(Robert): For our rebellion to succeed,
King's Landing had to be taken forcefully.
No one was foolish enough to believe
that Aerys was gonna hand his crown over peacefully.
The Mad King's reign needed to end.
What Tywin Lannister's forces did was unfortunate,
but it was necessary to secure the Iron Throne
and bring peace and justice to the Seven Kingdoms.
My glorious victory at the Trident left me wounded,
but I sent my personal maester to attend to Ser Barristan Selmy instead.
His wounds were more severe.
Even though Ser Barristan was a member of Aerys' Kingsguard
and fought on the opposing side,
that man's bravery and loyalty were something to behold.
But this meant my wounds would take longer to heal
and I couldn't ride to King's Landing myself.
I sent the one man I trusted over anyone else in this world,
Ned Stark, in my place.
Had I been able to ride,
perhaps I could have reached King's Landing sooner
and prevented some of the violence that occurred
when the Lannisters entered the city.
Still, what Lord Tywin did was for the greater good.
Even what happened to Princess Elia and her children.
Babies or no,
theirs was the same cursed blood
that flowed within the Mad King's veins.
They were dragon spawn
and couldn't be allowed to survive.
What would they grow to be?
Loyal subjects?
Ned, with his damn northern honor.
He and I had our first major fight
over the deaths of the Targaryen children.
Ned called it murder.
Murder?
It was war.
Lord Stark demanded that the Lannisters
be held responsible for their crimes.
Was it a crime to put an end to a family of lunatics born of incest?
I wouldn't - and still won't - blame Tywin.
Instead, I sent Ned Stark south
to finish off the remaining Targaryen loyalists.
It was only Lyanna Stark's death that reconciled us.
Ned had lost his sister.
I had lost my betrothed and beloved.
We shared that sad bond together, Ned and I.
Through it, our friendship was made strong again.
As for the Mad King's surviving heirs...
those that were able to scurry away in the face of my fury
now live somewhere across the Narrow Sea.
They had best stay there.
If they ever set foot in Westeros again,
they will face the king's justice.