The Hammer Uprising

The Hammer Uprising was a peasant uprising in 388AC when the infamous outlaw band called the Warsmiths, led by Brynden Hammer and Tomas Hew, stirred up a populist rebellion against the crown and its excesses. Though the initial revolt was put down by the King Aenar's forces, the death of Brynden Hammer and the massacre of his followers sparked similar revolts across the realm, and a resurgence in the divide between the Starry Sept and the Great Sept of Baelor.

Background
The Warsmiths had long plagued the region around the Kingswood, preying mostly upon merchants and travelers. For the most part their efforts had caused little bloodshed, rarely killing their victims but always fleecing them of any and all valuables. The people of the region began to favour the outlaws, who were largely from the region and continued to aid the smallfolk whenever able. Where the law failed, the Warsmiths prevailed, and with their generally non-violent tactics most efforts to apprehend them were half-hearted at best. "Uproot these and worse will take their place," was the prevailing thought among most, and for most of the nobles that was the end of the issue.

Part of the reason the Warsmiths proved so beloved by the people of the Crownlands was their offers to aid any family or commoner who could not pay the king's exorbitant taxes, which had risen in the years following the Kingswood Tourney to pay for the debts of the Crown. Resentment against the royal court had been brewing ever since, and in the eyes of many the Warsmiths were the only true men left near the Blackwater.

The Folly of Lord Follard
Despite the increased taxes causing hardship for the commonfolk, in 388AC Lord Follard declared a tournament to celebrate his youngest daughter's coming of age. Lords from around the region were invited to partake, with the prize for the joust being some five hundred gold dragons.

The expense displeased many smallfolk, further highlighting the disconnectedness of the nobility. Brynden Hammer, leader of the Warsmiths, was especially displeased, and resolved to attend with all of his company.

Tomas Hew came first in the archery competition, winning a small purse of silvers and the adoration of the crowd, while Brynden participated in the joust. He broke nine lances against his competitor in the final round, before at last unhorsing the man and being proclaimed the victor. When it was discovered that Brynden was not a knight, however, Lord Follard refused to give him his wrongfully-won prize.

At once the atmosphere of the tournament shifted, the gathering of knights facing off against Brynden and his brotherhood of hardened outlaws. Many, one might assume, hoped that the Hammer would balk in the face of trained and anointed knights. Instead, the Warsmiths blew upon their horns, and laid waste to the tourney at Foolskeep.

Lord Follard himself, along with three of his sons, died in the chaos of that day -- Brynden Hammer's warhammer shattering the man's right leg and shield arm, before caving in his chest with a mighty blow. Tomas Yew and his bow found mark after mark, piercing weak points and openings in the lighter tourney armour. The Warsmith's carried off Lord Follard's maiden daughter, forestalling any immediate chase -- and at once rode south, towards the nearest village, the five hundred dragons heavy in their saddlebags.

The Flight from Foolskeep
The Warsmiths leave Lord Follard's daughter in the care of the nearest town, though most singers claim that Brynden bed the woman before sending her on her way. As they departed, the outlaws discussed their run in with tyranny and greed - and all scholars agree that it was the ride from Foolskeep where the Warsmiths changed from bandits, into rebels. Brynden Hammer, Tomas Hew, and all the rest of their merry band, agree that enough is enough - and that changes must be made. Men are sent in several directions, spreading the word that the Warsmiths will no longer bend the knee; but that they instead support the rights of all free men and women in Westeros, kings and lords be damned.

The Kingswood
Once in the Kingswood, the Warsmiths continue their recruiting efforts. All who are willing to bear arms against the throne are accepted into their ranks, and in the heart of the Kingswood the outlaws set to training them.

From King's Landing the Small Council dispatches a retinue of some fifty men to hunt for the perpetrators of the Follard massacre. Led by the master-at-arms of the Red Keep alongside several nobles, gold cloaks, and soldiers, the party is soundly defeated by the far better prepared rebels. A few men are taken prisoner, but rather than returning them for ransom the Warsmiths have them stripped and dressed in sackcloth, sent back to the city in shame and poverty. Their clothes are sold, their armour and weapons re-distributed, and many in the city whispered favorably of the bold band of brothers in the Kingswood.

Rebels
Brynden Hammer and his companions begin to step up their activities, attacking merchants and caravans that traveled through the Kingswood in flagrant disregard for the King's Peace. Each time the merchants are stripped and sent to the capital in sack cloth, their wares and belongings sold or given away - save for that which the Warsmiths use to keep themselves supplied in weapons and armour. Patrols to find the band of outlaws return in defeat, those that escape ambush instead wandering the woods for days without sight or sign. It is generally accepted that the Hammer and his outlaws are not like to be caught whilst the common folk support them, but in mid 388AC their attacks become a matter of urgency for the crown.

The Warsmiths, their numbers haven swollen thanks to recent recruits, orchestrate a raid on Helmshall, the castle of House Cressey. In the dead of night, whilst most of the family is away in the capital on business - the outlaws scale the walls and subdue the defenders, throwing the main gates wide for wagons drawn by horses. They loot the castle from tower to cellar, emptying its armoury, coffers, and stables, before cutting off Lord Cressey's beard and absconding into the night. Their ill-gotten gains were at once put to use to further their cause, and as word arrived in King's Landing, the King realized that this could not continue.

King Aenar I Targaryen appoints the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard as leader of the forces designated to bring Brynden Hammer to justice. Along with him went several knights and nobles of the court, including a few young squires. It isn't long before the force departs for the Kingswood, hoping to find their prey swiftly.

The Battle of the Weeping Willows
With their rapidly increasing numbers the Warsmiths had begun to find hiding difficult - no longer were they able to fade into the trees at a moment's notice, or simply abandon their camp and spoils when stumbled upon by some unwary band. When word came that the Kingsguard were leading a force into the woods to find them, the Warsmiths decided against rapid flight - and chose instead to stand and face them.

The royal company tracked the rebels through the trees, and engaged them in the ruins of an ancient stone keep surrounded by weeping willows. The Battle of the Weeping Willows as it came to be called was the very first true engagement the Warsmiths fought against the crown, but their long practice with ambushes and intimate knowledge of the forest gave them a heady advantage. Arrows poured down upon the royal party from all directions, as Tomas Hew and his archers took aim from the trees. The royals pressed forward, pushing the outlaws deeper into the ruins of the courtyard; but a charge led by Brynden gave the Warsmiths renewed vigor, and for a time the fighting was matched. Several attempts to break through the fighting to bring down Brynden failed, the most infamous instance when the rebel known as Gentle Geoff - a giant of a man, as simple as he was kind - fought against five knights in the narrow ruins of postern gate, preventing the outlaw's position from being overrun.

In the end, the royal forces are forced to retreat, leaving at least one Kingsguard and several score men dead upon the field. They pull back from the Kingswood entirely, yielding the arena to the Warsmiths. For a time, the outlaws enjoyed their victory.

The Fording of the Rush
Weeks passed, and the rebels were content in their small kingdom, but Brynden Hammer knew things would not remain so quiet forever. At his word they gather their number and move north-west, knowing that the Riverlands and northern Crownlands would prove far safer when it came to avoiding the crown's soldiers, while also providing them with more men whom they might recruit. The rebellion, Brynden said, would not grow in the Kingswood. They needed to make it to the Riverlands.

As the middle moons of 388AC ended, the Warsmiths emerged from the Kingswood some three hundred fighters strong. They marched toward the river in a ragged band, but as they approach word soon comes that the royal forces are not far behind. The Lord Commander, it seemed, had chosen instead to await his foes outside their wooded haunt, engaging them upon far more even ground.

Rather than retreat and risk capture or worse, Brynden and the Warsmiths press on for the river. The pursuit is hard, the royal forces possessing more and better horses, but Tomas Hew and his archers manage to keep the worst of their foes at bay. As they arrive at the river, however, the royal forces approach swiftly from the rear - and so the battle known as the Fording of the Rush is joined.

From the outset a royal victory seemed certain, the initial charge of the loyalist forces near buckling the Warsmith defensive line. The fighting was hard and brutal, men and horses alike slipping in the slick mud of the riverbank and the blood of their companions. A particular outlaw named Sumner the Sunderer, a bearded man of great ferocity and renown, clove the horse of the Lord Commander near in two with the swing of his greatsword, bringing the man down. The Kingsguard's life was saved by one his companions, who slew the Sunderer in the midst of battle.

When the dust settled, nearly half of the outlaws lay dead or captured, the rest having escaped across the river. Rather than charging into their ranks across the raging waters of the Rush, the royal forces withdrew to King's Landing to heal their wounded and surrender their captives. Many of those who were imprisoned were sent to the Wall; or hanged from the ramparts until dead.

Chaos on the King's Road
While the royals return to the city and dole out punishments to the captured, Brynden and the Warsmiths caused chaos on the kingsroad. Furious at his defeat, the Hammer unleashed his men upon the caravans, raiding and looting with greater luck and greater ferocity than they ever had before. More and more dissatisfied commonfolk found themselves drawn to their cause, and as the Warsmith's numbers swell, attempts to capture them continue to fail.

In the end it was Brynden Hammer's desire to escape west that would prove to be his undoing; for the safest route into the Riverlands was across the Kingsbridge, where one might then get lost in the plains and meadows west of the God's Eye. The Lord Commander knew that this was one of two ways the rebels could depart; and so he cast his net widely, dispatching riders to wait upon the far side of the bridge while he himself flushed the Warsmiths out. It took weeks, but it worked, Brynden and his outlaws forcibly ousted from their hiding places, forced once more to take to the road and press towards their goal. By now the Warsmiths numbered some five hundred, untrained commoners almost all - and as they reached the Kingsbridge, the royal forces closing in behind, Brynden Hammer once more decided to make a stand.

The Song of Sword and Steel
The battle on the Kingsbridge is a thing of some renown, famous for the displays of battlefield prowess that went on above the swirling waters of the Rush. For a time the engagement seemed to waver on the side of the Warsmiths, Brynden Hammer such an inspirational a figure that his men fought for him without fear. It was only when the sound of horns came from the far side of the bridge, and the glittering charge of the Lord Commander's cavalry surged towards the opposite side of the Kingsbridge, that the rebels began to falter.

Brynden Hammer was slain in the fighting, dueling with a valiant foeman upon the famous bridge. Tomas Hew slew yet another Kingsguard, before he too was cut down in battle. The rest of the members of that band - Naerys Broadsmile, Lomas Longtooth, and the rest - were either captured or killed as the fighting went on. In the end, the Crown was victorious.

Subsequent Revolts
After the Song of Sword and Steel, or, as its sometimes called, the Battle of the Kingsbridge, the survivors of Brynden's band fled to the corners of the realm. Word of the deaths of Brynden Hammer and Tomas Hew spread dissent among the populace, who had begun to view them as heroes following their larger-than-life adventures and storybook beginnings. Many of their original criticisms of the crown, namely the desire for better rights and lower taxes for the commonfolk, began to resonate with those who still suffered under that yoke.

Smallfolk uprisings would soon occur across the realm, including in;
 * Lannisport - Riots broke out across the city, quelled by the Lannisport city watch. Looters began to torch buildings and ships, but the damage did not spread far before order was forcibly restored.
 * Fairmarket - Commoners would seize the market town for a fortnight, until forced to surrender by Riverlander forces.
 * Maidenpool - A man named Florian the Foolish would attempt to storm the keep of House Mooton.
 * Duskendale - Market day turned violent as fighting broke out in the streets. Willem Darke, a scion of that minor knightly house, would lead a group of men against the Lord of Duskendale before escaping into the countryside and turning bandit for a time.
 * Storm's End - Smallfolk marched upon the powerful castle, voicing their demands and requesting to see Lord Baratheon.
 * The Northmarch - Across the Northmarch commonfolk ceased to pay their taxes, refusing to answer calls to arms or heed the words of their lords. House Rowan was eventually forced to turn to House Tyrell for aid, who soon brought an end to the defiance.
 * The Vale of Arryn - Groups of commoners abandoned their homes in protest against the crown and the Arryns, but the roving bands of unarmed peasants proved easy prey for the mountain clans. Eventually the uprisings quieted down, but sparked renewed violence between the clansmen and the Andals of the Vale.
 * White Harbor - Representatives were sent to Lord Manderly on behalf of the many silversmiths and artisans who worked within the city.

Aftermath
The final revolts inspired by Brynden's defiance had not yet been quelled when the first songs about the fallen outlaw were penned. Some glorified his victories, while others played forlornly with his defeats, and yet others still explored the tragedy of his life, and the ideals for which he fought. Among the common folk many still see him as a gallant figure, a man who dared stand against tyranny and excess.

In future years, the Septon of the Starry Sept in Oldtown would find himself inspired by the tale of Brynden Hammer, lauding his famous generosity and rebellion against the "rich and depraved" nobles of King's Landing. Though Brynden and his followers were Crownlanders, and thus most likely clung to the Baelorian method of belief, the Starry septon held them up as examples of piety and virtue, strength and resilience. Their fight, in his sermons, became one not against taxes and lords, but the Targaryens themselves, with their heretical marriages and endless lust for luxury. The septon of Oldtown preached long and loud against the royal house, and the story of the Warsmiths and the revolt of Brynden Hammer granting the ideas purchase in the heart of many smallfolk.

Songs
Many songs have been written about the exploits of Brynden Hammer, Tomas Hew, and the Warsmiths. One of the most popular, the Three Blows of Brynden Hammer, tends to change from town to town, with different verses being added by each singer - though the tune remains the same. Some popular verses can be found below;"Hammer blows did hammer down / From Rosby to the Rush / The Hammer beat a tune so red / It made the dragon blush!""The Kingsguard came, their cloaks of white / To work their deeds of black / Till Hammer rose, and Hammer fell / To drive the Kingsguard back!""Once he struck, for common cause / And twice for common men / Thrice to give the nobles pause / Till Hammer rise again!"In most tales the Warsmiths feature as heroes, though such songs are not often sung in King's Landing.