Episode 7 - Maekar
- 7 Chapters
Chapter 1: Of Union & Unity
The realm requires peace. It requires feasts & weddings, respite & reprieve.
That, it will not receive. Even as Ser Garic Baratheon, Lord of Storm's End, marries Lady Argella Dondarrion of Blackhaven, ravens carry news of terrible misfortunes.
There was to be peace & prosperity. Now there is war at heart of realm & there is no respect for the Gods & their laws left in the heart of the Black Dragon.
Chapter 2: A Royal Fleet
With the Fleet of Driftmark not yet agreed to give up its independence for the exiled crown, the Master of Ships,
Ser Killian begins construction on a new Royal Fleet in White Harbor.
Hope is not yet lost on the Velaryon endeavor as Driftmark's behemoth carries the Royal household to their ancestral island & sits ready to blockade the Gullet.
Chapter 3: To wed a Lannister
As the heir to Crakehall weds Mesilla Lannister in the shadow of the Rock, armies move & rumble in the squares & along the harbor. The strength of the Westerlands gathers as a tourney is held to determine the greatest of knights - to join the newly established Council of War in the lions den.
Ser Tygett Swyft, the heir to Cornfield, unhorses many a knight to win the Lion's favor & serve on his council.
Chapter 4: Small Yao
There are news of mass desertions from Grey Gallows as the pirate known as "Big Yao" looses control of his fleet. In the end, it is almost bloodless- for the westerosi. News from Bloodstone speak of the Drahar fleet tucking tail & fleeing southeast.
As day dawns over the accursed isles of the Stepstones, it feels as if peace has returned to its shores. The vital chokepoint will bring great prosperity to the realm & those who hold it.
Chapter 5: Rise & Fall
Silverhill had seen a great feast just recently- a wedding between the last daughter of Lord Piper of the Riverlands & the dashing younger son of House Serret. As the couple departed, off to Lannisport to pay their respects to their new liege lord.
Just a few weeks had they marched with their contribution to the Lion's War Council, did they hear of tragedy. The line of Serrett had been usurped, the heir & their lady slain in cold blood by Ser Xander Rowan, who flew the Black Dragon banner over the fort.
Chapter 6: The Battle of the Kingswood
A young man named Daemon Blackfyre once marched on the capital. That was 13 years ago. They slew him, a youth of 20, laid low at the Redgrass Field. His son marched on the capital, now 13 years later & they crowned him King. Prince Maekar was his cousin by blood. Yet the two men despised each other.
King Daemon Blackfyre II
"Young Daemon"
Prince Maekar Targaryen
"The Anvil"
In the Kingswood, just outside the city, Maekar watched his forces swell. The Velaryon fleet had brought him men from the Crownlands, bringing his host to over 4 thousand. Then, the Martell troops arrived from the Stepstones. Veterans of one war already.
After the counting was done, his force was equal to that of Daemons. News spoke of a new army being raised at Storm's End. No ravens had come from the Reach. None from the Riverlands or the West. Daemon would receive forces from the west. Maekar considered his options. For the first time in a while, he thought of what Baelor might have done. Now he wished for riders at the eleventh hour.
The choice would not be his. Horns blared. Daemon was riding out toward him. He would meet the young Blackfyre here, in the Kingswood.
The Crown's forces held firm. Their formations were no match for Daemon's ill organized host. It would take them until nightfall, but they would succeed. Maekar could not fathom why Daemon would engage him here.
Then a scout found him. Another host was headed for their direction. Equal his size. It would pin him against Daemon's lines.
Like a Hammer... The gods were cruel. He thought of his children when he rode into the vanguard.
Ser Rufus Stone
Protector of the Vale
Rufus Stone tied his message to the Raven & sent it off to Bitterbridge. He looked back at his disembarking force. Daemon would keep the Prince busy a while longer, it would be costly, but he was almost ready. By nightfall, the Knights of the Vale would crash into Maekar's flank, his men would break the Prince. The terrain was not ideal, but with his numbers, it did not make a difference.
He smelled the air. He wouldn't smell the brine again until he stood by the throne. The die had been cast, the Blackwater crossed, there was no going back...
As quickly as it began, it was all over. The fires in the Kingswood could be seen for miles.
They say Lord Ulrich Hunter was seen impaling the heir to Driftmark on a spike. Ser Godric Corbray is said to
have slain a score of Darklyn Knights by himself, fighting like a man possessed. Ser Rufus, however, is rumored
to have braced Maekar with his feared mace. Lord Veynar Velaryon swears he heard Rufus shout "Kinslayer!"
as he charged the Prince.
In the end, almost five thousand crownlanders, two thousand dornishmen & a prince lay dead at the foot of the
Blackwater rush. Like it once happened, 13 years ago. His father had been avenged & King Daemon II. had his
men crown him again & again, on their march back to the capital.
Chapter 7: Not in the Stars
At Bitterbridge, Lord Eldon Tyrell, the Warden of the Reach, met with Lord Cecile Arryn, the Warden of the Vale.
Many other lords were in attendance as well, Lord Grafton of Gulltown, Lord Caswell of course & Lord Geoffrey Morrigen,
representing House Baratheon's interests at this crucial gathering. Morrigen however, was there, not at the invitation
of Lord Tyrell, but Lord Grafton. So the humble lord excused himself to private accommodations, an estate in town,
provided by Lord Caswell.
He was there when a visit by Lord Arryn surprised him. "For grievous matters", Arryn insisted. To Morrigen, Bitterbridge
seemed like it would result in far more than he bargained for. He was right in some way. For he did not know that Cecile Arryn
had received a raven just earlier that day. A raven telling him that Rufus had disembarked at the Blackwater & would soon clash with Maekar. A truth everyone would know by the days end.
Ser Geoffrey Morrigen welcomed him. He was here on a mission to secure further council positions for his liege lord, but the welcoming diplomat hoped for more from the Warden of the Vale. Perhaps he could shed light on the Gulltown affair, he thought.
Instead of offers, Lord Arryn spoke of the realm's struggles. The yoke of the absentee King Aerys & of the Blackfyre threat. Of what the realm was & what it could be. He spoke of tyranny & of great promise.
Ser Geoffrey protested. Retorted about the fortunes of men. The unique opportunity the crown had given the Lords Paramount to prove themselves worthy of the realm. He spoke of stability returning with Maekar.
Cecile smiled at the implication. He was decades the younger to Lord Morrigen. This man
had seen much, many Kings & Councils change. But Cecile was a young man. He did not
want to watch the tide slowly turn as the decades faded.
"The fault, dear Ser Geoffrey, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings."
Ser Geoffrey Morrigen did not see the dagger at all. He saw the Lord Paramount of the
Eyrie stand up to excuse himself, then step too close to him as he reached into his coat.
The Baratheon guards rushed to their side. Under a banner of truce, of neutrality, of
guestright no less, here at Bitterbridge. As the Arryn men fought the household
sentries, Lord Cecile Arryn stood perfectly still in the middle of the room, watching
Ser Geoffrey Morrigen bleed out.
His men would overpower the Baratheon bannermen. Soon, someone would arrive.
They would ask questions. But here, like this, all those questions would be in vain.
The rule of House Targaryen would end. With them, those that clung to the Red Dragon
would fall. He had always been left the dark, overtaken by men like Morrigen. That would
end too. The clever men of the old court would smile in his face no longer as they stole his
birthright. The Black Dragon would rise, & House Arryn with it.
This murder has created a second "Riposte" situation. Refer to the Map for the exclamation in Bitterbridge & to Chapter 3 of the Rules for further explanation.