Conflagration of the Trident

The opposing sides meet in Pinkmaiden to discuss peace terms

The Conflagration of the Trident was a major conflict that took place between 318 and 320AC between the Iron Throne and the Golden Throne. It resulted in the partitioning of the Upper and Lower Trident and a shaky peace between both sides.

## Prologue: 318-319AC

In the midst of Summer, resentment towards the Lannister-backed House Frey begins building amongst several Riverlords as well as the smallfolk. Memories of their betrayal of House Stark and House Tully in the Red Wedding had never faded, and given the new era of peace following the end of Winter, some began to seek friendships and ties with the Iron Throne, much to the chagrin of House Frey and their overlords, House Baratheon of Casterly Rock. As trade between the lords east of the Trident and the Iron Throne increased, so too did efforts by the Freys to cut down on this.

Just on the turning of the new year, Frey troops in Maidenpool positioned there to watch incoming trade barges are attacked by smallfolk, pelted in the streets by vegetables in anger at their increased presence. While more troops are sent to occupy the area, more acts of small-scale violence against Frey troops break out in Harrentown, Seagard, and Fairmarket. It was in Harrentown however where blood was first shed when a riot broke out against overzealous Frey troops, with a dozen soldiers killed after a mob of smallfolk began throwing rocks at them before setting fire to their barracks.

Within days a larger force of troops bearing the banner of the Twins arrived by boat, in which time many of the peasantry had armed themselves for a full-on revolt. Unprepared for the level of resistance they faced, the force was swiftly put on the retreat, and word quickly spread of the victory. In other trade towns south of the Red Fork uprisings began to spark. While at first limited to the smallfolk, in time several Lords began to prepare their armies, seeing the defeat of Freys at the hands of untrained peasants as evidence that House Frey had a shaky hold at best. One that could be broken with outside help.

## Gold and Iron: 319AC

Several Lords who’d made secret alliances with houses under the Iron Throne called in aid as Frey troops along with their loyalists began flooding south. Even the Tullys had been forced to bring men to quell the uprisings, their loyalty to the Golden Throne widely known to be at swordpoint. When troops came to Harrentown, however, the site of the first and most violent uprising yet, they were met with a surprise: The Golden Company. Having been granted the lands of Harrenhal under Harry Strickland at the end of the War of the Five Kings, many including House Strickland had been waiting for a chance to claim what was granted to them by House Targaryen. Having gathered several Lords together and pooled their men at Harrenhal, they met the Frey forces in full at the Battle of Harrentown, winning a crucial early victory and signalling the beginning of the Conflagration of the Trident.

With a significant hostile force now holding a critical rallying point, House Lannister and House Baratheon began to call their banners. Freshly at the end of the regency over his position as Lord of Lannisport, Lord Tytos Lannister was the first to answer the call, though overall command of the Westermen was given to House Baratheon. While their forces gathered at Lannisport, House Tully and House Frey managed to violently put down several uprisings north of the Red Fork and west of the Green Fork, solidifying Baratheon hold on these lands that would remain until the end of the war.

The true problems were south of the Red Fork, however. The Golden Company and various allied Riverlords under the command of House Strickland took and held Harrenhal while others began gathering their forces elsewhere. Tully and Rebel forces met at High Heart in a resounding defeat for the Tullys, while House Frey was defeated at Saltpans after being lured into an ambush with peasant archers taking out half of their forces before levied troops cut down the survivors at the river. With the battles at Saltpans and High Heart proving that these rebellious Riverlords could be victorious on their own, House Targaryen began to support them in full, sending troops from Crownlands houses to bolster their numbers.

## Lion's Claws and Stag's Antlers: 319AC

By this time, however, the forces of the Golden Throne had gathered, and a force of 15,000 men marched down the River Road to Riverrun, breaking off into smaller task forces to bolster Frey and Tully troops in pacifying rebellious areas. Fairmarket was the first to meet the troops of the Golden Throne, having been held solely by the peasantry since the beginning of the uprisings. While initially successful in minor skirmishes, the troops of the Golden Throne broke through, flooding the town with troops and brutally putting down the insurrection. Large portions of the town were put to the torch during the Battle of Fairmarket, and days later hundreds of bodies swept along the river past Lord Harroway’s Town, another Rebel stronghold. The bodies were shortly followed by a combined Lannister and Tully strike, and the Battle of Harroway’s Town saw even more dead than Fairmarket.

Harroway’s Town was turned into a fortress, with the Lion, Stag, Trout, and Towers banners raised up over it, a staging ground for raids into rebel territory. Within a fortnight the lands around it were filled with corpses shot full of arrows from various attacks by rebel smallfolk. The 2nd Battle of Harroway’s Town however came when Strickland forces came from the south, their experience in mixed unit combat giving the defenders a severe challenge as trebuchets broke down the walls, sowing chaos. A young Lord Tytos Lannister however rallied the defending troops, forming them up when Strickland forces began their charge. Three cavalry assaults were turned away by pikes and arrows before a turtle formation of heavy infantry pushed their way forward, meeting the defenders in open combat. A brutal slog that soaked the ground around it in blood, the battle resulted in a draw, though the defenders came out of it with more of their garrison intact than the defenders.

Only three days later however the Strickland forces were bolstered by troops from the Crownlands, with only an early scout report giving the Lannister and Baratheon forces enough advance warning to abandon the hold before they could be overrun, pushing a forced march back to Fairmarket.

## Dragonfire: 319-320AC

House Targaryen’s forces began their foray into the Riverlands after the abandonment of Harroway’s Town, striking at Tully and Frey holdouts while linking up with rebellious houses. House Piper of Pinkmaiden however remained yet unaffiliated, raising their troops solely to protect their lands from raiding, and turned away House Targaryen’s attempts to bring them into the fold while repelling assaults from Frey troops. The Battle of Stoney Sept proved to be the establishing moment for House Targaryen, where 7,000 Crownlands troops fought to a crushing victory against a depleted Tully force, pushing them into a retreat that was quickly followed by a complete rout and Targaryen victory at the Battle of Tumbler’s Falls. Hundreds of men surrendered, giving the Targaryens leverage for the future.

Further north at Lychester another battle erupted, this time between troops under direct control of House Baratheon of Casterly Rock and a combined host of Riverlords under House Strickland. While a victory for the Rebels, both sides took pyrrhic losses before a Targaryen army of 3,000 men reinforced the Riverlords, winning them the day.

Targaryen and Rebel forces yet remained south of the Red Fork, however, and the Battle of the Kneeling Man’s Inn kept them there. The largest battle of the war, 11,000 troops of the Golden Throne met with 13,000 Targaryen and Riverlord men. Despite being outnumbered, the Golden Throne’s men proved victorious in the three-day engagement, whittling down Targaryen forces in brutal slogs that turned the river a deep red, just as it was named. On the third day of battle however archers under the command of a Westerlord crossed the river at a distance out of sight, flanking the Targaryen troops before raining arrows on them. Unable to protect from arrows on one side and Golden Throne troops on another, Targaryen troops were forced to retreat, with Westerman cavalry picking off stragglers and harassing the rear guard as they fled down the River Road back towards Harrenhal.

## De-Escalation: 320AC

Despite the loss at the Kneeling Man, Targaryen forces proved effective and victorious in several smaller skirmishes at Riverbend, Widow’s Ford, and Crossed Elms. Their distraction in the Riverlands however made them blind to a growing fire in the Vale, where the Hill Tribes began growing more and more brash with their raids, numbers swelled by the Wildlings who’d come south after the Long Night. Despite their knowledge and expertise in mountain warfare, the Knights of the Vale proved ineffective at putting down the insurrection, and called on support from the Iron Throne.

At the same time, around the turn of the new year, Ironborn raids began to crop up along the coasts of the Westerlands and Reach, culminating in a brutal sacking of Oldtown by longships under the command of Euron Greyjoy. The King in the West realized that he would need to deal with this threat as well, lest the Ironborn see him as weak and launch a full-scale invasion. Similarly, House Targaryen had built their rule on supporting their vassals, and knew they couldn’t pull troops out of the Riverlands without giving it up for Baratheon rule.

House Piper, still neutral in the conflict, was used as a go-between for the Targaryen king and the Baratheon king. Both sides recognized the need for peace, and were brought together at Pinkmaiden along with the remains of both of their armies. After three days of tense deliberation, a peace agreement was worked out by both. The Golden Throne would keep the land it had held north of the Red Fork and west of the Green Fork. Meanwhile the Iron Throne would keep their territory south of the Red Fork and east of the Green Fork. While it was never openly stated, both sides were clear on one thing: This conflict would be revisited. It was done for now, but not over. With the borders clearly defined both sides went home, regrouping for their own conflicts that lay ahead.