For honor and glory!

The last companion has joined the group under the Yronwood banner. Mollos Oakheart from the Reach has met his old friends once again. Together they ride off to Cider Hall where House Tyrell has declared that three tournaments for squires will be held. Champions will have to compete in jousts, mêlée and archery. Three tournaments in total will take place: one on the grounds of Cider Hall, one in Bronzegate and the final one in the Crownlands. Enrollment fees are 100 moons per squire per tournament. When the squire tournaments are finished, knights will have the possibility to compete in the same three disciplines, free of charge.

Berthold Yronwood, determined to shine in glory, has sought out the skills and knowledge of the reputed Alanys of the West, horse trader and first merchant to determine the worth of outlandish coinage. Her capabilities and bargaining skills have already proven their worth when the knights wished to purchase tournament lances. The bantering did not end in favor for the sorry craftsman and it would seem that the deal closed, both by Yronwood and Flowers, will turn out profitable either way, on loss or victory.

Uller of Oldstones has been taken on as a man of medicine in order to ensure that both squires and knights will be able to perform at their utmost capabilities during the competition. Whether his healing hands will be able to keep up with inflicted damage remains yet to be seen.

The latter is not the only question remaining...

Prelude

There they stand... Ready to ride off, towards the horizon. Their horses saddled and their possessions packed. A last check-up of their armour and weaponry before they lead their steeds to unknown adventure, certain peril and probable death.


Ser Berthold Yronwood of Dorne, a landed knight.
Perros Sand, his trustworthy squire.
Alanys of the West, a horsetrader.
Arys Moore, a sworn sword with the blood of giants running through his veins, hailing from Arryn's Vale.
Ser Simon Flowers, a hedge knight from the Reach.
Uller of Oldstones, a rejected novice from the Citadel.
An unknown and shadowy figure, hooded for now...

DORNE: The Dornish are a fierce people with skin burned dark by the sun, who live in the cities and towns of the southron deserts. Rhoynish blood still flows strong in this region, the most removed of the Seven Kingdoms. The southernmost kingdom of Westeros, Dorne is a desert land of red mountains and warm winds. Its princes rule from the mountains, the desert, and the sea, following 1,000 years of Rhoynish tradition and rule. Until Princess Nymeria and the Rhoynar crossed the sea, it was populated by the descendants of the Andals and First Men, who fought bloody wars all across its lands. Nymeria married into the Dornish nobility, and their family attained supremacy over the rest of Dorne. The people of Dorne are fiercely independent, but loyal to their rulers; it was the only land to escape the wrath of Aegon the Conqueror and his dragons. Daeron I, the Young Dragon, eventually conquered Dorne, but was unable to hold it as the treachery of its lords soon led to rebellion and independence. Dorne ultimately won peace with the Targaryen kings through marriage and treaty rather than war. It was the last of the Seven Kingdoms to fall under Targaryen rule.

THE REACH: The southron lords dwell in the brightest gardens of the Seven Kingdoms, and maintain the purest heart of chivalry. Knights, tourneys, and romance overflow the cups of the people of the Reach. The Reach is a beautiful region of lush fields and vibrant flower gardens. Its boundaries stretch from the Blackwater Rush in the north to Oldtown in the south, and from the Dornish marches in the east to the shores of the Sunset Sea. These lands are the heart of chivalric tradition in the Seven Kingdoms, and many of the greatest knights come from the House of Tyrell, or their bannerhouses. The fields of golden roses near Highgarden and their elaborate traditions hide a proud and vain people, however, and the ruling house of Tyrell is one of the most ruthless and conniving of all that play the game of thrones. It was not always this way. The Tyrells were once only stewards of the royal house of the Reach, the Gardeners. When the Gardeners were destroyed on the Field of Fire, Aegon raised the Tyrells to supremacy ... but some say the Florents or the Hightowers would have had a better claim.

THE RIVERLANDS: The people of the Trident and Gods Eye bridge the Seven Kingdoms, both with their waterways and their political alliances to both the North and the South. The riverlands are the heart of the Seven Kingdoms. Within its borders are some of the most storied and significant castles in Westeros. House Tully flies its red and blue banners above the castle at Riverrun, while their bannermen, the Freys, guard the river crossing where the Green Fork flows from the swamps of the Neck. New alliances and old rivalries keep the Riverlands in a state of flux, and the winner of the game of thrones may very well be determined on its green fields.

THE VALE OF ARRYN: The Vale is home to a people of one of the purest lines of Andal blood. They have developed a high respect for peace, hospitality, and courtesy, yet are also famed for their honour and skill at arms. A hidden paradise nestled among the sheer peaks of the Mountains of the Moon, the Vale of Arryn is one of the oldest of the Seven Kingdoms as well as one of the most remote. Accessible only by long, treacherous mountain roads or by sea, the Vale has stood apart from the turmoil and intrigues of Westeros since the Kings of Mountain and Vale took the lands from the First Men. The Vale’s isolation — and the depredations of the mountain clansmen — have given rise to both pragmatism and caution among the folk who live there.

THE WESTERLANDS: The Westermen are descended from Andal adventurers, who built a kingdom upon the goldmines of Casterly Rock. West of the Trident and north of the Reach is a region known as the Westerlands, a rocky land of miners and fishermen. The Westerlands are rich in coin, thanks to the many gold mines that dot the surrounding hills and mountains. Additionally, the coastal fisheries and large tracts of grazing land keep the region well fed. The Lannisters of Casterly Rock are the unrivalled rulers of this precious hill country. Through their ruthless actions and the devotion of their enforcers, such as House Clegane, House Lannister has seen every family in the region bend the knee to their lord, Tywin Lannister. The region has been spared the worst ravages of war despite its richness, and the key to winning the Seven Kingdoms may yet lie in who controls these wealthy lands.