The Rise of Despots

The years between 418 A.C. and 427 A.C. saw the consolidation of the three city governments that comprised The Triarchy and the collapse of Aeryn Targaryen's regime in the Stepstones. The failure of the magisterial conclaves to take decisive action against the Prince in the Narrow Sea enabled the rise of the First Magister of Lys and the Prince-Admiral of Myr, who assumed a level of control comparable to the Archon of Tyrosh. Following Aeryn's defeat, the three despots reconstituted the Triarchy beneath a council of three, uniting their militaries, trade policies and diplomatic relations. Though the magisters retained authority within their respective cities, their influence over the Triarchy at large was severely reduced.

Without the unifying force of a dragonrider in the Stepstones, the region immediately devolved into petty island lordships. The next decade, however, would see their reunification and the formation of the Alliance of the Narrows.

The Schemes of Sadaris (418-420)
Ostensibly held to commemorate the unification of Lys, Tyrosh and Myr, the Festival of Three Daughters served as a pretext for a joint conclave of each of the cities’ magisters. Their shared concern was the presence of Aeryn Targaryen in the Stepstones as the self-proclaimed Prince in the Narrow Sea - and to that end, their deliberations proved unfruitful. Unable to agree to any decisive action against the Stepstones, the only outcome was a collective endorsement of diplomacy. On behalf of all three cities, the Ormollens of Lys dispatched an emissary to Bloodstone, the seat of Aeryn Targaryen.

Despite his vigorous and conscious advocacy of the Triarchy as a whole, Salladhor Ormollen was only able to improve Aeryn’s feelings toward Lys; Tyrosh, with whom the Stepstones remained hostile, continued to keep his contempt. The Prince went as far as to offer a realignment of Lys, Myr and the Stepstones against Tyrosh, but the Ormollens refused to bargain for peace at any one city’s expense.

In Tyrosh, Moreo Sadaris was infuriated by the death of his goodson, Aelor Sand, whose dragon was integral to his plans. Immediately, he set his eyes on another bastard of Maegor Waters, Balerion Otherys, who came to Tyrosh to wed Talora Adarys. Though at first suspicious of the Archon, his marriage to a Tyroshi magister compelled Balerion to accept Moreo’s offer of patronage. The enigmatic Otherys was granted Aelor Sand’s magisterial seat, a luxurious manse, and a place in the Archon’s inner circle.

Balerion Otherys, however, proved much less pliable to the Archon’s schemes than his half-brother before him. As Moreo and Balerion’s relationship soured, the Archon became more attentive to Maelys Sandrake, his grandson born of the union between his daughter and Aelor Sand. The child’s Valyrian blood gave him the potential to take to the skies in Tyrosh’s service, but he first needed a dragon to tame.

Nevertheless, Moreo Sadaris did not intend for his city’s future to hinge on the loyalty of dragonriders. He understood the need to wield conventional force against the Stepstones, and to that end, he sought the support of Myr. To his frustration, a majority of the magisters of Myr vehemently refused to risk provoking a dragon’s wrath. Even the city’s foremost military leader, Prince-Admiral Ezra Vashar, was content to concur with the pacifism of the conclave. Indeed, there was little incentive for Myrish aggression; of the Triarchy’s three cities, theirs was the least affected by the rise of Aeryn Targaryen.

The Sathmantes Affair (420-421)
Though none objected to the Ormollens’ designation as the Triarchy’s envoys to Bloodstone, many magisters privately doubted that one family could faithfully represent the interests of the Triarchy at large. None were so distrustful as Phaedrus Sathmantes, already arguably the most influential man on the conclave of Lys.

Where the Ormollens refused to betray the purpose of their mission, Phaedrus Sathmantes saw an opportunity to be seized. He believed Aeryn to be less the conqueror than he appeared, and sought to wield the threat of a dragon to his own ends. Thus, after the departure of the Ormollen emissary - and unbeknownst to his fellow magisters - Phaedrus paid a personal visit to the court of Bloodstone. He asked Aeryn Targaryen to help him assume full control of Lys so that he might withdraw his city from the Triarchy and form an alliance with the Stepstones.

The Prince in the Narrow Sea doubted Phaedrus’ intentions and still held his family in contempt for their part in deposing the Targaryens of Lys - but he also saw them as a means of restoring that same house to its rightful place. Aeryn agreed to help install Phaedrus Sathmantes as an autocrat in Lys, confident that his dragon would eventually enable him to wrest that power from his new ally’s hands.

Phaedrus understood that the most effective coup would be bloodless, and upon his return to Lys, he began a careful search for allies in this bold endeavor. He was able to easily sway the lesser merchant families who lacked representation in the conclave, and after some negotiation, he secured the support of the Lohar family. But success could not be guaranteed without the consent of the foremost house of Lys, the Rogares. Phaedrus dared to reveal his plans to their matriarch, Nohia, and to his relief, she was eventually convinced to lend her support.

In truth, Nohia Rogare was immediately alarmed. She first informed the Ormollens, who agreed that the plan needed to be preempted. Lysarus Rogare, the head of the Rogare Bank, was dispatched to Tyrosh to inform Archon Moreo Sadaris. Though he was equally determined to foil the schemes of Phaedrus Sathmantes, he at first feigned disinterest in Lysene politics; only the offer of favorable loans from the Rogare Bank moved him to promise the full might of Tyrosh in the event of an attempted coup.

The Dance of Storm and Sun (421)
With one moon’s notice in advance, the Lohars called for a special session of the conclave of Lys, for which the lesser merchant families were asked to send their representatives. During these weeks, Phaedrus returned to Bloodstone to inform Aeryn of his progress and asked that he prepare to visit Lys shortly after the coup. At the same time, Lysarus met again with the Archon of Tyrosh to request the mobilization of his fleet - a request that was passed on to the Prince-Admiral of Myr.

When at last the Lysene conclave met, Phaedrus publicly put forward his proposal. As expected, the houses of Sathmantes and Lohar voted in favor - but the expected tiebreakers, the Rogares, seized the opportunity to denounce Phaedrus and call for his ejection from the conclave. The household guard of each family awaited outside, and violence would have broken out between them if not for Nohia Rogare’s suggestion that they suspend the session inconclusively. She persuaded the magisters - including Phaedrus and his supporters - to return to their homes peacefully, where all contemplated their approach to a brewing crisis.

Expecting the political wrangling of this coup to be complete, Aeryn Targaryen flew toward Lys with the Stepstones fleet behind him, intent on reinforcing the new despot’s position with a grand show of force. Thus he was surprised to find the city at an impasse; even the Lysene fleet was divided into segments that had yet to decide if they should oppose or welcome the dragonrider’s arrival. The greater surprise, however, was the timely intervention of the Tyroshi and Myrish fleets, complete with Balerion Otherys atop his dragon.

Outnumbered, the Stepstones fleet sustained heavy losses in its clash with the more advanced and organized forces of Myr and Tyrosh. Above the city, Aeryn and Balerion dueled atop Stormsong and Sunburst respectively, with the latter quickly gaining the upper hand. A precise shot from a Myrish catapult severely wounded Stormsong, forcing Aeryn and his fleet to retreat. But the duel was not without collateral damage: dozens of Lysene ships were incinerated, and dragonfire leveled one of the wealthiest quarters of the city.

The First Magister of Lys (421-422)
In the aftermath of the battle, the Rogares were the first to break the truce they had imposed on the other eminent families. Phaedrus was placed under house arrest, and Lysarus Rogare seized this opportunity to claim the prize that the Sathmantes patriarch had failed to attain. Appointing themselves the protectors of Lys, the Rogares wielded their wealth to win the support of the other noble houses: repairs to both the Lysene fleet and the ruined manses were generously financed by their bank, and even the rest of the Sathmantes family could not resist the allure of gold.

Now the foremost man in Lys, Lysarus Rogare sought to formally institute his control. With the support of Tyrosh, he proclaimed himself the First Magister of Lys - a title reserved only for the head of the Rogare Bank, vested with an authority comparable to that of an Archon. To assure the other magisters that they had yet to become irrelevant, Lysarus gave the Lysene conclave the power to elect his successor - so long as their only options were candidates nominated by the Rogares. After Phaedrus’ failed attempt to escape the city, he was sentenced to death for treason, marking a definitive end to an era of Sathmantes dominance.

The magisters of Myr were alarmed by the emergence of a despot in Lys, fearing that Lysarus Rogare would serve to further Tyrosh’s disproportionate influence over the Triarchy. Taking pride in the endurance of their magisterial government, the Myrish went as far as passing a resolution that prohibited any single magister from assuming an unequal level of authority.

Likewise, Myr resisted the hawkishness of Sadaris and Rogare. Following the confrontation at Lys, the Archon and the First Magister became convinced that there would never be a better time to stage a decisive invasion of the Stepstones. They knew that it was not a risk worth taking without the support of the Myrish, who continued to suffer the least from the sanctioned piracy of Aeryn’s vassals. The conclave of Myr vehemently rejected the proposal, insisting that the Triarchy should only involve itself in wars of an explicitly defensive nature.

The Dragon's Desperation (422-426)
Knowing that it would take years to recover the strength of his fleet, Aeryn Targaryen reluctantly looked for allies against the Triarchy. He first sought the support of the Iron Throne, instructing his emissary to invoke the love once shared between his sister, Selenya, and King Rhaegar II. Though Rhaegar was willing to entertain the idea of an alliance with the Stepstones, his entire Small Council was united in their opposition. They compelled the king not only to dismiss Aeryn’s representative, but to threaten to send the next one home without a head.

Similar proposals were sent to Braavos and Volantis, both of which feigned openness to an alliance - but neither truly wanted to associate with the rogue dragonrider in the Stepstones. Remembering the War in the Narrows a century prior, the triarchs of Volantis began to fear what might happen should Aeryn Targaryen prevail over their neighbors to the west.

Piracy saw a marked decline following Aeryn’s defeat at Lys, and the magisters of Myr contented themselves with the apparent peace that had come to the Narrow Sea. Moreo Sadaris and Lysarus Rogare concluded that Myr would remain an unreliable ally so long as it lacked a singular authority - and to that end, they turned their attention to Prince-Admiral Ezra Vashar. The Archon offered to render Ezra as much a prince as he was an admiral, but the Vashar patriarch proved uninterested in political power.

The Myrish Coup (426)
Disappointed by the Prince-Admiral’s obstinance, the Archon and the First Magister resolved to replace him with a puppet. A conspiracy took root, but it was not until the death of the elder magister Mose Vashar that the plot enjoyed support from a majority of the conclave. To fill his seat, Ezra appointed his eldest daughter and heir-apparent, Jasmine, as the newest magister of Myr. In little time, her brazen approach to politics jeopardized the standing of the Vashar family and outraged Ezra’s only son, the equally temperamental Myles. In him, the despots of Lys and Tyrosh at last found their puppet.

Rania Vashar, an experienced magister in her own right, saw the writing on the wall. She agreed to yield to the impending coup, seizing the opportunity to bargain for greater influence on the conclave - and the safety of her elder brother, who was allowed to live in exile in Pentos. As leverage, she offered to return to the Rogares their ancestral Valyrian sword, Truth, which had been granted to Rania by Tya Lannister at the Festival in 418 AC. Without a single drop of blood, Ezra Vashar was deposed and his spiteful son was installed in his place.

The new Prince-Admiral, like Lysarus Rogare before him, was granted authority comparable to the Archon of Tyrosh - but he immediately proved unfit for the office. Within weeks, a second coup was staged, and the incompetent Myles Vashar was replaced by the ambitious magister Nymon Mar Noyne.

Moreo Sadaris and Lysarus Rogare feared that this new Prince-Admiral would become a thorn in their side, but in the first meeting between the three, Nymon assured them that he was equally committed to Aeryn Targaryen’s defeat. At last, the three cities were united in purpose - and thoroughly prepared to invade the Stepstones.

The Prince's Peril (426-427)
The reluctance of Myr gave Aeryn ample time to recover his strength - but his coalition of pirate lords was still no match for the combined might of the Three Daughters. Once again his dragon, Stormsong, was no match for Sunburst, and after a brief duel with Balerion Otherys, Aeryn fled east across the sea. He was confident that he could find refuge in Volantis, where he intended to swear fealty to the city’s triarchs - but when he was spotted over the Orange Coast, Volantene scorpions shot him out of the sky. Aeryn fell to his death, and Stormsong disappeared into the interior of Essos.

The triumphant despots of the Triarchy convened the next year to formulate a new framework for their combined governance. A triumvirate was formed between the First Magister of Lys, the Archon of Tyrosh and the Prince-Admiral of Myr. The magisterial conclaves had their power over foreign and trade policy reduced to an indirect influence, with their legal authority now only applicable to their home cities. Their ambitious leaders remained capable of compromise among each other and began centralizing the Triarchy’s military might and diplomatic relations.

However, they could not decide what to make of the kingdom that the fallen prince had left behind. An occupation of the Stepstones, they concurred, would be neither viable nor rewarding. Instead they allowed the islands to revert to their natural state: a chaotic, disunited collection of petty, independent lordships.