Ashford, seat of house Steelheart

[warrior6]

the Lands surrounding Ashford castle of House Steelheart are as fortified as they are lavish. House of Steelheart prides itself in being a martial house but the peace that has settled and the lack of fighting has left Lord Steelheart's banner with nothing to do but train and prepare. and lady alyssa seems to have had no shortage of excess gold to finance large projects of gardens, trees and luxuries. at least for now.

the lavish white stone that is repainted every 5 years to keep the glow of the castle hides the terrifying networks of walls, towers, murder holes, ditches, stakes and dykes to turn away any attacker.

guests are received in the well shaded gardens and where they are met by Lord steel heart if necessary or any of his high sworn swords or castellan in his absence. guest rooms are inside the castle as well as the crown room where Lord Steelheart deals with matters of business and state.

the drill yards are right next to the castle in lightly walled enclosures where the lords knights and host train and drill in warfare constantly. inside the outer main walls are smaller drill yards in case of siege and the large armories that equip his forces.

regional bonus:

Historic Tourney Site: One of the few places outside of King's Landing and the seats of the major houses where a tournament may be held. (the site is called The Warrior's Lance. has a huge silver statue of the warrior riding a war horse that has huge wings and the warrior is holding a large lance made of gold)

Thick castle walls: Ashford castle lies next to the town, and is built in the shape of a triangle, with towers reaching 30 feet tall at the points of the triangle. Thick walls run between the towers, making it an excellent and defensible castle, giving +3 to seige defense rolls.

[M. Laveur]

ooc: That castle looks familiar

ic:

Ser Luthor Tyrell approached the Ashford, riding with an escort of Tyrell knights.

[warrior6]

Lord Jaykub Steelheart sat in his crown room. Maester Loren had a list and stood reading boredom about this expense and that cost. Jaykub sat hunched forward, his sword's end touching the marble ground in front of him while his hand lightly held the sword, his other hand spun in it from the hild with its point grinding into the ground. the edge digging against the marble made a noise that bothered the maester to no end.

but the maester continued "and the costs of--"

"look loren, our coffers are brimming and on the morrow we receive more dragons...another fancy garden and lavish fountain that alyssa wants wont hurt."

"my lord also about the defen--" he was cut off again

"the siege works and defenses could probably hold all of westeros even if the garrison was commanded by Alyssa and she was building 5 more gardens and giving birth and our professional corps of troops was beyond the wall. throw in the engineer and we could probably even convince the warrior himself to not bother smashing himself against our walls"

the maester sighed in defeat. although highly exagerated he was not wrong. and now loren had no idea what else to say to break the awkward silence. luckily a guard entered the room.

"apologies for interrupting my Lord Ser Luthor Tyrell is just outside the gates with some of his knights"

"excellent, maybe knights will talk not to me of uneventful and unimportant blabber like this old rotting fish standing in front of me. take him to the warrior's Lance."

"---my apologies sire, captain dulch was leading him to the gardens as lady alyssa instructed be done with all guests."

"they are knights and men not little girls who likes flowers and dolls. take them to the warrior's Lance. and get them the best of our wines and delicacies. prepare guest rooms for him and his retinue for their stay." stated jaykub as he walked out of the room to the warrior's lance with the excitement of a man set free from the dungeons. albeit as proud as a conqueror going on campaign.

OOC: the warrior's Lance is the historical tourney site which is one of the regional bonus of ashford castle. its a large ground that is also used by the best and most accomplished knights loyal to the house as a drilling yard for cavalry when no tournaments are being held. its name comes from the huge silver statue of the warrior holding a large lance made of gold while riding a horse with huge birdlike wings. Jaykub had it built in honor of the warrior.

[M. Laveur]

Ser Luthor looked in admiration as he stepped on the warrior's Lance, suddenly feeling a sense of pride for having been born in the Reach.

"We ought to have a tourney soon," he said to one of his knights, feeling his blood flow as he imagined the armors, the horses, the sound of the clash when the lances broke, the long silence before, and the storm of shouts and cheers that followed. It was as he day dreamt of it that he noticed the Lord coming to meet him.

"Lord Jaykub," he said, with a smile, "you honor us be allowing us into your great tourney site. I had been wanting to see it myself for long, and I'm glad I finally could come and visit your house."

"I am Ser Luthor Tyrell, castellan of Highgarden, brother of Lord Willas Tyrell, who is in King's Landing serving his Grace King Aegon IV as his master of Laws."

[warrior6]

"great to meet you ser luthor, how goes the king's health?... i heard he has had his hands full averting war with dorne over the incident. if the king is wondering whether ashford is ready, you can rest assured that a new large corps of professionals will be ready and willing to march on yronwood should such a command reach me and any dornish incursion here will surely be suicide"

the men on the track who were drilling exploded in laughter hard as a knight and his mount went full tumble. one of his comrades had tied the horses feet and the war robes the horse wore had hid the ropes. the knight got up in an hurry and ran after the perpetrator. yells of laughter and shouting coming from perpetrator and victim. Jaykub knew that such things only happened in times of peace and still the dangers of falling off a horse had gravely wounded and killed men before. yet the men laughed in the face of such danger. even the officer who would no doubt punish both and the rest of them with harder drills for days for such behavior could not hold back a smile. jaykub felt satisfied with their seemingly high morale and comraderie.

"so master of laws you said?"

[M. Laveur]

"Indeed. My brother doesn't like it much in King's Landing, alas his Grace has seen him fit for the job, and he must serve. For now, I must cover for him as castellan, as his children are all gone... his heir Victarion has been granted the lordship over Brightwater Keep, lady Mina has left to Oldtown to prepare for her wedding to Ser Alesander, the heir of Hightower, and young Moryn is in Riverrun, squiring for Lord Tully," he said, a little sad to remember that Highgarden's children were gone across the realm, and to recall that his own first born child was gone too, to squirre in Hightower.

"Thus," he continued, "there's few Tyrells to take care of our land, and even fewer now that I'm here. Therefore I will try to be as quick as possible, my lord, though rest assured I would love nothing more than to come back here to break a few lances in a tourney on this field," he said, with a smile.

[warrior6]

OOC: " Therefore I will try to be as quick as possible, my lord, " i dont get this part, especially since he says he would like to comeback. is he going back to highgarden already? he just came to say hi ?

IC:

"Ser Luthor, any news on who is to be our champion against the dornish?"

[M. Laveur]

ooc: he's getting to it lol I just didn't want to put it all out in a single post
ic:

"It will certainly be my brother Ser Lucas Tyrell, from the Kingsguard. My lord, I am here for two reasons, first, Victarion Tyrell has requested that I ask for your permission to build a trade route between Bright Water Keep and the Ashford. This will allow you to increase your wealth (ooc:around 12,000 a year, I think). Next, I wanted to propose a more personal deal. I know you have a son, a young boy of 10, I believe. As it happens, I have a daughter, a little younger, yet it's never to early to plan for our children's future... I wanted to propose a marriage between them when they come of age."

[warrior6]

jaykub was taken back by the marriage offer, in a positive light.

"we could use the trade those terms i accept. yet godfree is my only son. not for long i assure you but its the reality at the moment. so i hope you understand me being indecisive about this. i will send a raven to highgarden with my answer in short time. please dont take offence, its his mother i have to deal about those things about as well ."


OOC: how come oldtown doesn't have its own thread

[M. Laveur]

ooc: it's in the Hightower thread. I guess it's the same place... sort of.
ic:

"I understand my lord, worry not. I do ask you to consider the benefits of having blood ties with the Tyrells," he said with a smile, knowing full well that he would have no trouble finding a lord's son who would marry his young daughter.

"As for the trading agreement, I'm sure our people will benefit a lot from it, and I will be sending men to sort out the details." (ooc: you can start putting extra income from trade between you and Brightwater Keep)

[warrior6]

"Captain dulch," called jaykub to his guard officer. ser luthor and jaykub both turned their heads toward the guard.

"yes my lord"

"when lady alyssa and godfree arrive back from the hunting trip today, tell them that godfree is now engaged. she can pester me about the formalities later."

a marriage with house tyrell was as good as any and there would be more children down the years to strengthen ties between the other houses. with a grin on his face, he turned back to ser luthor, "drink brother, our families will be strengthened by this. as they say, 'growing strong'.

[M. Laveur]

Ser Luthor smiled as he said the words.

"I'm glad we could reach an agreement, my Lord. Mayhaps you and your family could visit us in Highgarden some day soon, while it's still autumn, to sort out the details."

[warrior6]

"we will make sure we do, and perhaps next time your here, they were will be jousts with elephants"

"AHAHAH yes, perhaps i can also make one drunk as a jest!"

his laughter faded away....

"well i better hush up now before i ruin too many surprises"

[Gandalfus]

OOC: did you just RP as M laveurs character?
"Ser Luther gave a puzzled look etc"

[warrior6]

OOC: did you just RP as M laveurs character?
"Ser Luther gave a puzzled look etc"

OOC: lol sry was tired late night.. i will edit it out

[Gandalfus]

the king arrives at ashford.

[warrior6]

A king in ashford thought Lord Jaykub, what have i done this time he laughed in his heart.

the king was escorted to the guest hall in Ashford. Lord Jaykub was still sitting on his throne room chair but when the king walked down the hall. he rose and walked to meet the king.

"Your Grace, I am humbled by your presence in Ashford, I hope your journey was well and I pray I can be of some service"

[Gandalfus]

He smiled.
Thank you, lord Steelheart. I was just on my way to Highgarden. How fares Ashford?

[warrior6]

Excellent your grace. We are preparing for the return of my brother Adam from the quest i sent him on to essos. The barracks and troop quarters that are being built should be done by the time he arrives with my force

[Gandalfus]

He nodded, looking around.
Very good. What made your brother go to Essos?