A small suite of rooms has been set aside for Ser Berion and his immediate retainers. The walls are sparsely decorated, but clean, with several chests set aside for personal belongings, and a set of small statuettes of the seven set aside for private meditation and prayer.

With the feast having largely finished, most of the guests have returned to their quarters, Berion being no exception.  Unfortunately with the goings-on of the evening, he hadn't had the time to talk to his sister about recent goings ons, and that needed to be rectified.  And so he had dispatched a runner to find the young lady and bring her to the quarters provided for the Knollwoods.  Once she was done attending to Lady Gwendolyn at any rate.

As the feast died down Valen saw fit to return to his quarters, namely that of house Knollwood. The energy of the event had made him somewhat tired, but at the same time his excitement over the upcoming tourney made him awake with excitement in contrast, as such he was currently trying to balance both by eagerly taking on the chore of arranging all of Ser Berion’s belongings in their appropriate places on the room. His physique was one of the things he trusted, and honest labour was something commendable in the eyes of the Seven, as such he usually took on such work with much more enthusiasm than other squires, and with stubborness that made others call him a neat freak from time, though in his mind it was the fault of others that they left their things so disorderly that he felt the need to comment on it. He sometimes would even try to each the younger ones how to properly fold, though not too much success, he was honestly not a great teacher.

As he’s putting up Berion’s armor in a stand and setting other pieces onto nearby chests for easy access when the knight’s armor needed to be outfitted in the coming days, his mind returned to the tourney. Noticing how his master had called for his sister and not knowing whether he’d be staying around during that time he felt it was the better time to ask, he had also done enough work to likely not be scolded for wanting to talk, “I tried learning more about who will be frequenting the lists but I’m afraid there weren’t many involved with such talks in my table and it felt inappropriate to go around asking, do you know who you’ll be facing Ser?” His face made it evident that he was eager to see Berion compete as much as he was for the possibility of participating in the Squire’s tourney. Valen personally held Berion’s abilities in the highest regard, and even when the older fighter went into the training ring it was already enough to make him watch his every move attentively, the thought of being by his side preparing his equipment for the tourney and watching him win filling his mind.

Alyssa had enjoyed the welcoming feast immensely, and proved to be in no particular hurry to attend her brother’s request. She had enjoyed both the surface - the courtesies, music, and fine foods of the Lychester table (though, she suspected, the Wylde purse).

She had enjoyed the deeper layer even more; the intricacies of who was seated where, the veiled and weighted comments. Even the nuances of what was left unsaid, and which seats were empty.

“I hope I did not keep you waiting long” she said, sweeping in at no early hour. She took in Valen at a glance before adding, “Naturally I had to wait for my lady to dismiss me for the evening. When last I left her, she had yet to grant her favour to any man, knight, or squire,” she added giving Valen a wink.

"Entirely understandable, so don't worry in the slightest.  And as for who I'm facing, I can't say that I know yet.  I'm sure we'll see the list posted soon enough."

Gesturing to an open chair just across the room from where he was seated, Berion continued  "Take a seat and try to rest for a moment Valen, goodness knows when my dear sister will grace us with her presence, and the next few days will be long ones.  A tip from an old soldier, never turn down the chance to rest or eat, for you never know when it will be the last opportunity you have for the foreseeable future."

As they waited on Alyssa to finally appear, between quick cat naps Berion shared what information he had gathered with his squire.


It wasn't until Alyssa burst into the room that Berion cracked an eye open as he fixed his sister with a knowing look and shot the young woman an amused-looking smirk before replying.  "Duty neither makes nor needs excuses dear sister.  But I do hope that Lady Gwendolyn wasn't too harsh a taskmistress and you were able to enjoy yourself.  And oh?  And how about the other ladies of the court?"
This message was last edited by the player at 13:05, Sun 12 Dec 2021.

“Lady Gwendolyn is by no means harsh, but she is… thorough.” Alyssa nodded to herself.
“Most contenders and ladies hold back, as this is the first event of the season for many, and not all of the participants have presented themselves. Even though Ser Adham’s wedding is small, the most eligible houses arrive on the morrow. The Mistwoods, Banemarks, and Mallisters will be here in numbers, and Lady Iris tells me to expect even the odd Blackwood, Frey, or Darry, so there will be a fuller field to be sure.”

She smiled, a little self-consciously, “I think Ser Gareth will ask for my favour. He seems a proper gentleman, and handsome. You would not mind if I gave my favour to a natural son?”

“As for other ladies, there are many. Some of Ser Jaspers wards have given favour to one another and seem practically affianced. Ser Lyonel will wear his wife’s favour should he compete. I had expected Lady Iris to wear Ser Walton Banemark’s but his party is delayed, which seemed to strike her as significant…” Alyssa trailed off to see if she had guessed right about where he bro to we’d interest lay.
This message was last updated by the GM at 04:06, Mon 13 Dec 2021.

Berion's eyes immediately opened at the talk of his sister giving out favor, and he couldn't help but smile warmly.  "You're the better judge of character than I am sis, so if he's caught your eye, who am I to refuse?"  In truth, Berion would be quite pleased with the match as Sir Gareth was an accomplished knight and his father's heir presumptive.

At the talk of Lady Iris, Berion seemed to snap entirely out of his sleepy stupor as he added "Oh really now?"

Hearing about the knights each in turn, Valen commits the names to memory, and would be sure to watch out for the more prominent ones when their time to joust came,

As Alyssa came into the room he moved towards the side of Ser Berion but a little backwards, as was an appropriate position to be referred to but hang back while Ser Berion discussed family matters. At the mention of Lady Gwendolyn not yet having granted someone her favour he was somewhat surprised that a throng of suitors had not yet pined for it, or maybe they had and he didn’t know, still he couldn’t bring himself to ask. The thought of asking for her favour was indeed prominent on his mind, a side of him imagined winning the prize with it and honoring her as well as being showered with glory. He then quickly shook his head and tried to dismiss the thought as well as try to play off the confusion, thankful he was probably not in Ser Berion’s line of sight.

It was more common for a fully fledged knight to bear a favour, and he understood that their glories reflected on who gave it, House Blackfin would benefit much more than having the one belonging to their heir assigned to him, and though he tried not to acknowledge it, Valen couldn’t the bear the thought of embarrassing her by making a poor display in a Squire’s Tourney of all things. Of course he had confidence in his skills and even believed he could win, something that’d certainly prove the worth of Ser Berion’s training and reflect well on his master as well.

When the jousts came Valen would have to deal with his own expectations of himself, trying to make Berion proud, living up to the history of martial prowess of his family that he trained so hard to fulfill, and take in his first experience of a proper Tourney, not to speak of his duties to suit up Berion and help him during his rounds. If he won glory however, he’d be more than just one of the other Squires and may even be truly worthy of asking for Gwendolyn’s favor in a future event.

Brought back from his inner thoughts to the talks in front of him he felt it wasn’t his place to interfere too much but in thanks to Alyssa’s consideration of him he decided to add some more. ”House Darry is also no short in prestige, and have a respectable martial history of their own, from what I’ve seen of Ser Gareth he may  certainly give a solid performance in your name.” Heraldic knowledge was driven into him plenty, and he hoped it could instill some more confidence in Alyssa, not that she needed it though, he thought.

At the mention of Lady Iris he can’t help but make a slightly confused expression, not knowing the context behind what might make this so interesting.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:49, Mon 13 Dec 2021.

Alyssa nodded in thanks at Valen’s words and at her brother’s gesture of trust “Ser Gareth is a knight, leal and true, regardless of the traditions that deny him his father’s name. His stepbrother Daveth is squire to Ser Adham, and no more a true Darry than he is a knight,” Alyssa mused , “though I admit to my own confusion in the matter, as the boy wears Ser Lyonel’s colours and name with pride, while Ser Gareth is forbidden to do so,” she shook her head at the irony of it. “Daveth is the son of a Frey knight by Lady Alianna, a daughter of House Erenford. Daveth took Ser Lyonel’s badge as his own when his mother remarried. Ser Gareth tells me the boy is long overdue to take up a maester’s chain, but Alianna could not do without him.” Alyssa shrugged at the unusual family arrangement.
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She brightened, “now cover your ears, for you are a gentle soul and I must discuss matters of the heart with my brother.”

She turned to Berion, “Iris fears that ‘her’ Walton has been seduced by the Mistwood’s daughter, explaining their delay. If she is correct, then Iris will seek another champion to bear her token. Before you decide whether you want that to be you, you must decide first whether your goal is to bed or wed her.” Alyssa laughed, but there was a serious, contemplative note in her voice, as though one might exclude the other.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:50, Tue 14 Dec 2021.

Nodding as Alyssa corrected Valen "Aye, there was some family... discussion as to that matter tonight during dinner, and I was sucked into the middle of things despite my best effort"  Given Ser Lyonel’s outburst and Lady Alianna's sudden departure, it wasn't hard to put two and two together as to what precisely he was referencing.

Unable to resist snorting as his sister teased his squire, Berion mulled over her words for a moment before replying.  "Well one can't say that she isn't a woman possessed of a strong will?  And a fair enough question, though easily answered.  In my experience bedding without wedding causes far more problems than it's worth.  After all, the goal is to bring the Lychesters closer to us, not drive them away."
This message was last edited by the player at 10:07, Mon 13 Dec 2021.

When asked to cover his ears Valen couldn't help but frown, he was still of age fifteen and not as unknowing of the basic ways of the world as people liked to think of him. Still he made the movement of covering his ears in kind with a stoic face as if he was a soldier taking an order. "Covering them is not enough to stop me from hearing at this distance. He resisted speaking out any further, being overtaken by taunting was unbecoming.

When the mere of notion of Ser Berion bedding Lady Iris out of wedlock was suggested his face was filled with disbelief, before even the thought of embarassment his eyes dug into the back of Berion's head awaiting trying to peek any reaction from him. "Bedding a lady out of wedlock would be sacrilegious upon the eyes of the Seven and a terrible stain on her honour. It might have been spoken in a joking tone but there was no way the pious Valen would not take such matters seriously.

He felt relieved and nodded strongly upon Ser Berion's response to affirm it, no true knight would ever seek such things. "Such cases have broken down diplomatic relations between houses for years many times, and even feuds." When one lived among major houses, even when he was a younger such scandals reached all branches of any family that didn't keep themselves isolated from courtly talks.

OOC: I'll continue the conversation disregarding the Darry section until the corrections of the retcon are complete.