Chapter 56: The Abduction's Spark and the Trident's Looming Shadow (Robert's Rebellion: Part 1)
The Tourney at Harrenhal, with Prince Rhaegar Targaryen's fateful crowning of Lyanna Stark as its queen of love and beauty, had been the glittering, deceptive prelude to a storm of blood and fire. In the months that followed that ill-omened spectacle, the Seven Kingdoms held their collective breath, the air thick with unspoken tensions, with the brooding fury of slighted lords and the growing madness of a paranoid king. From his timeless sanctuary within Mount Skatus, Aelyx Velaryon watched the inevitable descent into chaos, his ancient mind sifting through the intelligence provided by his Emissaries and house-elf agents, his seers Lyra and Daenys charting the darkening currents of fate.
The spark, when it finally ignited the powder keg, was the disappearance of Lyanna Stark in 282 AC. One moment she was journeying south from Winterfell, escorted by her brother Brandon's retainers; the next, she was gone, vanished with Crown Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. Whispers flew across the realm: some claimed a brutal abduction by a prince lost to infatuation or prophetic delusion; others, more romantic or perhaps more cynical, hinted at a secret elopement, a flight of star-crossed lovers.
Aelyx, privy to Rhaegar's known obsession with prophecy and the 'dragon must have three heads' belief, suspected a more complex, self-serving motive on the Prince's part, likely wrapped in a veneer of tragic romance. "He seeks to fulfill his self-spun destiny," Aelyx commented to his immortal council, his voice devoid of judgment, merely stating a calculated observation. "He has chosen his third 'head,' irrespective of the cost to his house, his honor, or the peace of the realm. Such single-minded pursuit of prophecy by those with power is invariably a path to ruin."
The reaction from House Stark was immediate and incandescent. Brandon Stark, Lyanna's fiery elder brother and heir to Winterfell, a man known for his 'wolf blood,' rode south to King's Landing with a small band of companions, his voice bellowing for Rhaegar to "come out and die." He found not Rhaegar, who was mysteriously absent, but King Aerys II.
The Mad King, his paranoia now a raging inferno, saw treason in Brandon's grief-stricken fury. He had Brandon and his companions arrested, charging them with plotting to murder the Crown Prince. He then summoned their fathers, including Lord Rickard Stark of Winterfell, to King's Landing to answer for their sons' alleged crimes.
What followed was a display of royal sadism that forever extinguished any hope of a peaceful resolution. Lord Rickard Stark demanded a trial by combat. Aerys granted it, choosing fire as his champion. Lord Rickard was suspended above a pyre in his full plate armor, slowly roasted alive, while his son Brandon was bound with a leather thong around his neck, a longsword placed just out of his reach, forced to watch his father burn and ultimately strangle himself in his desperate attempt to save him. The other Northern nobles who had accompanied Brandon were also brutally executed.
"The Targaryen dynasty has signed its own death warrant," Aelyx declared, his voice like the crack of winter ice, as the horrific details reached Skagos. Tibbit's agents in King's Landing, sickened but efficient, had relayed every gruesome particular. "This is not justice; this is not even tyranny. This is madness unleashed. No great house, no honorable man, can stand by after such an atrocity. Aerys has broken every sacred bond of fealty and guest right. He has declared war upon his own nobility."
The Mad King's bloodlust was not sated. He then sent word to Lord Jon Arryn in the Eyrie, demanding that he turn over his two wards: Eddard Stark, now Lord of Winterfell after the murders of his father and brother, and Robert Baratheon, Lord of Storm's End and Lyanna Stark's enraged betrothed. Jon Arryn, a man of honor and wisdom, refused. Instead, he called his banners. Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon, escaping the Vale, returned to their respective lands to do the same. Robert's Rebellion had begun.
The realm fractured along lines of loyalty, fear, and opportunism. The Starks, Baratheons, and Arryns formed the core of the rebellion, soon to be joined by House Tully of Riverrun, after some initial hesitation and shrewd political maneuvering by Lord Hoster Tully who secured marriage alliances for his daughters with Eddard Stark and Jon Arryn. Against them stood the might of the Iron Throne, supported by the Tyrells of Highgarden (ever loyal to the Targaryen crown that had raised them), many houses of the Crownlands, and, at least initially, the Martells of Dorne, whose Princess Elia was Rhaegar's slighted wife.
Publicly, Lord Daeron Volmark of Skagos (Aelyx's ruling descendant, a man whose quiet dignity and immense wealth commanded great respect in the North) immediately and unequivocally pledged his house's full support to his new liege lord, Eddard Stark. Skagos was North, and the North bled with Winterfell. There was no question of neutrality when such atrocities had been committed against their paramount lords.
Aelyx, from the shadows of Mount Skatus, orchestrated Skagos's contribution with meticulous care. This was not a war he sought, but it was a war that would reshape Westeros, and House Volmark had a crucial role to play in supporting its Stark allies, thereby safeguarding Skagos's own long-term interests and secrecy.
"The North must prevail in its righteous anger," Aelyx instructed Daeron Volmark. "But it must not be unduly weakened in the process. Skagos will be its unyielding shield and its inexhaustible purse. Spare no expense. Our 'Heir's Hoard' mine will pour forth its bounty. Equip Lord Eddard's armies with the finest Skagosi steel we can publicly claim to produce. Our Glass Gardens will provide unending supplies of food and medicinal herbs for their forces. Our ships will patrol the northern waters, guarding against any opportunistic raids from the sea while the main Northern host marches south."
A contingent of two thousand elite Skagosi warriors, clad in dark grey steel armor inlaid with obsidian, their shields bearing the snarling wolf-and-kraken, marched south with Eddard Stark's host. They were led by Daeron Volmark's own younger brother, Ser Artos Volmark, a skilled warrior trained in both Northern martial traditions and the secret, more advanced combat techniques of the sanctuary (though he would wield only the former in public). These Skagosi troops were a disciplined, formidable force, their presence a significant boost to Northern morale and a clear statement of Volmark commitment. Aelyx knew they would fight bravely, and he had taken magical precautions (subtly enchanted amulets for protection, house-elf healers embedded secretly within their baggage train) to minimize their casualties without revealing any overt magic. His true dragon legions and sorcerous might remained, as always, an absolute secret, held in reserve for threats of an entirely different magnitude.
While public Skagos mobilized in support of the rebellion, Aelyx's hidden kingdom became a nerve center of intelligence gathering and strategic analysis. Lyra and Daenys, their greensight strained by the sheer volume of conflict and the often contradictory currents of fate, worked tirelessly to provide Aelyx with glimpses of unfolding battles, troop movements, and the hidden motivations of key players. Tibbit's network of Emissaries and house-elves, now more critical than ever, relayed information from every corner of Westeros.
Aelyx paid particular attention to the movements and decisions of Prince Rhaegar, who had finally emerged from his mysterious seclusion with Lyanna Stark (her whereabouts still a closely guarded secret, even from most of Aelyx's agents). Rhaegar, leaving Lyanna at a place called the Tower of Joy in Dorne, eventually took command of the royalist forces, a capable warrior but one whose heart, Aelyx suspected, was burdened by prophecy and perhaps by guilt.
He also watched Lord Tywin Lannister of Casterly Rock with keen interest. Tywin, still smarting from his resignation as Hand and Aerys's repeated slights, declared neutrality, gathering his forces at Casterly Rock but committing them to neither side. "The old lion waits," Aelyx mused. "He waits to see which way the wind blows, which side offers the greater advantage, or which is doomed to fall. A dangerous, pragmatic man. His intervention, when it comes, will likely be decisive."
The early battles of the rebellion were a chaotic mix of rebel victories and loyalist resilience. Robert Baratheon, his fury a palpable force, won several early engagements at Summerhall against loyalist Stormlords who initially resisted his call to arms. However, he suffered a setback at Ashford, where Lord Randyll Tarly's disciplined van defeated his forces, though Mace Tyrell's cautious pursuit prevented a rout.
The turning point of this initial phase came at the Battle of the Bells. Robert, wounded and separated from his main army, was being hunted by Lord Jon Connington, Aerys's new Hand and a close friend of Rhaegar. Connington cornered Robert in the town of Stoney Sept in the Riverlands, initiating a brutal house-to-house search. Just as Robert's cause seemed lost, the timely arrival of Eddard Stark's Northern host and Lord Hoster Tully's Rivermen (their allegiance finally secured by marriage pacts) smashed into Connington's forces. The Battle of the Bells became a resounding rebel victory, Connington was defeated and exiled, and Robert's life was saved.
Aelyx analyzed every detail of these engagements. He noted Robert Baratheon's raw martial prowess and charismatic leadership, but also his recklessness. He saw Eddard Stark's quiet determination and unwavering honor. He observed Jon Arryn's steady hand guiding the rebel alliance. He also noted the tactical errors of the royalists, their underestimation of rebel resolve, and the crippling effect of Aerys's madness on their strategic coordination.
"The rebels fight with the fury of men wronged, for honor, for justice, for their very survival," Aelyx commented to his council. "The royalists fight for a Mad King, their loyalties often divided or strained. Rhaegar, for all his skill, carries the weight of his father's sins and his own questionable actions. Unless he can achieve a swift, decisive victory against Robert or Eddard, the tide will continue to turn against House Targaryen."
Within the sanctuary, Aelyx ensured that the training of his own dragonriders and sorcerers incorporated the lessons being learned from this brutal, conventional war. He emphasized the importance of disciplined leadership, of logistics, of morale, of understanding the psychology of both allies and enemies – factors that were proving just as critical as sheer military might in the south. His own vast dragon legions remained hidden, their power growing, their riders – now including his great-great-grandchildren – honing their skills in the vast subterranean caverns. The seventeen dragons hatched from the stolen Targaryen eggs, including the seven from Summerhall (which had, against all mundane odds, successfully hatched under Aelyx's meticulous care, a secret triumph he savored), were thriving, their bloodlines a precious addition to his Skagosi stock.
Aelyx also took advantage of the chaos of the rebellion to subtly expand his intelligence network and even acquire certain rare assets. With many noble houses in turmoil, their libraries and vaults often poorly guarded or looted, his Emissaries and house-elf agents managed to "liberate" several priceless collections of ancient texts, maps, and artifacts – particularly those relating to Valyrian history, magic, and dragonlore – which were spirited away to the sanctuary's ever-expanding archives. He sought no direct political gain from these acquisitions, only knowledge, the true currency of eternal power.
As the initial phase of Robert's Rebellion concluded, the lines were clearly drawn. The rebels had secured significant victories, consolidated their alliances, and proven their determination. The royalists, though still commanding considerable forces and with Prince Rhaegar now at their head, were hampered by a Mad King and the growing discontent within the realm. All eyes now turned towards the Riverlands, where Rhaegar was gathering a great host to crush the rebellion in a single, decisive battle. The Battle of the Trident loomed, a confrontation that Aelyx knew would likely determine the fate of the Targaryen dynasty.
He watched from Skagos, a silent, patient god of shadows, his own pieces perfectly positioned on a board far grander than Westeros. The mortals danced their bloody, fleeting ballets of ambition and revenge. Aelyx Velaryon played for eternity.