The last hours of the Mad King

[Robb Snow]

Hello everybody, first own topic and not a native speaker, so please be gentle with me. There was something coming to my mind yesterday:

 

How did the Mad King spent his last hours? 

As far as I remember, there are two actions we know of.

1. Lord Tywin approaches the gates. Varys urges Aerys not to open the gates because he fears treason (or what ever reason Varys does the things Varys does). Pycelle convinces Aerys to do so. King Aerys gives the command to open the gates.
2. King Aerys decides to burn the city. He sends for the pyromancers, but Jamie kills him instead.

Afterwards is known. The city does not blow up, instead the Lannister soldiers sack it. Lord Eddard arrives while the sacking continues (?) and confronts Jamie in the throne room.

 

The two actions the Mad King did must have been very close together. Like really close. Minutes. The Lannister Soldiers should have been a good deal inside the city before they start sacking, otherwise the first into the gates still had to fight the Gold Cloaks. At best, they should wait with the sacking till soldiers are in the red keep (or even Maegors holdfast, but that doesn't matter), because otherwise the danger of a siege still exist.

So I assume Aerys only decided to burn the city after he learned that his release was in fact another betrayal. Which must have been very very close to the time the Lannister soldiers would have reached him, or at least the vanguard (Ser Gregor, Armory Lorch...). And his command and its execution would have needed a good amount of time and access to the city as well. This brings me to two options:

1. The final command to burn the city probably came too late. Lord Rossart wouldn't be able to execute it. The wildfire could not have been directly under Maegors Holdfast, or at least should not only be ignited there to ensure the whole city would burn.
2. The official "timeline" of the last hours might be incorrect. If Jamie is right and Aerys thought to be transformed into a dragon by the burning, maybe he game the command before he got notice of the sacking.

 

I do not want to discuss whether Jamie's action was morally good or not. In my opinion it was. He could not know if or if not the command would have been executed or not. But that's not the topic.

I just wonder if you think the command could have been carried out and how, or if you believe Aerys decided to burn the city even earlier (at least he planned it for quite a time. Definitely before the Battle of the Trident failed. So let me hear your thoughts about The Mad King Aerys last hours  

 

[The Sleeper]

It would not be out of character for Aerys to have opened the gates as so to catch Tywin in the conflagration.

As for the efficacy of the arson, they planned quite diligently. There were caches of wildfire under each gate and under the major landmark of King's Landing, including the Red Keep. If one went off, there is a good chance all of them would.

[Ser Petyr Parker]

I could definitely see the pyromancers setting it up so ignition is easy, and once any of it goes up, it all does.

[elder brother jonothor dar]

The Red Keep would have been closed off to everyone.  It is one thing to open the city gate quite another to allow them into the castle.

"It fell to me to hold the Red Keep, but I knew we were lost. I sent to Aerys asking his leave to make terms. My man came back with a royal command. ‘Bring me your father’s head, if you are no traitor.’ Aerys would have no yielding. Lord Rossart was with him, my messenger said. I knew what that meant. “When I came on Rossart, he was dressed as a common man-at-arms, hurrying to a postern gate. I slew him first. Then I slew Aerys, before he could find someone else to carry his message to the pyromancers."

[Robb Snow]

Very good quote. So basically with slaying Rossart Jamie saved the city. 

 

This leads me to another small question: After Jamie killed Aerys, the rest of the garrison defected 100%? Like not even one Lord or Knight who tried to smuggle out Elia and Rheagars children? (whether or not Varys did his swap or not) There had to be at least some time between Jamie killing Aerys and everybody inside the Red Keep knowing this. 

[The Sleeper]

11 minutes ago, Robb Snow said:

Very good quote. So basically with slaying Rossart Jamie saved the city. 

Most likely delayed the conflagration by twenty years or so. Only the caches under the dragonpit and the Sept of Balor have been accounted for. The rest which include all seven gates and the Red Keep, should be in place.

The question would be if and how much Varys knows.

15 minutes ago, Robb Snow said:

This leads me to another small question: After Jamie killed Aerys, the rest of the garrison defected 100%? Like not even one Lord or Knight who tried to smuggle out Elia and Rheagars children? (whether or not Varys did his swap or not) There had to be at least some time between Jamie killing Aerys and everybody inside the Red Keep knowing this. 

There were two invading armies in the city, the Red Keep had been breached and the king was dead. Who are they going to fight and on behalf of whom. I think Jaime ordered them to stand down.

[Humble Maester]

5 hours ago, Robb Snow said:

Very good quote. So basically with slaying Rossart Jamie saved the city. 

 

This leads me to another small question: After Jamie killed Aerys, the rest of the garrison defected 100%? Like not even one Lord or Knight who tried to smuggle out Elia and Rheagars children? (whether or not Varys did his swap or not) There had to be at least some time between Jamie killing Aerys and everybody inside the Red Keep knowing this. 

 

Quote

"The castle is ours, ser, and the city," Roland Crakehall told him, which was half true. Targaryen loyalists were still dying on the serpentine steps and in the armory, Gregor Clegane and Amory Lorch were scaling the walls of Maegor's Holdfast, and Ned Stark was leading his northmen through the King's Gate even then, but Crakehall could not have known that. He had not seemed surprised to find Aerys slain; Jaime had been Lord Tywin's son long before he had been named to the Kingsguard.

"Tell them the Mad King is dead," he commanded. "Spare all those who yield and hold them captive."

-Jaime II, ASoS

I don't think there was any very effective defense of the royal children against Clegane and Lorch who were scaling the walls, the whole situation seemed fairly chaotic, so there might not had been anyone to take them away. And good point is, where were they going to take them anyways, the war was lost.

But it is clear that fighting was going on even after Aerys had been killed, and that Jaime commanded his father's men to spare any who would wish to yield after presumably hearing this.