It is the year 262 After Aegon’s Conquest, 35 years prior to the events that take place at the start of Game of Thrones. Aerys Targaryen the Second of His Name ascends to the Iron Throne in King's Landing. During the first years of his reign, the Seven Kingdoms were thriving and the ambitious young king strived to maintain prosperity. The majority of the old administration was replaced with fresh faces. Shortly, Aerys befriended a young knight, ser Tywin Lannister, heir of Casterly Rock. Being impressed by the Lannister's administrative prowess and ruthlessness, he soon brought Tywin to the royal court and appointed him as the Hand of the King. It was a smart move, as the new Hand perfectly complemented the King's shortcomings, whose desire was to be the greatest ruler the Seven Kingdoms had ever seen. While Aerys boasted about his grandiose plans of building a new wall in the North or a shiny marble-city on the other bank of the Blackwater, it was Tywin who painstakingly worked to ensure that the kingdoms would actually thrive. Years passed and it was slowly becoming obvious, that the realm's prosperity was in fact solely due to Tywin's merit, though he gained little love for his service, as he was stern, insensitive and brutally effective. Aerys had quickly grown jealous of his Hand, and their relationship, which was never easy, complicated even more. The King's mental health degenerated over the years after multiple miscarriages and stillborns by his sister-wife Rhaella, and the Duskendale mutiny, where Aerys was captured by the mutineers and imprisoned for half a year. Although Lord Tywin and Ser Barristan Selmy managed to free him, from then on the King feared for his life and didn't leave the Red Keep in King's Landing at all. His suspicious nature gradually plunged into paranoia and Aerys slowly descended into madness. He soon started to thwart Tywin's actions as a Hand and belittle his achievements, , but even after the death of his beloved wife, Tywin stood firmly at the King's side. Yet things started to change in 281 AC, when King Aerys appointed Tywin's son and heir, fifteen-year-old Jaime Lannister as the youngest ever member of the Kingsguard. On the surface, it was a great honour for House Lannister, yet with this cunning move Aerys stripped his Hand of an heir. Lord Tywin, whose ambition was to restore the might of his house, was clearly enraged upon the King's decision and soon returned to Casterly Rock, giving up his position as royal counsellor. It seemed, that the Targaryen King finally accomplished his goal. Later that year a great tournament in Harrenhal took place, as part of the festivities celebrating the advent of spring, even though winter hit back twice as hard later that year. Anyway, many of the great lords gathered at Harrenhal and even King Aerys himself attended the tourney. The day belonged to the Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, heir to the crown, who managed to unhorse and defeat several renowned opponents. Yet after the last bout was won, the champion was allowed to choose a new queen of love and beauty. Surprisingly enough, Rhaegar rode past his own wife Elia of Dorne and bestowed the crown of blue roses to Lyanna Stark, daughter of the Lord of Winterfell It was a scandalous act not only because the crown prince was married, but also because Lyanna was already betrothed to Lord Robert Baratheon. Sometime later Rhaegar and Lyanna met again near Harrenhal and soon both disappeared, using the help of the Kingsguard. While Rhaegar's behaviour during the Harrenhal tournament seemed to be forgiven, the supposed abduction of Lyanna Stark was just too much to bear for her brother, Brandon Stark, heir of Winterfell. Brandon, together with his retinue was on his way to wed Catelyn Tully in Riverrun, but as soon as he heard the news about his sister, he picked his best men and rode straight to the capital. He reached the gates of the Red Keep and, being unaware that the Prince was not there, shouted for Rhaegar to come out, demanding his life. King Aerys had his company arrested for supposedly plotting the murder of the crown Prince and summoned his father to answer the alleged crimes. Lord Rickard Stark soon arrived in King's Landing with two hundred men and demanded a trial by combat. The King granted his request, but chose fire as the royal champion. While the Lord of Winterfell was burnt alive, Brandon strangled himself to death, trying to rescue his suffering father. Not a single Northman who accompanied Brandon and Rickard to the capital would ever see the North again. Afterwards, King Aerys demanded Jon Arryn, Lord of the Vale to send him the heads of Robert Baratheon and Eddard Stark, who were at the Eyrie and who were most likely eager to avenge the death of the Northmen, but Lord Arryn refused to do so and instead raised his banners in an open rebellion. The ravens were sent to all houses across the Seven Kingdoms to gain the much needed support to oppose the Mad King, but other than the North and the majority of the Vale, only some parts of the Stormlands and Riverlands agreed to join the cause. The rest either stood by the King's side, or, like Tywin Lannister, remained neutral. Ned Stark, now Lord of Winterfell after the death of his father and older brother, travelled back home to gather an army in the North, Robert Baratheon did the same and took a ship south. Meanwhile, Jon Arryn successfully retook the city of Gulltown, occupied by loyalist forces and began to deal with those who failed to support the overlord of the Vale. In the south, Robert encountered similar problems as Jon had, as some of the houses of the Stormlands neglected to gather forces to support their lord and instead took the King's side. Yet Robert swiftly defeated his opponents in three separated encounters near Summerhall, and even managed to sway some of them to join the rebel’s side. The next moons were marked by war preparations, and in the late 282 AC Robert finally departed Storm's End with his troops, marching to unite with the rebel forces in the north. Of course, those who remained loyal to the crown didn't just sit and wait. Fierce Lord Randyll Tarly of Horn Hill leading the vanguard of the combined forces from the Reach, ambushed Robert's troops near Ashford and dealt a considerable blow. The main force of the loyalists commanded by Lord Tyrell eventually joined Tarly's vanguard, but Robert regrouped and managed to retreat north, despite the losses. The Lord of Highgarden eventually gave up the pursuit, and decided to march east and soon besieged Storm's End, the garrison of which, was commanded by Robert's younger brother, Stannis Baratheon. That wasn't the end of Robert's problems though. The royal contingent under Lord Jon Connington departed the capital hoping to intercept Robert's army. Connington traced them all the way to Stoney Sept, where Robert tried to conceal himself, using the help of the townsmen. Upon their arrival, the royal soldiers began to search for the rebels, but without much of luck. Two days later the united rebel forces under Lords Stark and Tully arrived from the north and engaged the royal troops. Fierce fighting began amid the town’s streets and alleys. It is said that Robert Baratheon stepped out of a brothel to join the battle and dueled Lord Connington, almost killing him. True or not, Connington saw that his men were losing to the larger rebel force and commanded a general retreat. This, was the first major victory for the rebel’s side in the war. When King Aerys heard that the royal troops had lost, he impulsively stripped Lord Connington of his lands and titles, and had him exiled. He also began to realize, that the rebellion was far more serious than he had thought, and could actually threaten his position. The Mad King ordered his alchemists to cache wildfire pots in various parts of King's Landing in order to burn down the entire city in case of defeat. But the war wasn't lost yet, and Prince Rhaegar was summoned back to the capital, where he assembled another, bigger army. Using strong contingents from the Reach and Dorne and with help of loyal houses from all over the Kingdom he managed to gather some 40,000 men willing to defend the Iron Throne. Eventually the royal army marched out of King's Landing in the middle of summer, heading north to quell the rebellion once and for all. The rebel force consisted predominantly of soldiers of the North, Vale, Stormlands and Riverlands, though some of the houses of the latter three still supported King Aerys. The amassed rebel army counted to around 35,000 men in total. But what the rebel force lacked in numbers, it gained in battle experience and determination. When the scouts reported that Rhaegar's army was about to cross the Trident river, the rebels commanded by Robert marched to engage them. Battle ensued just as the majority of the royal forces crossed the wide ford and were struck by the rebels. Tight combat raged for hours, as neither side was able to dominate the enemy. Even the successful charge led by the Valemen which smashed the advancing right flank of Lewyn Martell and killed the Dornish Prince couldn't turn the tide of the battle. Finally, somewhere in the centre, Robert Baratheon reached the position of Crown Prince Rhaegar Targaryen and challenged him to single combat. Although Rhaegar managed to injure his opponent, Robert crushed the prince's chest with his warhammer in a killing blow. Rhaegar's armor shattered, and rubies incrusting his breastplate scattered all around. The death of the Crown Prince had an immediate effect on his troops. In a matter of minutes, all of the royal forces were in full rout and the battle was essentially over. The rebels now had an unobstructed route straight to the capital. Upon hearing who won the Battle of the Trident, Lord Tywin Lannister joined the war, gathered his army in Casterly Rock and rushed East, to capture King's Landing. Robert hadn’t recovered from his injury yet, and requested his friend Lord Ned Stark to lead the vanguard of the rebel army to reach the capital before Tywin. But it was the Lannisters who arrived first, and Tywin tricked the King, convincing him to open the city gates. While the capital was sacked and looted with no regard for the life of its people, the remaining loyalist troops formed the last stand at the Red Keep. A few days prior to Tywin's arrival King Aerys sent his wife and second son Viserys to the safety of Dragonstone stronghold, yet refused to allow Rhaegar's wife Elia Martell and her children to leave with them, suspecting that Prince Lewyn Martell betrayed Rhaegar at the Trident. Seeing that all hope was lost, Aerys ordered his master of pyromancers to ignite the wildfire and burn the city together with half a million of its inhabitants. Yet the lone member of the Kingsguard guarding the King at the Red Keep, ser Jaime Lannister realized what Aerys wanted to do, and rushed to save the city by killing the head pyromancer. Being afraid that the Mad King could order another alchemist to ignite the wildfire, Jaime made an uneasy decision, broke his oath and slew the Mad King, avoiding such catastrophe. Lord Tywin had to quickly find a way to prove his loyalty to the victors, so he ordered his bannermen Gregor Clegane and Amory Lorch to murder princess Elia Martel and her children. While Robert was crowned in King's Landing, being the only head of a great house truly wanting the Iron Throne, Ned Stark rode south, lifting the siege of Storm's End and reaching the Tower of Joy, where he found his sister Lyanna dying with a child in her hands. The Mad King was dead and the war was over. After almost 300 years of undisputed rule, House Targaryen no longer held the Iron Throne, and its last vestiges sought refuge in the East. The love affair between Rhaegar and Lyanna triggered the conflict that ultimately cost them their very lives and set in motion the most fundamental shift of power in the Seven Kingdoms since Aegon’s Conquest, and setting the stage for the Game of Thrones.
