Lord Tytos Lannister

The flames had licked at his mother's body upon the funeral pyre, as was tradition for the Targaryens his mother had been cremated, her ashes though would not be going back to King's Landing or Dragonstone, no they had been interred in the Hall of Heroes with Tytos' father and two elder brothers. Despite what his uncle might think, Tytos knew that his mother had truly loved his father and that the feeling had been mutual. To him it seemed only right that they remain together now that they were no longer in this world, along with Lucion and Loren, his two older brothers who had died in battle.

There were times when Tytos still had a hard time believing that he was Lord of the Rock, this cup had never been meant for him, it had always been meant for Lucion and Loren, the two older brothers, the two stronger and wiser brothers. Everything had been, from the lordship to Tytos' own wife, Myrcella was a proud woman from House Tarbeck, a strong woman, a beautiful woman and there were times when Tytos feared that he was not good enough for her, or for the lordship or even for their children: Tywin, Kevan, Tygett, Genna and Gerion.

He knew what his bannermen and even some of the servants whispered behind their cups and hands at meals and feasts, that he was too nice of a person to be Lord of the Rock, that his father would never have stood for the insults that Lord Damon Reyne continued to throw at him, that his father would have marched on Castamere and put it to the sword for their lord's impudence. Tytos often had to restrain himself from shouting at such people, that his father was dead now killed by outlaws, and he was not mourned, no, no one mourned Garon Lannister, the man was not loved his father had been feared and despised but not loved, no the only person who it seemed had ever loved Garon Lannister had been Tytos's mother, despite the fact that the man beat her and abused her constantly.

Growing up in the shadow of two elder brothers, had given Tytos the room he needed to hide and be his own person, he had never wanted the limelight, had never expected it to pass to him, and yet now it had and sometimes he wondered if he were even up to the job. Sometimes he wondered if perhaps he should just take the black and let his wife and brother Gerion rule until Tywin came of age, perhaps they would do a much better job about it. But there was something that kept him from actually acting on that feeling was his pride, and the fact that he had been taught to never abandon his duty to his family and to his people, he would hold on even if it killed him.

The king had come to Casterly Rock for the tourney being held in Daenys Lannister's memory, Tytos' uncle King Brynden was not an imposing man by any means, he was of an average height with a lithe build, but he radiated a certain aura about him, a certain strength that had always impressed Tytos, awed him a little even. The king had come with his wife Queen Rowena, as well as with his sons Aenar and Maekar as well as with his grandson Prince Aegyl the Prince of Dragonstone, along with four knights of the Kingsguard, all of whom were meant to compete in the tourney at one point or another.

Tytos knew that things between his family and his uncle's family had been tense since the Blackfyre rebellions had first started; it all had something to do with King Daeron the good keeping Tytos' grandfather and great uncle hostages in King's Landing to ensure Damon Lannister's support. Something about that action had caused years of subdued bitterness and resentment and suspicion to brew between the two houses, despite the fact that both Tytos' father and grandfather had served on the small council. Tytos himself was relieved that he had not been asked to serve; he was not as politically savvy as his wife was, nor did he truly wish to venture into the snake pit that was King's Landing, besides he did not think that his uncle truly thought much of him anyway.

The tourney itself seemed to be going well; the archery contest had been held and had been won by Lord William Osgrey of Coldmoat, the man a war hero of the last Blackfyre rebellion. Second place had been Tytos' brother Gerion, who had been scowling ever since. The melee had taken place earlier that day as well, seeing all those men fight in the ring battering each other to pieces, had brought back memories of seeing Lucion and Loren do something similar when they had all been boys, it had stirred something of an ache inside of him, but the eventual winner had been declared. Lord Tyrek Baratheon had won the day with his mace.

That just left the jousting which had begun a few moments before, Tytos brought himself back into the present in time to see Ser Brandon Stark of the Kingsguard unhorse Ser Simon Tully, bringing the man crashing down with a mighty big thump, the commons cheered, for the man they called the White Wolf, the youngest ever knight to be raised to the guard. After that the jousting seemed to fly by, Tytos watched as Ser Brandon Stark made lightning quick work of Ser Albar Hightower unhorsing him in a single tilt, Stark then unhorsed Ser Alex Yronwood in two tilts, and then needed just a single tilt to bring down Ser Quentyn Bracken , his sworn brother. In the other jousts, Prince Aenar had advanced far as well unhorsing most of those he faced in a single tilt or two. Eventually the semi finalists were Ser Brandon Stark, who had quickly become the favourite to win, Prince Aenar another favourite, Ser Gerold Hightower and Ser Loren Reyne. It took Prince Aenar five attempts before he eventually unhorsed Ser Loren Reyne, Ser Brandon needed just two to unhorse his fellow sworn brother.

The atmosphere in the ground as the two finalists lined up was thick with tension, the crowd was divided over whom they wanted to win, with some cheering on the 'White Wolf' as Ser Brandon had become known as, and others cheering on Prince Aenar, who reminded many of his brothers Maelor and Baelor. Both men shot off from their stands and the lances crashed against one another, breaking at contact, though both riders remained on their horses. They rode back and grabbed another lance, and the same thing happened again, the crowd waited with baited breath. Again and again the two riders clashed against one another, the crowd still held its breath, nine tilts later a winner was declared when Ser Brandon Stark managed to raise his lance high enough to hit Prince Aenar square in the chest with enough force to knock him from his horse. The crowd went wild cheering and shouting as if their whole lives depended on it. Ser Brandon did a few victory laps of the ground, shook hands with the prince and then took the garland of roses from the King and placed it on the head of some lady from the Riverlands, whom Tytos would later learn was called Minisa Whent.

The tourney completed, it was time for the feasting to begin, and the great hall of the Rock was packed full to bursting, so much so that extra tents were erected outside the hall for those knights and other retainers of those who had come for the tourney. There was food and drink and noise a plenty, this was the sort of thing that Tytos liked doing, this was something he was good at, getting people to enjoy themselves, not the serious politicking his wife engaged in, but pure and simple festivities. Prince Aenar seemed much recovered from the fall he had taken and Tytos saw that the prince had his hands down some serving wench's dress, the King was sat next to Tytos and was very quiet, simply staring out into the hall.

It was Myrcella who broke the silence between the four of them, asking "Did you enjoy the festivities and the tourney Your Grace?"

The Queen responded. "Yes my lady, it was a very nice event I must say, though it would have been nice had Aenar managed to win."

Tytos saw his wife smile, and her voice was deceptively sweet as she said. "Ah yes, still it was a very good tournament no?"

The Queen nodded, and the king spoke then. "Yes it was a very good tourney, thank you for holding it Tytos. I am sure Daenys would have loved it."

Tytos bowed his head at the compliment. "You are too kind Your Grace."

"I merely speak the truth." The king replied. "Regardless, I must have words with you tomorrow about certain issues pertaining to your bannermen."

Tytos nodded, whilst under the table Myrcella squeezed his hand. He did not need to be a mind reader to know what his uncle wished to speak with him about. Sure enough the next day, whilst half the castle was nursing a sore head from the feast, and the other half was still fast asleep, Tytos was stood next to his uncle, looking out over the scene before them from the window. The king spoke then, and his voice sounded tired and old. "Before we speak of what we must, I have one thing to inform you of. I am aware that your son Tywin is squiring with Jon Arryn. Well my grandson met Tywin yesterday during a lull in the jousting, and has asked if he could foster with Jon Arryn as well, I have agreed to it on the condition that your son make sure he keeps an eye on Aegyl, my grandson is smart but he is still a boy far from home. Make sure Tywin keeps an eye on him." Tytos nodded and voiced his agreement, then the king sighed and said. "My sources report that there is some troubling brewing here in the West between you and the Reynes. I would hear the truth of the matter from you nephew."

Tytos was silent for a moment and then he said carefully. "Lord Reyne is a very strong minded individual who holds certain beliefs very dear, and as such those beliefs tend to contradict mine. Whatever threats he has made, are not serious ones, nor would he try and uphold them. He is smart, not stupid."

His uncle did not seem convinced. "I would not take the man lightly Tytos. House Reyne has proved their loyalty in the years since the first Blackfyre war, but still they remain an ambitious house and will do almost anything to further their chance to gain more power. Why do you think Ser Loren Reyne was wed to Anna Stark? Connections to me through Edwyle."

"So are you saying that I should punish Lord Reyne the next time he says something derogatory about me or mine? That I should pull down Castamere brick by brick until it is nothing but ruins?" Tytos asked.

The king sighed. "No Tytos. What I suggest you do is stand up to Reyne with your words not your actions. A sharp reminder as to whom is in charge through your words will put the man back into his place and make him never step the line once more. Now what is this I hear about you trying to betroth your daughter to one of Lord Walder Frey's sons?"

Tytos grimaced at that. "Nothing is finalised yet Your Grace. When it is I shall let you know."

The king nodded and turned to leave, but at the door he stopped and said. "Just make sure you do not do anything that could make matters worse for you here Tytos. House Lannister is not as secure as your father used to think it was."

A few days later the king and the rest of the royal party left for King's Landing, Tytos watched their horses disappear on the horizon with his uncle's words echoing in his head. They kept echoing in his head as he dealt with various things around the castle for the next few days, and they continued to echo and resound with him as he dealt with various lords over the next few weeks as well, when Lord Tarbeck began asking for more time to repay of his loan, Tytos was about to snap at him that Lions did not bow to the will of stars, but Myrcella's hands pinching his stopped him from doing so. He had never been able to truly say no to her, and so the loan to Tarbeck continued to go without repayment, as interest continued to grow.

Damon Reyne it seemed had had words with the king for though he still had a sour expression on his face whenever he spoke with Tytos he never made the same disparaging comments that he had made before the tourney. For that Tytos was grateful, for he had feared that he would have had to call his banners to march on Castamere had Reyne not changed his tone, and that was something in which he had not looked forward to doing, for a warrior he was not. And yet there was still yet another loan there that had been given to House Reyne that went unpaid, for no other reason than Damon Reyne did not wish to pay it back yet, and Tytos did not want to enflame relations by bringing it up.

The moons ticked by and two days before the new year was to be welcomed in, Tywin came home from the Vale and a letter came from the Twins writ in Walder Frey's elegant hand informing him that he had accepted Tytos' offer of a betrothal, and would be setting out to seal the deal once the new year had been welcomed in. The man arrived with a veritable army of his family some three weeks later, and Tytos felt rather nervous, he needed this all to go well and he needed his wife and daughter to both stop glowering at him.

When the betrothal was announced in front of those gathered in the hall, there was silence and then lots of loud murmuring, out the corner of his eye Tytos saw Damon Reyne storm out of the hall, clearly he had expected Genna to be wed to his eldest son, who was ill. Elyn Tarbeck, Myrcella's goodsister was crying with laughter, and Walder Frey seemed mildly offended by all the furore, and then Tywin spoke. "You cannot be serious father."

The hall went silent, and Tytos felt a flush begin to creep up his neck. "Silence Tywin, I am deadly serious. House Frey is a proud and honourable house, and we will do well to ally ourselves with them."

There was some murmuring and then silence as Tywin spoke once more. "Have you lost your senses father? Lord Walder offers Genna not the hand of his first born son and heir, not even his eldest grandson, but the hand of his second born son who stands to inherit nothing. That is nothing but a disgrace and a slander against House Lannister."

There was much murmuring then, and Tytos saw Lord Walder beginning to puff up with anger, Tytos spoke quickly trying to keep his voice soft. "My apologise Lord Walder, it is past my son's bed time, and he has spoken out of turn not due to malice but because he is tired."

"But I am not father; no if anything it is you who seems tired." Tywin replied. "Surely you have not forgotten where House Frey came from? Nor what this would do to our reputation, already the Red Lion has stalked out of the hall."

"Tywin," Tytos hissed. "Enough stop this nonsense and apologise to Lord Walder."

His son thought stood resolute in his defiance; much like his mother would do if she thought she was in the right. "I cannot father, I am sorry, but if you will not speak of the insult this has done to our family I must do so. This marriage alliance brings us nothing but the scorn of our bannermen, it does not fill up our coffers with gold that we need, nor does it bring us more prestige."

The hall was deathly silent now, all eyes were on them, Tytos was completely red in the face now, his wife was smiling slyly and there seemed to be hero worship in Genna's eyes. Lord Walder seemed incredibly angry, as did his son Emmon, the boy Genna was to be married to. Tytos spoke then. "Gerion," Tytos said to his brother, who stood up then. "Take Tywin back to his chambers, he has had too much to drink." His brother nodded and helped Tywin away from the hall, his son was not drunk but he might as well have been for the embarrassment he had just caused Tytos. He turned to Lord Walder to try and salvage something from this wreck. "Lord Walder, I apologise for my son's behaviour, he spoke out of line and did not mean what he said."

Lord Walder was silent for a long time and when Tytos looked at the man; his weasel face was red with anger. Eventually he spoke and his voice was laced with anger and spite. "Apologise all you like Lord Lannister, but the words your son has spoken have deeply hurt me and mine. I do not know whether to laugh or curse you, for inviting me here to your home if you were to simply insult me, at least have the decency to say it to my face yourself, do not hide behind your son. I do not think that wedding my boy into a house whose lord cannot even control his own children is what is best for me and mine. So I shall take your leave."