#rfms.plot

peace talks have seemingly gone on for endless days if you ask those simply waiting about. invited for the grand gesture but turned to dive into what highgarden has to offer to avoid dying of boredom. the southern king showboats to his greatest, pandering to those he can and taking up all of the other monarchs' time as much as he's able. they indulge him, but at what cost?

as the week comes to a close, many are hopeful the talks have gone well and they might see respite from this forced visit to the reach's capitol.

but you know what they say about wishful thinking...

most of our nobility and their staff are simply indulging in highgarden when suddenly troops storm from every space. fear rises, screams are heard, and questions are yelled as the troops bar everyone in highgarden where they are found in that moment.

the largest question circulates, what in the hell is going on?

 you  didn’t  forget  about  us,  did  you?  in  your  eagerness  to  celebrate  a  new  union,  thoughts  of  our  little  messages  had  gone  all  but  forgotten  by  so  many.  but  we’re  not  so  easily  forgotten,  not  so  easily  dismissed  or  halted.

 let  us  leave  a  reminder  in  a  way  you  might  take  to  heart.

 a  message  in  flame.

 as  our  nobles  are  winding  down  on  a  night  of  dornish  fun,  as  they  prepare  to  bid  the  new  couple  goodnight,  screams  sound  from  the  depths  of  the  extravagantly  decorated  ballroom.  fire  has  caught  to  the  many  tapestries  hung,  quickly  spreading  to  every  surface  possible.  the  screams  intensify,  bodies  scrambling  out  as  smoke  and  flame  fill  every  space  of  the  room.  

 guards  pour  from  every  corner  of  the  palace,  buckets  of  water  begin  passing  down  lines  of  any  willing  to  help.  for  a  few  moments  there  are  no  nobles,  no  commonfolk,  no  dornish,  no  southerners,  just  people  seeking  to  stop  great  tragedy  from  striking.  

 of  course,  not  all  stay  to  help,  and  trust  the  martells  see  who  is  so  unwilling  to  save  their  home  after  their  hospitality  has  been  offered.

 but  those  who  came  together  succeed,  the  flames  smothered  in  water  and  weary  bodies  slowly  filter  off  to  bed.

 come  sun  rise  they  are  given  a  new  edict  from  the  ruling  princess  martell,  the  gates  of  the  palace  are  closed,  none  in,  none  out.  our  characters  once  again  find  themselves  trapped  in  the  aftermath  of  tragedy,  another  royal’s  iron  fist  eager  to  seek  out  those  who  sought  to  harm  their  own.

with tensions risen to an all time high with nobles both dornish and non housed in cells in spear tower, none were prepared for the news that broke just as the sun rose. 

late in the night, ruling princess tyene martell was found just near the kitchens and rushed to the maesters with talks of poisoning. it seemed that the attackers that sent the reception into a fit of frenzy returned to finish what they had started, showing that no one is truly safe.

former ruling princess, kari martell, has stepped in as regent in the interim with rumors spreading quickly that it was she pushing for nobles to be sent to the dungeons in droves and unhappy that many more weren’t sent.

an unsettling air falls upon all of those in wintefell after the joust, so many unsure of whether they should leave or stay. the new king invites all to stay, feast, and remain warm with the approaching winter storms. hushed whispers all but scream questions of the fate of ser lynderly.

the arrival of ser domeric lynderly from the wall does nothing to silence these whispers, rumors circulating like a wildfire unstoppable in the northern frosts.

but those frigid airs only grew stronger.

the winter storm grew, and grew, and grew, despite not being expected for weeks later. snow descends upon winterfell in true northern fashion, winter is here early indeed. within days the roads become impossible to travel, and a sad realization is the first thing to silence those incessant whispers of the joust.

nobody is going home anytime soon.

while king aedar suffered from the effects of the poison, many toiled away to actually ensure justice was served and not used as another political stunt to instill fear and flash power.

master of laws willas marbrand worked through his grief over the loss of his family member alongside several others and finally a name was found. the grand maester of the north, lord walder bolton was accused. elements of the poison, including eranthis  blossoms which are only found in the north, were discovered in his quarters, the lord quite content to never be caught. 

but what was his plan ? why, the best kept secret throughout all of this. as it turns out, king tylon stark consumed much of the wine, and suffered near death for the days after the ball. under the tender care of the maester his condition never improved, the initial cause of suspicion as the maester assured many the king was fine and merely wished for no guests. for days the king went unvisited, many blindly believing the maester. until prince harrion stark’s suspicion outweighed his desire to listen to his father’s wishes. pushing open the doors the maester was caught, delivering another tea meant to poison the king further.

it seems the boltons never did quite forgive the starks.

and so the trial was held, prince rhaegar targaryen relinquishing control to the northern council and the starks. the entire keep gathered to witness the events, but the smug maester never did deny his actions. in fact, he seemed proud, even admitting to organizing the attack on the draconis ball in attempt to kidnap princess alexia stark and murder prince harrion and king tylon.

in less than a day the judgement was delivered, a sentence to death at the next daybreak to be carried out by prince harrion.

the grand maester’s head rolled at sunrise, and shortly after king aedar awoke and was informed of the events. enraged to have been left out, he went into a fit of irrational madness. the southern maesters were quick to offer sedation teas, and once again the king’s state was taken advantage of. the hand, prince rhaegar announced the release of all that had been stuck over these tense few months.

they were freed.

tensions at the ball ran high the entire night , not a single in attendance a stranger to the atmosphere. all , save our dear king aedar. the dragon king was full of smiles all night , either blissfully unaware of how people really felt or too proud of himself to care. 

throughout the entire night people flock to the king , whether it be in fear and hopes to make nice and stay on his good side , or a true ignorance to the world and thinking him to be a great king. never once is the king alone , entertaining company at every turn of the hour. the guards remain on high alert , fears of the previous ball not leaving anyone’s minds.

and so the night goes on , dances , wine , and some merriment to be had by those who indulge. some even manage to leave for their own devices before the night truly ends. as the clock tolls , many slowly begin to relax and truly believe this night will not end like the last. perhaps brighter days are ahead indeed.

but then the shatter of a glass cuts through the chatter and music , a loud scream silencing any who might have missed it. the king’s guard is quick to descend upon the throne their ruler sits and those left in the ballroom shuffle to get a glimpse of what might have happened. could someone have attempted to harm the king ? who could be so brazen ?

but as the king is ushered out the guards thin , slowly glimpses of a body laying at the foot of the throne become more clear. it is not the king that has fallen but the ruling lord ozan tyrell , a broken glass of wine beside him. and then like popcorn gasps sound throughout the room , several others collapsing and calls for help ringing out. the guards begin to clear the ballroom and organize the fallen to the infirmary , not responding to anything asked of them by those about.

only one question is answered that night , no targaryen celebration can end peacefully.

the walls of the red keep have not known silence since the events of the ball, suspicions and rumors running rampant and once allies turning enemy at the drop of a pin. the targaryen king gave his people no rest, demanding a name to hold accountable for the attack on his ball.

and so a name was given, sources unreliable at best. lady commander anaera tarth of the king’s guard is blamed for aiding the masked attackers, and subsequently sentenced to her execution with no trial or warning. 

her head rolls immediately upon sentencing, cries of her innocence barely heard before her voice is lost forever.

many believe this means they are free to go, unsettled by the brutal execution but hopeful to return to their own seats and put this all behind them. but just as the nobility of westeros begin to leave the throne room a large roar is heard, and many near windows swear they see something large and dark flying in the skies. king aedar has a wide grin on his lips, commanding them all to remain longer as if would be in their best interest to do so. the king then takes his leave while his family is left looking confused and also rushing out to avoid question or complaint.

( there is a tl;dr: and ooc info beneath the cut ! )

as crowds begin to gather while the clock tolls midnight , the promise of a show stopping finale in the skies enough to keep even the most introverted of guests in attendance , sadly it is not a burst in the glittering skies that takes the attention of all.

a single scream is heard first , and everything seems to move in slow motion from that point on. from the walls masked people descend , armed and aiming to cause as much damage as possible. pure chaos ensues , that lone scream now joined by choruses of many.

while the meteors shower in the sky , not a single one goes witnessed. some jump to begin fighting immediately , the likes of lord lukas harlaw , lady taria dayne , high queen rowena greyjoy, lord blade lannister , ser tharon redsmith , lady betha tully who bring many attackers to death’s door with few marks to show for it. prince harrion stark defends those near him valiantly , but eventually falls to an injury at his side. florys flowers finds herself with a stab wound to the thigh , valiantly defending her younger brother from the attack meant for the young florent. princess amelira stark finds herself at the wrong end of princess kaelys greyjoy’s sword , mistaken as an attacker and sustaining minor injuries for it. the princess greyjoy continues to defend their siblings with their brother prince daemon greyjoy at their side. visera waters manages to slip from the grips of some attackers , minor injuries all she have to show for it. lady sarisa baratheon takes a dagger to the arm , thankfully not poisoned or she may have found herself exiting this world. princess alexia stark had slipped most of her guards and finds herself regretting it , many scrapes and bruises from fending off attackers before ser stefan manderly finds her and pulls her to safety. king aedar targaryen attempts to fight off attackers , somehow left defenseless with no guards at his side ( a mystery to be solved later ) he manages to take a handful down before an injury to his leg leaves the king near the afterlife. but not all of the injuries were at the hands of the attackers , in attempt to escape lady thalina tully finds herself trampled by the crowds doing the very same.

but the death toll come morning is somber at best , guards lost defending the lives of their families expected but still a great sadness. yet the death of the master of whispers lord cyrus beesbury shocks many. despite the attempts of princess pimchanok targaryen to save the master of whispers ( or so anyone saw ), the man falls to a poison dagger. because of their valiant efforts in attempting to save the man , as well as service in the past , the princess is appointed to replace the late lord beesbury.

an investigation is quickly launched , the mad king refusing to believe no guest had a hand in the attack. everyone is commanded to remain in king’s landing until the culprit is discovered.