Hunt for the Last Dragon

Following the Witch's War, there was but one dragon left alive in the world, the dragon known as Sheepstealer. The last the beast had been seen had been when Nettles and the beast had flown off following her parting with the Rogue Prince at Maidenpool before his fateful duel with Aemond One-Eye over the God's Eye. Now the beast had returned and began to sew havoc in the Vale, prompting Lord Arryn to mount an expedition to kill it. So began the Hunt for the Last Dragon.

Prelude
Following the end of the Witch's War the Vale remained quiet for several years but things would not remain that way. The Mountain Clansmen would up their raids in the following years and many knights of the Vale were lost battling them. Even some of the captured clansmen spoke of a "great firebeast" in the mountains with a woman with skin of earth on its back. The Crown would investigate these claims and even an occasional sighting of what was thought to be a dragon seen in the mists over the Vale. Still, they would have no real evidence until 144 AC when Lord Arryn was hosting a tourney at the Gates of the Moon when the form of a dragon appeared over the Eyrie. Many of the onlookers scattered though the dragon never came down towards the crowds. The reports of the beast lead House Targaryen to realize that the beast was none other than Sheepstealer. The Royal Family was quickly obsessed with bringing the last dragon back into the fold, most of all Princess Rhaena, who was still grieving the loss of her dragon Morning.

The Plans
The Valemen had other ideas about the beast. The beast continued to appear more and more often in the Vale proper. It raided many farms, stealing sheep, cattle, and pigs from farmers. It was once the beast attacked a village and destroyed it early in 169 AC did the Valemen come together to act. Assembling the Lords of the Vale in the Gates of the Moon, Lord Arryn ordered his men to form a band to track down the lair of the beast and for the rest of the men to prepare an ambush for the dragon. Lord Corwyn Corbray and Princess Rhaena denounced the idea, stating that they should allow for the Royal Family to attempt to tame the beast, but Lord Arryn had made up his mind already.

Several knights and men-at-arms were chosen for the tracking band while the lords decided that they would set the bait for the dragon near Ironoaks. The tracking band would hunt down the dragon for moons, eventually finding the lair of the beast with the help of the Stone Crows. The Stone Crows had been attacked several times by the dragon and begrudgingly aided the Valemen in their quest. From there the band of men would go on the hunt the beast and prepare the trap.

The Hunt
The Hunt itself was far less impressive than many claimed it would be. The Stone Crows knew where the beast was and while the band had originally attempted to slay the beast at the lair, it soon became clear that they could not get anywhere close to the dragon without it becoming aware of their presence. Though it was not for lack of trying, several of the men attempted to take out the beast and while all perished, Ser Jon of the Fingers and Ser Harlan Stone, the Bastard of House Wydman, were credited with managing to wound the beast on their attempts to slay it. Still, these continued provocations did nothing but drive the dragon into more of a rage.

The band would manage to drive the beast to the air, where it would begin to attack the Vale in earnest. Large swaths of the Snakewood would burn, with House Lynderly’s castle being a part of it. The Fingers would suffer as well, with numerous villages and castles being burned along the way. Sheepstealer then made his way back into the Vale proper, setting the lands around Ironoaks aflame before turning towards the Giant’s Lance. Lord Arryn, in a desperate bid to kill the beast, devised a plan. He ordered a massive amount of sheep brought to the Gates of the Moon, where he had the best knights of the Vale prepare to do battle to the beast. Ballista were mounted upon the castle walls and men were all given bows in an attempt to slay the beast, with the promises of a lordship to the man that brought it down.

The Beast Falls
The beast would arrive over the Giant’s Lance one cloudless morning, and the men of the Vale waited with bated breath. The herd of sheep was far too tempting for the dragon to resist and he dove down and devoured many of them. At that moment, there was nothing but the noise of the dragon devouring his meal. Then the arrows rained down upon him, though his hide was tough and his scales were armored, though some still found their marks in between the scales and through his wings. Some knights, foolish as they were, attempted to charge the beast and were burned alive for their trouble. Sheepstealer took flight and shrieked with rage as the ballista atop the Gates of the Moon opened up on him, one bolt passing through a wing, catching the attention of the beast properly.

Sheepstealer descended upon the Gates of the Moon, as more ballista opened up on it. The dragon, hit with a glancing shot on his torso, crashing into one of the towers of the castle and sending men fleeing in terror. Men on the battlements attempted to shoot the beast as it lay stunned in a heap, one of its wings bent out of shape, but the dragon roused itself and bathed the battlements in fire before leaping from the ruins of the tower to the courtyard of the castle, where warriors and servants alike were fleeing in terror. It was then when a member of the castle’s groomsmen, a young man by the name of Cley charged the beast with his bow in hand, attempting to defend the steward of the Gates of the Moon who clutched in his hands the various documents and ledgers of the castle, but was too late when a swipe of Sheepstealer’s claw send the man back into the wall in a bloody heap. An arrow was loosed and found its mark, the eye of the beast. Sheepstealer let out a blood curdling shriek and collapsed into a heap

Aftermath
Following the death of Sheepstealer, Lord Arryn was gracious to all those that had partaken in the hunt for the beast. Gold and titles were distributed among those that were crucial to the death of the beast. The Crown expressed it’s immense displeasure at the murder of the dragon but the Lords of the Vale celebrated anyway as their home was now safe once more. As promised, the slayer of the beast was granted a bow to be fashioned from the bones of the dragon as well as a permanent seat at the Gates of the Moon for him and his family for the years to come. Cley would take the name Truemark as his house’s name and would forever be remembered as the man that killed the dragons.