1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,560 The Battle of the Burning Mill was the first battle of the 2 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:05,400 Dance of the Dragons, though it involved neither Dragons nor 3 00:00:05,400 --> 00:00:08,920 even Targaryens. The death of Prince Lucerus upon 4 00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:11,520 his dragon air acts was answered through vengeance with the 5 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:14,240 infamous incident known as Blood and Cheese. 6 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:17,040 The Blacks and Greens had each murdered a child of the other 7 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:20,560 side, quickly taking their family feud to full scale civil 8 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:24,760 war, full dragon scale civil war and beyond, the Dragons Fire and 9 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:28,760 Blood tells us. And all across the realm, Lords 10 00:00:28,760 --> 00:00:31,680 called their banners and armies began to March. 11 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:34,520 Fittingly, the 1st to take up arms against one another were 12 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:37,600 the two houses in Westeros most associated with feuding and 13 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:40,320 vengeance, House Bracken and House Blackwood. 14 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:42,720 The feud between two halves of the royal house was the perfect 15 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:46,080 excuse for those two to go at it again, and they did so quickly. 16 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:49,640 It's like they couldn't wait. This resulted in several tales 17 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:53,520 of heroism, a huge pile of bodies, and of course, as the 18 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:57,040 name tells us, a burned mill. We have in our podcast library a 19 00:00:57,040 --> 00:00:59,720 lengthy deep dive available on the entire history of the 20 00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:02,440 infinite Blackwood Bracken enmity, but this video is a 21 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:04,760 brief 1 dedicated to the first Battle of the Dance of the 22 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:07,320 Dragons, the Battle of the Burning Mill. 23 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:10,360 Hello and welcome to another history of Westeros lore video. 24 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:14,040 House of the Dragon has a much increased budget, but even with 25 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:16,720 one of the larger TV budgets ever, there is no way for them 26 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:20,480 to include every in the dance. There are a lot. 27 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:23,200 They couldn't possibly include every scene, let alone every 28 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:25,800 battle. And battles are crazy expensive. 29 00:01:25,960 --> 00:01:28,880 So we're here to detail some of the missing parts of Fire and 30 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:30,800 Blood. Make sure to subscribe and hit 31 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:33,240 the notification bell and also check out history of 32 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:35,640 westeros.com. Heron the Black was the first 33 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:38,160 king that Aegon the Conqueror took down to win his throne, and 34 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:41,000 when he marched on Herrenhall for the confrontation, many of 35 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:43,360 the river Lords deserted their king for the guy with the 36 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:45,800 gigantic dragon. Good call on their parts as the 37 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:48,840 place was soon a smoking ruin, though still functional enough 38 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:52,720 as a castle when it cooled off months later. 1200 more months 39 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:56,920 later, AKA a century after that, the realm's first Great Council 40 00:01:56,920 --> 00:01:59,480 was held, which we saw in the very first scene of House of the 41 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:02,240 Dragon at Herrenhall as it was in the books. 42 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:05,640 What we didn't see in the show is that Bracken and Blackwood as 43 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:09,280 usual took opposite sides in the voting at the Great Council 44 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:12,360 because of course they did. When the Dance broke out it 45 00:02:12,360 --> 00:02:15,920 happened again because if they were on the same side then how 46 00:02:15,920 --> 00:02:19,240 could they fight each other? Got to think, Prince Damon 47 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:23,000 Targaryen told the Black Council and Queen Rainiera on the eve of 48 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:26,320 war that Harrenhal was the place he would strike first, as it was 49 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:29,480 a central location from which to rally the loyal houses in the 50 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:31,840 region and large enough to actually host them. 51 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:35,480 All recognize that Herrenhall had both great strategic value 52 00:02:35,640 --> 00:02:38,840 and great symbolic power. Why not return to the place 53 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:41,600 where Aegon won the Riverlands to win it again? 54 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:45,560 Many would see it the same way and remember what happened to 55 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:48,720 those who defied him with initiative and the obvious yet 56 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:51,560 unspoken threat of Caraxes the Bloodworm. 57 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:54,520 He meant to win as many of the river Lords to his side as 58 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:58,080 possible, and with their help, they could overwhelm the rest. 59 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:02,240 Soon afterwards, fittingly, Damon landed on King's Fire 60 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:04,560 Tower, the place where King Heron burned to death. 61 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:08,280 And no castle in Westeros is a grander testament to the folly 62 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:11,360 of thinking a castle makes one safe against a dragon. 63 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:14,960 Heck, the place wasn't even safe against regular fire given the 64 00:03:14,960 --> 00:03:17,680 deaths of Sir Harwin and Lord Lionel 10 years prior. 65 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:21,440 Though to be fair, that particular incident was quite 66 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:23,480 suspicious, but it's a tale for another time. 67 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:26,640 Lord Lionel's brother, Sir Simon Strong, the elderly castellan, 68 00:03:26,640 --> 00:03:29,760 survived that incident and was unwilling to let the place taste 69 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:33,120 any sort of flame again, dragon or regular, so Harrenhal 70 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:34,880 submitted without a fight to Prince Damon. 71 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:38,800 When Sir Simon was young, he may have had living relatives who 72 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:42,440 actually saw Valerian's grandstone melting display, so 73 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:44,200 for many reasons it's hard to blame him. 74 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:47,440 And he may have preferred the blacks anyway, perhaps believing 75 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:50,560 Lord Lars responsible for the fire, as many did. 76 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:54,120 The surrender yielded further success for Prince Damon. 77 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:56,640 When? Prince Damon sent forth his call 78 00:03:56,640 --> 00:03:59,320 to arms. They rose up all along the 79 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:03,280 rivers, Knights and men at arms and humble peasants who yet 80 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:07,680 remembered the Realms Delight, so beloved of her father and the 81 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:11,440 way she smiled and charmed them as she made her progress through 82 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:14,720 the Riverlands in her youth. Hundreds and then thousands 83 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:19,040 buckled on their sword belts and donned their mail or grabbed a 84 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:23,600 pitchfork or a hoe and a crude wooden shield and began to make 85 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:27,520 their way to Harrenhal to fight for Viserys little girl. 86 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:32,440 The Lords of the Trident, having more to lose, were not so quick 87 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:37,120 to move, but soon enough they too began to throw their lots in 88 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:39,160 with the Queen. The sources tell us that the 89 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:41,760 houses to raise their banners to Queen Rainier and ride for 90 00:04:41,760 --> 00:04:47,040 Herrenhal were Frey, Mooten, Piper, Root Dairy, Malister and 91 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:50,080 Vance of Wayfarers Rest. The Blackwoods raised the banner 92 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:52,960 of Queen Rainier as well, but did not ride for Herrenhal. 93 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:55,560 Instead, they rode straight for Bracken territory. 94 00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:57,960 Remember what I said about Dazers for waiting for an 95 00:04:57,960 --> 00:05:00,280 excuse? Yeah, they sacked villages, 96 00:05:00,280 --> 00:05:03,360 burned crops, drove off herds of livestock to their own 97 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:06,880 homelands, and despoiled septs. We suspect they sent a Raven to 98 00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:09,320 Prince Damon, however, to tell him of their plans. 99 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:12,160 Given what happened next, House Bracken's response was 100 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:14,040 predictable. No stranger to war with the 101 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:16,920 Blackwoods, Sir Amos Bracken sent the command to muster at 102 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:20,480 Stonehedge so as to March on them in turn, and quickly, with 103 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:21,720 the motivation of a Blackwood attack. 104 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:22,960 It probably didn't take very long. 105 00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:25,480 No one is more hated in Bracken lands than the Blackwoods, of 106 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:28,400 course, and they had a fresh outrage to get fired up about. 107 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:30,080 They wouldn't be the only thing that got fired up. 108 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:33,360 Sir Amos had gathered a strong army and the March to Blackwood 109 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:35,640 territory from Stonehedge is a short enough trek. 110 00:05:35,840 --> 00:05:38,440 But he perhaps underestimated his foes. 111 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:42,320 Anger can make a man stupid, and these Brackens do hate these 112 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:44,200 Blackwoods. One night, the Bracken army 113 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:47,360 camped by a Riverside mill, and the Blackwood army struck them 114 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:49,400 unawares. The river in question is very 115 00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:52,200 likely the Red Fork, which divides much of Bracken and 116 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:55,560 Blackwood territory, but we're not sure entirely. 117 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:57,960 There's other smaller rivers and tributaries, some that don't 118 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:00,920 even show up on the map. Either way, it's very likely the 119 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:04,520 Brackens camped on their side of this river, which would partly 120 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:07,840 explain how they got caught unawares by the ambush that 121 00:06:07,840 --> 00:06:09,360 came. The Blackwoods of course knew 122 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:11,640 the Brackens would be coming and laid a trap. 123 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:14,080 We're not really sure how sorry Miss didn't see this coming. 124 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:17,120 Could it be that he didn't send out scouts or post sentries in 125 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:19,880 his camp? Perhaps rage made him blind. 126 00:06:19,880 --> 00:06:23,360 Or perhaps he did send out scouts and posted watch, but the 127 00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:26,560 Blackwoods were just too sneaky. Perhaps the famous red robbed 128 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:29,000 rivers called the Bowman of Raven Tree and considered the 129 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:31,400 finest Archer in Westeros picked them all off. 130 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:34,440 Perhaps this generation of Blackwoods had a skin changer in 131 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:36,600 their midst. It's not very likely, but it's 132 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:39,720 certainly possible, and such a man or woman would be very 133 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:43,160 helpful in scouting the enemy or scouting the enemy's scouts. 134 00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:47,080 Perhaps it was this very same famous red robbed rivers called 135 00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:50,120 the Bowman of Raven Tree and considered the finest Archer. 136 00:06:50,120 --> 00:06:51,400 Again, you've heard that part already. 137 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:55,560 Anyway, regardless of why the ambush was successful, we're 138 00:06:55,560 --> 00:06:58,960 told that. Men fought and died for hours, 139 00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:01,760 bathed in the red light of the flames. 140 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:05,400 The flames came from, of course, the very same burning mill that 141 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:08,600 the battle is named for. We're not given A cause for the 142 00:07:08,600 --> 00:07:11,560 fire, and it may have been a simple accident, but it may be 143 00:07:11,560 --> 00:07:14,600 that the mill was set ablaze by the Blackwoods to distract the 144 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:16,920 Bracken camp just before their surprise attack. 145 00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:20,360 What a spectacle that must have been, a spinning wheel of fire 146 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:23,800 while a battle is happening, but there's no time to enjoy it 147 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:27,600 again given the battle and all all the fighting and killing and 148 00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:31,680 deeply held hatred and all that. All we know for sure is that the 149 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:33,640 mill burned while the battle blazed. 150 00:07:33,640 --> 00:07:36,760 The first battle of the Dance of the Dragons was very well lit 151 00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:39,360 thanks to that burning mill. And this epic display of fire 152 00:07:39,360 --> 00:07:41,880 happened despite the lack of Dragons. 153 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:44,880 Hey, the Dance of the Dragons first battle and it didn't even 154 00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:46,520 have Dragons. It would have been a tale worth 155 00:07:46,520 --> 00:07:49,520 telling for those who survived, but the casualty count was high, 156 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:52,280 leaving fewer candidates to tell the tale. 157 00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:55,080 The battle lasted for hours, it says, which means the element of 158 00:07:55,080 --> 00:07:58,000 surprise alone was not enough to win the day for the ambushers. 159 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:00,760 Lord Samwell Blackwood and his men clearly devised a cunning 160 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:03,840 plan, but if Sir Amos Bracken was incompetent in leading his 161 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:07,080 men before the battle, he proved at least somewhat worthy during 162 00:08:07,080 --> 00:08:09,640 it because they lasted quite a while. 163 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:12,880 And yeah, gave good account. Sir Amos and his men made a 164 00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:15,880 capable stand, fighting off the Blackwood attackers well enough 165 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:18,360 that the battle hung in the balance for quite a while. 166 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:21,200 Eventually the two leaders found each other and came to blows in 167 00:08:21,200 --> 00:08:23,360 single combat. Perhaps it was the chaos of the 168 00:08:23,360 --> 00:08:26,040 struggle that brought them together by chance, but we 169 00:08:26,040 --> 00:08:29,080 suspect at some point Lord Blackwood decided to go straight 170 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:31,400 for Sir Amos Bracken. Though it might have been the 171 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:33,400 reverse. Sir Amos coming for him. 172 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:35,159 Maybe they just went for each other. 173 00:08:35,159 --> 00:08:36,840 I mean, it's Bracken and Blackwood. 174 00:08:36,919 --> 00:08:39,400 Bracken would have reason to be confident, however, because it 175 00:08:39,400 --> 00:08:41,919 wasn't the first time these two had crossed swords. 176 00:08:42,039 --> 00:08:45,120 Almost two decades prior to the Battle of the Burning Mill, a 177 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:48,480 much younger Samwell Blackwood, not yet Lord of Raven Tree Hall 178 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:52,120 at the time, and the very same Sir Amos Bracken fought a duel 179 00:08:52,280 --> 00:08:55,360 to win the favor and perhaps hand in marriage of none other 180 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:58,640 than Princess Rainier herself when she visited the Trident in 181 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:01,160 the year 112. Sir Amos, as I said, won the 182 00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:03,680 duel that day long ago. Not to mention the acclaim of 183 00:09:03,680 --> 00:09:06,240 all Brackens and the tears of all Blackwoods, which must have 184 00:09:06,240 --> 00:09:08,440 been sweet for him. But he didn't get the Princess, 185 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:10,080 which must have been sour for him. 186 00:09:10,080 --> 00:09:12,680 Rainier hadn't agreed to marry the winner and was unmoved 187 00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:15,560 despite the contest, which was not a fight to the death, as you 188 00:09:15,560 --> 00:09:17,520 can see, because here we have a rematch. 189 00:09:17,560 --> 00:09:19,200 But the Battle of the Burning Mill was just that. 190 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:22,440 The dead lay all around them. The second chance did not pay 191 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:24,280 off. Amidst the chaos and darkness 192 00:09:24,280 --> 00:09:27,680 and fire, Sir Amos slew Lord Samwell, no doubt with many of 193 00:09:27,680 --> 00:09:29,960 their retainers and loyal men around them watching. 194 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:33,800 And at least one woman, Lord Samwell's sister, Black Alley 195 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:36,400 Blackwood, who hadn't yet been born when he lost that first 196 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:40,200 duel, saw her brother fall and acted quickly, drawing her bow 197 00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:42,560 on Sir Amos. He likely didn't see her. 198 00:09:42,560 --> 00:09:45,560 He was distracted not just by the battle, but by his own 199 00:09:45,560 --> 00:09:47,160 success. I mean, he had just achieved 200 00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:50,200 eternal glory. What better victory is there for 201 00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:52,320 a Bracken than to kill a Blackwood, and no Greater 202 00:09:52,320 --> 00:09:55,120 Blackwood than the actual Lord of Raven Tree Hall? 203 00:09:55,160 --> 00:09:59,400 Sir Amos must have felt absolute elation, but then he felt 204 00:09:59,640 --> 00:10:02,720 nothing at all, because whatever Black Alley was feeling in the 205 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:06,160 moment, it did not affect her aim, which was legendary. 206 00:10:06,360 --> 00:10:09,840 She fired a weirwood arrow right through the slit in Sir Amos's 207 00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:12,440 helm and deep into his skull. He was probably dead before he 208 00:10:12,440 --> 00:10:14,240 hit the ground. She must have known that acting 209 00:10:14,240 --> 00:10:16,760 earlier might have saved her brother's life, but maybe she 210 00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:18,200 just didn't have a clean shot before. 211 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:20,400 Or maybe it would be dishonorable to shoot Sir Amos 212 00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:22,280 while he was in single combat with her brother. 213 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:24,600 Or perhaps she was overconfident that her brother would win. 214 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:26,200 Probably not a good idea if true. 215 00:10:26,280 --> 00:10:29,240 But again, these Blackwoods really hate these Brackens, and 216 00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:32,400 judgement can be clouded. Either way, she earned about as 217 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:35,720 much a claim as Sir Amos had by killing her Lord brother, and 218 00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:37,920 unlike Sir Amos, she lived to tell about it. 219 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:41,400 I bet Black Alley Blackwood never paid for her own drinks 220 00:10:41,400 --> 00:10:44,640 again in Blackwood lands. I mean, what a shot, what a 221 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:47,320 kill, and it's a Bracken. But before she could cash in on 222 00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:49,560 her newfound fame, the battle raged a bit longer. 223 00:10:49,560 --> 00:10:52,360 It didn't just end right there. The element of surprise and the 224 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:54,920 fall of Sir Amos had given the Blackwoods an edge, and though 225 00:10:54,920 --> 00:10:58,320 they took many losses against a foe honed on countless 226 00:10:58,320 --> 00:11:01,760 generations of hate, their advantage began to manifest. 227 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:04,760 Sir Raylan Rivers, the half brother of Sir Amos, took 228 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:08,000 command after his fall, but he was unable to change the 229 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:11,280 eventual outcome, which saw the Bracken army in flight with the 230 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:14,920 Blackwoods in pursuit and a huge mass of corpses left behind on 231 00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:16,680 both sides. Though the Blackwoods won. 232 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:18,640 Yeah, their losses were massive too. 233 00:11:18,680 --> 00:11:21,600 Earlier, we suggested the possibility, if not likelihood, 234 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:24,480 that Lord Blackwood communicated his plan of attack on the 235 00:11:24,480 --> 00:11:26,440 Brackens to Prince Damon. Let's return to that. 236 00:11:26,560 --> 00:11:28,240 And it's not suggested in the text. 237 00:11:28,560 --> 00:11:32,840 So let's briefly explain what we mean by attacking the Brackens 238 00:11:32,840 --> 00:11:35,720 with Raiders. The Blackwoods knew the Brackens 239 00:11:35,720 --> 00:11:39,240 would gather their forces to give answer, as they no doubt 240 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:42,520 had done many times before, just as the Blackwoods have answered 241 00:11:42,520 --> 00:11:45,720 Bracken depredations many times over the past as well. 242 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:49,080 The feud has restarted over very small provocations, and this was 243 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:51,520 a large one. They despoiled Sept after all, 244 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:53,080 and it was a completely unprovoked attack. 245 00:11:53,080 --> 00:11:55,360 The point here is that the Blackwoods knew the Brackens 246 00:11:55,360 --> 00:11:57,280 would respond. We also pointed out that Sir 247 00:11:57,280 --> 00:12:00,880 Amos brought a strong force, meaning a lot of men, and that 248 00:12:00,880 --> 00:12:03,400 he may have also underestimated his foe. 249 00:12:03,400 --> 00:12:06,600 While the Battle of Burning Mill raged West of Stonehedge, all 250 00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:09,320 those earlier mentioned river Lords who gathered at Harrenhal 251 00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:12,320 struck the undefended Bracken Castle from the east. 252 00:12:12,520 --> 00:12:16,000 All those dairies, roots, pipers, phrase vances and 253 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:19,600 moutons, etcetera were led by Prince Damon on Caraxes in a 254 00:12:19,600 --> 00:12:21,760 storming of the castle. There's no detail given here 255 00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:23,840 other than that that they stormed the castle and we 256 00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:25,960 suspect that's because it was so one sided. 257 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:29,440 There's not much to describe. With so few defenders on hand, 258 00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:31,960 the castle fell quickly. The bloodworms role may have 259 00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:35,320 been minimal enough other than terrifying the defenders who 260 00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:37,000 must have had very little hope, if any. 261 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:40,160 In fact, they were probably glad to surrender. 262 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:44,000 Lord Humphrey Bracken, along with his family and household, 263 00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:46,440 were made captives in their own ancestral seat. 264 00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:48,280 Presumably he's the one who surrendered since he's in 265 00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:50,040 charge. It was probably only a matter of 266 00:12:50,040 --> 00:12:53,680 days later at most when Sir Raylan Rivers arrived, leading 267 00:12:53,680 --> 00:12:55,800 the survivors from the West. It may have been only one day 268 00:12:55,800 --> 00:12:58,640 later, and he would not have failed to notice that King Egg 269 00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:00,880 on the Second's banner was missing from Stonehedge. 270 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:03,000 With Queen Rainier as Banner in its place. 271 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:04,840 It might have been confusing at first. 272 00:13:05,080 --> 00:13:07,400 Did he think perhaps Lord Humphrey had decided to switch 273 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:09,360 sides after their loss so quickly? 274 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:14,160 Or perhaps seen as men simply just saw Caraxes sitting there 275 00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:16,080 and needed no further explanation? 276 00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:19,960 Like, oh, I guess we lost Either way, he surrendered, given the 277 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:22,680 hopelessness of the situation. And Lord Humphrey had already 278 00:13:22,680 --> 00:13:25,000 had surrendered, so his own Lord had surrendered. 279 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:27,480 What else is there to do? Lord Humphrey would also learn 280 00:13:27,480 --> 00:13:30,520 soon after with sorrow that his son Sir Amos fell during the 281 00:13:30,520 --> 00:13:33,160 fighting. But he would have also gotten 282 00:13:33,160 --> 00:13:38,000 the silver lining that his son died bravely and killed the Lord 283 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:42,120 Blackwood before his own fall. Which, again, that puts him in 284 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:44,960 Bracken Valhalla. No Blackwood could actually 285 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:48,560 stand before Sir Amos. It took a cowardly arrow, Lord 286 00:13:48,560 --> 00:13:51,880 Bracken might say, but words would be about all he had to do. 287 00:13:51,880 --> 00:13:54,880 Anything other than bend the knee would mean his head or 288 00:13:54,880 --> 00:13:58,440 death by fire, and that would be Prince Damon's choice. 289 00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:00,800 And it's not hard to see why he chose life instead. 290 00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:03,240 The fall of Stonehedge was enough to end all support for 291 00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:05,800 the Greens and the Riverlands. For the time being, anyway. 292 00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:08,440 Raven Tree Hall's reaction would likely have been somber. 293 00:14:08,640 --> 00:14:11,360 A great victory, but at the cost of their Lord. 294 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:15,960 Yeah, but Benjicott Blackwood, later known as Bloody Ben, took 295 00:14:15,960 --> 00:14:19,440 his father's seat, ascending at the age of only 11. 296 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:21,480 Dragonstone was soon informed as well. 297 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:25,240 Prince Damon Plan had worked. Riverlands was theirs. 298 00:14:25,240 --> 00:14:26,600 The Red Keep was informed as well. 299 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:28,840 King Egon the Second had been assured their claim to the 300 00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:31,200 throne would go off with few problems and that if there was 301 00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:33,520 going to be violence, the Greens would have the upper hand. 302 00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:37,040 Yet Harrenhal Stonehedge had fallen already, thanks to the 303 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:39,800 Battle of the Burning Mill, and with it all of the Riverlands. 304 00:14:39,880 --> 00:14:42,520 And what did the Greens won? If he had asked, well, he might 305 00:14:42,520 --> 00:14:44,360 have been met with silence, stammering. 306 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:47,360 Not to mention his son had just been murdered within his own 307 00:14:47,360 --> 00:14:49,680 castle. He'd either been lied to, or his 308 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:52,000 counsel had seriously aired in judgement, perhaps to the point 309 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:55,000 of incompetence or both. His elation of being crowned had 310 00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:58,080 been replaced by dread. The Iron Throne gave him a sense 311 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:00,880 of absolute power, but that had gone up in flames like the 312 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:03,760 unnamed mill, leaving him seized with paranoia. 313 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:06,120 In the state of mind, he began to make changes to his counsel 314 00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:09,080 and showed an increasing desire to personally join the war on 315 00:15:09,080 --> 00:15:11,760 his dragon Sunfire, despite the risk to his own person. 316 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:13,880 Battle of the Burning Mill didn't just begin the war in the 317 00:15:13,880 --> 00:15:17,080 Riverlands and in Westeros, it began the war within the Green 318 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:18,880 Council. King Agon the Second needed an 319 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:21,640 outlet for his rage and frustration, and that had grave 320 00:15:21,640 --> 00:15:23,320 implications for the rest of the day. 321 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:25,600 Dance of the Dragons, Don't forget to check out our 322 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:28,880 immersive deep dive into the Blackwood Bracken conflict link 323 00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:31,480 in the description, along with all our House of the Dragon and 324 00:15:31,480 --> 00:15:33,840 House Targaryen coverage. We've been doing this since 325 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:38,440 2012. Until next time Valar reread us.