Warlord Years

Also known as The Civil War, the **Warlord Years** refers to a series of conflicts and skirmishes that took place following the Mad King's Slaughter. The Warlord Years lasted for 20 years, finally ending with the Reach interregnum.

## History

### Phase I - Time of Chaos (Years 0-5)

#### New Powers Rise

With the destruction of most of Westeros ancient houses, as well as leaders of institutions such as the Church of the Seven, the land was immediately plunged into a time of chaos and confusion. All throughout the Kingdoms, landless and minor houses who hadn't attended the Grand Summit began scrambling to establish their power and bring order to their realms. These actions happened simultaneously throughout Westeros.

* Cratter Waters, a Goldcloak commander, claims the Iron Throne.
* In the North, Grayce Tarlor secures Ladyship of Winterfell through her uncle's control of the local garrison. She temporarily takes the title Queen in the North, refusing to accept the authority of King's Landing.
* In the Iron Islands, bastards of House Greyjoy take command of whatever forces they can muster and begin struggling for supremacy. The conflict lead to a years long stalemate, ending with the much later Breaker Kingsmoot.
* In the Reach, CM Shepard is chosen to take the position of Lord Paramount, having married into the Tyrell family.
* In the Riverlands, Garjund Brandt cites an ancient claim his family has to Lordship of Riverrun. Having kept his knights back from the Grand Summit, few are able to resist, no matter how dubious they believe his claim is. His daughter, Eleonore, would become Lady Paramount of The Riverlands after his death.
* In Dorne, Sana Martell is recalled from her stay in the Summer Isles, as the last surviving Martell. The Lords of Dorne decide to respect the Martell claim and establish her as Lady Paramount of Dorne.

Circumstances regarding the ascension of Matt Lovegood, Youma Talama and Tybolt Ironthorne are currently unknown.

#### Pacification of the North

*Main Article - Pacification of the North*

The new Northern lords, refusing to accept House Tarlor, rose up in rebellion. However, these revolts were individual, and without coordination between the rebels, Grayce was able to lead a military campaign that ended in a total victory, establishing House Tarlor as the rightful Kings in the North.

#### Overthrow of King Cratter

An army once loyal to Robert Baratheon marched on King's Landing, led by Garbet Yel. Storming the city and overwhelming the famished Goldcloak garrison, Garbet becomes the first Warlord King, Cratter having lasted three months.

### Phase II - The Great Bleeding (Years 5-10)

#### Battle of Harrenhal

Warne Rivers spent the five years immediately after the Mad King's Slaughter assembling a massive army, uniting splintered bandit groups and army remnants with the promise of great wealth. Marching his host to the wealthy Harrenhal, Warne burnt and sacked the rich towns surrounding it, plundering the land so heavily that it still hasn't recovered. Meeting the provocation, Garbet Yel marched out of King's Landing to meet the bandit army. Despite facing greater discipline and training, Warne was able to rout the Royal Army when the wind turned against them and left their arrows falling short. Marching onto King's Landing, Warne became the second Warlord King.

#### Ironborn Raiding

Growing bored of fighting each other, the Ironborn soon started raids all along the coast, from the southern cities of Dorne to Bear Island in the far north. Each Greyjoy bastard hoped for a raid that would bring back enough loot to finance the utter destruction of their rivals, yet they were always unable to win a decisive raid.

Raiding continued until the 10th year, when the bastards realised there would be no end to the fighting. Calling a Kingsmoot to resolve the issue, the entire Iron Islands was shocked when Liam Breaker, a minor lord, managed to win the support of lords who were tired of the conflict. He became the new Lord Paramount and struggled to bring the Ironborn under control.

#### Death of Warne Rivers

The smallfolk of the Riverlands, Stormlands and Crownlands grew tired of Warne allowing his army to rampage freely across their land, and soon retired military men found themselves training people in villages across the three Kingdoms. The Bandit Army began to dwindle, as soldiers had their throats cut while sleeping in inns, supplies were poisoned, and patrols went missing. Intending to put down the rebellion, Warne rode out of King's Landing and began killing smallfolk indiscriminately. When he attempted to return to the city, he found the gates barred and was informed the men he left behind had been burnt alive in their barracks. Lacking the strength to retake the city from the Smallfolk's Insurrection, he took shelter in the abandoned Harrenhal. While there, a loose stone fell from the gatehouse, killing him as he attempted to leave and gather support.

#### The Empty Throne

The death of Warne marked the beginning of a year known as the Empty Throne, King's Landing instead being governed by a council of notable merchants, craftsmen, guard commanders, commoners and religious leaders. As the commoners and reform minded Septons of the council began demanding wealth be invested in improving living conditions and the creation of public workshops where smallfolk could practice craft, the council soon broke down. Lurett Raud, commander of the Goldcloaks, arrested the council and declared himself the King of the Seven Kingdoms.

### Phase III - Lurett's War

#### Formation of the Midlander's Alliance

Unlike previous Warlord Kings, Lurett dreamed of finally reuniting the fragmented realm and ruling as a legitimate king. Deciding to secure his southern flank so he could safely march north, Lurett called on all lords to recognise him as the king. Having previously rallied the Crownlands lords to his banner, Lurett could field a decently sized army, and the Westerlands and Stormlands supported him. With the Reach and Dorne refusing his demand, Lurett assembled his army and marched against the Reach with the Stormlanders. The Westerlands armies marched on the Reach from the north.

## War of Midlander Aggression

### Result

Decisive Southern Victory

Advancing into the Reach, the Midlander's Alliance initially met very little resistance. They easily captured several castles on the border, giving them a secure position from which to advance further.

The Dornish army moved directly towards King's Landing, capturing villages and poorly manned castles as they went. Lords of the Stormlands, fearful of their holdings being destroyed while they are away, begin to desert Lurett en masse. Deciding he has no choice but to rout the Dornish first, Lurett turned his army back and into the Stormlands.

This opportunity was seized upon by the Reach army, who had been desperately trying to raise enough men to defeat the combined army. With the Westermen now moving through the northern Reach with no chance of linking up with the Stormlander and Crownlander forces, the Reachmen moved quickly. Meeting the Westermen on an open field, the superior cavalry routed the Ironthorne horses, before circling around to smash into the back of the Westermen. The encirclement was a complete disaster, and effectively ended the war.

Upon the news reaching Lurett, the Stormlanders withdrew from the Alliance and sued for peace with Dorne and the Reach. The King, vowing to carry on despite the impossible odds, was slain by one of his cavalry commanders, Karet Syder. Karet then released all the ravens in Lurett's camp, everyone bearing a message that Lurett fell in battle and Karet was to be his successor. Riding hard for King's Landing, he was let in by the city garrison. Replacing the Red Keep's maester with one loyal to him, he burnt any message that exposed his deception. His small force of loyalists began ambushing lords as they tried to return to their castles, and their disunited hosts were slaughtered as they camped.

#### Ironborn Skirmishes

The Ironborn, continuing their raids, ended up involved in several skirmishes with Northerners and Rivermen. The Ironborn won the majority, but were eventually curtailed by Lord Breaker.

### Phase IV - The Reach Interregnum

While Karet's scheme had consolidated his hold on power, it also dramatically weakened the Crownlands. By contrast, the large host of motivated Reachmen was still assembled. Deciding to finally bring an end to the period of Warlord Kings, CM Shepard marched directly on King's Landing. Exhausted by war, the castle garrisons along the way were unable to resist him, and most surrendered without a fight. Upon arrival at King's Landing, the Reach army found Karet had pressed every commoner he could find into service, many wielding broomsticks and kitchen knives as their weapons. They arrayed themselves on the walls, and CM prepared for a siege. However, militia commander Grisk Griskardian managed to get information to the Reach army, informing them to prepare to storm the Mud Gate. When the elite warriors chosen for the task, headed by Dirk Telarien arrived, Grisk opened the gate for them, and ordered his militia to retreat to their homes. The small loyalist forces and Goldcloaks were slaughtered by the invading army.

After taking the Iron Throne, CM called for a gathering of Lord Paramount's to elect a new ruler. At its conclusion, a Queen Regent was chosen, and the Warlord Years finally ended.

## Aftermath

The sheer devastation of the Warlord Years has left the entire Kingdom exhausted, particularly the Crownlands. With the war between the Midlanders and Southern Alliance resulting in pillaging of many villages and the deaths of countless smallfolk, the regions have struggled to recover.