Winter is Coming (asoiaf)

Already prior to the Battle of the Trident, King Aerys had been preparing his wildfire plot. His Hand of the King, Lord Qarlton Chelsted, however, eventually became suspicious of the frequency with which the pyromancers visited the king. When he discovered the king's wildfire plot, he attempted to change the king's mind, and when nothing worked, he chooses to resign his position. For this, Aerys had him burned alive. Following the Trident, Aerys named Rossart, his favorite pyromancer, as his new Hand of the King. He would only be Hand for a fortnight. Meanwhile, Aerys sent his wife, Queen Rhaella, and his new heir, their second son, Prince Viserys, to Dragonstone for safety, where they would have the protection of, amongst others, Ser Willem Darry, the master-at-arms of the Red Keep, and royal fleet. Aerys refused to allow Rhaegar's wife, Princess Elia Martell, and their children Rhaenys and Aegon, to leave the city, keeping them by his side instead.

While the Trident is seen by many as the decisive battle of the war, the capital remained untaken until the Sack of King's Landing in 283 AC, the last major battle of the war. Because Robert Baratheon had been injured in battle, Lord Commander Rodrik Stark and Lord Eddard Stark along with the rebel cavalry pursued the remnants of Rhaegar's army, who had fled back to the capital. Lord Tywin Lannister, who had refused calls to arms from both the loyalists and the rebels until that point, appeared at the gates of King's Landing with an army of twelve thousand men, merely an hour before Eddard Stark would arrive. Lord Tywin professed his loyalty to King Aerys, and while Lord Varys counseled Aerys to keep the gates locked, the king chose to listen to Grand Maester Pycelle and open the gates to Tywin's men. Once inside, the forces from the westerlands began to sack the city.

When Lord Commander Rodrik saw another army was sacking the city he wanted to know whether they were rebel allies or some other force but when he saw them raping and looting the poor peasants of slum, he no longer cared and ordered his army to kill anyone found raping and looting who will not surrender and tasked Lord Jon 'Greatjon' Umber to secure the royal family and Lord William Dustin to secure the treasury. While he himself led the men towards the throne room to take his revenge for his nephew's death.

Upon the realization that all was lost, Aerys ordered Rossart to ignite the wildfire caches throughout the city, wishing to leave Robert nothing but "ashes and bones". He ordered Ser Jaime Lannister, Lord Tywin's eldest son and the only knight of his Kingsguard present in the city, to kill Tywin and bring his head to Aerys. Instead, Jaime killed Rossart, and upon the realization that Aerys would simply give the order to burn the city down to another pyromancer, returned to the Red Keep and murdered Aerys himself in the throne room, mere seconds before Rodrik Stark entered the Throne Room, where he found Aerys dead at the feet of his throne and Jaime sitting on the Iron Throne. He immediately put two and two together and marched on Jaime Lannister and disarmed him in a few quick strikes and put his sword on his neck and said:

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you for taking my revenge away from me. You who didn't dare raise his voice while your cousin was killed infront of you, how dare you."

In response Jaime told him everything about the Wildfyre plot and Rodrik let Jaime go just before the soldiers from the westerlands entered.

Meanwhile, Ser Gregor Clegane and Ser Amory Lorch had entered Maegor's Holdfast to deal with the rest of the royal family, to secure the throne for Robert, and to prove that House Lannister had forsaken the Targaryens forever. Gregor killed Prince Aegon Targaryen, Rhaegar's son and heir in front of the child's mother, Princess Elia Martell, and was going to rape Elia before Lord Jon Umber came and a dual began between the two giants. Neither were willing to give up but while Clegane used his brute strength to win in fights, Lord Umber is veteran of many battles and conflict and has grownup wrestling equally strong men and easily subdued the mountain. Meanwhile Amory was killed by the hands of the northern soldiers under Jon's command. Lord Jon Umber secured the Maegor's Holdfast and kept the Princess Elia and Princess Rhaenys safe, while the mountain was kept alive for the king to pass judgement on him.

In the days that followed the Sack of King's Landing, Jaime Lannister along with Rodrik Stark sought out and killed Garigus and Belis, the remaining two pyromancers aware of the wildfire plot.

After securing the Red Keep and King's Landing, Lord Commander Rodrik began his work for the scheme his grandnephew, Symeon told him. He had small sacks of gold from the treasury removed slowly when the northern guards guarding the Treasury changed shifts and have it stored under strict guard of loyal men on the Rhaenys's hill where Northern forces have built their camp. Like this he was able to syphon a million gold dragons before the King Robert Baratheon arrived. Not only that, they found many dragon eggs inside the treasury which they also have removed from the Treasury.

When Jon Arryn and Eddard Stark arrived with the rebel forces as the King is still recovering from his wounds arrived, Rodrik asked for leave to find his grandniece Lyanna after giving the command of King's Landing and Red Keep and left with 200 men with half of them being elite multi-shot crossbowmen of the North. As he was leaving, he encountered Lord Varys, Master of Whispers of Aerys Targaryen, who told him that Rhaegar came from somewhere in the western Dornish Marches. Hearing this Rodrik led his small host there where he encountered a messenger from House Dayne, telling him of the location where Lyanna was held.

When he reached the tower that is known as Tower of Joy, that was built during the Dornish War of Conquest, he found Ser Arthur Dayne, Ser Oswell Whent and Lord Commander Gerold Hightower guarding the tower.

"I will say this only once, leave my way and only that Lord Commander of yours will die for not opposing that farce of Trial by Combat. If you will not move than all three of you will die. I don't care about Whent but Dayne our families have good ties, your house was the one who told me about this location, don't be the reason for those ties to break." Rodrik warned them.

"You think that you can scare the Kingsguard, we are fearless, we don't flee, and we only bend the knee to rightful king." Ser Whent said.

"He talks a lot, kill him and Hightower." As soon as Rodrik gave the command, half a hundred crossbow bolt flew towards Whent and Hightower. Even the best could not defend against so many and Hightower was already getting old and Whent was nowhere near the best of the Kingsguard. They both died right there.

"What's your answer Dayne, want to follow in your brother's footstep or do the sensible thing." Rodrik asked the Sword of the Morning, who finally sheathed his sword, Dawn and moved aside. Rodrik went inside the tower where he found Lyanna in a room, going through labor pain and a midwife helping her. Thankfully Rodrik, thinking of such a situation brought some experienced and loyal midwife and woods witch with him who helped Lyanna in safely delivering the child, which turned out to be a girl. He dismissed the healers and midwives as soon as they were done.

"Please, give me my baby." Lyanna almost begged.

"Lyanna, it's alright. See, it's me, no one is going to harm you now, you are safe. Here is your child a beautiful baby girl, just like her mother." He said while calming Lyanna and while giving the child to her. After Lyanna calmed down and have her child in her arms, she fed the child and sang a northern lullaby to the child who soon fell asleep. Seeing her calm down, he asked

"Lyanna, what happened. Tell me from the start." 

"Uncle, it...it all started at that cursed tourney of Harrenhal. During the Tourney I found some squires beating Howland, Howland Reed because of his small frame. To teach them a lesson I participated in the tourney and defeated the Knights they were squiring for, I was the Knight of the Laughing Tree, but the King thought I was an assassin sent to kill him and send his men and that bastard after me. Rhaegar found me in the godswood changing the armor, but he said that he knows that I meant no harm to the king and will not tell him. During the Tourney we became friends but then he embarrassed both me and Princess Elia by naming me Queen of Love and Beauty. I stopped talking to him and left with Brandon for Riverrun.

A few days after arriving in Riverrun, I went outside to ride Winter but as I took her to the river to let her drink water, Rhaegar with Arthur Dayne and Whent came and said that he loves me and wants to marry me. I refused and said that I don't want to marry him, he already has a wife and two kids, but he kept saying something that the prophecy says that we have to have a child, he will be the song of ice and fire, dragon must have three heads or something and abducted me. Sometime later news arrived that Brandon is arrested for treason, Rhaegar said that he will have Brandon killed if I don't marry him and somehow convinced High Septon to have us married. Then he brought me here and...and he raped me. He raped me till he was sure I was pregnant and left after a few months when Hightower came. I tried to run away but those 3 didn't let me." By the end of its Lyanna was crying.

Rodrik hugged her and let her cry her heart out while consoling her. "Don't worry, no one is gonna hurt you now, I am here, I will not let anyone hurt you, you are safe now, you are safe..." Like this Lyanna fell asleep while crying. He went outside the tower and saw Arthur Dayne, unarmed and tied. He went to him and said, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't take your head for what you did, how you helped that monster rape my niece."

"I wouldn't oppose if you decided to kill me. I was waiting for someone to come and kill me since the day I helped him. I was bound by my vows and since that day I am thinking is breaking one vow for upholding another is the right thing and if yes, then which one is greater. The answer came the day when Rhaegar raped her, and Dawn rejected me as its wielder. You see it is not a simple sword, it is made from a falling star by Brandon the Builder, and he imbued magic in it, if a warrior worthy of it wields it, he will be undefeatable but if he was unworthy or wield against a Stark, the sword will betray him at the most crucial second. The sword declared me unworthy, that day and since then I have been waiting for someone to come and kill me." Arthur said.

There was silence for a few minutes before Rodrik said "I wouldn't kill you. It will too easy and too little for you. No, you will live and if you have genuine guilt than you will spend the rest of your days guarding her and that child and trying to earn her forgiveness."

"I will" Arthur said.

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Author's Note:

I don't see why Lyanna will marry Rhaegar willingly when she hated Robert for his lustful nature. Rhaegar already had a son, so he already had an heir. Rhaegar's father was the only son and heir of his father, so it's nothing new for Kings or lords to only have one son even if Elia can't give anymore birth. She barely knew him for a week and even if she would have married him as his second wife, may have started a faith uprising if it was a polygamous marriage or resulted in hatred of Dorne if Elia was set aside even with her son as heir.

Now look it at like this, they became friends at the tourney, but Rhaegar embarrassed both her and Elia infront of whole Westeros by naming Lyanna Queen of Love and Beauty. She stopped talking with him due to shame and then he suddenly starts professing his love for her. That's what it looks like to me.

And Targaryens are known for suddenly showing bouts of madness related to things they are obsessed with. Aegon V was a nice king, but his decrees were always opposed by lords, making him obsessed with dragons because if he had them, no one will oppose his decrees. And like him Rhaegar was obsessed with his prophecy, no one can deny that one of his reasons was the prophecy and he showed his madness when he couldn't get the way to make the prophecy true as he understands it.

But I will leave the speculation to you and truth onto GRR Martin.

As for why he had healers and midwives with him, that is common sense, if Rhaegar abducted a woman, he surely didn't do it for a sport, he did it to rape her, means she may be hurt and rape may also cause pregnancy. Why Ned didn't think this and expected to find a perfectly healthy sister that he didn't take even a healer with him, I don't know.

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