A Meeting of Dragonriders

Lord Aerion arrived in a timely fashion, his grey steel armor now marked with dirt, burn marks and unsightly stains following his assistance in upholding the King's Peace. More noticeably Aerion's once luscious locks are gone, now completely shaved clean.

"Your Grace." Aerion said by way of greeting.

Visenya entered, wearing a bejewelled and glittering violet gown. Her hair, too, was dressed with gems and pearls. It seemed she wore the entire wealth of a minor house upon her head, as befit a queen. She smiled at those in attendance, not really seeing them as she went to her husband's side. There was Bertram, their distant cousin, and a rough-looking gentleman with a shaved head...could it really be her Uncle Aerion looking so ragged? She smiled at him just the same as her hand sought her husband's.

"My lords, my lady," Maekar said, clearing his throat. He took VIsenya's hand and squeezed it briefly, but he let it go when he began to speak. "Cousins. Our work is just beginning, but I thank you all for your support. Aegon is no true King, and it was my father's wish that my brother would not be part of the succession. I will fight to make that so, rather than bending to the Queen's treachery. I will need you all, however, in the coming months."

Bertram could not help but to chuckle softly and grin broadly at Aerion, he liked this man.

He had never met Visenya but bowed slightly when she entered. He would have introduced himself if she did not seem so uninterested in his presence. When she stood by the King and grasped his hand Bertram guessed that she must be the new Queen.

A man entered late who seemed quite familiar with the new King and Queen, Bertram would have to meet the man after Maekar finished.

"There are none around, you need not stand on formality here. Any of you. In public, of course, I expect to be addressed properly, but you are all my kin and we may be more familiar in private, such as now," Maekar replied, smiling at his wife, and then looking at the rest of them each in turn.

"Maelys; I mean to name you the interim-Master of Laws. I cannot give you the position truly, I must needs keep it as a reward for the service of another lord, but for the time being I want you to perform the duties that the Master of Laws would," he said. Maelys knew that the Goldcloak commander was ultimately answerable to the Master of Laws, and that the Master of Laws was also the primary judge in criminal and civil disputes that were not being appealed directly to the King.

"Lady Lannister ought to arrive in the capital in a few days; I am sure you and she will get along rather well, Visenya, and perhaps you might attempt to befriend her to put her more at ease. I will have to choose a husband for her, with her consent of course, but I was of a mind to offer you two as candidates," he added, looking at Bertram and then at Aerion pointedly. "She's got an infant son, but I am certain she could find no objection to her other children bearing the blood of the Dragon, and if a loyal dragon rider becomes Lord of Casterly Rock, so much the better for we will need the gold of the Westerlands to defeat my brother."

"It will be an honor, your grace." Maelys bowed. Interim was not all he expected, but it was more than his brother ever gave him... Well there was that one time when he was awarded Oldtown, but it actually was never meant for him it was meant for Daemon so it didn't count.

"Lord Baratheon will stand with whomever appears to be winning; for the moment that is me, but we should never presume upon his loyalties if we do not wish to be burned. My agreement with him was that if either you or Vira give birth to a daughter, the girl shall be plight-trothed to his son and heir; the lad is about four. It would be ten years, however, before the marriage takes place so if he does turn his cloak at least we will not have given him anything tangible yet," Maekar replied. If Visenya was perturbed that he had potentially already promised the hand of their unborn child to someone, he did not notice.

"Lord Stark is also with me, and his loyalties are more dependable. I intend to name him Hand of the King, and when Vira's marriage to Ser Axell Blackwood is disavowed, I will offer her hand to further bind the northmen to us. Lord Tully claimed to be with me, but the man is a coward at heart, and I suspect even if he does remain true to my reign, many of his vassals will rise up against him. I did not have time to properly negotiate with Lady Lannister, but she seemed pleasant enough and I suspect I can win the swords of the West to our cause with sufficient incentives," the King added. "I have not spoken to Lord Tyrell, though if he declares for Aegon I intend to name Lord Redwyne as Paramount of the Reach in Lord Tyrell's place and I will likely make his younger son the Lord of Highgarden. That depends on circumstance, however, for now things will remain as they are."

"The Arryns will declare against me, of that I am sure. As for the Iron Islands… You are still betrothed to Lord Greyjoy's daughter, are you not? I shall summon them to King's Landing for the wedding, and when you return to the Islands with her you can take command of the Iron Fleet and turn it against Dragonstone," Maekar replied sharply, looking to Aerion.

"Any other questions?"

"Were you not volunteering to bring one of the two wayward Lords Paramount into the fold, Aerion?" the King asked dryly, before adopting a more serious expression.

"Speak your mind. All of you may speak candidly to me in private; I summoned you because I want your counsel. I take it you do not want to marry the Greyjoy girl? I cannot blame you, and honestly Lord Greyjoy's support means as little to me as his enmity, but I am quite sure that Lady Lannister will not have the same opinion. The Greyjoys are a threat to her, and in truth it is still my intent to wed you to one of her sisters. There will be an ample number of traitors in the months to come, and I will find you a Lordship that is richer than that miserable spit of rocks."

"Lords Stark and Tully have orders to gather with two thousand men at the Trident, to hold the river crossing should Lord Arryn make any attempt to leave the Vale. When I receive word that they have arrived and picked a spot to build their fortifications, I'll be sending you to join them," Maekar said, turning to Bertram at the last. "Place yourself under Lord Stark's command; I'll give you a message to deliver to him when the time comes. I also wish you to ensure Lord Tully's spine is stiffened; it is rather more bendable than I should like, but the presence of a dragon ought to keep him in line."

"I still have to ransom Daenya back from the Dornish. It'll cost fifteen thousand dragons that we do not have, but I cannot allow those-," he paused for a moment, casting a sidelong glance at his wife. "I cannot allow a daughter of my House to be held, and there is naught to do but pay her ransom. Lord Baratheon represent me in the exchange, but I would like you to accompany him, my lady. The exchange is to be between Blackhaven and Yronwood, and I wish you to speak with your lord grandfather, or to send him a letter. I imagine he, if not his allies in the Marches, will be pleased to see you seated beside me on the throne," he said, smiling at Visenya.

"Maelys, I want you to write to your castellan at Oldtown; call your banners, and write to the other Lords of the Reach near Oldtown and instruct them to gather their men at your city. Pick someone you trust to command them, and from there they will wait to see what Lord Tyrell does before marching."

"Not as useful as he might be here, which is where Aegon will strike," Maekar replied. "Appoint a commander and write to the southern lords. They are your neighbors now, foster relationships and do what you must to gain their support; I expect you to bring the Southern Reach into line."

Aerion slowly nodded his head as their plans came to form. "If we are certain of Arryn's disloyalty, perhaps we should consider a preemptive strike. Send a message to the Lords of Westeros of what happens to traitors."