432 AD -  Nercissa Martell marries Crown Prince Caeron Targaryen.

 

 

434 AD -  Nercissa Martell has repeatedly failed to conceive an heir; she has three miscarriages and one still birth. Caeron becomes restless with his wife and begins to stray. He conceives a baseborn child with his chambermaid Mya Stone. Cael Waters is born and Caeron embraces his bastard, treating him as his own.  There are rumors  that this is not the first child to be conceived from one of his three known mistresses, but he is the first to be born alive and healthy. There are whispers that other dragonseed exist.

 

 

445 AD -  King Vaeric Targaryen dies, Caeron is the new King of Westeros.

 

 

Early 436 AD -  Nercissa falls ill after another miscarriage and is bedridden.  Lord Hand Lorent urges the embittered Caeron to focus on the realm.  The King decides go to the Tournament of Joyful Summer at Highgarden.  Caeron's absence is longer than expected and the Lord Hand rules the Seven Kindgoms in his place.

 

During the tournament, Caeron is charmed by Alysanne Tyrell, the Hand's daughter. When his cousin Aegor Targaryen wins the joust, the King demands that his cousin name Alysanne Tyrell Queen of Love and Beauty instead of his Caerys Targaryen.  Aegor obliges by crowning Alysanne with the wreath of flowers in the King's name.   

 

 

Late 436 AD -  Caeron is amiss for six months, Lorent stewards the realm in the King's name. Nercissa Martell fully recovers, but like the rest of King's Landing she is unsure of her husbands whereabouts.

 

 

Early 437 AD -  Caeron returns to King's Landing with Alysanne Tyrell on his arm already adorning herself in Targaryen colors of black and red.  He announces to his subjects that he married Alysanne in Old Town and that she is now pregnant with his heir.   Even Lorent is surprised by this,  Caeron apologizes to his Hand for not having him at the wedding.  Some speculate that they were married only after Alysanne and he conceived a child and thus their child is actually baseborn.  None dare challenge Caeron openly on the matter, except for his own mother dowager Queen Aeda Targaryen who demands he annull the marriage.  Caeron refuses her counsel, and she disowns him.

 

The Red Keep becomes a tense atmosphere between the warring queens and their courts. Nercissa does not enjoy the nepotism Caeron shows Alysanne's family, and Alysanne does not like sharing the attention of her husband with "the barren bitch from dorne" (as she was cited to have said many times).

 

Prince Olyn Martell comes to the Red Keep in the name of his father Doran Martell, ruling Prince of Dorne.  Olyn tells King Caeron that Dorne feels slighted and that they were promised the heir to the throne and instead it was given to House Tyrell, who the King clearly shows favoritism for. Caeron reminds Olyn that he is not the one who has problems conceiving and the blame lays on his sister. Olyn  reminds the King, that his current child has not yet been born and to not count his dragons before they hatch. The King takes offense to this  and perceives it as a threat against his unborn child.   Olyn is sent to the Black Cells.    

 

Lorent pleads with the King to send Olyn Martell away reprimanded and to not act extremely.    Caeron ignores Lorent and orders the Kingsguard to take Olyn and drag him out to the courtyard of the Red Keep. Olyn is sentenced for treason for threatening the King's unborn child.  Nercissa protests on her brother's behalf, but her pleas fall on deaf ears. Caeron calls his dragon Sunfyre, who burns Olyn in dragonsbreath.   

Ser Yvan and Ian Blackmont, men of dorne and also Kingsguard, become notably distant after Olyn Martell's death.  People begin to speculate about their loyalties.
 

Queen Alysanne urges her husband to send Nercissa to Dragonstone, claiming she fears for their unborn child's life with her in the Red Keep.  According to the scandalous rumors, it is said Caeron took Nercissa in the Sept of Baelor while she held vigil over her brother's body. Some rumors say by force, others say she came willingly to him, but either way it was their last night spent together as husband and wife.

 

The Prince of Dorne Doran Martell demands his daughter be returned to him if King Caeron is just going to discard her to Dragonstone.  The King refuses him.  Caeron does however send the remains of Olyn Martell to Dorne.

 

Maester Edmure  announces Queen Nercissa pregnant and confirms the child in her womb conception date makes the child in all likeliness King Caeron's. Caeron orders Nercissa be returned to the Red Keep so that he may have all his children born under the same roof. 

 

Ser Yvan and Ian Blackmont vanish from King's Landing.   They are declared oathbreakers.

 

A Dornish fleet led by Ser Yvan and Ser Ian Blackmont intercepts Nercissa's ship en route to King's Landing, and they spirit the Queen away to Dorne.  In the conflict, Kingsguards Ser Kerin Penrose and Ser Alton Royce are killed.  Aegor's younger brother Haegon Targaryen, a boy of ten who was to become a page for one of Queen Alysanne's brothers, is taken hostage as well.  
 

The vessel from Dragonstone never arrives, it is at first thought that the ship might have been lost at sea, but spies from Dorne reveal Nercissa is in Sunspear, her belly plump with child. King Caeron sends letters to Dorne demanding his cousin Haegon and wife be returned to the Red Keep. Dorne does not respond. 

 

Alysanne Tyrell gives birth, but her child is born monststrously deformed. He does not survive long after he takes his first breaths. The child dies in Caeron's arms.  Queen Alysanne is hysterical and openly accuses Dorne for poisoning her child in a fit, though Maesters insist that the dead heir died from deformity.    It is, however,  whispered that Olyn's paramour Malia of Lorath, who supposedly knew the magic tongue of Asshai, placed a curse on the child in utero.    

 

It is privately whispered by servants that the Caeron and Alysanne's relationship suffers because of her grief for their dead son.  Caeron takes mistresses to his bed on the nights when his wife is too grief stricken to accommodate him.

 

 

438 AD - The King orders Lorent to march on Dorne.  He complies.  Caeron promises Dorne he will come and take his wife and unborn child by force. 

 

Dorne sends out ravens to the realm -- the parchment reads simply, "Abandon all hope, those who dare enter Dorne."  A separate letter arrives at King's Landing, naming Queen Nercissa Targaryan, Nercissa Martell, Princess of Dorne, heir to Sunspear in place of her older brother Olyn Tyrell. The marriage between she and King Caeron is annulled by Dornish law.  The letter also says that Dorne secedes from the Seven Kingdoms.

 

Alysanne and Caeron conceive another child, not unexpectedly, but there are even more rumors that there is tension between the two despite the Lord Hand's efforts to silence them.

 

Tyrell forces press into Dorne and are met by what the Tyrell's call cowardly tactics, because the Dornish assaults revolve around the element of surprise.

 

Twins Oberyn and Nymeria Martell are born to Nercissa Martell, who refuses to honor Caeron's as lawful father and instead takes them as her own.

 

 

439 AD - Queen Alysanne births Aeron Targaryen.  She is also pregnant shortly thereafter again.  The tension between her and her husband is temporarily relieved, although she is furious when she hears of Nercissa's children being born and that one of them is a son.  She makes the mistake of complaining to her husband, who strikes her for speaking against his children.

 

House Targaryen, after receiving summons of help from House Tyrell, joins fully into the war effort. House Targaryen of Storm's End, led by Daeron IX Targaryen and his siblings Aerys and Daena, push into Dorne through the Prince's Pass.  Aegor and his wife Caerys take their dragons Seasmoke and Seafog through the Sea of Dorne with the Crownland fleet. Caeron and his brother Aerion arrive in Dorne on the backs of their dragons Sunfyre and Sunshadow to aid the Tyrell.

 

Kenric Bolton, Lord of Winterfell, declares himself King of the North, knowing the Targaryen are stretched too thinly and unable to fight him with their dragons. Moat Caitlin is manned by Godric Stark, who with help of the Reeds, stave off Lannister, Arryn, and Tully who march against them at the King's orders. House Lannister withdraws first, but Arryn and Tully shortly follow in suit after realizing they will not be able to push through Moat Caitlin without aid from Targaryen.

Horan becomes Nercissa Martell's consort, even though most of the kingdom thinks there are more favorable pairings for her. Namely Marel Yronwood, Aldon Dayne, and Varic Blackmont.

 

 

440 AD - The North repels forces, but suffers from internal fighting -- Starks and Boltons turn on each other after Tully, Lannister, and Arryn forces withdraw. Godric proclaims himself the true King of North, Kenric rebukes his claim. 

 

The Dornish practice ancient tactics against Dorne, living in makeshift ghost towns that appear and reappear -- they remain constantly moving, living off the land and avoiding both dragon and man. They trap their own keeps so that Targaryen sovereign does not try to claim them without loss. Lord Jon Baratheon dies to one of these traps, bitten by a snake hidden in the privy of The Tor.

 

The King's scouts discover an encampment and they surround it.  Prince Albar is inside the encampment, claiming to have the boy Haegon Targaryen (who is gagged with a burlap sack around his head) as his captive inside of the tent. He proposes terms for trade, however Caeron does not care to discuss any matters.  He calls for the attack anyway, believing the Dornish will surrender after a show of force, but they instead fight back.   Prince Albar perishes to dragonsbreath, Haegon presumably with him.

 

Aegor lashes out at Caeron over his brother's death, but is apprehended by the Kingsguard. Caeron forgives Aegor for his insolence, and Aegor reluctantly bends to his King and cousin's will. Aegor's wife Caerys, sister of Caeron does not bend as easily as her husband.  She and Caeron shout at each other in the King's tent deep into the night.

 

Aerion, the youngest of the royal line,  leads an attack against another Dornish encampment settled by Hellholt. He is slain,  struck by a spear coated in manticore poison.  The spear is thrown by Ezel Sand, the youngest daughter of Doran Martell.  Sunshadow fled upon seeing his rider slain.

 

Caeron hurries to Hellholt to find the Dornish already retreated and Sunshadow amiss. In anger, Caeron razes Hellholt and every settlement in his path in another Dragon's Wroth. Sandstone is also left in ruin.

 

Caeron Targaryen discovers the sex, gender and names of his children by means of interrogation of apprehended Dornish soldiers.    He does not accept their given names of Oberyn and Nymeria Martell.   He dictates to the Citadel that his family records be updated, naming his children Aegon X Targaryen and Visenya III Targaryen.   He acknowledges Aegon as his heir.  Though at times unhinged, Caeron is lawful and loves his children.   The citadel records name Aegon Targaryen, son of Nercissa and Caeron Targaryen heir apparent to the Iron Throne.  

 

Aesha Targaryen, first of her name, is born to Queen Alysanne.

 

 

443 AD - For five years the war continues in both the south and north. The north turns on itself, Boltons and Starks fight bitterly to decide who the King of the North truly is. The south is "occupied" by the Crown, but truly it's a losing battle for Targaryen whose greater numbers cannot fight against the elusive Dornish, who kill and vanish.

 

Nercissa proves to be a sound and capable leader for her people. Her children grow under the constant threat of being taken; they move constantly to avoid being taken.

 

Nercissa receives a message from Caeron that he wishes only to meet his children, one of which is his rightful heir, and negotiate terms of peace.  Against her father's wishes and counsel, she agrees to meet him privately, but without her children.  They meet at an empty Sunspear, where Nercissa is attacked by Caeron who shows her very little respect or mercy.  He drags her out into the open desert of Dorne where he threatens to feed her to his dragon if she does not reveal the locations of their children. To the sheer horror and surprise of Caeron, Sunfyre turns on him and devours his once bonded rider.  Sunfyre claims Nercissa as his new rider.

 

On the back of Sunfyre, Nercissa expels her enemies from Dorne.  She defeats Seasmoke and Quicksilver II in the Boneway and kills both dragons and their riders, Aegor and Aeden of Dragonstone.  She also wounds and forces a retreat from Caerys and her dragon Seafog.

 

 

444 AD -  Alysanne Tyrell is named Queen Regent, Daeron Targaryen is named Lord Protector of the King, and his wife Orysa Targaryen made Proxy of Storm's End.   Lorent disbands most of Caeron's Small Council.

Lorent Tyrell sends several requests to the Citadel to abolish Aegon Targaryen's claim to the throne.  He says Dorne is a Kingdom unto itself and that Aegon is no longer a part of this kingdom, therefore he should not be named King. The Citadel assembles its conclave and refuses to oblige Lorent's request. "The history can not be omitted to appease the whims of the few.  Aegon was born the heir to Seven," Archmaester Makael said.

 

 

445 AD - With Dorne and the North acknowledged as their own kingdoms, Lord Hand Lorent Tyrell, in the name if his grandson Aeron Targaryen, orders an embargo on Dornish and Northern goods and increases the price of Arbor Wine, grain, and fruits from the Reach.

 

Lord Hand Lorent Tyrell also repairs the Twins and outfits it as a fortress to aid their fight against the North.  Lord Tully voices his concerns before and after the decision but is mostly ignored, creating friction with the Riverlands and the Crown.  To make matters worse, to assist in the reinstatement of the Twins and House Frey, Lord Hand Lorent Tyrell imposes a tax increase on the nearby lords and makes House Frey exempt from said taxes to assist them in re-manning the fortress.  It is even said that the Crown pays House Frey a sizeable monthly stipend to keep the Twins manned in Queen Alysanne's irrational fear of the northern war bleeding into the south.  In addition to this, House Frey is able to keep a quarter of its profits from the toll fees to add to its own coffer.

 

Heavy portions of taxed gold are paid to the Iron Islanders who are outfitted for war and ordered to harass the north. White Harbor suffers greatly as traders avoid them. 

 

 

446 AD -  A brief Winter arrives in Westeros.  The northern war is temporarily halted.  The Crown recuperates during this time.

 

 

448 AD -  Winter ends, and the Ironborn resume their raiding against the vulnerable north.  Bolton and Stark fight bitterly.

 

Dorne is also harassed by the Ironborn, but much less effectively. Dorne is slowly rebuilding itself, but its navy and trade ships remain strong. What they do lose to Ironborn raiders is a marginal loss considering the amount of trade they still continue to make -- they trade predominantly with Essos, sending Dornish cotton, blood oranges, and of course Dornish wine. Nercissa's coffer remains full and Dorne thrives in its independence. 

 

 

449 AD -  Alysanne Tyrell, after hearing rumors of Malia placing a curse on her from a serving woman, grows paranoid. She says she dreamed of a red woman on the day she birthed her monstrous son -- she embraces the Seven wholeheartedly, believing she can combat any opposing forces with faith of her own.

 

The Sealord of Braavos visits Dorne to see a dragon with his own eyes. For the honor, he provides builders from Braavos to help with the reconstruction effort.

 

Kenric Bolton sends word to the Crown:  he is willing to concede to the Iron Throne if the Crown loans him assistance with the Starks.  The Crown accepts his proposal. 

 

 

450 AD - The Crown, the Ironborn, and the Boltons squash the Stark rebellion.  Godric Stark is killed by the Ironborn just north of Moat Cailin, and his son Brandon Stark (along with his good-brother Raymond Hornwood, and close friend, Horace Locke) are killed by Frey and Targaryen forces close to the Twins.  Kenric Bolton is executed afterwards; in Brandon's stead, his fifteen year old son Rickon Stark is executed by Daeron to be made an example of to other aspiring kings. Rohn Bolton is named Warden of the North and Rickon Stark's younger brother the Lord of Moat Cailin.

 

Builders from Essos help Dorne's reconstruction quickly, Hellholt and other keeps affected by the Second Dragon's Wroth are nearly restored. 

 

Cael Waters, who Alysanne grew to love despite exiling his mother -- as well as Caeron's other mistresses -- and Aeron are indoctrinated to the ways of the Seven.  High Septon Cadwyn Penrose oversees their teachings. Alysanne infamously accuses her young, naive daughter of wantoness and insists she is trying to seduce her brother. The notion is absurd to everyone, except Alysanne, on account of Aesha's age.

 

Despite protest from her own father as well as House Targaryen, Alysanne refuses to concede to the marriage bonding of her children, saying it is both unlawful and unholy.  Lorent ignores his daughter, but Aeron himself refuses to take his sister as a wife. He demands she be sent to the Maidenvault.  Her only regular visitors are her grandmother Queen Aeda Targaryen and Grandmaester Kylun.

 

 

Late 452 AD -  Due to raised taxes and the increase in cost of living, crime (mostly petty theft and highway robbery) increases in the kingdom.  One unforgettable example is when Lady Jocelin Tully and her young son Edwyn II Tully are killed within a mile from the Twins in a bandit attack.  Ser Edgar "The Strangler" Tully claims that the attack occurred in visual range of the Twins and that nothing was done by the Frey.  He later changes his statement to smear Lord Frey by saying that not only did he let the incident occur, but that he ordered his soldiers to stand by as the Lady of Riverrun and the young Lord Tully were brutally slaughtered.  Some even say he outright accused Lord Frey of perpetuating the attack.  Whatever the case, within a week, a small army led by the Strangler lays siege to the Twins.  Men loyal to Lord Blackwood (Lady Frey's father) arrive and intense fighting breaks out.

 

 

Early 453 AD -  Lorent Tyrell ends the civil war with the threat of dragons, but during the fighting, Lord Frey's nephew and brother are killed.  Both sides are given gold considerations to cease fighting and for their losses, but to this day much tension remains in the Riverlands as the Frey only become richer and more influential.

 

It is said the fighting became so extreme that Tully had arranged a betrothal with House Stark of Moat Cailin for their assistance with dealing with the Frey, and had also sent offers to Arryn and Lannister which were unanswered.

 

Lord Hand Lorent Tyrell is finding it increasingly more difficult to ignore his daughter's often irrational and excessive/unnecessary requests as his grandson becomes older and seemingly more partial to his mother's wants.  As such, the Crown openly gives it support and protection to the Freys.  Eager to please his paranoid mother, King Aeron even invents the title Warden of the Riverlands and gives it not to House Tully, but to House Frey of the Twins.

 

House Tully is outraged, but dare not voice their complaints so soon after threat of dragonfire.

 

 

454 AD -   Aeron Targaryen takes his crown and throne, as he turns sixteen and his mother's regency ends.

 

Aeda Targaryen finally convinces Daeron that the solitude is unhealthy for Aesha, and divulges that the girl is having disturbing dreams.  She tells Daeron about a dream Aesha has about a dragon swallowing the world.  Daeron dismisses the dream as nonsense, but speaks with Alysanne regardless.  Perhaps out of motherly love or fear that her daughter is having ungodsly visions, she convinces Aeron to send Aesha to Dragonstone as Caerys Targaryen's charge in hopes that she will recover.

 

 

455 AD -  Peace settles over Westeros. The North is subdued, quiet -- Dorne thrives, its trade routes and connections with Essos expands. The Crown also thrives, they continue to use the Ironborn to rob and plunder Dornish trade routes, and they are given the King's blessing to confront sea traders who they believe have ties with Dorne.  While many Ironborn remain lawful, there are a growing number of those who abuse this freedom.  Ironborn sail freely, some as far as Bear Island or the Saltspear while others harass traders around Lannisport and the Shield Islands.

 

 

461 AD -  The current year.  The Iron Islands have flourished greatly and only continue to grow in wealth due to the King's blessing, and their own unreported profits from raiding and privateering.  They have even begun abusing their rights by harassing ships from Essos and even the Westerlands.  House Harlaw currently holds the title as great lords, but there are others who have different plans.

 

House Frey, given protection by the Crown, continues to regain power and wealth.  Taxes and prices are at an all-time high in the kingdom, and crime has increased exponentially in the Riverlands, creating further friction with the Tully and Frey while the North suffers in bitter silence and hatred between the houses of Stark and Bolton.

 

Houses Arryn and Lannister have remained mainly neutral in the last century, eager to recuperate from their own losses and focus on rebuilding their regions, but there are those who wish their houses elevated and their wants heard by their young King.

 

King Aeron Targaryen is 21 years of age and House Tyrell remains optimistic that his long reign will continue to line the pockets and promote the interests of already-wealthy Highgarden and its allies.  However, there are those within House Targaryen who dislike the pious queen and her son's nontraditional views.  Some even consider treason as they fantasize about a world with the rightful King on the throne, the Prince on the other side of the Red Mountains.

 

In the Kingdom of Dorne, things have been quiet and peaceful as the kingdom is rebuilt.  Things look promising for some, while others cannot ignore the foreboding feeling in the pits of their stomach.  

 

The realm knows relative peace because of the stalemate between the kingdom and Dorne.   In the official capacity the war is still technically ongoing, but neither side engages the other, except for skirmishes along the Prince's Pass as the Stormlands continue to fight bitterly against the Dornishmen on the other side of the Red Mountains.