Blood of Dragons

The Conclave has met in the Citadel of Oldtown, the measurements and testaments of maesters across the Seven Kingdoms collated and examined by the wise archmaesters... and on white wings, the word that summer has ended and autumn has begun spreads across the realm. The white raven's arrival in the Red Keep found the castle already in a festive mood, hard on the announcement of not one, but two women in the royal circle being with child. One was Princess Mariah, now carrying her fourth child for the Prince of Dragonstone, Daeron. The news of that would be celebrated as far as Sunspear, but…

The war that King Aegon launched has ended before it began. The aftermath of the wildfire disaster in the kingswood -- hundreds dead, supplies destroyed -- was bad enough, but the news of the fleet preparing to attack Dorne having been shattered by a great storm that howled up through the narrow sea finally made King Aegon pause. With his chief vassals and captains urging him to call off the war, Aegon at last agreed to do so, allowing many of the lords and levies to go back to whence they came. The remaining forces, returning to the crownlands or the riverlands for the most part, would follow…

The pavilions have swelled in number around King's Landing, as banners from across much of the Seven Kingdoms have arrived led by proud knights and lords eager to fulfill their duty to King Aegon and more eager still for the glory of conquest in Dorne. The city is bursting to the seams with men-at-arms and sellswords, causing great trouble for the gold cloaks at times as wherever soldiers gather camp followers are sure to follow. The day soon approaches for the march on Dorne, it's widely rumored, and across the Blackwater the last of the king's wooden "dragons" even now nears completion under…

"Dark wings, dark words," some say, and though often enough the ravens that bear messages across the Seven Kingdoms bring glad tidings -- of weddings, of births, of tourneys, of victories -- from time to time that old saw proves to be true. So it was when a raven arrived at the rookery at Sunspear, the message tied to its leg opened and examined by the Old Palace's maester. What followed was a hasty relay, from the rookery to the chambers of the Prince of Dorne, followed by the captain of guards being called for, and household knights being sent out to find Prince Maron's councillors and…

The court of King Aegon, Fourth of His Name, carries on with relative calm despite the lesser and greater turmoils its ruler has been known to cause with his endeavors, amorous and otherwise. Prince Daeron has returned to Dragonstone for a time following the birth of his latest child, leaving the small council to manage the affairs of the realm while the king was distracted by his own personal affairs. In the meantime, the court has enjoyed itself, with small feasts and social gatherings, and a running rumor that some great tourney and contests will soon be called. Princess Daena, the king's…

These are strange times in King's Landing, with a scholar from far, mysterious Yi Ti having captured the attention of half the court, rumor of new conflicts stirring in the Free Cities, unrest at the king's continuing failure to choose a Hand to share some of the burden of all the tasks he has set for himself and his reign. All seems well -- or seemed well, in any case, until an unexpected discovery set the court into chaos: Princess Elaena, the king's niece, was with child. The uproar that followed cannot be overstated, so soon after her elder sister Daena herself had already given birth to a…

The wages of life for mortal men on the earth are good and bad both, and so it is for the realms of men: there is good and ill that happens in every corner and part of them, happy tidings and wicked, occurrences shocking and delightful, endings joyous and onerous. Of late, this last moon and more, has seen more of these of note in Westeros. A ship from White Harbor bore tidings of a great melee at Last Hearth which drew famed warriors from throughout the North, only for nigh a score men to be killed in the process, and many more besides sore wounded before all was said and done. The occasion…

Maron Nymeros Martell, Lord of Sunspear, Prince of Dorne, had called for a public court beneath the great dome of the Tower of the Sun to hear out petitions and requests, to pass judgements, and to make announcements. These things he did, nearly without incident. From giving his blessings to the betrothal between Ser Jordan Dayne, his castellan of the citadel at Planky Town, and Rhialta Santagar to dealing with concerns from Cyrissa, Lady of Kingsgrave that the shariffs had grown slack in their efforts against criminals, Prince Maron showed a measured, thoughtful manner belying his years. More…

King Baelor, the First of His Name, the septon-king of House Targaryen, held court in the Red Keep beneath the dragon skulls that had come to adorn the throne room. Of late, misfortunes had befallen his house -- an unwed sister bearing a bastard child whose father she would not name, all the prayers wasted in trying to kindle life in dragon eggs left from his father's day -- and many saw in the king a change. He had become less easy to smile and more zealous in his prayers, and this was on full display during the petitions brought before him. Many of the lords and ladies and knights who…

The Iron Bank's business with Dorne appears to have been settled at last -- at least, as evidenced by the departure of the bank's envoys to the Planky Town and away across the narrow sea on a purple-hulled galley. They had largely retreated to the manse they leased from a merchant, and saw few visitors... but occasionally they accepted invitations to dinners and feasts with guildsmen and traders and even lords and ladies of the realm. Yet on these occasions they revealed almost nothing about what had made them come to bring pressure to bear on Sunspear, saying only it was a matter for the…

News of Princess Daena's escape from the Maidenvault arrived in Dorne just as King Baelor prepared to return to King's Landing, and though he prayed for a swift wind to blow the fleet home, Lord Velaryon's ships maintained a good, steady, but unremarkable pace as they crossed the Sea of Dorne, and Shipbreaker Bay, and finally beat against contrary winds to pass through the Blackwater. At certain points, the fleet sent swift, small galleys to resupply and to find out if there were any word of the princess, and to relay the king's commands to have the City Watch do all it could to recover his…

In the days following the marriage of Prince Daeron Targaryen to Princess Mariah Nymeros Martell, King Baelor and Prince Maron, both, have busied themselves with matters that have interested them. Between audiences, councils, sermons, and entertainments, both men have been busy. King Baelor, a septon in his own right, was greatly moved by sermons made by Sunspear's septons preaching reconciliation and forgiveness on the anniversary of the Submission of Sunspear. So much so, in fact, that he personally carried out acts of reconciliation, meeting privily with Ser Mavros Uller and Prince Rhodry…

The realms rejoiced at the marriage of Prince Daeron to Princess Mariah, as King Baelor officiated and administered the vows. After the melee born in violence, tensions had eased somewhat, and while still there were incidents of old feuds and old blood causing fresh troubles, none of them were serious enough to cause lasting turmoil. Instead, the court and the shadow city were consumed with the entertainments prepared by Prince Maron in the days leading to the marriage, from a horse race won by the bastard daughter of Ser Mavros Uller to a pageant featuring fantastical scenes of ancient heroes…

With the wedding of Princess Mariah to Prince Daeron fast approaching, there have been incidents that have raised concerns whether the guests that accompanied the northern wedding party would be able to survive their visit to Sunspear. Tense meetings, a few beatings, and even a suspect death or two have made the lords and knights in King Baelor's company all the sharper with their Dornish hosts. And the Dornish hosts have wondered much the same. A particularly dangerous incident in the practice yards of the Old Palace, involving Princess Mariah's uncle Rhodry Nymeros Martell, brought matters…

It had not even needed the landing at the Planky Town for the royal wedding party to learn that there was a new Prince of Dorne: a Lysene ship on its way back to its home port shared the news as it passed, and there was much wonder and surprise. King Baelor led the day's prayers with a benediction for young Prince Maron, and for his ailing father Prince Marence, as Viserys and others of his councillors quietly convened to discuss the matter. The next day, the fleet under Lord Velaryon's command arrived at Planky Town, bearing peace when once his ships had brought war. Disgorging the royal…