Three crests adorned with pride so bold,

The lion's roar, the kraken's cry,

And the rose that fears not death.

- Luthen of Banefort

"Fuck," Kevan groaned in pain as he clutched the arrow wound on his shoulder.

He hadn't expected things to unfold this way. After learning of his nephew's unwavering determination, Kevan had written letters to the most important lords of the Westerlands to send later. That same night, he had spoken with his siblings and explained the inevitable situation to them. Genna didn't react because she already knew. In fact, she had helped Kevan when he tried to separate Jaime and Cersei — most of the ideas Kevan had implemented had originally come from her. Gerion had cursed Jaime furiously, thrown his wine glass at the wall, and drank heavily. Tygett, as always, remained calm, sitting quietly in the corner and starting to make plans.

That day, the four siblings made a decision: Kevan would become the new king, and Jaime would die before he could drag the Westerlands into inevitable doom. Cersei would be sent to the Silent Sisters after giving birth. The child would be hidden as Gerion's bastard — since Gerion already had a bastard, no one would be too surprised to hear of a second one. Genna argued that the child, being an incest-born bastard, should be killed, but Kevan strongly opposed this. The sins of the parents should not be cast upon the child. Tyrion, unfortunately, couldn't rule; being a dwarf, he would never be taken seriously by their bannermen. However, they could send him to Oldtown for maester training — his nephew already had an inclination and interest in such a profession.

Jaime was a beloved king among the people and nobles, and he was also quite healthy. Making his assassination look like an accident would be both risky and extremely difficult. Even if they succeeded, many would still suspect foul play. Moreover, if Jaime was killed openly, Kevan's rise to power would undoubtedly be seen as usurpation. After lengthy discussions, they decided to reveal Jaime and Cersei's secret — without exposing the child's existence. If all four of Tywin Lannister's siblings revealed the same truth, the Westerland lords and people would believe them. This way, Kevan's claim to the throne would gain legitimacy, and any risk of civil war would be averted. The idea of becoming king by committing kinslaying troubled Kevan, but he was certain the High Septon would understand the situation once it was explained. With a little donation, he would surely issue a decree proclaiming Kevan's sins absolved. These measures would solve most potential problems.

A swift and painless death was planned for Jaime — a knife to the throat while he slept, and it would be over quickly. At least, that's what Kevan told himself to feel better. Tygett was already the commander of Casterly Rock's garrison, so placing soldiers loyal to Kevan around the king's chambers wouldn't be a problem.

What Kevan hadn't anticipated was Tygett's betrayal — and yet, he shouldn't have been surprised. In fact, he should've seen it coming. Tygett had always been a soldier at heart — not just in skill with a sword, but in personality as well. His loyalty to Tywin was unwavering and unquestionable. He followed orders and carried them out. To him, Jaime was king and his leader. Of course, as a soldier, Tygett would follow his king. Damn fool.

Kevan almost wanted to laugh at the irony of it all — Tygett was never one for intrigue or these sorts of matters. Yet by participating so actively in their plans, he had, for once in his life, done exactly that. And in doing so, he had completely ruined his older brother Kevan — in a single stroke. Perhaps Kevan should congratulate him.

After the betrayal, Kevan and Gerion had escaped Casterly Rock using some secret tunnels known only to family members. However, the escape hadn't been easy — Kevan had been shot in the shoulder, and poor Genna had died. Kevan wanted to curse and scream, but he didn't even have the time to mourn his sister.

At least I had sent my wife Dorna and our children to safety long before this, Kevan consoled himself. Yes, he hadn't expected betrayal, but he had considered the possibility of failure and prepared an escape plan accordingly. Now, Kevan and Gerion were on horseback, using the mountain passes they knew well to reach the Golden Tooth. Lord Leo Lefford was a good friend of Kevan's, and he was confident Leo would support him. Kevan planned to explain the situation to the Westerland lords there and then formally declare himself king.

Kevan's relationship with the other Westerland lords was strong; even those who didn't like him respected him. He was sure he could secure the loyalty of more than half the bannermen.

Kevan prayed to the Old Gods and the New, asking for mercy for himself and for the Westerlands — though he didn't expect them to listen. Kevan knew this matter would end in great loss for both the Westerlands and House Lannister. There was nothing he could do but sigh deeply and prepare for what was to come.

"The time has come," Balon Greyjoy announced.

Victarion gave a slight nod. Yes, the time had definitely come. The Ironborn had waited and prepared far too long for this famous raid, yet it was clear that the wait hadn't been in vain.

Jaime Lannister had gotten his own sister pregnant and married her. What kind of freak fucks his own sister? Victarion thought with a laugh. The Lannisters had always been arrogant bastards who thought themselves better than everyone else, and now their inflated egos seemed to have led them straight to incest.

"Prepare the fleet — we'll raid Lannisport, Crakehall, Faircastle, and Seagard," Balon continued.

Victarion cursed under his breath. "We can't raid Seagard, brother. If we do that, we'll be biting off more than we can chew — we'll have the entire Three Kings Alliance against us."

"That alliance's fleet is fighting at the Stepstones right now; they can't deal with us. By the time they return, we'll have plundered the North and the Riverlands."

"Don't be stupid, brother." On Pyke, there was only one man who could speak so bluntly to his own king — Euron, of course. "The Northern bastards are as poor as we are, and the Riverlands… well, I can't deny it's tempting, but it's no feast like the Westerlands or the Reach. Besides, our resources aren't endless. We can't sack every western coast in Westeros without getting rich enough first."

"Fine, then," Balon Greyjoy said with a dismissive wave of his hand. If Euron and Victarion — two brothers who despised each other — were agreeing on something, Balon couldn't afford to be stubborn. "Once the Reach and the Westerlands have filled our coffers, we'll turn there. We'll invade the Riverlands all the way to Harrenhal and reclaim the legacy of Harren the Black."

Euron and Victarion laughed at that. Neither of them gave a damn about Harren the Black's so-called legacy, but no Ironborn would ever say no to a good raid.

"I hereby declare before all the lords," the High Septon announced. "From House Tyrell, Mace, first of his name, King of the Reach."

Olenna sipped her wine with satisfaction as she watched her son crown himself. Just a few months ago, the lords of the Reach had been preparing to plunder each other's castles, yet now they were acting like old friends, their swords turned toward a much more prosperous prey. Fate seemed to have smiled on House Tyrell once again. Olenna made a mental note to visit the Sept soon and offer her thanks to the Seven, and she also had to visit the godswood in the castle's gardens — after all, the old gods could have had a hand in the Reach's incredible fortune.

The reasons for the civil war brewing in the Reach were simple. After King's Landing was destroyed, the Reach lords lost their livelihoods. They knew they would fall into poverty in the coming years, and the only way to avoid that was to acquire more land, more wealth, and more castles. There were already too many houses in the Reach, and thinning their numbers would only be advantageous.

Olenna had thought through every possible plan to prevent war. Declaring Mace king wouldn't stop it — on the contrary, it would likely trigger it. The Reach lords were proud men, and after three centuries of effort, they had reluctantly accepted the Tyrells as their lord paramount. But what about becoming king? That was an entirely different story.

The great houses of the Reach, though they claimed Andal descent, were originally of First Men blood, with histories stretching back thousands of years. Most were descended from Garth Gardener or his daughters. Such ancient houses were, of course, proud, and a house descended from a steward like the Tyrells would never be looked upon favorably. It had already been difficult enough for the Tyrells to establish themselves as lord paramount; convincing them to accept the Tyrells as kings was downright impossible. Before they could ever be accepted as kings by the other great Reach houses, the Tyrells would need to win many battles and shed much blood — and even then, it would be far from certain. Olenna knew many Reach lords looked upon Highgarden with pride, but they saw it as a place of feasts and luxury, not a throne.

Declaring the Hightowers kings was considered as an option, since they were a highly respected family in the Reach. Their history was so ancient that it even challenged that of the Starks. If they were crowned, the damage of a civil war could be minimized. But it quickly became clear that this was an impractical plan. The reason was simple: Greendoom.

Just before Greendoom occurred, the last bit of information received about King's Landing came from a soldier of House Locke. According to the soldier, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Gerold Hightower, had died while protecting his king. The 'honor' of dying while protecting Aerys the Wicked aside, many people claimed that Gerold Hightower had been present when the order for Greendoom was given but had done nothing to stop it, even continuing to protect his king. Of course, there was no evidence to back this up, but many believed the story.

This story had greatly damaged the reputation of House Hightower. The common folk, who often compared them to the Targaryens due to their similar genetic hair colors, had only added fuel to the fire. Had House Hightower not been aggressively protected by the Seven's faith and the new High Septon, they would undoubtedly have faced some form of retaliation. The family was safe for the time being, but the fact that they had lost so much prestige remained undeniable. They had begun the process of rebuilding their damaged reputation by generously spending their gold on helping the poor and making constant charitable donations. However, it was still unlikely that House Hightower could declare itself as king in its current state, and it remained doubtful whether they could prevent a civil war.

Making one of the other great houses of the Reach king wouldn't have prevented the inevitable war either. In short, the lords of the Reach had retreated to their homes. They were making alliances and scheming, while still sharpening their swords. Once those swords were drawn, the Reach would be turned into a bloodbath. Olenna was desperate — all she could do was delay the inevitable and secure her grandchildren's future by entrusting them to the Three Kingdoms Alliance.

During the meeting in Driftmark, she had tried one last attempt to convince Eddard Stark. She had suggested that if a marriage between Robb and Margaery were to take place, the Reach might join the Kingdom of the North. However, the Stark king's resolve was unshakable. "Don't misunderstand me, my lady," he had said to Olenna. "But the only kingdoms that didn't suffer military losses or have their lands burned during the rebellion were Westerland and the Reach. I think it would be most appropriate for you to settle this 'outstanding debt' while we rest."

A civil war in the Reach seemed unavoidable, and the only thing the Tyrells could do was prepare for it with all their might. The bomb was only a few months away from exploding, until... the news from Westerland arrived, about the civil war there and Jaime Lannister's disgusting incestuous affair with his sister.

As soon as Olenna learned of the events, she seized the opportunity and acted swiftly. She presented the Reach lords with a far more profitable, higher-chance-of-success, and more honorable option: to attack Westerland.

Westerland was already divided between Jaime and Kevan Lannister. The Greyjoys had already begun raiding the ports. The country was in a weakened state, and on top of that, the Westerland lords were extremely wealthy from their gold and silver mines — the kind of wealth that Reach lords had their eyes on. The King of the Rock had committed the heinous act of marrying his own sister, and thus the High Septon had granted his full approval and blessing for a campaign against Westerland. There would be no moral dilemma in this war; they were not going to plunder Westerland but to rid it of the sinful incestuous king.

Olenna took a sip of her wine, savoring it, and silently thanked Jaime Lannister for his stupidity. The Reach lords eagerly seized the opportunity to gain Westerland's gold, and the swords they had sharpened for each other were now aimed at Westerland. Mace used this opportunity to declare himself king and, at least for a time, won the loyalty of his bannermen. The gold and loot from Westerland would sustain the Reach for about 5 to 10 years, averting a potential civil war. Olenna intended to use this opportunity to strengthen House Tyrell's position as the ruling house.

Around 80,000 soldiers had been mustered, with 20,000 remaining to guard the Reach's coasts, and the remaining 60,000 would be used to conquer Westerland. The divided kingdom of the Rock was not expected to win this war.

Well, it's better that we do it instead of the Ironborn, Olenna thought, swirling her wine in her hand. I wish I could see Tywin Lannister's face as he watches the fall of his legacy and his house.

Jon Arryn sighed deeply as he read the latest reports. Jaime Lannister's incestuous madness, the Greyjoys raiding the Westerland coasts, and now the Reach taking advantage of the situation and, with the High Septon's approval, attacking the Rock. If there was one thing Jon was certain of, it was that the Lannisters' time had come.

Lately, Jon had begun to fear the Reach growing too powerful. Steps would need to be taken to counter this, but as long as the Ironborn didn't attack the North, there was no intention to intervene. After all, the primary reason the Three Kingdoms Alliance had been formed was so that, while other kingdoms were being cut off and raided, they could stay at peace and grow stronger.

Jon's main focus now was the Stepstone campaign. He had trusted Stannis Baratheon on this matter, and he was largely confident they would succeed—the plans had been solid. However, there was one issue: Robert, for reasons unknown, had sent 10,000 additional troops to the Stepstones. Jon didn't understand the reasoning. If their plans to capture the islands failed, 10,000 extra men wouldn't make a difference. The Stormlands had wasted resources. But then again, Robert was the king of his own lands, and how he chose to govern was his prerogative. Jon, as a lord of another kingdom, could not interfere too much.

"Your Majesties, there's news from the Stepstones." Jon saw Nestor Royce, who had been appointed as the new Hand of the King in place of his brother, entering the room. His face was ashen, pale. It was clear he had read the letter before bringing it.

"Is it bad news, Nestor?" Jon asked cautiously.

"Well, it's not exactly what you thought, Your Majesty," Nestor stammered. "But what you've read... you won't like it."

Jon sighed deeply. Ever since he'd learned that his wife had given birth to a healthy son—Jasper, as they named him—his spirits had been high. Moreover, during a one-month meeting, 90% of the proceeds from the harvest were agreed to be given to the Three Kingdoms Alliance as part of their deal with the Velaryons. This meant the alliance had gained a good amount of gold, further elevating Jon's mood. But now, it seemed the cost of a few months' happiness was about to be paid.

Please, let it not be as bad as I think, Jon prayed as he took the letter and read it carefully.

He read it once, then again, and again. He felt the need to verify the authenticity of Stannis Baratheon's seal a few times before finally looking up at Nestor Royce.

"What the hell is this?"