History Literature / ASongOfIceAndFire

About 300 years before the story begins, Westeros was finally united under one man as a man from Valyria, Aegon Targaryen, called "Aegon TheConqueror," managed to get the fealty of (six of the) Seven Kingdoms. He managed to succeed where others had failed because Valyrians are {{Dragon Rider}}s, and flying flamethrowers have the edge over medieval knights in most cases. He founded a new capitol, crowned himself king, and ''[[BrotherSisterIncest married his sisters]],'' intending to preserve the MysticalWhiteHair and MysteriousPurple eyes of Valyria, and to prove that Targaryens are above the laws of gods and men. That may be true, but they are not above the laws of genetics, and by the year 285 [[HitSoHardTheCalendarFeltIt After Conquest]], RoyalInbreeding had done a number on House Targaryen; the secrets of dragon husbandry had been lost, and the most recent king, Aerys II, was called "[[TheCaligula the Mad]]" because he, uh, [[BluntYes was]]. A young lord named Robert Baratheon had his fiancée Lyanna abducted by Aerys's son; when King Aerys learned of this, he perpetrated a RevealingCoverup by simply having all of the fiancée's friends murdered. Robert, his BestFriend Lord Eddard Stark (also his fiancée's older brother), and their surrogate parent Lord Jon Arryn all rebelled, and the resulting CivilWar, the "War of TheUsurper," ended with the downfall of House Targaryen and King Robert on the throne. ...Though without Lyanna, who died during the war.