... until the riders from Sunspear arrived in haste. One of the palace guard, Ser Emeric Santagar, had urgent news from Yronwood. Marence expected it to be word that Ser Mavros had concluded the negotiations and had secured peace. But no: Lady Yronwood herself had written, proclaiming that she had seized Ser Mavros and his escort for betraying the truce of parley, for trying to raise her own vassals against her. Outrage swept through the company of riders, and Prince Marence was first silenced by shock, and then by anger as he rarely showed.

Almost without hesitation, the prince had made a decision: this insult to Sunspear would not stand, and he would call the spears almost before members of the company urged him to it. Some attemped to urge moderation—the heiress to Hellholt, Liane Uller, proposed to be sent to Yronwood to try and negotiate anew—but the prince was set on his course. And it was something else Liane Uller said, that her House had already offered its spears to Sunspear if it came to war with Yronwood, that set off another witness: Ser Joris Yronwood. Taking this to be a sign of an elaborate plot against Yronwood by the Prince of Dorne and the Ullers, he spoke intemperately.

During all this, Prince Rhodry had been indulging himself, putting an end to injured birds. He paid little attention to the gathering, until Ser Mavros’s bastard Samara Sand informed him of what had happened, and that Prince Marence had called for him. The infamous prince hurried then, and in time to hear Ser Joris mouth his calumny. It set him to string an arrow to his bow, remarking that someone had missed a pigeon… but Prince Marence would have no bloodshed. He had his men put up their weapons, and ordered Ser Joris disarmed and taken to Sunspear, to a cell in the Spear Tower.

Once the man was out of ear shot, the commands began: the reading to depart with all haste, Ser Laurent Dalt to commandeer ships at the Planky Town, word for the spears together. And when the question of command came—not so much a question, as a statement, from Prince Rhodry—Marence revealed that he would lead his banners into battle himself, to make sure that Lady Yronwood’s trouble-making would be done for one and all.

An envoy will be sent, with a few Martell knights and guards, to Yronwood, to speak with the prince’s voice, to attempt to persuade Lady Yronwood to the prince’s willing friendship and hopes for all her concerns to be allayed… within reason, for Marence will never give up peace with the Iron Throne, not when war and rebellion cost so many lives, saw so many towns and villages razed. And who shall be this envoy? Ser Mavros Uller, apparently, a choice Prince Marence made even after some courtiers put themselves forward, even after some attempted to raise doubts about Ser Mavros’s loyalties with rumors of his plots to advance himself. But the once-exiled knight has been an increasingly common fixture at court and at the Prince’s side, advising him on many matters in the time since he played such a central role in overthrowing the rule of the Targaryens, and now it seems he has garnered an office, even if a temporary one.

There are those who might view Uller’s mission with deep suspicion, but Prince Marence seems convinced and will not change the appointment. And so preparations are made, for Uller and his honor guard to travel by sea towards Yronwood, and some wonder what Lady Yronwood will make of it… and some doubtless hope that she might shorten Uller by a head, even if it means that Prince Marence will be forced to take up arms after such a provocation.

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 white cloak of the Kingsguard, for there are three places left empty after the disaster in Dorne which took the Young Dragon’s life. The rumor caught fire, and knights who normally would not have travelled to King’s Landing for a tourney now made that effort, swelling the number of participations to over 100 men. Famous knights were among them, knights from all over the Seven Kingdoms. The tourney began to be called the White Tourney, so sure did people become of the rumors.

So when the day dawned for the tourney, thousands turned out from the city, and much of the court as well. The king and queen were there, the princes and princesses, the knights of the Kingsguard (including Ser Halbert Cordwayner, who rode in the tourney while his brothers watched), and more. The knights made a brave showing, and many were the lances broken. Famed men fell to knights of less repute, men such as Ser Argos Waxley, and other contests between champions proved worth the watching. Early on, several knights excelled: Ser Galfrid Velaryon, kinsman to the Master of Ships, Ser Kendros Longaxe of Goodbrook, the young Lannister scion Ser Mathin, and even a hedge knight, Ser Sorin of Sevenstreams. But Ser Mathin would fall to Ser Kenric Darry, and for unknown reasons Ser Kendros soon withdrew.

Darry would also account for the captain of guards for Casterly Rock, Ser Elmer Crakehall, in a hard-fought battle that lasted nine passes and saw over a dozen lances cracked and splintered. Darry would face Ser Galfrid Velaryon to determine one of the last two positions, but Velaryon had proved almost unstoppable. He had been unhorsed by Ser Humfrey Westerling… but he had unhorsed Westerling as well, and the two fought on foot, where Velaryon’s skill with a sword proved the better. So, too, with his skill with the lance when he defeated Ser Kenric. As to the other place…

Ser Sorin of Sevenstreams proved to be charmed. Bold Daryl Tarly fell to him, and then a shock came as he and Ser Luthor Rivers, the Warden of the Kingswood, unhorsed one another and thought afoot. The hedge knight took struggled on against a wound, refusing to yield and was much battered when his chance came and he was able to knock Ser Luthor from his feet and make him yield, despite the fact that his shield-arm was crippled from a blow. The smallfolk in the crowd roared in his name, loving that one of their own—a man of no account, a farmer’s son it’s said—had won such a victory, and would challenge Ser Galfrid in the final tilt. A maester attended his wounds, and Ser Luthor ask Ser Willard Ryger and Ser Brynden Tully to ask Ser Sorin to carry the token that he himself wore in honor of the late heir of Storm’s End, Ser Tancred Baratheon, but the hedge knight had other ideas.

And so it transpired that Ser Sorin yielded the field to Galfrid, indicating that his shield-arm was useless. Ser Galfrid had ridden and fought brilliantly, and no one could doubt he was the rightful champion of the day. The king rewarded him the prize of a 1000 gold dragons… and then Prince Aemon the Dragonknight, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, did him the honor of declaring him a fitting member for the White Swords, offering him a place which Ser Galfrid accepted to great acclaim.

So ended the White Tourney. Ser Sorin of Seven Streams received a rich prize as well, 500 golden dragons, and the esteem and admiration of the commons. And more besides, for it’s said that squires and knights in service to various lords and captains in King’s Landing have been offering him places in households, or commissions as officers in a wardenry, while he himself is being feted in taverns and inns in the city where common men hang on his every word as to his great success. And from the court? There are whispers—speculations, no more, surely—that the king himself was greatly impressed by Ser Sorin’s humble appearance and undoubted courage, and that a second knight may soon be joining the sworn brotherhood….

It should have been glad tidings that came from distant King’s Landing, the sort of tidings that would lead to the septons ringing the bells of their septs in the shadow city, to the courtiers celebrating in the shaded courts, to the throwing of a feast. Had not everyone Prince Marence desired of King Baelor come to pass? Did Baelor not finalize the betrothal of his young cousin Prince Daeron to Marence’s daughter, Princess Mariah? Did Baelor not undo the lamentable, forced marriage of Joleta Gargalen from a knight of his brother’s court? Did Baelor not confirm, again and again, his great desire for peace?

But there were no bells, nor celebrations, nor feasts. The prince’s determination for peace was something that many in the court were ambivalent about, and even among the smallfolk the enthusiasim for it was lacking. But Prince Marence rules Dorne, and peace was his desire, and it seemed he had it. The Martells and Targaryens would seal the peace with a marriage when the two royal offspring were of age, and perhaps bring an end to decades of hostility. Most of the lords and ladies of Dorne could accept that, however grudgingly.

Except, of course, for those who couldn’t—and that, more than anything, was why the reception of King Baelor’s letter lacked any joy. Because, only a little earlier, at the crack of dawn, another raven had arrived before it. And that one told a very different tale indeed: blood and slaughter in the Boneway, after Dornish forces fell upon a large caravan carrying trade goods, and routed it, and went on to chase it into the Marches. Scores of men were killed, and it’s said a marcher village was looted and razed before the Dornish fell back with Dondarrion men-at-arms at their heels… only to be led, quite directly, into an ambush. More men died, nearly all of them marchers. This bloody action has been the worst in the Marches since old Lord Manwoody carried out his war from the mountains while much of the rest of Dorne knelt.

Who to blame? The rumor at court is that this was all the doing of Red Rhys of the Scourge, after many weeks of silence from the notorious outlaw and his band. But others think something worse: that it was Lady Yronwood, perhaps providing aid and men to the robber knight, perhaps simply sending her own vassals to do the dark deeds. Her hatred for the northerners and her disdain for Prince Marence have been well known—the problem of the Yronwoods has been the second greatest concern for the Prince, after peace, and it is why the heir to Wyl has been a guest for so long at court as the prince attempts to peel the Wyls away from the Yronwoods to isolate them. If Lord Wyl played apart in this latest atrocity, no one knows… but the silence on the matter may in itself be telling.

And so, the peace is threatend even as King Baelor fulfills the terms of the agreement, and the question on every lip at court is, “What shall Prince Marence do?”

Leaving the queen to take a place near the dais, the king first greeted the Hand, his uncle Prince Viserys, and thanked him for his service. And then he mounted the dais to speak to those gathered. The king spoke of his journey to Dorne, and his many prayers for peace, and their answering in the similar views of Prince Marence Martell. Revealing his intention to hold to the agreement he had made with the prince at Sunspear, the king announced his young cousin Prince Daeron would be betrothed to Marence’s daughter, Princess Mariah. Moreover, with the aid and advice of the High Septon, he anulled the marriage of the former royal huntsman, Ser Ethos Mertyns, to the former hostage, Joleta of House Gargalen, the heiress to Salt Shore.

For many at the court, neither announcement was a surprise. Nor was it a surprise when he named his cousin, Prince Aemon the Dragonknight, the truest and most honroable knight in the realm, and named him also the new Lord Commander of the Kingsguard; together, they would find three worthy knights to fill the ranks of the White Swords. But then…

Then the king began to talk of things less expected. His command to empty the gaols and dungeons could not have pleased the commander of the City Watch, Ser Richard Harte, especially after two men had assaulted his gold cloaks. His remittance of all fines for mischief and criminal conduct, to see the coins donated to the Faith instead, made the Hand frown. And then he spoke of his dream from the night before, which he said the Seven sent him: standing on the battlements of the Red Keep, looking out across the great city, and seeing the glorious sight of a huge sept atop Visenya’s Hill. If the gods sent it, he suggested, it was meant to be—and so he ordered that no tariff, tax, or toll would be raised in King’s Landing over the next month and a day which would not be given over to the project. The master of coin, Beron Buckwell, semeed nearly read to faint when he heard that, and it was clear to the wiser members of the court that the king’s sudden generosity to his subjects and the Seven were determined without consulting the Hand or the small council first.

If any of them wished to argue him away from piety and towards reason, they held their tongue… or perhaps he gave them little opportunity: stating he was tired, he shortly after departed, hardly speaking to his queen, giving nothing but a farewell to his uncle, and instead falling into conversation with the High Septon as the Kingsguard escorted him not to Maegor’s Holdfast and its apartments, but to the royal sept, where he intended to pray and contemplate.

King Baelor is well, or well enough to travel at least, after months of recovery at Storm’s End as a guest of Lord Baratheon. Having been treated by the brilliant maester at that ancient, formidable castle, Lord Baratheon’s sister recently arrived at court and was ushered into an audience with Prince Viserys. A private audience, as it were. And the word that followed was that the king was much improved, even if there was no immediate word of his return. But now that day seems to be nigh, if the rumor can be believed: those ships, filled with an escort, will bring the king home. On the morrow they’ll launch, to travel out of Blackwater Bay, rounding Sharp Point and Massey’s Hook to sail through the Strait of Tarth to Storm’s End on Shipbreaker Bay.

What changes this will mean for the court, who can say? Baelor might still be weak, he might be fully pleased with all his uncle the Hand has done, he might prefer to give himself to prayer and let his small council decide the rule of the realm. But…

hey say Princess Naerys has been seen praying at the statue of the Warrior in the royal sept, perhaps in thanks for the safety of her brother Prince Aegon the Dragonknight, perhaps for his imminent return. They say Prince Aegon, on the other hand, has done a different sort of worship entirely, spending days and nights carousing in the less couth quarters of the city. They say Prince Viserys stays up until late hours, dictating letters, overseeing bills, dispatching ravens—to Dorne, they say, and the Marches, and Storm’s End; to Winterfell, and Castle Black, and Pyke; and who knows where else—in a fashion that suggests putting things in order before the king’s arrival.

If the weather holds and all goes well, the king may be back on his throne before the end of the first moon of the new year. Already, there are Kingslanders shuffling into the lesser septs of the city, praying for the king’s safe return.

Aided by certain men of Crackclaw Point, the bold knights reached the cove where Saan and is men had their ships. A parley took place after Saan learned from a traitorous knight of their approach, and with him were two hostages to ensure that Saltcliffe and the rest would do as they were told: Lady Doryssa Massey and Lady Mellony Fossoway. Harsh words were exchanged, and Sullehman Saan’s cruel, vile taunts enraged the men so much that some of them such as Ser Almer would have drawn steel then and there. But the Warden put an end to it; furious himself, clearly, but with iron control still. It was a control the pirate captain tested with his terms; not just 500 dragons each for Doryssa and Mellony and a thousand each for Lady KatlaGreyjoy and the Warden’s wife, Lady Rreyna Saltcliffe, but also the royal galley The Warrior’s Sword captained by Ser Jorian Crakehall and another vessel besides. The Crakehall knight announced himself willing if it meant saving the women’s lives, but Ser Almer counselled winning the women back by force instead. In the end, even with his own wife’s life at stake, the Iron Serpent refused the terms, for he said that he had no right to surrender the king’s ship.

Through all this, the women, held fast by the pirates, could only watch—and while Lady Mellony appeared strangely anxious to please Sullehman Saan, speaking to him almost as she would to her own lord, Lady Doryssa spit defiance, telling the knights to attack the pirates and be done with it.

And with those words, she sealed her own fate. For angered by her and by the knights’ refusal, Sullehman Saan showed the truth of the tales that speak of that blackest of black hearts beneath his handsome facade, holding Doryssa to him as he would a lover—and sliding a dagger into her back and out between her breasts, red with her heart’s blood.

All was chaos, then; Almer Connington sprang to the attack, and the anguished Ammon with him, while Sullehman held Mellony as a shield and retreated to his boat with his men. And with that show of brutality, he had broken the Iron Serpent’s resistance—for as the Warden knelt there beside the dying woman, listening to her last words, he called his acceptance of Sullehman’s terms to spare the other women, almost choking on it, but commanding the disbelieving Connington knight back still. So the parley ended in blood and bitter helplesness, Doryssa Massey dead, her shattered brother knocked unconscious by the pirates at the water’s edge, and half-a-dozen knights of the realm helpless to do anything about it but watch the Prince of the Narrow Sea return to his ship.

The next day, a daring rescue took place, a handful of picked men coming aboard Saan’s ship in the night, daring to hold off many times their number while extricating the surviving women. It was bloody, chaotic work—and in the end, Mellony Fossoway was murdered by Sullehman Saan before he leapt into the sea and swam for his remaining vessel, escaping into the night. The bodies of the dead women were brought back, families were reunited, and mourning could take place… mourning, and a rememberance of vengeance unrequited.

A foolish error on the part of the Meadows’ some might say, and one instigated (it seems) by internal conflicts, by outrage at Ser Obyn’s untimely death on the one hand and grasping ambition on the part of Ser Edwyd, whose wife might have stood higher in the line of succession if he proved bold enough. For his troubles, Ser Edwyd’s bones are to be sent to Blackcrown, to be buried among his ancestors. So ends the vanity of weak men. Ser Kendros Goodbrook, the famed Longaxe, has been sent to Highgarden to meet the judgment of the Lord Protector of the Reach, and doubtless will find himself exiled from the Reach for years to come.

And so the tourney, thrown in honor of Princess Ariana’s 17th name day, though rather belatedly—the tourney for such an occasion could not go on without her father, after all, and Ser Quinlan had lately retired to a private estate north of Sunspear, for reasons unknown… but much speculated. But return he did, and the tourney took place, and it was a grand affair with over thirty knights in all their pagentary, with lords among them, a mystery knight calling himself the Lord of the Bones, and Prince Rhodry, the Sand Dog Ser Laurent Dalt, bold Tamlyn Toland, Ser Joris Yronwood, Ser Valerin Dayne of the prince’s guard, the Lord Bailiff Ser Galwell Dalt, Ser Darion Fowler from distant Skyreach…

... but it was not, in the end, their day.

Instead, it was a knight only lately returned to court after a long sojourn in the west, in Starfall and thereabouts: Ser Aidan Dayne, the Knight of the Twilight. He defeated all before him, driving the infamous prince from the saddle, unmasking the Lord of the Bones as Lord Aryard Manwoody of Kingsgrave, sent his cousin Ser Tamlyn hurtling to the ground, and in the end defeated the Sand Dog to collect the purse of 2,000 golden suns worth of precious stones, and the crown for the Queen of Love and Beauty which he delivered, most gallantly, to Princess Ariana.

For some, such as Ser Tamlyn’s twin and certain other of the hostages, the result was practically a foregone conclusion. But for others… As interesting as the contest was, the wagering in the stands among the courtiers was fully as captivating, as many coins passed hands back and forth. Darius of Valin, notably, wagered hugely, using the wealth of his orphan kinsmen with remarkable freedom, and losing it with a consistency nearly as remarkable. Mavros Uller’s bastard daughter won herself a rich amount betting against the prince, and Caitrin Blackmont enriched her purse quite well, though in her final wager to determine the number of lances broken she was made to pay a forfeit: a kiss on the cheek. At least, that’s what Darius if Valin stipulated… but Lady Caitrin, grown great with child, had other ideas, and kissed Darius the Chaste in a most unchaste way, before the gathered courtiers. Some swear Darius whispered to a factor that he had made a grand mess for himself, since her husband Ser Laurent is the influential castellan of the Planky Town…

Afterwards there was a feast, for nobles and smallfolk alike. Some gossiped of light matters, of affairs and paramours, of duels in alleys and quarrels between boundaries. And others? They spoke of larger topics, of pirates in the Stepstones, on bandits in the Boneway. And that last led to other discussions, of the Yronwoods and the Wyls. Coran Wyl was not present for the tourney, having made excuses, something some made light of, much as they made light of the fact that he wasn’t a knight. A matter of some illness, some said, and others thought that a thin excuse for a man so obviously healthy and fit. Prince Marence has kept Wyl as a guest much longer than many expected… and in the meantime, Lord Wyl has avoided enflaming matters in the Marches, putting an end to the rare skirmishes between his men and those of the Dondarrions and other marcher lords. But some note that he still seems to harbor Red Rhys of the Scourge whenever that robber knight happens by, and he and the Witch Alyx Sand seem to do what they do with impunity.

And Lady Yronwood? She’s worse, with some saying some of the robbers that accost merchants on the Boneway are her own men, with their badges of allegiance hidden or removed, and others say she’s arming more men for a raid on the Marches.

Will a marriage between Lord Wyl’s heir to Princess Ariana be enough to turn the Wyls fully to Sunspear, so that might hold the Boneway against such madness? So do some wonder…

Lords, ladies and knights came from all across the Seven Realms, while the Queen sailed down the Mander to Highgarden on barges with near the entire court, for King Baelor was still recovering at Blackhaven. It was a leisurely progress, taking two weeks, with the Queen feted at Tumbleton and a tourney held in her honour at Bitterbridge. The day belonged to Ser Elmer Crakehall who overthrew knight after knight - including Ser Triston Templeton who was sore hurt, worrying the masters - finally facing the mystery knight riding as the Silent Knight. Him too he bested, unmasking Ser Anton Piper, naming his wife Lady Fiona Queen of Love and Beauty and winning the right to be the Queen’s champion in the lists at Highgarden.

Of Highgarden itself, the bards have already begun to sing. Great deeds were done there over the course of a month; famous knights added lustre to their reputations and others began forging names for themselves. The famed Ser Dagur Saltcliffe, known as the Iron Serpent and good-brother to the Lord-Protector, proved his fierce reputation well-earned as he won the betrothal joust. Ser Jaesin Lannister of the Kingsguard he unhorsed, and Ser Tancred Baratheon, heir to Storm’s End; the famous Ser Almer Connington, Ser Jonn Lannister, heir to Casterly Rock, Ser Elmer Crakehall, the Queen’s Champion. And finally, he bested beloved champion and steward to the king, Ser Conrad Arryn, to win the prize and queen his wife, Lady Reyna, Queen of Love and Beauty. He would also go on to win the grand melee, besting Ser Almer, and many others besides.

Dashing Ser Almer too had his victory after riding with great skill in a number of jousts, winning the fourth and final joust - the Joust of Champions - at month’s end. The Queen’s Champion Ser Elmer he overthrew, and skilled Ser Tancred, along with Ser Janden Melcolm. Finally, he unhorsed bold Ser Josmyn Reyne for the prize. But Ser Elmer was far from disgraced, for he had already covered himself with glory, doing the Queen proud as her champion by becoming the only knight there to win two jousts - chosen victor at the second joust, the Joust of Love, to add to his victory at Bitterbridge, and crowning Daena herself Queen of Love and Beauty in a gallant gesture that won much acclaim.

And Lord Allos Swann, the King’s Counter proved himself as skilled with a lance as with a tally stick, winning the third joust, felling a great many knights - Ser Anton Piper and Ser Alek Reyne; Ser Farin Prester, Ser Elmer and Ser Josmyn - before unhorsing the famous Ser Lymen Flowers, the Bastard of Honeyholt, for the prize. He too crowned his wife, Lady Kelyce, Queen of Love and Beauty.

Other knights as well did deeds worth the recounting - Ser Jonn, never known to be a jouster as his brother Ser Jaesin is, who yet proved himself the better at Highgarden, besting one knight after another. Ser Farin, who overthrew knights of renown; the Lord-Protector himself who took to the lists in the betrothal joust and made a gallant showing; above all, Ser Josmyn who bested more famous knights than many a renowned jouster managed.

But Ser Josmyn was also at the heart of the trouble that nearly saw a blood feud darken the tourney. For he along with his kinsman Ser Alek Reyne struck down Ser Obyn Meadows - favourite grandson of old Lord Manard Meadows and third in line to Grassy Vale - in the challenge of Monsters and Maidens, unknowingly killing him. It was the manner of it that incensed Ser Obyn’s kin, for Ser Alek felled the man - playing the Manticore Knight, one of the monsters holding the noble ladies who had all been spirited away from the masque the previous night captive - from behind. And even as Ser Obyn fell to his knees, crying, “Craven! Craven!” Ser Josmyn, already in mid-swing, struck him a blow that caved in helm and skull both.

Ser Josmyn went on to free the ladies by besting the final monster, the Night’s King played by Ser Conrad, but the real strife was to come later. Ser Obyn’s kin, led by his cousin, fierce Ser Kendros Goodbrook, known as Longaxe, and his good-brother, shrewd Ser Edwyd Bulwer, demanded vengeance, coming close to drawing steel on more than one occasion - most disastrously so at the third joust, when Longaxe, on being unhorsed by Ser Josmyn, challenged him to face him sword-to-sword, throwing the lists into chaos as he called for his blade. The situation was finally resolved only when Ser Ardon’s Tyrell guardsmen escorted the Goodbrook knight away.

In the end, the Queen herself and Ser Ardon summoned all those involved. Daena invoked the ancient tradition of blood-price, not seen for many years, ordering Ser Alek and Ser Josmyn to pay Ser Obyn’s father, Robett Meadows - for old Lord Manard had sickened with grief and taken to his bed - the sum of 1,500 dragons as recompense for the life taken. And in return, the Meadows and Goodbrooks would consider the matter ended. Both sides had no choice but to agree. But while the Reynes seemed glad to do so, Ser Obyn’s kin were not - and soon after being paid the gold, they departed Highgarden, well before tourney’s end.

Fortunately, Highgarden’s courtly ways and its graces served to distract the court from these bloody events even as they were happening. The Reach’s women are famed for their beauty and gentle ways, and these were on full display at entertainments such as Lady Tyrell’s masque, the theme of which was Great Stories. Some came dressed as their own ancestors, or characters from legend and myth. But none could match the splendour and cleverness of Lady Melissa Lannister and Ser Josmyn Reyne’s - him again - costumes, both winning the prize. It was after this that the ladies were siphoned off at the Queen’s summons and the knights and lords all called to the Field of Lances by a great roaring.

There a great mummers’ dragon breathed fire, and a terrible voice informed the assembled that their ladies had been taken - and indeed, there they all were, in a tumbrel. The dragon announced that a great game would commence the very next day - the game of Monsters and Maidens that would turn so ill-fated as the knights fought their way through a maze of thorn hedges and villains out of myth.

Another evening saw the garden made over into a living map of Westeros. The guests were escorted by Ser Ardon Tyrell through all the parts of the realm: the Westerlands, with a pair of lion cubs and a great throne hewn from golden rock , the Iron Islands, with pools of eels and goblets of salt-water. They saw the Wall with its tiny crows, and Winterfell with a pair of wolfcubs. From there they travelled through the Neck and a pair of snapping mummers’ lizard-lions into the Vale, up into mountains where a fierce falcon perched above a waterfall. Down again into the Riverlands, two streams coming together and filled with leaping trout, the Crownlands with the mummers’ dragon, this time sleeping. Finally, they saw the Stormlands and were greeted by a majestic stag - and a mummers’ griffin perched on a rock over the sea as a nod to Tyrell cousins, the Conningtons. At every stop there was food and wine aplenty—and no few expressed amazement at the creativity and detail in devising such an elaborate entertainment.

The women took part in tests of martial skill as well, such as archery. There, the Queen herself took to the field, greatly cheered by the smallfolk. And she proved herself easily the finest archer on display, defeating her closest rival, Ser Albyn Crane, to claim the prize - and then graciously asking that her purse of 500 dragons be distributed among the others who had shot well, such as Ser Albyn, Ser Galan Lannister and Lady Reyna.

And it was through that prize and all the others, not just the magnificence of the tourney, that Ser Ardon made clear that House Tyrell was still to be reckoned with. For they were truly kingly. Ser Dagur won a purse of 3,000 dragons for his victory at the betrothal joust and 2,000 for winning the grand melee, while Lord Allos received a large casket of precious stones of all kinds for the third joust. Ser Elmer won the finest jewels to gift to a lady for winning the Joust of Love while Lady Melissa and Ser Josmyn received a beautiful emerald necklace and a lovely jewel-pommeled sword respectively for the masque. Those who came second in the jousts and the melee were handsomely rewarded as well - but perhaps the greatest prize went to Ser Almer who was given a dagger of Valyrian steel with a dragonbone hilt for winning the joust of champions.

Throughout, there was feasting and mummers’ shows as well as music and singing of all kinds. Every night there was dancing, in the hall and in the gardens, and it seemed as if the Gods themselves smiled, for the weather was perfect. On the final night at Highgarden, the Queen hosted a feast herself, and gave gifts not only to her champion, Ser Elmer Crakehall, but to a number of other knights she felt had proved themselves, including Ser Janden Melcolm, Ser Luthor Rivers, and Ser Farin Prester. The court set out from Highgarden in a light mist that drew a curtain over the sight of such revels as the court had had, and veiled Highgarden away from them as if it were a pleasant dream, now ended.