ASOIAF WI: Aerys' plot succeeds

[Silent Cal]

WI at the close of Robert's Rebellion Aerys the Mad's plot to burn King's Landing and the Lannister host with it succeeded?

Let's say for some reason Jaime failed to kill Rossart and Aerys, or Aerys has him killed before. With the city in ashes and the Lannister forces immolated, presumably Tywin and Jaime with them, what happens?

I assume this happens before Ned Stark's forces arrive.

 

[MerryPrankster]

AHs of AHs belong in ASB. I'll report the post and they'll move it.

Tywin might still survive if he's in the rear of the army. Although he is willing to lead from the front at times (IIRC in the first book he leads a cavalry charge at the Battle of the Green Fork), Tywin isn't a glutton for personal mayhem the way Robert Baratheon is.

If Tywin survives, Robert marries Cersei per canon. Even if his army takes a lot of damage from the destruction of King's Landing, he's one of the High Lords, a former Hand of the King, and absolutely loaded.

If Tywin dies, the young Tyrion is the new Lord of Lannister, although given his appearance, he might find his succession is contested. I don't think Kevan Lannister shares his brother's disdain for Tyrion, so I doubt he'd try to push him aside.

As to who Robert might marry, are there any suitable Martell or Tyrell women? That might bring them into the post-Targaryen order without trouble.

Meanwhile, if King's Landing goes up, there goes Gregor Clegane, Amory Lorch, and any evidence of what they did to Rhaegar's children and Princess Elia of Dorne. That means the Dornish won't HATE the Lannisters. Heck, depending on how skillfully a surviving Tywin or Tyrion handles it, the Lannisters could convince the Dornish they were coming to rescue Elia and her children, who were being held hostage by a maniac.

I wonder if Sandor will survive? I imagine the worst of the damage will be at the Red Keep, but depending on how the wildfyre is distributed, there might be less-damaged portions of the city.

 

[Silent Cal]

AHs of AHs belong in ASB. I'll report the post and they'll move it.

Thanks, I wasn't sure if it belonged to ASB since it was an AH of written fiction, hence the confusion.

Tywin might still survive if he's in the rear of the army. Although he is willing to lead from the front at times (IIRC in the first book he leads a cavalry charge at the Battle of the Green Fork), Tywin isn't a glutton for personal mayhem the way Robert Baratheon is.

If Tywin survives, Robert marries Cersei per canon. Even if his army takes a lot of damage from the destruction of King's Landing, he's one of the High Lords, a former Hand of the King, and absolutely loaded.

Okay, but since King's Landing is now mostly destroyed, where would Robert hold court until the city is rebuilt, which would likely take a LONG time to do, Storm's End? Dragonstone?

If Tywin dies, the young Tyrion is the new Lord of Lannister, although given his appearance, he might find his succession is contested. I don't think Kevan Lannister shares his brother's disdain for Tyrion, so I doubt he'd try to push him aside.

As to who Robert might marry, are there any suitable Martell or Tyrell women? That might bring them into the post-Targaryen order without trouble.

Meanwhile, if King's Landing goes up, there goes Gregor Clegane, Amory Lorch, and any evidence of what they did to Rhaegar's children and Princess Elia of Dorne. That means the Dornish won't HATE the Lannisters. Heck, depending on how skillfully a surviving Tywin or Tyrion handles it, the Lannisters could convince the Dornish they were coming to rescue Elia and her children, who were being held hostage by a maniac.

I wonder if Sandor will survive? I imagine the worst of the damage will be at the Red Keep, but depending on how the wildfyre is distributed, there might be less-damaged portions of the city.

I imagine Cersei would be quite pissed at her little brother inheriting their father's lands. Would she try to "remove" him from the succession? On a related note, who would Cersei have married ITTL if not Robert? Prince Oberyn Martell, perhaps or Lancel Lannister/another Lannister cousin, to solidify her claim to Casterly Rock?

 

[MerryPrankster]

I imagine Cersei would be quite pissed at her little brother inheriting their father's lands. Would she try to "remove" him from the succession? On a related note, who would Cersei have married ITTL if not Robert? Prince Oberyn Martell, perhaps or Lancel Lannister/another Lannister cousin, to solidify her claim to Casterly Rock?

Cersei could be a problem for Tyrion.

I don't think Lancel has even been born at this point. If Cersei connives with a cadet branch to topple Tyrion, it would need to be with someone else.

I had the idea of Kevan Lannister, not out of hate for Tyrion but for the good of House Lannister*, but considering how I think he was REALLY upset by Cersei getting with Lancel in canon, I think the idea of marrying his niece would squick him out too. Didn't he have older sons though?

*It would be hard for Tyrion to find an appropriate wife, other Houses might not take Tyrion seriously as the Lord of Lannister, and if he does something rash like marrying a hooker he's impregnated, we might see a full-blown coup attempt by the cadet branches.

 

[MerryPrankster]

Okay, but since King's Landing is now mostly destroyed, where would Robert hold court until the city is rebuilt, which would likely take a LONG time to do, Storm's End? Dragonstone?

Dragonstone is so isolated and poor, that might be a problem.

Maybe Storm's End?

 

[MerryPrankster]

Hmm...I'm wondering if the butterflies from the incineration of King's Landing could affect the survival of Lyanna Stark? Maybe if Ned leaves for the south earlier, he arrives at the Tower of Joy earlier and is able to get help for Lyanna.

(I strongly suspect she died of an infection resulting from childbirth, given the references to a bloody bed and fever. Moving her before she gives birth or soon afterward might be prevent the infection.)

Although Cersei Lannister would still be quite the prize even with the Lannister army devastated, Robert might be more interested in his actual fiancee, "soiled" or not.

There's an interesting fan-fic involving a surviving Lyanna, a Robert who can be persuaded not to play warhammer-baseball with Rhaegar's bastard, and a very PO'd Cersei who's convinced Lyanna is trashing Rhaegar as a rapist to save her own reputation. The main beef I've got with it is that it depicts Jon Snow as Ned's son and "Rickard Snow" as the product of R/L.

(I suggested to the writer that in this situation, Robert could legitimize "Rickard" as a Targaryen and name him Lord of Dragonstone, in order to split the Targaryen loyalists between "Rickard" and the exiled Viserys and Danaerys. Robert might be willing to ignore the problems Rickard could present as a favor to Ned and Lyanna and because Babies Are Fun, but Jon Arryn could try to make political hay out of it.)

 

[Lurksalot]

Tyrion would have an uphill battle ahead. Somehow Tyrion would have to get his military to follow him. Once that's done, doubling down on the lesser houses would have to follow. Taking out 4 houses that snicker behind his back might do the trick due to 'treason' or some other trumped up charges. After becoming the 'evil dwarf', some houses might throw some lesser daughters his way.

Since Tyrion now controls Cersei's fate, he would have several options. The best being some kind of marriage to a Dothraki and shipping her across the ocean. The worst being any house on the same continent as Tyrion. Maybe he could force her to become the first woman on the wall.

 

[Desmond Hume]

With King's Landing burned, maybe Duskendale could be built into a new capital? It's in the crownlands (ie, not part of any great lord's territory), and a reasonably substantial port in its own right. The symbolism would be great for Robert, too: he gets to build himself a brand-new capital city just like Aegon did, helping to demonstrate his power and legitimacy. Jon Arryn would presumably realize that even if Robert was too drunk and/or stupid to.

Re: Tyrion, I'm pretty sure he was a minor at the time of the fall of King's Landing. From what I can remember, at that time Jaime and Cersei were about 16-17, and Tyrion is roughly 7-8 years younger than they are. So if Tywin dies, a regency for Tyrion led by Kevan Lannister is likely. Under these conditions, it shouldn't be that hard for Tyrion to find a wife; sure, he's a dwarf, but he's still super-rich as Lord of the Rock, he's a competent ruler, and the more unpleasant features of his book personality may not manifest themselves if he doesn't have to suffer another couple decades of Tywin's abuse.

 

[SilverPhantom2]

Dragonstone is so isolated and poor, that might be a problem.

Wait... what?

Dragonstone is far from isolated and far from poor. There are enough powerful Houses sworn to the island, even just for its symbolic value as the possession of the heir to the Iron Throne. Besides that the fact that Stannis was able to shutdown outside communication and still keep the island running (if not flourishing) definitely proves it's self-sustainable. If not, why would any one have considered Stannis a threat, most of all the Queen Dowager?

I could definitely see Robert taking his seat there, but I am digging this Duskendale thing...

Question. Would/could the Iron Throne survive? Would Robert have to find a new royal chair?