War for the Stepstones

War for the Stepstones
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Concurrent	Year of the Red Spring
Next →	Dance of the Dragons
Information
Beginning	112 AC (phase I) 126 AC (phase II)
End	115 AC (phase I) 132 AC (phase II)
Place	Stepstones, Narrow Sea
Outcome	Velaryon victory (phase I) The Triarchy is driven from the Stepstones Death of Craghas Drahar Daemon Targaryen rules as King of the Narrow Sea for a year Velaryon victory (phase II) House Velaryon assumes full control of the Stepstones
Factions
House Velaryon House Bar Emmon House Celtigar House Staunton House Sunglass
Triarchy Principality of Dorne/House Martell
Leaders
Lord Corlys Velaryon Ser Vaemond Velaryon Ser Laenor Velaryon Ser Joffrey Lonmouth Prince Daemon Targaryen
Prince-admiral Craghas Drahar † General Racallio Ryndoon Prince Qoren Martell
Events
Bloodstone

"Four ships have now been lost. The last one was flying my banner. The Stepstones have now grown into a conflagration, yet you sit here and dither about court business."

―Corlys Velaryon

The War for the Stepstones was a conflict for control of the Stepstones, an archipelago in the Narrow Sea between the Broken Arm of Dorne and the Disputed Lands of Essos.

In and of themselves the rocky islands are worthless, but they control the vital sea lanes passing in and out of the Narrow Sea to the east coast of Westeros and the northern Free Cities. Long infested by pirates, they were finally driven out by the Triarchy - a triple-alliance between the Free Cities of Myr, Lys, and Tyrosh. The Triarchy themselves, however, soon began raiding Westerosi shipping going through the Stepstones, provoking a private war with House Velaryon, which possessed the largest fleet in the Seven Kingdoms.

History

Prelude

The Triarchy is a triple-alliance between Myr, Lys, and Tyrosh. The Stepstones are the island chain between Tyrosh and Dorne.

In 112 AC, the ninth year of Viserys I Targaryen's reign in Westeros, the Free Cities of Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh united to form the Triarchy. The Triarchy quickly looked westward and conquered the Stepstones under the leadership of prince-admiral Craghas Drahar, destroying the various pirate kingdoms that had taken form there. Although this was initially welcome news to most of the royal court in Westeros, Corlys Velaryon grew increasingly worried at the prospect of losing access to the shipping lanes through the Stepstones and being beggared as a result.

Six months later, the situation became much worse than Corlys had anticipated: the Triarchy was now attacking Westerosi ships in the region without provocation, already sinking four ships including one of the Velaryon fleet. Corlys pressured Viserys to go to war immediately, but the king thought the realm ill-prepared for a war with the Free Cities, preferring instead to act with caution and take time to make common cause with the Triarchy's enemies in Pentos and Volantis. Without the king's leave, Corlys returned to Driftmark to prepare for an invasion of the Stepstones, inviting Prince Daemon Targaryen to join him.

The war

Siege of Bloodstone

In 115 AC, three years after the war began, the Velaryon forces besieged the Triarchy at Bloodstone. Daemon rode Caraxes to the island, following an assault by of the Velaryon troops, which were summarily defeated. Velaryon survivors, among them a Velaryon knight, were hammered into debris on the beach so that Craghas could feed them to crabs. When Daemon arrived in the night, Caraxes burned the Triarchy's foot soldiers on the beach, before they retreated into the caves of Bloodstone. From there, they launched flaming arrows at Daemon and Caraxes, wounding Daemon and forcing him and his dragon to retreat.

By the time of Prince Aegon Targaryen's second nameday, the War for the Stepstones was taking a heavy toll on Velaryon forces, with the new Master of Ships Tyland Lannister informing King Viserys I Targaryen of the situation, though he dismissed it as it was his son's nameday. Shortly after the nameday, Viserys received a message from Vaemond Velaryon requesting aid from the Crown. Although Viserys was initially against sending reinforcements, he was persuaded to do so by his wife. Later, Viserys sent Ser Addam and a contingent of House Targaryen soldiers to bring his letter to Daemon with haste.

When Addam arrived, Corlys assembled his men and his war council on Dwarfstone to strategize and regroup, while Daemon and Caraxes provided cover for a trio of Velaryon ships that sailed near Bloodstone. The Velaryon ships were attacked despite Caraxes burning the island, and one sustained heavy damage from a fireball. Daemon returned and went to the war council, and Addam gave him the letter. Daemon beat Addam and personally rowed to Bloodstone to confront Craghas and his troops. Waving a white flag of surrender, Daemon fooled Craghas and several soldiers into thinking that he surrendered, before he attacked the soldiers and sprinted towards the "Crabfeeder." Craghas ordered his men to attack him, and a Triarchy lieutenant ordered his bowmen to fire their arrows while Daemon fought against the soldiers.

Eventually, Daemon was injured and surrounded, but his distraction allowed for Velaryon forces to land unnoticed on Bloodstone and attack the Triarchy, while Laenor Velaryon rode Seasmoke and attacked the Triarchy from the skies. Craghas retreated back into his cave, but was chased by Daemon, who eventually emerged bloodied and with the upper half of a bisected Craghas, finally defeating the Crabfeeder. Eventually, Daemon is crowned as King of the Narrow Sea.

The war continues

In 126 AC, ten years after Daemon's victory, the Small Council receives alarming reports about the recent developments at the Stepstones: since Daemon never bothered to station soldiers there to hold the ground or to build any fortifications, the Triarchy has formed an alliance with Dorne, seeking to retake the Stepstones. There are also rumors about a giant Tyroshi general.

The Triarchy is defeated again. The crown gains a lot of income from customs since the settling of the Stepstones, but the fighting is resumed six years later in 132 AC. After being away from Driftmark for that period, Corlys is lured into an ambush and is severely injured by a corsair, and is sent home. However, the Velaryon forces prevail and the Triarchy is once more driven from the Stepstones. The victors immediately garrison the islands and prepare to blockade the shipping lanes, assuming full control of the region. Corlys returns to Westeros to aid Rhaenyra Targaryen in the Dance of the Dragons, announcing that the Narrow Sea is now hers.

In the books

In Fire & Blood, the background of the conflict is about the same, except that the Triarchy never sank any Westerosi ships, and Corlys did not demand Viserys to take action against the Triarchy. Laenor and Seasmoke did not participate in the conflict.

The reason for the conflict was that Craghas and his partners repeatedly increased the tolls till the merchants could not afford to pay them, and Lys even took as a toll people (among them Lady Johanna Swann) to serve in its pleasure houses. Corlys persuaded Daemon, who was eager for gold and glory, to joined forces in order to put an end to Triarchy's rule over the Stepstones. In contrast to the show, Viserys did not object, on the contrary: he was pleased that his troublesome brother would be busy far away from the court, so he financially supported his preparations (though he did not send direct military aid). Daemon easily rallied an army of landless adventurers and second sons.

Corlys and Daemon began their invasion of the Stepstones in 106 AC. Two years later, after winning many battles, Daemon beheaded Craghas Drahar in single combat. By 109 AC, Daemon's army controlled all but two of the islands, and Corlys's fleets took firm control of the waters between. During this period of victory, Daemon declared himself King of the Stepstones and the Narrow Sea.

This was not the end of the war, though: in 110 AC, the Triarchy formed an alliance with Dorne and sent to the Stepstones a fresh invasion force under the command of general Racallio Ryndoon. The fighting resumed.

In the following years, the war continued in a confused manner, each party temporarily gaining the upper hand over the other.

Corlys did not win the war in the book. The war for the Stepstones ended when Daemon abandoned it upon hearing of the death of his wife Rhea Royce in 115 AC, and the islands once again became a haven for pirates claiming Daemon's former title as Kings of the Narrow Sea.

The war is never named in the books, but the House of the Dragon Official Guide adopted the conjectural title "War for the Stepstones" from A Wiki of Ice and Fire.

External links

• War for the Stepstones on A Wiki of Ice and Fire (potential spoilers for House of the Dragon)