Kingdom of the Dusklands

The **Kingdom of the Dusklands** is one of the constituent regions of Westeros and is a sovereign nation ruled by Kings of Duskendale, or more commonly known as the Dusk Kings. The dominion of House Darklyn stretches from the Blackwater Rush bordering the Stormlands, to Bay of Crabs bordering the Trident and Vale. To the west, the Dusklands shares a very small border with the Reach, measuring only a handful of miles long. To the east, the Dusklands shares the peninsula known as Cracklaw Point with the Kingdom of the Claw.

The Dusklands are ruled by House Darklyn from the port-city known as Duskendale. Bastards born of noble origins in the Dusklands are given the surname Dusk.

The Dusklands, along with the Kingdom of the Claw, share numerous trade routes with the Free City of Pentos.

## Geography

The Kingdom of the Dusklands is comprised mainly of plains and flatlands. There are many farms, orchards, market towns, and other smaller settlements across the Dusklands, allowing the region to boast a healthy harvest.

The borders to the north are natural borders comprised of the Bay of Crabs. On the other side of the bay lay the Trident and Vale both. This part of the Dusklands contains many smaller settlements, mainly fishing villages along the coast of the bay. To the north-west and west, the Trident directly borders the Dusklands. While farms and orchards can be found all across the Dusklands, they are mainly situated in the central and western portions of the region. To the east, the Claw directly borders the Dusklands. In the past, this was the locale of many skirmishes between the two smaller kingdoms. Celtigar laying claim to Darklyn lands and vice versa.

The borders to the south are natural borders comprised of the Blackwater Rush; a deep, swift river with wicked and treacherous currents. Notably present at the mouth of the Blackwater Rush is the Aegonfort occupied by House Qoherys. The Aegonfort was where Aegon Targaryen landed with his sisters and their dragons in a failed attempt to conquer the continent.

## Wars and Battles of the Dusklands

### The War for Aegon's Legacy

**1AA:** On the day that Aegon Targaryen fled Westeros, Lord Aethen Velaryon attempted to lay claim to Aegon's titles and claims, but Ser Robin Darklyn disputed him. Their words turned to shouts, and the shouts turned to violence. The two men sides would soon come to blows, and a battle began between two of Aegon's most loyal supporters. At the end of the day, Lord Darklyn and two of his sons lay dead. Ser Robin personally dueled Lord Velaryon, but both men were wounded. Velaryon escaped, and the bodies of his men were thrown into the river.

Following that, House Darklyn remained quiet while the Kings in Claw Isle and Dragonstone began to bleed each other-- that was until Lord Sunglass lead his victorious men back to Dragonstone following the Battle of Rook's Rest, and King Darklyn saw the opportunity to seize Rook's Rest without much of a struggle. He achieved his conquest with relatively light fighting, and gained the fealty of House Staunton.

The capture of Rook's Rest preceded a long, half-year pause in hostilities. While Celtigar prepared to strike Velaryon, Darklyn marshalled his strength and built upon what he had already in Duskendale and Rook's Rest, along with many of the other mainland houses of what had been until a year ago known as the Crownlands. Such would be the extent of House Darklyn's participation in the war.

### The Rosby Rebellion

**70AA - 71AA:**After the death of King Steffon I Darklyn, his son Robin, a man who was deeply unpopular with the houses of the Dusklands, inherited the throne. Taking advantage of the chaos that was inherent in succession, Lord Lothar Rosby gathered the majority of the Dusklands' nobility at his castle, along with Robin's brother Leowyn. Catching word of this, Robin marched to Rosby, and challenged Lothar to a duel, expecting to be outnumbered by the men of Rosby. Little did he know that Lord Lothar had only a token garrison behind his walls, having sent his army to deal with the army that the Dusk King had ordered Lord Justin Stokeworth to raise at Stokeworth. Robin was at a disadvantage not wielding his ancestral sword, and was already physically weaker than his opponent. In contrast, Lothar Rosby was a master with Valour, and slew the Dusk King with ease.

However, with the inheritance of Leowyn Darklyn, the war was not over. Lord Justin Stokeworth had crowned himself the successor to Robin, using his loyalty as his claim, and planned a long war with Leowyn and Lothar. However, Lord Rosby had forseen this, and late in the twelfth moon of 70AA, put the castle of Stokeworth under siege. Alongside the young King Leowyn, Lord Rosby assaulted Lord Justin's castle, slaying the Lord of Stokeworth, and ending the war. Standing over the lord's corpse, Lothar Rosby nicknamed Lord Justin 'the Loyal Lamb', and gave the war the name of Rosby's Rebellion.

### The War for the Antlers

**175AA-177AA:**The War for the Antlers began when King Crispian III Celtigar led a preemptive strike on the Kingdom of the Dusklands, fearing King Steffon II Darklyn would conquer his own Kingdom if he did nothing. The war was a disaster, the Kingdom of the Claw losing the Antlers to House Darklyn by the end of the war.

### Queen Dacey's War

**210AA**: Following The Weeks War Queen Dacey I Celtigar was alerted to an amassing Darklyn Armada meant to attack conquer the Kingdom of the Claw once and for all. Queen Dacey rallied her divided Kingdom to defend against the invaders. The War was fought mostly on the water and resulted in the near complete destruction of the Dusklands Fleet. Dacey eventually sued for a white peace, which King Darklyn accepted.

### The War of the Trident

**290AA-292AA:** As war raged in the Trident proper, King Andar II Arryn approached his opposites in Duskendale and Claw Isle with a plan. As House Gardener grew more powerful, they would invade the Reach in the effort to stop him. The Celtigar-Darklyn host would march to Bitterbridge.

Bitterbridge would prove to be a bloody defeat for Celtigar and Darklyn, however. The Reachmen under a Tyrell knight shattered the Dusklander host, sending them reeling back to Duskendale to plot a new course of action.

Citing their new closeness with House Arryn, however, King Durran XXX Durrandon invaded the Dusklands in earnest. King Darklyn surrendered without a fight as his forces were too weakened from Bitterbridge to effectively resist, and House Darklyn bent the knee to House Durrandon.

## Houses Sworn to House Darklyn of Duskendale

The principle noble houses sworn to House Darklyn of Duskendale are:

* House Buckwell of the Antlers
	+ House Blount of Blount Hall
	+ House Farring of Night Hall
* House Bywater of Bywater Keep
	+ House Gaunt of Gaunt House
	+ House Rollingford of Rollingford
* House Hayford of Hayford
	+ House Hogg of Hogg Keep
* House Qoherys of the Aegonfort
* House Rosby of Rosby
	+ House Follard of Follard Hall
* House Staunton of Rook's Rest
	+ House Langward of Langward Castle
	+ House Manning of Manning Hall
* House Stokeworth of Stokeworth
	+ House Cargyll of Cargyll Keep
	+ House Chelsted of Chelsted Keep
* House Thorne of Thornehold
	+ House Byrch of Byrch Keep
	+ House Chytterings of Chytterings Keep
* **Houses of Duskendale**
	+ House Dargood of Duskendale
	+ House Darke of Duskendale
	+ House Darkwood of Duskendale
	+ House Hollard of Duskendale
	+ House Rykker of Duskendale