Hunting in a great company at the edge of the desert north of Sunspear, the Prince of Dorne was attended by courtiers, knights and ladies both, as they tried their hawks and falcons, and tested their bows and spears. Prince Marence had been in a notably glad mood, and the rumor about the court was that recently Ser Mavros Uller had communicated from Yronwood that negotiations went well and that Lady Yronwood would soon relent in her near-rebellious obstinancy. At a desert oasis, they hunted their fill, sending arrows at scattered birds that the hunters had raised. All was going well…

To settle matters in the Boneway—that has been the chief concern of Prince Marence, it seems, but some say he did not seem to find it an urgent concern, and others say that that’s due to the prince’s own slow deliberation, attempting to navigate the complexities of the situation. Lady Yronwood had provoked much and more, but she has kept her swords close since the flare-up in the Marches. Is it because Lord Wyl’s heir has been a guest at Sunspear, and rumors swirl that he is on the verge of betrothing Ariana Martell (other rumors say quite the opposite)? Is it because Prince Marence has already offered some recompense in secret, to keep her loyal? Some thought that was the case, at least, until it transpired that at last Prince Marence announced a decision.

Though some doubted that King Baelor—so pious and peace-loving—would be a patron of chivalry in its more warlike manifestations, when word came that there would be a royal tourney, it seemed that that would not be the case. Certainly, no melee was planned, but the jousts were always the center of any tournaments. The promised prize was rich, gold for the winner and the knight to come in second. Of course, only knights were permitted in this tourney…

The storm howling out from the Summer Sea, hammering at the walls of Sunspear, had broken without much harm, save the collapse of a hovel or six, and water-loged alleyways. Sunrise showed a clear, crisp sky, wrack upon the stony shore, and a handful of scattered merchant ships from Dorne and the Free Cities—some listing quite badly—that managed to survive the onslaught, avoiding being driven onto the rocks. And day brought something else: a tired raven from King’s Landing, a note about its leg.

The king, returned to his royal city with a holy fervor in his heart and a body made weak by predation and the venom of vipers in the Boneway. Still, after a time of rest and contemplation, occasionally closeted with the High Septon and less occasionally the Hand, the king held court for the first time since his return. The glittering court gathered to see the young king, and hear his commands. Some noted that the High Septon and members of the Most Devout went before the king in his arrival, and the High Septon stood near the dais with the royal kindred. The four knights of the Kingsguard accompanied the wan, pale young king, who wore—to the surprise of some—plain, undyed woolen robes and the slenderest of circlets for a crown. Behind him came the radiant Queen Daena, who seemed graver than usual, with her ladies.

Activity in the harbor of King’s Landing, at the mouth of Blackwater Bay, has roused talk and gossip at the court. Three ships—the royal flagship and two other gallies—are being supplied with every amenity, and with supply enough to feed a small army of men-at-arms and servants. The sailors, as sailors do, may talk of it in the winesinks… but in the court, it’s officers of these ships, and certain courtiers (some quite high in the command of the realm) who speak of the obvious:

The turmoil that followed the feuding in the Reach seems to have left a black mark over some of the court of King’s Landing—or perhaps a curse for the gods. Because no sooner had the worthies of the court returned safely from Highgarden and Grassy Meadow, but that new trouble appeared. The problem? The notorious pirate Sullehman Saan, come to avenge the death of his younger brother. Having found safe harborage for his small fleet among the smugglers’ coves of Crackclaw Point, he ranged into Blackwater Bay to cause his trouble and take his prizes. And a rich prize he took, but one with thorns: a vessel carrying Lady Reyna Saltcliffe and a number of other highborn ladies of the court. When word of that capture reached King’s Landing, it was no surprise to any that the lady’s famed husband, Ser Dagur Saltcliffe, the ironborn knight and recently-appointed Warden of Crackclaw Point, immediately prepared a rescue party.

The chase in the Reach has come to a bloody end. After having been abducted by the vengeful Kendros Longaxe and the men of House Meadows, Ser Josmyn Reyne has been freed. The feud that sparked this seems to also be in abeyance, now that a single combat between a champion of House Meadows—Ser Edwyd Bulwer—and the Vale knight Ser Alyard Corbray has settled matters with Ser Edwyd’s death. There had been skirmishes as Ser Josmyn’s kin and friends gave chase, as famed men like Ser Dagur Saltcliffe and Ser Almer Connington helped lead the effort, but the loss of life was not so great as it may have been.

After years of dearth and destruction, with festivities few and far between, Dorne is free, no longer chained to the Iron Throne, and a mood of celebration has slowly returned. Why it took so long for the Prince of Dorne to sponsor a tourney, who can say? Feasts there have been, certain frolics, hunts… but not a tourney, though in the past Prince Marence had not stinted. Some whisper it was because the prince found playing at war distasteful for a time. Others that it was to spite his brother who had done well enough in the days before the war. And there are others still that say it was the state of the treasury that was behind it. But the wealth has slowly grown again, and a prince must show largesse, and not only through feasts and gifts.

In the year that had passed since the war’s end, Lord-Protector of the Reach Ardon Tyrell had done much to rebuild the Reach’s strength and its restock its coffers. He had also done what he could do erase the shame brought to House Tyrell by Lord Garvys’ death and Ser Meros Tyrell’s betrayal, arranging two great betrothals - Garvys’ daughter Jeona to Damon Lannister, son of Jonn Lannister and third in line to Casterly Rock, and his own daughter Lyessa to Lord Jonothor Arryn’s son and heir Eldred - through his sister Lady Reyna Saltcliffe. Now, months later, in a bid to show the Seven Realms that the Tyrells are still a force to be reckoned with, he sent forth ravens to every corner of Westeros, announcing a grand tourney to be held at Highgarden to celebrate the betrothals with Queen Daena herself presiding.

In the year that had passed since the war’s end, Lord-Protector of the Reach Ardon Tyrell had done much to rebuild the Reach’s strength and its restock its coffers. He had also done what he could do erase the shame brought to House Tyrell by Lord Garvys’ death and Ser Meros Tyrell’s betrayal, arranging two great betrothals - Garvys’ daughter Jeona to Damon Lannister, son of Jonn Lannister and third in line to Casterly Rock, and his own daughter Lyessa to Lord Jonothor Arryn’s son and heir Eldred - through his sister Lady Reyna Saltcliffe. Now, months later, in a bid to show the Seven Realms that the Tyrells are still a force to be reckoned with, he sent forth ravens to every corner of Westeros, announcing a grand tourney to be held at Highgarden to celebrate the betrothals with Queen Daena herself presiding.

In the year that had passed since the war’s end, Lord-Protector of the Reach Ardon Tyrell had done much to rebuild the Reach’s strength and its restock its coffers. He had also done what he could do erase the shame brought to House Tyrell by Lord Garvys’ death and Ser Meros Tyrell’s betrayal, arranging two great betrothals - Garvys’ daughter Jeona to Damon Lannister, son of Jonn Lannister and third in line to Casterly Rock, and his own daughter Lyessa to Lord Jonothor Arryn’s son and heir Eldred - through his sister Lady Reyna Saltcliffe. Now, months later, in a bid to show the Seven Realms that the Tyrells are still a force to be reckoned with, he sent forth ravens to every corner of Westeros, announcing a grand tourney to be held at Highgarden to celebrate the betrothals with Queen Daena herself presiding.

As King Baelor—still ailing—nears Storm’s End to be tended by Lord Baratheon’s maester (a renowned expert on treating injuries and illness caused by snake venom), away to the north in the Red Keep, Prince Viserys rules the realm as best he can. Even with all of his experience and skill, it’s said that he has begun to feel the weight of all of his duties, and seems both more tired and shorter of temper than is his wont. Though Prince Aemon the Dragonknight is now safe and sound, escorting the king, his other son ... well, the less said about Prince Aegon’s doings, the better; no man, and certainly not Viserys, seems able to quell the wanton, wicked behavior of the prince or his cohots.

In the court of Sunspear, in the grand hall of the Sandship, amidst the revelery of the courtiers and ladies and knights who flock to the troubled halls of the Old Palace, a feast took place. A feast, and… an incident.

A raven from Blackhaven arrives at King’s Landing, bringing long-expected word of King Baelor’s departure from Dorne after negotiating the peace and walking, barefoot, in a show of piety that was over-matched only by his first such journey to Dorne with the forty-nine hostages in his train. The Grand Maester received it eagerly from an assisting younger maester, and read it… and blanched.