TitanCon 2014 World reading?

[Lord Varys]

Yeah, their money could have been crucial. Especially since they still had a quarter of the royal treasury anyway, if it arrived at Casterly Rock and was not taken by Dalton Greyjoy when he attacked.

[Jslay427]

Is it going to be released everywhere but the US for the first week again?

[The Dragon Demands]

My running guess is this:

By the point when Rhaenyra died, the Greens in the Westerlands, Reach, and Crownlands were mostly exhausted (Fishfeed, etc.) while the Blacks from the Riverlands, Reach, and North were exhausted (the Riverlands were gutted; the North's initial "rapid response force" of the Winter Wolves had been wiped out by this point; they weren't scraping the bottom of the barrel for manpower as the Westerlands were, but it takes longer for them to muster armies, and winter had *already* started - so they didn't have as much to contribute).

On the other hand, it is explicitly stated the while the Stormlands declared for the Greens they had barely been involved in land warfare up to then: Aemond was told to wait for the armies from the Stormlands before advancing north to Harrenhal, but ignored this advice thinking haste was needed (ultimately leaving the capital city woefully undefended). The Arryns did *try* to send some token forces to Rhaenyra by ship, but the mountain passes were closed by snows so they couldn't use most of their land armies.

Thus I expect the final phase of the Dance will be the Arryns and Baratheons adding new strength to their respective sides (just as in ASOIAF, by A Feast for Crows, the main players from the earlier stages in the war such as the Westerlands or North are exhausted or nearly so, while Dorne and the Vale explicitly haven't committed any soldiers yet, so their remaining armies end up being the decisive "second breath" that recharges the factions they align with).

Anyway, here's my running guess:

We have to acknowledge that the Hightowers continue to exist 170 years later, and still maintain a position of relative strength by ruling Oldtown itself. So the Hightowers weren't completely slaughtered....though we never got a full list of them, and I sort of always think that younger cousins can easily take over any family line.

So if it was indeed a widowed queen, perhaps Cregan was going to execute and wipe out all of the Hightowers, even though not directly involved in the war that much, but Alicent appealed to his sense of honor as a northerner that he could not in good conscience execute them simply for being related to the other Hightowers who started the war (Ormund and Otto.....I like to think, indeed suspect, that Daemon Targaryen personally executed Otto, in the end).

This does not, necessarily, preclude Alicent herself from being executed...just that while waiting her turn, she begged Cregan not to wipe her entire family out down to the last child. Or they could have packed Alicent off to the Silent Sisters.

[Hardstone]

Is it possible that the Stormlands were dealing with Dorne who saw an opportunity to invade?

I'm in the camp that the insurmountable 'Northern Honour' in the main series is a result of Ned's fostering and not a constant for the all past Starks. From these glimpses, Cregan seems more in line with old school Starks; harsh, cold and resolute. So I doubt she could appeal to him for honour sake.

[Lord Varys]

Until we know who was executed and why the question of Cregan's motivation is really difficult to answer.

But considering that the war did not continue it would be strange if the heads/important people of the major houses supporting Aegon II would be among them (i.e. Hightowers, Lannisters, or Baratheons). Apparently a peace accord was reached before Cregan arrived at KL, so the war surely would have continued if Cregan had killed the very people agreeing to those accords.

[DanaKz]

I don't believe Cregan executed any high lord either.

I am sure he tried only some turncloacks and oathbreakers, as it was said above, somebody like 2 Toms from Dragonstone and something like that.