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The following document was recovered from the Sept of Baelor in the ruins of King's Landing. Find it's original documentation at *INSERT GOOGLE DOCS FILE HERE*
From Arthur I (The Consolidator) to Martha I (The First Queen)
By Archmaestor Nohdaerys of the Citadel of Oldtown
To his most esteemed lord, Daeron of the House Osborn-Brooks, the first of his name, by Grace of God, King of the Esters and the Drowned Men, Lord of the Several Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm.
The Consolidation of the Several Kingdoms of Estyn
From the northern peaks of Mount Jhoran to the Southern sands of Dorne is the continent of Estyn. Estyn, following the cataclysms that formed the landmass east of Doggerland, became inhabited by the Germanic survivors. First settling in the Westerlands, these first men built the first Kingdoms known to the Citadel. Some stand to this day; The Kingdom of the Rock and the Kingdom of the North. However, many of them would not survive the age of Heroes and the coming of the Esters. The Esters arrived on the continent nearly a thousand years before the Shining and the migration left thousands of dead. Germanic Kings were thrown from their castles as the new rule settled in. Dorne, the Vale, the Kingdom of Rivers and the Reach; all under Ester rule. This lasted a thousand years. Kings and Queens of the Several Kingdoms rose and fell. Wars were fought between these noble houses, however, there was no common identity. No common ancestry. Until Arthur.
Arthur ruled over the Island of Dragonstone and many others as Lord of the Narrow Sea. He, along with his sisters, was the head of House Francisco, a Russian noble House which was cast out by the Russian nobility for attempting to begin a revolution to overthrow the new Tsardom. Arthur’s grand-father’s father settled Dragonstone with his small host of three-thousand men. The Lords of the Narrow Sea had little choice but to bow to the Francisco’s; they had ships. Though the Francisco’s did not have a large army, they had five-hundred ships at their disposal and the most experienced sailors in Europe.
In 100 AC, Arthur came to become head of House Francisco. His father, Lord Leopold Francisco, had died of a fever in the summer and Arthur was crowned Lord Paramount in the fall. Arthur has two sisters; Anderra and Raylah. Anderra was older and Raylah was younger. Both ambitious yet in vastly different ways. Raylah was calm and composed. She loved music and the arts, she was kind and compassionate. She was Arthur’s favourite. Anderra was less so. Anderra was cruel, often killing pets and animals that lived on Dragonstone for fun. She was a warrior and the finest sailor in the Francisco Fleet. Anderra was Arthur’s closest and most trusted advisor.
The Consolidation began with the Great Council of 101 AC. Great Council’s had been used in the past as a tool for the many Kings of Estyn to come together to discuss serious matters. They were a rare event, with previous was in 034, called by King Cragen Clarke of the North to fight a Nordic Invasion which threated all the Kingdoms. This Great Council was called by Arthur himself. The many Kings and Queens of the Several Kingdoms were sat at Dragonstone. A twenty-five-foot long, round table was situated in the centre of the Great Hall. The table had been specifically built for this meeting.
Attending the meeting; King Gordan the Ranger of the Westerlands. House Lannister had ruled the Kingdom of the Rock from Casterly Rock for two-hundred years since House Castamere was overthrown by the Lannisters of Lannisport; King Edmund Clarke of the North. The Clarkes were originally Germanic migrants who settled the North thousands of years ago. They were the oldest House in Estyn and King Edmund had ruled for merely four weeks before the Great Council; Queen Regent Tanisila Handport of the Vale of Arynn. The ruler of the Vale was seven-year-old King Marcus Arynn. His mother had been ruling the Kingdom in his stead and so attended the meeting on his behalf; King Jonas Baratheon of the Stormlands. The tallest in the room, Jonas Baratheon was the palest with the blackest hair. This was a trait of the Baratheons who had ruled from Storms End for four-hundred years; The Reach was not present at the Great Council as King Garth Greenhand refused the call, refusing the legitimize Arthur’s reign of the Narrow Sea; The Principality was represented by Crown Prince Onus Martell, said to be the most handsome of the Eight rulers. Dorne loved Onus and Onus loved Dorne; Finally, the Kingdom of Isles and Rivers were represented by House Hoare’s representative Fredrick Greyjoy.
In addition to the many Kings and Queens was four representatives from the Citadel and six representatives from the Traditionalist Faith. Arthur, Anderra and Raylah were present and standing tall in the centre of the circle table. The Consolidator waited a minute before speaking. When he did, he simply said “Is that everyone?”. Reports about the conversation and debate are lost to history. All that is recorded is that every King that entered that room left without a crown. The Consolidator became Arthur, King of all of Estyn. The King was crowned on Dragonstone as Arthur I. However, his coronation wouldn’t be this easy. Despite every King who entered the room left a lord, there were only four of the Seven rulers present; Gordan of the Westerlands, Edmund of the North, Jonas of the Stormlands and Onus of Dorne. The Vale did initially bend the knee but many in the Eyrie, the ancient capital of the Vale of Arynn, did not recognise the Queen Regent’s authority to make such a decision and so they joined the Reach and the Isles and Rivers in open rebellion.
King Arthur I sent envoys to Highgarden and to Riverrun saying: “bend the knee to the one true King of Estyn, My Lords. In exchange for your crowns, you will be granted your lands and titles as Wardens of the Reach/Isles and Rivers”. They did not.
King Harren the Black of House Hoare gathered a host of twenty-thousand men from the Isles and Rivers. His intention was not only to keep his crown, but to expand his Kingdom. He marched them to Newport, the busiest port in Estyn. The port was held by the Baratheons of Storms End (who had already bent the knee) and so the Rivermen took siege to the city. Just moments before the attackers breached the gates of Newport, it is believed, King Arthur, his sisters and four-hundred ships sailed into Newport harbour. Arthur was the first from the fleet to step onto the land. The extra ten-thousand men, on top of the Baratheon armies that had marched north to defend the city, meant Harren had to retreat. The first victory of the war and Arthur had won it. This site would now be known as King’s Landing and following the war, Arthur would make Newport, now King’s Landing, into the capital of the unified realm.
Though Harren was defeated at King’s Landing, his charge was not over. The Hoare army marched back north to the God’s Eye. Arthur followed. A great siege loomed on the horizon. The night before the battle begun, Arthur sent a raven to the gates at the God’s Eye: “Bend the Knee or I will cast this island into the sea like Atlantis before me”. King Harren did not comply, the battle begun but before the swords had clashed, his fate was decided. The water rose and the God’s Eye was sunk below thirty-feet of water. King Harren drowned. His kin tried to swim away but they were stopped by Anderra in her ships. King Harren, his castle, his men and his legacy now lie in the bottom of the God’s Sea.
The river lords bent the knee shortly after. The Consolidator named Fredrick Greyjoy of Pyke to serve as Lord of Riverrun and Warden of Isles and Rivers. Following Arthur’s second victory, the Vale declared their dissent. The Knights of the Vale joined forces with the armies of Garth Greenhand of the Reach. The siege of the God’s Eye left those in the Riverlands afraid. This battle would leave those across the world shivering. Twenty-thousand Northmen, ten-thousand Dornishmen, thirty-four-thousand Westerlanders, thirteen-thousand Islanders and fourty-thousand other men, all led by King Arthur himself marched on the fields outside Horn Hill. Horn Hill was where Garth Greenhand was making his stand against the Consolidator and so the battle would take place there. In addition to the sixty-thousand soldiers of the Reach there were ten-thousand Knights from the Vale. The battle took place far inland and so the Francisco’s advantage of the sea would not come in any use here. The battle was a traditional one and would end the war. At sunrise, the Knights of the Vale marched on the Dornish vanguard. The battle had begun. The Dornishmen were nearly defeated, until the Islanders and the Westerlanders came to their aid and strengthened their forward assault. The Knights of the Vale were almost entirely destroyed and the remaining Francisco Host marched on Horn Hill. The soldiers of the Reach were trained, but many were unwilling to die for Garth Greenhand. It is believed that seven-thousand men, and as many horses, fled the battle. The fighting lasted nearly a day, with King Arthur leading the group that breached the gates of Horn Hill. Garth Greenhand attempted to flee. He was captured, however. Garth Greenhand’s last words before being executed; “The Reach will never surrender. A foreign King cannot rule these lands. You will see”. King Arthur swung his sword and delivered the King’s Justice.
The Knights of the Vale were defeated. House Arynn of the
le was not as foolish as the King of the Reach and so Marcus Arynn bent the nee and became Lord Arynn of the Vale. The war was over. Arthur was King. Few
isputed it, though fewer were happy about it. Arthur’s reign was about to begin and he had one job; secure his throne.
Arthur was crowned in the Citadel of Oldtown as Arthur of the House Francisco, first of his name, King of the Esters and the Drowned Men, Lord of the Several Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm. The reign of the first Dragon had begun.