A Dance of Dragons
Welcome to the newest A Song of Ice and Fire game, this game will be run by Maxwell as GM and with me as co-gm, mainly in charge of stats, and occasional update writing if Max is running low on time, so we can ensure the updates are made.
Note: This is a signup, we do not do first come first serve, so sign up as 3 different houses/characters if you want a proper chance to get something you want.
Prologue
The year is 129 after Aegon's Conquest (129 AC). After his victory over six of the seven kingdoms (The seventh, a kingdom made of sand, salt, and stone, resisted Aegon and his hosts and remains an independent nation to this very day) across the continent of Westeros during The War of Conquest, Aegon of House Targaryen, the First of his name, established the greatest dynasty in history since the fall of the Valyrian Freehold along with his two sister-wives Visenya and Rhaenys. From six kingdoms Aegon made one realm, spanning almost an entire continent: From the Wall to the Prince's Pass, the Six Kingdoms (House Targaryen claims Seven) have become one of the most powerful empires in the world, rivaling the great nations of the world to the east.
Aegon the Conquer, the first King of the Andals and the First Men, Lord of the Six Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm, along with his two Sister-Wives Visenya and Rhaenys
Since Aegon's Landing, the Targaryen dynasty has seen 5 Kings rule for over a century from the Iron Throne in the capital city of King's Landing. Until now, the Targaryen dynasty has weathered countless threats to their rule, from the initial conquest of the six kingdoms, to the restless insurgency of the Faith Militant for more than half a century, to the weak rule of Aenys I and the reign of terror of Maegor I. Now, the Targaryen dynasty has entered a golden age of power, glory, and property. With the Old King Jaehaerys I bringing about an end to the uprising of the Faith Militant, the Six Kingdoms have likewise seen unprecedented growth, stability, and peace across the continent under the rule of King's Landing. The incredible success of Jaehaerys' reign has followed his grandson and successor Viserys I to the throne. Having been chosen as Jaehaerys' successor during the Great Council of 101, Viserys ascended the throne as the new King of the Andals and the First Men, Lord of the Six Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm at one of the most pleasant times in modern history. The golden age of House Targaryen and Westeros continued well throughout his quarter-century reign, and from the outside it looks as if the happy times will only continue far into the future.
King's Landing, capital of the Six Kingdoms and the seat of House Targaryen
However, despite the good times the realm currently enjoys, the future looks uncertain. Viserys' reign has just neared its end, and the issue of his successor remains a problem. Viserys' wife Aemma died in 105 AC after giving birth to the King's second son who Viserys named Baelon after his late father (who himself died before taking the throne). Baelon died a day later following his mother to the grave. Prince Daemon, Viserys' younger brother, was observed in a brothel in the Street of Silk making drunken japes with his cronies about the "Heir for a day". This enraged King Viserys who had Rhaenyra declared his heiress in response to his ungrateful brothers apathy. Daemon left the capital in a fury, spending much time warring in the Stepstones for the later part of the decade (only to return to King's Landing to make up with his brother, though the reunion only lasted a short while until the two broke once more after Daemon was accused of stealing Rhaenyra's virginity at the age of sixteen). Having had three children by his first wife, and with Viserys' two sons dying at a young age, his daughter, Princess Rhaenyra, remained his last heir. Lacking a son to succeed him, Viserys began to groom his daughter Princess Rhaenyra to be the next Queen. For the next few years, Viserys taught Rhaenyra how to rule and made her part of his Samall Council, even going as far as to have hundreds of lords and landed knights do obeisance to the princess by sworn solemn oaths to defend her rights in the year 105 AC.
Viserys of House Targaryen, First of his Name, the first King of the Andals and the First Men, Lord of the Six Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm
However, Viserys remarried in 106 AC to the daughter of the Hand of the King, Ser Otto Hightower. Originally, Queen Alicent had a good relationship with her stepdaughter, Princess Rhaenyra. But when Alicent gave birth to a son, Prince Aegon, a daughter, Princess Helaena, and another son, Prince Aemond, in rapid succession, and Rhaenyra remained Viserys' heir, those feelings started to change. Both women wanted to be the first lady of the realm, but there could only be one. Alicent's biggest supporter was her own father, the Hand of the King, Ser Otto Hightower. In the ensuing years, Otto attempted to convince the King to change the succession (despite the fact that he himself had earlier suggested naming Rhaenyra as the heir in order to spite Viserys' younger brother Daemon), but in the end, Viserys removed Otto as Hand due to his incessant pressure to change the succession, bestowing the honor on Lord Lyonel Strong. Having no place at court anymore, Ser Otto returned to the Hightower. Regardless, the "Queen's party", a group of powerful lords who were friends with Queen Alicent, and who supported the rights of her sons, remained. Two years after the Council reshuffle, a great tournament was held in 111 AC at King’s Landing on the fifth anniversary of the King Viserys I’s marriage to Queen Alicent Hightower. At the opening feast, Queen Alicent wore a green gown, whilst Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen dressed dramatically in Targaryen red and black. Note was taken, and thereafter it became custom to refer to “Greens” and “Blacks” when talking of the Queen’s party and the party of the Princess.
Aegon and Rhaenyra Targaryen, the two potential successors to their father, King Viserys I
By the time Princess Rhaenyra turned sixteen in the year 113, the Small Council began to look for a suitable husband for the presumed heiress. Queen Alicent had her own choice: her eldest son, Prince Aegon, who, while the Princess was sixteen years old, was only six years old himself. Viserys argued that the siblings never had gotten along, but Alicent urged her husband that that was all the more reason to wed the two, stating that uniting the Blacks and the Greens through marriage would settle any issues over succession once and for all. Viserys refused, believing that Alicent only made the suggestion to get her own blood on the throne, rather than seek any sort of reconciliation between the two parties. With Rhaenyra taking possession of Dragonstone once she came of age (A usual tradition for the heir to the Iron Throne), She married Ser Laenor Velaryon in 114 AC, though it took the threat of removing her status as heir to the Throne in order to convince her to accept the marriage, as Rhaenyra did not feel the need to marry a man with "interests" like Laenors. Regardless, Laenor and Rhaenyra had three sons together: Jacaerys 'Jace' Velaryon, Lucerys 'Luke' Velaryon, and Joffrey 'Joff' Velaryon. (By 128 AC all are near adulthood and have dragons of their own) Controversy continued to surround Rhaenyra however, as it is rumored that her sons by Laenor are actually fathered by her lover, Ser Harwin "Breakbones" Strong as all three of them were born with brown hair even though Laenor and Rhaenyra both had light silver and gold hair. The truth of the parentage of Rhaenyra's three eldest children are still unclear (though it could be that they simply inherited Arryn features from Rhaenyra's mother though many doubt this theory).
Viserys, well aware of the growing animosity between the Blacks and the Greens, hated to see his family bicker, and made repeated attempts to cease the hostilities between the two parties. His attempts met with much resistance, with many fights and false apologies on both sides issued. In the end, while he loved his wife and daughter equally, they only loved each other when he commanded, and despite living on Dragonstone, conflict between Rhaenyra and Alicent continued to grow even more once Ser Criston Cole, former companion to Princess Rhaenyra, switch his allegiance to the Greens following Rhaenyra's marriage to Laenor and the rumors of her having an affair with Harwin Strong surfaced. By 115 AC, the enmity between the Greens and the Blacks had grown to a boiling point. Whilst Alicent had given birth to Prince Daeron, who, just like his brothers and sister, looked unmistakenly like a Targaryen, Princess Rhaenyra remained embroiled in controversy over the appearance of her children. Whilst Alicent was convinced the kids had actually been fathered by Ser Harwin Strong, King Viserys did not share these feelings, even going as far as to command that anyone heard spreading the rumor would lose their tongue. Several members of House Velaryon did when Rhaenyra later argued her second oldest son should inherit Driftmark. True to his word, Viserys ordered to remove their tongues, but slipped and cut his hand to the bone on the Iron Throne immediately afterwards. He suffered a fever from an infection and only recovered after two of his fingers were removed by Grandmaestar Gerardys. He never sat on the throne again.
The Iron Throne
The year 120 AC is widely considered to have been the point of no return for both sides. By far the most important year in the entire episode between the Blacks and the Greens, the year soon became known as The Year of the Red Spring, because the year was marked by many deaths and accidents. To begin, Lyonel Strong died in a fire at his castle in Harrenhal (which some believe was started by the Greens) and Otto Hightower returned to King's Landing as Hand of the King once more. Even more shocking, after the death of his second wife, Daemon married again, this time to his niece, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen. This marriage was performed suddenly on Dragonstone without King Viserys' knowledge or consent, and it immediately caused a massive scandal when word reached King's Landing, as neither Laena (Daemon's former wife), nor Laenor Velaryon (Rhaenyra's previous husband), had been dead for six months. Meanwhile, Alicent's second son got involved in an incident where Rhaenyra's son Lucerys took out Aemond's right eye. Enraged over the incident, Alicent demanded that to Lucerys the same would be done though Aemond considered the squabble a fair trade in return for his union with the great dragon Vhagar. After this incident, King Viserys declared that Alicent and her children would remain at court in King's Landing, whilst Rhaenyra and her family should remain at Dragonstone. Later that year, as Rhaenyra gave birth to her first son by Prince Daemon Targaryen, Alicent grew even more enraged upon learning the child had been named Aegon, believing it to be a slight against her own firstborn, who had also been named Aegon (Rhaenyra would later have another son two years later named Viserys, which further enraged Alicent after learning the child had been named after her husband).
Prince Daemon Targaryen, the "Rogue Prince"
As the year 129 continues across Westeros, is has become clear to nearly all the conflict between the two parties is inevitable, and with Viserys' having just passed away only a matter of days, the Greens begin their plans to win the Iron Throne for Aegon "II", who has just agreed to their proposal. His coronation imminent, and with Rhaenyra Targaryen all but willing to go to war to claim her birthright, conflict across the Seven Kingdoms on a scale never before seen looms just on the horizon.
