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Elia Martell IV
Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Year 284 AC
Most members of the three Councils were seated at three large polished wooden tables that the servants of the Red Keep brought during the night to the Throne Room as they did last time. The positions of each Council were the same as last time: the Small Council sat on the right, the Regency Council in the center, and the Council of Advisors on the left.
"Elia, is Ser Symon ill by any chance?" The Queen inquired in a whisper. They were all waiting for the Advisors from Dorne and the Iron Islands to arrive and while everyone seemed to believe that no Ironborn would arrive, like last time, and thus they would have no voting in whatever matters were to be discussed, Elia was quite worried because she had no idea where Ser Symon was.
"I saw him this morning and he was perfectly fine." Elia said as she eyed the room. At her table, that of the Regency, she sat to the left of Queen Rhaella, and in front of them was Lord Tyrell who they hoped was still fiercely loyal to the Crown as he had been during the Rebellion. On the left side of the table or to Elia's left was Lord Brandon and to his right was Ser Brynden and on the right side were Lord Royce and Lord Morrigen, all of them former Rebels, chatting.
Now from what Elia and Queen Rhaella picked up, there seemed to be some dissent in the Rebel cause with the Stormlanders under Lord Stannis taking a more critical stance towards everything and the Riverlanders seemed to be leaning towards this sub-faction as Ser Brynden's performance in the last meeting and the yesterday announcement of the betrothal between Lord Stannis and Lady Catelyn showed.
Elia hated conflicts but she had to take a subtle role in this one in order to facilitate House Targaryen's position and consequently her son's. She had to weaken the Rebels' unity while strengthening the Crown's even if she hated being mean to people. Progress seemed to have been made in regards to the Northmen and Valemen as they seemed to have a more lenient but no one could guess for how long it would remain like so. Especially in the North, given the information she got from Ashara and what she saw the last time she saw the might of the North in the capital, a vision she did not wish to see again.
At the right table, Grand Maester Pycelle and Ser Gerold sat parallel to Elia, and opposite to them sat Lord Arryn. On the right side of the table sat Lord Varys and Ser Jacaerys Velaryon while on the left sat Lord Stannis and Ser Kevan the latter right next to Pycelle who was meant to be a Loyalist but both Elia and the Queen were ever more believers that his true loyalty was to House Lannister and House Lannister alone. Given that Lord Arryn had a conciliator approach and Lord Stannis, despite being a bitter claimant seemed like he valued his duty and serving the realm more than criticizing the Crown and scheme, Elia was not very concerned with the Small Council for the time being.
The Council of Advisors had Lord Mallister and Lord Manderly behind Lord Brandon and Ser Brynden, Lady Cersei to their left side, and Ser Baelor diagonally to her with Ser Symon having to seat by Ser Baelor's left or by Elia's right depending on the perspective. Since the Advisors had little power, Elia was not concerned about them either. The bigger problem was the Regency Council where the Crown did not have the majority.
Lord Arryn stood up from his seat after a while of them being seated there waiting. "We are still missing representatives from the Iron Islands and Ser Symon Santagar from Dorne. Since we are yet to receive any nominations for the vacant positions of the Iron Islands, I believe none will come for this meeting so, like last time, I propose we override the necessity of their presence to allow this meeting to go on. Anyone opposes my proposal?"
The old Lord awaited a bit as he looked towards everyone and no one lifted their hands so: "The following meeting will not need the presence of the Advisors from the Iron Islands."
Lord Stannis stood up. "Should we not wait for Ser Symon Santagar? He is not present, therefore he has not voted."
"I followed the account which demands a majority of votes and in that regard, Ser Symon's vote has no influence in the outcome but I will certainly ask for his vote if it pleases My Lord, once Ser Symon arrives. That is if he arrives...Does anyone know if Ser Symon will arrive?"
Everyone seemed to fixate their eyes on Elia which left her nervous but she stood up. "I spoke with Ser Symon this morrow and there was no indication that he would miss the meeting, he was perfectly fine so I have no clue what is happening."
"But I do!" A loud shout with a hint of a Dornish accent and a chuckle echoed in the Throne Room and Elia almost collapsed onto her chair after seeing who spoke. "Ser Symon Santagar will not represent Dorne in this meeting. Prince Doran Martell has nominated me for the position. Here is a letter from him in case you doubt me, I'm well aware that my reputation is...a little dark."
"Prince Oberyn Martell if I'm not mistaken?" Lord Arryn questioned. "May I see the letter? Just in case?"
"No, no Lord Arryn, you are very right. I'm Oberyn Martell." Her brother replied as he gave courtesy to the room. "Pleasured to get acquainted with everyone I'm not and pleasure to see everyone I know once more." Then he moved towards Lord Arryn and gave him the letter which had the sun and the spear as a seal and waited a bit by the Old Valeman's side, his arms crossed.
"I Prince Doran Nymeros Martell nominate my brother, Prince Oberyn Nymeros Martell as my representative for the position of Advisor which was granted to me by the Crown. He has full powers to act in my absence and provide counseling when requested by all three Councils of the Realm." Lord Arryn finished reading. "Everything seems fine to me, there is a signature and the stamp so Prince Oberyn can occupy his position next to Ser Baelor Hightower over there."
Lord Arryn pointed to Ser Baelor in case her brother did not know who he was but Oberyn knew very well who Ser Baelor was, so much that he immediately glanced at Elia with a smirk on his lips and mutter something with his mouth without saying a word though what he was trying to say to her could only be Baelor Breakwind. She wanted to scold him for doing it because now she was trying very hard to contain herself from laughing. "Right." Her brother ended up saying as he moved to occupy his seat, greeting the blond Reachner as he sat down.
The Hand of the King spoke again. "Prince Oberyn, I'm sorry to request your services so early but we need your vote as to whether we should continue the meeting without the Advisors of the Iron Islands."
"Are they in the capital?" Oberyn asked.
"As far as we know, no." Lord Arryn replied. "They have yet to nominate representatives."
"Then of course I vote to continue the meeting without them." Her brother concluded. "If they wanted to partake in it, they should have been here."
"So the decision is unanimous then." Lord Arryn concluded. "Very well. Welcome everyone to the second meeting. I will call in the Small Council members to elucidate us on their affairs, in other words, the state of the Realm, what was accomplished since last time, and what are the most concerning matters at hand as well as what else they wish to speak. I call in the Master of Coin to begin."
Ser Kevan Lannister stood up, cleared his throat, and began his speech. "I have made a general account over the Crown's treasury and concluded that the exact value is 5 872 000 Dragons. The total amount of the compensations is 3 590 000 Dragons so after we deduce this value, the treasury will have exactly 2 282 152 Dragons. It's not a bad number considering everything that the realm endured the past two years and I estimate that with the current tributary system, the treasury will reach the number it has now before the deductions in about seven to eight years and the number it had before the war in twelve to fifteen years."
"Thank you very much for those numbers and calculations, Ser Kevan. Anything else you wish to speak of?" Lord Arryn questioned.
"At first glance no but after we are done with this meeting I do not doubt that I will have to recount some of the values."
"That is a possibility, yes." The old Lord of the Vale nodded with a shy smile of understanding. "Anyone wishes to address anything in regards to what was said?" No one spoke. "So shall we vote for the compensation money to be sent? So we can finally get that out of the way?" The voting ended with everyone voting in favor which was to be expected given that some of the smaller houses would rejoice with the money that the Crown was forced to pay to keep itself on Aegon's young head. "Alright before the end of the Tourney, the money will start going to where it is intended to. Now I would like for the Master of Laws to intercede next." Lord Arryn announced as Lord Stannis stood up with a sheet of paper in his hands that was much bigger than Ser Kevan's which frightened Elia a bit. They seemed to be in for a long speech...
"I have stabilized the number of Gold Cloaks at three thousand as I believe it is a good number for the time being; the city is stabilized and without riots or revolts, security has been enforced for all; we have found dozens upon dozens of Wildfire jars and took them out from harms' way even if there are more still to be found; the Crownlands are close to being fully pacified and we have moved into the nearby Kingdoms but jurisdiction over those belongs to the respective Lords Paramount so the best I can do as Master of Laws is offer support. I have also created projects of laws that involve the protection of women from abuses, and propositions to reform penalties of offenses that are currently, in my opinion, outdated but I think that a major overhaul of the laws of the Realm must be conducted in due time." Yes...the man does live for his work...
"Well...I must confess that My Lord did quite the work in these previous months..." Lord Arryn said with a hint of both astonishment and jape with no bad intentions in mind, several Council members also smiled and chuckled at it. "I suggest that a copy of all your propositions in regards to laws be presented on a sheet of paper so that all in this room can think of them and in the next Council Meeting we can debate them and either reject or enforce them."
"I agree with the assessment, Lord Arryn. I shall work on that and before the next Council Meeting all the members of the Councils will have a copy." Lord Stannis said while nodding and writing something on his sheet of paper. "Since we are now talking about the next meeting, I would like to propose the meetings to be done on set times rather than spontaneously to allow the Lords present to visit their holdings without being worried about a meeting, if such need is required."
"I agree." Lord Brandon spoke aloud in agreement as other others Lords present joined him with ayes.
"Since there seems to be support for the idea, I would propose the following to everyone here: In the sixth and twelfth months of the year we would have major meetings that could not be canceled and on the third and ninth we would have meetings that could be canceled if valid reasons were presented before the mentioned major meetings. I insist that this is voted on at this meeting."
"My Lord, while I agree with you in most of what you proposed, I would argue that the meetings on the third and ninth months are only called in situations of emergency, otherwise everything remains the same as it is." Lord Brandon let his opinion be known and he seemed to get a few nods again.
"My Lord does have a point..." Lord Stannis admitted. "I believe we should vote my proposal but with Lord Stark's amendment."
"Very well, I call for the voting of the following: major council meetings on the sixth and twelfth months that cannot be canceled and if need be, extraordinary meetings in the third and ninth month that can be canceled. Is this good?" Lord Arryn summarized and both Lord Brandon and Lord Stannis nodded. "I vote in favor of it." The voting ended like the previous one, with everyone voting in favor. "Then for this moment on, we will have the meetings fixed per the aforementioned proposal so the next meeting will be in the twelfth month, meaning roughly six moons from now. Would you look at that, seems everything fits perfectly."
"Lord Arryn, if I may, I have a few more things to address in this meeting." Lord Stannis said and Elia spotted Lady Cersei rolling her eyes in boredom but she did not seem like the only one...
"Sure, do go ahead Lord Stannis." The Old Lord encouraged with a hand gesture.
"I have received a few ravens from concerned bannermen inquiring about the situation of Griffin's Roost." he began. "Lord Jon Connington who served as Hand of the King for the late King Aerys the Second who ended up banishing him, is yet to return to his holding. His cousin Ser Ronald Connington has informed me that he sent multiple ravens and messengers to Essos and the same did some of my bannermen who cultivate good relations with the mentioned Lord but none got an answer and the consensus is that he joined the Golden Company and has no intention to come back." Lord Stannis finished his explanation. "My question is what are we to do with Griffin's Roost?"
"He has forfeited his lands!" Lord Morrigen said with scorn in his voice, surprising nearly everyone present with his sudden intervention. "And therefore, he should be replaced!"
"By whom?" Oberyn inquired with a smirk. "You, My Lord?"
"Hum...no...of course not, I meant his cousin, Ser Ronald." Lord Morrigen said a bit shaken. It seemed her brother had bitten him...The Lord wanted some if not all of House Connington's lands...
"Do you have anything in mind, Lord Stannis?" Elia found herself questioning. "The Stormlands are under your jurisdiction after all." In her mind she cursed herself for trying to play the game, she hated it, but she had to.
"Well...I do have some options I have considered fair for everyone involved."
"Pray tell us, My Lord." Elia nudged.
"One of them is deposing Lord Jon Connington and naming his cousin, Ser Ronald Connington as the Lord of Griffin's Roost, the other is keeping Ser Ronald as Castellan until Lord Jon Connington officially abdicates or dies."
For Elia's pragmatic stance, the second option seemed better as it would destabilize the Stormlands enough to prejudice Lord Stannis but not enough to destabilize the realm. It could also open a precedent to give the Crown the prerogative to nominate Castellans instead of Lords, Castellans that could not pass the holding to their sons unless the Crown allowed...that would reduce the influence of the Lords and Ladies of the Realm and strengthen the Crown but that was a something for a far future. Something for her son to pick up should he be allowed.
"Perhaps, we should follow the second option...Ser Ronald is already Castellan is he not? In such case, I think it should remain so, for there is still a high chance that Lord Connington fathers children and said children could present problematic and destabilize the Realm." Although Elia knew that Lord Jon Connington had different sexual preferences usually contrary to fathering children it could still happen. "Alternatively, we could remain with Ser Ronald as Castellan and present an ultimatum to Lord Jon Connington so that he either assumes his rightful place as Lord of Griffin's Roost or abdicates."
"I think it's a fair decision, My Princess." Lord Stannis said and she sighed in her mind for it.
"Shall we vote then?" Elia inquired, forcing herself onto those present as she eyed the room to see if there was any opposition.
"Certainly." Said Lord Arryn. "Who is against the proposal that an ultimatum is sent to Lord Jon Connington in the molds that Princess Elia just proposed and that Ser Ronald Connington remains as Castellan of Griffin's Roost?" They were unanimous in accepting Elia's proposal which was a win to some extent for her. It was her first big intervention in this meeting and she was not very happy with it but it was not bad.
"Anything else, Lord Stannis?" Lord Arryn inquired.
"No, My Lord, I think I have everything addressed for the time being."
"Fantastic. I call Ser Jacaerys Velaryon, the Master of Ships to give his testimony and address his concerns."
"Hello, My Ladies and My Lords. I must congratulate Ser Kevan and Lord Stannis for the magnificent work and all the others present in this room too. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, Mother Nature played a good number on us for many ships were badly damaged in the storm in which our good and gracious Queen Rhaella gave birth to her precious daughter, the Princess Daenerys. Many of these ships were part of the Royal Fleet and need to be repaired. In addition, the island of Dragonstone which belongs to the Crown will need some repairing as well so...picking up Ser Kevan's final statement, the Crown will need to spend more money in repairing the ships and the island."
"Ser Kevan, how do you react to this development?" Lord Arryn pressed forward.
Ser Kevan stood up again. "Not unexpected. I have had a feeling that such damage existed but unfortunately, I did not have time to speak with Ser Jacaerys as he was with the Queen up until recently, and in such case, I had no knowledge of the exact amount but my last statement, brought upon by Ser Jacaerys, was expecting this outcome. I will wait for Ser Jacaerys' report on the damage and unlock the money needed."
"Does Ser Jacaerys have the value of the repairing already discerned?" Lord Arryn inquired.
"No, I have come up with a rough value of half a million dragons to repair everything, not just the ships." The Valyrian-looking man commented. "But this value is likely inferior but I have not had the chance to fully discern it. It is something I will do with haste as soon as allowed."
"By all means, Ser." Lord Arryn looked around. "I do not think we need a voting in this matter or do we?" No one seemed adamant about it, not even Lord Stannis so the topic was closed. "Anything else, Ser Jacaerys?"
"Yes." The man that somewhat looked like Rhaegar but also completely different too nodded. "This is more of a concern and it has to do with the Ironborn, My Lord. Now, I do not have the information and I'm not sure if Lord Varys could provide something about the subject but analyzing the behavior of the Ironborn, I think we might have a growing problem here."
"What sort of problem?"
"Well, them not sending anyone to represent them could be interpreted as a refusal to participate in the government of the Realm. This can make us wonder if they support the current order of things, which in my humble opinion and I hope I'm wrong, they do not, and I'm worried about what exactly they are planning." Ser Jacaerys explained his thought process. "I would advise that those who have coasts turned to the Sunset Sea pay close attention to them."
Truth be told, Elia and Rhaella had both been worried about the stance of the Ironborn for some time. They had asked for two Advisors and a lady-in-waiting to be sent but no answer came at all so Ser Jacaerys's warning only made her understand that perhaps the Ironborn were really a threat...a possible inducer of a new war...
"Lord Varys, we request your assessment on the matter." Lord Arryn called for.
"My Ladies and My Lords." The Lyseni bowed and greeted. "I do not have much information to provide except that there seemed to have been a big feast in the first month of the year in which some rather bold things were said that can perhaps confirm Ser Jacaerys' theory."
"And why have you said nothing early?" Ser Brynden demanded, getting some nods in his favor. "If this happened almost half a year ago, why are we only being informed of it now?"
"I have information that the Ironborn currently have no capability to fight and they know it. For this reason and because I only received this information about a month after this feast they had, I decided to leave for this meeting but I see I was rather careless so I apologize."
"The important thing is that we have the information now." Queen Rhaella intervened. "We will heed the advice of Ser Jacaerys and Lord Varys will keep us better informed about any developments in the Iron Islands." Elia found herself smiling internally at the Queen's posture, conciliating everyone but warning them, namely Lord Varys, that neither of them would accept this behavior again. The Lyseni was still such a big enigma to Elia...was he on their side? Someone else's? "I will suggest sending a letter to Lord Balon Greyjoy in a more demanding tone."
"That is not enough." Ser Brynden cut in. "Ironborn value strength and it is what we need to show them. Do send them the letter, My Queen, no opposition from me but if they refuse, call them to bend the knee or face the consequences." There were many ayes and nods given to Ser Brynden but there seemed to be some skepticism in the Reachners and some others present.
"But we did not ask any of you to bend the knee." Elia found herself saying. "Lord Balon and his men could see ill in it..."
"My Princess," Ser Brynden cut in once more. "Everyone in this room has more or less accepted the new state of the things, they have not. Sure some of us do not fully agree with it all but I believe all of us value peace here, they do not. I pray a diplomatic approach solves everything but we must be ready to use the force of arms. After all, four Kingdoms have coasts turned to the Sunset Sea and if the Ironborn do turn to reaving, we will have a war no matter whatever we think of it."
There was silence in the Throne Room for a whole minute until her brother decided to break it. "My Lords, My Ladies, we all know Ser Brynden is right in his assessment and showing strength is the only way to prevent another war that no one here wants so I say we let the Queen and my sister write to House Greyjoy immediately and start to take precautions for a possible war." After hearing her brother speak this after such an elucidative speech by Ser Brynden, Elia resigned herself that peace was not fully in their grasp yet.
"Is anyone here against this resolution? The Queen and Princess Elia will write an ultimatum to Lord Balon and everyone starts preparations for a possible war if things turn south." No one said a word which meant they, like Elia, were convinced of the situation. "Very well, it is decided then. Anything else that you wish to say Ser Jacaerys?"
"No, My Lord, for the time being, I have addressed everything. Thank you very much."
"Lord Varys, we request your assessment of your work since the last council."
"I have nothing else of note to report. Westeros with the exception of the Iron Islands seem to have accepted the current order of things, proof of it is the meetings we are having. I pray only it remains like so and we can avoid a war with the Iron Islands that would destabilize everything." Lord Varys said, sounding convincing but Elia did not think anyone there really trusted him. He did not seem to care about it either... "As for Essos, it is as it has been: conflicts between Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh are still raging, Volantis for the time being is quiet, Pentos and Braavos are watching each other, and Lorath, Norvos, and Qohor are to themselves as usual but all of them seem in favor of the situation in Westeros even if they are a bit worried regarding the stability of the Realm and how it can affect their trading."
"Thank you very much for the input Lord Varys." Lord Arryn turned to Pycelle next. "Grand Maester Pycelle do you wish to add anything?"
"No, My Lord, I have fulfilled all that was demanded of me as usual." The old man replied.
"Lord Commander?"
"I have nothing to add in regards to everything that was discussed here but the Kingsguard does need two knights still." Ser Gerold reminded everyone. "So, I'm just waiting for the Tourney."
"Which we will all attend after this meeting." Lord Arryn. "So we can clear our heads, something that will do us good."
"Aye to that!" Brandon Stark agreed followed by a couple of nods.
"Alright, we are close to finishing then...the Small Council has spoken so now I give the word to the Council of Regents. Anyone belonging to it has a matter to discuss?"
"I do." Old Lord Morrigen said while lifting his hand to get authorization to speak which he was quickly granted. "Is Prince Viserys going to be fostered anywhere? He is of age."
All eyes fell onto Queen Rhaella who Elia saw get very uncomfortable not only with the glances but also with the question and how sudden it had been. Elia was not much different because it made her worry about her own children. "Targaryen Princes and Princesses do not usually ward off..." The Queen said meekly, a very different tone from her previous intervention. "But perhaps it's...time to break tradition..." There was no doubt in Elia's mind that Rhaella did not want that at all. She wanted to be close to her children and Elia thought the same. Yet there must be something they could do about it that fits them all. "I would appreciate some time to come up with a decision."
"Of course, My Queen. I was just asking, no harm intended..." Lord Morrigen avowed but there must be something he was hiding. Perhaps Oberyn would bite him again...
"Anyone else in the Council of Regents, wishes to speak?" Lord Arryn inquired.
"I just have something I feel I should inform everyone present." Elia began as she saw Lord Arryn give her the word. "Queen Rhaella and I have nominated so far seven ladies-in-waiting but we still intend to have one for every Kingdom so we will nominate one for the North, one from the Stormlands, and one for the Iron Islands for a total of ten, five for each of us but that will also work with the children. Anyone has a problem with this?" Elia hoped no one had as she eyed everyone and no one spoke.
"Anyone else in the Council of Regents?" Lord Arryn asked once more. "No? How about the Council of Advisors?" No one spoke from that Council either. Elia noticed that Lady Cersei looked so bored it hurt her too. "Well...I guess we end the meeting here, My Lords and My Ladies. I pray to the Seven and the Old Gods if I must that everything remains as smooth as this and no one war haunts us. The next session will be in six months. Now let us all enjoy the Tourney, session ended."
Murmurs started in the Throne Room as everyone started standing up. Some people started talking, others like Lord Stannis or Lady Cersei simply left the room entirely.
"It's done..." Queen Rhaella sighed. "Gods be damned, this is just the second one...I'm not sure I can handle this..."
"Yes...we will have to sweat a lot still." Elia agreed as she noticed Oberyn striding towards her which brought a smile to her face.
"Elia!" he said, a huge grin on his face. "It's good to see you my dear sister!" he extended his arms, pulled her from her seat, and hugged her tightly.
"I was not expecting to see you much less in this meeting," Elia confessed. "When did you arrive?"
"A couple of hours ago as a matter of fact. Ser Symon came to meet me at the harbor on Doran's orders but let us just say we...got a bit lost in this castle..." Oberyn said, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm so happy to see you, Elia. When you were here a prisoner of that mad fool," he immediately turned to the Queen. "No offense, My Queen."
"None taken."
"I was in the Summer Islands enjoying myself! Had Doran not been a cunt and kept me in the dark, I would have come and save you myself! Sitting in these boring meetings is the least I can do for you and your children after not helping you when you needed most."
Elia knew he was speaking truthfully. Oberyn was a person that often did what he said he would and cared not for the consequences of it. Which made her shiver at the thought of him coming to the Red Keep and saving her...how would that have turned out? "I'm fine now." she said, thanking both of her brothers and everyone who allowed her to be there, that day, in the process. "And very happy to see you. That alone means a lot to me."
"How fine is a good question is it not? Look at this mess! I shudder to think what will happen if those krakens do go mad and declare war against the Crown. I cannot say who would support it, oppose it or just go mad and do something else entirely."
"Me neither," Elia confessed worriedly. "But can we stop talking about politics for the day?"
"Of course! I was hoping to see my nephew and niece. I haven't seen the King since he was nothing but a big belly troubling you." Oberyn chuckled. "It is so surreal that that thing that was inside your belly when I last saw you is now the King of the Seven Kingdoms."
That made Elia remember that indeed, neither Oberyn nor Doran had seen her son. What in Seven Hells was she doing? "Of course you can see Aegon and Rhaenys. They will love to see you too. I should have shown them sooner..."
"Do not think about that now, let us leave these noisy Lords for themselves and go see them." That was not a bad suggestion...
"Of course." Elia turned to the Queen. "Please join us, My Queen."
"I guess I can go with you both, I wish to see my children too." The Queen avowed. "After all, who knows for how long will I keep them by my side..."
"Oh, Elia, I have another daughter at Sunspear now!" Oberyn said, likely noticing the awful and depressed tone of the Queen. "Her name is Sarella and her mother was Summer Islander captain. She has beautiful dark skin and is very bright for her age, she already reads at three!"
"That is a very bright child indeed." Elia admitted.
"Also...I enjoyed sitting with Baelor Breakwind in this meeting..." he said laughing. "Was it you who put it by my side? I confess I was expecting something that never came from him..."
Elia could not keep it anymore, she began giggling as unfortunately remembered Baelor's mistake. She tried to compose herself and slapped her brother on the shoulder because of it. "Oberyn! You are as naughty as ever!"
Thank you for the reviews as always:
Jebest4781: Thank you very much.
Cesco: Lyanna is not getting married I'm afraid, she does not want it, she wants to respect Robert's memory and she got barren from the post-labor fever. Oberyn will follow his canon love pairing in Ellaria. I'm so sorry if it disappointed you.
Parkerparrish: I feel the same way. I want Winds of Winter to see if they were a thing or not or if she, unfortunately, went for Brandon. Jon Snow's parenthood to me is a secondary wish, though I wish it was N+A=J. Thank you for the review.
Radomir's Renegades: We will see how Stannis and Catelyn work, personally I think it would be very similar to Ned and Catelyn albeit they would be more distant to each other but nowhere a toxic relationship and kids might do them good. She is also much better looking than Selyse so who knows...maybe Stannis will surprise us all...As for Lyanna, I already spoiled in my reply to Cesco and I have to say that I doubt the Starks would want a thing with the Lannisters, especially sending their sister there.
It was a bit draining to write this chapter. Originally, the meeting would be in the previous one but it just grew larger and larger so I placed it on its own. I tried to address a lot of things, especially what some comments and reviews warn me off but I still think someone will tell me I forgot something which will end up in the next meeting.
Hoping the tourney will be faster and smoother, to some extent, a reminiscence of how this whole series started in A Wolf That Met A Star. Any predictions on what will happen?
I decided that I will write summaries of what happened previously in the chapters for as long as there are no new chapters in accordance with the request the guest in Scars gave me and I spoke of previously. So the summary in this one will disappear once the next chapter comes out whenever it is...I'm not sure if this is enough...
Without further ado, thank you for sparing time reading and I hope everyone has a nice day and stays safe.