War of the Narrow Sea

### Outcome

**Decisive Westerosi victory*** Deaths of Arya Stark, Edric Baratheon, Euron Greyjoy, Aeron Blackfyre, Naerys Blackfyre and Asaro Trellos
* House Greyjoy and House Blackfyre are rendered extinct
* Slavery is ended in the Second Triarchy and around the Stepstones
* The Second Triarchy is reorganised into the Three Daughters
* Harry Strickland becomes Lord Protector of the Three Daughters
* The Stepstones are annexed into the Seven Kingdoms and the Stepstones Guard is established
* The Iron Bank of Braavos is looted and destroyed by Westerosi forces

Factions| * **Iron Throne**/House Baratheon of King's Landing
* House Baratheon of Storm's End
* House Stark
* House Lannister
* House Arryn
* House Tully
* House Harlaw
* House Hightower(late stage)
* House Martell(late stage)
* Golden Company(late stage)
* Drogon (late stage)
* House Greyjoy †
* House Blackfyre †
* Gang of Five (turncloaks)
* **Volantis**/House Maegyr
* **Braavos**/House Antaryon
* Iron Bank of Braavos †
* Rego Cithien's pirate fleet
* Second Sons(breakaway faction)

**Edric Baratheon**: "*Why should you care who's arse sits on that damnable throne?*"
**Asaro Trellos**: "*I don't*"
— Edric Baratheon and Asaro Trellos, the latter alluding to the Eastern Coalition's true war aims
The **War of the Narrow Sea**, also known as the **Sixth Blackfyre Rebellion**, was an attempted invasion and colonisation of Westeros by the Second Triarchy and Euron Greyjoy's Iron Fleet, initially waged under the guise of an attempt to install House Blackfyre and Euron Greyjoy to the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms and Salt Throne of the Iron Islands respectively. The conflict lasted for around a year, and resulted in the collapse of numerous governments and institutions in the Free Cities, and secured the sovereignty of the Seven Kingdoms in the aftermath of the Great War.

It is the central conflict in *A Dream of Spring*.

## History

### Prelude

By 303 AC, the Free City of Myr, under the leadership of Asaro Trellos, had successfully conquered neighbouring Lys and Tyrosh, unifying the three into the Second Triarchy, primarily in the interest of dissuading Daenerys Targaryen from launching a war of emancipation against the region infamous for its slavery. The Triarchy developed close ties with neighbouring Volantis, and by the time of Daenerys Targaryen's death in 305 AC, both states were looking to expand their influence and power.

King Gendry Baratheon inherited a dire situation upon ascending the Iron Throne in 305 AC. Much of the Seven Kingdoms had been left ravaged and severely depopulated by the actions of the White Walkers and Army of the Dead during the Great War. In addition, Queen Cersei Lannister had indebted the Seven Kingdoms with loans from the Iron Bank of Braavos in order to hire the Golden Company and the Small Council knew full well that they were in no position to even begin paying back foreign loans, knowing that every last penny would need to go into rebuilding Westeros's countless destroyed castles, towns and cities, the capital among them.

In 311 AC, a represent of the Iron Bank, Noho Dimittis, approached King Gendry Baratheon asking him to repay the loans that his predecessors had taken out in the name of the crown. King Gendry refused him, asserting that the loans his father had taken out, as well as the loans that Tywin Lannister had taken out in Robert’s name, had all been repaid, and that the loans that Cersei Lannister had taken out should not be his responsibility. This quickly led to the Iron Bank withdrawing all official diplomatic contact from King's Landing, and many feared that yet another war was looming on the horizon. Later that year, Euron Greyjoy's Iron Fleet was offered refuge by the Second Triarchy in Myr, six years after he fled Westeros during the Great War.

Frustrated that their loans were going unrepaid, the Iron Bank was approached by the Second Triarchy and Euron Greyjoy in 313 AC, proposing that the bank fund a joint invasion of Westeros by Greyjoy and Triarchy forces. Euron Greyjoy would create a new Ironborn empire, including the North, the Riverlands, the Westerlands and the Iron Islands themselves, all ruled directly from Pyke. The rest of Westeros (including the Crownlands, the Vale, the Stormlands, the Reach and Dorne) would be broken up into client states of the Second Triarchy. Within these new southern realms, slavery would be made fully legal and colonisation of the depopulated lands and cities would be carried out, settling citizens from both the Second Triarchy and Volantis in central and southern Westeros. The alliance between the Second Triarchy, Euron Greyjoy, and Volantis would eventually become known as the Eastern Coalition, or simply the Coalition.

In an effort to temper the response to their invasion from the Westerosi nobility, Triarch Malaquo Maegyr of Volantis presented Aeron and Naerys Blackfyre to High Triarch Asaro Trellos of the Triarchy. The siblings claimed to be the last remaining members of the long-believed extinct House Blackfyre, and possessed the Valyrian steel sword Blackfyre as proof of their lineage. The Coalition reasoned that if their invasion was waged under the pretence of an attempt to overthrow House Baratheon and install House Blackfyre to the Throne, Gendry would gain far less support from his vassals than if they were privy to the Coalition's true intentions.

In 314 AC, Bran Stark resigned as Hand of the King to conduct an expedition to the Lands of Always Winter to confirm the fate of the White Walkers. In his place, Gendry named his brother, Edric Baratheon, as the new Hand of the King.

### War

In late 314 AC, with the Lord of Storm's End Edric Baratheon in King's Landing, Euron Greyjoy's Iron Fleet took the opportunity to land Triarchy forces led by King Aeron Blackfyre, and his sister-wife, Queen Naerys Blackfyre, at and around Stonehelm in the southern Stormlands. Aeron decried King Gendry and Queen Arya Stark as illegitimate and tyrannical monarchs and stated their intentions to overthrow and replace them, while working in conjunction with Euron Greyjoy's intentions to take back the Seastone Chair and restore the Old Way to the Iron Islands. Upon learning of the invasion, Edric raced back to Storm's End and began amassing his banners to drive the Blackfyres from his lands. The Battle of Stonehelm concurrent with the Blackfyre landing saw the death of Edric's biological uncle and adoptive father, Gulian Swann.

Almost immediately after, Asaro Trellos at the head of smaller but still significant force of his own, sailed into Blackwater Bay, landing near and then proceeding to take the town of Duskendale. Gendry had initially hoped to take his own gathering army southwards to assist his brother Edric, but was forced to settle on sending a smaller detachment led by his wife, Queen Arya Stark, while Gendry prepared to face Trellos's army.

Meanwhile, Euron Greyjoy himself, after having his Iron Fleet assist in the landings at Stonehelm and Duskendale, took the island of Tarth off the coast of the Stormlands, to use as his own port of operations for the duration of hostilities. Shortly after his castle was taken, Lord Selwyn Tarth was tortured to death.

As triarchy forces began taking over Cape Wrath and much of the southern Stormlands, very few in Westeros were willing to mount serious resistance to the Blackfyre invasion. While the Great Houses of Stark, Tully, Arryn, Lannister and Harlaw all pledged themselves to the king's side, they struggled to rally their own vassals, and many of their combatants ended being formed mostly of green boys who were too young to fight in the War of the Five Kings and the Great War. In the Iron Islands, many of Lord Rodrik Harlaw's new vassals not only refused to fight for him, but went over to Euron's cause.

As the Triarchy forces threatened Storm's End, Lord Edric Baratheon amassed a force at the castle to meet the Blackfyre pretenders. While the Battle of Storm's End initially went promisingly for Edric's forces, the arrival of Euron Greyjoy's Iron Fleet in Shipbreaker Bay led to the walls of the Baratheon fortress being breached while Edric desperately rotated his men to face the new threat from the sea. Before the castle fell however, Queen Arya Stark rode in from the north with a host of cavalry raised from the Crownlands, and eventually managed to break through to the gates of Storm's End. Inside the castle, Edric met and engaged King Aeron Blackfyre in single combat, badly wounding the Blackfyre king. Edric then attempted to engage Euron Greyjoy in single combat, however, Edric was exhausted and eventually knocked down by the Ironborn warrior, right before Arya engaged Euron. Euron and Arya exchanged blows on the walls of Storm's End, before the Euron was able to land a hit on Arya's leg, and knocked her out with the blunt end of his pike. Shortly after, Edric and his remaining forces were forced to break out of Storm's End and retreat north along the Kingsroad to King's Landing.

Around the same time, Gendry, oblivious to his wife's capture, faced Asaro Trellos at the Battle of Rosby. While Gendry succeeded in halting Asaro's march towards the capital, his inexperience in battle command precluded a decisive victory, and Asaro's army melted away into the Crownlands, reaving and pillaging as they went.

Following the Battle of Storm’s End, much of the Stormlands fell into the hands of the Triarchy. Mistress of Whisperers Myrielle informed the Small Council she believed Arya was still alive and being held in Evenfall Hall on Tarth. Gendry authorised Edric and Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Brienne of Tarth, to lead a covert rescue mission to retrieve Arya. While the duo succeded in freeing Arya, as well as killing the wounded Aeron Blackfyre, the group were confronted by Euron Greyjoy before they could escape the castle. Euron duelled Arya again, this time killing her outright, and Edric and Brienne were forced to flee the Sapphire Isle empty handed. Gendry was distraught following Arya's death, and immediately stripped Brienne of her white cloak, and began to increasingly distrust Edric.

The capture and subsequent death of Arya Stark roused many, particularly in the North and the Riverlands, and a large army of Stark, Tully, Arryn and Lannister troops began assembling near the Crossroads. Meanwhile, the armies of Asaro Trellos and Euron Greyjoy (who had succeeded Aeron Blackfyre as leader of the southern host) linked up east of King's Landing and marched on the capital. The Baratheon forces prepared for a siege, but after being informed of the Stark-Tully-Arryn-Lannister army fast approaching from the North, Gendry and Edric attacked the Coalition forces in the Battle in the Tourney Grounds. The decision to attack proved decisive, as it masked the approach of the northern army, and the Coalition army was smashed upon it's arrival. Among those taken prisoner was Asaro Trellos himself, who was imprisoned in the Black Cells, but was soon broken out by Euron Greyjoy when Edric went to interrogate him the following day. Edric was subsequently removed from office as Hand of the King.

Despite Asaro Trellos's escape, the Coalition forces still lacked any coherent army, and Asaro, Euron and Naerys Blackfyre retreated to Storm's End. Edric led an army in pursuit, and upon reaching his occupied castle, he prepared to lay siege. However, Euron Greyjoy rode out under a peace banner to present Edric with Naerys Blackfyre, gagged, chained and naked. Euron left without a word as he and his forces departed Storm's End aboard Euron Greyjoy's Iron Fleet. Edric initially took pity on Naerys and wished to spare her, but fearing the optics of letting her live given that his loyalty was already being questioned, he chose to execute her the following day, bringing a final end to House Blackfyre.

Even though the deaths of both Blackfyre claimants should have heralded the end of the campaign, the Triachy continued to wage war against the Seven Kingdoms, leading Gendry to become even more suspicious of Edric. However, he tried to give Edric a chance to prove his loyalty, by sending him to lead Westerosi forces in the Battle of Bloodstone and the Battle of Lys, of which he won both. Shortly after the Battle of Lys, Triarch Malaquo Maegyr of Volantis offered to host peace talks, specifically requesting Edric Baratheon as the Westerosi envoy, to which Gendry very reluctantly agreed. Edric, along with Devan Seaworth departed for Volantis, but after they failed to make contact with King's Landing, Lady Myrielle, the Mistress of Whisperers, informed Gendry that Edric and Devan had turned their forces over to the Eastern Coalition and pledged themselves to Asaro Trellos. Enraged, Gendry denounced Edric and Devan as traitors before the Small Council, leading to the resignation of Davos Seaworth as Master of Ships. Gendry replaced Edric and Davos with Myrielle and Bronn Blackwater as Hand of the King and Master of Ships respectively.

In reality, Edric and Devan had been ambushed along the Volantine coast and taken captive by Triarchy forces, before being imprisoned in Myr. While in Myr, Edric and Devan discovered evidence of Euron and the Triarchy's true plans for the Realm, the fact that the Iron Bank was funding their invasion, and that there were various saboteurs. in Gendry's court working for the Triarchy. Edric learned these spies were being led by Gendry's former lover, Lady Myrielle, and that in light of Aeron Blackfyre's death, they were working to turn Gendry against Edric himself in order to destabilise the Seven Kingdoms enough for them to carry out their plans. Soon thereafter, Edric managed to escape from Myr, but at the cost of Devan's life, and was eventually shipwrecked on the shores of Dragonstone. They found the island completely abandoned save for Drogon, who was nesting on the island but soon departed after discovering Edric's prescence. Edric was ultimately able to get a message to King’s Landing through using stray ravens. After arriving on Dragonstone, Gendry confronted Edric alone, and the two dueled in the ruins of the castle. Gendry was eventually forced to yield, and Edric presented him with the evidence of the Triarchy’s true intentions and the traitors within Gendry’s court.

Gendry and Edric soon reconciled. Upon learning that their plan had failed, Lady Myrielle and her fellow saboteurs led an attempted coup in King's Landing, hoping to seize the city until reinforcements from the Second Triarchy could arrive. The coup failed, owed in part by the return of Bran Stark to the capital, and all the participants were either killed or later executed. The sole exceptions were Lord Desmond Crakehall and Lady Ynys Yronwood, who in exchange for their lives, publicly admitted to the Eastern Coalition's true intentions for the Realm. The revelation of the plot caused mass outrage from the nobility and commoners alike, all across the Seven Kingdoms. The remaining Great Houses of House Martell and House Hightower all pledged their support, while many veterans of the War of the Five Kings and Great War finally chose to take up swords against the Coalition. With Bran's return, he was re-appointed as Hand of the King. Gendry also reconciled with Davos, but due to Devan's death and Davos's advanced age, he did not resume his position of the Small Council.

The Coalition had been preparing a new invasion with a much larger army, but realising their plans were rapidly falling apart, Asaro Trellos sent the force against the Seven Kingdoms before it was fully assembled. The invading forces sailed up the Bay of Crabs, landing at the mouth of the Trident, and seized the crossroads. Shortly after, the Battle of the Crossroads occurred where Baratheon, Tully, Arryn, Stark and Lannister troops successfully drove the Coalition from the shores of Westeros for good. During the battle, Euron Greyjoy was killed in a climatic duel by Gendry Baratheon.

After the Battle of the Crossroads, Westerosi forces engaged in an all out attack on the Triarchy. The Volantine troops defending Tyrosh agreed to surrender the city in exchange that Volantis be allowed to exit the war, while Lannister and Stark troops, led by Jaime Lannister and Sansa Stark, landed in Braavos, looted the Iron Bank, and then razed the bank to the ground for enabling the heinous plots against Westeros. As Westerosi forces from across the Seven Kingdoms converged on the capital of the Triarchy, Myr, Ser Harry Strickland pledged the Golden Company to fight on King Gendry's behalf free of charge, in exchange for control of Myr following the battle and gaining some of the Triarchy's spoils.

The Battle of Myr ensued. While initially promising for Westerosi forces, Lord Edric’s forces were cut off as they breached the palace district walls, and Edric was mortally wounded as his men were picked off one by one. Asaro Trellos emerged from his palace, eager to deliver the final blow, until from the east, Drogon flew in from the east and incinerated Trellos and his armies. Edric collapsed and slowly bled out, as the battle and the war drew to a close.

### Aftermath

The conclusion of the war coincided with the beginning of the Great Summer, which began the day after the Battle of Myr.

Despite deciding against the direct annexation of the Triarchy, the Small Council still wished to abolish slavery in the area, and ensure that piracy and the slave trade could never dominate a region so close to Westerosi shores again. After petitioning the Small Council and King Gendry himself, Ser Harry Strickland was permitted to oversee the Second Triarchy be reorganised into a feudal regency with slavery abolished, aptly renaming it the Three Daughters. Harry Strickland self-appointed himself as the Lord Protector of the Three Daughters, and said office was merged with the captaincy of the Golden Company. Finally, the Golden Company itself was reorganised from a company of sellswords into the state's new peace-keeping and defence force, and an elite branch was established to serve as the Lord Protector's personal guard.

With a friendly regime now installed in Tyrosh, Lys and Myr, the Seven Kingdoms were finally able to bring an end to the scourge of piracy that had dominated the Stepstones for centuries, and the strategic islands were annexed into the Seven Kingdoms. A total of nine outposts were founded, one on each major island, each outpost was to elect a Commander, who in turn elected a Lord Commander who deferred directly to King's Landing, more specifically, the Master of Ships. Owing to the fact that their primary purpose was to control the entrance to the Narrow Sea, keep the region free of piracy and slavery, and nobility and commoner alike could run for and participate in the elections, the Stepstones Guard quickly became known colloquially as "The Night's Watch of the Sea", and effectively became it's replacement.

Edric Baratheon's son, Orryn Baratheon, succeeded his father as Lord of Storm's End at just seven years old. Edric's widow, Alynne Baratheon, ruled the Stormlands as regent for the next nine years until her son came of age. Despite eventual pressure from his Small Council to do so, King Gendry never remarried and mourned Arya for the rest of his life. In the east, Drogon returned to his birthplace, roaming Lhazar and the Dothraki Sea for centuries to come. Years later, Gendry's daughter Lyanna Baratheon, Orryn Baratheon, Jaime Lannister, and Bronn Blackwater finally tracked down and apprehended Noho Dimittis, but ultimately decided against killing him, instead stripping him of most of his wealth and sending him into exile in Essos.