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One day had passed, seven days remained until the tournament was to begin, and more and more people were arriving, traveling from afar to witness it.
During that time, Tyrion spent some time socializing with the Martells, and he truly became friends with Oberyn—perhaps his first genuine friend since Jaime.
After a while, he returned to the Lannister area but did not find his brother Jaime. He entered and only found his uncle, who was writing something.
"Where is my brother?" Tyrion asked.
His uncle Kevan paused and replied honestly,
"I don't know. He said he would go out for a while, said he was bored."
Tyrion pondered for a moment and responded,
"Understood. I'll see if I can find him," he said, stepping out.
Before he left, his uncle asked,
"And your escort?"
"They're with me," Tyrion said as he walked away.
Thus, Tyrion began wandering, searching for his brother. Some knights followed him for safety.
As he walked, Tyrion thought about the current and previous political situation to analyze the events that might come. Perhaps this way he could gain some power. Tyrion knew that now was not the time to side with the Targaryens. The Mad King was approaching the peak of his madness; by this time, Duskendale had already occurred, meaning he was completely insane, consumed by fear and jealousy. Being anywhere near him would be madness, as he spared no one, not even his allies. His madness had progressed significantly in Duskendale.
The Duskendale incident was a short but extremely serious rebellion around 276 AC, in the town of Duskendale, and it nearly destroyed the Targaryens.
Duskendale was bad for the king, but for his father Tywin, it had been very beneficial, greatly increasing his status.
His father had promised his sister Cersei to marry Prince Rhaegar, but the king had refused. This seemed like an insult to Tywin, so he withdrew from the position of Hand of the King.
King Aerys refused primarily out of fear; he worried that it was a plan by Tywin to gain power or rebel, so he did not approve the marriage.
The Duskendale incident began when the Lord of Duskendale, Denys Darklyn, refused to pay taxes. He was unhappy with the high taxes and annoyed at his house's lack of influence, tired of depending on King's Landing for everything, and frustrated with subjugation.
Denys Darklyn then requested a special privilege—a commercial concession—from the king. Aerys refused, angering the Darklyns.
The Darklyns and Lord Denys refused to pay further taxes to the crown. Instead of asking his Hand Tywin Lannister for advice, King Aerys went with the Kingsguard to Duskendale to arrest Lord Denys but was captured in the process.
After the king was captured, Tywin Lannister marched with an army to Duskendale and destroyed House Hollard and House Darklyn.
The king was rescued by Ser Barristan Selmy (Barristan the Bold). He entered the Dun Fortress alone, where the king was held by the Darklyns, moved silently past the guards, killed as needed, found Aerys weakened and traumatized, and brought him back to King's Landing. After this, Aerys always called him:
"Barristan the Bold."
After this event, a rumor began spreading across Westeros that the true power belonged to Tywin Lannister, not Aerys II. The king's jealousy and fear increased further. After learning of Varys the eunuch's talents, he brought him across the Narrow Sea and made him Master of Whisperers, believing the eunuch would warn him of threats. After this, the king appointed Jaime Lannister—Tyrion's brother—as a member of the Kingsguard, which angered Tywin. Members of the Kingsguard must abandon their names and titles, so Tywin would lose an heir.
Since his brother was now in the Kingsguard, the inheritance would go either to Cersei or Tyrion. Tywin disliked Tyrion and did not want a woman to inherit his legacy. Furious, Tywin resigned as Hand of the King and returned to Casterly Rock with Cersei.
A few days after the Harrenhal tournament, Rhaegar Targaryen ran away with Lyanna Stark, who was betrothed to Robert Baratheon—they disappeared.
Brandon Stark and Rickard Stark (Lyanna's father) demanded satisfaction from the Mad King. Consumed by fear, Aerys ordered their deaths—Brandon and Rickard were burned.
The events leading to this were:
When Brandon discovered Lyanna had disappeared with Rhaegar, he rode furiously to King's Landing, stormed the Red Keep, and shouted,
"Rhaegar, come out and die!"
This was interpreted as a threat to the heir, an assassination attempt, and a conspiracy against the crown. Aerys had him arrested immediately.
When Rickard learned of Brandon's imprisonment, he traveled to King's Landing demanding a fair trial. Aerys agreed but turned the "trial" into a cruel execution. He ordered Rickard to be strapped into full armor, raised in the throne room, and a fire lit underneath. Rickard Stark was roasted alive while Aerys watched, smiling.
While the father burned, Aerys prepared an equally sadistic method for Brandon: he tied a rope around his neck, passed it through a pulley, and placed a sword on the floor just below his hands.
Then Aerys said, "If you want to save your father, come get him."
When Brandon reached for the sword to cut the ropes and free Rickard, the rope strangled him slowly.
The Mad King did this out of fear, believing the Starks were conspiring, Rhaegar was planning to overthrow him, and Jon Arryn, the Starks, and Baratheons were plotting a rebellion.
After ordering the deaths, he demanded Ned Stark and Robert Baratheon's heads. The Houses Arryn, Stark, Baratheon, and Tully rebelled. Rhaegar Targaryen was killed at the Battle of the Trident by Robert Baratheon.
Then Tywin Lannister marched his army to King's Landing. Varys warned the king:
"Do not open the gates,"
but the Mad King did so anyway. Tywin betrayed the Targaryens and joined the rebellion.
However, the Mad King did not allow Tywin's army in out of trust; he was deceived and too paranoid to see the betrayal. Tywin pretended loyalty, saying he came to serve the king. Once inside, he killed everyone loyal to Aerys.
At this moment, the king screamed:
"Burn them all! Burn them all!"
Jaime Lannister, Tyrion's brother and future member of the Kingsguard, stabbed the Mad King from behind, ending his life. Jaime earned the title Kingslayer.
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All of this was yet to happen. The king was already mad. When Lyanna disappeared, it marked the beginning.
Tyrion had been walking for some time when he bumped into someone and regained his composure.
"Excuse me," Tyrion said. He looked up and saw a man.
His hair was dark brown, skin fair, tall, and he seemed skilled with a sword. He wore Stark family clothes with the sigil on his back and appeared about 24–25 years old.
"No problem, it was just an accident," the young man replied.
Tyrion saw that the young man wore Stark clothing and, curious, asked who he was. He did not seem poor, so he assumed he was a noble.
"My lord, what is your name?" Tyrion asked.
"My name? I am Ned Stark. And who are you?"
Ned was curious about the dwarf before him. The dwarf wore fine clothes with the Lannister sigil. His hair was not as blond as other Lannisters Tyrion had met, so Ned thought maybe he was a distant relative.
Ned found the dwarf odd and, to be honest, didn't seem to like him much—typical of northerners.
"I am Tyrion Lannister. A pleasure to meet you, Ned. My father is Tywin Lannister. You must be the son of Lord Rickard Stark," Tyrion said.
"I am. How did you know?" asked Ned.
"You are well dressed and wear northern clothes, and everyone talks a bit about you," replied the dwarf.
"I see. But what are you doing wandering around?" Ned asked.
"I'm looking for my brother. Have you seen him?" said Tyrion.
"Which Lannister brother? Jaime, the one with the girl?"
"Jaime. Cersei didn't come with us; father didn't allow it," Tyrion replied.
"I haven't seen him, but if you want, I can help you find him," Ned said.
"That… would be good," Tyrion said. They began walking and talking.
"Tell me a bit about the North. Is it really as cold as they say?" Tyrion asked.
Ned looked at Tyrion and replied,
"Never been to the North? It's the best place of all. There is no better place," he said.
"I can't say if the cold appeals to me. I don't like the idea of freezing to death," Tyrion said.
"It's not that cold," Ned replied.
"Oh, really?" Tyrion asked.
"Actually, it's worse… you southerners aren't like us. We're used to the cold," Ned explained.
"Then, one day, when I go North, I'll ask you, future King of the North, to show me the North and teach me how not to freeze," Tyrion said.
"I will never be King of the North. My brother Bran is older and he will be king," Ned replied.
"That's true… but if he dies, you will succeed him," Tyrion said.
They stared at each other. Ned asked,
"I would not want my brother to die even if it made me king. Is there any meaning to what you said?"
"Of course not, I just said it," Tyrion replied, visibly tense.
"I see…" said Ned.
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