A Throne of Iron[CKII Game of Thrones Mod AAR/Story]

[Lannisaratheon]

Hello everyone! This will be my first AAR but not my first time writing. This particular AAR will focus mainly on House Stark at the present time, but you will see I am going to expand A LOT here in this AAR. I really love the AAR's on the forums that focus more on story than the gameplay. And that is what I am going to do here.

Now, about images: I had been playing this for quite some time before I finally decided the playthrough deserved to written about. So I do not have much in the way of imagery, though I wll drop some here and there to provoke imagination.

I started my campaign in the War of the Five Kings scenario as Robb Stark, and since then EVERYTHING got interesting really fast. You will see how in the coming posts. (;

I will for now post a dramatis personae, of sorts, until I get a formal post up. This dramatis personae will for now consist of the most interesting characters in my game. Some names you will recognize and some you will not, for every game is unique in this franchise. Most (if not all) of these characters will also be POV characters. This list will be updated as the story unfolds. Okay, here we go:

- King Torghen Stark, First of His Name, King of Winter, King in the North, Firstborn Son of the Crippled Wolf, Lord of Winterfell, Protector of the Black Brothers, and Protector of the Realm,
-Princess Jonelle Stark, oldest sister to King Torghen Stark, married to Prince Arnell Tyrell(Flowers) of the Kingdom of the Reach,
-Jon Snow, Lord Holder of the New Gift, bastard half-uncle to King Torghen Stark, man of the Night's Watch
-Melisandre of Asshai, a Red Priestess of R'hllor, adviser to King Lucas Arryn, acting Master of Whisperers
-Ser Jon Connington, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, former rebel, pardoned by Queen Shireen Baratheon after he bent the knee,
-Barbara Blackwood, former queen to King Brandon IX Stark, the Crippled Wolf, mother of King Torghen, Princess Jonelle, and Princess Meera Stark,
-Rickon Stark, Lord and Warden of Crackclaw Point, uncle to King Torghen Stark, and the Hand of the King,
-Myrcella Lannister(Hill), legitimized, inbred bastard of Ser Jaime Lannister and former Queen Cersei Lannister, guest under King Torghen's roof,
-'Prince' Trystane Martell, exiled Prince of Dorne, rightful heir to House Martell and Dorne, a guest under King Torghen's roof,
-Ser Ulwyck Martell, exiled Prince of Dorne, son of Myrcella Lannister and Prince Trystane Martell, a guest under King Torghen's roof, but just recently joined King Torghen's personal guard,
-Maester Aethan, maester of Winterfell, adviser, healer, and tutor,
-Prince Loras Tyrell, former Prince of the Reach and Lord of the Manderford, now man of the Night's Watch for attempting to seize the throne from his father in a coup,
-Aegon 'Targayen', the Sixth of His Name, 'rightful' king of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, Consort to Queens, a prisoner in King's Landing,
-Daenerys Targaryen, the First of Her Name, rightful queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, Protector of the Realm, Queen of Meereen, Mother of Dragons, also known as 'Stormborn', Wife to Sons, married to her son and heir, King Baelon Targaryen, born from the loins of Aegon VI, before he sailed for Westeros,
-Tyrion Lannister, Lord Steward of the Westerlands, adviser and uncle to Lord Dunaver Lannister, son to Cersei Lannister and Gawen Westerling,
-Princess Meera Stark, middle child of King Brandon IX and Queen Barbara Blackwood, betrothed to Prince Aenar Swann, seventh son of King Balon Swann, the Kingsguard Who Became a King, at Storm's End to represent House Stark in King Aegor Swann's court,

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Okay, I now that it is a lot o characters to keep track of and write about and such, but just bear with me, I've got this. I will get a first, introductory post up within the night. (: Thanks for reading guys!

[Lannisaratheon]

Interlude

Around thirty years have passed now, since the great Battle of Riverrun, where the Young Wolf perished among thousands of enemies and allies alike; where comrades of the north fought side by side and spilled ironborn blood into the red fork; where Theon Greyjoy was slain while running from the King in the North's fierce direwolf, the legendary Grey Wind. The legendary clash has inspired many a song, even some mummers in the southron courts have taken to singing of it, however twisted and embellished their versions are. Even among the riverlanders, noble and commoner alike, Robb Stark was a legend among men. A paragon of virtue.

But that paragon is dead.

A time of strife has hit the Seven Kingdoms like waves against a desolate shore, not only effecting the southern part of Westeros, but the relatively stable North as well. King Lucas Arryn, son of Queen Shireen Baratheon and Harrold Arryn, otherwise known as Harry the Heir, holds a tenuous peace together in King's Landing, with no help from the red priestess that whispers in his ear all hours of the day. Some say that she has achieved eternal youth, as she seems not to have aged a year over the past couple decades. These rumors, however, are swiftly put down.

King Lucas' largest problem stems from the Lannisters; even though most of the nobles already contest his legitimacy to the Iron Throne, Lord Dunaver Lannister has decided that speaking out about it instead of sneaking in the shadows whispering of rumors and murmurs is what should be done to put the 'wild rumors' to rest. His Grace is loath with this; he has outlawed the allowing of any westerlander noble to set foot in the capital, especially any Lannister.

But there is more news among the fisherwives and gossipers of the inns: they say that King Willas the Cripple King, from his flowery seat in Highgarden, has commanded his armies to lay claim to the Dornish Marches, declaring to the Swann Kings that the Reach had had an ancestral claim to the marches. The Swanns will not have it; more rumors of fighting men leaving Storm's End and marching west has convinced many that war is inevitable.

And far across the sea, dragons wheel across the sky above Meereen, breathing fire and serving their mother. Daenerys Stormborn of the House Targaryen, First of Her Name, has reigned as queen of Meereen for thirty years, and now is rumored to soon marry her own son by her uncle Aegon (who himself is a political-prisoner in King's Landing), Baelon. The peoples of Slaver's Bay are appalled to hear of such things, and there is talk in Meereen of a revolt to come, against the 'atrocities' the dragon-queen is committing.

But... but... there is more, yes more, news. Dorne is in crisis; Prince Trystane Martell, long lost son of Prince Doran Martell, the last scion of Doran's loins, has sent ravens all over the Seven Kingdoms: 'By right of birth and blood, I do hereby declare myself the rightful Prince of Dorne, and swear by the Seven that I shall cast down the usurpers Allyrion, and with me comes the fury of the sun at my back. Let all true Dornishmen fight with me, across the realm and beyond, to exact justice and bring about a new age of Martell rule.' Of course, the lords of Westeros could care less about this prince of Dorne: he is far to the north, where no one can hear him squeal about his titles and claims and his justice.

But, what the lords of Westeros do not realize, is that Winterfell is not that far north. The wolves have heard the suns pleas. He is currently residing, with his lion-wife and his desperate-for-glory son, at Winterfell,and they say that he is gathering the wolves to his cause, and is attempting to hire mercenaries as well.

Speaking of the north, our last little bit of news comes from this outcast and relatively-sturdy kingdom. They say that Princess Meera Stark, sister to King Torghen I, has departed from White Harbor and set sail for Storm's End nearly a two months past, cementing the alliance between Swann and Stark. Lord Rickon Stark, the Hand of the King(which was adopted from the southrons after Torghen was coronated; he thought it was a good idea), has began the long journey to the riverlands, where he will begin the preparations to rebuild one of the greatest fortresses ever built: Oldstones. The North and the Trident grow ever fatter and richer with every passing month, while the southern kingdoms grow wearisome and starved.

Good news aplenty, Winterfell has been the heart of joy in the North for nearly two decades, since Brandon IX brought the grim place back into the lighter side of things. Countless feasts, weddings, celebrations, fairs, all in the name of the King in the North. All over the Seven Kingdoms they had spoken of King Bran's kindness and generosity, and more often than not nowadays they speak of the strong, just, and able King Torghen, a man grown eight-and-ten now.

And yet... and yet... a sense of foreboding hangs in the air above all the happiness and joy. Lurking behind the singing and laughing and drinking, there is a danger that all grown men have seen. That all grown men fear...

Winter.

And even the most joyous of House Stark's family has known the code all members of their house lives by: winter is coming. The grim omen that everything can and will become grim and cold and white, no matter what you do or what you enjoy in life.

The Night's Watch protects the realm from the threats beyond the Wall. But in years past, King Bran, before he passed on, offered the Black Brother's protection and supplies, volunteers and patronage. But as the Night's Watch grows fatter on the Northern resources (which still flow in from King Torghen), their eyes start to close out the dangers beyond the Wall. They do not fear Mance Rayder, the Tall-Talker any longer. He attacked before, and with the help of the northerners, they could repel him again as they did fifteen years ago.

But Mance Rayder is not the real threat... he may be one, but not the larger. The Tall-Talker is amassing an army once again, this time aiming to destroy that icy monstrosity of a Wall once and for all.

And if he does this, winter will follow him in...

[ccllnply]

Absolutely excellent mate. Great read, your writing is very enjoyable. I shall be following this.

[Tigellinus]

So, um,please tell me this will be continue? As an avid fan of A Song of Ice and Fire, I would very much want to see an AAR of it, especially of my favourite strategy game!