Blood of Dragons

And like that, the Yronwood rebellion in the Boneway comes to an end: not with a bloody battle, not with the Yronwood banners dipping, nor the Martell banners. But through a truce, a peace negotiated under the worst of circumstances: a ruse that left the Martell host ill-prepared, more than evenly matched, outwitted. And all because Prince Marence, good and just as he is, gave the Yronwoods one chance too many to surrender itself. The Yronwood army had been forced -- or so Prince Marence thought -- to go to ground, to leave the Boneway itself and be driven, step by step, towards a dead end, an…

In the late morning, bells began to ring through the city: _it is done_, _it is done_, _it is done_. The crowds in the streets and squares took up the call in shouts and cries: _it is done_, _it is done_, _it is done_. In the halls of the Red Keep, it was said in whispers: _it is done_, _it is done_, _it is done_. Daena Targaryen, daughter of Aegon the Third of His Name, sister to Baelor the First of His Name, and.... that is all. She is no longer his wife. She is no longer his queen. She is Princess Daena, as she once was and as -- it seems -- she will always be. The High Septon granted the…

The last blessing given by the septon at a late morning service, many waited for the king and royal kin to depart before they made their way from the Royal Sept. His Grace King BAELOR did not make a quick departure, but the king - looking pallid (in the midst of fasting, some say, to seek the intervention of the Seven in the murders that have been plaguing King's Landing) - made his way to the statue of the Mother, praying silently to the statue, before he departed the sept. The Saltcliffes, DAGUR and REYNA alike, awaited the King's pleasure, as did the Lord JUSTYN Serry - though his ironborn…

The Dornish royal fleet travelling toward Yronwood had encountered contrary winds after it rounded the Broken Arm... and then a gale howling from Cape Wrath and the narrow sea split it apart -- galleys racing west, fat-bellied cogs anchoring to weather the storm... and one last galley, leaking water and unable to stand such seas, forced to chance the storm. The Prince's Pride carried notables: the heirs to Hellholt and Lemonwood, the famed Bastard of the Red Dunes, the illegitimate daughter of the infamous Ser Mavros Uller whose capture by Lady Yronwood precipitated this show of arms, and…

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…

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... Which led to the swift growth of a particular rumor: that the tournament was taking place so that the king might find some men worthy of…

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. It should have been glad tidings that came from distant King's Landing, the sort of tidings…

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…

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: King Baelor is well, or well enough to travel at least, after months of recovery at Storm's End as a guest of…

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…

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…

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…

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 Lyonel' death and Ser Meros Tyrell's betrayal, arranging two great betrothals - Lyonel' 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…

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 Lyonel' death and Ser Meros Tyrell's betrayal, arranging two great betrothals - Lyonel' 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…