I am sick of it all. I am sick of the depressing landscape that litters outside my castle of Starpike -the ruin that Lord
Brynden Bloodraven has kindly gifted to me after the Battle at Redgrass Field. I am sick of grovelling to the Targaryens,
the Tyrells and even that bastard Raven after my unfortunate support of the "usurper" Daemon Blackfyre. However most
of all I am sick of the smug smile that Lord Ashford has on his pimpled fat face as he sat across the table from me. The
Ashford House is an upstart family that gained favor with the Targaryens during Aegon's conquest and the current Lord
Ashford is a young parvenu only nine and thirty. A plump and comfortable fella who has drank and whored his way into
the good favors of the Targaryens, his only saving grace was that he choose the red dragon during the great battle and
now he is given lordship over the lands along the tributary of Cockleswhent river: a title that rightfully belonged to ME!
The three castles lying along Cockleswhent: Cawthorne, New Barrel and Starpike all currently proudly fly the Peake banner,
but alas, Daemon Blackfyre lays dead on the Redgrass Field and now this son of a pig sit in front of me waving a piece
of paper from King Daeron concerning my punishment for supporting the Black Dragon.
"Lord Peake, our good King Daeron is a merciful king and he has seen fit that you should keep your head on your
shoulders while your family would remain unharmed. Whats more, he has also decreed that the holding of Starpike shall
remain in your household and that you will continue to be the Lord of Starpike until The Seven see fit to call you up.
However even his boundless mercy must be tempered with justice and an example must be made of one such as yourself. You
who shielded the Usurper's sons and was one of the highest ranking supporter of the Usurper. This is our Kings
Command: that you will forfeit your estate of Cawthorne to Lord Yelshire and New Barrel to Ser Raymund Fossaway and
your overlordship of the Cockleswhent region shall henceforth be transfer to me. From this day forth I shall post a
retinue of overseers in Starpike and the Castle of Starpike shall retain no more than a thousand men at arms and no
more than fifty knights. In addition, you must surrender a hostage of your own blood to be sent to King's Landing as
assurance of your future loyalty. What say you of these terms, Lord Peake?"
Biting my lips, I barely contained my anger and pronounced: "Lord Ashford, I am grateful of an esteemed nobleman
such as yourself bringing the king's message to my humble estate. I am but a humble servant who has erred in his
judgement. The terms are fair, give me one day to disband my retinue and you shall have my reply tomorrow."
"Of course, I shall patiently wait for your answers tomorrow. Tonight I shall rest with my escorts outside in the
castle town." With that said, Lord Ashford stood up and triumphantly walked out of the room to join the ten thousand
men that was dispatched to kindly remind me of my precarious conditions.
Curse that man and curse all the Targaryens to hell, there is no way King Daeron doesn't know that I have only one
child, my son and heir Edwyn. While its true Edwyn is four and twenty and has two sons, they are both but infants. That
smug Ashford knows this and plan to take my Edwyn north with him to present to King Daeron as a trophy! My only
SON AND HEIR, a glorified prisoner in Kings Landing. Whats more, with a single stroke of a pen, that Bastard Daeron
has brought our house low, the House Peake that has been the most powerful lords in the Cockleswhent region since
before the conquest of Aegon with all the lesser lords doing fealty to us. The House Peake with its proud ancestry dating
back to the fourth son of Garth Greenhand. If I acceed to the terms of the Targargyens, only the Castle of Starpike and
the city of Bingfield will be left in my fief leaving our House without a doubt the most humble and impoverished house in
all of Reach, nay, all of Westeros.
"Son, know this, dead men have no pride and neither do they value honor. They neither enjoy the comfort of home nor
pleasure of a woman. All the treasures of the world matters not to them and won't bring them a single measure of
happiness. LIVE! My son, LIVE and THRIVE! IF EVER HONOR or PRIDE should conspire to deceive you, forsake them. Ten
years, twenty years, one generation, two generation, what of it! Life is too precious and if its revenge that you seek,
remember this always! Revenge for the living not the dead!"
My father's words on his death bed thunders in my head. I still remember his trembling withered hand holding mine. His
sunken eye sockets could not hide the bright light in his eyes as he pointed to the old painting hung in his bed chamber.
The painting was of Aegon Targargyen, the second of his name who lost a hundred battles only to live and survive and
eventually triumph over his proud sister Rhenyra. Then I was but a young hot blooded lordling who thought nothing but
battles for honor and glory, Redgrass Field has changed all of that. I seen what men can do to others and the folly of
honor and glory on the battlefield. Daemon Blackfyre honorablly spared Ser Corbray only to be ruthlessly cut down by a
bastard. I have never quite understood my father's dying words nor their significance but now faced with the most
serious crisis of my life, I suddently saw the light.
It was a cold morning when I led my son Edwyn out of the Castle. His eyes swollen, he already bid a tearful goodbye to
his aged mother, his loving young wife and his two newborn babes. In the court yard, I gave him the words of my father.
"Remember Son, this tragedy shall pass one day. I do not know when we shall meet again but I want you to remember
this: what ever you do, live and thrive! I promise you the next time we meet, I shall take you home across the field
filled with the corpses of our enemies!"
As Edwyn mounted his black strider and rode away with Lord Ashford, I immediately set about to the business of
rebuilding Starpike and summoned my council from the lands left in my lordship. The road ahead will be long and
ardous, but LIVE and THRIVE! Those words echoed through out the great hall of Starpike.