the mangled body of Aegor was found at the base of the largest tower. Some say he threw himself, others say he was thrown. But all the realm knows is that the curse of Harrenhal spares no man, and no house, no matter how low born nor high born.

## Aftermath

The War of the Wicked officially ended in the year 227 AC with Daena Blackfyre being crowned the first Queen on the Iron Throne. Though there were some pockets of resistance, they were quickly quelled and bowed to the Warrior Queen, the Realms Delight, Queen Daena.

As for Ser Willem Hawthorne, it is not clear what fate the traitor faced. There are some who claim to have seen his head atop a pike outside Harrenhal, but there were others who claimed to see his body dragged along the Kingsroad as Daena made her way south following the end of the war. In the end, the traitor got what was coming to him though. Queen Daena and her companions made sure of it.