Office of the Master of Laws

[Barry Goldwater]

Lord Denys Darklyn of Duskendale has accepted King Daemon's offer of the Master of Laws' seat on the Small Council at the latter's coronation feast and now prepares to uphold his will across the realm. He has taken up residence in a spartan office in the Red Keep, a humble chamber with little decoration besides the Blackfyre royal standard, and opens its plain oaken doors to those who seek the King's justice.

The powers of the Master of Laws

- The Goldcloaks answer to the Master of Laws, meaning he can use them for his own purposes. This has limits: they won't march in an army with you, but they will arrest people, provide bodyguards or police things in KL.
- May issue arrest warrants on anyone in the Kingdom, sending up to 200 Goldcloaks to make the arrest.

Lord Denys Darklyn, Master of Laws of the Seven Kingdoms

Age: 26 (born 244 AL) Skills: (7 pts to start, being 25) +7 Duel (+2 from Full Armor Set + Castle Forged Sword's +3, +2 base), +2 Survival, +1 Charisma, +1 Battles, +1 Joust Inventory: Castle-Forged Sword, Full Armor Set (+10 HP) Denys is the eldest son of Lord Devan Darklyn, a pious and kindly man of fragile constitution, and his lady wife Falyse (nee Darke), a more robust woman whose house was a cadet branch of the mainline Darklyns: from the former he inherited the traditional Darklyn dark-grey eyes, though of his siblings he is the only one to have gained the latter's dark brown hair, as opposed to their father's true black. From a young age Denys was educated in not just martial pursuits and stewardship as most lords' heirs are, but also in the tenets of the Faith of the Seven, per special instructions from his devout father. 'A proper lord and true knight must exhibit the seven virtues of the gods', Duskendale's septon and Lord Devan had always told him: to be just like the Father but also to temper judgment with the Mother's mercy, to be chaste like the Maiden and wise like the Crone, as valorous as the Warrior and diligent as the Smith, and as unafraid of death as the Stranger that brings it, for all men must meet the gods someday. Denys certainly took the latter virtues seriously, as he grew up to be a brash lad - not one who lacked bravery or heart, as he tried his utmost to demonstrate the Warrior's courage in daring games with fellow pages & squires as well as the Father's justice and the Mother's mercy when he sat on his father's councils, but one who could certainly have listened a lot more to the voice of the Crone and seemed to treat his life lightly, as if the Stranger's touch was not something he thought of much if at all. At age thirteen, when brigands ambushed his father's party on the road to one of their vassals' keeps, despite having been a squire for only one year Denys hastily charged into the fray and killed his first man by accident more than anything, tripping over a tree's roots and burying his first sword in a bandit's chest: and upon being seized as a hostage by one of the man's compatriots, he proudly proclaimed that he had no fear for the Stranger's coming and bit the brigand's hand, which by another stroke of luck saved his life - it gave his father's knights an opportunity to cut the man down and free him. That said, he would later insist the Warrior was obviously guiding him throughout the entire experience instead of everything he did having paid off by sheer good fortune, and years later he at least matured into a competent warrior by the time he received a knighthood, though his recklessness and thirst for battle continued to mar both his fighting ability and tactical leadership. In recent days, Denys found himself in his father's seat much sooner than he had expected when Lord Devan felt the Stranger's touch in the aftermath of Aerys II's burning of the Great Sept of Baelor, dropping dead of a massive heart attack at the news. Filled with righteous wrath at the desecration of the holy site, and blaming the Mad King for indirectly causing his father's death, Denys openly praised Aerys' death at the hand of the Kingsguard Lyonel Arryn and led his family in praying that the Seven would forgive him in the afterlife for having to break his oath to do so, while also calling off his father's plans to arrange his marriage to a Myrish lady by the name of Serala on account of her 'heathenry'. When the new High Septon proclaimed the Targaryens anathema to the Faith and called upon faithful lords to disobey them, Lord Denys wasted no time in affiliating his house with the 'Holy League', an organization of like-minded devout Crownlands lords who rejected continued Targaryen overlordship, and when Steffon Baratheon's claim to the Iron Throne was endorsed by the Faith & the Holy Lords marched to aid his cause, Denys followed suit. The seven shields and black fusily of Darklyn can now be found among the banners of the Stag's Crownlander allies, and this dark-haired Shadow Lord rides at his men's head to avenge his father and fulfill the will of the Seven by installing Their chosen atop the Iron Throne. The defeat of the Baratheon and Holy League forces outside the walls of King's Landing has drastically changed Denys. He has become much more aware of his mortality and the fact that he does not actually know the will of the Seven, and as a result he has shed much of his youthful recklessness. A melancholic mood plagues the lord these days.

[Oznerol]

A servant with the livery of the Hand delivers a short note:

Lord Darklyn,

Would you be so kind of joining me for dinner?

Seven Blessings,

Lord Raymun Fossoway, by my own hand.

[Barry Goldwater]

After many years of absence, Denys Darklyn finally returned to take his seat as Master of Laws once more. He had grown much thinner while undergoing treatment at the Quiet Isle, as the monks there had little to offer him but bread and water and his illness prevented him from engaging in strenuous exercises, but his gray eyes remained sharp as ever and his mental faculties hadn't weakened. With a small groan, he dropped himself into his chair for the first time in half a decade and began his unpleasant work: sorting through the many and massive stacks of parchment left on his desk by the servants, some of which nearly reached his eyes. The Quiet Isle was not as isolated from civilization as, say, the Wall and thus he had heard of some of the more important events that had occurred in the last few years - the war in the Riverlands which had ended with Frey ascending to greater heights (Hard to miss that, considering that the Quiet Isle lies in the Riverlands itself, he thought dryly), Bracken and the Goldcloaks attempting to murder the King (And here I thought they were beholden to me, he reflected grimly), the restoration of the Stokeworths and Spotted Tom's ensuing fall from grace (the thought that King Daemon's old allies seem to be rather less faithful than his new ones crossed his mind), his bannerman in Byrch Hall complaining about an insolent lady-sellsword he'd hired to wipe out some bandits (She and Mya might get along splendidly if they were to meet, the Lord of Duskendale thought with a laugh) and Lord Arryn's untimely death at the hands of the Mountain Clans (Unfortunate, was all Denys could say about that affair - he didn't know much of Lord Jon besides the fact that they once both fought for Steffon Baratheon, after all). As he had last presided over Lord Rowan's brief trial before the illness took hold of him, he also knew that Duskendale would now need to refill its vacated trade lanes. Still, the myriad reports piled up before him would likely be much more detailed than what he had heard from the better-traveled monks and passers-by at the Quiet Isle.

Some of the sealed parchments had gathered much more dust than the others, and so Denys knew where to begin - where better than the beginning, after all? As dusk began to fall, Denys lit a candle and began the arduous task of cracking open & reading every one of the reports, something he rightly expected would drag him well into the wee hours of the morning before he was even half-done.

[Oznerol]

A servant announces the arrival of a visitor:

"Raymun Fossoway, Hand of the King and Lord of Cider Hall"

Fossoway looked much older and wore black mourning robes.

[Barry Goldwater]

Fossoway is speedily admitted into Lord Darklyn's office. The Master of Laws was coincidentally also dressed mostly in black, though that was in part because black happened to be one of his house colors. The dark circles underneath his eyes and the piles of reports still on his desk, which had only grown slightly smaller since he started many hours earlier, indicated that he had not seen much sleep.

"Lord Fossoway." Denys had almost continued, To what do I owe this pleasure? but the sight of Fossoway's black robes (Black is not a Fossoway color, some corner of his weary mind reminded him) was an early warning that this visit was unlikely to be a particularly happy one, so instead he finished with, "It is good to see you again."

[Oznerol]

"Indeed, Lord Darklyn. You were sorely missed and we are truly glad to have you back"

Said Fossoway, he took a seat before Darklyn's desk.

"You might not be aware of the ill-events past year, my Lord. My wife..."

He looked sorrowful and had to clear his throat before speaking.

"Your sister died during childbirth. I could do nothing but wait as she... passed away"

[Barry Goldwater]

Denys blinked once, then twice. The news left him speechless for ten seconds, though it felt like a lifetime to him. When he found his senses again, the first impulse he felt was to sweep the parchments from his desk and bring his fist down on the surface. He had to take a deep breath to steady himself before finally feeling like he could speak without shouting, "Forgive me, Lord Fossoway. I...cannot say I was prepared to hear that, almost as soon as I had returned no less." Though, what kind of man is ever ready to hear about the death of his own baby sister?

Lord Darklyn suddenly rose and turned away as if to mind his shelf, though really it was because he was feeling an unwelcome sting in his tired eyes. On the Quiet Isle it never rained indoors, nor were raindrops this warm and salty. "You have my condolences for the loss of your lady wife, my Lord Hand. As for my own loss of my sister...I had long expected that, as the first of our father's children to enter this world, I would be the first to leave it, as well. An elder sibling should not have to outlive his younger kin, any more than a parent should have to outlive their child." He reached up as if to take a book from the shelf, but hastily attempted to wipe his eyes on his sleeve in the process. "You mentioned my sister died in childbirth. Did her child, at the least, survive? My nephew, or niece."

[Oznerol]

"Someone would have told you, sooner than later; it was my duty to tell your Lordship what happened"

He sheds a single tear.

"Moreso, it was my fault. I shouldn't have... not so soon after the first. I have lost parents, siblings and cousins to the Mad King, but she had turned my life into something better, worth living. She brightened my dim existence with her mere presence. But... she is gone forever and I will not remarry"

Fossoway had again to cope with loss.

"A son. Our secondborn son. You have two healthy and ruddy nephews, Lord Darklyn: Garlan and Garth"

He smiled, faintly.

[Barry Goldwater]

Denys slowly turned to face Fossoway. His eyes were red, and clearly not just from exhaustion, but at least his tears had stopped flowing. "It is a truth that we are all sinners, and fall short of the glory of the Seven. My sister was no exception, just as I and my brother are. She could be vain, selfish and childish, and when we were children - well, I have lost count of all the times she would pitch a fit and break pottery in the Dun Fort when she did not get her way. I would always scold her for that, as any responsible older brother would, on the occasion where it was not I who drove her to such fits for my amusement. Now I would gladly let her smash every priceless Myrish vase in the world, if it would bring her back." He sighed, reminiscing. "Still, I know that she had a good heart, even if few got to see it. She could be irresponsible and self-absorbed by turns, but she was never truly malicious to our servants and those who did her no wrong. And I further know that if the Stranger came to her bed and asked whether He should claim her life or that of the son she carried, she would have asked...no, demanded that He take hers instead."

"I pray that both my nephews, then, enjoy long and healthy lives, and prosper in whatever endeavor they grow to put their minds to. I do not doubt that their mother would want the same, and that she is surely pestering the gods to heed that wish in the afterlife as she used to press me, Dontos and our parents to satisfy her wishes in this one."

[Oznerol]

"Delena at least died happily when she realized her son was alive and perfectly fine"

He said, sorrowfully.

"I pray that too, every day, for the well-fare of her blessed soul and the lives of our children. You might rejoice, Lord Darklyn, for your nephew is to marry one of the King's daughters and thus my grandchildren will bear the blood of Blackfyre himself"

Fossoway was proud of that engagement.

"Lord Denys, you might visit the tower whenever you seem fitting, surely my sons would gladly meet their uncle"

[Barry Goldwater]

"Aye, I would like that." A royal marriage for his nephew, who even if a Fossoway by name, was still half a Darklyn? This was a first for House Darklyn since the Conquest, as far as Denys could remember they and their relatives had not reached such lofty heights even during the Dance of the Dragons when they had supported Rhaenyra's claim to the point where one of their own died trying to tame a dragon for her & the Greens sacked their seat. Having calmed down, Denys now began to gather the parchments he had scattered all over the floor in his anger. "In the meantime...is there any other pressing matter not contained in these reports, which is both still ongoing and might require my attention?"