Chapter 1 - Reach history and the men who shaped it
When I was born, my House was considered to be one of the Great Houses in the 7 Kingdoms. Being Lords Paramount of the Mander and the liege lords of the Reach, House Tyrell was a wealthy and large house; its wealth was only surpassed among the Great Houses by House Lannister on Casterly Rock in the Westerlands. There was little that it didn't have.
Unlike most other Great Houses, the Tyrells never ruled as kings. Instead, they trace their line of descent through the female line to the legendary Garth the Gardener, the founder of House Gardener and mystical first King of the Reach, reigning in the Age of Heroes and the son of the equally mythic Garth Greenhand. Now, whether or not we can take the old text and scriptures as fact stands to reason, since the First Men didn't actually create any texts, as far as could be proven. The North may know more about this, but they are as taciturn as they are hardened.
When the Andals invaded from the East, fleeing from the Valyrian Freehold and their lust for slaves to mine their minerals underneath the Fourteen Flames, they first landed in the Vale. The Kings of the Reach observed the coming of the Andals to the Vale, the Stormlands, and the Riverlands from afar. Instead of allying with the invaders against other First Men, they took precautions against possible Andal invasions. King Gwayne IV (the Gods-fearing) sought aid from the children of the forest, while Mern II (the Mason) constructed a new curtain wall around Highgarden and encouraged his bannermen to do the same. Mern III (the Madling) supported a woods witch who claimed she could raise armies of the dead. The anticipated Andal attacks never occurred, however. When the disunited Andals eventually reached the realm of the Gardeners generations later, however, they were welcomed by the Three Sage Kings.
The Three Sage Kings were a trio of wise and cunning Kings of the Reach of House Gardener. Garth IX, his son Merle I and his grandson Gwayne V. They took a policy of accord and assimilation toward the newcomers instead of armed resistance. Although he continued to worship the old gods, Garth IX made a septon part of his councils and the first sept at Highgarden was built during his reign. Merle I converted to the Faith of the Seven and become its patron, helping to fund and build septs, septries, and motherhouses across the Reach. Gwayne V was the first Gardener king born into the new Faith, as well as the first to be made a knight.
Maester Yandel, who despite his youth is a Maester one has to admire, writes that "seldom had a conquest been achieved with less bloodshed", and he would be correct. The Three Sage Kings took Andals into their service as knights and retainers. Ser Alester Tyrell, the founder of House Tyrell, was made Gwayne V's champion and sworn shield. Merle I and Gwayne V married Andal maidens to bind their fathers to the Gardener realm. The three kings also bequeathed lands, wives, and lordships for the more powerful of the Andals descending on the Reach in exchange for pledges of fealty; numerous houses of the Reach trace their ancestry back to these Andal adventurers.
The Gardeners also encouraged Andal craftsmen, especially blacksmiths and stonemasons, to settle throughout the Reach, supplying them and their bannermen with iron instead of bronze and strengthening their castles with Andal masonry. Most new lords remained loyal and helped the Gardeners against internal and external threats.
The centuries that followed the assimilation with the Andals were less peaceful, and the Gardener kings (and one queen) varied in wisdom and strength. The Kings of the Reach constantly warred against and allied with the Kings of the Rock, the Storm Kings, the many kings from Dorne, and the Kings of the Rivers and the Hills. There lies the problem with the geography of the Reach, but that is another chapter.
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Saying that House Tyrell reached its position through great conquest would be folly, as it was but simple marriage that represented the first step in its ascent. Members of House Gardener, the ruling house of the Kingdom of the Reach, periodically intermarried with lower-ranking houses of the Reach and among those was also House Tyrell. And a lower house it was, for the Tyrells served as stewards to House Gardener.
Ser Alester Tyrell, the founder of the house, was an Andal knight and adventurer who showed such prowess at arms that he was named the champion and sworn shield of King Gwayne V Gardener, the last of the Three Sage Kings. Ser Alester's eldest son also became a notable knight but died in a tourney. Alester's second son, Gareth, was of a more bookish bent and never achieved knighthood, choosing instead to serve as a royal steward. He and his son Leo performed their duties so well that the Gardeners made the office of High Steward hereditary. It is from Gareth that today's Tyrells descend.
Fortune favours the strong-willed and those who never give up. During the minority of King Garland VI Gardener, a member of House Tyrell ruled the Reach in his name as Regent, showcasing that they were capable of doing so and loyal enough to be trusted with doing so. This, while it may not seem like much, was one of the steps towards a bigger part for House Tyrell.
When Lords Manderly and Peake instigated a civil war to see their respective wives, both daughters to the senile old King Garth X Gardener, succeed as Queen of the Reach, Ser Osmund Tyrell, the High Steward of Highgarden, led an alliance of twoscore houses to put down the rebels and reclaimed the ruins of Highgarden which a Dornish king and his raiders had sacked, once again showcasing the geographical problems the Reach faced. Ser Osmund placed a second cousin of the late Garth X, who had been killed by the raiders, upon the new throne as King Mern VI Gardener.
Relying on the able counsel of Ser Osmund, and later Osmund's son Ser Robert Tyrell, and finally Robert's son Lorent Tyrell, King Mern ruled well, rebuilding Highgarden and doing much and more to restore the power of the Reach and House Gardener. Mern VI was so pleased with them that he gave Ser Robert the hand of his youngest daughter in marriage, thereby allowing the following generations of Tyrells to claim descent from Garth Greenhand. That was the first marriage between the two houses, and also the second big step up the political ladder, as nine more unions followed in the passing centuries.
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Chapter 2 - The Arrival of Aegon I Targaryen
When Aegon the Conqueror invaded Westeros three centuries ago, it wasn't clear what that meant for Westeros and its 7 Kingdoms. The Targaryens were relatively isolated on Dragonstone, and while they had their loyalists, they were not important in the grand scheme of things. They were left alone and, in turn, put to the back of the Lord's head. There are records of Aegon having visited the Citadel and the Arbour, no doubt for the knowledge and wine they held, but it isn't clear. Personally, I doubt that it was the idea of conquest that Aegon was born with. No doubt he was ambitious and thought about it, but the stimulus came from Westeros itself.
Greed.
Harren Hoare, the King of the Isles and the Rivers, was nearing completion of his vast castle, Harrenhal, and was looking for more conquests. Argilac Durrandon, of the Stormlands, had grown afraid of Harren and so proposed an alliance with Aegon to create a buffer zone between him and Harren. He offered Aegon the hand of his daughter, Argella, in marriage as well as dowry lands, though much of the lands were in the possession of Harren the Black. Aegon refused, offering instead the hand of his best friend and rumoured bastard brother, Orys Baratheon, as Argella's husband, and asking for a part of Argilac's lands as an additional dowry. Argilac took this as a grave insult and had the hands of the envoy cut off. He sent them to Aegon with the message, "These are the only hands you will receive".
No doubt it was greed and fear which led Argilac to do what he did, but it was pride that led to his eventual downfall, for Aegon didn't take his actions lightly. The young dragonlord called his banners and took counsel with them and his sisters, after which he sent ravens to the rulers in the Seven Kingdoms. He informed them that from then on, he would be the only king in Westeros and that those who bent the knee would keep their lands and titles, while he would destroy those who did not. He apparently considered all of Westeros as one land, even though the continent was long split into Seven Kingdoms, and was determined to unify it under his rule. So pride met pride, and today we know whose pride proved to be more powerful.
While Aegon's Conquest is an interesting part of Westerosi history, it isn't part of this work. Here we shall focus on the Reach.
While the Stormlands were taken care of, two great western kings made common cause and assembled their own armies. From Highgarden marched Mern IX Gardener, King of the Reach, with a mighty host from the Reach. Beneath the walls of Goldengrove, he met Loren Lannister, King of the Rock, leading his own host from the Westerlands. Together, they commanded the mightiest host ever seen in Westeros, to that point at least: an army fifty-five thousand strong, including over five thousand knights. The Two Kings did not linger at Goldengrove, marching north.
Advised of their coming into his camp beside the Gods Eye, Aegon gathered his own forces and advanced to meet them. He commanded only one-fifth of the men and was able to move his host more quickly. At the town of Stoney Sept, both his queens joined him with their dragons, Rhaenys from Storm's End and Visenya from Crackclaw Point.
The two armies came together amongst the wide open plains south of the Blackwater Rush. House Gardener commanded the centre of the allied army, with House Lannister to the right and House Oakheart to the left. The charge of their knights began to break the Targaryen army, but Aegon and his sisters attacked from the air with their dragons. Over five thousand died in this Field of Fire, and tens of thousands were wounded. Mern and his kin were all mortally wounded from the battle, ending House Gardener. Loren managed to escape, but he and the Lannister bannermen yielded to Aegon after being captured the following day. Loren was named Aegon's Warden of the West.
Aegon marched at once for Highgarden, hoping to secure its surrender. He found the castle in the hands of its steward, Harlan Tyrell, who yielded the castle without a fight and pledged his support to Aegon. In reward, Harlan was granted Highgarden and named Warden of the South and Lord Paramount of the Mander.
So it had happened. The long wait and loyalty displayed by House Tyrell had borne fruit, and they were now Lords of Highgarden and Warden of the South, Lords Paramount of the Mander. From stewards to Lords in the span of thousands of years. Time was all it took.
The actions of Oldtown are a separate part and are as interesting as what they meant. When word of Aegon's Landing reached Oldtown, the High Septon locked himself in the Starry Sept for seven days and nights, seeking the guidance of the Seven. On the seventh day, the Crone allegedly lifted her golden lamp and showed that Oldtown would burn if the city opposed the Targaryens. Manfred Hightower, Lord of the Hightower, decided not to oppose Aegon by force of arms and House Hightower, therefore, was not involved with the Field of Fire. Like the Tyrells, they were smarter than that. However, it isn't clear whether it was Harlan Tyrell's choice to stay behind or if it was commanded of him.
When Aegon and his host approached Oldtown, they found the city gates open and Lord Hightower riding forth in submission. Three days later in the Starry Sept, the High Septon anointed Aegon with the seven oils, placed a crown upon his head and proclaimed him Aegon of House Targaryen, the First of His Name, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm. This marked the official beginning of Aegon's reign. The official date is 0 AC.
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Chapter 3 - Geography and Politics
The geography of the Reach...
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"Your Grace."
The young woman looks up from her book and sees one of her most trusted advisors approaching. He has been with her for a while now, but he is also the one she had mixed feelings about, at least at first. With what he is telling her, things may yet become more difficult, as hard as it may be for her to believe.
"Yes?"
"How is the book? Are you gaining more information on Westeros and the Houses you wish to rule?"
"I certainly am. Although I wouldn't say I understand why I should bother with all this information. What am I to do about all these details of the past? And why do I have to focus on the Reach in particular? I hardly believe that one man is enough reason to warrant all this."
"I understand your concerns, Your Grace. But there is wisdom in knowing the history of the Reach. And there is nothing usual about that man. I can assure you, Maester Gormon's 'The Tales of the Victorious' is the perfect work for you to read."