Robert's Rebellion (Histories & Lore)

"Robert's Rebellion" is a collection of short videos included in the "Histories & Lore", a special feature present in the Blu-ray set of Seasons 2, 3 and 4 of Game of Thrones. They provide accounts of Robert's Rebellion from different points of view, narrated, respectively, by Stephen Dillane as King Stannis Baratheon, Liam Cunningham as Ser Davos Seaworth, Natalie Dormer as Lady Margaery Tyrell, Michelle Fairley as Lady Catelyn Stark, Aidan Gillen as Lord Petyr Baelish, Conleth Hill as Lord Varys and Pedro Pascal as Prince Oberyn Martell.

Stannis Baratheon
Stannis Baratheon reflects on his brother Robert's rebellion against the Mad King Aerys II Targaryen and his own part in it, as well as his bitterness for not being justly rewarded.

Davos Seaworth
Davos Seaworth recounts his lowly beginnings and days as a smuggler as well as the event that brought him into the service of Stannis Baratheon.

Margaery Tyrell
Margaery Tyrell details House Tyrell's loyalty to House Targaryen before the rebellion and to House Baratheon afterwards.

Catelyn Stark
Catelyn Stark reminisces on the rebellion and how it affected the family she was born into as well as the one she married into.

Varys and Petyr Baelish
Varys and Petyr Baelish debate the downfall of House Targaryen and the roles played by those involved.

Oberyn Martell
Oberyn Martell discussed his sister Elia's marriage to Prince Rhaegar Targaryen and the horrors that befell her and her children as a result.

Stannis Baratheon's perspective
Stannis Baratheon's brother had raised the banners of Storm's End, their ancestral castle, against the Mad King Aerys. Jon Arryn of the Vale and Eddard Stark of the North stood with him, and Hoster Tully of the Riverlands would join. But the Baratheon lands were far from theirs, and separated by combined strength of the West, the Reach, and King's Landing itself. Even Robert's own lords were against him. Stannis considers it was the hardest choice he had ever made: his brother or his King. Blood or honor. Aerys ruled by the rights of all the laws in Westeros. Everyone knew the price of defiance. But Stannis believes that there are deeper, older laws: the younger brother bows before the elder. And so Stannis followed Robert.

Early in the war, Mace Tyrell's indecisive victory at Ashford cut Robert off from Storm's End. Instead of pursuing Robert, and risking his record, Mace Tyrell turned east and laid siege to the Baratheon home. The Tyrell army and navy encircled Storm's End, preventing any resupply by land or sea: if a wagon tried to reach them it was burned; if a ship tried to land it was sunk. Stannis and his garrison were locked inside Storm's End to starve. But Robert had commanded him to hold the castle no matter the cost. Robert couldn't afford to loose his ancient seat, which had never fallen.

Stannis then recounts that, while Robert smashed Rhaegar on the Trident, Stannis' men ate the dogs because the horses had already been devoured; and while the Lannisters sacked King's Landing, Stannis and his men ate the rats. If the smuggler Davos had not slipped through the Tyrell blockade with his onions, the Storm's End garrison would've eaten their own dead. But Stannis held the castle, and sarcastically adds, until Lord Eddard remembered them and marched to lift the siege. The Tyrells didn't even put up a fight, and Robert threw a feast to celebrate Lord Eddard's victory.

Stannis was sent to the royal island stronghold of Dragonstone to deal with Viserys and Daenerys, the last surviving Targaryen children. Before Stannis arrived, however, they had escaped across the Narrow Sea. Robert was furious. He stripped Stannis of Storm's End, and gave it to "that prancing fool" Renly, Stannis' younger brother. Stannis could keep Dragonstone.

Now Robert is dead, and a bastard pretender "soils [his] throne" while the realm fills with "schemers and traitors". But "the rightful King" is coming for them all and he will not stop until he has scoured the land clean of abomination. The Baratheons say "Ours is the Fury". He will show them fury burns.

Characters

 * Stannis Baratheon
 * Lord Robert Baratheon (mentioned)
 * King Aerys II Targaryen, the "Mad King" (mentioned)
 * Lord Jon Arryn (mentioned)
 * Lord Eddard Stark
 * Lord Hoster Tully (mentioned)
 * Prince Rhaegar Targaryen
 * Davos
 * Prince Viserys Targaryen (mentioned)
 * Princess Daenerys Targaryen (mentioned)
 * Renly Baratheon
 * King Joffrey Baratheon (indirectly mentioned)

Noble Houses

 * House Baratheon
 * House Targaryen (mentioned)
 * House Arryn (mentioned)
 * House Stark
 * House Tully (mentioned)
 * House Tyrell
 * House Lannister (mentioned)

Locations

 * The Vale of Arryn (mentioned)
 * The North (mentioned)
 * The Riverlands (mentioned)
 * The Westerlands (mentioned)
 * The Reach (mentioned)
 * The Crownlands
 * Blackwater Rush
 * King's Landing
 * Rosby
 * The Stormlands
 * Bronzegate
 * Griffin's Roost
 * Mistwood
 * Stonehelm
 * Storm's End
 * Summerhall
 * Blackwater Bay
 * Dragonstone (island)
 * Dragonstone (castle)
 * Narrow Sea

Events

 * Robert's Rebellion
 * Battle of the Trident (mentioned)
 * Sack of King's Landing (mentioned)
 * Siege of Storm's End
 * Assault on Dragonstone

Miscellaneous

 * Iron Throne (mentioned)

Davos Seaworth's perspective
In King's Landing, if someone leaves the Red Keep and isn't careful, he may find himself in Flea Bottom. In such a cesspool it was that House Seaworth had its "glorious start". Davos got out as soon as he could, finding work on a smuggler ship. Soon every port on the Narrow Sea had a bounty on him, which would've been collected if he didn't gave a percentage to the right people or pick the right tide. Davos then jokes that one can tell a good smuggler by talking to him because he has a head that talks back.

He considers himself a good smuggler: Davos of Flea Bottom had run with orphans and beggars, but Davos the smuggler was received by merchants and lords, when nobody could catch him. Oddly, the only honest work came from pirates, like the notorious Salladhor Saan, an old friend. All he ever wanted was someone to buy his cargo quickly, before the tide left, and sell it without telling how he had gotten it. In time, Davos saved enough to buy a small plot of land and found a woman who was kind enough to overlook his trade. She gave him a son, Matthos; and they dreamed of the traders' circle around the Jade Sea. Just one trip and Davos could settle them and their family for life.

Then some stormlord revolted against the Iron Throne. Wars aren't quite good for smugglers as every harbor fills with guards and inspectors, and the seas fill with blockades and pirates paid by each side to prey on the other. Though Davos had no love for the Mad King, he had grown up around the power of King's Landing and figured Robert Baratheon would end as the other rebel lords: burned to ash. But he didn't; and the North, the Riverlands, and the Vale joined him. And in the taverns people drank to Robert's health openly. "Brave fools", he thought. But Davos had a family who'd be left in the cold if he lost his head.

When Mace Tyrell marched on Robert's home at Storm's End, Davos spied the end of the rebellion. The castle was garrisoned by Robert's younger brother Stannis and a small guard, and would not hold out for long. When it fell, Robert would be homeless, and his support would bleed away. This he knew from experience. Months later, Stannis was still holding the castle. Nobody cared. But on voyages, Davos had seen what famine does, and the thought of all those men in Storm's End would die unmourned and forgotten. No better than Flea Bottom orphans. Davos told his wife and himself that he'd get a high price for the onions and salt beef. In truth, he knew he'd be captured by the Tyrell galleys or drowned. But he was too stubborn.

Later that night, in the dark, in a tiny boat with a black sail, Davos cursed myself and the moonlight as he waited for the tide to turn. When it did, the wind beat the sail so hard, Davos ripped it down, fearing the Tyrell ships would hear. Luckily, they had grown lax. With muffled oars, alone, Davos steeled his cargo through the treacherous currents and snarls of rock that gave Shipbreaker Bay its name. The waves finally carried him, soaked and near blind from seawater, through the mouth of the cavern beneath the castle. Then, Stannis Baratheon arrived. The siege had left him gaunt, but not weak, never weak, Davos insists. He greeted the smuggler and accepted the onions with cool courtesy, betraying no emotion even as all his men wept. He doled out the food to his wife and each of his men before he ate himself, a portion no larger than any other. When Stannis' finally thanked Davos, he could see Stannis' mind already returned to the castle's defense, his duty.

After Aerys fell and Lord Stark lifted the siege, Stannis summoned Davos. For his salvation of Storm's End, he was to be granted a knighthood, a keep of his own, and his son taken into Stannis' personal service. Davos of Flea Bottom had become Ser Davos of House Seaworth, and his son would serve the King's own brother. But, for his previous crimes as a smuggler, Davos was to have the fingertips of one hand taken off above the highest joint. Stannis held that Davos had flouted the laws of the land for years and a good act does not wash out the bad. In one fell swoop, or five, Stannis gave Davos' son a future and Davos' family a name that he could've never have imagined, nor earned, on his own. He still keeps the finger bones in a bag around his neck to remind him of what he was and what he owes to Stannis.

Characters

 * Ser Davos Seaworth
 * Salladhor Saan
 * Marya Seaworth
 * Matthos Seaworth
 * Lord Robert Baratheon
 * King Aerys II Targaryen, the "Mad King" (mentioned)
 * Lord Mace Tyrell (mentioned)
 * Stannis Baratheon
 * Selyse Baratheon (mentioned)
 * Lord Eddard Stark (mentioned)

Noble Houses

 * House Seaworth
 * House Baratheon
 * House Targaryen (mentioned)
 * House Tyrell (mentioned)
 * House Stark (mentioned)

Locations

 * The Crownlands
 * King's Landing
 * Flea Bottom
 * Red Keep
 * The Stormlands
 * Storm's End
 * Shipbreaker Bay
 * The North (mentioned)
 * The Riverlands (mentioned)
 * The Vale of Arryn (mentioned)
 * Jade Sea (mentioned)

Events

 * Robert's Rebellion
 * Siege of Storm's End

Miscellaneous

 * Iron Throne (mentioned)
 * Knighthood

Margaery Tyrell's perspective
Some great families call the Tyrells upstarts, but the truth is that while the Starks and Lannisters fell to the Targaryens in defeat, House Tyrell rose. For thousands of years, Tyrells served as loyal stewards to the Kings of the Reach, until the last of their line burned to death, resisting the Targaryen invaders. To save the Reach from a similar fate, the Tyrells yielded Highgarden to Aegon and his sisters. In gratitude, the Tyrells were given dominion over the Reach, and they became lords of the castle in which, for generations, they had served.

Under the Targaryen dynasty, Westeros prospered. Gone were the petty wars of seven kingdoms and the endless thirst for minor glories that drove them. The Westerlands enriched the realm, the North guarded it, and the Reach and Riverlands fed it. This harmony is what Robert Baratheon shattered with his rebellion against Aerys II Targaryen.

When the call to arms came, though, Tyrells did not want to answer. Margaery argues that the Reach is a gentle land and the Mad King was not muched loved, but the Tyrells owed peace and status to his family. Lord Mace Tyrell called his banners and marched north to battle the rogue Stormlord, who had already defeated three forces in a single day, and, at Ashford, Lord Mace won. Some chasten Lord Mace for not pursuing Robert after the battle. They had cut Robert off from the Stormlands, the seat of his power, and he had fled north, within easy grasp of Lord Tywin Lannister, who had been Hand of Aerys for nearly twenty years. Lord Mace moved instead to lay siege of Robert's ancestral stronghold of Storm's End. "The rose" would strangle "the stag" as "the lion" pounced, so the Tyrells waited, but the lion of Lannister slumbered and Robert slipped past the King's forces to join Ned Stark.

The Tyrells could have lifted the siege and deployed their armies north to aid the crown; they also could have stormed the walls of Storm's End and made him homeless, but they had ample supplies, control of land and sea, and most of all: patience. Their siege would succeed, eventually, at little cost of lives to the Tyrells. If Robert prolonged the war with minor victories, the capture of Storm's End would hasten his downfall. And if Robert won the war, it wouldn't have done for him to find the Tyrells within his walls with the bodies of his brother Stannis and his sworn men.

When the lion finally showed his colors and "purged" King's Landing, the Tyrells knew their cause was lost. Lord Mace chose the peaceful route and bent the knee to Robert, who heartily pardoned him. Margaery considers it strange, as the Tyrells had beaten him and starved his brother to the brink of death. The Tyrells were to keep their lands, castle, and title, but they knew they would never be welcome at court. It didn't matter, the Reach was still the most fertile of the Seven Kingdoms, and under the Tyrell hand. Margaery concedes that every flower, even "the rose", needs pruning, but then it "grows strong".

Characters

 * King Aegon I Targaryen, the "Conquerer"
 * Queen Rhaenys Targaryen
 * Queen Visenya Targaryen
 * King Mern Gardener
 * Harlen Tyrell
 * King Aerys II Targaryen, the "Mad King"
 * Lord/King Robert Baratheon
 * Lord Mace Tyrell
 * Lord Tywin Lannister (mentioned)
 * Lord Eddard Stark
 * Stannis Baratheon (mentioned)
 * Ser Jaime Lannister

Noble Houses

 * House Tyrell
 * House Gardener
 * House Targaryen
 * House Baratheon
 * House Lannister

Locations

 * The Westerlands
 * The North
 * The Riverlands
 * The Crownlands
 * King's Landing
 * The Reach
 * Ashford (mentioned)
 * Highgarden
 * The Riverlands
 * Gods Eye
 * The Stormlands
 * Storm's End
 * Summerhall (indirectly mentioned)

Events

 * War of Conquest
 * Field of Fire
 * Robert's Rebellion
 * Battle of Summerhall (indirectly mentioned)
 * Battle of Ashford (mentioned)
 * Siege of Storm's End
 * Sack of King's Landing

Titles

 * Steward
 * King of the Reach
 * Hand of the King (mentioned)

Catelyn Stark's perspective
"Family. Duty. Honor". Every Tully child learns the House words, but Catelyn Tully was a woman before she understood their meaning. Years before, her father took as his ward the son of a wartime friend, a minor on the Fingers. The boy's name was Petyr Baelish, but due to his home and size, her brother soon named him "Littlefinger".

When Catelyn came of age, Brandon Stark of Winterfell sought and won her hand. To Lord Hoster, Brandon was heir to the North and a suitable match for a daughter of House Tully. To Catelyn, Brandon was wild and terrifying, never far from laughter or trouble; she loved him with all the fire of a first passion, much, she came to realize, as Petyr loved her. When Petyr heard of her engagement, he challenged Brandon to a duel and survived only because Catelyn begged Brandon not to kill him, as she still fought of Petyr as family. Now she wishes she had let him die.

Only days before her wedding, when she thought she would be happy forever, Prince Rhaegar Targaryen abducted Brandon's sister, Lyanna. Hotblooded as always, Brandon rode immediately to King's Landing to demand justice, which the Mad King Aerys gave him, in his own twisted fashion. The day the raven arrived with news of Brandon's death, Catelyn locked herself in her room and refused to eat for days, until her father reminded her of her duty. Catelyn was to marry Eddard, Brandon's younger brother, a man whom she had never met, of whom none spoke ill, or anything at all. Their union would cement an alliance of the North, Vale, Stormlands, and Riverlands in rebellion against the Mad King. As a Tully, Catelyn did her duty. They were married quickly, and were spared one night before Ned had to return to the field.

Catelyn spent the war by the window, waiting for a raven to hear if her child would grow fatherless, or at all. They knew the price of defeat. Catelyn scoured the kitchens and washerwomen for any and all gossip: Robert had won and crushed the Mad King. Robert had lost but Jaime Lannister was now King. Robert had almost won, but the Mad King had become a dragon and burned King's Landing to ash. At night, Catelyn told herself the war would end soon and bring peace: either a victory or the grave.

Catelyn believes she was wrong. Robert won, and her husband avenged his brother and her love. But when he returned home to her he could not meet meet her eyes. She saw the reason, by his side. Catelyn is aware that many men have bastards, and that under the strain of war any man, no matter how honorable, may forsake his vows for a night of warmth he may never know again. But Ned Stark was not built like other men. His northern honor would not let him sequester his shame in some distant holdfast. He brought this boy, this "Jon Snow", home to raise with his trueborn children. Her children.

Yet Catelyn considers these bitter memories to be sweet now. They are all she has left of "her Ned". Their family is broken and scattered, and their son must wage a war for the pieces. She is adamant that they need to go home, for the Starks are of the North and, like the snows of winter, when they come south... they melt away.

Characters

 * Lady Catelyn Tully
 * Lord Hoster Tully
 * Petyr Baelish
 * Edmure Tully (indirectly mentioned)
 * Brandon Stark
 * Prince Rhaegar Targaryen (mentioned)
 * Lyanna Stark (mentioned)
 * King Aerys II Targaryen, the "Mad King" (mentioned)
 * Lord Eddard Stark
 * Lord Robert Baratheon (mentioned)
 * Ser Jaime Lannister (mentioned)
 * Robb Stark
 * Jon Snow
 * Sansa Stark

Noble Houses

 * House Tully
 * House Baelish
 * House Stark
 * House Targaryen (mentioned)

Locations

 * The Riverlands
 * Riverrun
 * The North
 * Winterfell
 * The Vale of Arryn
 * The Fingers (mentioned)
 * The Stormlands (mentioned)
 * King's Landing (mentioned)

Events

 * Robert's Rebellion
 * Abduction of Lyanna Stark (mentioned)
 * Execution of Rickard and Brandon Stark (mentioned)

Miscellaneous

 * Ravens (mentioned)
 * Dragons (mentioned)

Varys and Petyr Baelish's perspectives
Varys begins by stating that for three hundred years the Targaryen dynasty ruled Westeros. Wars were still fought, homes still burned and men still died but compared to the chaos of what came before, the realm was stable. Littlefinger argues that it was also boring. The Targaryens lied, killed and thieved as much as other lords, they just had dragons to answer all complaints, until they did not.

When the last dragon died, it was only a matter of time before the Targaryens followed. Varys asks Littlefinger if by "only" he means another century? Littlefinger replies that they wasted that century trying to replace their lost advantage: incinerating their own palaces to hatch dragon eggs, drinking wildfire to become dragons and the Mad King's favorite of burning men alive so he could pretend to be a dragon.

Varys insists that the small council urged Aerys to pardon Brandon Stark. The boy had threatened Prince Rhaegar, but Rhaegar had stolen the boy's sister and the boy was the eldest son of their Warden of the North. Littlefinger asks who the greater fool is: a mad king or the man who reasons with him? Aerys saw knives in every shadow. When Varys told him to treat the Starks with caution, he made him afraid and what he feared he killed.

Varys expresses surprise that Littlefinger of all people would bother with recriminations for Brandon's death, not after their duel. Littlefinger claims that Brandon was as arrogant as he was stupid, like his father who answered Aerys' summon to the capital. They earned their fates. But the younger son, Ned, what was his crime that Aerys ordered his death as well? Varys points out that unlike men, families do not die when you lop off their head.

Littlefinger tells Varys that at the very least he should have pointed out that loyal and dutiful Ned was living with Jon Arryn, a proud and over-righteous lord with an impregnable castle and no sons of his own. Perhaps he could have spared Aerys the embarrassment of revolt. Varys sarcastically laments that they did not have the foresight to consult Littlefinger, but points out that first they would have to have known who he was. Littlefinger states that nobody knew Robert Baratheon either, yet he claimed the right to sit on the Iron Throne. Varys points out that he had Targaryen blood, through his mother. Littlefinger calls this a pretty dress for an ugly truth: it was war and he could swing a hammer harder than the other options.

Littlefinger asks Varys when he knew he had lost. Varys replies that it was when Robert Baratheon killed Prince Rhaegar on the Trident. Littlefinger says that this is wrong: he lost the war when he let Ned Stark slip back into The North. Neither the Bloody Gate of the Vale or Moat Cailin in the North have ever fallen. They could have held out for years even if they had killed Robert, but Varys let him slip through his fingers as well.

Varys says that he told the court that Robert was hiding in the Stoney Sept, but the Hand of the King spent too much time searching the city. Something about the glory of single combat. Then Ned Stark's army arrived to save the day. Littlefinger says that it is too bad Lord Tywin was not Hand any longer. He would have simply razed the town and been done with it. Varys says that perhaps this is true, and perhaps the rebels would have found even more of the countryside flocking to their banners.

Littlefinger suddenly remembers that Varys was not always so loyal to the Lannisters during the war. Varys insists that he did his duty to the realm. When Lord Tywin showed up at King's Landing professing loyalty, he warned Aerys not to open the gates. Prince Rhaegar was dead, their army scattered. The lion does not stir unless he smells meat. Littlefinger admits that he admires Varys' powers of persuasion; few could traffic on so many secrets to so little avail. Varys reveals that Grand Maester Pycelle told Aerys what he wanted to hear: that his old friend Tywin was there to save him.

Littlefinger reminisces that Aerys' old friend sacked the city and his son stabbed Aerys in the back. Varys calls this a regrettable though necessary action. Littlefinger says the same of the pardons the new King Robert bestowed upon the royalists: Mace Tyrell, Barristan Selmy, Varys. Varys comments that King Robert wisely chose order over vengeance. Littlefinger claims that Jon Arryn wisely chose for Robert. Jon Arryn died, then Robert, then Ned. So ended their glorious revolution. Varys laments that Westeros has been burning ever since. Littlefinger thinks that they should let it, which Varys says is very Targaryen of him, comparing him to one of the mad ones. Littlefinger concludes that fire turns even the proudest oaks to ash, leaving newer roots space to climb...

Characters

 * King Aegon I Targaryen, the "Conquerer"
 * King Aegon III Targaryen, the "Dragonbane" (not mentioned by name)
 * King Daeron I Targaryen, the "Young Dragon" (not mentioned by name)
 * King Baelor Targaryen, the "Blessed" (not mentioned by name)
 * King Maekar Targaryen (not mentioned by name)
 * King Aegon V Targaryen, the "Unlikely" (not mentioned by name)
 * Prince Aerion Targaryen, "Brightflame" (indirectly mentioned)
 * Last dragon (mentioned)
 * King Aerys II Targaryen, the "Mad King"
 * Varys
 * Brandon Stark
 * Lyanna Stark (mentioned)
 * Petyr Baelish
 * Lord Rickard Stark (mentioned)
 * Lord Eddard Stark
 * Lord Jon Arryn
 * Lord/King Robert Baratheon
 * Lady Cassana Baratheon (mentioned)
 * Prince Rhaegar Targaryen
 * Lord Jon Connington (indirectly mentioned)
 * Lord Tywin Lannister
 * Grand Maester Pycelle
 * ​Ser Jaime Lannister
 * Lord Mace Tyrell (mentioned)
 * Ser Barristan Selmy (mentioned)

Noble Houses

 * House Targaryen
 * House Stark
 * House Arryn
 * House Baratheon
 * House Lannister

Locations

 * King's Landing
 * Red Keep
 * The Vale of Arryn
 * The Eyrie
 * Bloody Gate (mentioned)
 * The North
 * Moat Cailin (mentioned)
 * The Riverlands
 * Stoney Sept
 * The Trident

Events

 * Tragedy of Summerhall (mentioned)
 * Robert's Rebellion
 * Abduction of Lyanna Stark (mentioned)
 * Execution of Rickard and Brandon Stark (mentioned)
 * Battle of the Bells
 * Battle of the Trident
 * Sack of King's Landing

Miscellaneous

 * Dragons (mentioned)
 * Wildfire (mentioned)
 * Iron Throne
 * Small council
 * Grand Maester

Oberyn Martell's perspective
Twice the Targaryens tried to conquer Dorne with soldiers. Twice they failed. Only when the dragon kings came bearing husbands and wives did Oberyn's ancestors relent and agree to join their Seven Kingdoms. House Martell could have waged war until the end of days, but how could they resist a peace they could take to bed?

For centuries the Iron Throne had no more loyal ally than the Princes of Dorne. Since the Martells had never fallen to them, they kept their ancestral title. Perhaps this is what drew Rhaegar Targaryen to them. His royal parents had not produced a sister for him to wed, so he had to look elsewhere for a princess and there was only one in Westeros: Elia of House Martell, Oberyn's sister. She was not the most beautiful woman in the world or even in Dorne, but rare for a woman from their land, her flower came with no thorns. She was kind and clever with a gentle heart. Oberyn loved her and feared for her. For years he fended off lesser men from her, but even he failed when Rhaegar came. Rhaegar was beautiful and the crown prince of the Seven Kingdoms, and their mother had worked so hard to secure the match - how could Elia not accept it? They were wed and he took Elia from her home, from those who loved her and would die for her and locked her in his Red Keep above his sty of a city surrounded by false friends. She bore him a a daughter and a son, though each almost cost her her life.

Elia loved Rhaegar, she obeyed him and he chose to steal away Lyanna Stark, a pale northern girl whose veins ran with ice like all of her people. Instead of disciplining his faithless son, King Aerys executed the Starks when they came seeking justice and ignited a revolt. Oberyn knows how the maesters describe the war now but calling it Robert's Rebellion does not change what it was: the War of the Usurper. Dorne sided with the crown, for when they swear oaths, they keep them. They needed no threats from King Aerys, though he made them anyway, locking Elia and her children in the Red Keep to ensure House Martell's loyalty. Even in his madness, he knew that no true Dornishman would ever take up arms against their beloved princess and that they would fight to the death for whatever side she was on.

At the Trident, Dorne lost ten thousand men and two princes: Oberyn's uncle in the Kingsguard and Elia's gallant husband Prince Rhaegar, who was too slow or too arrogant for Robert's warhammer. As Robert's army marched on King's Landing, the Mad King sent his own wife and child away but kept Elia and and her children inside. In his madness, Aerys though the Dornish had betrayed his son at the Trident and was only too happy to welcome his one true friend back into his ranks: Tywin Lannister. Lord Tywin's army sacked his friend's city while Lord Tywin's son murdered the king he had sworn to protect. All of this could have been forgiven: war is terrible and men must become terrible to wage it. But the Lannisters knew that as long as Elia and her children, Prince Rhaegar's heirs, lived, no usurper could safely sit the Throne. So Lord Tywin's dog Ser Gregor Clegane, the Mountain, made Elia watch as he murdered her daughter and dashed her infant son's head against a wall. Then with her baby's blood still on his hands, he raped Elia and murdered her. When Lord Tywin later presented their bodies to Robert Baratheon wrapped in pretty Lannister cloaks, Oberyn has been told the red colour graciously hid the blood from men's eyes.

The Targaryens talk of fire and blood. In Dorne their blood is fire. If Robert Baratheon had dared set foot in Dorne during his reign, he would have lost the foot, and it is not even him they blame for Elia. The Lannisters think their gold buys them power. The Lannisters think their Mountain buys them strength. But if they want piece, they cannot buy it with mountains of gold or one Mountain of steel. They must pay in blood.

Characters

 * King Daeron II Targaryen (not mentioned by name)
 * Queen Myriah Martell (not mentioned by name)
 * King Aerys II Targaryen
 * Prince Rhaegar Targaryen
 * Princess Elia Martell
 * Prince Oberyn Martell
 * Princess Rhaenys Targaryen (not mentioned by name)
 * Prince Aegon Targaryen (not mentioned by name)
 * Lyanna Stark
 * Lord Rickard Stark (indirectly mentioned)
 * Brandon Stark (indirectly mentioned)
 * Ser Jaime Lannister (not mentioned by name)
 * Lord Robert Baratheon
 * Prince Lewyn Martell (indirectly mentioned)
 * Queen Rhaella Targaryen (not mentioned by name)
 * Prince Viserys Targaryen (not mentioned by name)
 * Ser Gregor Clegane
 * King Joffrey Baratheon (named on letter)
 * Margaery Tyrell (named on letter)
 * Lord Mace Tyrell (named on letter)

Noble Houses

 * House Martell
 * House Targaryen

Locations

 * King's Landing
 * Red Keep
 * Great Hall

Events

 * Robert's Rebellion
 * Abduction of Lyanna Stark (mentioned)
 * Battle of the Trident
 * Sack of King's Landing

Miscellaneous

 * Iron Throne

Characters

 * Barristan Selmy
 * King Aegon V Targaryen
 * King Aerys II Targaryen, the Mad King
 * Crown Prince Rhaegar Targaryen
 * Lyanna Stark
 * Elia Martell
 * Robert Baratheon
 * Eddard Stark (mentioned)
 * Catelyn Tully (mentioned)
 * The Knight of the Laughing Tree

Noble Houses

 * House Targaryen
 * House Martell
 * House Baratheon
 * House Stark
 * House Tully
 * House Whent

Locations

 * King's Landing
 * Red Keep
 * Great Hall

Events

 * War of the Ninepenny Kings
 * Tournament at Harrenhal
 * Robert's Rebellion
 * Abduction of Lyanna Stark (mentioned)
 * Battle of the Trident
 * Sack of King's Landing

Miscellaneous

 * Iron Throne