War in the Narrows

The War in the Narrows does not truly encompass a single war, but rather a series of conflicts brought forward by the aggression of Prince Baelon Targaryen. These conflicts lasted for nearly three years until Baelon's death in 334 A.C.

The Prince of Lys
For many years Baelon Targaryen, second son of the late Aegon VI and absconded Daenerys I, and younger brother to Rhaegar I, had found a home in the Fair City. During the reign of his parents, the young prince was dispatched to Lys on a diplomatic mission. Keeping good relations with the Free Cities was an important matter to all, for their trade continually decreased the crown’s dependence on the Iron Bank, the wealthier families of the Seven Kingdoms, and Pentos.

During his time in Lys, Prince Baelon came into contact with one of its more famous courtesans, Eireni. Upon his return to King’s Landing he could talk of little else, and after a time the Silver Queen relented. Aegon VI was neutral on the matter, but the Small Council disputed the match. Eireni, by their estimation, was not fit consort for the newly restored royal family. Their pleas fell on deaf ears, however. The royal couple had often been more indulgent with their second son.

The two wed in 324 A.C. at the Great Sept of Baelor. Eireni never took to the city, and was not popular at court. After the death of Aegon VI, in 325 A.C., Baelon lingered in the hopes of being appointed to his brother’s Small Council. The two brothers had never formed a close relationship, and so the newly crowned Rhaegar I rebuffed these entreaties. Prince Baelon and Eirini of Lys departed King’s Landing the following year, and made their way back to Lys.

Eireni was a rather influential figure in the upper stratosphere of the Lysene hierarchy. Given her status, and Baelon’s family ties, the couple found far greater success than they had previously. For all his faults, Prince Baelon was a brilliant man with more than his fair share of charm. Near the end of the decade his clout had grown to the point where he began to refer to himself as the Prince of Lys. A title that, while never formalized, found him with a power to rival that of the magisters themselves.

Tyrosh and the Leviathan's Maw
Even in the earliest days of Baelon’s rise to power within Lys, there were those among the upper echelons who disliked both the presumption and presence of their new Prince. He was charming, to be sure, but beneath that veneer the cleverer among them could see the dark fire that raged within, wild and intemperate. Eirini was a player in Lys, it was true, but not so great of one that they would abide such a severe stake upon their sovereignty. Those men might have successfully driven the Prince and his bride from their city if not for one thing.

The restoration of his House’s dynasty in the Sunset Kingdoms came, naturally, alongside another rebirth. When Baelon came to Lys he did not come by ship. His coming was heralded by a thunder without clouds, atop a creature that hearkened the Lysene to the days of eld. Both beautiful and terrifying, the aptly named Leviathan, was quite a sight to behold. She was large with scales of a deep, dark blue that reminded one of the great depths as yet unseen by men.

It was Leviathan that stayed the hand of Baelon’s detractors, and so too was it Leviathan that spurred the more imperial minded magisters forward with their great plans. Needless to say, it took little to persuade their widely acclaimed Prince of Lys that if he was to be a great patron of Lys then it was left to him to ensure the fortunes of their future. A promise he made willingly, and with great good gusto.

At the turn of the new year in 331 A.C. Prince Baelon began to gather forces from without the city. The Lyseni, as Eirini advised, disliked risking the lives of their own citizens. Thus, it was to the free companies that the Prince turned his gaze. Many of which were all too willing to join his cause for the right price. Terms settled all the easier when face to face with his terrifying dragon. The captains of this combined force were the first to coin themselves the Leviathan’s Maw.

During their preparations Baelon and his lieutenants would speak openly of his greatest desire, the conquest of Volantis. He had been a lover of history, and the old tales. The Black Walls, Baelon thought, were a sight he would behold before exerting his influence over the eldest of the Free Cities. Where blood as old as the Targaryens flowed, and would kneel in obeisance of the Prince and his Leviathan.

This talk was little more than show. While Prince Baelon truly did desire to take Volantis by its heart, he feared their much-vaunted defenses. The August City would forever be his goal, but at that time his eyes were on another prize. The fleet and forces he had gathered did depart Lys in the middle of the year, but it was not even to the territories owned by Volantis that they sailed. Rather they elected to take their fight north, to Tyrosh.

Baelon besieged the city by land and sea. All the while he threw lavish parties with his wife, and their greatest patrons on a large, ostentatious ship that had been gifted him by one of the more influential magisters of the city. Time passed, and the city’s defenses weakened, and when the time came Baelon took to the sky. When the assault truly began the city fell in a matter of days.

The Leviathan’s Maw sacked the city, and blood flowed freely for some time before it was halted by the Prince and his retainers. An act that was borne out of a need to maximize their momentum, rather than compassion. The surviving magisters were gathered and pardoned by Baelon for their defiance of his will. A pardon they accepted willingly with many a word of newfound loyalty to the Leviathans of Lys.

The Triarchy Restored
After news of Tyrosh’s fall spread throughout the cities there were none as alarmed as the last and, some might say, greatest of the Three Sisters, Myr. While Baelon and the Magisters of Lys built a new hierarchy in the city of Tyrosh, the Myrish prepared for their coming. They were, after all, the ripest of fruits to sate the apparent hunger of the wayward Targaryen.

Baelon, Leviathan, as well as her Maw, lingered only long enough in Tyrosh to see his new loyalists properly installed. When he departed for Myr, Eirini made her way back to Lys for want of their young daughter, Saera. Bereft as he was of his beloved, Baelon was as impatient as ever to continue with his conquest. Some among his followers began to proclaim that he was Aegon the Conqueror reborn, and that Leviathan was spawn of the Black Dread himself.

When the Prince of Lys and his army arrived at Myr in the Third Moon of 322 A.C. it was not a city ready for war as they might have expected. Rather, at the sight of Leviathan from their watchtowers the potentates of the city opened the city’s gates, and bid them welcome. Baelon was lavished with great gifts, and paid homage by the conclave of magisters that ruled the city. For forty days and nights he dwelt in their halls, and by the end an agreement had been struck.

Beneath the aegis of Baelon and his Leviathan the Triarchy, colloquially known as the Kingdom of the Three Daughters in the Westeros, would be reconstituted. It was an uneasy alliance, in some ways, but such detail passed beneath Baelon’s notice. Vain as he was, such greatly lauded praise was sufficient to distract him from the subtle undercurrents that propelled Myr beneath his wing. After this great, even if bloodless victory, Baelon departed with an even greater force. Many a man, at hearing of this renewed alliance, flocked to his banners.

The Year of the Tiger
Throughout Baelon’s conquest the great families and leaders of the other Free Cities kept a watchful eye. None so much as those in Volantis. In the years since Baelon first boasted of his desire to claim Volantis as his own, the Triarchs had seen to it that their ancient defenses were prepared should a dragon assail them from the sky. Despite his claims, the Triarchs did not set forward to challenge Prince Baelon or his allies. As had been the case since the Century of Blood, the Elephants remained firmly in power. Watchful, but not eager to further provoke the errant son of House Targaryen.

Late in the year 322 A.C., after the reformed alliance of the Three Daughters, there was a marked shift in the attitudes of the Volantene populace. Many began to turn away from the Elephant, for fear that their reluctance would invite Baelon to their ancient city. A disruption that none, from the lowliest merchant to loftiest nobleman behind the Black Walls, were like to stomach.

Even still, when the elections for the Triarchs came it still might have been a narrow thing. The Volantenes were ever cognizant of their past, and with even three centuries having passed remembered well the consequences of the Tiger’s imperial design. It was not until the Leviathan’s Maw saw fit to test the defenses of Volantis’ outlying settlements that the Tigers had a real chance to win the majority.

The Maw withdrew, but the damage had been done. In 333 A.C. for the first time in over three centuries, two of the three Triarchs were elected from the Tigers. A triumph that did not see them rest upon their laurels. In the days following the elections the ancient city of Volantis began to gather its own force. Their goal a simple one. Crush Baelon Targaryen or send he, and his dragon, back across the Narrow Sea

The Burning of Estermont
After the fall of Myr it was not only Volantis that set their eyes more closely on Prince Baelon. The Sealord of Braavos and magisters of Pentos were quite wary. His incursions had already begun to cost them dearly by way of trade. Pentos in particular saw many of its trade routes begin to wither as merchants did not feel safe treading the waters that surrounded the Daughters. Thus, it was that emissaries from the two cities made their way to the court of Baelon’s brother, Rhaegar I Targaryen.

Their entreaties fell on deaf ears. Rhaegar and his Small Council knew well the goings-on of the Free Cities, but the king rebuffed all counsel that would see him directly intervene. Eventually he did compromise and invited Baelon to King’s Landing, but it came to little. Baelon did not so much as offer reply. The two brothers had never been close, but it was clear whatever brotherly affection that once might have been had long since vanished.

Prince Baelon sent his brother’s envoys away, but for the first time in many years his mind turned to the Seven Kingdoms. In the days thereafter, he discussed the possibility of looking to his brother’s outlying territories on the eastern border. A notion that his wife, Eirini, dismissed, but one that a certain cabal of his counselors seized. In the end it was the latter who won out, and Baelon became resolved to test his brother’s mettle.

Beneath the notice of the Prince, a growing faction had begun to undermine them. A cause that had been growing under the surface since his departure from Myr. Their counsel for him to assault his brother’s eastern border was only one in a series of moves taken to lay the groundwork for Baelon’s misfortune. It was not he who ordered the raid the raids on Volantis’ outlying settlements. In fact, had he been aware of it is quite likely that history could have taken an entirely different course.

Late in 333 A.C., Baelon made his way to Tyrosh, and from there, with a small force behind him, he took to the skies with Leviathan. From there they flew to Estermont, their chosen target. The Prince never said why he elected for this near barren Isle to begin his assault, though it is known that of his brother’s vassals it was the recalcitrant stags that he most despised.

House Estermont and its people at Greenstone had no warning the night that Leviathan descended from the sky. They were not equipped to defend against the dragon with the mad prince upon her back. The island and its keep burned as Leviathan’s flames flew with wanton abandon. Arrows that found their mark were not sufficient to bring her down. By the next morning Greenstone had fallen, and the Maw raised their banner. Baelon’s first, and last, foray into Westeros had, to his mind, been a success. Others might have been reticent to glorify such wanton slaughter, but the Prince of Lys was not among that number.

Last Flight of the Leviathan
The attack and capture of Greenstone on Estermont finally saw Baelon’s brother rouse himself from the Iron Throne. King Rhaegar summoned his surrounding forces, and gathered the Royal Fleet to, at last, challenge Baelon’s mad ambition. In the Second Moon of 334 A.C., atop his dragon Urrax, Rhaegar and his men departed King’s Landing.

Baelon himself had not lingered on Estermont, and left only a token force for its defense. His point had never been to hold the island. To his mind it was of relatively little value. This time when he returned to Lys, however, the mood of the city was different. The Lysene were not a brutal people, and this murderous display did much to tarnish Baelon’s image. The Prince, in this more malign environment, began to grow distrustful of his advisors. There even came a point where he refused to see his wife, or their young daughter.

For all the years it took him to build his power base, it took much less to see it begin to crumble. To the east Volantis had gathered an army, and when they entered the Disputed Lands the magisters of Myr turned back on their promises, effectively breaking their alliance. Those of the Maw who had remained behind were best on both sides. Not too long after word reached Lys of Rhaegar’s Fleet making its way south in the Narrow Sea.

Baelon, growing ever paranoid, had to make a decision. He could remain in Lys, or meet his challengers. Tarrying in the city was an ill option to the Prince’s mind, and so it was only a matter of which enemy he would see to first. In the end he elected for the enemy he knew. Rhaegar, his ships, and his dragon were the greater threat. If he could smash their advance it would give him time.

With what remained of his forces in Lys and Tyrosh, Baelon set out to meet his brother. What ensued was a fantastic battle on and above the Narrow Sea. Rhaegar had not seen his brother for near a decade, but the did not so much as exchange words before their clash began. With their fleets engaged the brothers took to the sky. Rhaegar on Urrax, and Baelon on the Leviathan.

Both dragons were fearsome creatures to be sure, but of the two it was Leviathan that was the greater. Not only in size, but also in demeanor. There was a savagery within her that reflected the darker aspects of her rider. A thunderous battle took place, and finally it Urrax descended having suffered a panoply of grievous wounds. It was by some miracle that Rhaegar managed to hold himself on the beast as he landed roughly on a small islet nearby.

Nevertheless, it seemed that Baelon and Leviathan would be the victors, and they truly might have been if not for one of the King’s boon companions below. Ser Peremore Vance had kept a watchful eye on his friend and king from the Royal Flagship, Aegon’s Glory. A large vessel that was not as fully engaged as others within the fleet. Ser Peremore was a gifted man, and known best for his skill with a bow at tourneys throughout the realm. Still, he was not the most notable of fellows, until that fateful day.

Peremore had watched with horror as the duel in the sky turned against his king, as Urrax began to falter. Rather than losing himself to hopelessness, however, the young knight resolved to do what he could to stave off Baelon and his Leviathan. The royal flagship had been bedecked with a series of powerful scorpions, and it was to these mechanisms that Peremore turned his attention. When Urrax descended Peremore took aim at the Leviathan and ordered others to do the same. Their fire halted what would have been a deadly pursuit, and more, turned Baelon and Leviathan’s attention to Aegon’s Glory instead.

With a bravery that none would have expected, Peremore Vance faced down the dragon when she descended upon the ship. By all accounts the Knight of Atranta sent four shots, and each missed in their turn. Fast running out of ammunition, it seemed that despite his tremendous heroism, the battle could still be lost. Until at last, with his final bolt, Ser Peremore found his mark. At long last the Leviathan of Lys was brought low, and fell from the sky with her Prince astride her.

Thereafter Prince Baelon’s fleet swiftly shattered. Rhaegar had won.

Aftermath
No one was ever able to recover the body of Prince Baelon or Leviathan. Both had plummeted to the depths of the sea in the great dragon’s fall. With their death the Maw was swept aside with ease on all fronts. After the final clash with Prince Baelon himself, those forces holding Greenstone abandoned the keep, and House Estermont’s rule of the island was restored. The slaughter and burning of Estermont would begin a wave of distrust, and hatred towards the dragons of House Targaryen. In particular, a young man who would later become High Septon felt the pangs of the tragedy dearly.

Baelon’s widow and their daughter, Saera, remained in Lys. The Fair City was, for some time, quite wary of reprisals for their support of Prince Baelon. Nevertheless, these worries were never sufficient enough to cease their protection of those Baelon left behind. His daughter would come to be known as Saera the Siren, a famous courtesan in her own right. The egg that was given her by her father never hatched, and the other laid by Leviathan was kept by the Rogare for some years. It was not until the reign of Aenar I Targaryen, Rhaegar’s son, that the vaunted family would return the egg in a diplomatic gesture.

Tyrosh took well over a decade to recover, and would often demand reparations from House Targaryen. There were many in the Free Cities who laid mighty blame on Rhaegar I, even though it was he who ultimately laid his brother low. By their estimation the series of conflicts could have been averted altogether. In Volantis, the Tigers grip upon the Triarchy was short-lived. After the death of Baelon, in the following year, only one of their number was returned to his seat.

As for Rhaegar himself, he walked thereafter with a terrible limp. Urrax died on the islet where he landed, his wounds proving too fatal for him to endure. His skull was eventually recovered by the royals, and returned to King’s Landing. For his part in bringing down Leviathan, Ser Peremore Vance was lauded with lands, titles, and honors. Most notably he was raised to the lordship over Harrenhal, which had remained empty after the death of Lord Harry Strickland.