Stepstones

The Stepstones are a chain of nine islands between the southern narrow sea and the northwestern Summer Sea. The islands are located east of Dorne in Westeros and west of the Kingdom of the Three Daughters in Essos. Just to the north is Tyrosh. The Stepstones are home to pirate dens, currently untied beneath the joint rule of the Lord of Bloodstone, the Lady of Last Refuge, and the Lord of Grey Gallows. The islands are also often affected by storms. They emerged in a power vacuum left by Aeryn Targaryen, who ruled as Prince of the Narrows for a decade.

Geography
The Stepstones are known for being a hotbed of pirate activity, its many coves and natural harbours serving as dens for corsairs and thieves. Once a land bridge uniting the two great continents of the known world, it was shattered in pre-history by a great act of magic, according to the legends popular in Westeros.

In modern times the isles are tumultuous and fickle, oft hammered by storms and rocked by waves and shifts in temperature. Nonetheless many smallfolk manage to eek out meager lives, subsisting largely off fish and what agriculture survives the chaos.

Some of the larger isles - Bloodstone, Sunstone, and others - are well forested, providing the timber used in repairs and construction. Streams flow down from in-land mountains, making their way to the various settlements that dot the coastal shores. Mining is also possible in several of the isles, with metals such as tin, copper, and iron often found after back-breaking labour. There are rumours of gold in the mountains of Sunstone, though panning for gold is an occupation oft taken only by the desperate and the reckless in times of need.

Notable Places
There are nine major islands in the chain known as the Stepstones, though they have known various names over the centuries.
 * Bloodstone - The greatest of the islands and the current seat of the Ember.
 * Torturer's Deep - Once the seat of the Lord of Waters, Torturer's Deep has retained a reputation for producing some of the greatest pirate ships in the region. Though still no true match for the proper shipyards of civilized men, the slaves of Torturer's Deep labour beneath the watchful eye of skillful artisans.
 * Grey Gallows - A small, largely ruined island that was once the seat of Alequo Silverband. It contains many ruins, including the seat of the Silverband himself, rumoured to contain both horrors and treasures; though the twisted stone walls defy all attempts at entry.
 * Sunstone
 * Dark Den
 * Wreckstone
 * Shame Isle
 * The Skulls
 * Last Refuge

People
The people of the Stepstones are no true race of men; instead, they are an amalgamation of many breeds. Lysenes, Myrmen, and Tyroshi make up the majority of the population, though among their numbers can be found souls from every corner of the known world. It is neither blood nor religion but rather purpose that unites the Stepstones; for it is only in piracy and war that they find unity. Beneath the banner of the new-named Prince of the Narrow Sea, these old rivalries and divisions now simmer beneath a veneer of conformity.

The greatest settlement of the Stepstones is the fledgling seat of its Prince, located upon the isle of Bloodstone. Though often called a city it is in truth a town at best, hosting thousands of souls in relative squalor and poverty. Only the rich and the powerful find any luxury in Harbringer Sound, its reputation for vice and villany already well known across the Narrow Sea.

The Prince of the Stepstones ruled the region until 426 AC, and beneath him are two great Pirate-Lords, who each boasted command of three of the isles. These men served as vassals of the Prince, and answered his call in peace and war.

The Kingdom of the Stepstones
The Kingdom of the Stepstones was first founded in 109AC after Daemon Targaryen wrested control of all but two of the islands from the Triarchy and their allies. Since then the title has often lain dormant, though it was restored in full glory by the Three Kings. After their defeat, the island chain once again fell to squabbling, as petty pirate-lords claimed the title, though none were able to decisively unite the region.

Years later, the Kingdom has been reforged; in 413 AC the Lys-born Aeryn Targaryen swept forth atop a dragon to unify the quarrelsome isles. With the end of winter leaving his enemies unprepared, he managed to unify many of the various factions, ultimately naming himself Prince in the Narrow Sea during the Second Moon of 415 AC.

List of Kings and Princes of the Stepstones
Those names marked with an asterisk (*) are pirate-lords/captains who claimed dominion over the Stepstones, but were not widely recognized either by their peers or by historians.
 * 109 AC - 115 AC -- Prince Daemon Targaryen, from the isle of Bloodstone.
 * 115 AC - 130 AC -- The Copper Kings, a series of five rulers who warred over the isles following Daemon's abandonment of the region.
 * 130 AC - 141 AC -- Racallio Ryndoon, who initially served the Three Daughters, but carved a kingdom for himself following their collapse.
 * 259 AC - 260 AC -- The Band of Nine conquered the islands in their pursuit of their ambitions. They were eventually thrown back by a concerted effort from the Seven Kingdoms.
 * 301 AC - 304 AC -- The Lord of the Waters took hold of the region with his monstrous triple-decked warships. He ruled from Torturer's Deep.
 * 393 AC - 400 AC -- The Three Kings rule the islands together, though it is clear that Daarius Ormollen is their head and chief. Their endeavours would lead to the War of the Three Thieves, before Daarius was slain by his compatriot, Alequo.
 * 400 AC - 402AC -- Alequo Silverband ruled the Stepstones on the run, as he sought to avoid his Westerosi pursuers. This lasted until his defeat at the hands of Maekar Targaryen, who slew him above his seat in Grey Gallows.
 * 413 AC - 426 AC -- Aeryn Targaryen rose up as the first dragon rider the Stepstones had seen in some time. Although he managed to hold his seat longer than many rulers before him, he too eventually fell and opened the way for another to step in.
 * 427 AC - 436 AC -- The Alliance of the Narrow Seas seized hold of the Stepstones rather than one individual ruler. However, it was Vyrmidon Melos that took hold of the islands first before the emergence of Baldassare Otherys and the conquest of Mira Sunderland.

Antiquity
The Stepstones have a long and chaotic history, marked with fell villans and grey heroes of varying morals and aims. Not until the conquests of Daemon Targaryen did they truly enter the world stage as a power, though after his decline and the deaths of the kings who followed him, the region once more slipped into anarchy.

After the Rogue Prince, it was not until the Band of Nine that the Stepstones again knew a ruler. Their dominion over the realm was brief and bloody, drawing the ire of the Seven Kingdoms and with it, war. After their defeat the Stepstones collapsed into violence once more, the following decades seeing the rise and fall of countless lords and captains.

The War of the Three Kings
Main Article: The War of the Three Kings

In the year 393AC, Daarius Ormollen managed to secure unity in a large portion of the Stepstones. With the aid of his co-conspirators, they declared themselves the Three Kings and set about expanding their influence.

After stealing a dragon egg from the King on the Iron Throne, they set about hatching the creature. Scores of nobles, warlocks, scholars, and charlatans met their end in the bowels of a pirate stronghold. The pursuit of a dragon that might serve their ends caused friction between their fledgling kingdom and the Iron Throne, eventually leading to outright war in 396 AC.

The Interregnum (407 AC - 413 AC)
After the death of Alequo Silverband in 402AC, the Stepstones were a shattered ruin without a leader. Broken, burnt, and greatly reduced in power, the withdrawal of Westerosi forces worked like the tide - pulling with it all manner of refuse. Other powers would soon move to fill the void, factions arising that spanned several islands and for a time held sway.

The Prince in the Narrows (413 AC - 426 AC)
Main Article: The Scouring of the Stepstones

In 413AC, for the first time in near two hundred years, the chaos of the Stepstones met the unyielding force of a dragon rider. Aeryn Targaryen landed in Bloodstone and waged war against the pirates of the isles, making common cause with those who were willing to bend the knee and descending upon those that resisted. The Scouring lasted little over a year, the final pirate-lord bending the knee in the early months of 415AC.

Aeryn was toppled during a war with Lys, Tyrosh and Myr in 426 AC.

Anarchy and Reunification (427 AC - 436 AC)
In Aeryn's absence, the Stepstones descended into disunity. Two dragonriders, as well as the Saans - who served as patrons to an adolescent dragonrider - vied to replace the late Prince as rulers of the Stepstones. Eventually, they reluctantly agreed to rule the region as a council of three. They immediately formed the Alliance of the Narrows with the Triarchy, which has since then dominated trade in the Narrow Sea.