Blood of Dragons

The fifth day saw one of the most complex and exciting of tournaments, as a challenger who was defeated in the lists received a second opportunity to continue. Sixteen knights in total competed in the list. First and foremost was Aemon the Dragonknight, who drove the famous young Dornish knight Tamlyn Toland from the saddle in his first joust. Ser Aidan Dayne, the Knight of the Twilight who had come so close to the prize two days earlier, fought and defeated Ser Axell Farman. Ser Victor Reyne, heir to Castamere, defeated the larger of the two Twins of the Crossing, Ser Halder. The Iron…

The fourth day of jousting saw a field of more than forty knights take part, thanks to the novel rules that could lead to ignominious defeats or epic victories. It was decreed by the Master of the Games, Ser William the royal steward, that champions would be chosen by lot to initially defend four pavilions. However, challengers could only challenge the knight defending the first pavilion. If they defeated him, they could take his place, or hazard challenging the defender of the next pavilion, and so on. A great knight, or at least a confident one, might hope to achieve the relative security of…

Following the joust and the choosing of Balian Blackwood as champion of the day, the throne room saw the noble guests and royal family entertained by groups of mummers, including one that is said to have come from across the Narrow Sea just for the tourney. While nobles dined on fine foods and drank fine wines, each group was brought in, announced by the King's herald. The first group recreated the romantic tale of the motley knight, Florian the Fool and his Jonquil. The act was quite over the top, from the men dressed as women (complete with melons down their shirts) to the hyperactive…

Besides the jousting, competitions of a different sort took place. Riding at Rings, a staple of the training many youths go through as they labor to become men worthy of knighthood, has often seen squires compete in it before lords and kings for the sake of prizes. But it's rare indeed to see women compete in it, as a number of young ladies of high birth did on the grounds of the Red Keep. With a gathering of the nobility to watch, the king presided over a contest in which Princess Daena and one of her ladies in waiting, Lady Carmella Dondarion, competed against Lady Ammena of House Piper and…

The third day of jousting saw a different format, as the field of thirty-two jousters were made aware of the rules. It was decreed that any knight who should break at least three lances in the course of the joust should receive parole to joust against those who had managed that same feat, for the right to challenge the last knight left undefeated. After the first round of jousting, sixteen jousters were left, some which had managed the feat of breaking three lances and guaranteeing their place in the final. The jousting began well, with Ethos Mertyns, squire to the Stormbreaker, refusing for…

Though a smaller field of knights participated in the second day's tournament, none could say the results were not noteworthy and remarkable. With an unusual format in which the thirty-two jousters competed in small pools of four each, with the best advancing to the next pool, much of the morning was taken up resolving the contests. In the end, two pools of knights were left. In the first, Lord Manfred Dondarrion of Blackhaven, Ser Sarmion Baratheon, Ser Aidan Dayne, and the heir to Ninestars, Ser Triston Templeton, jousted with one another. It was remarked by many that the Knight of the…

The first day of the Royal Tourney proved as thrilling as anticipated, and the amazing pageantry and colour of the festivities was surpassed only by the action in the lists. Before the eyes of the Young Dragon King Daeron, along with the Princesses Daena and Rhaena, Ser William Waxley and the royal party, and many lords, ladies, knights, squires and smallfolk, (including Lord Manfred Dondarrion, the Ladies Elyn and Aisling Ryswell, Marian Stark, Jyana Arryn, Kellyn Lannister, Carmella Dondarrion, Reyna Saltcliffe, Ammena Piper, Rosalind Hill, Ryssa Waters, Keira Sand, the knights Bryon…

After interminable delays caused by a host of factors, not least the extravagant preparations called upon by the king to appropriately celebrate the conquest of Dorne, it seems that at last the tourney draws near. The tourney fields are now readied for the inevitable sea of tents and pavillions that will serve as home to hundreds of visitors, and the lists and barriers are all whitewashed perfection. Wagons come in daily, laden with victuals, cloth, and other goods to help feed and keep the noblemen who will come to feast day in and day out. Ships have come the last month from the Arbor, and…

Last night, the King's men took and (further) imprisoned a hostage from the Dornish Tower. Shortly after dusk, a troop of goldcloaks, a maester, and four retainers of Viserys Targaryen, Hand of the King, made their way quietly into the Tower and the Fowler residence on the second floor. The men emerged barely a minute later with Damarya Allyrion in tow. Outside of her apartments, Damarya's screams for Serion Uller echoed into the stairwell. She was not calling for help, however, but for the blind young man to come out and face her. In the words of one bystander, Damarya, stiff and shaking with…

His Grace, King Daeron, has been ensconced more and more with the small council as news arrives from Dorne of the continuing issues there raised by petty bandits and rebels who refuse to bend their knees. It is said Prince Viserys has made all his efforts in convincing the king to trust in Lord Tyrell and his other captains in Dorne, but the youthful valor of the king will not be gainsaid from spending as many hours as he wishes in interpreting reports and sending orders. It is well known that certain Dornishmen have audiences with the king, perhaps so that he may seek their opinions on what…

Weeks have passed since Daeron II's triumphant return to King's Landing, and in all that time he seemed to exchange no more than a dozen words with his cousin, Prince Aegon. Those who cared about such things supposed it had to do with the hot-blooded prince's taking as mistress the Dornish hostage Cassella Vaith. Certainly, when Aegon finally appeared before the king in his private solar in Maegor's Holdfast, his father the Hand of the King, Prince Viserys, was also present. What was said is known only to those present in that room, but the discussion lasted near an hour. When Aegon at last…

All the noblest and best of the city were gathered in the throne room of the Targaryen kings, with the great black skulls of the dragons looking down upon them. Merchants, guild masters, and even small folk looked down upon the glittering court from the galleries, as the king and the royal kin -- save Prince Aegon and Princess Naerys -- entered the thronged hall. Seated upon the Iron Throne, King Daeron called Prince Viserys before him and confirmed him in his place as Hand, thanking him for his efforts on his behalf and that of the realm. So, too, was Lord Lyonel Tyrell confirmed as holding…

The Young Dragon entered in triumph into King's Landing, greeted by his adoring subjects despite the steady drizzle of rain. A huge fleet of ferries and rafts and boats carried him, the Hand, the Kingsguard, and hundreds upon hundreds of knights who had fought through the whole of the campaign with his grace. Before the River Gate, the king was greeted by the High Septon, the, royal councillors and the rest of the court, as well as by his loving siblings. All the great knights and lords and ladies at court were present, save for the ailing Princess Naerys who stayed indoors, and her husband…

In the early hours of the day, Prince Aegon Targaryen entered the Dornish Tower with a dozen guards, knights, and several servants. This was similar to his other visits over the past weeks, as he provided Ser William the Steward assistance with arrangements concerning the part of the Dornish hostages in Daeron's arrival. But this was not a usual visit, to oversee fittings or discussion of details. It soon transpired that Lady Cassella Vaith, daughter of the deceased rebel Lord Caston, was being taken away from the tower and the company of the other hostages. Was she to be released, returned to…

In the small hours of the day, Prince Viserys Targaryen, uncle and Hand to King Daeron, departed from the Red Keep with a train made of equal parts of royal household knights and his own personal guard from the Tower of the Hand. Accompanying him was his son, Prince Aemon of the Kingsguard, and the Lords Ryger and Cargyll of the Small Council with their own small retinues. A minimum of followers and supplies travel with them, and those largely carried by mules rather than in ox-cart wagons. According to all the news, the Hand is travelling south into the stormlands, where King Daeron's passage…