Occupation of Highgarden

House Hightower

House Tarly

House Reyne

House Lorch

Perceon Lannister

Gerold Hightower

Robert Reyne

Roslyn Lorch

### Outcome

Death of Gerold HightowerTribute in form of gold from Houses Tarly and Hightower to House Lannister

Withdrawal of Lannister forces from the Reach

**The Occupation of Highgarden** was a moon during Durran's Defiance when Lannister troops captured and occupied the ancestral seat of the Tyrells. Following Garth Tyrell's surrender of the token garrison at the fortress, the Lannister commander used it as a base of operations for the rest of the destructive military campaign. For many the long occupation was also a psychological form of warfare; by holding the main stronghold of the Reach, the Westermen mocked their enemies' much larger army and renown as capable soldiers.

While the occupation itself wasn't necessarily cruel, many events took place at Highgarden during that time that caused controversy and tension between the Lords of both the Westerlands and the Reach.

## Highgarden opens its gates

Highgarden was attacked by Lannister forces after they had besieged and raided the northwestern lands of the Reach. Aware that Lord Mace Tyrell's armies had marched to King's Landing to aid the King, Ser Martyn Lannister stayed at the stronghold rather than proceeding to pillage further up the Mander, therefore avoiding running into the much larger force and risking defeat. By feasting in Lord Mace's halls, riding his horses and sleeping in his bed Ser Martyn proclaimed to the region the might and cunning of House Lannister.

In the early days of the occupation, Perceon Lannister fell in love with a childhood friend, Roslyn Lorch who had been allowed to accompany the Lannister army. The relationship became challenged quickly, however, as Robert Reyne declared his love for Roslyn shortly afterwards. A much older childhood friend of Perceon's, the two ended up duelling each other for Roslyn's hand, something the girl herself disapproved of since she had not been asked anything.

Robert, already a knight and leading a portion of his family's troops, ended up besting the younger Lannister, and leaving him a scar above his lip. Despite his victory, Roslyn ran to her injured lover and threw insults at the Reyne. Angry and feeling betrayed, Robert and Perceon didn't talk to one another for a long time following the incident.

## Atrocities great and small

In a drunken rage, owing to perceptions of mistreatment at the occupying Lannister's hands, Gerold Hightower, Heir to Oldtown causes a disturbance at a nearby inn late in the Lannisters occupation. Lannister soldiers are sent to subdue the young squire to Garth Tyrell and in so doing get a bit rough with the teenager, mistaking him for someone below his true station. Gruffly they threw the young man down the stone steps of the establishment in an attempt to teach him a lasting lesson but do no true harm to the boy. Sadly, for he and them, Gerold falls in precisely the right way, his neck colliding with the stone and ending his short life then and there. Once Garth Tyrell learned of the young Hightower's fate from Martyn Lannister, the castellan strongly suspected that the soldiers knew exactly what they were doing. Martyn, for his part, was quick to reject this accusation and instead blamed it on the Hightower's own clumsiness.

Mace Tyrell's youngest son, Medwick, passed away earlier during the occupation. While the infant's death couldn't be connected to the Lannisters, many still suspected and tried to place the blame on the occupier.

Lord Luthor Tarly offered his daughter's hand in marriage to Ser Martyn by sending Lady Dyanna Tarly, his wife and Garth Tyrell's sister, to Highgarden to mingle with the Lannister commander. Unbeknownst to Lord Tarly, Martyn had already married Elaena Bittersteel a year prior to the war's beginning, which was why he had to refuse her. Dyanna and Martyn got along well however, and despite the two not being able to arrange a marriage, they both committed adultery against their spouses by sleeping together. She became pregnant with Martyn's bastard daughter, Myrcella Flowers, but this was noticed only after she returned to Horn Hill. The bastard's lineage was kept a secret from Garth Tyrell for fear of his retribution.

## Tribute from the Reachmen

Having heard that Lord Mace Tyrell and his bannermen were marching back to relieve the occupation with haste, Ser Martyn made a decision to benefit from the campaign as much as possible. Lords Hightower, Tarly and several smaller landholders were demanded to bring a sum of wealth to Highgarden or suffer devastating consequences. The bluff worked, and soon many Reachlords came with their offerings to their enemies.