The Wedding of Black and White

**The Wedding of Black and White** was the multi-pronged event that celebrated the dual-marriages of Alysanne Tyrell and Lucien Hightower, as well as Lord Gwayne Tyrell to his third and current wife, Lady Samantha Peake. It was one of the largest events of it's kind, and was spoken about for years to follow, the aftermath of the feast, wedding, and tourney still relevant to this day. it is also the most commonly cited reason for the formation of the White Rose and the Black Rose.

The greatest event of it’s generation, and possibly the century, the Wedding of Black and White took place early in the Autumn days of 78 AC before the winter of the following year set in, one of the fairest and mildest the Reach had seen in centuries. Lords and ladies from all over the Seven Kingdoms attended, with members of the richest and most powerful families in Westeros, alongside representatives from House Stark and House Martell, all kept far away from the King during their stay.

## **Prelude**

The year prior, it had initially been announced to be the wedding date for Alysanne Tyrell, the eldest daughter of Gwayne Tyrell and his first wife, the late Rohanne Florent, and her betrothed of a year, Lucien Hightower, the young brother of Lord Lyonel Hightower.

However, a few moons before the event was announced. Lord Gwayne had seen fit to marry one last time, hot on the heels of the death of his second wife, the late Perianne Caswell, just shy of a year after her passing in childbirth. It was arranged that he and the significantly younger Samantha Peake would be wed in a double-ceremony that year, alongside Alysanne and Lucien.

It was an announcement that shocked many, primarily due to the apparent lack of time in mourning before Gwayne wed again. He had waited several years after the death of Lady Rohanne, a testament to his love lost in her, but many began whispering of his possible responsibility in the death of Perianne. Though none knew for sure, there had already been rumors circulating about the hasty marriage to the daughter of Bitterbridge, many speculating about hidden affairs or marriage pacts with the Lord of House Caswell, but only Caswell and Gwayne himself knew the truth behind the rumors. Additionally, it was no great secret that Lord Gwayne despised Uther Peake, Samantha’s lord father, the Lord of Whitegrove, Dustonbury, and Starpike, a man who’s power had only grown in the absence of House Gardener. Lord Gwayne had never treated him kindly the few times they had crossed paths, and often complained loudly about his grasping bannerman, Lord Peake in particular.

Four moons after the second announcement at the beginning of the year, the wedding events began. In addition to a double-wedding ceremony to be held a week after the beginning of the festivities, a great feast was held each night for a fortnight, and a tourney the week following, lasting a moon of itself, with great displays of gallantry and skill in the tilt, mock battles, and archery contest that followed, as well as the artistry shown in the mummer’s quarrel and the storytelling pageants held later on, both of which were particularly loved by the newlywed Alysanne.

There at Highgarden the most powerful men and women in the country met and feasted, jousted, and partied to their heart’s content, a festival of merriment not seen since the coronation of Aegon the Conqueror in Oldtown following the Field of Fire.

The tension was still there, though, lingering beneath the surface, and came out in various ways as many lords and knights saw fit to solve their quarrels under the guise of meeting on neutral ground for celebration. One such dispute between Lord Costayne and Ser Mervyn Florent, the former brother-by-law of Gwayne Tyrell, and younger brother of his deceased wife Rohanne, where Ser Mervyn challenged the Lord of Three Towers to a duel in the middle of a feast, supposedly over the accusation that Mervyn had lain with Costayne’s sister. Before the guards could stop them, Ser Mervyn had managed to disarm Lord Costayne and plunged two feet of steel through his belly. Though he did not die immediately, after a week of tortured pains, Costayne succumbed from his wounds, and a payment of restitution was gifted to House Costayne to prevent any acts of retribution. Lady Costayne was found to be with child two moons after.

House Hightower and House Peake had been feuding for the better part of a decade at that point, both exceedingly old, powerful houses made even more powerful and wealthy with the fall of the Gardener Dynasty. It had seemed the tides had turned in favor of one or the other many times over the course of the conflict, but tensions only escalated further with the appointment of Lord Lyonel to the position Lord Uther had previously held, supposedly without any warning or mention of his decision before it happened. Lord Uther left shortly after the wedding night a week later, and was not seen in court for years after.

## **The Wedding**

The wedding ceremony itself was the most critical of moments in the entire two-month event, however. Held in the great sept at Highgarden, so large and splendorous to rival the Sept of Remembrance before it’s destruction, and even the Starry Sept in Oldtown. There at the altar, the two couples met; Alysanne and Lucien clad in stark white and grey, with glittering gemstones in her hair and the cloak her mother had been given upon her back, with the crowds cheering and gasping in awe at how handsome a couple they made, standing before the High Septon.

Then Lord Gwayne and Lady Samantha joined them, the crowd falling silent at the sight of the two, both dressed in simple, austere black dress, a sharp contrast to the younger couple beside them, the High Septon glaring indignantly at the two. For but a moment there at the altar, Lord Gwayne and the High Septon swapped heated remarks in hushed tones, who had taken offense to their gross breach of protocol. Will as iron as the freshly forged rose pinned at his breast, however, Lord Gwayne ignored his protests, and ended the conversation as he drew the ceremonial iron sword from his belt and laid the bare blade upon the altar, a silent message the High Septon heard loud and clear.

There ceremony started quickly after, and both pairs were wed at once, followed by a grand feast just as blatantly decadent as the ceremony before. Both couples sat in four seats of equal size upon the dais, the high chair empty, with Gwayne sitting next to his new bride, not a word spoken between the two of them, while Lucien and Alysanne chattered to one another happily.

Eventually, halfway through the feast, Lord Gwayne announced that he would be setting aside his brother, Gareth Tyrell, the current heir of Highgarden, in favor of his daughter and her newlywed husband, with the understanding that their children would carry the Tyrell name, a move all saw as a clear grasp at power from House Hightower, and a solid victory in their conflict with the Peakes. Gareth Tyrell, then the Master-at-Arms of Highgarden, left the feast in disgrace that moment, taking with him his wife, Lady Ellyn Lannister, the two retreating to Casterly Rock for the rest of the events.

The rest of the evening was solemn and tense as the ceremony, with many great gaps of silence falling over the room, as though the festive heart of the events had been cut out, despite the joyful music ringing all throughout the hall.

Shortly after the sun dipped beneath the horizon, the tense atmosphere was slightly alleviated by the commencement of the bedding ceremony. As Lucien and Alysanne were carried to their wedding bed, Gwayne and Samantha quietly walked on their own, as Gwayne had threatened any man or woman who touched them with a blade, at his bride’s behest, according to some.

## **The Tourney**

The tourney saw a great many men distinguish themselves in the lists; from Ser Mervyn to Lords Redwyne and Tarly, and Lucien Hightower himself, who was knighted by his mentor, Ser Mervyn, on the spot after he single-handedly defeated five men in the mock battle, eventually falling himself at the hands of the Beast of Bulwer, a man twice his age and size. Many more knights and squires found themselves fame and wealth in the tourney, namely Lord Gunthor Arryn of the Vale, who unseated the young Symon Dayne in the final tilt, after breaking nearly twenty lances upon one another. Many more, such as Stafford and Damion Lannister fought valiantly in the tilt, and brought great honor to their names as a result.

Even in the events, however, violence continued, as a young knight of House Fossoway was crippled by a knight from House Rowan, as well as the horrific ‘accidental’ death of Lord Grim at the hands of Lord Redwyne, having speared the man through his gorget, which hadn’t been properly fashioned, upon the third tilt in their set.

## **Aftermath**

Between the lives celebrated and lives lost, fortunes won and fortunes wasted, loves fostered and loves gone, the Wedding of Black and White left a lasting impression on the Realm for decades to come. It is still widely regarded today as the impromptu formation of the White Rose and the Black Rose, both of which derive their names from the dresses worn by Alysanne and Samantha at the wedding ceremony. And though the purpose of the Black Rose would come more clear when in a year’s time Lady Samantha gave birth to a healthy boy, a true heir for Lord Gwayne, the White Rose’s affiliation with House Hightower was apparent from the beginning, as House Hightower gained considerable influence and authority in the Reach for years afterward. There still remains the difficulty in defining each faction definitively, primarily due to Lord Gwayne’s efforts to quash the notion of rival factions within his house, ultimately failing, as the Wedding of Black and White only further solidified the chasm between House Peake and House Hightower, and those that affiliated themselves with both houses, setting the stage for even more conflicts in the future.