AN: Oh, hello there. Didn't expect to see you all reading this so soon. Well, knowing my record on regular uploads, I thought it cruel to end off where the last chapter did. I couldn't just risk leaving you on that plot twist of a cliffhanger for who knows how long.

NOT WHEN I HAVE ANOTHER PLOT TWIST THAT I WANTED TO WRITE!

Hope you all enjoy it.

RED KEEP- LANNISTER CHAMBERS

JON

Jon stared at the deck in front of him.

The deck of Tywin Lannister.

The deck of the man that King Robert himself was plotting against, and had included his own brother in the plot.

'Five cards from this deck. Five of his best cards, in exchange for one.' Jon thought.

But it was more than that.

'Looking is free.' Jon realized, perhaps a moment slower than he should have.

Jon was well within his rights to look in Tywin's deck, and then declare that nothing was worth Slifer. Doing so, he would be able to learn all of Tywin's secrets. How he dueled.

He could bring this information to the King. The King could then have the perfect counter deck constructed to take Tywin out of the tournament.

Robert would surely look upon House Stark with even greater favor.

Jon brought his hand over the table, and touched the deck.

But he stopped.

Jon's mind turned away from the choice in front of him.

He remembered his and Robb's last personal talk with their father.

WINTERFELL

ONE MONTH AGO

"I see you boys are preparing for the tournament." His father said as he and Robb were examining their decks, looking for any last minute changes they could make to give themselves the edge.

Jon was staring at Slifer, wondering if it was worth using it in the tournament. While Robb was examining at the cards in his Extra Deck.

Both of them looked up, startled when they heard their father's voice break their concentration.

"Just remember to keep an eye out for your sisters." Ned reminded them, leaning against the door. "The city is a dangerous place for the unprepared, but Robert will look after you once you meet him, of that I am sure."

"What is the capital like Father?" Robb asked. "You were just there after all. Sansa has been going on and on about how wonderful it will be. How accurate is she?

Ned's smile faded and he let out a sigh. "King's Landing… It has its charms to be sure. The Red Keep is impressive, and if not for the War taking our focus, I am sure Robert would have dragged me to all the best parts of the city so we may attempt to relive our youth. But it is about as Southern as the South gets. What's worse is it changes you. And you don't even realize it."

Jon was curious. "How do you mean?"

Ned sat down, joining his sons at the table. "After Jory volunteered to fight in Dorne, Tom became my captain of the guard for those who remained. He wanted to do a good job, to prove himself. And I would never blame a man for trying to do his duty to the best of his ability. He heard the rumors about Varys, how he had spies in every chamber. In every room. And it made him paranoid. At one point he approached me late at night, and said for the safety of myself, I should allow him to start making my own spies."

"Fat Tom said that?" Jon said in surprise.

"Yes, TOM did suggest that." Ned said, explicitly ignoring the 'fat' part of his name. "As I said, the city seems to get inside one's head, so they don't even realize they are changing for the worse. Mayhaps Tom had more sense than me when he gave his suggestion, but I would not want to be that kind of lord. One who questions everything without cause. One who would spy on the very people it is my duty to protect. There is no honor in that. Only fear mongering."

Ned sighed, before trying to return his smile to his face. "Just be careful when you are there. Remain true to yourselves. Do not let the city shape who you become."

Robb smiled. "Have some faith Father. We Direwolves can be quite stubborn."

"Aye" Jon agreed. "With how much ice and snow flows through us, it will take more than a moon or two for our honor to melt."

Ned smiled at his sons, pride clear on his face. "I know that. You two have grown into such fine men. United, I know nothing can stand in your way."

PRESENT

'What am I doing?' Jon admonished himself. 'Was my honor truly so easily melted?'

He took his hand back. Instantly, he felt a sense of relief fill him. He had made his choice.

"Forgive me, my lord. But while that is a tempting offer, I already know what my answer would be. And that answer is no."

Jon imagined that his father would be proud of his choice at that moment.

Tywin was a far greater lord than Jon was now, or would likely ever be. But he wanted Slifer for himself. By denying him that opportunity, for this one moment, he had defied one of the most powerful lords in Westeros.

With that thought, Jon then gave Tywin a smile.

"Of course, if you would like to trade for any other card in my deck, then I will happily see if there is anything I would want. Surely at least some of the other cards that I used to bring down the High Sparrow have become well known. Afterall, Slifer only dealt 300 damage to the High Sparrow's life points in total. In terms of which card did the most damage, it was probably Gil Garth."

Tywin's expression did not change at all. Ser Kevan did let out a sigh of relief however.

"I see. In that case, I suppose this conversation is at its end. Good luck in the tournament. I expect we will meet each other there. And as promised, I will make sure the gold is ready when you depart for the North." Tywin said simply, his tone showing that his limited hospitality had reached its end.

Jon stood up, his head held high. He gave a small bow to Tywin, and nodded his head at Ser Kevan, before departing the room.

Once the door was closed, Jon's expression wavered as he felt exhausted.

Just dealing with Tyiwn Lannister was draining to his spirit. It reminded Jon of when he and Robb sparred as children, and they did not feel tired until after taking off their training gear.

Jon quickly left the Lannister's section of the Red Keep, and faster than he expected, found himself in front of the Stark's rooms.

Opening the door, he saw Sansa and Robb talking by the table. Sansa drinking some tea while Robb was skimming through his deck.

Sansa noticed him first and smiled. "Glad to see you return Jon."

Robb smiled as he saw Jon. "Get lost in the Castle?"

"I wish." Jon said with a sigh. "We can talk about it later. Alone. Anyway, have you had any success in your duels?"

Robb reached into his pocket. "Three people thought it was a good idea to challenge me. None were foolish enough to bet their entire stock of Gold Dragons, but now I have ten total. Just need another Fire and Earth."

Jon's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

He rushed over and looked at the Gold dragons. It was as Robb said.

"Looks like I am going to be the first of us to make it to the next round." Robb bragged.

"I wouldn't bet on it."

Jon turned and saw Arya enter the room. In her hands was a bag.

She approached the table and released its contents.

A Dark attribute. Two Light ones.

And seven Water.

The three eldest Starks looked at Arya.

She grinned. "A lot of people underestimated me. I proved them wrong."

With that final line, she scooped up the Gold Dragons and moved to go to the bedrooms.

"So…" Sansa began. "If Arya does somehow manage to win this whole tournament and get her own castle… how are you two going to explain you gave her the entry fee to Mother?"

Jon gulped. Tywin Lannister and the High Sparrow were dangerous, but Caitlyn Stark was as well.

"I will explain it like this." Robb said, turning to Jon before bending the knee. "Lord Stark of Moat Cailin. You will need a Captain of the Guard. Allow me to volunteer my loyalty."

"As if Moat Cailin is far enough for you to escape your mother." Jon pointed out. "Besides, I am pretty sure this exact scenario is literally her greatest fear."

"Fair point." Robb said standing up. "I'm going to see if there are any Dornish in the city who would want my loyalty."

"That will probably buy you an extra moon." Sansa said as she sipped her tea.

Jon could not help but smile. Compared to the pressure and intensity of the Lannister's rooms, this was the familiarity of home.

Now that he was back in a more comfortable location, he reflected on his interaction with the Old Lion.

'I would say I made an enemy, but I doubt Tywin is unaware of King Robert's actions. Regardless, Father would approve of my choice. Of that I am certain.' Jon reassured himself.

RED KEEP- LANNISTER CHAMBERS

TYWIN

Once Jon left the room, Kevan turned to him, pale as though he had just seen a ghost.

"Tywin… What were you thinking!? You were just going to reveal Exodia to him so easily? Had he looked at your deck, it would have been revealed!" Kevan spoke it all in harsh whisper, knowing from years of experience to be careful about Varys' birds.

Tywin and Kevan had been at each other's sides all their lives. They knew each other better than anyone alive. And they knew how to present a united front, even when they had a disagreement.

Tywin picked up his deck and handed it over to Kevan. "Look for yourself."

Kevan did so after a moment of confusion. He turned it over to look at the cards, and he went through them. After a moment, he slowed down and rechecked cards he had already looked at. When he finally went through the whole deck, he looked at Tywin in confusion.

"I've never seen you use half of these cards." Kevan said simply.

Tywin simply reached into his right pocket, and pulled out five cards. The pieces of Exodia he had removed before Jon had arrived. From his left pocket, he pulled out the other half of his deck that he swapped out.

"Apologies for the deception. Varys told me about Jon's close relationship with Robb Stark. I figured I would use that to our advantage."

Varys was not one to keep secrets from anyone who knew to ask. His true loyalties were to whoever would allow him to keep his station, so he would not refuse a request no matter what information was asked for. It made him a valued, if fickle, resource to Tywin. He needed to be careful that the topic of what he asked Varys about would not reveal too much of his own thoughts to the Spider.

When Tywin returned to the city for the tournament, Varys had greeted him that night, and gotten straight into business, asking what knowledge Tywin was seeking.

The new Jon Stark was an obvious topic of interest. Varys had shared what little he knew of his upbringing amongst the Starks. Lady Catelyn saw him as a personal insult, but that view was not shared by her children. How Robb and Jon were as close as full brothers. How they trusted each other completely.

It was for that reason that Tywin had kept Kevan in the dark. Jon would naturally assume that most brothers were like him and Robb. It was just naturally how he would view the bonds of brotherhood, especially if it was a source of comfort found in Robb's defiance of his mother's views. So seeing Kevan be shocked at his offer would keep the thought of Tywin deceiving him from his mind.

Kevan sighed. "So what was the point?"

"To see just how Stark this Snow was." Tywin explained. "He truly is the son of Eddard. Too honorable to take a clear tactical advantage. If he opposes us, he will be a powerful foe, this Slifer card makes that a simple fact. But he will likely do as his father does and worry only about his own lands. So long as we leave the North to their neutrality, he will not cause us trouble."

Kevan sat down in the chair Jon had. "Did you actually believe he would trade you this Slifer card?"

"Given the description we have heard about it, would you give it up?" Tywin asked. He then shook his head. "I knew it was unlikely. But on the chance he would have accepted it, I would gladly have given him all these cards and more."

Tywin then had a small smile. One only Kevan and Joanna had seen.

"Mayhaps I should have offered Exodia up right away. That may have tempted him enough. After all, I will soon have a second."

Tywin knew that Exodia could not be kept a secret forever. Sooner or later, he would have to use it in a public setting. So, with that in mind, Tywin was prepared for this tournament to be where he reveals his ultimate weapon. Once people saw Exodia win him the tournament, none would ever dare challenge House Lannister again.

In order to ensure that the Lannisters would remain unbeatable, Tywin again sent out his most loyal servants, scouring the card shops for additional copies of the Exodia pieces.

So far they had found two Left Legs, a Right Arm, and even the Head that explained what the five did when combined. Tywin was not going to add them to his deck, they would just fill his hand with useless cards. How humiliating it would be to lose because he drew a second Left Leg instead of a Left Arm being the last part he needed.

'Assuming that each piece has the same number of cards total, at least two Exodia sets are now impossible to use against us.' Tywin thought to himself. 'Just how many sets of Exodia exist in total? Is the head, which describes the effect, the rarest? Are there less of it than the limbs? At the very least, the pieces are each rare by themselves. From what we have seen, no one is aware of this alternative win condition. Everyone believes the only ways to win are to reduce your opponent's life points, or destroy their deck completely, which is far more difficult.'

Kevan sighed. "So, now that Jon Stark is no longer an unknown, does that change our strategies moving forward?"

"Not in the short term." Tywin decided after a moment. "Unfortunately, it seems your son has been taken out of the tournament as well."

Kevan sighed. "A pity. I am sure Lancel wished to prove himself."

'He did, but not to you.' Tywin thought darkly. He clenched his hands into a fist. 'How dare that fool have any loyalty stronger than that to his blood!'

"Tywin?" Kevan asked, confused.

"Nothing." Tywin lied easily. "Just thinking of who is left. You lost to Stannis. Lancel lost to a mystery knight, likely in Robert's employ. And I heard the same fate has befallen Devan. Meanwhile Jaime has no interest in Dueling, and only took part in the melee."

Kevan nodded. "So that leaves the only direct Lannisters with a chance as you and Tyrion. Though we do still have bannermen we can count on to remain loyal, even in they get a seat in the Riverlands. After all, the singers there are just as good as the ones in the West."

As much as he hated to admit it, Kevan was right. Tyrion was still in the tournament as well. He was performing well by all accounts, and he had those two Sellswords as well that would know who provided them the cards and opportunity to win the Twins.

"Perhaps Tyrion will finally prove himself useful." Tywin said simply.

Kevan looked like he wanted to give a retort, but he let Tywin's words be the end of the conversation.

Tywin stood up. "Well then, if nothing else, I need to put my deck back into its normal order. Then I must rest. Robert thinks himself clever in targeting Lannisters to remove them from the tournament. But tomorrow, I will show that such a simple tactic can be done by anyone. Only I will not just target the weak on the sideline. No, my target, who shall give me the last Gold Dragons to move on to the next round, will be one of Robert's closest allies."

RED KEEP- TYRELL CHAMBERS

WILLAS

Willas Tyrell clutched his cane hard as he and Margeary awaited for the return of their brothers.

"Do not worry," Margaery assured him. "I am sure they are well on their way to moving on to the next round. Just leave it to them."

"Do not forget that I am entered in this tournament as well sister." Willas said simply. "Since these cards appeared, you and I have proven to be our more martial brother's equals at the game. I do wish you had decided to compete yourself. The Four Young Roses, making a grand debut. Wouldn't that have made for an excellent song?"

Margaerys gave him a smile. Not one of the fake smiles grandmother had her practice for the smallfolk during her charity work, but a genuine smile only shown to her close family.

"Skill at a card game is not what I expected would ever be something to hold in high regard. But it still is a very violent game, and even though everyone, regardless of sex recieves a deck, many still regard it as the realm of men alone." Margaery explained, a hint of annoyance clear in her voice. "If I were to win the Twins in my own name, it would ruin the perception of me being the ideal lady who anyone would kill to have as a wife. Mayhaps the day will come where my skills will be needed to help House Tyrell rise up even higher, but Grandmother did say not to throw all my work away just because the game has new rules. As such, I will leave this tournament up to you three. Though you will have to duel someone outside of the Castle if you want to prove yourself."

Willas gave his sister his own smile. The fact she saw no need to participate herself was in part meant as a way to assure her brothers that they had her trust completely.

"So, other than the tournament, how did your meeting with Robert go?" Margaery asked.

That wiped the smile off of Willas' face. They could not let themselves forget the other reason that they had come.

"Worse than we had hoped, better than we expected." Willas summarized.

Willas' inaction during the War with Dorne had wiped out much of the sympathy heirs usually had in the early days of their rule after coming into their inheritance. Especially when combined with the Tyrell's stain of being stewards to the Gardners instead of lords in their own right.

The day after they had first arrived in the city, he had been called to meet with Robert by himself, escorted there by Ser Barristan himself.

Robert had made his displeasure well known. His first words to Willas had cut deeply.

"Your father starved Stannis and Renly for the whole Rebellion." Robert said. "As much as Stannis wished for your house to face some recompense, he understood that Mace was obeying his king's orders. He has not forgotten mind you, doubt he ever will. But you? You should be loyal to the Baratheons. When we call our banners, that includes you. The fact that you have not been stripped of Highgarden for your blatant disobedience, is due only to the fact that you focused on the Sparrows. By taking out so many of them in the Reach, those who were unable to follow the High Sparrow up north did not have a chance to cause too much havoc in trying to avenge their leader. Renly made that abundantly clear at the council meetings. My brother's favor has bought you forgiveness this once. Do not think it will save you a second time."

Willas shook his head, returning his attention to his sister. "In any case, I fear that asking for help against any attempted coup by House Tarly would be too costly. If we are to secure our house's future, we must prove it on our own merits. Family is most important right now."

Willas had yet to duel himself, largely because once he had gotten to the city, he and Olenna began working; prodding the other Reach houses to see how they felt about both the Tyrells and the Tarly's. Most seemed loyal enough, but Olenna had warned her grandson that they were waiting to see which house drew first blood, and if that first blow was a fatal one.

"Well if family is what we need, it's a good thing we have a surprise!"

Willas and Margaery were taken out of their conversation as the door opened, and in walked Loras and Garland, with a third person standing in between them.

"Cousin Horas!" Margaery called out, seeing Horas Redwyne for the first time in over a year. "I was not expecting to see you here!"

The Heir of the Arbor smiled at his cousins and liege family. "A tournament to prove my skill and solidify my legend as a great knight? How could I ever resist?"

Horas walked over and kneeled in front of Willas. "My lord, I vow to be as faithful to you as my father was to yours. I shall prove that not all grapes are as sour as my poor, deluded brother."

Willas' joy at seeing his cousin turned cold. "Ah yes, we heard about Hobber. Truly a terrible thing. Tell us, how is Lord Paxter holding up?"

Horas stood back up, and let out a sigh. "I am afraid that my father has taken to indulging our house's specialty. He always carries around a bottle, and the Maesters say the stress and pain have taken their toll on him. I hate to speak these words into truth, but they say he is likely not to make it to the next year."

"Truly?" Margaerys said, worry clear in her voice. "I understand taking it hard, but Lord Paxter always seemed to have a spirit stronger than his body. For him to fall apart so fast…"

"We all decline eventually. It is an unfortunate truth, but a truth nonetheless." Horas said. "As much as we would like to believe we will still be strong and valiant knights, even if we live to be in our eighties, the simple fact is the more pain we face, the weaker our souls become. And a pain such as kinslaying, no doubt it weighs my father down too heavily for what strength remained to him. Once he saw me by myself, and without Hobber by my side, he just lost whatever hope he had left."

Garland put his hand on Horas' shoulder. "Worry not cousin. Tyrell on land and Redwyne at sea, as unstoppable an alliance as can ever exist. You will have our support so long as we have yours."

Horas smiled. "A kindness I knew I could expect from my own kin. Though I do see a different type of sour grape is not here, where I thought she would be."

Loras spoke. "It seems the old sour grape wanted to see the younger seedling that almost ruined the vine."

Horas' smile fell at that. "...I see. I do feel sorry for Hobber in some way. He has been in the Black Cells for over a year now. Enough to drive anyone to be as mad as Aerys. Mayhaps too mad to start a duel, and be able to attack with his own hands… I pray Grandmother remains safe."

"I'd worry more about her anger than her safety." Margaery said. "She was very upset when we heard the news of your duel."

Willas nodded solemnly at that. His thoughts turned to what he imaginged the Queen of Thorns was doing to his cousin right now.

'Does killing an attempted Kinslayer hold the same weight of sin as the first act of Kinslaying.' He pondered to himself.

LADY OLENNA

BLACK CELLS

"So this is what has become of my grandson from my own house." Olenna said as Left moved the torch to show the face of Hobber Redwyne.

Hobber's eyes were unfocused. It took him a good while to seem to realize who was in front of him.

"Grandmother?" He said very weakly.

Olenna shook her head. Her family had proven to be foolish more often than she liked, but Hobber's foolishness had caused so much pain for each of them.

Olenna had doubted if she would even choose to come down here or not. It was far too dark and cold, and she could smell the blood, shit and piss of the few criminals whose crimes warranted this level of punishment. But her grandson was down here. And his crime was so despicable, she just had to make sure he understood how much of a failure he truly was.

Her hands moved gently to her necklace. Specifically to one jewel that was loose. One she hoped would fall into whatever bucket of water Hobber was allowed, and put an end to this sad withered branch of House Redwyne's vine.

'Thankfully the Maester's confirmed that this Dueling magic does not interfere with poisons.' She thought to herself.

Her mind then turned to when the gods had seen fit to throw utter chaos into their creation.

Highgarden had still been trying to slowly understand the rules of The Cards when the Raven came. Hobber had been in King's Landing with Horas for months, and they stayed there while learning about dueling and how the world had changed.

Once Hobber had learned the cards could be used to kill, he had started to plot the death of his brother, the heir to the Arbor.

The story was that he got Horas drunk, so he would not duel at his best. Despite that, the plan backfired. The Maesters theorized that in order for a duel to turn deadly, it not only took a desire for violence, but also for both duelists to be aware of it. Horas' drunkenness kept him from realizing his brother's plan, and guards arrived in time to catch the end and hear what had happened. Since then, Hobber was put in the Black Cells until such time as they knew what to do with him. Robert had put off on any official punishment, due to the war with Dorne, but with the tourney bringing the Tyrells and Redwynes to King's Landing, the day of his judgement was fast approaching.

A day Olenna hoped to spare both of her families. Better a quiet death in the cells than paraded out and beheaded. Even Hobber should prefer that.

"I've dreamt of that duel every day since." Hobber said. "Each time a different outcome. Grandmother… tell me I succeeded! Please, I beg of you, tell me Horas's darkness has been burned from the world!"

That plea gave the Queen of Thorns a moment of pause. Olenna did not know what to expect from her grandson when she came down here. Bitterness, hatred, arguments on why he should be the heir. But this was different. He was not begging for mercy or even trying to downplay his crime. Instead, he was asking desperately if he had succeeded.

'I suppose he realized his life is over. He may well just wish he would have the infamy of Kinslaying instead of being a failure who only attempted it. It seems madness is how his life will end' She thought to herself.

Olenna opened her mouth to insult Hobber, but she found no words could come out. He was still her grandson, even if she was closer to her Tyrell descendants. She was silent as Hobber continued his tirade.

"Everything I have done has been to try to stop him!" Hobber said, regaining his strength. A mad look was in his eye, reflecting the light of the torch. "When Samwell was to swap places with Horas, I helped humiliate Sam in front of his father to end the arrangement, in order to keep Horas in my sight. When he said he wanted to go to King's Landing, I joined him so I could keep track of him. He was fine with both of those at first. We were twins after all. He believed that meant I shared the same interests and desires as him, but that my station would keep me as his loyal pet. He never knew how much I hated him. Hated having to love causing such pain and torment. On the Arbor, he was always somewhere close by, somewhere he could be watched. He was the heir after all, no one wanted him to risk being hurt. And he knew that. That is why he wanted to leave. To be free of the eyes. If father ever found out what Horas was like, he would have sent him straight to The Wall."

A chill went down Olenna's spine at these words. The ravings of a madman. What else could they be?

There was no way Hobber could be speaking the truth.

"Throughout it all, I nearly lost hope. I fell into despair many times. But this sign… This sign reignited my hope. It was an act I don't think Horas actually intended. It was a true accident. But that accident provided the way for his defeat."

Hobber was clutching his arm. He stared at it reverently. As if it was his sole salvation.

Left held the torch closer, allowing Olenna to see what he was focusing on.

On Hobber's arm was a red mark. A red mark that looked like a claw. A claw with three fingers.

"It was a true accident." Hobber repeated. "Ser Jack took us into the woods. Wanted to teach us about surviving without any servants to care for us. Horas was stroking the fire, while I prepared the meat. He wasn't paying attention and dropped the stick he was using, and I tripped on it, my arm barely missing the flame, save for a few sparks igniting my sleeve. Ser Jack rushed over and put it out, but when daylight came, I noticed this. I thought it was a scar, but it never hurt, nor did it impede my movements. And then the dreams. The dreams came. I saw Valyria. And I saw its end. The ones responsible, and the ones who managed to save all but Valyria itself."

Hobber took a breath. He looked better now after talking. As if a secret he feared would die with him was finally known.

"We are their heirs." Hobber said. "We inherited it not through blood, but through fate. He is the heir of chaos. Of pain. Of death. My duty is to stop him. To have my light annihilate his darkness. I know not when he received his mark, but I have seen it on his back. A purple thing, some creature I never knew about for years. Until I met Ser Mark. His pet was what I had seen on my brother's back. A monkey."

Olenna felt her body go numb at that description.

Something was eating at her mind. A memory long buried. Or was it a dream? Something from her childhood she had spent decades never even thinking about. A danger her mind had chosen to ignore…

Hobber stood up, leaning back against the wall.

"Grandmother, I understand how mad this must seem, but believe me. I did not want to kill Horas. But it was necessary. And if he still draws breath, then we are all in danger. The Gaoler who brings me my food. He told me my Father was ill. That my actions made him lose himself in grief. Lies! Horas has finally grown impatient. He is behind father's health, I've no doubt, but his ambitions go beyond the Arbor itself. They stretch to Highgarden itself. Mayhaps beyond that. Such is the darkness in him."

Hobber approached Olenna and her guards as much as he could before the shackles were taught.

"If you want to keep Willas and the others alive, you must release me. I swear on all the gods, I will rid the world of his taint, even if it comes at the cost of my own life and soul."

AN: So…

Show of hands. Who here thought the Redwyne plotline was just going to be a bit of early story worldbuilding to explain how characters were interacting with the introduction of cards?

Don't be shy. For several years, that was all it was.

If I had written this section within a month or two of when I wrote Chapter 40, this would not have occurred. But long absences at least lead to new thoughts sprouting up. GRRM's gardening writing style does have its merits!

Now then, let's do my classic breakdown from the top.

Here, we start with a continuation of the last chapter. This was originally going to be one full section, but I realized that Tywin's offer would make a great place to grab everyone's attention. Better a tense situation there than the more lighthearted end of the POV here I figured. And by all the reviews talking about it, I see it was a success. My thanks to you all.

As for what actually occurs, Jon is tempted. As he notes, he would be able to view Tywin's deck, and that would let him inform the others about what the Old Lion can do.

But in the end, Jon is reminded of his father, and chooses to not give in to temptation. Logically it was the wrong choice, but Jon is of the North, and to him, that means something. Whether the North itself lives up to that, it does not matter to him. In his mind, for that moment, he proved himself to be the son of Ned Stark.

And Arya is the first one to get a guaranteed spot in round 2! I would have loved to have written out every duel our POV characters have in round one, but that is simply not feasible, especially with my bouts of writer's block. I hope you can all accept that. Don't worry though, even trying to blaze forward, we still have plenty of spots to fill before we get to round 2.

Moving on to Tywin's POV, and we see that the logical choice Jon should have made was poisoned from the start. Any information he would have found would only have put Robert and his allies in the palm of Tywin's hands.

Hats off to the one reviewer who caught that Tywin didn't need to put his actual deck on the table!

After that, we get a bit of a reading on how Tywin has come to view Jon based on their interaction.

And perhaps most importantly, we now see that Tywin is attempting a card game monopoly. How successful it will be, well I suppose only I can say.

And then we reach the big plot twist.

One of the reasons this chapter was so fast to write out, besides lacking a duel, is because I had Olenna's POV like 80% written out. So just the finishing touches were required.

So now we know the identity of one more signer and dark signer. So mayhaps you can guess what group is going to get some focus in the next chapter.

With all that said, I will be signing off. The next fic up for a new chapter is The Game Gets Chaotic, but I am cooking up something special for that, so the wait will probably have to be a bit longer. But I've got another chapter of a different story almost ready instead.

Just a reminder, this and some of my other fics have TV Tropes pages. Please, if you see any tropes in this story, feel free to put them on there. I would love to fill it out more!

With all that said, I will be signing off here.

Hope you all stay safe. I wish you all luck in all your Endeavors.

Jaehaerys . Joestar.