THE ACCENSION TO THE THRONE OF ROBER BARATHEON

The all began with the Harrenhal Tourney, held by lord Whent in the Year of the False Spring, after that the Prince of the Dragon, Rhaegar Targaryen, son of king Aerys II, kidnapped young Lyanna Stark, betrothed to lord Robert Baratheon.

When the news of the kidnapping of Lyanna by Rhaegar reached Brandon Stark, her older brother, journeying to Riverrun to marry the daughter of lord Hoster Tully, Catelyn, the heir to Winterfell, with his loyal companions, Ethan Glover, Joffery Mallister, Kyle Royce and Elbert Arryn, nephew and successor of lord Jon, changed his direction and headed to King’s Landing.

Once he reached the Red Keep he shouted to Rhaegar coming to face him, but the prince wasn’t there, and king Aerys had Brandon and his friends arrested, accusing them of betrayal, and called at court their fathers, to answer for their sons’ behavior. Even lord Rickard Stark went to King’s Landing, but he was put under arrest and condemned to death with his son. The lord of Winterfell asked a trial by combat, and king Aerys allowed it, but instead to make him fighting, he hanged him at the ceiling’s beams of the throne room, while two pyromancers lighted a fire under him.

The King declared that House Targaryen’s champion was fire, and lord Rickard had only to resist the time necessary for his son Brandon to save him.

But Brandon had hands tied up to his back, a wet leather strap around his neck, connected to an equipment which the king have been made taken from Tyrosh, and his sword put just out of his rage, and all that he could doing was to die choked, while his father burned alive.

Ethan Glover was the only survived of Brandon’s men, and then he gave the news of the events.

Meanwhile lord Robert Baratheon gathered his troops at Storm’s End, to clean the shame of the kidnapping with Targaryen family’s blood. The lords Grandison, Cafferen and Fell, loyal to king Aerys, however intended to unify their armies at Summerhall and moving on Storm’s End, but Robert, informed of their purposes by a spy, gathered his men and anticipated his enemies, defeating in only one day all the three armies at Summerhall separately, before they could reunite in one. This was a great battle. Robert killed lord Fell in duel and captured his son "Silveraxe". Then lord Grandison, lord Cafferen and even "Silveraxe", became Robert’s most loyal men, so much that, after a few time, when Robert’s army was defeated at Ashford by lord Randyll Tarly, of Horn Hill, commander of lord Mace Tyrell, of Highgarden, advance guard; lord Cafferen fallen fighting for Robert.

The lord of Storm’s End had to leave the castle, leaving only a garrison commanded by his brother Stannis, resisting to the siege of lord Tyrell.

Stannis was ready to die rather than giving up, and, when him and his men, at this point starved, had to eat rats and roots, Davos of the Flea Bottom, a smuggler, with a small boat with black sails, sneaked silently among Tyrell’s guards and took at the castle onions and fish, saving the garrison from certain death.

Eddard Stark, second son of lord Rickard, had, meanwhile, gathered his bishops to fight at the side of his friend Robert, who had been raised with him at the Eyrie, and to avenge his father’s and brother’s death.

Umber, Bolton, Glover, Tallhart, Karstark, Mormont, Manderly, Flint, Cerwyn, Hornwood were only the main lord loyal to Winterfell. Even the minor lords and the people were ready to battle.

By the side of the new lord of the North there was even lord Jon Arryn, of the Eyrie, who was protector of the two young men, Eddard and Robert.

To have the support of lord Hoster Tully of Riverrun, Eddard and Jon married, respectively, Catelyn and Lysa, daughters of the riverlands’ lord, in way that many of his bishops too sided with them.

King Aerys, at this point sent his Hand, lord Connington at Stoney Sept, where Robert had found shelter with a group of his most loyal men because of a wound, to block the rebel lord, and baring him to join his friend Eddard.

Lord Connington entered the town with many troops and he searched for his enemies in every house, but on Stoney Sept suddenly descended Eddard Stark’s and lord Hoster Tully’s army, which assaulted the walls. The strenuous fight took place in every street, every alley, even on the roofs.

When septons ringed the bells to advise people of the danger, Robert exited from his hide and joined the battle. He killed six men, among them there was the famous ser Myles Mooton, who was Rhaegar’s squire.
Lord Connington, after seriously wounded lord Hoster and killed Denys Arryn, Vale’s favorite, understood that the battle was lost and retreated.
The population named it "The Battle of the Bells", and Robert has always specified that to win it was not him, but Eddard Stark.

King Aerys, once he known about the defeating of Stoney Sept and exiled lord Connington and made Hand at his place lord Chelsted, understood that Robert Baratheon wasn’t only an outlaw, but a great threat for the dragon’s lineage.

He made clearly intend, then, to Prince Lewyn Martell of the Kingsguard, to have his niece, Princess Elia, Rhaegar’s wife, in the palm of his hand and sent him to take command of the ten thousand dornish who were going up to north on the Kingsroad.

At the same time he sent two other members of Kingsguard, ser Jon Darry and ser Barristan Selmy, to gather the remaining of Connington’s army.

Meanwhile prince Rhaegar came back from the south, without, however, the three knights of the Kingsguard, ser Gerold Hightower, lord commander, ser Arthur Dayne and ser Oswell Whent, left guarding young Lyanna. Of the seven white swords the only remained at King’s Landing the just seventeen-years-old Jaime Lannister, son of Tywin Lannister, lord of Casterly Rock.

Rhaegar persuaded his father asking for help to lord Tywin, his former Hand, who laid down the office after that his son Jaime joined the Kingsguard, and who until that moment did side with not one, neither one other faction yet, but there were no messenger raven which returned from Casterly Rock, and that could only increasing Aerys’ fears, who, influenced by Varys the eunuch, the spymaster, began to see enemies and traitors everywhere.

The king gave the order to his alchemists to put jars of “wildfire” in every angle of the city and near every of the seven gates of entrance. All was made in the most secret way by masters pyromancers, who didn’t trust neither their own acolytes.

Queen Rhaella was from a long time blind and Rhaegar had headed to north to fight the decisive battle against Robert. So the only one who realized of Aerys’ plots was lord Chelsted, who did all the possible to dissuade the king, and, in front of the umpteenth refuse, he striped the chain of Hand and threw it on the ground. For this act Aerys made him burnt alive with wildfire, and made Hand Rossart, his favorite pyromancer, the man who killed lord Rickard Stark. All under the eyes of Jaime Lannister, who guarded the king at the foot of the Iron Throne.

At the Trident took place the clash between the two armies: Baratheon, Stark, Tully and Arryn, with their bishops, on one side, Targaryen and Martell on the other.

It was a great battle: Jon Darry and Lewyn Martell died, lord Grandison was wounded, a wound that killed him after one year. Prince Rhaegar died too, beaten on the side of the Trident by the terrible war hammer of Robert Baratheon, making the rubies which composed the figure of the dragon on his armor flying everywhere.

Even ser Barristan Selmy was about to be killed. Lord Roose Bolton of Dread Fort was about to cut his throat, but Robert stopped it, saying that he hasn’t killed a man only because he fought loyally for his king.

At the end of the battle even the army of the Freys of Twins appeared, come, they said, to fight for Robert’s cause. From that moment lord Hoster Tully nicknamed the Lord of the Crossing "the Late lord Walder Frey", and he never forgave him for his behavior.

Robert received a wound on his hip during the duel with Rhaegar which bared him to go on to the capital.

So was Eddard Stark who, heading his men of the north, proceed by forced stops to King’s Landing.

When the news of the defeat of the Targaryen army reached the court, Aerys sent immediately his wife and his younger son Viserys to Dragonstone. Even princess Elia has had to go, but Aerys prohibited this, thinking that at the Trident Prince Lewyn has betrayed, and having at his court Elia and her children he was sure to constrict Dorne to remain devoted to him.

Aerys was ready to set fire the city, leaving Robert only bones and ashes.

But to reach first King’s Landing’s gate was not Stark’s army, but the lord Tywin Lannister’s one.

Grand Maester Pycelle persuaded the king that his Warden of the West had come to protect him, so Aerys, ignoring for the first time Varys, commanded to open the gates to the lion army.

That was the disaster: Lord Tywin wanted to be by the side of the winner, and the defeat of Rhaegar was the event which made him decide.

The Lannister forces sacked the city, killing, raping, putting it to fire and sword, while the best troops, guided by ser Gregor Clegane and ser Armory Lorch, siege the Red Keep.

Jaime Lannister asked the king the consent to start the negotiation, but Aerys ordered him to take his father’s head. With Aerys was even Rossart. The Hand, dressed like a normal soldier, was leaving the fortress to set the city on fire. Ser Jaime stopped and slew him, preventing him to take king’s order to the pyromancers. After that he killed Aerys, cutting his throat, at the foot of the throne.

Lannister soldiers entered the fortress while ser Gregor Clegane killed brutally Elia Martell, after have raped her, and her son Aegon, only one-year-old, meanwhile ser Armory Lorch did the same to the little Rhaenys, four-years-old.

At the same time lord Eddard reached the city, finding on the throne Jaime Lannister and at his foot the dead body of Aerys.

After a few time were taken in the throne room the corpse of Rhaegar’s children, wrapped up in the Lannister’s purple cloaks.

By those deaths lord Tywin wanted to persuade Robert that he was by his side, freeing him at the same time from the danger that could have being for him in future Aerys’ nephews.

When even Robert came he had nothing to do that sitting down on the throne, but he argued furiously with his friend Eddard for those deaths. The Lord Paramount of the North wanted to punish Jaime Lannister and lord Tywin, but Robert not only didn’t do this, but he left Jaime to continue to serve in Kingsguard, whose the new king gave command to ser Barristan Selmy. Even Varys and Grand Maester Pycelle were forgiven and admitted to court, and Jon Arryn was proclaimed Hand of the King.

Eddard continued his journey searching for his sister Lyanna, succeeding even to break the siege of Storm’s End by Mace Tyrell, who surrendered in front of the defeating and death of Aerys.

Stannis Baratheon, by his brother’s order, shipped to Dragonstone to take back to King’s Landing queen Rhaella and her son Viserys. But the queen died giving birth to little Daenerys, and the last two Targaryen were saved by ser Willem Darry, who, taking them to the free city of Bravoos, delivered them to be captured.

Eddard end his search, finding his sister and the last three knights of the Kingsguard, at Tower of Joy, on the Dornish mountains. Lord Eddard was accompanied by six loyal companions: Martyn Cassel, Theo Wull, Ethan Glover, Mark Ryswell, Howland Reed, lord Dustin. Seven against three , only two of them survived, Eddard and Howland Reed, but Gerold Hightower, Arthur Dayne and Oswell Whent were killed. In the tower Eddard found his sister dying in a bed of blood, and he could only make her a promise, before closing her eyes...

The Lord of Winterfell proceeded to Starfall, to deliver ser Arthur Dayne’s body and his sword "Dawn" to his sister Ashara, who a few time later killed herself plunging into the sea from a reef.

Lord Stark returned to north, however, not alone but with a child, named Jon, who he assured being his son, even if he did reveal nobody the identity of his mother, neither his wife Catelyn, who at Riverrun gave birth to their first-born: Robb.

The news of Lyanna’s death pacified back Robert and Eddard, but while the lord of the north finally returned to Winterfell, the new king, although he was contrary, by counsel of Jon Arryn, married lord Tywin’s daughter, Cersei.

Meanwhile at Dorne, Prince Doran Martell had no peace for the horrible fate of his sister Elia and her children, and, by appeal of his younger brother Oberyn too, he was ready to rising up in the name of Viserys Targaryen against Robert and his allies.

But Jon Arryn went to Sunspear, taking with him the body of Prince Lewyn, died on the Trident, and, it’s unknown in which way, he could dissuading Doran Martell from his intent and putting an end to the stances of a new rebellion.