Battle of the Gullet

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Battle in the Gullet
Conflict Dance of the Dragons
Place Gullet
Result The Greens/Three Daughters victory
Combatants
The Blacks The Greens
Kingdom of the Three Daughters
Commanders
Prince Jacaerys Velaryon Admiral Sharako Lohar
Strength
The Velaryon fleet
Vermax
Silverwing
Sheepstealer
Seasmoke
Vermithor
A fleet of 90 warships
Casualties
Prince Jacaerys Velaryon
Vermax
33% of the Velaryon fleet
Driftmark
62 warships

The Battle in the Gullet is a sea battle that took place in the Gullet during the Dance of the Dragons. It remains amongst the bloodiest sea battles in all of history. [1]

Prelude

After the fall of Harrenhal to Prince Daemon Targaryen and further blows to the Greens Ser Otto Hightower King Aegon II’s Hand hatched a plan to break the Velaryon fleet’s blockade of the Gullet. Ser Otto reached out across the narrow sea to enemies of Prince Daemon – the Kingdom of the Three Daughters, hoping to persuade them to move against the Sea Snake.

Ser Otto’s plan took time and Aegon II eventually ran out of patience with his grandfather's prevarications and tore the chain of office from his neck and tossed it to Ser Criston Cole.

However the schemes of Ser Otto eventually bore fruit - meeting in Tyrosh the High Council of the Triarchy accepted his offer of alliance. Ninety warships, commanded by Triarchy’s admiral Sharako Lohar of Lys, swept from the Stepstones under the banners of the Three Daughters, bending their oars for the Gullet.

Meanwhile, on Dragonstone it was decided by Prince Jace that his half-brothers Aegon and Viserys would be fostered with a prince of Pentos until Rhaenys had secured the Iron Throne and they departed on the Pentoshi cog the Gay Abandon towards the end of 129 AC. The Sea Snake sent seven of his warships with them as escort.

Capture of the Gay Abandon

As chance would have it the Gay Abandon carrying the two Targaryen Princes sailed straight into the teeth of the Three Daughters fleet which had sailed up to the Gullet. The Gay Abandon was taken captive her escorts sunk or captured. Possessed only of a dragon egg, Prince Viserys had no way of escaping from the cog and was made captive.

Escape of Prince Aegon

Nine-year-old Aegon the Younger managed to escape the captured Gay Abandon by flying away on his young dragon Stormcloud. The sailors attempted to bring them down and Stormcloud was terribly wounded as he fled, stubs of countless arrows became embedded in his belly and there was a scorpion bolt through his neck. Nevertheless they managed to fly to Dragonstone where Aegon delivered the news of the new threat from the east.

Battle

Arrival of Prince Jacaerys on Vermax

Prince Jacaerys flew on his dragon to put a stop to the Three Daughters fleet. He arrived and swept down upon a line of Lysene galleys, a rain of spears and arrows rose up to meet him and Vermax. The sailors of the Triarchy had faced dragons before while warring on the Stepstones and they were prepared to meet dragonflame with the weapons they had at their disposal. Their captains commanded them to kill the rider so that his dragon would depart. One ship caught on fire and then another, but the men of the Free Cities kept fighting - until more winged shapes come around the Dragonmont and turned towards their fleet.

Arrival of Five More Dragons

With their dragonriders Silverwing, Sheepstealer, Seasmoke and Vermithor descended upon the Three Daughters fleet, and the courage of the men of the Triarchy deserted them, the line of warships shattered as one galley after another turned away from the dragons. The five dragons fell like thunderbolts, spitting balls of fire. Ship after ship burst asunder or was consumed by fire. Screaming men leapt into the sea shrouded in fire and black columns of smoke rose up from the water.

Vermax & Prince Jacaerys Fall in Battle

All was lost for the Three Daughters during the Battle of the Gullet - until Vermax flew too low and went crashing down into the sea. There are several tales as to how and why the dragon died. Survivors said he struggled to rise from the sea but crashed headlong into a burning galley and became entangled in the rigging. When the ship heeled over and sank, Vermax sank with her.

It was said that Prince Jacaerys leapt free and clung to smoking wreckage until some Myrish crossbowmen on the nearest Myrish ships began loosing quarrels at him. The prince was stuck many times and one quarrel finally took him in through the neck and Prince Jacaerys was swallowed by the sea.

Attack on Driftmark

North and south of Dragonstone the battle raged into the night. The Three Daughters fleet chose to bypass Dragonstone, perhaps believing that it was to strong to assault, but they exacted a grievous toll on the island of Driftmark.

Spicetown was brutally sacked. The bodies of men, women and children were butchered in the streets and left as carrion. High Tide was put to the torch; all of the treasures the Sea Snake had brought back with his from the east were consumed by fire. His servants were cut down as they tried to flee the flame.

Aftermath

Thousands died. High Tide had been ravaged. The town of Spicetown was never rebuilt. The Velaryon fleet lost almost a third of its strength. Yet none of those losses were felt so deeply by the Blacks as that of Prince Jacaerys Velaryon.

Although the Three Daughters won the battle they too suffered tremendous losses. The Triarchy’s admiral Sharako Lohar of Lys took a combined fleet of 90 warships from the Stepstones but only 28 survived to limp home, meaning that 68 ships were lost in the battle.

Quotes

Yet none of those losses were felt so deeply as that of Jacaerys Velaryon, Prince of Dragonstone and heir to the Iron Throne. [2]

- Archmaester Gyldayn

References and Notes