The Lonely Lioness - Cersei Lannister Quest
- Thread starter Azel
- Start date
- Mature
- Location
- New York
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Ah, well, Loras can follow Renly out of the country and return as he likes, whereas if we'd sent him to the wall, they wouldn't have wanted Loras to join permanently even if he'd be willing to follow… or so I figured.
Really, I thought Renly had to be visibly punished in some manner. I do believe Ned will accept the deal that spared his and his daughters lives and join the Nights Watch, but Renly is not directly within our power to force that upon. Exile seemed much less onerous to a man like him that freezing for the rest of his life at the ass end of the continent.
Maybe we could've tasked Renly with an objective in his exile, Zuko stylez. Return with the head of one the Targaryen pretenders, and be welcomed home. That'd be cool, but I doubt they'd go for it.
Really, I thought Renly had to be visibly punished in some manner. I do believe Ned will accept the deal that spared his and his daughters lives and join the Nights Watch, but Renly is not directly within our power to force that upon. Exile seemed much less onerous to a man like him that freezing for the rest of his life at the ass end of the continent.
Maybe we could've tasked Renly with an objective in his exile, Zuko stylez. Return with the head of one the Targaryen pretenders, and be welcomed home. That'd be cool, but I doubt they'd go for it.
BoSPaladin
The Paladin
Legally perhaps. In practice you are talking weeks if not months of travel.
Besides which. Renly in storms end kneeling to his nephew the king is far more useful than a Renly exiled from the Baratheon Ancestral castle doing seven knows what too far away to keep an eye on him.
- Location
- United States
I really do think folks should consider whether Olenna is actually capable of speaking for Renly - she's representing House Tyrell, not the Stormlands. Renly isn't magically gonna give up his rebellion because the cool granny told him Cersei's actually really nice and forgiving and gave the Reach a sweet deal.
- Location
- United States
The point of dealing with Olena isn't about Renly, it's about the Reach, and whose side they take in this civil war.
Turn 3 - Cold Rains
- Location
- Germany
Turn 3 - Cold Rains
The fire roared right behind Cersei while cold rains fell on the balcony jost off to the side. Hearth Season had come and it had come in force. The sun was rarely out and the rains depressing in their frequency. And the cold. It felt almost as if Autumn had came, though the citadel had made no such proclamation. Her hands and feet felt icy none the less and even with thick shawls and capes, she had ordered the fireplaces in her own quartesrs and the council chambers lit. It was the only thing stopping the cold from seeping ever deeper into her bones.
Clutching a goblet of wine, she half listened to Varys droning. The old bat had been right. A Dornish Red now and then cleansed the palate quite nicely and the dry and sour taste was much more fitting for the queens dark moods. She watched the fire reflect in the eyes of the great black stone sphynxes flanking the doors into the council chamber. What had Aegon the Conqueror been thinking placing these things there? Were they supposed to be a subtle reminder of his dragons? Or just some Valyrian thing lost to time? She had been oddly contemplative of the old stones she had lived in for so long and Cersei could not quite say why.
Vary coughed lightly after ending his report, dabbing some sweat from his brow as he spoke. "As you see, your majesty, the situation in Volantis remains volatily. The violent death of the Old Bloods favoured pretender makes it even more precarious."
She could feel her muscles tense and her spine stiffen at the mere thought of the name that Varys had been so carefully avoiding while speaking about the events in Essos. Targaryens. She could feel the word dragonspawn creep on he tongue these days, even if she could always remember Roberts face, full of vitriol, whenever he said it. Another pretender landing. Dragonstone fallen to treachery. The world was going mad. Was this her curse for having Pycelle make sure that Jon Arryn would not survive his sickness? Or for having Lancel get Robert drunk enough to kill himself?
Her eyes briefly fell to the High Septon, who was nervously holding his crytal crown in his hands. Another failure. The gods foremost servant in the world, sent back home with his tail between his legs by some lowborn septa. Maybe Stannis had the right of it after all. His choice in gods seemed not all that much better than hers, though maybe there was something out there that actually helped you if you prayed to it.
The entire Small Council waited for her to say something and after weighing what she could stomach to liste, Cersei picked the most vexing topics. "The Riverlands," she simply said and a few quiet sighs went through the room.
Pycelle, for once, answered first. "I have passed all letters to you that I've received, your majesty. Still nothing from Edmure Tully." Then he leaned back, the one and only thing he was useful for in these matters clearly done as well as one could expect of him.
"The Kings party is riding east still with Edmure Tully, the Kingsguard and a host of riders from your fathers retinue and the Riverlander host," Varys added. "I believe him to be safe, your majesty. Six of the seven greatest knights of the realm are protecting him after all."
Cersei just scoffed in return and took a sip from her cup. Ser Borous Blunt was certainly great, but not in any sense that was reassuring. "And where is..." She paused, catching her tongue before saying what she truly tought. "My brother Tyrion?"
"Still missing after he escaped his cell. Lysa Arryn had knights searching for him, though the sellswords likely took him through the mountains to evade pursuit. With the pretender in Runestone, they might have broken off the search." Then Varys went quiet for a while, carefully studying Cersei while bowing. "Of your family, it is him who I presume to be in the greatest danger."
With all the grand luck she had lately, Cersei dearly doubted that some unwashed Wildling would do her the favour to slit the Imps throat. Her other brother was still missing, though the rumors of a knight in golden armor riding through the Riverlands were reassuring. Her father still refused to answer her letters, both private and official, and Hoster Tully had even begun to complain to the throne that Tywin was squatting in Harrenhal and refusing to hand over the Mountain for judgement.
She was almost ready to miss Olenna Tyrell. Queen of Thorns or not, her sharp tongue had been refreshing after spending so much time only speaking to servants and the spineless bunch left of the Small Council. But she would endure. The rains would pass. Just a few more months at most and they would sweep the pretenders into the sea with the hosts of the Reach and Westerlands marching together under one banner. She just had to remember that and the better days that would be coming to keep some warmth where the fireplace could not reach.
News and Rumours
Mountain and Vale - The Imps Escape
Tyrion Lannister, who had been imprisoned in the sky cells of the Eyri for the last few months, has escaped them with the aid of a number of sellswords. Lady Lysa Arryn accuses him and House Lannister as a whole to have poisoned her late husband Jon Arryn to cover up the true parentage of Joffrey Waters. His whereabouts are unknown at the time, though it is widely suspected he is travelling towards the Riverlands and the hosts of House Lannister.
Mountain and Vale - Another Pretender Lands
In the south-eastern Vale, another pretender to the Iron Throne has landed. Matavarra Heartfyre claims descend from Prince Duncan the Small, who renounced his claim to the Iron Throne to marry his love Jenny of Oldstones. House Royce as declared their support of her claim, stating that Joffrey Waters is a cruel tyrant beneath his genial facade. They are joined by House Grafton of Gulltown, who proclaimed for the pretender queen after a parlay in the hills of Runestone. Both houses have raised their Banners and Lysa Tully has called all other houses of the Vale to aid the Eyri in response.
The Riverlands - Tense Nerves
Three armies are currently camped in the Riverlands and despite no hostilities so far, the situation is more than tense. After the capture of the brigand and kinslayer Gregor Clegane, Lord Paramount Tywin Lannister has made camp with his host in Harrenhall and so far refused calls by Lord Paramount Hoster Tully to turn his prisoner over or to vacate the castle. He intends to spent Hearth Season there and made indications that he will then march south to support Kings Landing.
To the east, the hosts of Lord Paramount Robb Stark, wielding Ice as proof of his ascension and leading a force of Riverlanders and Northmen, has taken up quarters in Saltpans. Meanwhile, King Joffrey and Edmure Tully have led a small force made up mostly of heavy cavalry towards Maidenpool and it is rumoured that the king intends to join he host of Lord Rykker in Duskendale to strike at the pretender Caern Targaryen.
Iron Isles - Raiders Gathering
With the looming war, many raiders and captains are returning to the Iron Isles, bringing with them all kinds if treasures and wild tales. Some others, mostly independent captains who care little for the desires of lords and kings, have been going the other way, lured by the promises of rich plunder in the Stepstones and the burning Disputed Lands. What Lord Paramount Balon Greyjoy thinks of all this remains a mystery though.
Crownlands - The Pointsmen Rebellion
A sizeable host of Essosi sellswords under late Aerys the Mads younger brother Caern Targeryen has landed in the Whispers and now made camp near the keep of Rook's Rest. Travellers tell of court being held, with wine and women ever present as the prince turned sellsword holds court among the Pointsmen that joined his banner. Opposed to this are the banners of the Crownlands, called upon by the Queen Regent Cersei Lannister and now camped in Duskendale under command of Lord Renfried Rykker. With Hearth Season beginning, many suspect both sides to remain in their camps until campaigning season begins anew.
Crownlands - Treason on Dragonstone
There appears to truly be no honour among traitors, as the houses Velaryon and Celtigar have betrayed their erstwhile master Stannis Baratheon. On the command of another Targeryen called Aukar Brightfyre, who had been spotted working with Caern Targeryan during the landing at the Whispers, the Royal Fleet and the garison of Dragonstone began to slaughter each other once Stannis Baratheon had left the island with most of his forces. While depleted from the fighting, the remnants of the fleet and the old seat of House Targaryen now once more fly a dragon banner.
The Reach - Festival in Oldtown
The otherwise often little remarked on 7th day of the 7th month, a day celebrating Hugors of the Hills engligthenment, was celebrated greatly this year as a Septa named Shay Waters brought the altar made by Hugors own hands to the Starry Sept. Smallfolk and nobility alike celebrated the auspicious events and scores of knights reaffirmed their oaths and asked for blessings on the altar. The only shadow marring the joyous event was the presence of the High Septon, who quietly returned the capital after the Most Devout made it clear that his presence was unwelcome in Oldtown.
Stormlands - The Stags Return
Sailing with a sizeable part of the Royal Fleet and most of his gathered host, Stannis Baratheon has made landfall in Shipbreaker Bay and marched towards Storms End. The castellan, one Ser Cortnay Penrose, refused Stannis entry and a siege was started in response. At the same time, the elder Baratheon claimant has called the banners of the Stormslands to his side, but it is unclear who will actually follow him.
Stormlands - A Great Tourney
On the meadows south of the Summer Hall ruins, a great tourney was beign held by the Lords Paramount Renly Baratheon and Mace Tyrell. They wished to once more capture the spirit of old chivalry and bright summer nights with feasting and jousting from dawn to to dusk, and drinking and merriment from dusk to dawn. Grant proclamations were made too, as the younger Baratheon claimant picked seven of the most capable knights in attendance to proclaim them his Rainbow Guard.
There was much speculation that he would make other, grander proclamation or that Mace Tyrell would announce a marriage between the still unwed Renly and his daughter Margery, especially since both bannermen of House Tyrell and Stormlanders had made war camps near the festival grounds. However, no such things were announced and as the Curing Season fades, many in the region wonder what the two Lords Paramount are planning.
Dorne - The Red Viper Rides
Oberyn Martell, brother of Lord Paramount Doran Martell and technically an exile, has been seen travelling from one Dornish court to the next on an unknown errand. With him were Arianne Martell, heiress to Dorne, and a gaggle of bastard daughters of his mostly known as the Sand Snakes. One of them though, a new addition, has quite different rumours attached to her than bawdy tales of the younger Martell brothers exploits. Behind closed doors, she allegedly revealed herself as Rhaenys Targaryen, who had been successfully spirited away from Kings Landing during the chaos of the sack by none other than Sword of the Morning Arthur Dayne.
Many dismiss it as a wild story or some ploy by the Red Viper, though there have been persistent rumours that Dayne survived Roberts War and had been spotted working as a sellsword in Essos in past years.
Braavos - The Arsenal in Full Swing
Braavos is preparing for war and there is no doubt about it. Sellswords reports agents of the Sealord Ferrego Antaryon ranging as far as Pentos and Lorath to buy up contracts in large number and the Arsenal of Braavos is working triple shifts to churn out carracks and cogs at frightening speed.
Pentos - Conclave of Dragons
A quiet meeting took place in a manse on the outskirts of Pentos where multiple of the Targaryen claimants talked with each other. The attendants were Aerys Plummfyre, who organised the whole affair, Matavarra Heartfyre, Valarr Brightfyre, who had not yet publicly announced a claim to the Iron Throne, Shasta Blackfyre, who made no claim yet either, and two Ironborn pirates. One Yara Drumm, speaking for Helaena Wildfyre that has claimed the Stepstones as her own, and Euron Greyjoy, who called himself a "Saltfyre" according to rumour.
What was said in these halls or what was agreed upon remains a mystery, though all claimants were later seen to have departed to attend to their own affairs.
Pentos - The Golden Company
Shortly after the Conclave of Dragons, the Golden Company was seen travelling into Pentos after concluding a contract for a local cheesemonger. At their head marched Shasta Blackfyre alongside Harry Strickland. Their goal is unclear, but many have their suspiciouns.
The Three Daughters - The Burning Lands
Violence between the Three Daughters and their proxy forces is the status quo in the Disputed Lands, but in the last months, it has reached heights that have been rarely seen outside of events like the collapse of the Triarchy or the Century of Blood. The western parts of the Disputed Lands were swept clean of Tyroshi forces by a mix of sellswords, pirates and opportunistic slave raiders that slashed, burned and raped a path through plantations and cities.
Chief among them was a sellsword leader calling herself Visenya Redfyre and claiming descend from Maeger the Cruel. Her host swelled greatly in number as other sellswords fell in with her and defeated Tyroshi garrisons knelt instead of getting slaughtered to the last, and she earned the name Scourge of Tyrosh in the process. While holding court in the ashes of the city of Jakylos, she proclaimed that she too would make a play for the Iron Throne and set Westeros alight just as she had done with the Disputed Lands.
Volantis - Strife in the First Daughter
Tension had been spreading in Volantis for a while now as Targaryen pretenders were vying for supporters among merchants, Red Priests and Old Blood, inevitably mingling their own desires with the long standing conflicts of these factions. Now the first blood was spilled. Maleadar Targaryen, last living truborn son of Aerys II, was grievously injured by an assassin of the Sorrowful Men and later died to his wounds. Meanwhile, the pretender Gaemon Blackfyre led a host against Selhorys and defeated an army marching out from there on the banks of the Rhoyne. What his intent is remains unclear. Likewise, many fear that the unrest will spread and even a Volantene civil war is talked about in hushed tones.
Volantis - Tall Tales
The rising activity of the Smoking Sea is meddling ever more with trade to the east, especially on the land route through Draconys and towards Mantarys. With the danger spreads the nonsense. Taverns are full of people boasting about having fought creatures of living flame and malice, or that they saw the beat of dragon wings in the ash clouds.
Turn 3 - 4th Season of 298 AC
You have two actions. You can pick either from the options below or use write-in actions, but those should be cleared with the QM first. Note that NPCs (such as people on the Small Council) will take their own actions.
In addition, you can send an arbitrary number of messages to people at court, in Westeros or abroad. Write in the content of these messenges and the recipient. Unless otherwise specified, they will be delivered by raven.
Please use plan voting for turn votes.
Diplomacy
[] Hold court. Speak judgements and hear the complaints of the people.
[] Speak with Varys. Try to ascertain his loyalties and learn more about the wildfyre he found.
[] Speak with the Pyromancers. Learn more about the wildfyre found in the sept and see if they can aid you in the battles to come.
[] Try to recruit someone skilled in a certain matter: (Write-In what for)
Administration
[] Dig into Littlefingers books. The crown is in debt and you need to know how bad it really is.
[] Speak with local traders to organise better food supplies for the city.
Strategy
[] Call for hedge knights and sellswords to generate further troops. Promise wealth and lands of traitors.
[] Expand your own guard and maybe get a few good knights to protect you when the Kings Guard is away.
Intrigue
[] Talking with Baelish gave a good insight into how his businesses work. Now that he is away from court, you could try to subvert some of his agents for your own ends.
[] Gather information on the wildfyre yourself. Varys is likely hiding something.
[] Try to recruit some trusted informants of your own.
Learning
[] Dig into the histories of these Targaryen pretenders. Maybe something can be found that can be exploited.
[] Learn more about Shade of the Evening and what the dreams it brings might mean.
Other
[]Rest. Sleep. Spend time with Jaime. You can barely remember the warmth of his touch.
[] Drink some Shade. Maybe it will let you rest again. (Free Action)
[] Adjust the Small Council (Free Action)
-[] Write-In whom to elevate or dismiss.
You have two actions. You can pick either from the options below or use write-in actions, but those should be cleared with the QM first. Note that NPCs (such as people on the Small Council) will take their own actions.
In addition, you can send an arbitrary number of messages to people at court, in Westeros or abroad. Write in the content of these messenges and the recipient. Unless otherwise specified, they will be delivered by raven.
Please use plan voting for turn votes.
Diplomacy
[] Hold court. Speak judgements and hear the complaints of the people.
[] Speak with Varys. Try to ascertain his loyalties and learn more about the wildfyre he found.
[] Speak with the Pyromancers. Learn more about the wildfyre found in the sept and see if they can aid you in the battles to come.
[] Try to recruit someone skilled in a certain matter: (Write-In what for)
Administration
[] Dig into Littlefingers books. The crown is in debt and you need to know how bad it really is.
[] Speak with local traders to organise better food supplies for the city.
Strategy
[] Call for hedge knights and sellswords to generate further troops. Promise wealth and lands of traitors.
[] Expand your own guard and maybe get a few good knights to protect you when the Kings Guard is away.
Intrigue
[] Talking with Baelish gave a good insight into how his businesses work. Now that he is away from court, you could try to subvert some of his agents for your own ends.
[] Gather information on the wildfyre yourself. Varys is likely hiding something.
[] Try to recruit some trusted informants of your own.
Learning
[] Dig into the histories of these Targaryen pretenders. Maybe something can be found that can be exploited.
[] Learn more about Shade of the Evening and what the dreams it brings might mean.
Other
[]
[] Drink some Shade. Maybe it will let you rest again. (Free Action)
[] Adjust the Small Council (Free Action)
-[] Write-In whom to elevate or dismiss.
Current Small Council
| Office | Holder | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Queen Regent | Cersei Baratheon-Lannister | Looking good on that chair. |
| Hand of the King | Vacant | |
| Grand Maester | Pycelle | Can't be dismissed. |
| Master of Coin | Petyr Baelish | |
| Master of Laws | Vacant | |
| Master of Ships | Renfred Rykker | |
| Master of Whisperers | Varys | |
| Lord Commander of the Kingsguard | Sandor Clegane | Can't be dismissed. Not a knight. |
| Advisor | High Septon (the fat one) |
Current Kingsguard
| Holder | Current Deployment | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lord Commander Sandor Clegane | Bodyguard of Joffrey I | Not a knight |
| Ser Jaime Lannister | Unknown | Beloved idiot of a brother. |
| Ser Meryn Trant | Bodyguard of Joffrey I | |
| Ser Arys Oakheart | Bodyguard of Joffrey I | |
| Ser Boros Blount | Bodyguard of Joffrey I | |
| Ser Mandon moore | Bodyguard of Joffrey I | |
| Ser Preston Greenfield | Bodyguard of Joffrey I |
AN: Things are getting messy. Update of the map in a bit.
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In Essos sure, but anything west of KL and especially up north is so much smoother one might call this Cersei a diplomatic genius.
I am kind of amazed Tywin actually deployed common sense and listened, he must have found some way to conclude that it was his idea all along. Can't really see him listening to his daughter given his canon opinion of her as well as general sexism.
Fucking hells, Tywin had to be a petty little shit *and* manage to catch up to Gregor first.
Civil war in the Vale isn't the end of the world I guess.
Braavos is gearing up for war despite us placating the Iron bank, that's annoying. Hopefully it's them going to beat up the other essosi cities they hate.
At least one targ is dead.
Honestly kinda frustrated we didn't get Olenna's response to our counter offer but I guess things are still up in the air.
Civil war in the Vale isn't the end of the world I guess.
Braavos is gearing up for war despite us placating the Iron bank, that's annoying. Hopefully it's them going to beat up the other essosi cities they hate.
At least one targ is dead.
Didn't Lysa do that in canon?
Honestly kinda frustrated we didn't get Olenna's response to our counter offer but I guess things are still up in the air.
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Someone really should send an assassin after Lysa, not like she is that hard a target.
- Location
- Germany
Yeah and Pycelle made sure he actually died by overdosing him on painkillers.
Also, map updated.
Edit: Major edit. Forgot the Crownlands and Reach rumours when copy-pasting.
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I mean, he hasn't started slaughtering the riverlands but he still seems to be protecting the mountain, so eh... could still go to hell any moment.
Joffrey and Edmure teaming up to go fight Caern is interesting and promising for our riverlands relations at least. And even if Robb hates us he's probably at least as anti targ as anti lannister, so we can expect him to work against them.
I bet Stannis is ready to murder someone over Dragonstone. Wonder how his fleet compares to canon with the pirate targs snapping up every captain they can?
Edit: Ah, he lost most of the fleet to the dragonstone fight. Man, he's in a bad place. Maybe he'll murder Renly for us again.
@Azel are you rolling dice for stuff in the background or is this just narrative?
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There's a lot more Targ claimants than what I expected
Chimeraguard
We do deserve to exist.
At least this more recent Targ claimant to land in Westeros is being a problem for Lysa rather than us at the moment.
So I'm thinking, do the two littlefinger options while he's away to get a handle on our finances and get some info on what's going on around us in the capitol, and send a letter to Robb congratulating him on his ascension and emphasizing the threat of a revived Targaryen dynasty over our own petty house disputes. Any other letters people think would help?
- Location
- Germany
Most stuff is rolled for and then fleshed out narratively. The Targ pretenders all get to roll their antics.
Ghostdevil
The Devil of Ghosts
- Location
- United States
The Targs coming out the woodworks, at this point people are just claiming to be Targs.
Yeah, I imagine the action to look up Targ history would involve us proving a bunch of them to be actually dead.
- Location
- Germany
Euron Saltfyre will not stand for the contemptible insinuation that he is a liar.
That being said, Varys is fairly certain of a number of them. The Blackfyres are definitely legitimate and if Caern Targaryen was an impostor, someone of the Pointsmen would have noticed.
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BoSPaladin
The Paladin
I dunno. I think this SaltFyre comes from unimpeachable Valyrian ancestry.
Wait is that *the* fucking Euron? I look forward to him pulling a sea dragon out of his ass to prove he's a true targ
- Location
- Lake Wobegon
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
Blue lips, mad dreams, blood eye and all. It would have been too much to hope that he'd gotten himself killed.
- Location
- United States
Christ, we got Targ pretenders growing on trees at this point. Thank the Seven we got started on building our fleet - the further this bunch of maniacs can be kept from Westeros, the better. It certainly helps that Stannis's fleet has received a battering (and is no longer his).