we are not always what we seem, and hardly ever what we dream.

keiran frey, ruling lord of the crossing, master of coin. the butcher on the bridge.

[bridgeguardbutcher]

♛ → THE RIVERLANDS presents KEIRAN FREY, the RULING LORD of THE CROSSING / LORD REGENT of HIGHHALLOW / MASTER OF COIN. when the dragons danced in the sky they thought the GREENS would still fly, but in the blink of an eye, they would all die. the THIRTY-EIGHT year old MALE who was LOYAL & TEMPERED before they saw the first of the flames, is now CAGEY & CALCULATED after seeing the last. they’re often associated with a clover pin pressed into a fine silk vest, the sounds of antique pages turning, a field of flora and the soft creak of aged bridgewood.. ( matthew goode. )

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[bridgeguardbutcher]

setting: highgarden, during the verdant concord ; starter for @rhaena--velaryon

the ruling lord of the crossing stood in an isolated corner of the garden, where hedges and climbing flora formed a quiet veil against watchful eyes. it would have been difficult to notice him unless one meant to seek him out. a missive had been sent, and now he waited. keiran was a patient man, no doubt. many thought the freys greedy, impulsive, even cruel, and perhaps there was some truth in that. still, keiran carried patience where others in his line had not, though even his had its limits.

his hand drifted to his pocket as he paced, his gaze catching on a cluster of flowers nearby. they reminded him of his late wife. they had been her favorite, though he had never known the name and did not know it now. still, he had always made certain they were gathered for her nameday. soft petals of rosy pink, brushed through with pale yellow. he looked at them only a moment before turning his attention away.

at the sound of approaching footsteps, he turned, a faint smile touching his lips. it was more habit than warmth, though his company, at the very least, was easy on the eyes. he hoped she was as clever as he believed her to be, as he had heard. such a plan would require discretion, and if she lacked it, he would see to it that his name did not become tangled in whatever followed.

“lady velaryon,” he said, offering his elbow for her to take. a quiet walk in this part of the garden would raise no suspicion, and one of his daughters’ ladies lingered nearby to satisfy propriety, though well out of earshot. keiran trusted his household well enough, but he did not care for servants overhearing matters that were not meant for them. “i am glad you could join me. walk with me. i have reason to believe there are matters unfolding in your part of the realm that may interest us both, though you may correct me if i am wrong.”

[aidantully]

"Everyone is such a man now. Keiran he says as if I didn't know him before lordship took him over." Aidan spoke as he removed his bag from his horse. "You've no worries, me lord." The Prince smiled briefly as he turned to face the other, "Trouts are great swimmers, quite strong even in the hidden currents of river." He walked with the other, his mind wandering to a different spot, a different place than where they were. He dragged his fingers over his hair handing off the reins of his horse to a stable boy that ran to greet them. "What sort of river man would I be to turn down whisky? Not I, aye."

Aidan didn't want power as much as he wanted security. He craved it, needed to have it and he didn't feel it for some reason. He'd be home for so long now and he still felt a stranger. A man living a life not his own, lost in the memories of a time long gone and burned away. Aidan had hope the rightful heir would win and the realm would back to normal. And then as it all changed such a strange feeling came over him. And now? Now, as a Prince, he wanted to be more than just an heir if he even were one because his sweet sister was dragging her feet and it was making him antsy.

As he followed the lord of the twins into the room, he waited briefly until the door was closed and he took a seat across from him. "How do you feel about things around court?" Aidan did not enjoy small talk, well he did but not when his mind was somewhere else when he had other goals, when he needed to hear the words of others and seek allies. Not to overthrow but to...find security.

[bridgeguardbutcher]

keiran listened assessing the prince, eyes steady as aidan spoke, as if weighing not just the words but the spaces between them. he had known the other a long time to sense this was not a visit of a passerby. at the trout remark, there was the faintest huff of breath through his nose, not quite a laugh, not quite approval. “even strong swimmers get tired,” he said mildly, once they were inside and the doors had shut. “and hidden currents don’t care much for names or titles.” he settled opposite the prince, unhurried, folding his hands atop the table as if grounding the room around him. “you’d be a poor riverman to turn it down, indeed,” a pause, dry. “we’ll see if it suits you as well once the glass is empty.”

when aidan asked after court, keiran did not answer at once. he glanced instead to the shuttered window, to the muted light beyond the stone. “court feels… restless,” he said finally. “too many smiles held too long. too many men speaking of loyalty like ladies gossip,” his gaze returned to aidan, sharp but not unwelcoming. “they dress uncertainty up as confidence and hope no one notices the seams. i notice.” a beat. “i imagine you do too, or you wouldn’t have come without banners.” keiran was not one to stir the pot, not directly at least. wealth was a power in itself, but loyalty was rarer, and house frey had bled too much for this realm for him to take stability lightly.

he leaned back then, just enough to signal that this was not a dismissal, only a narrowing of the space between them, curiosity piqued. “now that the dust has settled and the riverlands have rebuilt, the people grow restless for an heir, for a sense of security,” his eyes held on the prince, steady and assessing. “that, and the splitting of this realm won’t be forgotten anytime soon. even the twins remember where men placed their feet.” a servant arrived quietly with a small cask, pouring each of them a modest cup of whisky before retreating without a word. keiran did not look away front he prince before him. “cheers,” he said, raising the cup before taking a small sip.“ to be honest, i don’t much care for talk of feelings,” keiran continued, posture relaxed, as if discussing the weather rather than the fate of the realm. “i focus on facts. what i feel won’t sway lord cocksucker into doing what i bid simply because i feel it strongly enough.” he leaned back, one hand loose around the cup. “still, i am curious what you think of the realm, now that you’ve had time to settle after your return, or, more bluntly, what are the facts as you see them?”

[aidantully]

"Banners? Oh, Kezzy, don't be so boring. Some times a man just likes to ride and go where the horse takes him. I follow the stars and the river." Aidan smiled briefly, they were not friends but they were not enemies. Not in the way that perhaps their fathers were enemies or their grandfathers and the men before them. Aidan didn't view their issues with the Freys as a serious blood feud, they were new to coin and status, he appreciated men that could pull themselves up and do so well. To the south were the Mootons, the other lords of entry in the Riverlands he did not trust Lord Mooton, a man who cozied up to Brackens. Aidan was weary of these men his sister trusted and that was why he was here. One didn't need to trust a man of coin to employ him and perhaps he would be the first Tully in many years to offer something they would value.

The Prince was not unaccustomed to appealing to men that weren't in his class. When he was in the East he spent a great deal of time bargaining and working his way out of the trap he was deep within. Freeing himself from the men his father paid and then encouraging the sellswords that held him to kill their leaders and follow him to wealth. Aidan owed men a great deal and soon they would grow weary with Princely parties.

"Well,"

"Invite your Prince inside as is the custom of our great land here." Aidan smiled and looked to the sky, "can you spell it? The rain is coming and it would be tragic to return and die on the account of fever caused by being denied guest right." The Prince didn't care about the rain, it rained on the way and instead of stopping anywhere else he drew up his hood and carried on and now? The sky was clear enough and whatever rain would come wouldn't be for another hour at the most.

"Lead the way so we may have a conversation as civilized men."

[bridgeguardbutcher]

the corner’s of keiran’s mouth lifted just barely at the name, something between tolerance and warning. “keiran,” he corrected quietly, not unkind, but firm enough to set the boundary. he knew it was unlikely that the prince would honor it for long, if at allt. his gaze lifted briefly, following aidan’s glance to the sky, then returned to him. “the river takes many men where they don’t intend to go. stars too, if you trust them more than sense, you may find yourself drowned one day, my prince.” there was no accusation in it, only an acknowledgment that men who arrived without banners often carried heavier purposes than those who came announced.

he studied the tully prince for a moment longer, measuring the ease of his smile against the weight of what went unsaid. keiran knew that look, the one worn by men who had learned to bargain their way out of danger, who understood coin as leverage rather than comfort. while aidan’s travels in essos were whispers rather than known fact here, he had a knack for picking and choosing what parts of information were truth. “guest right isn’t denied lightly here,” he said at last. “especially not to a man who rides alone. rain or no.” a pause, deliberate, looking at the sky again as if it would darken suddenly. “but guest right doesn’t dull the ears. speak plainly once you’re inside, though i’d bet your expecting a warm meal and ale first, aye?”

with that, keiran turned, cloak shifting against the stone as he gestured toward the inner hall of the twins. the gates began to close behind them, the sound echoing low and final across the courtyard. “come,” he said simply, already walking. “we’ll talk where the walls, can hear us, and the river can’t.” a beat, almost wry. “and i don’t care much for ale, you’ll have to settle over a smoky whisky. a house specialty, actually. perhaps you can help me decide if it’s worth selling off.”

[wedgeantill]

Dept. Q 1x09

[bridgeguardbutcher]

setting: the crossing, the riverlands, an unexpected visitor pays the ruling lord frey a visit / @aidantully

the twins were never still. even in the hush of late afternoon, there was movement, ferrymen calling across the water, servants hauling crates of grain, the river grinding slow and relentless beneath the bridge. yet when a single rider slipped through the gate without escort, the air seemed to shift, just enough for keiran to take notice. perhaps it was instinct. perhaps it was habit. either way, word reached him quickly: a tully had come, alone.

keiran stepped from the shadow of the archway, the stone beneath his boots worn smooth by generations of frey feet. no guards flanked him, just the weight of the twins at his back and a quiet authority that needed no display. he watched aidan tully dismount, the young man moving with a deliberation that spoke of intent rather than courtesy. arrivals like this were never without meaning, and never without cost.

he didn’t offer greeting right away. instead, he let the silence stretch between them like the river below, waiting to see who would disturb its surface first. when he finally spoke, his voice was calm, unhurried. “you bear no banners,” keiran observed, gaze steady. “either you come in peace, or you’d rather not be seen coming at all.”

the wind tugged at the bridge banners overhead, a flutter of muted blue and grey against the sky. somewhere beyond the courtyard walls, the faint laughter of children drifted on the air, a reminder of life within these stones, of what he protected. but keiran did not look away from aidan.