Warrior’s Sons

The Warrior’s Sons were the armed fighting order of the Faith of the Seven, known to the smallfolk as the Stars and Swords. Their history in the account moves from a visible presence at religious and royal occasions to armed resistance in King’s Landing, and finally to suppression under Maegor. Their destruction did not erase their legacy: some former members later served in the Night’s Watch.

Identity and place within the Faith

The Warrior’s Sons formed the fighting arm of the Faith, whose spiritual authority was centered at Oldtown. The High Septon commanded the obedience of millions across the realms, and the order’s presence gave the Faith not only religious influence but also an armed force. The account does not describe the order’s internal ranks or rules; it identifies them as a fighting order and traces their public actions during the crisis between the Faith and the Targaryen crown.

The smallfolk’s name for them, the Stars and Swords, joined the Faith’s religious symbolism to the order’s martial character. Their role is especially clear in contrast with the Poor Fellows, another armed body associated with the Faith. The two groups appear together in the crown’s campaign against the Faith Militant, but the account distinguishes them: the Warrior’s Sons had a fortified sept and included celebrated knights and sons of lords among their captives, while the Poor Fellows are described as ragged bands moving toward King’s Landing.

Public presence and the crisis in King’s Landing

The Warrior’s Sons appeared in force at the wedding outside the Sept of Remembrance. In gleaming silver armor, they lined the streets and recorded the guests as they arrived on foot, horseback, or in litters. Their presence turned a royal celebration into a closely watched public occasion. The account notes that wiser lords stayed away, linking the order’s conspicuous attendance with the wider unease surrounding the marriage.

After Septon Murmison was killed by a group of Poor Fellows, the Warrior’s Sons fortified the Hill of Rhaenys and made the Sept of Remembrance their citadel. The move established an armed stronghold in the city at a moment when the crown’s own position was precarious: the Red Keep was still years from completion, and Aenys feared that his manse on Visenya’s Hill was vulnerable. The order’s fortification was followed by an attempt by Poor Fellows to break into the king’s bedchamber, an attack stopped by the Kingsguard. These events show the city’s religious conflict becoming an immediate contest over armed control and royal security.

Destruction of the order

When Maegor appeared on the walls of the Red Keep, the crowds initially celebrated. That response changed when he mounted Balerion and descended on the fortified sept while seven hundred Warrior’s Sons were at morning prayers. Dragonfire set the building ablaze; archers and spearmen waited outside for those who tried to escape. The account says the attack killed the order’s leading strength, while smoke lingered over King’s Landing for days. Although other chapters remained in Oldtown, Lannisport, Gulltown, and Stoney Sept, the Warrior’s Sons would never again approach their former strength.

The attack was not the end of Maegor’s war against the Faith Militant. After ascending the Iron Throne, he ordered the Poor Fellows approaching the city to lay down their weapons, then called on loyal lords to disperse them by force when they did not comply. In Oldtown, the High Septon called on the Faithful to take up arms against the crown. Against this background, the destruction of the Warrior’s Sons’ stronghold marked a decisive blow, but the conflict continued beyond the fate of the order itself.

Dissolution and aftermath

Maegor remained in Oldtown for almost half a year, holding court and presiding over the trials of captured members. The Warrior’s Sons who had been taken prisoner were offered a choice: renounce the order and travel to the Wall to serve in the Night’s Watch, or refuse and die as martyrs. Three-quarters chose to take the black. The rest were executed. Maegor personally beheaded seven, famous knights and sons of lords, with Blackfyre; their fellow prisoners carried out the other executions. Ser Morgan Hightower alone received a full royal pardon.

The new High Septon formally dissolved the Warrior’s Sons and the Poor Fellows, ordering their remaining members to lay down their arms in the name of the gods. Maegor allowed the survivors until the end of the year to surrender their weapons and abandon rebellion; afterward, rewards were offered for the heads of those who remained defiant. The terms placed the Faith’s armed followers under direct pressure from both religious authority and royal force: the order was dissolved by decree, while resistance carried a price on the lives of its members.

The Night’s Watch later included many black brothers who had formerly belonged to the Warrior’s Sons or the Poor Fellows. That connection gives the order’s end a continuing consequence beyond its defeat in King’s Landing. Some who survived the choice made at Oldtown entered a different brotherhood, while the organization itself, its citadel destroyed and its remaining members ordered to disarm, ceased to be a force capable of challenging the crown.