The Death of Kings: Gameplay Thread (Turn 4)

[Lumine]

Weddings, births and deaths:

Deaths: Barristan Selmy, Quellon Greyjoy, Meryn Trant, Areo Hotah.
Weddings: Cersei Lannister and Edmure Tully, Benjen Stark and Morya Frey betrothed.
Births: Samwell Tarly, Meera Reed.

Military and Political Situation:

Rhaella Targaryen:
-Army of Lord Rykker: 15,000 strong, at the Deep Den.
-Army of Lord Darry: 15,100 strong, at the Deep Den.
-Windblown: 4,000 strong, at the Deep Den.
-City Watch of King's Landing: 2,000 strong, in King's Landing.
-Garrison of Dragonstone: 1,000 strong.
-Targaryen Royal Fleet: 194 ships, across the Narrow Sea.
(Can recruit 6,000 men, 3,000 immediately)

Tywin Lannister:
-Army of Tywin Lannister: 17,000 strong, at Riverrun.
-Golden Company: 9,200 strong, at Riverrun.
-Army of the Southern Westerlands: 5,000 strong, at Crakehall.
-Army of Gerion Lannister: 8,000 strong, at Casterly Rock.
-Garrison of the Golden Tooth: 1,300 strong.
-Garrison of Casterly Rock: 1,500 strong.
-Garrison of Lannisport: 1,000
-Lannister Fleet: 15 surviving ships, scattered.
(Can recruit 10,000 men, 5,000 immediately)

House Tyrell:
(Not accounting for units like the Oldtown City Watch)
-Army of Mace Tyrell: 34,000 strong, at King's Landing.
-Army of Mathis Rowan: 35,000 strong, at Highgarden.
-Garrison of Highgarden: 5,000 strong.
-Fleet of the Mander: 40 ships, near Highgarden.
-Redwyne Fleet: 198 ships, outside King's Landing. 
-Hightower Fleet: 30 ships, in Oldtown.
-Shield Islands Fleet: 30 ships, at the Shield Islands.
(Can recruit 15,000 men from the Reach, 8,000 immediately)

House Stark:
-Army of Benjen Stark: 14,000 strong, at Lord Harroway's Town.
-Army of Wyman Manderly: 9,100 strong, sieging Darry.
-Garrison of Winterfell: 1,000 strong.
-Garrison of Moat Cailin: 500 strong.
-Garrison of White Harbor: 1,500 strong.
-Garrison of Cerwyn: 500 strong.
-Garrison of Torrhen's Square: 500 strong.
-Garrison of Flint's Finger: 100 strong.
 (Can recruit 9,000 men from the North, 5,000 immediately)

Hoster Tully:

-Army of the Blackfish: 15,800 strong, at Lord Harroway's Town.
-Army of Lord Tully: 6,000 strong, close to the Golden Tooth.
-Garrison of Riverrun: 1,000 strong.
(Can recruit 9,000 men from the Riverlands, 4,000 immediately)

House Greyjoy:
Garrison of Pyke: 1,000 strong.
Balon's Fleet: 334 ships, 18,200 men, in the Mander.
Euron's Fleet: 30 ships, 1,600 men, in Storm's End.
(Can recruit 11,000 men from the Iron Islands, 5,000 immediately)
(Can call up to 200 reaving ships, 100 immediately)

Jon Arryn:
Army of Jon Arryn: 23,500 strong, at Lord Harroway's Town.
Army of Gulltown: 2,200 strong, at Gulltown.
Garrison of the Eyrie: 500 strong.
Garrison of the Bloody Gate: 1,000 strong.
Garrison of Gulltown: 1,000 strong.
Gulltown Fleet: 9 ships, in Gulltown.
(Can recruit 5,000 men from the Vale of Arryn, 2,000 immediately)
Braavosi Fleet: 10,000 sellswords, 80 ships, in Braavos.

Doran Martell:
Army of Sunspear: 9,600 strong, sieging Starfall.
Army of Lewyn Martell: 6,200 strong, close to King's Landing.
Army of the Prince's Pass: 5,00 strong, at the Prince's Pass.
Garrison of Sunspear: 400 strong, scattered.
(Can recruit 10,000 men from Dorne, 5,000 immediately)

Eldon Estermont:
-Stormlander Army: 14,500 strong, outside Storm's End.
(Can recruit 4,000 men, 2,000 immediately)

[Lumine]

Early 284 AL: Turn Four:

Cast:

The Targaryen Loyalists:

Rhaella Targaryen, Queen Regent to Viserys III (Dkrol)
Mace Tyrell, Lord of Highgarden and Hand of the King (Windjammer)
Elia Martell, Princess Regent of Dorne (Mycool)
Balon Greyjoy, Lord of Pyke (Bacon King)
Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper, Master of Coin (Dr_Novella)

The Rebel Lords:

Jon Arryn, Lord of the Eyrie, Regent to Jaehaerys III (Swedge)
Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell (YPestis)
Hoster Tully, Lord of the Riverlands (Badgate)

The Lords of Westeros:

Tywin Lannister, Lord of Casterly Rock (Leonardo the Red)
Eldon Estermont, Lord of Estermont, Lord Regent of the Stormlands (Dereich)
Varys, Exiled Spymaster (Garlan Gunter)

General View:

Quellon Greyjoy is assassinated as the Rebel coalition inflicts defeat defeats on the Loyalist lord, gaining the initiative for the first time in months. Ser Arthur Dayne survives his trial by combat, but Lord Stark's fate remains to be decided. The Spider strikes viciously against House Martell and gains crucial hostages, but fails to capture little prince Aegon. And across Westeros, the Faith begins to enter a moral crisis...

Player Crisis:

Rhaella Targaryen:
-Prestige: 8/10 (Loss of Ser Barristan)
-Gold: 280,000 GD
-Legitimacy: 9/10 (High Septon supports the Crown)

-The Rebels have now gained the upper hand, Your Grace. While the Loyalist forces are still strong and capable, the Loyalist Riverlords are angry at feeling abandoned, there's unsolved questions about the Martells and Greyjoys, and Lord Tywin may plot a bloody revenge alongside the Rebel lords. Can you seize the moment and turn the war around once again?

-At last, after a long pregnancy you are finally due to go into labor in the coming weeks. Complications have arised given your current health, but the Maesters are fairly confident you should be able to survive giving birth. And, in accordance to your declaration, five suitors have sent ravens asking for your hand: Lord Rodrik Harlaw, Lord Lucerys Velaryon, Lord Ormond Yronwood, Ser Baelor Hightower and Renfred Rykker.

-Some at court have grown to believe sending Ser Barristan to fight Dayne was a grave mistake, for the loss of such a valiant knight weakens your prestige and drives House Hasty angrily away from your cause. Furthermore, your last Kingsguards are Ser Jonothor Darry (far away in the Westerlands) and Ser Gerold Hightower (who stubbornly guards Aegon). Will you seek to restore the Kingsguard?

Mace Tyrell:
-Prestige: 5/10
-Gold: 2,650,000 GD
-Legitimacy: 10/10

Lord Tyrell,

-The Reach grows uneasy due to the actions of foreign agents and the militant Septons who continue to denounce the Faith, leading to fights breaking out and a general sense of mounting dissent even as your vassals continue to proclaim their loyalty to you and to Viserys. Even worse, the Greyjoys stand uneasy after Quellon's death, hinting at the assassins having help from inside Highgarden. How will you restore order in the Reach?

-Much has been said about Houses Florent and Merryweather and the singers that have flooded them to proclaim support for Jaehaerys, and these houses send missive after missive insisting they remain loyal and know not why these singers have suddenly appeared. What will you do with these vassals?

-So far the Reach has avoided large battles for the past weeks, but as the Rebels retake the initiative Reach manpower will be decisive to win the war before it's too late. How will the Reach armies deploy?

Elia Martell:
-Prestige: 3/10 (Humilliated after the Lyanna affair)
-Gold: 500,000 GD  
-Legitimacy: 5/10 (Regent)

Princess Elia,

-Now free from your prison you sit uneasily in King's Landing, your ancestral home sacked and the Eunuch holding your brother and your beloved daughter Rhaenys. Can you find a way to get your family back and vanquish the hated spymaster once and for all?

-While Prince Doran had been able to mend the relationship with House Yronwood, the fall of Sunspear has sent shockwaves across Dorne and weakened the standing of your house right at the middle of a pivotal siege against House Dayne. How will you keep Dorne in line?

-Ser Gerold Hightower writes from Dorne, offering condolences and noting that Prince Aegon and Princess Arianne have been saved from being captured at Sunspear. Ever loyal to the boy, he requests instructions on where to place both children before they are target to another attack.

Varys:
-Prestige: 5/10 (Increasingly feared)
-Gold: 780,000 GD (Growing bounty from Sunspear)

Lord Varys,

-Another victory for your cause as Sunspear is burned and sacked, Salladhor Saan reporting that his little fleet and the mercenaries now hold Prince Doran and Lady Mellario as captives. What is to be done with the Dornish Prince and his wife now that they are your hostages?

-You find yourself well recieved by your new host, enabling you some crucial safety and stability after weeks of dangerous travels. All while Loyalists and Rebels continue to bleed to death, giving you a crucial opportunity to act as a Kingmaker of sorts. What will you do?

-Increasing chaos takes over villages and cities as the Faith takes sides in the war, many Septons being incredibly vocal and daring on their criticism of the Most Devout. Will you try to gain advantage from this unexpected development?

Balon Greyjoy:
-Prestige: 5/10  
-Gold: 880,000 GD (wealth expanded after Westerlands raids)
-Legitimacy: 10/10

Lord Greyjoy,

-My condolences. You find yourself along Victarion at Highgarden, angered over the death of your Lord father in a most offensive manner. Victarion and others continue to hold the murderer must have had help from within the castle, yet pursuing that line of thinking might strain the relationship to the cause the Greyjoys have sided with. What will you do?

-All evidence points to the Stormlands being the guilty party in the death of your father, even if poor Ser Meryn continued to assert his innocence while being ripped apart. Even now Euron sits on an uneasy siege at Storm's End, supplies growing scarce as the Stormlords have hired pirates to crush his supply lines. Will you seek to invade the Stormlands to avenge Lord Quellon?

-The Westerlords have smashed your forces and thrown the Greyjoys back into the sea, although certain parts of the region remain under Ironborn control. With your fleet remaining strong despite the defeats, will you seek to continue the campaign in the Westerlands?

Jon Arryn:
-Prestige: 10/10
-Gold: 560,000 GD  
-Legitimacy: 10/10

Lord Protector,

-The Rebels finally face victory in the field as most of the Riverlands is liberated, and with Lord Tywin managing to push back the Ironborn the crucial moment of the war may have arrived. What will you do at this crucial moment? March on the capital at once despite the risks? Take up a defensive stance?

-Braavos and the Iron Bank have finally committed to supporting Jaehaerys on account of your diplomatic efforts, and both a fleet and a sellsword army await for your command in the harbors of Braavos. Shall they sail towards Westeros?

-The growing crisis of the Faith poses some interesting opportunities for the Rebels to resist the Faith's attempts to support Viserys, and already the defeated House Grafton writes from Gulltown asking for instructions. The city, already tense and divided due to the attack on the city that started the Rebellion, is now rocked by the fanatical speeches of Septon Janse, who constantly denounces the High Septon as a demon and demands wholesale reform of the Faith. What should be done with Septon Janse?

Ned Stark:
-Prestige: 6/10
-Gold: 240,000 GD
-Legitimacy: 10/10
  
Lord Stark,

-Ser Arthur has won his trial by combat and waits beside you. After almost being sentenced to death you have asked for your own trial-by-combat, although the process of waiting for the actual duel might take crucial weeks. In the meantime, Ser Arthur has offered to be your champion if needed be, and it remains to be seen just who Lord Estermont will choose to fight you.

-Benjen has taken the initiative to handle matters with the other Rebel lords, and enters the Riverlands victorious alongside the Blackfish after arranging a match with House Frey. As the Northerner armies assemble once again, what role will the North play in the coming battles?

-So far the plan to resettle farmer-soldiers in limited areas has found some success, but due to most of the land being owned by your vassals there's only so much ground to be covered. Will you seek to keep this scheme limited, or try to expand the number of new farmers through different means?[/justify]

Hoster Tully:
-Prestige: 6/10 (Most of the Riverlands liberated)
-Gold: 680,000 GD  
-Legitimacy: 9/10

Lord Tully,

-The liberation of much of the Riverlands has bolstered your standing in a dramatic fashion, the pressure on the Riverlander loyalist amplified as they face occupation or sieges. What will you do with the lands already occupied, and with the Loyalist lords which rejected you?

-House Frey has finally returned to the fold after a match with House Stark, and while the first days of the marriage between Lady Cersei and Lord Edmure have been reportedly "uneasy", this alliance cements the influence of House Tully as a unifier of the Rebel cause. Can you exploit your new relationship with the Lannisters and the Freys to greater advantage?

-As most of the Riverlands is liberated, the religious problem has begun to spread in areas close to Harrenhal, Stony Sept and even near Seagard, many Septons rallying against Viserys or the Faith while leading to conflict with the peasants. Will you act on this controversy?[/justify]

Tywin Lannister:
-Prestige: 8/10 (Marriage to the Tullys, victory at Casterly Rock)
-Gold: 2,300,000 GD (Recovers some wealth)
-Legitimacy: 10/10

Lord Tywin,

-Victory is yours! The Greyjoys are back on the sea even through they still hold some land, giving you a chance to gain respite. Still, large loyalist forces occupy the eastern part of the Westerlands, and the manpower of the Loyalists poses a serious threat to your more depleted forces. How is the war to be fought from now on?

-While the religious controversy has not been as strong in the Westerlands yet, the surviving population of Lannisport appears to have been affected by this issue. Having developed some virtually murderous hatred of the Ironborn, the Septons in the ruins of the city also rally against the High Septon and may even be trying to convert some knights native to the city. How will you handle this dilemma?

-Cersei is now married to Edmure and may become Lady Tully someday, although the marriage is said not to be a particularly happy one thus far. Should Cersei remain at Riverrun? And what will happen to Tyrion?

Eldon Estermont:
-Prestige: 7/10
-Gold: 150,000 GD
-Legitimacy: 6/10

Lord Estermont,

-The trial of Eddard Stark has had some complex results as the angered Stormlords almost placed a death sentence, forcing Stark to demand a trial by combat. Not only do you need to find a champion, your legitimacy has been damaged by Stark's claims of Stannis dealing with the hated Ironborn, many proud Stormlords demanding you to inform them how much you knew of this.

-Euron Greyjoy has survived the revolt inside Storm's End, but the castle finds supplying to be hard on account of your inventive scheme. Still, the Ironborn seem to find you responsible for Lord Quellon's death, and may even invade the Stormlands in full force on account of their anger. What will you do to vanquish the Ironborn?

-House Selmy denounces Rhaella in anger after the death of Ser Barristan, but equally you have also been condemned by them by agreeing to have Ser Barristan take part in the trial-by-combat. Will you seek some sort of reconciliation with the Selmys after the death of such a brave, famous knight?

Oberyn Martell:
-Prestige: 6/10
-Gold: 100,000 GD

Prince Oberyn,

-Your arrival in King's Landing is followed by the terrible news coming from Sunspear, the capture of your brother and the heavy blow inflicted in your House. Already it is uncertain what will happen to your nephew Aegon and your niece Arianne, with some wondering if you should not return to Dorne to crush the Daynes and prevent further tragedy.

-Taking office as Master of Coin brings an immediate, complicated trouble. Two years of war have emptied the royal treasury to concerning levels, and new sources of revenue are needed to sustain the Crown and the ongoing war. How will you act as a royal councilior?

-With the war starting to swing into the Rebels's advantage, there are others at court who note your military credentials and hint at how effetive you might be at the command of an army. Will you seemilitary command in the upcoming campaigns?

[DKrol]

A Proclamation from King's Landing

To all who hear this proclaim, greetings.

By the authority of House Targaryen, the oldest and most noble of Houses, which has safely and steadily ruled the Seven Kingdoms for three hundred years, Her Grace the Queen Regent has decreed that:

Her Grace, acting on behalf of His Grace Viserys the Third of His Name, has appointed the honorable Ser Baelor Hightown as a member of the Kingsguard, replacing the late Ser Barristan Selmy, and grant him all the styles and comforts belonging to the office.

Her Grace, acting on behalf of His Grace Viserys the Third of His Name, has appointed the honorable Ser Jaremy Rykker as a member of the Kingsguard, replacing the traitorous Ser Jaime Lanniser, and grant him all the styles and comforts belonging to the office.

Her Grace, acting on behalf of His Grace Viserys the Third of His Name, has appointed the honorable Ser Archibald Yronwood as a member of the Kingsguard, replacing the late Ser Oswell Whent, and grant him all the styles and comforts belonging to the office.

Her Grace, acting on behalf of His Grace Viserys the Third of His Name, has appointed the honorable Lord Ormond Yronwood as Advisor to the Small Council and grant him all the styles and comforts belonging to the office.

May the gods keep the King!

- Rhaella of the House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Protector of the Realm, Lady Regent of the Seven Kingdoms.

[badgate]

A Statement on the Faith of the Riverlands

It is the judgement of the Father that we must follow, for his holy wisdom shall lead us to a better future.

It is the kindness of the Mother, who sees the good in us, that we as citizens of the Riverlands trust.

It is the strength of the Warrior, now only a babe but still a fierce fighter against the enemies of the Seven.

House Tully now, as forever, is a fervent servant of the Seven. We cannot find any of the Father's wisdom in the warring between smallfolk and members of the Faith. We cannot find any of the Mother's kindness in these heated disagreements which are too often resulting in pain. This is not what it means to be a follower of the Seven.

It is expected of all Septons and preachers of the Faith to treat their congregants peacefully, and the same is expected of the congregants.

The High Septon in King's Landing has lost the Father's wisdom, and cannot be trusted to facilitate our worship of the Faith. Viserys is a false king in the eyes of the Seven, and all followers of the Faith in the Riverlands believe this. We know the Father has chosen the true heir, Jaeherys Targaryen, to be the holy anointed ruler of the Seven Kingdoms.

Given the taint of toxicity the false followers of the Seven in King's Landing have made on the Sept of Baelor, it is hereby proposed the construction of a Great Holy Sept of the Seven in the Riverlands, to offer the Father, Mother, Warrior, Maiden, Crone, and Smith a new holy site free from the falsehoods of the past. All who worship the Seven are welcome in the Riverlands, and will be welcomed peacefully.


Signed,

Hoster of House Tully, Lord of Riverrun, Lord Paramount of the Riverlands, Shield of the Seven

[Garlan Gunter]

Reserved for a PoV coming soon

[Lumine]

“Our battle is more full of names than yours,
Our men more perfect in the use of arms,
Our armour all as strong, our cause the best;
Then reason will our hearts should be as good."

(Attributed to young Benjen Stark, at the walls of King's Landing)

Early 284 AL: Aftermath:

Rebels and Loyalists bleed, and the fate of Westeros is on the balance

The Rebel Offensive:

Having assembled a massive force of well over sixty thousand men across the Riverlands alone - one of the largest armies ever gathered in Westeros - the Rebel Lords were determined to strike the decisive blow against the Crown and win the war in a swift stroke. Adding the substantial forces of House Lannister and the Golden Company, the Rebels pressed on their offensive in fullforce in hopes of victory:

Liberation of the Westerlands: Hatching up a clever plan to smash the Loyalist forces invading the West Lord Tywin Lannister moved his forces in the hope of a fast, decisive campaign. Both his host and the newly combined one of Ser Gerion Lannister moved from Riverrun and Casterly Rock, but despite their success in achieving a substantial speed and almost cutting off the retreat of the Loyalist armies the distance was too large, much like the margin for enemy retreat. Under order from Rhaella all Loyalist forces withdrew from the Westerlands, and soon afterwards Hoster Tully, Gerion Lannister, Tywin Lannister met at the Gold Road: the Westerlands was free from enemy invasion.

Battle of the Bay of Crabs: Having closed a productive deal with Braavos, Lord Protector Arryn had a new fleet and a sellsword army to deploy, and the fleet sailed from Braavos fully intending a surprise landing in the Crownlands at Crackclaw Point. While a well-thought strategy, the royal strategy to keep the Royal Fleet on a close vigilance of the Narrow Sea proved disastrous for the Rebels as their new fleet was ambushed. The fight was vicious and intense, the Braavosi ships being eventually defeated through sheer numbers and forced to retreat to Gulltown. The surviving sellswords managed to land, but two-fifths of them were lost at sea.

Battle of Sow's Horn: With half the loyalist force returning to King's Landing, roughly 19,000 were sent north under Lord Rykker in a dangerous mission to retake Harrenhal. Without further Loyalist forces to hold up the Rebels in the Riverlands as many loyalists surrendered their castles, the combined Rebel force of Jon Arryn and the surviving sellswords linked and met the rebel camp at Sow's Horn. Outmatched three-to-one, the Loyalist forces were easily dislodged and beated after a brief battle, Lord Rykker nonetheless managing to save most of his host by retreating back to the capital. With another blow struck the Rebel invasion of the Crownlands proceded smoothly.

Battles of King's Landing: With the Rebels under fast pursuit, the Loyalist forces assembled in the capital to defend the Queen with two main disadvantages: Rhaella entering into labor and the departure of Mace Tyrell south for a new campaign against the Stormlords.As a result, over 60,000 Rebels met a force of about half that size holed up on the massive walls of the capital, and over the course of three days assault after assault was attempted as the Loyalists mounted a desperate defense. The dead piled up as the Rebels began to make progress at a heavy cost, and by the second day the outer walls had been breached in two different spots. The final day of the battle featured the Loyalist counterattack led by the new Kingsguards and including the new arrival of Dornish reinforcements, a crucial aid.

This time the Rebels ceded ground at last, and the breaches across the walls proved unsustainable at last. With the Loyalists too exhausted to engage in pursuit, Lord Arryn and his vast Rebel host withdrew in good order back to Rosby. As the Queen's daughter was born, thousands of dead men covered the outskirts of the capital.

The Loyalist Offensive:

Despite the enormous loss of initiative across the Westerlands and Riverlands, Queen Rhaella and the Loyalist lords did not sit idly to wait for the enemy to attack. While the decision to pursue a major offensive on an otherwise secondary front was puzzling to some, interest results emerged as Lord Tyrell left the capital and new forces were marshaled in the Reach and Dorne.

Siege of Starfall: With Reach forces arriving into the area to support the ongoing siege, an attempt by the Dornish to infiltrate the castle through intrigue was successful. With one of the gates opened at night before the Daynes could close it, an assault across the castle overwhelmed the defenders and eventually forced the young Lord Dayne to surrender the castle and his family. Despite the huge blow to Martell prestige over the sack of Sunspear, the crushing defeat of House Dayne and the successful ransoming of Lady Mellario by Norvos seemed to close the door to further defections to the Rebels across Dorne.

Battle of Shipbreaker Bay: While the Royal Fleet moved in pursuit of the Braavosi, the Redwyne Fleet sailed from King's Landing under different orders: to smash the pirates hired by the Stormlords blocking Storm's End and Euron Greyjoy. The Ironborn captain was astounded to see the sight of the Redwynes invading the bay and hunting down several small groups of sellsails, eventually cleaning up the entire area from piracy.

Invasion of the Stormlands: Rather unexpectedly, the destination of Lord Tyrell's substantial forces was the Stormlands, already invaded two years ago but now under a most curious situation over the allegiances of Lord Regent Estermont. With the Reachlords having overwhelming superiority in numbers and the general exhaustion of the Stormlanders vast territories fell into Tyrell hands, Lord Tyrell stopping his offensive at Bronzegate to the news that House Selmy's loyalty was seemingly restored. The resulting panic in the Stormlander forces would have curious consequences in a particular trial...

The Faith in Crisis:

With the Faith of the Seven collapsing in a wave of violence and struggle across most of the Seven Kingdoms, the conflict became a even more confusing fight as three different sides began to form in response to the theological crisis over the war. On one side, the highly controversial High Septon in King's Landing and the new Faith Militant forces raised by the Queen; on another, the Oldtown reformers and their new "anti" High-Septon; and on a third group the radicals led by Septon Janse of Gulltown, determined to see through the new radical notion that a High Septon should not exist.

Return of the Faith Militant: Perhaps cornered over the growing split within the Faith, Queen Rhaella made a fateful, historical decision by allowing the return of the Faith Militant after the revival of the Warrior's Sons and the Poor Fellows. The news gave a new lease of life to the (still) majority wing of the Faith led by the High Septon, who now had the potential to form a new military arm to protect the Faith and which only increased the attacks on Rebel or reformist septons as pro-High Septon peasants felt entitled to take arms.

The High Septon of Oldtown: Tired of what they saw as the lack of spiritual leading in the Faith, the reforming Septons of Oldtown banded together after a historical publication by a Septon Thurel, who dared to publish the so-called "Forty-Eight Theses" at the Starry Sept indicting the Faith of the Seven of King's Landing and hopelessly corrupt and heretical. Thurel and his band of Septons (allegedly aided by a group of Maesters) then elected the venerable Septon Vaclin as a new High Septon, claiming to be the true source of the new Faith.

Janse's Schism: While many thought the developments at Oldtown meant that the Faith would split in a Loyalist and Rebel band, it was not to be that simple. The increasingly radical and popular Septon Janse proved unwilling to settle a number of theological differences with the Septons of Oldtown (which he thought timid in their ideals), and refused to acknowledge either the High Septon of King's Landing or the High Septon of Oldtown as his master. Instead, Janse took to the streets of Gulltown with the revolutionary idea that no High Septon was necessary at all, something which the crowds openly endorsed with fervor and zeal.

All across Westeros ravens from Janse and the High Septons began to fly, and while the Septons began to consider their own religious loyalties so were the Lords faced with this new conflict.

Other Developments:

Arrest of a Squid: As the developing crisis with the Greyjoy brothers caused risk of full-scale war breaking out between Tyrells and the Ironborn, Lord Tyrell made a risky gambit by ordering the arrest of Victarion and Balon Greyjoy. A fiercle struggle broke out as Balon was knocked down and dragged to the castle's cells, whereas Victarion slew his way into the river and escaped across the Mander to join his fleet. Victarion's intent to assault and burn Highgarden against the odds were however abandoned by the news that a Lannister fleet was entering the seas near Harlaw, forcing Victarion to race back to the islands in anger. Once back, an infuriated, angry Victarion learned the Lannister invasion had been a ruse, and he became determined to make his wrath known.

The Wolf Escapes: With the Stormlords in disarray over the Loyalist invasion and the strikes of the Redwyne Fleet, the trial of Eddard Stark would end in an inconclusive note. Without a champion having yet been nominated and the possibility of the trial ending on a death sentence anyway, Ser Arthur Dayne ignored Stark's protests over his honor and promptly knocked him down, taking the wolf on his horse and escaping the enemy camp in the middle of the confusion. Not having been caught by Tyrell raiding parties, Stark and Dayne's whereabouts are still unknown.

A Dragoness is Born: Marriage arrangements took place just as King's Landing was soon to enter a siege, and after entertaining numerous proposals over her hand Queen Rhaella finally accepted Lord Ormond Yronwood as his new consort to be wed after the upcoming birth of a new Targaryen. Just as House Yronwood celebrated its newfound prominence at court the Queen entered into labor, and struggled to give birth as thousands of men met their deaths outside the city. After several exhausting hours Rhaella barely survived and delivered a healthy young girl: the new princess was to be named Alysanne, after the consort of Jaehaerys I.

Intrigue in the Three Sisters: A most curious development took place in the Vale of Arryn, drawing the alarm of the Eyrie and prompting an urgent message to Lord Arryn. A band of noble knights moving across the Three Sisters not only noted an unusual amount of activity and messengers racing across the islands, but distinctly saw several new warships starting to be build at Sisterton in what would constitute a new fleet for House Sunderland. And while Lord Sunderland has openly defended himself with another letter noting it is a fleet for mere self-defense, some whisper to Lord Arryn that something dangerous may be taking place.