The war between the Targaryen dynasty and Dorne had reached a fever pitch. Princess Yellow Toad led her armies in multiple fierce assaults on Hellholt, but the fortress's garrison continued to grow, rendering Dorne's attacks increasingly futile. Troops from the Stormlands, the Vale, and the Westerlands also poured into the battlefield, joining the brutal conflict. After over half a year of back-and-forth fighting, the Dornish finally abandoned their attempt to reclaim Hellholt.
One castle after another in the Red Mountains was slowly devoured by the monstrous force of the Targaryen Kingdom. The rebellious lords of the mountains were ruthlessly flayed by Lord Bolton and turned into gruesome warnings to others. Nearly ten mountain strongholds were gradually enfeoffed to lords within the realm.
The Boneway had already been retaken by the Targaryen army, but its nobles had long since fled, vanishing with Targaryen captives in tow. Thanks to their exceptional performance in the war, House Bolton was granted lordship over Hellholt. This vital stronghold in the heart of Dorne became the crowning glory of House Bolton.
After the failed attempt to take Hellholt, Princess Yellow Toad was disheartened and completely gave up Dorne's eastern territories. Leading the Dornish forces, she withdrew in disarray into the Red Desert.
Though the intensity of the fighting appeared to wane, everyone knew that once the Targaryen dynasty had fully digested the lands of the Red Mountains and relocated enough of the Dornish population, it would once again tighten the noose around the Martell regime.
As the fifth year of the Conquest drew to a close, King Aegon's two lovers—Sharra, the Master of Whisperers, and Lady Argella—each gave birth to a son. Aegon named them Maegon and Mond.
Neither of these children bore the Waters surname traditionally given to bastards of the Crownlands. Maegon, the son of Sharra, was destined to enter the Federal Council and eventually succeed his grandfather Aerion as Speaker of the Council. Mond, son of Lady Argella, inherited the Durrandon name from birth and was fated to one day wear the Stormlands crown.
When former Storm King Argilac heard of his grandson's birth, he returned from Volantis to Westeros.
Aegon looked upon the aging Argilac and saw that the once-formidable warrior who had stood against him outside Storm's End was gone. Now he was but an ordinary old man—his face drawn, his vigor lost, the years etched deep into his features. Reflecting on the conquest of the Stormlands, which had taken place just over four years ago, Aegon couldn't help but feel the weight of time's passing.
During this period, the royal family often flew to the palace in Highgarden for respite, and Aegon used these trips to visit Lady Raedelle, who was nearing childbirth. Time passed swiftly, and before long, the sixth year of the Conquest had begun.
Lady Raedelle gave birth safely, and Aegon welcomed another son. Seeing the boy's green hair, he joyfully named him Garth. Unfortunately, Garth was not granted any noble title, becoming the first of Aegon's children to bear the bastard surname—Garth Flowers.
Aegon had yet to decide the boy's future. Perhaps one day, Garth Flowers would inherit his mother's position as steward of Highgarden and pursue the vacant title of Lord of the Riverlands.
After all, the army of the Reach, led by Lord Hightower, had been completely annihilated in Dorne's Red Desert. The resulting blow to the Reach's strength left it with nothing to show for the campaign—and left the Riverlands dukedom unclaimed.
In contrast, House Bolton of the North emerged from the war with Dorne covered in glory. Rumors now spread throughout the realm that House Bolton might be granted the title of Lord of Dorne. But Aegon disagreed. He still valued his friendship with Torrhen too much to let politics drive a wedge between them.
On a brighter note, two major constructions in King's Landing were completed: Aegon's Hall, one of the Red Keep's three outer halls, and Visenya Tower, one of the three inner palace towers.
Aegon held court with his ministers in Aegon's Hall, followed by a grand ball to celebrate the successful first phase of construction in the capital. The Targaryen royal family moved into Visenya Tower, but other towers meant for courtiers—such as the Tower of the Hand, the Maidenvault, and the Sword Tower—had only just broken ground.
With no other choice, Aegon and Visenya returned to Harrenhal to handle state affairs, and the royal household relocated back to Harrenhal with them.
The war to conquer Dorne had now lasted a full year.
In that time, the most notable development was the explosion in King's Landing's labor force, which surpassed one hundred thousand. Many former slaves had resettled near the capital and begun forming satellite towns. The number of Dornish laborers building the Kingsroad was even greater. They were working tirelessly to construct the road linking Harrenhal to King's Landing.
Designed to accommodate four horse-drawn carriages side by side, the road was paved with stone and already halfway completed—expected to be finished by year's end.
The Crownlands' population continued to rise over the course of the year, increasing by more than 200,000. Now, with spring in full bloom, the influx of laborers had been put to work in the fields, easing the pressure from population growth without placing any burden on the realm.
On the front lines of Hellholt, large-scale land battles had devolved into countless bloody atrocities, acts of looting, and cycles of revenge—punctuated by long periods of stalemate, a dozen brief truces, and more assassinations and betrayals than anyone could count.
At the beginning of the sixth year of the Conquest, Orys Baratheon and the lords who had been captured with him on the Boneway were finally ransomed back to King's Landing by paying their weight in gold.
Those who greeted them were shocked to discover that the "Widow's Lover" had cruelly severed the sword hands of every captive, ensuring they would never again be able to take up arms against Dorne.
Though Orys's strength was greatly diminished after the loss of his hand, Aegon nonetheless reinstated him as commander of the army and appointed the Head of House Bolton as his deputy. During a royal assembly at the Targaryen court, Aegon solemnly promised before all his advisors that one day, he would grant Sunspear, the capital of Dorne, to Orys as the seat of House Baratheon.
In Aegon's Hall, Orys was moved to tears—an image hard to imagine for a man so hardened. One could only wonder what horrors he had endured at the hands of the Dornish.
After the council, driven by a burning hatred for Dorne, Orys immediately returned to the front lines.
To avenge the atrocities committed against Orys by House Wyl of Dorne, King Aegon personally mounted Balerion and flew over the Red Desert, reducing six or seven of the castles and watchtowers still under Dornish control to molten rubble. At the same time, he dropped tens of thousands of leaflets revealing the crimes of House Martell and House Wyl.
...
In the middle of the sixth year of the Conquest, Dornish raiders—assisted by a pirate king from the Stepstones—crossed the Sea of Dorne and plundered six or seven towns and villages along the southern coast of Cape Wrath. They also set half of the Rainwood ablaze.
"Fire will be met with fire," declared Princess Meria, the Yellow Toad.
Faced with such a provocation, the Targaryen dynasty could not stand idle. Later that same month, Queen Visenya flew to Dorne and commanded Vhagar to rain fire upon Lemonwood, Ghost Hill, and Tor.
Dorne had the aid of a pirate king—but the Targaryen dynasty had the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
The Ironborn pirate fleets of the Iron Islands rapidly expanded their influence after Aegon entrusted them with command of the royal navy. Coastal strongholds of Dorne were raided more than ten times. Anything of value, including the population, was swept up by the Ironborn.
The Martell regime was forced to retreat inland.
After the Seven Kings of the Sea finished their plunder of Dorne, they turned the royal fleet toward the Stepstones and delivered a brutal blow to the pirates there. They were rivals—but also kindred spirits.
While the royal navy had failed to uncover the pirates' hidden lairs, the Seven Kings of the Sea found them with ease. After eliminating the pirate queen, they seized a vast treasure hoard.
It was clear: in the War of Conquest in Dorne, the Seven Kings of the Sea from the Iron Islands reaped the greatest rewards. Though they held little territory, their plunder surpassed that of any other force.
...
At the end of the sixth year of the Conquest, the Kingsroad between Harrenhal and King's Landing was finally completed. Numerous official post stations were established along the route, linking the two regions in mutual economic development.
Under Aegon's guidance, the Maesters successfully developed printing, and Aegon took the opportunity to grant several new noble titles. As noble families in Harrenhal grew in number, young knights began to look up to the newly built Citadel of Harrenhal, proud to be accepted into it.
Many noble children began studying the new doctrines of the Tower of the Eagle, but Aegon swiftly curbed the spread of these philosophies to ensure all new ideas and systems of thought remained under his control. Only those schools that aligned with royal interests were permitted to disseminate—and even those were still far from becoming Aegon's ideal official ideology.
The battlefield had become a crucible even greater than Harrenhal itself. While the noble children bonded in the castle, the adults forged friendships in war.
Aegon remained devoted to integrating the Seven Kingdoms into a unified empire ruled by House Targaryen. He recruited noblemen from across the realm—and even a few women—to serve in the court and among his ministers.
At Harrenhal, Aegon handpicked talented boys to serve as cupbearers, wine stewards, and pages, while girls became handmaidens and companions to the two queens. Through this, he strengthened ties between local nobility and the royal household, hoping his efforts would become royal tradition.
He often held little Aenys in his arms during gatherings with vassals and their children. Though Aegon had some ideas for Aenys's future education, the boy was only two years old—still too young for formal training. For now, Aegon simply wanted him to grow accustomed to the atmosphere of courtly life.
The young sons and daughters of noble families witnessed firsthand how King Aegon governed the realm. Gradually, they began to see themselves not merely as Westerlanders, Stormlanders, or Northerners, but as loyal servants of a unified kingdom.
House Targaryen also arranged marriages between distant noble houses across the realm, fostering cooperation and mutual exchange among the newly conquered regions.
...
However, Aegon's peace did not last long. Dorne's retaliation struck like a violent tide.
House Martell had placed a bounty on the heads of any Targaryen lords who had invaded Dorne—offering sums equal to their ransom value.
This despicable act led to a string of brutal murders: Lord Connington of Griffin's Roost was killed while hunting, Lord Mertyn of Mistwood and his entire family were poisoned with a barrel of Dornish red, and Lord Fell was smothered to death in a brothel in King's Landing.
At Harrenhal, Aegon furiously denounced the Yellow Toad as a shameless villain.
When he received a bounty list sent from the continent of Essos by his father Aerion, Aegon was furious—the list named every member of the Targaryen royal family as a target, including his eldest son, Aenys.
Queen Visenya, upon seeing the bounty notice targeting the royal family, became alarmed and paranoid. She began wearing chainmail day and night, even beneath her court robes, and repeatedly urged the king to do the same. Aegon's refusal drove her into a rage.
"Even with Blackfyre in your hand, you're still just one man," Visenya warned. "And I can't always be by your side."
Aegon calmly replied that he had many guards to protect him.
Without a word, Visenya drew Dark Sister and, before the guards could react, slashed a quick line across her brother's face.
"Your guards are lazy and slow," she said. "I could have killed you with ease. You need better protection."
"You have no honor! That was a sneak attack!" Aegon shouted in outrage.
"Do you think an assassin would come at the king in broad daylight?" Visenya shot back.
With blood streaming down his face, Aegon had no choice but to agree.
King Aegon had always been protected by valiant sworn knights, but Visenya believed that as ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, he should have seven knights in his personal guard.
Thus, the Kingsguard was born—a brotherhood of the seven finest knights in the realm, dressed in pure white cloaks and armor, sworn to protect the king with their lives. Visenya modeled their oath after that of the Night's Watch. Like the black-cloaked crows on the Wall, the White Sword knights would serve for life.
They were required to renounce all lands, titles, and property, dedicating themselves entirely to the king, obeying the strict rules of the order, and receiving only honor in return.
Countless knights applied to join, prompting Aegon to consider holding a grand tournament to select the most worthy candidates. But Visenya refused outright.
She insisted that the Kingsguard needed more than just martial prowess. No matter how skilled a man was in battle, if his loyalty was questionable, she would never place him near the king. She would choose the knights herself.
The men selected by Queen Visenya for the Kingsguard were of varying ages and statures, drawn from all corners of the realm. Among them were younger sons of lords, heirs from ancient houses who had renounced their inheritance to serve the king, even a hedge knight and a bastard.
What united them was their strength, speed, discipline, and unwavering loyalty. Skilled with spear and shield, they swore absolute devotion to the king.
...
In the seventh year of the Conquest, King Aegon Targaryen survived three assassination attempts—twice only thanks to the protection of the Kingsguard.
One night in King's Landing, Queen Visenya herself was ambushed. Wielding Dark Sister, she slew the attackers personally, though two of her guards were killed in the process.
When a Faceless Man appeared among the assassins, Aegon's fury reached its peak.
Only then did he realize how merciful he had been toward the Martell regime and the traitorous lords of Dorne.
He invited Visenya to ride with him on their dragons to Dorne, so they could finally unleash the wrath he had long suppressed.
Rhaenys wanted to fly alongside them on Meraxes, but Aegon, haunted by the vision of her death in his apocalyptic dream, once again persuaded his sister not to go.
Balerion and Vhagar launched raid after raid. Nearly every castle under Martell control in Dorne was burned three times.
The breath of the Black Dread was so intense that the sand around Sunspear melted into glass.
Dornish lords were forced into hiding, fleeing from one place to another, yet still unable to ensure their safety. Lord Fowler, Lord Vaith, Lady Toland, and four successive Lords of Vaith Castle were all burned alive.
Vaith Castle had become the Martell regime's final defensive stronghold against the Targaryen army—and thus the primary target of Aegon and Visenya's attacks.
For the Martells, their plight did not end with dragonfire. On the continent of Essos, Aerion, Speaker of the Free City Council, issued a bounty targeting the Martell regime.
The Targaryens and Martells were now locked in a brutal, unrelenting battle—one fought both in the open and in the shadows.
Among the Targaryens, Aegon's campaign of vengeance against Dorne came to be known as the "Dragon's Wroth."
And due to the relentless devastation visited upon Dorne by Balerion and Vhagar, later historians would come to know this era as the Year of the Dragonlord's Wrath.
...
[Upto 20 chapters ahead for now]
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