hello demons ! per the poll , we will be moving to arc 4 on july 5th at 7pm est / 6pm cst. a few things to note going into arc 4:
all threads from arc 3 will need to be dropped by this time / date. while we understand activity will lapse closer to the date, this is not a pass to completely drop threads / activity across the board over the next two weeks. activity checks will still occur until closer to the jump, and we expect full activity within days of the new arc beginning. please use this time to finish threads / plots / communicate with your plot partners.
our characters will be experiencing a 6 month time skip, putting us in early spring in highgarden for the tournament of the roses. more info on all this event specifically will be shared closer to the jump. we will begin immediately in the event.
please send all significant updates to the main, remember certain plots are first come, first served. be sure you have communicated with all involved, and utilize the family chats when comfortable to ensure players are well aware of what is happening with characters they share houses with. if we notice players failing to update all involved parties there will be admin intervention.
while we understand not everyone is the strongest at plotting, we’ve noticed several instances of players not even trying. everyone should be reacting to plot with new players / characters, and everyone should be monitoring their dms and not continually ignoring / dropping them. this is the last kind warning before direct dms are sent to players we’ve seen this repeat behavior in. characters have been lumped together 3 times now, plots should not be limited to only those with immediate connections. if your only threads are with the members your character shares a house with / is related to / wcs / a ship / the same characters consistently, there is a problem.
as always if you have any questions please just ask !
as the joust concluded , so do the vibrant festivities welcoming all to highgarden. many areas are still open to visitors , but now is time for the real work to begin. lead by king aedar , talks of peace begin with each ruling royal and their chosen companions. over the next few weeks they shall begin to involve the ruling nobles of each region who will be responsible for communicating with their vassals as they see fit.
only the fates know how this will go from here.
and just like that the event has ended !
you can continue any threads you wish, but no new threads regarding the event may begin. please do not reply to open starters regarding the event, new threads should focus on the peace talks beginning. each player can have one free starter should they wish to use it.
ALICENT ARRYN. the lady alicent couldn't return to the eyrie fast enough, and once she was back within the familar, safe walls of her home, she didn't leave. raising her daughter was her main focus over the six months, rivaled only by her duty as ruling lady of the vale. while alicent didn't leave the eyrie save a few visits to her family at runestone, she did write to the vassals and invited some of her friends to the eyrie. her name day arrived in early autumn and a small celebration was held. she also wrote frequent letters to her good sister, sharra martell, and the lady serena karstark.
ARANYA BARATHEON. aranya traveled straight to storm's end alongside her betrothed, rhaenys targaryen. the pair remained there for some time, anya showing the princess around her home and its lands, feelings growing stronger with each passing day, before embarking on further travels. there was no clear destination in mind; instead they traveled wherever they wished, oftentimes on the back of the dragon, meraxes. anya made sure to write frequently to her family and friends during the travels, particularly aravis baratheon and rowan hawthorne. she would've happily continued sharing her days with only her betrothed or returned to storm's end, but duty summoned her to highgarden.
DAERON. homesick and tired of westeros, daeron boarded the first ship leaving dorne for braavos. he reunited with his mother there and ended up staying in the city for a while. he celebrated his name day while he was there. he also crossed paths with a group of islanders - qhorin drumm, melony drumm, and lukas harlaw. much to his surprise, daeron was pulled into their group and traveled with them around essos. eventually he parted ways with his new friends and returned across the narrow sea to summerhall where he remained until traveling to highgarden.
GUINEVERE LANNISTER. she ended up traveling more in the six months than she ever had before in her life. first, gwen went to the arbor with lord mace redwyne, a long anticipated visit finally coming to fruition, and stayed there until it was time to travel to winterfell for the wedding of lyanna stark and sunwoo lannister ( though, due to greatly enjoying her stay at the arbor she was reluctant to leave ). after the wedding, she made a brief trip to karhold to visit with serena karstark for a few days before returning, at last, to casterly rock. returning to the rock marked the end of her travels. she spent the remaining time there stepping in and taking over certain duties from her older brother, who still hadn't gotten his act together. her disappointment only grew the longer she was home and by the time house lannister left for highgarden, gwen felt she was acting almost like a regent for her absentminded brother.
HARRION STARK. after a long journey, harrion arrived at winterfell. his divorce to roslin blackwood was finalized within the first few days and the former queen returned with her family to raventree hall. the two had come to an agreement that time apart was necessary, and that given the state of the realm, traveling back and forth between winterfell and raventree hall would be unsafe for benjen stark. therefore, benjen was to remain in winterfell with his father. arrangements were gradually made for a separate wing in the castle to be made up for roslin to stay in when her visits would begin but none occurred during the following months. harrion dedicated himself primarily to the north in the following months. he first visited northern vassals with the help of his sisters. during these visits, harry spent many hours speaking with the nobles, offering his support and assistance on issues they were facing, and also stepping beyond the castle's walls and speaking with the common folk. the visits and the king's actions during and after them, for he remained in contact with his bannermen and followed up on initiatives they were working on, resulted in many positive and strengthened relationships between house stark and their vassals. harrion also focused on preparing for winter by leading hunts in the wolfswood and ensuring that the stores were full and plans made so the supplies could be delivered efficiently to the people. thirdly, he worked on strengthening winterfell and winter town. construction was done around the castle, strengthening walls and defenses, and making sure the town was prepared for the influx of residents in the winter. the guards' training was also increased. winters were never easy, but under harrion's guidance, it passed as smoothly as possible.
his work did keep him busy, but harrion also made certain to spend time with his family and raise his son. he attended the wedding of lyanna stark and sunwoo lannister, a joyous occasion in winterfell. shortly after the new year, a celebration and feast was held for benjen's first name day, and a few weeks later harrion and alexia stark had a joint celebration for their name days. he then traveled to seagard for cailin mallister's wedding. throughout the months, many wrote to winterfell with the intent of putting their daughter in contention for becoming the new queen. harry, despite growing more annoyed as time passed, politely replied ( also met a few ladies while visiting the vassals ) and played the role expected of him, but often cited that his heartbreak was still too strong for active courting - not that it dissuaded families from trying. the king genuinely appeared in good spirits, especially around his friends and family, but there was a new cold, guardedness to him. not to mention he appeared much more serious, as if he'd aged far more than a few months.
HELAENA FLORENT MALLISTER. helaena returned to her new life at seagard. knowing that her wedding was fast approaching, she spent most of her time further proving herself a worthy regent of seagard, visiting the town and speaking with the people frequently and also inviting nearby riverland nobles for tea. in her spare time, she began drawing up plans for a garden at seagard with the help of the castle's maester. winter and wedding preparations put that on hold. helaena florent became helaena mallister in a small ceremony attended by house florent, house tully, and the northern council. during the wedding, she gifted her wife a silver compass that, when cailin was at winterfell, would point in seagard's direction. against her better judgement, helaena found herself very smitten with her new wife and viewed their time in highgarden as their honeymoon.
KATERINA BLACKTYDE. briefly, katerina returned to the iron islands. she spent only a handful of days there, mostly repacking for her next journey, before traveling to winterfell with her cousin, maery greyjoy. once there, she spent most of her time getting to know her betrothed, hugo mormont, along with adjusting to life in the north. she found herself opening up more as time passed and enjoying her time at winterfell, especially when the first snows arrive. hugo and she made a trip to bear island to visit house mormont. during her time in the north, kat keeps in contact with her brother, timur blacktyde, via letters. she remained at winterfell until she left for highgarden with hugo, excited to finally see a place she'd always dreamed of visiting.
KIERAN BOLTON. he dutifully followed his older sister back to the dreadfort and there he remained. wanting to prove himself to his family after his blunder in sunspear, kieran threw himself into helping with repairs around the fort and strengthening its defenses. he also focused on overseeing the guards' training. the only time he left home was for hunting trips in the nearby woods and a brief trip to goldgrass at the invitation of belthasar stout - though he didn't answer the invitation, merely showed up with no warning. to say he wasn't happy about traveling to highgarden would be an understatement but he wouldn't remain behind.
LUKAS HARLAW. lukas was unsure what he was doing when he was preparing to leave sunspear, but when he heard that qhorin and melony drumm were heading to essos, he all but invited himself along. it turned out to be the perfect choice. after weeks trapped in a castle, having the freedom to go where and do he wanted was exactly what he needed to brighten his spirits. lukas certainly got into plenty of trouble, alone and with other members of the makeshift crew. on the way back to westeros he split up from the drumms and sailed to storm's end to see aravis baratheon. the pair then traveled to highgarden together.
NYMERIA MARTELL. it took some time even after all the guests left for nymeria to feel safe again at sunspear. she kept close to her family and guards, after they were investigated, at first but with time she drifted back to her normal demeanor. desiring to become more involved in politics, she became her mother's cupbearer, allowing her to observe council meetings and other meetings. in the later months, she made visits to some of the dornish vassals. timur blacktyde returned and nym introduced him to her parents before the two embarked on a sailing trip. the fun trip turned dangerous when a shipwreck occurred. nymeria escaped with nothing more than a few cuts and bruises, but her parents and grandparents were extremely upset. their anger only fed into her fears that she'd soon be betrothed to a dornish noble in order to quell any lingering tension following the attacks. impulsively, nymeria and timur secretly eloped. so far they have not told anyone, nym unsure how to and hoping the right time will emerge soon.
SEBASTIAN MANDERLY. ever the faithful sworn sword, sebastian spent the six months making certain that alexia stark was safe. wherever the princess went, the manderly wasn't far behind. most of his time was spent at winterfell but he did return to white harbor to visit his family for a little while.
WILLAS MARBRAND. willas returned to king's landing and returned to his work as master of laws. while he would've appreciated some peace at king's landing that wasn't possible when his betrothed, rowan hawthorne, accompanied him. willas did his best to avoid her, which was at times easy due to the amount of work he had, but he wasn't entirely successful. however when he received a letter from calla tarth, he left the capitol to visit evenfall hall. rowan was gone when he returned from his visit. willas debated making a visit to ashemark, but by the time he thought about traveling, aedar's plans for a peace summit introduced more work for the council. instead, willas wrote frequently to the regent of ashemark and planned a visit there following the summit.
a hush has fallen over highgarden as day one of the joust commences. eyes are glued to the jousters as they file into the arena, waiting in buzzing anticipation to see who will be asked for their favor ; and who will be rejected for another.
above the cut is the quick listing of who went against who, below the cut are details on favors + match insights if applicable. bolded names are the winners who advance to day two.
1. grand maester kaina upcliff vs. kai rogare
2. prince doran martell vs. lord corlys velaryon
3. lord andar royce vs. prince consort sunwoo stark
4. lord cemal tyrell vs. lord qhorin drumm
5. prince abraxas martell vs. lady betha tully
6. king harrion stark vs. prince jon stark
7. victario of lys vs. ser tharon redsmith
8. lord timur blacktyde vs. liege vika ryswell
9. daeron of braavos vs. lady aranya baratheon
10. lady aaliyah mormont vs. lord vorian dayne
11. lord connin chyttering vs. lord osric arryn
12. lord darnell arryn vs. lady myriah yronwood
13. lord sebastian manderly vs. prince rhaegar targaryen
14. lord maron harlaw vs. prince ryon martell
15. lord rodrik arryn vs. lord brynden tully
16. prince cregan stark vs. lady lusia botley
match one
grand maester kaina upcliff rides against kai rogare
grand maester kaina upcliff requests the favor of their son, theomore pyke, which is given as the child leans down to hand it to his mother happily. not much is known about the elusive cousin of the tarths, aside from his large stature. he requests the favor of his cousin, lady calla tarth, which is given with warm wishes for his success. murmurs begin in the crowd as kai’s lance pierces the armor of the upcliff, sending them off of their horse. the rogare advances to round two after helping her up.
match two
prince doran martell rides against lord corlys velaryon
lord velaryon rides into the tourney with fanfare, bowing from his horse before trotting towards the crowd, requesting the favor of the ruling lady of highgarden herself, lady saadet tyrell. a whispering of the crowd begins, spectators wondering if it is the beginning of a courtship — opinion changing when the ruling lady rolls her eyes, but offers the favor nonetheless. the prince of dorne’s request is less showy, murmured words only lord mavrick lannister can make out. his favor is offered with no upset, those close enough to see a soft caress between the two of them. the ego of the velaryon lord becomes his downfall, lance missing the martell entire while doran’s lance lands squarely in the middle of corlys’ chest for doran to advance to round two.
match three
lord andar royce rides against lord sunwoo lannister
it is to no one’s surprise that the favor of lady guinevere lannister is sought out from her brother, handed over easily with well wishes. lord andar royce requests the favor of no one, riding into the arena and immediately taking his place. the crack of their lances shatters the air, but lord royce’s lance barely grazes prince sunwoo’s armor, a true hit to his own. prince sunwoo advances to the next round.
match four
lord cemal tyrell rides against lord qhorin drumm
the favor requested of his long time betrothed, lady betha tully, is rejected to the shock of onlookers. gasps shock the crowd into silence as the slight against cemal, and their hosting family, has been put on display for all to see. the lord seems nonplussed, riding to his twin, emira, to request hers which is given with a roll of her eyes. lord qhorin’s request to lord lukas harlaw is quite the opposite, a smacking kiss to the islander’s cheek as it is handed over with ease. there is an expectation of a homefield advantage, that is quickly proven otherwise. qhorin is successful in knocking cemal from his horse, advancing to round two. perhaps it is the rejected favor that diminishes his luck.
match five
prince abraxas martell rides against lady betha tully
prince abraxas requests the favor of his wife, princess sharra martell. it is offered with a kiss, and wishes of luck as he rides to his starting point. lady betha enters the arena to still stunned silence, requesting the favor of none — luck seemingly not on their side as abraxas knocks her from her horse with ease to advance to the second round. one can only think that it may be karma for insulting their hosts that the lady tully didn’t stand a chance.
match six
king harrion stark rides against prince jon stark
it is a match that moves the onlookers to the edge of their seats, wanting to see which stark would best the other. king harrion stark requests the favor of his cousin, lady thalina tully, mutterings rumbling of his divorce as roslin’s lack of presence is noted. prince jon stark eyes search the crowd, horse moving over lady dovasary dayne to request her favor. shocked rumbles begin when the words “ i didn’t think you had the gumption” is heard, helmet removed for the pair to share a kiss before the favor is turned over. jon is announced as victorious, advancing to the second round.
match seven
victario of lys rides against ser tharon redsmith
the sworn shield of the targaryen princess enters the arena, many expecting a repeat performance of his advancement as he had in the last tourney. what begins the tittering is the request of the favor of lady melony drumm, who looks surprised before handing it over with a blown kiss and words of him not getting hurt, as that is her job. ser tharon redsmith boldly asks of the favor of ruling lady saadet tyrell, which is rejected soundly. dramatics of the redsmith may be the reason for why his lance goes astray, with victario advancing to the next round.
match eight
lord timur blacktyde rides against liege vika ryswell
the requested favor of princess nymeria martell by timur elicits confused murmurs, even more so when she accepts and offers it up happily. is this the beginning of a new courtship ? did the martells really approve this for their youngest child ? more chattering begins as the ruling liege of the rills requests the favor of pimchanok targaryen. the usually stoic princess offers a smile and wink along with their favor. both jousters take their place, seemingly evenly matched but the round ends in timur’s advantage for him to advance to the next round.
match nine
daeron of braavos rides against lady aranya baratheon
it is to the surprise of none that aranya requests the favor of her betrothed, princess rhaenys targaryen. it is accepted, handed to the baratheon before she rides to take her place. when daeron of braavos enters the arena, he requests the favor of lady melony drumm as well — chattering starting before she offers another to him with well wishes for her friend with a grin. with previous performance, it is expected for the match to be in daeron’s favor yet aranya’s lance hits him with enough force for his horse to misstep, and the lady baraethon advances.
match ten
lady aaliyah mormont rides against vorian dayne
neither riders choose to request a favor, it seems, though there is a startling hint of purple seen amongst his amour that is a different shade than what his sister offered earlier, suggesting that it’s not from starfall. the lack of experience is clear in this match on the mormont’s side, resulting in them unseated and landing in the sand with minor injuries. vorian advances to the next round.
match eleven
lord connin chyttering rides against lord osric arryn
the lord from the crownlands is known for his prowess, looking towards the crowd to shyly request the favor of lady emira tyrell. it is given to him with well wishes, while osric takes his place, apparent choice of choosing not to request the favor of anyone. despite the thoughts that the match would go to connin, osric emerges victorious with a great effort and is going to move to the next round.
match twelve
lord darnell arryn rides against lady myriah yronwood
the match begins with lady myriah beseeching the favor of lady alys karstark, the request accepted amicably as alys allow her son to give the favor to the yronwood. with whispers already started about the child being a bastard son of one of the starks, is it a an attempt to cover up the rumors swirling about torrhen’s parentage ? with the royce sitting to the side in the stands, lord darnell requests the favor or lord andar royce, which is given though with many looks of confusion. this match is another that is even, a last minute grip switch of the yronwood’s lance not aiming quite as high as needed while darnell’s aim is true, sending him to the next round.
match thirteen
lord sebastian manderly rides against prince rhaegar targaryen
though not unusual for a guard to ask of the favor for his charge, the arena still holds their collective breaths as lord sebastian manderly asks for the favor of princess alexia stark, which is accepted with a laugh and a grin, wishes offered for luck. the prince requests the favor of his youngest sibling, princess pimchanok targaryen. the gods seem to be smiling down on the prince as after three rounds of volleying due to the skill level of both riders, prince rhaegar targaryen is who advances.
match fourteen
lord maron harlaw rides against prince ryon martell
the ego of the harlaw is unmatched, having already been trash talking the crown prince of dorne before the match had even begun. residual tensions from dorne, no doubt, and the imprisonment of his older brother a likely source for the bad mouthing that didn’t seem to come to an end until the request for lady melony drumm’s favor is rejected with a scathing dismissal. a pivot towards princess denyse martell to request her favor is rejected as well. when ryon rides to request his wife’s favor it is given with a soft kiss, quiet instructions to knock the harlaw onto his ass which the crown prince does easily. ryon advances to the second round while maron is left to nurse his shattered esteem.
match fifteen
lord rodrik arryn rides against lord brynden tully
as the pair had just welcomed a child now just shy of six months, there is none of the excitement that has come with previous favor requests, all nodding approvingly as rodrik asks after his wife, alicent arryn’s, favor which is given easily. murmurs begin as lord brynden enters the arena due to his sibling’s previous actions, but no favor was sought. with rodrik being the victor of the tourney in winterfell, all are surprised to seem him felled from his horse by lord brynden, who passes through to round two.
match sixteen
prince cregan stark rides against lady lusia botley
the lady lusia botley is known for her prowess, the crowd’s pick for winning this match against cregan, despite her hailing from the islands. lusia asks after the favor of lady gisele farwynd, rejected as the ironborn turns and places a resounding kiss onto lady ferah tyrell’s lips to gasped questions of the arena that only grow louder as cregan asks after lady melina hightower’s favor, which is handed over. as with the rest of the attempts that have gone rejected, cregan’s lance send lusia off of her horse for the conclusion of jousting on day one.
six months is quite some time, our nobility and the like see many ups, many downs, and celebrate plenty in their durations home. but the darkness they've faced does not simply disappear due to a name day, and the call to highgarden comes eventually to all.
in a grand showing king aedar targaryen has claimed he wishes to follow in the path of his ancestor, writing to kingdoms and requesting their participation in making all of westeros safe once more. and what better way to discuss peace than to be surrounded by the beauty of the reach in spring? the tyrells have graciously agreed to host this peace summit, timed perfectly to be around their spring tournament of the roses that has now been opened to anyone who wishes to participate.
once again the nobility are called, but the hope that talks of peace will bring them all back to what they once knew is shared amongst many. can they achieve it once more ?
we will roll right into the tourney ! characters can experience the jousting tournament, artisanal markets from venders around the reach, all of the highgarden gardens (even private ones), the briar maze that encompasses all of highgarden, and special wine stores all crafted by the regions of the reach. this event will run until friday, july 21st at midnight est / 11pm cst
no memes will be posted this coming weekend, please also keep any unfinished memes for when we say it’s okay to post them. we’d like the first days of the new arc to focus only on ic things.
as with most new things, everyone gets one free open starter. we implore you to reply to as many as possible so nobody feels left out ! please be sure to reply to opens even if you are planning closed starters. feel free to tag all open starters with rfms.event06.
there won't be an activity check right away, but likely one over the weekend. now is the time to ensure you are active across all your characters, or communicating with us via the main if it's not possible !
it’s no secret that tensions have risen between the kingdoms and even amongst their own vassals. mere years ago westeros knew peace, now only death and destruction. in a grand showing king aedar targaryen has claimed he wishes to follow in the path of his ancestor, writing to kingdoms and requesting their participation in making all of westeros safe once more. and what better way to discuss peace than to be surrounded by the beauty of the reach in spring? the tyrells have graciously agreed to host this peace summit, timed perfectly to be around their spring tournament of the roses that has now been opened to anyone who wishes to participate.
once again the nobility are called, but the hope that talks of peace will bring them all back to what they once knew is shared amongst many. can they achieve it once more ?
as stated, this arc begins after 6 months of separation from the events of dorne. ic things for this can begin on july 5th at 7pm est / 6pm cst. other posted details can be found here. ( the deadline to send your details will be july 4th or they will not make it to the post )
if you wish to submit your characters to the joust, please send their names into the main by july 5th. if they are offering favors, or requesting the favor of someone, please also submit that by that deadline. ( remember, favors can be in jest but are a bit of a big deal and historically have started bloodshed by the drama they can create. this is publicly saying you wish to court someone for single people )
upon beginning the new arc we will roll right into the tourney ( event 6 ). characters can experience artisanal markets from venders around the reach, all of the highgarden gardens, the briar maze that encompasses all of highgarden, and special wine stores all crafted by the regions of the reach. this event will run until friday, july 21st at midnight est / 11pm cst ( and then you can have your meme weekend )
no memes will be posted this coming weekend, please also keep any unfinished memes for when we say it’s okay to post them. we’d like the first days of the new arc to focus only on ic things.
last reminder, remember everyone should be using beta when we make this jump !
