Wars for Whitegrove

The Wars for Whitegrove were a pair of conflicts between House Tarly and House Peake, declared by the former based on an ancient claim to the castle of Whitegrove.

Background
In 163 AC, the Lord of House Tarly discovered a document listing his family heritage in a library at Horn Hill. It listed ancient marriages, alliances, and lords thought long-forgotten. Yet of greatest interest to the Lord of Horn Hill was a marriage to the last of a house line, a house that once ruled the now-Peake controlled castle of Whitegrove. Seeing his opportunity to seize a castle through legal reasons (if dubious ones), the man put a plan into action.

The First War
After discovering his new claim, Lord Tarly gathered a force at Horn Hill. He had no allies, no support from Highgarden, but the strength of his own levies and that of his vassals were enough to form a fearsome host. Soon enough, he marched towards Whitegrove and laid siege to the relatively unguarded castle. Save for its garrison, Whitegrove was nearly empty of House Peake's presence, and Lord Tarly supposed he would have an easy time.

When Lord Peake arrived with a host to rival the besiegers and a hidden force inside the castle revealed itself, it became evident that he was wrong. The Lord of Starpike did not hesitate or offer negotiations, but simply charged forth and pinned Tarly between the two forces. It would have been a slaughter of great proportions if a horn had not blow from a hill to the north of the battle, a greater army than the two combatants added together appearing on the ridge. Ahead of the force rode Lord Paramount Lyonel Tyrell and his honour guard, ordering Lord Tarly and Peake to lay down their arms and meet with him.

Lyonel demanded Lord Tarly return home and provide reparations to Lord Peake for the damage and deaths caused, whilst Lord Peake would not pursue any further action.

It was not a negotiation as much as an ultimatum. No denial nor objection was given from either side, and the war was over. For now.

The Second War
Twenty-seven years later and the tension left in the wake of the last war came to an inevitable head. Lord Tarly once more mustered an army to besiege Whitegrove, though Lord Peake caught wind far earlier and gathered an army to meet his enemy out on the road. Both men marched to Whitegrove, and Lord Peake was able to reach his destination first, fortifying and ensuring that Lord Tarly would have a hard task ahead of him.

It was a task that the Lord of Horn Hill was willing to take. Drawing up battle lines, it seemed that the events of the last war would repeat themselves. Charging forwards, the two sides met in bloody combat - just as grim and deadly as last year, though with Lord Tarly having an empty rear flank it was less of a slaughter. When that familiar sound came from the ridge to the north, it was heard that Lord Peake began to laugh. Yet Lyonel Tyrell was not there this time. Ser Eustace Tyrell, regent of the Mander, rode ahead of his army - yet not with an honour guard but a vanguard, lances lowered and war drums banging. Much of Eustace's army remained on the ridge, under the command of Eustace's eldest son Harys who seemed to have disobeyed his father's orders.

Under the command of their regent and future lord, the knights of the Reach charged and met with the lines of both Peake and Tarly. Eustace Tyrell did not discriminate - to him it was simply a chance to prove his valour and worth.

Both Lord Tarly and Lord Peake ceased fighting and dropped to their knees, yielding to their liege's son out of both confusion and fear for their lives. With this seeming victory, Eustace Tyrell wheeled his vanguard around and rode back to his host. Another war had ended, with no assurance there would be no third war soon after.

Aftermath
Upon his return to Highgarden, Eustace received a letter from his father in Highgarden dramatically condemning his actions at Whitegrove. Everyone knew the contents of the letter, for Lyonel Tyrell (and his grandson Harys, who had given him the information) were not quiet about it at court in King's Landing. Yet Eustace never showed it to anyone, having thrown it into the fires of the blacksmith at Highgarden.

From the Wars of Whitegrove, two lessons were learned. Lyonel Tyrell was wise, a Lord Paramount with an iron gauntlet and a silken glove beneath. Eustace Tyrell was neither of these things - his gauntlet was tin, and he was nothing like his father. Easy to take advantage of, yet dangerous and unpredictable.