Realm's Turning
First Day of the Fifth Month 294 AC
As midnight arrived, heralding the end of one month and the beginning of another, the battle for the skies over Lannisport was well and truly over and from the deepest depths to the top of its battlements, Casterly Rock had surrendered. Not only did you now have the head of the Golden Shields in custody, but also the Lord of the Keep himself, a man as deserving to be fitted with a noose as any you have ever heard of. The Formian Hive had been forced into their caves for now, and that in spite of fact that they had met the attack far more skillfully than any of the mortal lords of Westeros have so far. Managed losses were nonetheless light outside of what Legion doctrine terms 'ablative elements' such as the Black Knights and other simple undead servitors.
The fact that in capturing the man, Garin had stumbled over a scroll bearing Infernal script is worrying, but since no one has actually stopped any Devils, you can conclude there is no invasion waiting in the wings. The Westerlands, the Last of the Seven Kingdoms to stand defiant before your authority, has been decapitated.
Shadows twist and coil in the harsh glare of the Dauntless lights.
"Garin is about to join us," Dany says absently.
"He hasn't said anything about..." Lya cuts herself off. "Oh, I guess that is a task aligned with his legend. One more dot to add to the board."
"You know, folk have gone mad trying to figure out that shit?" Maelor asks with a bemused shake of his head. "Heard it from one of the Braavosi fey folk."
"If I had stopped studying every time someone had gone mad from something, I would have given up trying to figure out cantrips," Lya snorts. After a long moment, she turns to look down at the keep and the city. "We should get someone down there to take over soon. We need to get as many of the Golden Shields surrendered, working, and sworn in as we can, not just because they are useful, but..."
"These people know deep magic, deep enough to be dangerous if they get desperate," you finish. The Westerlands is likely to be the most fractious province in the realm for quite a while. You did not keep so many existing Houses in place for their competence. Some, yes, for competence and loyalty in equal measure, but for many it was a wager.
It would cause more harm to have them gone than the mischief they could get up to if left to their old seats.
In the Westerlands you are unlikely to have those linchpins. There are maps in Sorcerer's Deep marked 'Traitorlands' and only half in jest. Still, with the head cut from the snake perhaps it might be worth doing a tour of the remaining western lords. You had found one geased in the Stormlands. How many more might you find here?
What do you do next?
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OOC: Short update to get the discussion moving along.
