Battle of the Honeywine
A few weeks later, Lord Ormund Hightower found himself trapped between two enemy armies. Lord Thaddeus Rowan and Tom Flowers attacked him from the northeast, while Ser Alan Beesbury, Lord Alan Tarly, and Lord Owen Costayne cut off his retreat route back to Oldtown.
They surrounded him, but Prince Daeron and his dragon Tessarion entered the battle. Tom Flowers died, Lord Rowan fled, the Alans were captured, and Lord Costayne was fatally wounded. This victory in the Battle of the Honeywine in 129 AC led to Ormund knighting Daeron and naming him Daeron the Daring.
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The Battle
In the third week of the year 130 AC, Ormund Hightower’s army found themselves trapped between two enemy forces along the banks of the Honeywine. Lord Thaddeus Rowan and Tom Flowers attacked from the northeast with a large group of mounted knights. Simultaneously, Ser Alan Beesbury, Lord Alan Tarly, and Lord Owen Costayne united their smaller forces and attacked the Hightowers from behind, preventing their escape south to Oldtown.
Caught between attackers on both sides, Lord Hightower’s forces were on the verge of defeat. At that critical moment, a massive shadow appeared in the sky: Prince Daeron Targaryen on his dragon, Tessarion. Daeron’s arrival turned the tide of the battle in favor of Aegon II‘s forces, leading to a chaotic retreat with significant losses.
During the battle, Tom Flowers was killed, and Lord Owen Costayne was fatally wounded by Jon Roxton, who wielded the Valyrian steel sword Orphan-Maker. Both Alan Tarly and Alan Beesbury were captured. The only black commander who managed to escape was Thaddeus Rowan, retreating north with the remnants of his forces.
Aftermath
The battle dealt a significant blow to the blacks, ending their offensive operations in the Reach. Most of the major black commanders in the Reach were either killed or captured, except for Thaddeus Rowan, who eventually submitted to the greens. Lord Bar Emmon suggested negotiating peace after these losses, but Rhaenyra Targaryen chose to launch a risky attack on King’s Landing, as Aemond and most of the city’s defenders were lured into the riverlands by Daemon’s strategic plan.
Daeron Targaryen became a hero that day and was knighted by Lord Ormund Hightower with the Valyrian steel longsword, Vigilance. He was dubbed “Daeron the Daring” after the battle, though he credited Tessarion as the true hero.
While the battle slowed the Hightower army’s advance, preventing them from aiding the greens to the north, the westerlands’ armies were defeated in the Battle by the Lakeshore, and the green armies from the crownlands were destroyed in the Butcher’s Ball.
With Tessarion now supporting the Hightower army, the remaining blacks in the Reach couldn’t withstand them. Lord Ormund and Prince Daeron secured the submission of several Reach houses, including the Rowans of Goldengrove and the Oakhearts of Old Oak. The Hightower army slowly advanced up the Roseroad, defeating any black forces that tried to harass them. Daeron and Tessarion played a crucial role in scouting ahead, warning the main host of enemy traps and ambushes.
They besieged Longtable, sacked Bitterbridge, crossed the Mander, and proceeded east toward King’s Landing, leading to the First Battle of Tumbleton.