The Wars of the Waters, as it came to be known, was an armed conflict that occurred in the year 306 AC. Taking place in the Narrow Sea, the war was fought between the Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, Aegon VI Targaryen, and the Pirate King of the Stepstones, Aurane Waters.
Background[]
During the War of the Five Kings, Lord Mace Tyrell had served as Master of Ships to King Joffrey Baratheon for a short period of time, before being removed from the Small Council by Cersei Lannister, the Queen Regent.
With Lord Mace's removal, Cersei had the positioned renamed to Grand Admiral, and granted the seat to Aurane Waters, a young Velaryon bastard who had fought as a sellsail for Stannis Baratheon on the Blackwater.
As Grand Admiral, Waters was granted funds to construct ten new war dromonds for the Royal Fleet. The dromonds were built rapidly, and Waters had them immediately deployed in order to keep the peace. However, unbeknownst to all, peace was not the aim of the Velaryon bastard.
Shortly thereafter, news began to spread that the Grand Admiral had fled the Blackwater with his ten new dromonds, and that a new pirate king, styling himself the Lord of the Waters, had set up a den at Torturer's Deep. It was believed that the two men were one and the same, though confirmation of this would not be received for many years to come.
War[]
Prelude[]
Perhaps remiss in doing so, King Aegon VI had allowed the existence of this new Pirate King for many years. In truth, Aurane Waters' departure from Westeros with his massive dromonds was a blessing to Aegon's invasion, who would not have been able to fight the might of the Royal Fleet's new ships.
At first, this was an easy action to overlook, as the pirate did little to harry the Westerosi, their ships or their shores. Soon enough though, the Pirate King's greed grew, and his focus shifted from Essosi vessels and shores, to any and all his ships could find, the Westerosi included.
By 306 AC, the Dornish coast was under threat of the newly-formed Pirate Kingdom at the Stepstones, and the problem was one King Aegon could no longer ignore. Unfortunately, the Royal Fleet had been severely damaged in the War of the Five Kings, and the replacement ships were those the Revenant King now found himself fighting.
As such, the King had to look elsewhere for aid, and found it in Lord Paxter Redwyne. The Redwyne Fleet had suffered losses of their own, at the hands of Euron Greyjoy, and Lord Paxter was hesitant to put his most valued resource through such trauma again. With no choice but to secure Lord Paxter's aid, King Aegon agreed to wed his daughter Rhaenys to Lord Paxter's grandson, Abelar, when they both came of age, and named him his new Master of Ships.
The Fighting Begins[]
With the securing of the Redwyne Fleet, King Aegon began raising an army. Drawing on men from the Crownlands - notably those from Crackclaw Point, and men who had once served in the Golden Company, Aegon mustered a sizable army, more than enough to crush a small pirate force on a handful of small islands.
However, the Pirate King's strength and influence had only grown in the six years since his ascension. His strong fleet had grown stronger, and the rest of the Stepstones had come to his side, seeking the plunder and riches he offered them.
Though a formidable fleet, it was ultimately no match for the Redwyne Fleet - one of the largest and strongest in Westeros. Over one hundred and fifty ships sailed to the Stepstones, and engaged the pirate ships there, in the narrow and twisted waters they called home.
Though they held a significant advantage in their knowledge of the seas and the islands, the sheer numerical superiority of the Redwyne Fleet pushed the Pirate King's fleet back. The Battle off Bloodstone was the first engagement of the war, and secured the Royal forces the seas around Bloodstone - the largest and most pivotal of the islands.
Assault by Land[]
Having secured the seas around Bloodstone, the invasion of the islands proper had begun. Aegon landed his troops at Bloodstone first, some four thousand of them, to take the island, while the remaining ships of the Redwyne Fleet moved from island to island, doing the same.
The Battle off Bloodstone had significantly weakened the pirate fleet, and seeing many of his ships sunk, the Pirate King began to show his true colors. While many of the pirates remained on their ships and on their islands, ready to fight, Aurane Waters fled to Torturer's Deep, the den where he had established his seat.
Their ships were strong, but the pirates lacked soldiers, and discipline. The sight of their charismatic King running scared weakened their defence of their islands, and his flight to Torturer's Deep gave Aegon a direct path to Aurane himself. While his forces secured the other islands, largely without a fight, Aegon made for the Pirate King.
End of the Pirate King[]
With their King cowering before the dragon, the pirates soon faltered, and before long there was nothing defending Aurane Waters from the wrath of King Aegon. Even at Torturer's Deep, there was no fighting. Aegon had brought too many men and too many ships, and the pirates had lost their will to fight for their King.
Aurane Waters sought clemency, making claims that is was not him nor his ships that harassed the coasts of Dorne. King Aegon did not listen, imprisoning the King instead and taking him back to the capital. There, with the considerations of House Velaryon, Aurane Waters was executed before an onlooking crowd.
Aftermath[]
With the death of Aurane Waters, the Pirate Kingdom of the Stepstones dissolved, and King Aegon elected not to seize the islands as his own, knowing Essosi retaliation was a very real concern. Paxter Redwyne was given his seat on the Small Council, and the betrothal of Princess Rhaenys and the young Abelar Redwyne was finalized.
Once again, King Aegon was praised for his victory in war, praise that he was quick to share with Lord Paxter and House Redwyne. The war against Aurane Waters - or the War of the Waters, as it came to be known, pressed the necessity of reparations to Westeros' various fleets. Over the coming years, the fleets of the Seven Kingdoms were restored to their proper strengths, ending the years of weakness inflicted by the War of the Five Kings.