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 cousin and once queen to Baelor the Blessed, was seen of late in the castle’s yard practicing with the Dornish bow her brother had gifted her years earlier, seeming inclined to believe that Aegon would be convinced to at least host an archery competition for the ladies of the court. Daena’s onlookers included a gathering of a collection of handsome young knights and lordlings, and vivacious and worldly young ladies, who spend their time idly in gossip and entertainments… but also in doting on the princess’s bastard son, Daemon Waters, a boy of two years who watched his mother’s archery with the delight that only a child could show. “The little prince” some have taken to calling him, or even “the bastard prince”, though of course he does not hold that title.
In another realm entire, that of Dorne, the young Prince Maron seems an able leader who has largely kept wise and experienced lords and ladies about him. But then, there are the ties of blood, and one cannot choose one’s relations… And that may be why the prince, concerned of rumors of restive young men-at-arms and minor lords in the Boneway, sent Prince Rhodry and his good-brother Ser Tamlyn Toland to investigate the matter, and to report back as well on the state of the defenses of the pass.
For months they were gone, but when they returned they came back with a score of knights and men-at-arms in addition to their escort, men who would have the honor of serving in the royal household, or that of some prince or princess, such that they could enjoy the pleasures of Sunspear and the shadow city amidst the Winding Walls. The canniest of them recognized that in fact they were chosen not so much for their prowess, but because they had made too much noise about wishing to raid into the Marches and make names for themselves.
Worst of all, rumors had it that Prince Rhodry reported to his nephew that Lady Yronwood was doing very little to discourage such thoughts, and indeed that Yronwood would likely be the first great house of Dorne to break the peace that Maron’s predecessor, his father Prince Maron, had forged with Baelor the Blessed. Unless, that is, something was done to keep the Yronwoods, and all the other would-be raiders, in line. And so Prince Maron ponders a solution to that problem, and is said to send letters to Dragonstone as he seeks Prince Daeron’s advice and support in maintaining peace between the Iron Throne and Dorne.