The Fourth War of the Kraken

The Fourth War of the Kraken was an armed conflict in Westeros taking place mainly in the Riverlands during the years 338 and 339 AC, between the armies of Regnar Twice-Crowned those of the Iron Throne. It was the last war of it's kind beside the Half-Blood Incursion, and is known widely throughout Westeros for it's bloody battles and the savagery of the Ironborn during the conflict.

At the war's height, the Ironborn underneath Regnar had carved out a large part of the old Hoare kingdom, having pushed as far as Riverrun and the Red Fork before being pushed back and destroyed at the Battle of the Blue Fork.

Background
Just over half a decade earlier, after the defeat of Dagon the Skinner in the Westerlands during the Red Reaving, his younger brother, Regnar, limped away with the last of his forces, and disappeared from Westeros. When he returned, it was with an intent to carve out a kingdom.

Maesters oft site Regnar's madness as the cause of the war. Quietly, underneath the nose of Lord Greyjoy, Regnar gathered support in the Iron Islands, and from far away as well. Those who did not serve him were put to death, or worse. But his supporters were legendary in and of themselves, with names such as Qarl the Maidenhammer and Marik Riversbane at his side.

As the year 337 AC waned, dozens of ships landed on the Riverlands western-most shores with a force that was said to be ten-thousand strong.

A Crown for a King
Whether or not the numbers stand true, there is no doubt of Regnar's effectiveness during the first days of his campaign. House Mallister was slow to respond, and Regnar's reavers plundered the land for miles around. Crowned once in this lifetime, Regnar decreed that he shall be crowned once more, and crowned he was. Atop a makeshift throne of splintered wood and cobbled stones, Regnar was proclaimed King of Salt and Rock and the Riverlands. It was a title that would not last long.

The Taking of Seagard
The first of many conflicts between the forces of Regnar and the Riverlands was the Taking of Seagard. Three days after landing, Regnar took Seagard by surprise, and though Lord Mallister had already taken heed of the warnings presented him and shut the castle gates, the sheer size of the Ironborn force caught him by surprise. Immediately, word was sent out throughout the Riverlands, warning of the Ironborn threat.

The Ironborn set up for a siege around Seagard, and as they did so, Regnar employed a dangerous plan of his. Taking the town was one thing, taking the castle another, and so he employed treachery and deceit over conventional warfare. Using peasants captured during the earlier raids on villages surrounding Seagard, he disguised himself and his closest followers amidst their ranks early in the morn, and at the quietest part of the evening, snick up to the gates of the town, and demanded entry.

The gates opened, though just barely enough for the peasant rabble to enter before it shut once more.

No one heard of Regnar for three hours, until the gates of the town opened once again, and Seagard was flooded by Ironborn. The castle was much easier to storm. Employing hooks and ladders, Regnar Twice-Crowned led his men up a incredible slope towards the castle proper, where they used hooks and ladders to breach the barely-defended walls. Lord Mallister was taken captive thereafter, his sons made eunuchs, and his daughters made salt wives; Lord Mallister himself lost his head, and Regnar claimed one of his fingers for his own upon a chain he would wear around his neck.

The Sack of Wendish Town
Though warning had far proceeded the taking of Seagard, no one was prepared for the speed at which the Ironborn swept over the region. Where they had first secured themselves in Seagard, they moved on next to Oldstones, and then Wendish Town. Under the command of Qarl the Maidenhammer - a man with a penchant for breaking maiden girls - the Ironborn, no more than seven-hundred strong, assaulted the walls of Wendish Town, and broke the ramshackle defenders easily.

The Battle of the Mummers
The Battle of the Mummers is named for the cowardice of both commanders. Five-hundred men under the command of Marik Riversbane were put against a thousand hastily raised Blackwood soldiers. Marik's intent had been to harrass the common villages, and prevent heralds from raising any men -- and succeed they did, but only for a short time. Near the town of Pennytree, in the third month of the year, Marik's forces were set upon by Lord Blackwood's men. Quickly, Marik ordered a retreat.

Ironborn have an ill reputation in Westeros, but no one can deny their brutality, nor their effectiveness at doing out such terrible things. Marik and his men dispersed into the woods around Pennytree, and began raping and burning and pillaging. On occasion, they would harass Lord Blackwood's men, intent on slowly wittling them down, and distracting them from the real threat towards Fairmarket.

And as they did, they hid, and only when Marik's hideaway was discovered by one of Lord Blackwood's scouts were they able to effectively win the battle, and only just barely. Lord Tully had come, and with him, two-thousand Tully knights rode at his back. Together, they cleared the forests, forcing Marik to retreat.

The Burning of Fairmarket
While Lord Tully was occupied dealing with Marik's forces, Regnar gave Qarl an incredible task -- that of burning Fairmarket to the ground. It was a show of strength, or so it was supposed to be. To loot and to sack, and show the Riverlands what they were truly dealing with.

It was the second battle that Regnar himself would join. Together with a force of a thousand men, Regnar and Qarl struck swiftly. The town had been reinforced following reports of what had happened at Seagard, but the truth yet remained that the men defending the town were inexperienced, and hardly believed that such a strike could happen so soon, and so swiftly.

Qarl and Regnar descended upon the town at the darkest hour of night, when all seemed clear for the defenders. It was Regnar who led an advance that saw a hundred men scaling the walls, and he himself again opened the gates to the defenders.

The burning of Fairmarket, as historians believe, lasted no longer than four hours. Regnar ordered the death of every man, woman and child inside the town, but with such a population, it proved a hard task. Just over a hundred managed to escape the Ironborn wrath, and those that did fell upon Lord Bracken's host, ready to relieve the city.

Lord Bracken's Gambit
Ordered by Lord Tully to reinforce the area around Fairmarket, Lord Bracken was aghast when he learned of what had happened. A day's ride away yet, Regnar was certainly in retreat. He had burned the bridges that cross the river, too, which allowed him an idea -- one that would prove fruitful in the end.

His forces secured the remnants of Fairmarket in the evening, and he ordered his cavalry ahead. Together with Lord Vance they rode, and as the retreating armies of Regnar were encumbered by their loot, they managed to make significant ground on them all in the space of a day.

Lord Bracken declared that he shall have Regnar's head. Three-hundred knights of House Bracken made to surround Regnar's forces, but the savagery of the Ironborn won the day. Regnar himself cut a path through the horses, bloodied and savaged. Half of his force escaped, but Qarl did not. It is said that he died atop a pile of Bracken corpses, screaming for the Gods of the Sea to take him.

Slaughter at Whispering Wood
Marik and his men continued in retreat to the Whispering Wood, and in the area of the valley, Lord Tully and Bracken managed to completely surround the force of Ironborn. Together they rode, and together they slaughtered the enemy, Lord Tully declaring that he shall have no prisoners -- and no prisoners did he take. For every Tully death, it was said that that death was avenged twice over.

The Battle of Seagard
Lord Frey entered the war just as it seemed the Ironborn were on the losing end. Descending upon the occupied Seagard, Lord Frey and his host had no issue securing the castle, and after a minimal amount of casualties, swept southward.

The Occupation of Oldstones
The last remaining men underneath Regnar's command occupied the region of Oldstones after a brief engagement with Lord Frey's scouts to the north. While Lord Tully and Bracken and Blackwood all swept over the remaining areas where the Ironborn had inflicted their damage, it was Regnar's belief that if they attacked Seagard once again, they could have it -- and knock lord Frey from the war.

The Second Battle of Seagard
Indeed, the second Battle of Seagard was said to have begun on a red dawn. The blood of men was to be spilled this day, and spilled it was. Lord Frey's host met Regnar's in an open field just beyond Seagard. The battle took place over the course of a day, with several thousand casualties.

In the end, Regnar was once again forced to retreat, this time with half the force of earlier.

The Vengeance of Fairmarket, and the Battle of the Blue Fork
The beginning of the end was upon the Ironborn, and those who still followed Regnar Twice-Crowned found themselves starving and running. Along the banks of the Blue Fork they retreated, for days it seemed, until the sound of dragons roared from above.

Prince Aenar Targaryen had come with Helaena Targaryen atop Viserion and Starfyre respectively; each determined to make an end to the war and burn the last vestiges of Ironborn from the land. Atop winged beasts they came, and in coordination with the Lords of the Riverlands, descended upon the Ironborn as they made to rest for the eve.

It was said that Regnar was burnt to cinders, for the Twice-Crowned was not to be seen after the battle, nor his armor.

Aftermath
The aftermath of the war saw a strengthening of Seagard's defences as well as consistent scouting parties throughout the Riverlands to end the threat. Fairmarket had to be rebuilt, and was repopulated after half a decade. The lands around Seagard had been salted thoroughly and took more than a generation to reap once more, and the scars of it still last to this day, an extreme distrust of Ironborn ripe within the Riverlander descendents.