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Aegon's host was vastly outnumbered, and when the army of the two Kings
charged, the invaders turned heel and ran; but Andal might was no match for
dragon flame. When Aegon unleashed all three of his dragons, four thousand souls
were horrendously burned alive on the battlefield, King Mern among them. Realizing
all hope was lost, King Loren surrendered.
The Starks of Winterfell had no intention of surrendering to Targaryen rule. They had
reigned as Kings in the North since the days of the First Men, and were determined
to resist the Targaryen invaders, just as they had resisted the Andals thousands of
years before.
King Torrhen Stark led his army to the Red Fork, just east of Riverrun, hoping to
succeed where Loren and Mern had failed. But when he saw the size of Aegon's now
mighty host along with his monstrous dragons, he knew he couldn't subject his
followers to another Field of Fire. He bent the knee and swore fealty to Aegon, who
allowed the Starks to maintain their lordship over the region as Lords Paramount
and Wardens of the North. Without question, Torrhen Stark had saved thousands of
lives that day. He was ever after known as "the King Who Knelt".
Mad King Aerys
Robert Baratheon's perspective
King Robert opens his narration explaining that Aerys II Targaryen was the last of his
name to sit on the Iron Throne. Known far and wide as "the Mad King", Robert
considers that his was a reign of instability and terror and that the Seven Kingdoms
are well rid of him and his kind. He adds that Aerys may have appeared to be a
capable ruler at first, but that was due in no small part to his councilors led by the
Hand of the King, Tywin Lannister. While there may have been years of peace and
prosperity during Aerys' reign, but it was Tywin who was really running the realm, as
Aerys spiraled further and further into insanity.
Robert reminds how the "dragon spawn" were famous for losing their minds; it was
the price they paid for centuries of keeping the bloodlines pure. He then
sarcastically adds that Aerys was more than happy of keeping the "noble sisterfucking tradition of his forefathers. As the years passed, Aerys' behavior became
increasingly erratic. He cut himself so often on his Iron Throne, that many referred
to him as "King Scab", though never to his face. It was also rumored he had
developed an obsession with wildfire, and was known to inflict horrific punishments
on those he considered enemies, including burning them alive.
As Aerys' paranoia and bloodlust grew, he had a bitter falling-out with Lord Tywin,
who had served the Crown faithfully for twenty years. Robert jokes that at least
Tywin was able to leave the job with his life and fortunes intact because subsequent
Hands of the King to Aerys weren't so fortunate.
Then the Targaryens went too far, in Robert's opinion. The Crown Prince Rhaegar
Targaryen abducted Lyanna Stark, daughter of Rickard Stark, the Lord of Winterfell.
Lyanna was Robert's betrothed and beloved, a beautiful and spirited woman whom
Robert loved more than life itself. Rhaegar went south with Lyanna, hiding her away
in Dorne. Robert muses that only the gods know what harm Rhaegar inflicted on the
poor girl.
Brandon Stark, Lyanna's eldest brother, was outraged. He rode to King's Landing to
confront the King and demand his sister's safe return. Instead, Aerys had him
executed. His father, Lord Rickard, was executed as well. There wasn't much to
discuss after that, as Aerys feared their loved ones would seek revenge for what he
did. Robert concludes he was right to be afraid. Aerys wasted no time in calling for
the heads of Brandon's younger brother, Robert's friend Eddard Stark, and for the
head of Robert, too. Robert jokes that he's "sorry" Aerys didn't come looking for it
himself.
Alongside Jon Arryn of the Vale, who had fostered Eddard and Robert as children,
Baratheons, Starks, and Tullys all called their banners. Once their rebellion began,
the Mad King's days were numbered.
Luwin's perspective
Luwin opens reminding that as word of King Aerys' erratic and troubling behavior
spread throughout the Seven Kingdoms, Lord Rickard Stark continued to serve his
King faithfully as Warden of the North. The proud father of four children, his
daughter Lyanna was engaged to Robert Baratheon, the young Lord of Storm's End.
Centuries of peace between the North and the Iron Throne, however, ended the day
Rhaegar Targaryen, Prince of Dragonstone, abducted Lyanna. Enraged, Brandon
Stark rode to King's Landing demanding the release of his sister and the death of
Rhaegar. Aerys arrested him for treason and called his father to come to the capital
to ransom him. When Lord Rickard complied, Aerys, now utterly mad, arrested him
for treason as well.
Lord Rickard demanded a trial by combat. Aerys declared fire the champion of
House Targaryen and had Lord Rickard suspended from the rafters of the throne
room while pyromancers lit a blaze beneath him. As he burned, Brandon was
brought into the throne room, a leather cord attached to a strangulation device was
wrapped around his neck. Aerys told Brandon his father was a dead man but there
was a chance to save him. A longsword was placed on the floor just out of Brandon's
reach. And the more he struggled to reach it, the more the cord tightened around
his throat. Brandon Stark strangled himself trying to free his father, who was
roasted alive in his own armor. The entire court stood and watched this atrocity take
place, Ser Jaime Lannister and the Kingsguard among them. The Mad King was
reported to have laughed hysterically as these "two noble men", as Luwin calls
them, were tortured and brutally killed before him.
Seeking to rid the world of all his supposed enemies, Aerys called for the head of
Rickard's younger son, Eddard Stark, as well as that of Robert Baratheon. He sent
word to Lord Jon Arryn, who had fostered both young men at the Eyrie, to
apprehend them. Instead, Lord Arryn joined Houses Stark and Baratheon in
rebellion. Robert vowed to kill Rhaegar Targaryen and get his beloved Lyanna back.