Rise of the North (asoiaf)

Cregan was born in 108 AC as the eldest son of Rickon Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North, and Lady Gilliane Glover. He had a younger brother, who died in 119 AC, and a bastard half-sister, Sara Snow.

When Lord Rickon passed away in 121 AC, he was succeeded by the thirteen-year-old Cregan. Rickon's brother, Bennard Stark, ruled the north as regent during Cregan's minority. Bennard was slow to relinquish power when Cregan turned sixteen and came of age in 124 AC, however, and relations were tense between uncle and nephew.

In 126 AC, Cregan was secretly approached by his youngest cousin Elric, who told him about his father and brother's plot to have him assassinated in the hunt they all are going to. Cregan was able to convince most of the household guards and men-at-arms and when his uncle and cousins went to their chambers at night, he has guards posted outside their chambers and their doors barred. He kept them in house arrest till he was able to take up rule of the North. He then has Bennard and his two sons imprisoned sparing Elric for his help.

Cregan was made aware of the politics of the south and how the atmosphere there is tense with the announcement of Rhaenyra as heir but Hightower's plot to have Aegon instated as the king. How the south is divided into two sides Blacks and Greens and how both sides are gathering allies. Cregan's father Rickon has already sworn an oath accepting Rhaenyra as heir and until King Viserys officially announce Aegon as his heir, Rhaenyra will be the one to hold the station. Cregan didn't want his father's words and oath to be proven false, so he knew that if a war starts than he will have to participate if called, but that doesn't mean he will not squeeze the dragon for whatever they are worth.

So, Cregan began his own preparation for the war in case the North is attacked or if they have to answer the call to march to war. Other having armor and arms prepared he also invested in having ways to counter dragons as he knew that dragons are their greatest problem in war. He had all the engineers and carpenters in the North work together for ways to counter them and to somehow take away their ability to fly, as the dragons only have two legs which are small to carry their large bodies to far distances even with the speed of a normal human. And a slow or stationery target will be far easier to kill from a distance than a very fast and mobile target.

It would take the engineers month before they will be able to make a prototype of a five-shot scorpion and a machine which will throw two big concrete rocks that are tied together (big bolas for dragons), intended to bind the dragon's wing so that it couldn't fly and falls on the ground. After that it will be much easier to pierce them in eye or mouth with the scorpions. They will be mass produced so that every castle, major keep and city will have atleast 50 of each kind and towns having 10 of both, with Winterfell and Wintercity having 100 of both.

Finally in 129 AC, ravens announced the death of King Viserys Targaryen and soon after, within a few weeks of the arrival of raven, Prince Jacaerys Velaryon, the eldest son and heir of Rhaenyra Targaryen arrived at Winterfell as the official representative of Rhaenyra Targaryen to ask for the Stark's and North's support. Cregan played his role of aloofness of why he should involve himself in southern war so close to start of winter years. Negotiations went on for some days during which Cregan was able to draw out several benefits like decrease in taxes and import duties, subsidy on grain import from south. Meanwhile, a raven came with a message from White Harbor of how Jacaerys tried to make them get involved in war without Cregan's leave, he used this to draw out another concession which was the most important of all. An agreement that a princess of Rhaenyra's line will marry his descendant.

After the agreement was signed, which is known as the 'Pact of Ice and Fire' Cregan have ravens sent to all his bannermen to call the banners, meanwhile Jacaerys on his dragon Vermax flew back to Dragonstone. As the North is the biggest kingdom in size, it took a lot of time to gather the men, even with roads connecting every major castle in the North made by melting stone and gravel by dragons, so Cregan sent the first initial host mainly of cavalry with his friend Roderick Dustin as commander.

Meanwhile, news arrived of Lucerys Velaryon, second son of Rhaenyra Targaryen, who flew to Storm's End to convince Lord Borros Baratheon to join the side of Blacks, arrived before a gathering storm. Rhaenyra and the Blacks thought that Baratheons would support them because of Rhaenys', good mother of Rhaenyra, Baratheon mother and their support of Rhaenys in the Great Council. But when Lucerys reached Storm's End he found Prince Aemond and his dragon Vhagar already present. Aemond tried to goad Lucerys into a fight, insulting him, calling him a Strong bastard, but Lucerys, sworn not to fight, refused him. He delivered his message to Lord Borros Baratheon but was refused and told to leave because Aemond already convinced him to support the Greens by promising to marry one of his daughters.

Borros prevented Aemond from attacking his cousin in the castle, but did allow for the prince to follow him. Mounted on his dragon, Aemond caught up with Lucerys during a raging storm. The fight between the two dragons did not last long. Vhagar, being five times bigger, had the advantage, and Arrax fell from the sky, broken to pieces. His head and neck washed ashore three days later beneath the cliffs below Storm's End, Lucerys corpse was never found. With Lucerys dead all pretences of peace were forgotten, and it became an all-out war.

When the news of the death of Lucerys reached Rhaenyra, she was consumed by grief. A raven from her second husband, Daemon reached her from Harrenhal, where the Blacks have made their base on the mainland, promising to avenge her son. He sends two of his loyal men, now only known as Blood and Cheese, from when he was Lord Commander of the City Watch and have them sneak into the Red Keep using secret passages. There they managed to corner Queen Helaena with her two sons and daughter. Blood and Cheese barred the doors and told Helaena to choose which of her sons would die or they will kill all of them. Helaena reluctantly chose Maelor, the younger son, but Blood did the opposite and killed Prince Jaehaerys instead. The two fled with the prince's head, leaving the others unharmed.

Blood was seized at the Gate of the Gods, with the head of Prince Jaehaerys hidden in a saddle sack. Under torture, he confessed he was making for Harrenhal, to collect his reward from Prince Daemon. He also described the whore who had hired him and Cheese, Mysaria. The gold cloaks, led by Ser Luthor Largent, searched the Street of Silk from top to bottom but found no trace of Mysaria or Cheese. In his wroth, King Aegon II ordered all the ratcatchers in the city to be hanged. Afterward, Ser Otto Hightower brought a hundred cats to the Red Keep taking their place.

Queen Helaena sank into a deep depression, refusing to eat, bathe or leave her chambers and couldn't stand to be in the presence of Maelor, having named him to die. Thus, the king took Maelor from her and gave him to Queen Alicent to raise as if he were her own. Thereafter, king and queen slept separately. She fell deeper into madness, while Aegon fell into rage and drink.

After the deaths of both princes, both sides called for vengeance. Lords called their banners and marched their armies. At the start of the war Grover Tully, Lord Paramount of the Trident, wanted to support King Aegon II Targaryen and the greens, but he was too old and bedridden to act. His grandson and heir, Ser Elmo Tully, who preferred the claim of Rhaenyra Targaryen and the blacks, kept the Tully banners at Riverrun instead. The forces of Lord Samwell Blackwood, who had declared for Rhaenyra, invaded the lands of the green-aligned Lord Humfrey Bracken, putting villages and crops to the torch, and despoiling septs. The Bracken forces under the command of Ser Amos Bracken, were surprised by the Blackwoods while on the march to retaliate, Amos slew Lord Blackwood in single combat during the ensuing battle and was himself slain by an arrow soon after.

The Brackens were ultimately defeated in the Battle of the Burning Mill. The survivors turned back to Stone Hedge now commanded by Amos's half-brother Ser Raylon Rivers, only to find it had been seized with Lord Bracken and his family by Prince Daemon and a host of rivermen in their absence. The Brackens yielded and thus King Aegon lost his last supporter of any strength in the riverlands. These victories allowed the river lords, such as the Blackwood's, to begin to gather at Harrenhal and join Daemon's growing banners.

Ser Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King, took to winning over lords, hiring sellswords, strengthening the defenses of King's Landing and seeking other alliances. He sent ravens to Winterfell, the Eyrie, Riverrun, White Harbor, Gulltown, Bitterbridge, Fair Isle and half a hundred other seats; he sent riders to the holdings closer to the capital, to summon their lords and ladies to court to do fealty to King Aegon. He also reached out to Dorne and offered them the vassalage of the Stepstones, but Prince Qoren Martell refused to take part fearful of another Dragon's Wroth.

The fall of Harrenhal and the defeats at the Burning Mill and Stone Hedge made Aegon II fearful. His fears deepened when ravens returned from the Reach, where the greens thought themselves strongest, as House Hightower of Oldtown and Gracefords of Holy Hall stood firmly behind the king, but Mullendore of Uplands, Tarly of Horn Hill, Rowan of Goldengrove and Grimm of Greyshield declared for Rhaenyra. Such division led the castellan, steward and mother of the young Lord Lyonel Tyrell, in their role as regents, to refuse to take part. Ser Otto sent word to his nephew, Lord Ormund Hightower, to put down the rebellions in the Reach. More blows came to Aegon II in the form of rejections from the Vale, the North, and the constant complaints of merchants for the closing of Blackwater Bay by the Sea Snake's fleets.

Otto Hightower remembering that North has minimal control over the islands of Three Sister sent a raven to the Sisterton of Three Sisters, offering them independence from the North if they rebelled against the Starks and declared for the Greens. He sent his grandson Aemond to burn the garrison posted on Three Sisters so they can join Green cause.

With his overtures to Dalton Greyjoy ignored, Ser Otto believed that Daemon was Rhaenyra's greatest weakness, and reached out to an old foe of Daemon's the Kingdom of the Three Daughters, sending envoys promising exclusive trading rights at King's Landing as well as ceding the Stepstones - even though the Iron Throne had never claimed them - if they would clear the Gullet of the Velaryon fleet. The Triarchy was slow to move, however, as all important decisions were left in the hands of a High Council. The delay did not sit well with Aegon II, who dismissed his grandfather as Hand and turned to Ser Criston Cole.

Ser Criston's first advice to the king was to treat those who denied him fealty as traitors. Thus, all the blacks imprisoned in the dungeons were dragged to the Red Keep's yard before the King's Justice and his axe. Each prisoner was given a last chance to swear fealty to King Aegon. Only Lords Butterwell, Stokeworth and Rosby bent the knee to Aegon II, while Lords Hayford, Merryweather, Harte, Buckler, Caswell and Lady Fell remained true to their vows to defend Rhaenyra's rights and were beheaded along with eight landed knights and twoscore servants and retainers. Their heads were mounted on spikes above the gates of King's Landing.