Blood of Dragons

On a grey autumn day, with the lists damp underfoot and sawdust laid down against the mud, Lord Kennoth Bracken’s tourney in honor of Lady Bethany’s seventeenth nameday began with spectacle before sport. The morning had already seen the squires ride at rings, where young Raylan Bracken, squire to Ser Otho Royce, won the chief prize. But the greater crowd gathered for the pageantry of the knights, each called to present armor, helm, and verse before Lady Bethany and the royal box. Lady Bethany herself was dressed for fortune, in white with flames at the hem rising into silver and crystal, the same bright glints set through her hair. Beside her sat King Aegon, well pleased with the display, while Lord Bracken took evident pride in the honor done his daughter.

The knights came forward in all manner of guise. Ser Omrys Baratheon spoke of the Seven Kingdoms and loyalty to the realm. Ser Arros Beesbury, dressed all in black and gold as a great bee of Honeyholt, gave a lively performance before snapping his visor shut and departing to applause. Ser Wyllis Reyne came as the Crimson Lion of Castamere, Ser Clyve Bracken as Benedict Justman, and many others offered verses grave, flattering, or bold.

But the first true stir of unease came with Lord Balian Blackwood. He entered in dark pageantry, mounted on a midnight courser, with a white tree upon his breastplate and a cloak of raven feathers. Yet when his squire came running, there was no helm to present. Lord Bracken, noting that the helms of anointed knights had been accounted for and that Lord Balian was no knight, rejected him from the contest. The slight was not gentle. Laughter spread through parts of the stands, and Blackwood departed the lists in silence, with more dignity than those who mocked him.

The prize for verse, however, went not to the loudest or most flattering offering, but to Ser Aidan Dayne. Arrayed in silvered armor and the serene helm with the visage of Princess Nymeria, with a mantle of orange and red rumored to be Princess Mariah’s own, he came forward with his claimed nephew Lyonel Dayne. The young man, nervous but skilled, played the lute and sang of old Chroyane: its fall, the Rhoynar crossing, and love remade in Dorne. Lady Bethany was visibly delighted, and despite opinions pressed upon her by both king and father, she chose Ser Aidan as her champion of poetry. His prize was a fine belt of brown leather studded with rubies, with a gold buckle shaped like a rearing horse.

Then the jousting began in earnest.

The early rounds offered plenty of hard riding. Ser Arros Beesbury unhorsed Ser Otho Royce after three passes. Lord Farin Prester defeated Bloody Brus Bracken in a bruising contest of five passes. Ser Morgil Hastwyck, wearing the dragon-themed armor given him by King Aegon, struck down Ser Omrys Baratheon and made much of his victory. A mystery knight calling himself the Last Brother proved a formidable entrant, unhorsing Ser Jon Roxton with a tremendous blow before later being revealed as Ser Ryckon Westerling. Later, Ser Jon Roxton gave one of the day’s most admired displays of resilience. After having been hammered from the saddle by the Last Brother earlier, he returned to the lists and defeated Bloody Brus Bracken in six hard passes, to the delight of those who had wondered whether he would ride again at all.

The Lannisters also gave the crowd memorable sport. Ser Mathin Lannister first called upon his brother Jonn to withdraw, but Black Jonn answered with laughter and lance. The brothers rode fiercely, and after five passes Jonn sent Mathin to the ground. Later Jonn and Ser Omrys Baratheon struck one another so hard that both were unhorsed, forcing the contest to blades. The crowd rose as one when lion and stag took up tourney swords, and Jonn prevailed there as well, striking Omrys down and earning a thunderous cry for Casterly Rock. Yet the day’s most surprising run belonged to Ser Clyve Bracken. Already victorious over Ser Edrick Buckler, Clyve rode on with increasing confidence beneath the guise of Benedict Justman. He then faced Lord Aimery Fell, one of the most respected jousters present, and after four passes drove him from the saddle. Not long after, he faced Ser Aidan Dayne himself. Few would have expected the son of Bloody Brus to overthrow the Knight of the Twilight, but Clyve endured two hard passes and on the third struck true, sending Aidan down and setting the Bracken benches roaring.

For a time it seemed Clyve might carry the day for Stone Hedge. The Hand’s delight was plain, and the cry of “Stone Hedge!” followed him through the field. But Ser Morgil Hastwyck ended that run, defeating Clyve in two passes in a contest quickly taken as the king’s favor overcoming the Hand’s. Clyve bore the loss with suitable words, though plainly disappointed, and set his eyes on winning a second chance to ride in the final tilt. The closing stages saw Ser Aidan fight his way back through the field. He avenged earlier defeats and overcame Ser Othan Blackmane, Ser Ryckon Westerling, and finally avenged his defeat at the hands of Ser Clyve. This brought him to the final against Ser Morgil Hastwyck, the King’s favored Master of Horse.

The final was brief but hard. Morgil and Aidan met with splintering lances, each landing strong blows, but on the third pass Morgil’s strike was the truer. Ser Aidan was driven from the saddle, and Ser Morgil claimed the victory. He made no modest thing of it, basking in the crowd’s acclaim and the clear pleasure of the king who had favored him. Lord Bracken then announced the prizes. To Ser Morgil Hastwyck went the grand prize of 10,000 dragons, as well as the honor of crowning the Queen of Love and Beauty. Morgil, knowing well where his favor lay, returned the crown to Lady Bethany herself, naming her Queen of Love and Beauty in honor of her nameday and her loyal companionship to the king. To Ser Aidan Dayne, as runner-up, went a second prize of 5,000 dragons. In the aftermath of Ser Morgil’s victory, fine feasting and drinking took place, and after there were rumors of a less pleasant sort—that the Master of Horse had made certain boasts about his own prowess, about the largesse of the king his friend… and made certain scurrilous remarks regarding the Prince of Dragonstone and even the queen.