Reach

> *"Once and always a great realm, the Reach is many things to its inhabitants: the most populous, fertile, and powerful domain in the Seven Kingdoms, its wealth second only to the gold-rich west; a seat of learning; a center of music, culture, and all the arts, bright and dark; the breadbasket of Westeros; a nexus of trade; a home to great seafarers, wise and noble kings, dread sorcerers, and the most beautiful women in all Westeros.."*
>
> — Archmaester Yandel

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

## The Reach

### Inhabitants

Reachmen

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, Costayne, Florent, Fossoway, Gardener, Hightower, Merryweather, Mullendore, Oakheart, Redwyne, Rowan, Tarly, and Vyrwel. Noble bastards born in 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. 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 of the Hightower, the Maesters' Citadel, and the Starry Sept is the seat of the Faith of the Seven.
* Ashford, a market town.
* Tumbleton, a market town.
* Cuy, a town.

## Recent History

### The Dance of the Dragons

Whilst House Tyrell itself did not take a side in the great civil war that severed the realm, its vassals certainly did. Otto Hightower, Hand of the King, was ostensibly the leader of the Green faction, and his nephew Lord Ormund took that same side. House Peake, House Fossoway, House Redwyne, and countless others joined them in supporting Aegon Targaryen's claim to the throne. Just as many sided with the Blacks, however. Rowan, Tarly, Caswell, even House Hightower's own vassals of Costayne and Beesbury rose up in support of Rhaenyra Targaryen. House Tyrell simply ignored the hounding of its vassals - Lord Lyonel's mother and regent was of House Hightower herself, but the pressure of powerful Blacks meant she could not take that side.

When Rhaenyra proved victorious, that neutrality became all that saved the Lady Dowager. Her infant son was given the mercy a young boy deserved, and her pleas that she needed to raise him gave her clemency.

### Reclamation

Lyonel's regency was unpopular with many of the lords of the Reach. Some believed his mother to be too controlling, others believed she did not take control enough. Without being Lady of Highgarden herself, the Lady Regent could not control her son's vassals effectively nor could she allow them the freedom they desired. Either way, she would ensure the disloyalty of one house or another. In the middle of this conflict was the Lord Paramount himself, slowly aging as conflict became more and more apparent.

In 145 AC, on the eve of Lyonel's eighteenth nameday, war broke out once more. Not between Blacks and Greens, but between Blues and the Crown. House Hightower took the position of rebel leader again, marching a force north to join with their allies in the Riverlands. House Costayne remained loyal to Rhaenyra's blood, as they had many years before, and waylaid them upon the Roseroad, slowing them yet failing to win a victory.

As before, the Lady Regent refused to take a side. Forsaking her kin and the rest of her vassals, she stood silent behind the walls of Highgarden. Unlike before, however, Lyonel Tyrell was no young boy. He was near enough a man, and so when word reached Highgarden of a royal host assembling he slipped out in the dead of night with his retainers and rode to the capital. The Lady Regent was furious, ordering the lords of the Reach to "hunt the errant boy down". She was refused, with some expressing their desire to return Lyonel to his seat.

Soon enough, the Battle of Tumbleton came, and the young Lord of Highgarden fought beside many of his vassals and peers to earn great glory and respect. His mother's tarnishing of his legacy was undone, and he knew what he had to do. Yet first, there was the matter of House Hightower. Lord Flint, Lord Swyft, and Lord Strong had summoned much of the realm to the capital to see the punishment that the Beacon of the South and his family would receive. When that turned out to be death for the men, and exile for the women and children, Lyonel could not disagree. House Costayne being elevated to the position of Lords of Oldtown, that too was agreeable. Yet one last Hightower remained outside of the crown's judgement. Lyonel's own mother.

Almost as soon as the trial was over, the Lord of Highgarden summoned his vassals and made clear his plans. They would have to march upon his own hold and seize it. His mother would have to be exiled or given to the Faith, for her disloyalty and mistreatment of the Reach's lords. It was simple.

Gathering his host at Goldengrove, Lyonel marched home. His demands were simple. His mother would surrender herself, or whatever came would be on her hands. Whether loved or hated, the Lady Regent was no coward. Dressed in steel and wielding an axe, she marched out with her own force to do battle beneath the walls of their home. What came was a quick battle. Lyonel and his lords had experience, where his mother had none. It was nearly bloodless, too, with many of House Tyrell's men refusing to raise arms against their own liege.

Yet it was not entirely bloodless. Lord Alan Tarly, bearing *Heartsbane*, was met by the axes of the Lady Regent. Starved for choice, he was forced to slay her upon the field - it was Alan Tarly that ended the line of House Hightower for good.

### Rise of the Strongrose

Lyonel Tyrell's full ascension proved to be a wise choice for both the Lord Paramount and his vassals. Wise and just, under Lyonel's rule the Reach prospered. Skilled at negotiation - aggressive or not - Lyonel was a boon to the wealth of his region. House Tyrell's coffers grew fat, and so too did the wealth of the lesser lords. House Caswell was allowed to create a checkpoint at Bitterbridge, regulating trade and travel in and out of the Reach under Lyonel's own very watchful eye. Even when House Costayne served House Hightower, they resented the disloyalty of the Redwynes towards the Queen and her family. When the Costaynes ascended the Hightower, that dislike continued - and with the endorsement of the newly-empowered Lord of Highgarden, the Costaynes were able to exercise their power and ensure the Redwynes did not have quite the influence they used to. House Costayne's enmity was evident, but Lyonel ensured it was not hostile. Trade disputes and bad deals, that was what Redwyne received as punishment for their continued disloyalty.

His rule was not all peace, however. In 163 AC House Tarly brought forth their claims to Whitegrove, an ancient blood tie linking them to a house that ruled those lands before the Peakes. Instead of presenting this claim to his liege in Highgarden, the Lord of Horn Hill raised a force and marched on the castle himself. Lord Peake was furious, and raised his own force to meet them in battle. It was a bloody fight, beneath the walls of Whitegrove, one that nearly ended in House Tarly's decisive victory. Yet when horns blew from a nearby hill and a grand host flying the banners of House Tyrell appeared, the battle came to an instant halt. Lyonel rode ahead of his force, and ordered the two lords to meet with him under peace banners. Neither man got a word in before Lyonel Tyrell's voice cowed them both. What he said is not recorded beyond one line, the final words he uttered before turning and leaving them to make up their differences.

> "I did not let your father slay my mother to kill you too."
>
>

Having focused his attentions on the Reach, Lyonel was considered more than just a good ruler, but one of the greatest to grace Westeros. Yet after the death of King Aegon III, and the ascension of Jaehaerys II, who had been Hand to the last two monarchs for fifteen years, his wisdom was elevated. Lyonel Tyrell was no longer just Lord Paramount of the Mander, but Hand of the King too. In his place, his son Eustace assumed the lordly responsibilities he would eventually inherit. Whilst Lyonel's political acumen was focused on ensuring Jaehaerys did not bring forth any rebellions with his sharp tongue, Eustace's less skilled hand controlled the Reach.

### Queenmaker and Son

Eustace Tyrell did not quite realize the delicate situation his father had left him behind. Maybe Lyonel had overestimated his son, or maybe Eustace was simply terrible. Either way, his actions brought him shame and brought the Reach worse. House Caswell were the first to exploit their new position, expanding their business at Bitterbridge to tax trade far higher, and on all who passed through - not just foreigners. With Jaehaerys II off in the Stepstones, tearing apart Alyn Velaryon's realm, Lyonel had Seven Kingdoms to rule - he could not handle House Caswell, and nor could his son. Eustace was not an entirely ineffective ruler - he was skilled at fattening his pockets, but he had no care for balance or hierarchies like his father.

When the Ironborn ravaged the coasts of Old Oak, Eustace gave no support. House Oakheart was forced to search for other assistance, found in the form of House Chester. Unwilling to simply assist their fellow Reachmen, the Chesters demanded 30,000 gold dragons in payment for their service. House Oakheart reluctantly fronted the gold, and for their payment they were assisted by the ships of the Shields to drive back the Ironborn and save Old Oak. When all was said and done, however, House Oakheart insisted this payment was robbery - Chester owed them their money back, a position that had the support of House Costayne of Oldtown. Eustace nearly agreed with his wife's kin, but recused himself when House Chester threatened to bring all their ships to port and leave the Mander unguarded.

Vassals who were once loyal and subservient saw themselves grow more ambitious. In 190 AC, House Tarly and House Peake once more went to war over Whitegrove. Lyonel was not present to stop them with threats, instead dealing with a burgeoning succession crisis in the capital upon the death of King Jaehaerys II. Instead, it fell to Eustace. Like his father before him, he gathered a host and arrived as the two sides did battle beneath the walls. House Peake began to pull ahead this time, defending their threatened hold with tooth and nail. Instead of allowing the war to end naturally, however, Eustace tried to exercise his authority.

From that same hilltop, he did not ride forth alone. He did not stop a battle with his mere presence. Instead, he ordered a charge. Some of his vassals, and much of his army, did not join him - including his son and heir Harys, who had only recently returned from visiting his grandfather the Hand and his brother Bayard who warded there. Yet with a contingent of knights, he rode forth. Not discriminating between Peake or Tarly, those foolish enough to follow him cut a swathe through the battling sides. Both Lord Peake and Lord Tarly called for a halt, and the battle was over - the war ended in a stalemate again. Yet it was not out of respect for their lord, but confusion that they ceased their conflict.

In King's Landing, Lyonel had won a great political victory - he, along with the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, had swayed the Small Council into returning their support to Daenaerys Targaryen, now Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Queenmaker, they called him, an idol for diplomats and politicians across Westeros. Yet that victory was tempered by news of his son's failures. Lyonel could not afford to leave King's Landing - too much to do, with the coronation incoming - but a strongly worded letter arrived at Highgarden condemning Eustace's actions. No-one ever saw this letter, for it was seen being thrown into the blacksmith's fire as he strolled through Highgarden.

### Pain of the Plague

Three years after Daenaerys Targaryen's ascension, a plague struck King's Landing. It did not leave the city, but it wreaked havoc within the walls all the same. The Prince-Consort Rhaegar Velaryon, Princess Aemma Targaryen, Daeron the Prince of Dragonstone, many perished. Yet two deaths struck the Reach harder than most. Lyonel Tyrell, Hand of the Queen, the Queenmaker, the Strongrose, along with his grandson Harys, who had visited to collect his brother, both fell victim to the plague.

Eustace Tyrell was now Lord Paramount of the Mander, words that struck fear into loyalists of House Tyrell and put smiles upon the faces of their detractors. Instantly, plans and agreements made by his father continued to slip away. Situations that had once been stable grew even more dire. House Costayne and Florent's rivalry with Redwyne continued, yet without the steady hand of Lyonel Tyrell to keep them in check it became more violent. Raids and violent duels sparked between the three houses more than ever before, and Lord Tyrell was simply content to watch them fight.

House Caswell continued to increase their wealth from their dominance over Bitterbridge, so much so that their neighbours of Fossoway and Merryweather formed plans to bypass the bridge using ferries from Cider Hall to Dunstonbury and Longtable to Woodwright Keep respectively. It was a bypassing of their authority in the eyes of the Caswells, and every few months a boat filled with supplies and travellers floats downriver burnt and looted, as it has since this smuggling operation began.

Hostilities slowed when Queen Daenaerys Targaryen passed through the Reach on her royal progress, however - the presence of the Lady of the Seven Kingdoms was enough for even Eustace Tyrell to maintain a level of decorum. At Highgarden, Lord Eustace utilised a solid portion of his wealth to hold an ostentatious tournament, complete with competitions of all shapes, grand feasts, and entertainment to last a lifetime.

Two years later, and festivity returned to the Reach. Oldtown played host to the wedding of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Ser Owen Costayne, a grand occasion that received only a small amount of funding from the Lord Paramount himself.

For a while, it was simply tensions that spread through the Reach again, old conflicts that remained beneath the surface. Yet even this fragile peace was too good for Eustace Tyrell's reign.

In 207 AC, another conflict broke forth. It was the most foolish of circumstances, the most ridiculous of points of contention. But it was enough to sever the Reach even farther. Lord Rowan and Lord Caswell were in Tumbleton, both to discuss a trade deal with Lord Footly. After arranging a deal beneficial to all parties, the three Lords retreated to the Bloody Caltrops to share a few drinks in celebration. When the sun rose the next morning, Lord Rowan was missing along with Lord Caswell's boot and three copper pennies. No evidence truly showed that Lord Rowan was responsible for this theft, but since that day the two houses have refused to communicate in any manner.

### What May Come

When Daenaerys I Targaryen announced her invasion of Dorne, the Reach leapt at the opportunity. Even Lord Eustace was eager to gain glory, though what seemed like a mild illness held him back from marching to war. Lord Tarly was sent ahead with an army to hunt the supposed Vulture King, whilst Eustace raised a larger force that would be led by his son Bayard to follow. After defeating three armies supposedly each under the Vulture King's control, yet seemingly without his direct presence, Lord Tarly was joined by the greater Reach force and marched on to Skyreach to join the royal army. It was there that they made their centre of command alongside the commanders of the royal army.

Lord Tarly pushed towards Sandstone, before heading east towards Sunspear and meeting with the forces of the Stormlands to besiege the Dornish capital. There, like many of the men of Westeros, the Reach reveled in the slaughter and bloodshed. Back east they had to ride, however, to avenge the fallen King-Consort. At Tallgrass the Reach joined the rest of the royal army in distinguishing themselves under Lord Tarly and the heir to Highgarden.

Upon the army's return to the Reach, they would discover that Lord Tyrell's stomach illness was not as simple as it seemed. He had passed, but a moon after they left, and no news could reach them within the Principality of Dorne. Bayard Tyrell was now Lord, a very different man to his father. Yet fixing what Eustace had done was far harder than breaking the work of Lyonel Tyrell.

Lines could be cut, but they could not easily be repaired. Even House Peake, once defended by the Lords of Highgarden, could not be relied on. Lord Peake was a drunkard and a fool, and after returning from Dorne he had perished in a stupour. His last act was to rewrite his will and name his bastard son as the new Lord Peake. His eldest legitimate son fled to Dunstonbury, and there calls himself the true Lord Peake, and in Whitegrove a third Lord Peake rules, sibling of the drunken Lord who claims the delegitimization of his trueborn nephew and the bastardry of his falseborn one make him the man with the best claim.

Another line drawn in the Reach, another cut left to bleed. Whether power-hungry or content, every Lord of the Reach must know that House Tyrell will need a miracle to save their rule with just one lord.

Could Bayard Tyrell, the Knight of Thorns, be that lord?