The Reach

Arbor

The Citadel

Starry Sept

House Florent

House Redwyne

House Tarly

House Caswell

House Fossoway

House Ashford

House Rowan

House Oakheart

House Vyrwel

House Merryweather

House Mullendore

House Crane

**The Reach** is one of the constituent regions of the Iron Throne Kingdom, on the continent of Westeros. It was formerly a sovereign nation ruled by the Kings of the Reach before Aegon's War of Conquest. It is the second-largest of the regions behind the North and is considered the most fertile and heavily-populated part of Westeros.

The Reach is considered the home of chivalry in Westeros. It is the place where knighthood is looked upon with the greatest reverence and esteemed the most. It is also the place where the rules for tourneys are the most stringent and managed.

The Reach is ruled from the castle of Highgarden by House Tyrell. Notable Houses have included: Ashford, Caswell, Crane, Florent, Fossoway, Gardener, Hightower, Merryweather, Mullendore, Oakheart, Peake, Redwyne, Rowan, Tarly, and Vyrwel. Bastards from the Reach are given the surname "Flowers".

## **Geography**

The Reach is the most fertile part of Westeros and has numerous and well-populated villages and towns. The Sunset Sea is found to the west, while the hills of the Westerlands are to the northwest and the Blackwater Rush of the Riverlands is to the north. The Reach borders the Crownlands to the northeast, while to the east and southeast are the Stormlands and their Dornish Marches. South of the Reach are the Red Mountains of Dorne and the Summer Sea. The Roseroad links Oldtown with King's Landing by way of Highgarden, while the Ocean Road links Highgarden with Lannisport.

The Reach is watered by the immense river Mander and its tributaries, including the Blueburn and the Cockleswhent. The Reach proper is centered around the Mander. Oldtown is located at the mouth of the Honeywine. The region also includes several islands, including the Shield Islands near the mouth of the Mander and the Arbor south of the Whispering Sound and the Redwyne Straits.

## **People and Economy**

The Reach is the second wealthiest region in the Seven Kingdoms behind the westerlands, but it is the most fertile region. Among the products it produces are melons, fireplums, peaches, apples, and grapes. The Arbor is said to make the finest of rich wines, from reds to a golden vintage. Woodharps made in Oldtown are highly sought after.[9] Bride and groom traditionally exchange gifts on the morning of their wedding in the Reach.

Before Aegon's Conquest, the golden coins of the Reach were known as hands. They still exist in some number, with each hand coin roughly half the value of a dragon coin.

Notable locations include:

* Highgarden, the castle and seat of House Tyrell, the Lords Paramount of the Mander.
* Oldtown, the most prominent city in the Reach. It is the oldest city in Westeros, home to the Hightower of House Hightower and the maesters' Citadel, and its Starry Sept was the previous seat of the Faith of the Seven.
* Goldenvine, a city with a history not as long as Oldtown's but one to rival its magnificence. Located on the Arbor it serves as its capital and the seat for House Redwyne.
* Ashford, a market town.
* Tumbleton, a market town.
* Cuy, a town.

## **History**

### **House Gardener**

The beginnings of the Reach can be traced back to Garth Greenhand, the legendary High King of the First Men who lived in the Age of Heroes. The royal line of House Gardener of Highgarden claimed descent from Garth as do many current houses in the region. What is now the Ravenry of the Citadel is said to have been a pirate stronghold during the Age of Heroes. Beginning from the Reach proper, the Gardener Kings of the Reach expanded north to Old Oak, Red Lake, and Goldengrove, and south to Oldtown, the Arbor, and Horn Hill.

The Reach is the home of mythical warriors and knights such as Serwyn of the Mirror Shield, Davos the Dragonslayer, Roland of the Horn, and the Knight Without Armor.

The Reach is the heart of the chivalric tradition in the Seven Kingdoms, the place where knighthood is most universally esteemed. Tourneys here have the most elaborate and varied rules, and are the most likely to be held for knights only. The greatest champions of the Reach became knights in the

Order of the Green Hand. House Peake expelled House Manderly from the Reach during the reign of King Perceon III Gardener.

Dornishmen have warred against the Reach for thousands of years; rivalries include the feud between House Oakheart and House Dayne. Ser Wilbert Osgrey fell defending against an invasion of the Reach by Lancel IV Lannister, King of the Rock. The Kings of the Reach also warred with the Storm Kings of House Durrandon, gradually conquering land from the western Stormlands. However, King Garse VII Gardener was slain by King Argilac Durrandon in the Battle of Summerfield. The Dornish Marches, the lands just north of the Red Mountains of Dorne, have long been disputed. The lords of Highgarden count Defender of the Marches amongst their titles, although most of the marcher lords now owe allegiance to House Baratheon of the Stormlands.

### **House Tyrell**

During Aegon's Conquest, King Mern IX Gardener led the army of the Reach against the invading House Targaryen, but he was killed at the Field of Fire and his line was ended. House Tyrell, the stewards of the Gardeners, surrendered Highgarden to Aegon the Conqueror. They were rewarded with both the castle and the title of Lord Paramount of the Mander. The High Septon and Lord Manfred Hightower did not oppose Aegon when he approached Oldtown, increasing the new king's legitimacy. Rather than remain independent, the Reach became part of the Seven Kingdoms ruled by the Iron Throne.

#### **1 AC: The Rule of the Roses**

Though the days of House Gardener were well and truly gone, and none sought to bring the old house back to their former dominion over the Reach, even less saw the Tyrells as legitimate rulers. Though not entirely upstarts, their history being the mere Stewards of Highgarden left many believing them to be the better candidate for Paramouncy of the Mander, by virtue of wealth, reputation, power, armies, and family lineage alike. Nonetheless, when the short lived reign of the former Steward of Highgarden, Harlen Tyrell, came to an end after four years of rule in the Reach, after his mysterious disappearance in the First Dornish War, his only child, Theo, a young man of nine and ten, took Highgarden for himself.

Theo Tyrell proved just as capable as his own lord father, and one of the most politically capable rulers the Reach had seen in years, swiftly setting to mend the bridges burnt during Aegon's Conquest, binding houses together in marriage in an attempt to quell the unrest of the shaky transition to House Tyrell's rule. Reluctant to continue the wars in Dorne, when Aegon the Conqueror came to Highgarden seeking counsel with the young Warden of the South, Tyrell involvement in the Dornish incursions began fading, as Theo instead focused on consolidating his power over the Reach, as well as calling a council of Maesters and Septons to call into question, examine, and eventually dismiss all other lordly claims to Highgarden. Nevertheless, Tyrell involvement in the Red Mountain conflicts continued as they sent both monetary and military aid to the Stormlands throughout the many skirmishes with the various Vulture Kings. His wedding to the dowager Lady of the Arbor, Florence Redwyne, helped provide much needed support in these efforts, as well as beginning the process of drawing the far-flung houses of the Reach together once more.

    The two ruled the Reach for almost thirty years, of quiet and largely successful attempts at rebuilding the vacuum of infrastructure left in the wake of Mern IX Gardener's death at the Field of Fire until in 31 AC, when Lady Florence finally passed on, being nearly twenty years Theo's senior. Heartbroken at the loss of his love, Theo would not outlive her long dying within the year. They were succeeded by their only surviving son, Leo Tyrell, who had already wed Barba Tarly, the daughter of the Lord of Horn Hill.

While many considered him a worse version of his father, with all of the natural charisma and none of the political acumen, none could deny that Leo Tyrell had a certain charm about him, a charm that allowed him to sway the hearts of his people in the way that few others could, and allowed him to retain his very loose control on the Lords of the Reach. This was increased slightly by his adoption of Aegon the Conqueror's own practice of making courtly progresses all throughout his realm, in order to better connect with those whom he ruled over, and was careful not to tread over any lord's domain. While few opposed him early or late in life, those who swore fealty to Highgarden found themselves prospering under the new lack of authority, and many sought fit to wage conflicts with one another in order to expand their own realms, secure in the knowledge that Leo would do little and less to prevent it.

#### **61 AC: The Third Dornish War**

*Main Article: Third Dornish War*

Wishing to unify his realm into something less akin to a powderkeg, waiting to explode into war, Leo welcomed the opportunity seen in a second conflict with the Dornish, continuing his father's legacy of House Tyrell warring with the sands of Dorne, only to be repelled by the hostile environment and terrain. Despite launching his leg of the invasion in dead of Winter, after the Vulture King's armies had been largely broken by the Baratheon hosts, the sands still reached boiling temperatures during the daytime, and during the march through the Prince's Pass many hundreds of knights were nearly cooked alive in their armor.

Followed by the disastrous attempted Siege of Starfall, as well as the four massive battles staged outside Sandstone, thousands upon thousands of men lost their lives in "Leo's War" as it came to be known, for despite the waning support from the Iron Throne, Leo kept sending legions of men-at-arms and knights to die in the Marches, for seemingly no reason other than to gain the support of a popular war with a popular enemy, as well as to capitalize on the strife caused by the second Vulture King's uprising. After two years of brutal conflict, the war slowly began petering out, as smaller and smaller forces were sent, the levies of the Reach exhausted and depleted. Trade and commerce slowed to a crawl as tradesman and farmers were sent to die in foreign sands, and the prosperity the Reach had enjoyed during his early reign suddenly came to a grinding halt, followed by a sharp collapse, where famine became the largest cause of death, followed by the first and what is largely considered worst bout of Dragonblight in the Kingdom's history... *Read More Here*

#### **Lord Leo's Folly**

It had become clear to many that despite his charm and likability, Leo Tyrell was not a clever lord, an effective lord, or even a very good one. Easy swayed by outside influences, his rule was marked with indecision and his susception to flattery and wish to be loved created one of the most dire concoctions of misfortune the Reach had seen in hundreds of years, between the Third Dornish War and the first outbreak of Dragonblight that quickly followed. Though his unpopularity was tempered by a few clever decisions here and there. His marriage to a lady of House Tarly proved to be a good choice, as House Tarly grew to be one of his closest and most loyal allies in his pointless wars in Dorne. Warding his eldest sons at Casterly Rock too proved a smart idea, as ties to the Westerlands, historically close to the Reach, grew tighter and less tense, allowing for the disastrous effects on infrastructure that characterized Leo's misrule to be alleviated by trade with the gilded Lannisters of Lannisport and the rest of the relatively wealthy region. To many, though, the greatest decision he made in his fourteen years of rule was dying.

Upon his coming of age Gwayne had announced to the realm that he would be marrying his own childhood companion and confidant, Rohanne Florent, without the consent of his father, something which surprised few. The two had spent considerable amounts of time with one another upon her return with Gyles from Casterly Rock, and it seemed only a matter of time the two would make things official with a wedding. After a protracted betrothal due in part to the embroilment of the Reach in the Third Dornish War the two were wed in the year 62 AC, in a grand ceremony at Highgarden, accompanied by the Grand Tourney of Highgarden, one of the largest and most opulent events of it's time, that took place over the course of two moons of revelry and merriment. Their eldest daughter, Alysanne, was born later that year.

#### **63 AC: The Ascension of the Ironrose**

In the year 63 AC, Lord Leo Tyrell and his lady consort, Barba Tarly, both met their tragic end at sea, on the way home from King's Landing, where he had previously met with the king to discuss the hiring of mercenaries to help continue the war in Dorne. Corsairs from the Stepstones, speculated to have been funded as privateers from the Martells took their ship by storm, and executed everyone on board, aside from one deckhand left alive, both hands removed from his arms, as a way of sending a message. The ship was found outside of Tarth three moons later, when it crashed upon the shore, the lone deckhand miraculously alive, dying a few weeks later from the effects of long-term starvation. The death of Leo Tyrell marked the end of the humiliated string of defeats for House Tyrell known by historians as "The Third Dornish War."

Upon the news of the death of his parents, Gwayne Tyrell, who had at the time been fostering at Casterly Rock, with his younger brother, Gyles, and his childhood companion and future wife, Rohanne Florent, immediately returned to Highgarden, and assumed leadership of the Reach. Dismissing all of his father's councilors and courtiers, Gwayne immediately made certain to assert his dominion over the Reach in grand fashion, immediately going on a progress all through the Reach in order to fully appraise and bring to heel each and every one of his lords, and to demonstrate that he would not be run roughshod upon like Lord Leo before him.

Those first two years of his reign were the most active by far, as they saw him travel all across the Reach, learning the lay of the land as he slowly brought order back to his realm, at great cost to his treasury, paying heavy sums to lords that incurred great losses to land, property, and wealth as a result of the tragedies that Leo saw upon the land. Consequently, he also saw fit to raise taxes, and raise them he did, to a level that none in living memory could remember, in order to replenish the treasuries of Highgarden.

#### **78 AC: The Wedding of Black and White**

*Main Articles: The Black Rose, The White Rose*

As House Tyrell grew and planted it's roots firmly in Highgarden in an attempt to end the whispers of their illegitimacy, especially in the wake of Leo Tyrell's misrule, so did their own internal enmity. It began with the appointment of Lord Peake as one of Lord Gwayne's personal advisers, shortly after his first and final progress to Bitterbridge. When Perianne Caswell died in childbirth, Lord Peake seized an opportunity to put a Peake lady in Highgarden for the first time in a hundred years, a tradition from a time in the Reach's past when the Peakes were the most prominent and powerful family behind the Gardener Kings themselves. Though little is known about the motivations behind it, and many have speculated, Lord Gwayne wed Lord Peake's daughter, Samantha, in 78 AC.

The wedding was a multi-pronged affair. In addition to celebrating the third and final wife of Gwayne Tyrell, his eldest daughter, Alysanne, was wed to her betrothed of a year, Lucien Hightower, a young scion of House Hightower who was knighted by his mentor, Ser Mervyn Florent after the mock battle in the tourney that followed the wedding ceremony. A matrilineal arrangement with Lord Hightower, Lord Gwayne declared the two his heirs, and his wish that they would inherit Highgarden when he eventually passed away, stripping heirship from his younger brother, Gareth, the current Master-at-Arms of Highgarden. Infuriated, Gareth departed to his wife's childhood home for the remainder of the festivities, sulking at Casterly Rock.

Alysanne, at that point oft called "Argent Aly" had already become the topic of many whispers and rumors in her short life. Having been largely raised in Oldtown, studying under the High Septon in the Starry Sept, she was known widely as one of the most pious women in the Seven Kingdoms, something her association with the Hightowers only strengthened. This reputation as a paragon of virtue and nobility would sour over the years, however, as lords and common men alike found her to be something akin to a lapdog for her father, and nothing more than an extension of his will, in the eyes of many, as well as concerns about her strangely close relationship with her maternal uncle, Ser Mervyn Florent, a knight of House Florent and the younger brother of her deceased mother, though these rumors died quicker than others. Whereas in her youth she had seemed so pure and faithful, as Alysanne grew older and older, she seemed more disingenuous and gilded, and as a result, the decision to make her and her paragon-of-chivalry-husband came into question more and more often. This was in part quelled by the High Septon himself, a very old friend of hers and a noted puppet of her lord father.

#### **83 AC: Fourth Dornish War**

*Main Article: Fourth Dornish War*

Beginning in 83 AC, during the Fourth Dornish war, The Reach saw no battles take place in its own territories, instead focused on aiding the invading force in the Stormlands, as well as possibly taking new territories for the Reach and expanding their influence over the Dornish Marches. Lord Gwayne led a small host to Nightsong, with the goal of relieving the defending Stormlands forces there along the Boneway, while his younger brother, the Master-at-Arms of Highgarden and de-facto heir of Lord Gwayne, Ser Gareth Tyrell, led a much larger force down the Boneway, intent on taking as many castles as possible along the way south.

While Lord Gwayne found much success at the Siege of Nightsong, personally slaying one of Lord Fowler's grandsons, Yoren Fowler, in the ensuing battle, and was able to capably beat back the Vulture King's attacking forces, cutting most of them down in the retreat, Ser Gareth found much harder battles fought down south. After taking Kingsgrave with relative ease, forcing the Manwoody's into submission, he turned his attention to Skyreach, where Ser Gareth immediately dug in and began laying siege against the ancient castle of House Fowler.

The impossibly difficult terrain proved too much, however, and droves of men died during the siege from attrition alone, the heat and the lack of water or food effectively bringing his assault to a grinding halt. Finally, when weakened enough to be taken in battle, bolstered by reinforcements from Starfall, the Dornish launched a counter-offensive on the Tyrell host, and was able to beat them back. Lord Gwayne arrived at Skyreach too late, just in time to see Ser Gareth's forces routed. Rather than staying and allowing his travel-weary armies to be crushed under the recently refreshed Dornish forces, Gwayne retreated back up the Boneway, and converged upon Nightsong once more, where the two hosts combined, awaiting orders from King Jaehaerys.

### **93 AC: The Rosegold Rebellion**

*Main Article: The Rosegold Rebellion*

The death of King Rhaegar I Targaryen ushered in a new age of tension and uncertainty. Between his heir, the crown Prince Viserys Targaryen of Dragonstone, the suffering infrastructure in all kingdoms under the Iron Throne during his father's rule, the endless bouts of Dragon Plague outbreaks all across the Seven Kingdoms, often called "Maegor's Curse" or "Dragonblight", as well as a myriad of insults and slights on numerous occasions, and the recent successful cession of the North, the south was ripe and ready for revolt.

Lord Gwayne had long been a loyal subject of the Iron Throne. Though he was no great friend to King Rhaegar, the man's decisive personality, however impulsive and often mistaken he could be was a point of respect between the two of them, both men favoring action over inaction. However, that respect never extended to Viserys, a prince that Gwayne hardly knew, and one that he had little and less respect for.

The Reach itself had long suffered under Targaryen Rule, although that was more often attributed to Tyrell reign in Highgarden. With Lord Leo's endless follies, the constant outbreaks of plague, the inner simmering tensions between the Hightowers and Peakes, the Rowans and the Oakhearts, and countless others vying for control in court and around the Reach, Lord Gwayne's own personal paranoia was at an all time high, and it was clear to any and all that came across him that he saw threats in every shadow, hired blades in every servant. His progresses around the kingdom brought more tensions, as he saw fit to demand more and more taxes from his vassals, and began to care less and less about each lord's sovereignty. As a result, the Reach was unhappy, and although he felt little about the reasons, Lord Gwayne could see that change was on the horizon.

Following the events of the funeral of both King Rhaegar the changing tides of power were just enough to change Gwayne's own mind. When Tytos Lannister, the Lord of Casterly Rock, Shield of Lannisport, and Warden of the West, as well as his own childhood friend contacted him, requesting a meeting at Old Oak, Lord Gwayne made for the ancient castle of House Oakheart at once, knowing what he was walking into before he even entered the keep, bringing with him lords Hightower, Peake, and Tarly, his closest advisers. The men met there over the course of three days, and though it is not known what they spoke on while there, what is known is that the moment both of them returned to their homes, the two declared a joint-rebellion against House Targaryen, with Gwayne being crowned King Gwayne I Tyrell of the Reach in a ceremony at Highgarden by the High Septon, held all but captive by his new liege. The first act of Gwayne's royal reign in Highgarden was to order the public execution of Viserys' Royal Justiciar, Damion Darke, by drawing and quartering him before the smallfolk of Oldtown.

#### **The Fall of Grassy Vale**

Lord Raymont Baratheon and his men moved quickly into the Reach, approaching the lands of House Meadows as they were raising their levies for war. The Stormlanders decisively batted their forces aside and the castle surrendered after three days of siege, Lord Meadows reportedly convinced by his wife to surrender the keep. This bolstered the Royalist forces morale as they had struck the first blow and with little bloodshed, and was the first of many small, but not altogether un-notable victories of a similar nature.

#### **The Battle of the Blueburn**

Following Grassy Vale, the Stormlanders moved downriver towards Longtable, to continue their march for Highgarden. Word had reached them that King Viserys’ army was preparing to leave King’s Landing and march down the Rose Road so as to bolster their ranks, driving Lord Raymont to press forward. Unlike the victories preceding, however, they were not met without resistance. A hastily formed army led by Lord Fossoway met them at the Blueburn, with the combined forces of Houses Merryweather, Ashford, and Fossoway in tow, seven leagues from Longtable. A Pyrrhic victory, the Reachmen were forced to retreat, but Stormlanders had been dealt serious losses from the battle, losing numerous knights and commanders such as Ser Meryn Caron. The battle had looked to be lost, as they were pinned against the Blueburn for some time, until a counterattack lead by Lord Clyve Caron, enraged by the death of his kinsman, broke the encirclement and allowed them to press the Reach back. Retiring to Longtable, the Reachmen were met by outriders of a larger host led by Ser Gareth Tyrell, a combined force of knights and men-at-arms from Houses Florent, Tarly, and Vyrwel, who stated that their forces were not far behind. With that, the Reachmen decided to make their stand at Longtable, with in particular Lord Merryweather stating he would rather die defending his castle than anywhere else.

#### **The Blockade of Oldtown**

Unknown to Lord Tyrell, Lord Redwyne had sided with the Crown and quickly moved his sizable fleet to Oldtown to blockade the city, shattering any plans of a naval counter-offensive on the Crown. Ser Lucas Hightower, quickly assumed acting lordship and began attempting to fortify the city, in the hopes that he might be able to withstand the colossal threat the Redwyne Fleet posed to the Reach. While there were some probing attacks against the city, Lord Redwyne decided against an all out naval assault on the city, as attacking the narrower harbor would mean negating his numbers advantage, and chose instead to continue to blockade and harass the city and the lands around Oldtown. Though short-lived over all, the blockade had disastrous effects on the flow of gold within the Reach, a pain that is still felt today. Ser Lucas was not the only one to distinguish himself on that day, however, as Lady Alysanne Tyrell called for all of the women and children of Oldtown to be piled into the Starry Sept, where they prayed day and night for the breaking of the siege, safe within the gargantuan halls of the most holy.

#### **The Battle of Longtable**

The Reachmen dug in their defenses outside the castle of Longtable with Gareth Tyrell's reinforcements, who arrived just as the banners of the Stormlanders were sighted before nightfall. There was some discussion as to whether or not they would try and attack during the night, but Lord Tarly dismissed the notion, with most others agreeing. Instead, Lord Merryweather lead a group of soldiers through the woods near the castle, where they would lie in wait for the Stormlanders to wander in and be caught unawares Come dawn the next morning, the two armies moved to fight. Lord Raymont Baratheon led the advance, confident that he could crush the reinforced and refreshed Reachmen army.

The battle began, and twice the Stormlanders advanced only to be repulsed by the Reachmen. During the third advance Lord Merryweather and his men-at-arms seized an opportunity, and broke out of the woods, slamming into the left flank of the Stormlanders, sewing chaos in their ranks and slaying numerous knights and noblemen. Lord Raymont saw his left fold under the pressure and sounded the retreat before they could be pinned against the river once again. The Stormlander’s advance had finally been stopped, with Gareth Tyrell, encouraged by Lords Tarly and Vyrwel, seizing the advantage and giving chase all the way past Grassy Vale, repulsing the invading forces further and further back. Raymont eventually was pushed back across the Blueburn just west of Grassy Vale, turning north, in the hopes of converging with the Royal Army which was now marching down the Rose Road towards Highgarden.  But the castle of Bitterbridge still lay in their path, and King Gwayne I Tyrell, with the largest of the Reach hosts, aided by Lord Marshal Hightower and Lord Peake, were already waiting there for the royals. Riders sent to Lord Tarly summoned their host to abandon their chase of the Stormlords and form up to join the defense at Bitterbridge, lest they get caught by the Royal Army marching down the Rose Road.

#### **The Slaughter of Bitterbridge**

Finally the host of the Stormlords and the Royal Host had met one another south of Tumbleton on the Rose Road, after a week of sacking the trading town. Their numbers had swelled greatly and King Viserys was confident as they approached the fortified town of Bitterbridge, their last obstacle before Highgarden. There on the rolling fields around the castle, they found the Reachmen had already dug considerable defenses. The road approaching the town was marred with spiked barricades. Trenches had been dug outside the walls with more barricades hindering the approaches. King Gwayne and his army waited for the Viserys' army, as they knew that it was the main crossing of the Mander for leagues around, and any attempt to cross elsewhere would be easily thwarted by the patrols of riders that ran up and down the Mander.

King Viserys, angered at the sight of the fortifications, ordered an assault on the town the next day.  What followed was seven days of slaughter and bloodshed not seen since before the Conquest. The Loyalist army fought back and forth with the Reachmen for the town, at two separate points climbing the walls and nearly breaching it, only to be repulsed. Each day was the same, the Royal Army would advance, while the Reachmen held the walls. Sorties attacking and counter attacking were made, with the dead piling high on both sides. The first day saw the Heir of Red Lake, Ser Alliser Crane, perish defending the walls, with Ser Randyll Tarly taking command only to fall an hour later. Later, as the attackers once again tried to push the walls under the cover of darkness, they were once again repelled in part due do the valliant efforts of Lord Tytos Fossoway, who was struck down by Lord Commander of the White Cloaks Aethan Velaryon shortly after calling a retreat. Nevertheless, they did not enter the city.

On the second day, the Reachmen barely held off the Loyalists as they scaled the walls of the town only to be beaten back by Lord Gwayne’s personal intervention. Lord Raymont Baratheon was killed during this second scaling of the walls on the fifth day, struck down by Lord Lucas Osgrey. Ser Roy Baratheon, now the Lord of Storm's End by default, avenged his father and slew his killer before being forced back off of the walls of the town. Ser Daemion Velaryon was slain that same day attempting to pick up command of the Royal forces on the walls following Lord Raymont’s death, only to be felled by a hail of arrows launched from beyond the walls of Bitterbridge. Still, through all the carnage, there was nothing either hosts could do to gain a substantive advantage. The piles of bodies grew higher every day, and the crows continued to circle the town even as the battle raged on. King Viserys would eventually wade into battle himself, but not even the presence of the king was enough for the Loyalists to break through the Reachmen’s lines. Despite hundreds of lords and knights distinguishing themselves in combat during the siege, few remember it fondly, only for the stench of their fallen comrades disheartening them day after day.

#### **The Golden Truce**

Hearing of the approach of the Westermen to King’s Landing was a shock to King Viserys, who had failed to break through the Reach blockade at Bitterbridge. He was furious at the Riverlords for being unable to contain the Westermen, allowing them to approach the capital all but unhindered. Combined with his disastrous attempts to take Bitterbridge, the offensive against the rebels had amassed failures on every front.  Every attempt to bring forces around the rear of the town had been fruitless, and many scouts were lost attempting to find a suitable fording that wasn’t already being guarded by Reachmen.

With the news of King’s Landing reaching his ears, King Viserys turned to face the Lannister host, hoping they could get there in time before the city could be sacked. Sensing weakness, King Gwayne took all of his remaining forces, and ordered them to surge over the border of the Crownlands, giving chase to King Viserys' considerably thinned ranks, though it was mostly through outriders that they harassed the rear of the King’s army. By the time they had reached the outer groves of the Kingswood, reports of the attack and subsequent repulsion of the Westermen from the capital reached both armies. While the city remained untaken, their losses were still great. At the same time, Lord Arryn’s men sent word to Lord Lannister demanding his surrender to the Crown, which was laughed off by Lord Tytos, confident they wouldn't be able to reach him in time.

King Viserys sent riders to King Gwayne and Lord Tytos, and asking them to parlay with him on the south bank of the Blackwater, near where the tributary of the God’s Eye met the Rush. Apprehensive at first, the two agreed as enough blood on both sides had been shed, and King’s Landing, while still in the Crown’s hands, was in shambles.

Both sides met at an inn near the river and a small group of other lords from either side met with the king. The negotiations were slow, as between Viserys' own humiliation at Bitterbridge, Gwayne's infamously iron-willed pride, and Tytos' own confidence in his position, but in the end King Viserys and the rebels came to a suitable agreement.  House Lannister and House Tyrell would accept Viserys as their king and would continue to do House Targaryen homage as their overlord, with Gwayne setting aside his newly-forged crown and once again swearing faith to House Targaryen. House Targaryen, in return, promised to aid the Reach and the West whenever necessary, no matter the circumstance or cost. To Gwayne in particular, his son in law and heir, Lucien Hightower, was made the Master of Laws, and his young son Dorian betrothed to Princess Alysella Targaryen, an arrangement that would be carried out when the two came of suitable age. In addition to this, the King also took a representative of Lord Lannister and Lord Tyrell’s choosing as a member of his Small Council, a decision still controversial to this day. The final clause dictated that the Royal Justiciars be allowed to return to Casterly Rock and Highgarden. The realm returned to order, though a great bitterness remained on both sides, and still does to this day.

## **Setting The Stage**

Since their appointment as the Lords Paramount of the Mander and Lords of Highgarden, House Tyrell has been the subject of much controversy and resentment, as many older, richer, and far more powerful and influential houses believe themselves to be more entitled to rule than the up-jumped former stewards of Highgarden. The current Lord of Highgarden, Gwayne Tyrell, recognizes this, unlike his father, who preferred to bury his head in the proverbial sand and try to ignore the dissidence spreading through the Reach. As a result, Gwayne has taken an active role in ensuring the Reach’s stability, and more importantly, his supremacy over his vassals. Through tightening taxes drastically and demanding all lords contribute a small fraction of their forces to a standing army at Highgarden, as well as regular progresses throughout his domain in order to keep his more rebellious vassals quiet, Gwayne is not well liked, despite the iron respect he commands. A hard, imperious man, Gwayne is said to not be swayed by any but his late lady wife, Lady Rohanne Florent, a famous beauty known for her extraordinary kindness and hospitality, running the majority of the day-to-day at Highgarden in her husband’s extended absences during her long rule as the Lady of Highgarden. They had four children together, all daughters, which leaves more whispers to be spoken about the succession to Highgarden, as Gwayne does have a younger brother, Ser Gareth Tyrell, the Master-At-Arms of Highgarden, who has a daughter and a now deceased son by his lady wife, Ellyn Lannister.

Without a son, Gwayne saw fit to marry again; a daughter of Bitterbridge, Lady Perianne Caswell. However, when she gave birth but a year later to their sole child, Bethany Tyrell, she quickly fell ill and perished shortly after, once again calling into question the succession of Highgarden. Looking to his current children, Gwayne commanded that his eldest daughter from his first wife, Lady Alysanne Tyrell, and her then betrothed Ser Lucien Hightower, the king’s Master of Laws, would be his heirs. The two would rule Highgarden after he had passed, and their children would be Tyrells, with their father taking the Tyrell name as well. Paranoid that this would not be enough, however, Gwayne quickly began making plans to wed once more, and eventually settled on the infamously silk-tongued daughter of the Lord of Starpike, Samantha Peake. The two were married in a small joint wedding with his daughter and her own betrothed shortly after, and it was believed that finally, the succession would be put to rest.

However, questions about the future of Highgarden arose once more when Lady Samantha produced a son a year later. And another the year following. The laws of the land state that a male son must inherit before his daughters, and that he cannot disinherit them without cause, but Gwayne would hear none of it; any who would dare to question his decision he threatened with the headsman's axe, and Gwayne took measures to ensure that his will would be enforced after his death, confirming Alysanne and Lucien’s heirship to Highgarden, an act that caused a major rift between Samantha and Gwayne to form. Samantha wanted her children to inherit Highgarden, as did her ambitious Lord Father, and both continued to hatch plots to convince Gwayne to rescind Alysanne’s inheritance.

After but a short time, Gwayne’s patience with his wife evaporated, and in a fit of rage, he commanded her to leave Highgarden until his sons come of age, and sent her back to Starpike in shame, a slight she would not forget. With her out of his hair at the moment, Gwayne saw fit to name Lord Hightower to the position of High Marshall of the Reach, as a precautionary measure, trusting Lord Hightower to serve at least his own ambitions, which coincidentally aligned with Gwayne’s wishes. He also appointed his former brother-by-law, Ser Mervyn Florent, a knight of House Florent (and the brother of the late Rohanne), to sworn guardianship of Alysanne, growing ever more paranoid for her safety, which ultimately proved an unnecessary precaution, if practical.

Today, as House Tyrell's roots grow strong, and take to soil all around the realm, the question of succession still lingers in the back of everyone's minds. Tensions have seemingly begun to cool, with the roses going about their daily lives as normal, but the simmering strife still remains, and the vices that hold the hearts of the wealthy and powerful of the Reach demand satisfaction, that dull, calling to power and glory still echoing quietly in their hearts. Once more, the Reach is a powderkeg, ready to blow at any moment, with only the slightest sparks threatening to drag the whole realm into civil war.

*Will it be you, who causes the descent of the Reach into madness and disdain? Or will you spend your all to avert the seemingly certain impending doom upon the fair, green lands of the South? Will the House of Highgarden fall victim to their own petty grudges and baser inclinations? Will another, more worthy house sit the ruinous remains of the Oakenseat in Garth Green-Hand's cavernous marble halls? Will you climb the ladder of chaos all the way to the top?*

*Will you play the Game of Thrones?*

## Roses in turmoil

### Lucien's folly

In the year of 98 AC, Lucien Hightower had been serving the Iron Throne as the Master of Laws for five years. Yet, his goodfather Gwayne, unable to stay away from trouble for long, after finding a spy in Lord Peake's service in his halls, sent a missive to his daughter and Lucien's wife Alysanne, urging Peake's arrest via Lucien's power as Master of Laws. Lord Uther Peake served, at the time, as the High Justiciar of the Reach.

Torn between service to his terrifying goodfather and his King, Lucien had to make a choice - in the end, a choice that would prove the wrong one. He chose the Ironrose, acting without telling the King and ordering Peake's arrest; however, he found himself stripped of the title for it and locked away under house arrest. When questioned, he admitted that it was Gwayne that sent the original letter.

Gwayne himself, after arriving in the city , would find himself locked in the cells of King's Landing and stripped of his titles. On the trial, one of his judges was Rickard Rowan, whose dislike for the Tyrells wasn't a secret. Gwayne asked for a trial by combat but his request was never done, due to the news of Manfryd Rowan's death at the hands of Gareth Tyrell, and the former lord spent the rest of his days in the cells of King's Landing.

Distrustful of the White Rose, King Viserys also revoked the rights of Gwayne's chosen heiress, Alysanne, and broke off the betrothal of Princess Alysella to Alysanne's son Dorian.

### The Plucking

In light of the King appointing Lord Rowan as his brother's judge, Gareth Tyrell declared Rowans traitors and murdered Manfryd Rowan, brother to Lord Rickard, in retailation. This started an open rebellion in the Reach formally known as the White Rose Rebellion, but nicknamed the Plucking by the bards.

Gareth amassed an army of Houses loyal to the White Rose line, including Lord Ormund Caswell, whose kinswoman Perianne was Gwayne's second wife and whose son Dorian Tyrell squired under. Hearing of this, King Viserys rode to the Reach and fought Lord Caswell at Bitterbridge, ultimately winning. Ormund Caswell lost his head immediately afterwards.

Around the same time as the Battle of Bitterbridge, coalition of lords Rowan, Oakheart and Crane and their vassals, loyal to King Viserys and opposed to Gwayne who were known by the name Northmarch, found their enemy in Gareth Tyrell, who decided to strike, assured of his victory. They clashed at Dosk, and although Gareth fled, he lost the battle. Lord Lyman Crane, one of the Northmarcher lords, sent severed hands of captured Tyrell soldiers sailing down the Mander in warning.

Then, the conflict took a sharp change of tone. Viserys had named Theodore Tyrell, Gwayne's son by Samantha Peake, daughter of Uther Peake, Lord of Highgarden, though that didn't sit well with lords still loyal to Alysanne Tyrell, most powerful of which was Lucas Hightower, Lord of Oldtown. He raised the banners for Alysanne's son Dorian Tyrell, naming him Lord of Highgarden.

Lucas attempted to seize Highgarden, but Uther Peake had beaten him to it. Gyles Tyrell, who had remained in Highgarden, had surrendered the castle to Peake. Attempting over-the-walls negotiations could've cost Lucas his life, but it didn't. He retreated to Oldtown.

After Bitterbridge, King Viserys rode on to Highgarden under Peake's control. It was here that he sired Orys Flowers with a serving girl in Gwayne's own bed, before he rode forward to Oldtown. There, he laid a siege to it, but rather than fight, Lucas Hightower requested to negotiate.

As a result, Peace of Oldtown was signed. It stated that, while Theodore would remain Lord, Dorian would be his heir until he had a son that came of age. The rebels laid down the arms in exchange for a general royal pardon. Both Houses Tyrell and Hightower had to give monetary compensation to the Iron Throne. Lord Uther Peake was replaced by Rickard Rowan as the High Justiciar of the Reach.

## Rebirth of the White Rose

However, first point of the Peace was not to be. Mere moons after ascending, in 99 AC, Theodore abdicated in favour of his nephew Dorian, bringing the White Rose in power once more. Before the year was over, however, Gwayne and Gareth lost their heads as murder and traitor respectively. Gyles was allowed to join the Night's Watch.

In 100 AC, in an attempt to strengthen the bonds within his troubled realm, Dorian married Bethany Oakheart, niece of Lord Arthur Oakheart. Next year, Viserys freed Lucien and Alysanne and allowed them to return home. The pair came right to their son's bastion of power and the reunion of parents and children would inspire many a bard who sought his luck in the flower lords' halls by how emotional it was. And it wasn't only that - Lady Bethany was with child, and a few moons later, she birthed her first son, named after his paternal father, Lucien.

Overjoyed, Dorian decided to celebrate such a joyous occassion with a tourney, inviting all of the Reach to attend. Next year, Dorian's second son was baptised as Renly Tyrell, followed soon by his only daughter, Janna.

104 AC saw the marriage of Damon Tyrell and his cousin, Lady Alys Crane. Their first child would be a girl named Leonella, born in 107 AC, and followed in the years afterwards by two more sisters and two twin brothers.

### The Faith

In 106 AC, a controversial High Septon known as the Righteous One rose and started his anti-crown rhetoric, which Dorian didn't quite like. At the time, the lord kept a running correspondance with King Viserys, as concerned about the new High Septon as the king was. Around that time, Septon Michael, who had been Dorian's confessor a few years ago, died, having served in a small village sept since 99 AC.

As time passed, Dorian liked the new head of the faith less and less, so when he asked for donations in 120 AC, House Tyrell was strangely absent. In the next two years, as word of religious intolerance reached Highgarden, the lord was more and more convinced he had made the right choice.

However, he was still willing to give the man a chance, so in the company of his brother Damon, Dorian travelled to Oldtown for a private audience with the High Septon. He expressed his doubts over religiously motivated violence and suggested a more peaceful route to new converts, but the talk failed.

Yet, when Poor Fellows, funded by the donations of 120 AC, murdered Lord Jasper Arryn, Dorian stood in quiet opposition to the High Septon, even arranging a marriage between his eldest son and Desmera Arryn, daughter of the murdered lord.

### Peasant rights

Shortly after the birth of his daughter Serise in 109 AC, Damon, under orders of his brother, went on a Reach-wide progress, flanked by knights loyal to House Tyrell. However, his duty was far from a violent one - it was to listen to lords, foster goodwill between the Houses and bring their worries back to their Lord Paramount. However, upon his trip, he saw the hard lives of the commonfolk. He sat with the lords, but he sat with their subjects too.

Upon his return, he urged his brother to enact change to make the lives of the smallfolk more bearable. Despite all his goodwill and kindness, Dorian was a staunch believer in divinely set up hierarchy, so it took many a night and discussion for the brothers to reach an accord. Reforms would be made, but slowly, as to not anger the lords.

Thus, in 113 AC, a year before the Cobbler revolt, first set of legal reforms came to be applied in all of the Reach - the formation of the Petioners, a function designed to solve and mediate in conflicts within the smallfolk without the right of pit and gallows. Although the ultimate justice would still fall with the lords of the land and the Petioners would be set by the lord himself, though he'd have to be of the wealthier smallfolk or clergy class, the idea was giving the peasants more control, if only a little, in their hands.

Two years later, through yet another reform, village heads were given more power than they normally had, although they deferred to the Petioners and the lords still.