Petyr I Baelish

Alayne Baelish

> "*In the game of thrones, even the humblest pieces can have wills of their own. Sometimes they refuse to make the moves you've planned for them. Mark that well, Alayne. It's a lesson that Cersei Lannister still has yet to learn.*"
> ― Petyr to Sansa Stark, disguised as his daughter
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King **Petyr I Baelish**, First of his Name, was King of Westeros from 303 AC to 331 AC. Voted in during the Great Council of 303 AC, Petyr was responsible for many feats during his life, let alone his kingship. In the North he was known for aiding House Stark in it's time of need, and defending the realm against the Long Night. In the south he exiled the Faith Militant and served as Master of Coin for many years. Through guile, he would win the vote in the Great Council and land himself the highest seat in Westeros.

He would be succeeded by his son, Eddard I Baelish.

## History

### Liberation of Winterfell

In 300 AC, the rise of a man who would become King of Westeros began with the death of another king. Stannis Baratheon, brother of the late King Robert Baratheon, marched on the castle of Winterfell hoping to liberate it of the Boltons. Though he hoped to draw them out into the field, the Bolton men stayed inside the castle. With winter fast approaching, Stannis Baratheon decided to take the risk of assaulting the castle, and though the gates were broken and many Bolton men die, the assault ultimately ended in failure and death of the rebel King.

Stannis Baratheon wasn’t the only man who wanted to take Winterfell from the Boltons. Upon hearing of the battle of Winterfell, Petyr Baelish, Lord Protector of the Vale of Arryn and Lord Paramount of the Trident, set into motion a plot to retake the castle in the name of Sansa Stark. While his plan was originally to wed Sansa Stark to Harrold Hardyng, the Young Falcon died during the Tourney for the Brotherhood of Winged Knights. Instead, Petyr Baelish decided to marry Sansa Stark himself in order to get her the support of the Vale and to gain the trust of the Northern lords.

With the help of Lord Manderly, an army of Northerners and Valemen were brought together at White Harbor. From there, the army marched on Winterfell, taking the Boltons by surprise. With a quick and decisive assault on the weakened Bolton forces, the castle of Winterfell was liberated. Lord Manderly revealed that Rickon Stark is alive, and once the boy had been retrieved from Skagos, he was designated the Lord of Winterfell, with Sansa Stark acting as his regent.

### Long Night

> *Main Article: Long Night*
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The year 300 AC would long be remembered as a year of invasions. Not only had Targaryens attempted to retake Westeros, but an unexpected invasion from Beyond the Wall also came. Lord Commander Jon Snow travelled down to Winterfell to report that he had seen an army of the undead, raised by creatures known as the Others, marching for the Wall. While many lords were skeptical, Sansa and Rickon Stark pledged the armies of the North to help their brother. Following suit, Petyr Baelish also pledged the armies of the Vale and Trident.

At the Wall, the stories of the Others were confirmed to be true. A large army was seen marching for Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, and by the time the armies were able to get to the castle, it was already taken, letting the wights and their masters through. The armies retreated to Winterfell, and there stood in the way of the Others advance. For nearly a moon while the Others made their march south, the sun refused to rise. Crops withered and died due to the cold as far south as the Reach. Lord Baelish however was able to stockpile enough grain to feed the army at Winterfell.

At the end of the year 300 AC, the Others reached the castle of Winterfell. Other scattered armies and volunteers from across the realm also joined the war, as well as Daenerys Targaryen and her dragon Drogon. While many men died defending the keep, the enemy was eventually defeated, and the sun rose once more.

### Exile of the Faith Militant

In 301 AC, Lord Petyr Baelish decided to return to King’s Landing and offer his services once more as Master of Coin. While Queen Regent Cersei Lannister had her doubts about Baelish for marrying Sansa Stark and retaking Winterfell, she was persuaded by her councilors and the Tyrells that he was a man to be trusted. Lord Baelish promised the Queen Regent that if he was reinstated as Master of Coin, he would be able to deal with the increasingly troublesome Faith Militant and High Sparrow. Queen Regent Cersei agreed, and Lord Baelish rejoined the Small Council.

The plan devised by Lord Baelish to deal with the High Sparrow involved luring him and his Faith Militant outside of King’s Landing. To do so, the septon of the Starry Sept, who disagreed with his teachings, agreed to speak out against the High Sparrow. He claimed to reject his authority and proclaimed himself the true High Septon. Outraged, the High Sparrow left King’s Landing with the majority of the Faith Militant to confront the septon.

When the Faith Militant arrived at the Starry Sept, they found no holy men but instead Lannister soldiers, who ambushed and arrested the High Sparrow. Lord Baelish made an agreement however, that no blood would be spilled so long as he and his followers left for Essos. Though he was loathe to do so, the High Sparrow agreed and left for Pentos. The septon of the Starry Sept became the new High Septon, and the High Sparrow took up the title of Archsepton to distinguish himself from the High Septon in Westeros. Both the High Septon and Archsepton would continue to claim themselves as the true head of the Faith until the present day.

### Great Council (303 AC)

> *Main Article: Great Council of 303 AC*
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### Reign (303 AC - 331 AC)

The Seven Kingdoms now under the rule of the crowned King Petyr and Queen Sansa were quite swiftly reduced to six mere days into the Mockingbird’s rulership. With Euron Greyjoy’s behaviour and subsequent exit at the Great Council leaving a bad taste in many a lord’s mouth, King Petyr ultimately decided in allowing the Iron Islands to be free of the Crown’s purview, believing them to be more trouble than they were ultimately worth. Rather than wake a sleeping kraken, Petyr instead followed through on his promise made at the Great Council, legitimizing Edric Storm as Edric Baratheon, granting him the lordship of Storm’s End and naming him as his Lord Paramount of the Stormlands. The young lord would leave at once to attend to his childhood home, now his seat of power.

Petyr would also gift Martyn Lannister with the Valyrian steel sword Widow’s Wail, once belonging to King Joffrey, which proved to be contentious with the new Queen. Sansa believed, as the sword was forged from the ancestral blade Ice, that it belonged in Winterfell with her family as reparation. But the King’s decree had already been enacted and Martyn had left with the sword. Petyr tried to placate her with his clever words, but this caused a rift in the couple, a public one that caused whispers to spread like wildfire. They would not speak for almost a moon, living, supping, and ruling separate, and the King would only win her favour back with the gift of a prized hound he had named Lady.

Nine moons later, and Sansa would deliver the heir to the Iron Throne, Prince Eddard Baelish.

With Martyn Lannister bringing peace to the Riverlands with the disbandment of the Brotherhood Without Banners, the question of Lord Paramountship was prompted to King Petyr. He could not be King and Warden both, naturally. Lord Emmon Frey claimed that by the word of King Tommen he was the rightful Lord of Riverrun, with his stag-sealed declaration. Queen Sansa dismissed him easily; now Petyr was king, and not Tommen, and she instead lobbied for her uncle, Edmure Tully, to retake his ancestral home and titles. Petyr agreed to this, meeting with the formerly-imprisoned Lord Edmure. Either impressed by him or convinced he would be an easy tool to manipulate, King Petyr not only granted him his titles and home of Riverrun back, but raised him to Hand of the King. This further pleased Sansa, to the point of healing any cracks that had started to form in their marriage again.

King Petyr, with the backing of his Hand Edmure Tully, commits to the restoration of King’s Landing in full. Aegon Targaryen had laid waste to the city with his dragon and rather than repair the damage the King elected to rebuild and reinforce. Though the cost would be great, with the minds of King and Small Council combined, gold dragons fell from every corner of the realm to finance the endeavour. Nearly fifteen years would be spent on the reconstruction effort, looking to not only rebuild the city but improve on it, for the highborn and smallfolk alike who called the charred city home. These endeavours won Petyr the affection of the population easily, though the King still collected a cut of the businesses that he had owned in his tenure as Master of Coin. Whether that returned to the royal treasury or to his own pocket was known only to His Grace.

On the topic of the King’s treasurer, it was a surprise to some that Lord Mace Tyrell was chosen for the honour of replacing Petyr as Master of Coin on the Small Council in the middling years of reign. In truth, Lord Tyrell did not have a head for numbers and rather took his cues from the King himself on his position. It was plain to see that Mace was merely a mouthpiece, but at the very least he was a lucrative one. His position on the council brought Paxter Redwyne into the fold as Master of Ships, who rebuilt the navy stolen by the Bastard of Driftmark during Cersei’s waning reign.

King Petyr and Queen Sansa would also welcome their second son Jon in due process, their daughter Alayne following not long after. Under the guidance of Mockingbird and Wolf, Westeros continued to prosper in relative peace for the entirety of their joint reign. King’s Landing was completely restored in 318 AC, to much fanfare and celebration. The royal family seemed perfect; Petyr, poised in his rulership; Sansa, a popular and kind Queen; their children, spoiled Eddard, quiet Jon, and dainty Alayne. There was naught a thing in their world that would end this time of contentment.

Nothing except the Stranger, and his cold grip. Death was the one thing Petyr Baelish couldn’t outfox.

Six years on and King Petyr Baelish, First of His Name, passed away. His son Prince Eddard assumed the throne.

### Legacy

Littlefinger, as he was so often called in mocking, was instead remembered fondly, as a man of ambition, and one who proved how even the smallest piece on the board could dethrone a King.