The Reach in late July was ablaze with a scorching sun, its heat so intense that even the roses wilted.
For the people of the Seven Kingdoms, the summer in the Reach was endless—so long that all memories and vigilance of the harsh winter gradually faded from their minds.
Traveling south along the scenic Roseroad until it intersected with the Ocean Road, one would find the most beautiful castle in Westeros perched on a hill by the Mander.
—Highgarden. Inside the castle built of white marble, exquisite sculptures, unique fountains, and blooming flowers could be seen everywhere.
Of course, the golden roses were indispensable.
They were the masters of this castle, the symbol of House Tyrell.
"Caw! Caw! Caw!—"
A black raven flew over the three-tiered white walls and landed in the vibrant godswood.
"Mother, look quickly! News from the Battle of Gulltown."
Duke Mace Tyrell was young, but he had already developed a large belly, packaging himself like a plump, juicy dumpling in his green velvet doublet.
"Alright, Mace, shut your mouth."
An elegant old woman sat in a white pavilion, enjoying her afternoon tea. Now, she had to lose her temper first before she could finish her sweet wine.
Duke Mace, like a child caught making a mistake, chuckled nervously and handed the letter to his mother.
The continued glory of House Tyrell was inseparable from the old woman before him—Olenna Redwyne, famously known as the "Queen of Thorns."
Lady Olenna opened the letter and, squinting her sharp eyes that had yet to fade with age, carefully scrutinized the contents.
She couldn't afford not to be cautious.
Recently in Westeros, major events had occurred one after another, shaking the Seven Kingdoms to their core.
First, Crown Prince Rhaegar eloped with Lyanna Stark (the people of the Reach didn't believe the malicious "abduction" rumor). Then, the Starks plotted treason, only to have their conspiracy punctured by the Iron Throne, resulting in Rickard and Brandon Stark being executed in a trial by combat.
And when the King demanded Duke Arryn of the Eyrie hand over his ward, Ned Stark, Duke Arryn—whether out of a guilty conscience or fear of a subsequent purge—resolutely raised the banners of rebellion and called his bannermen to arms.
The first battle erupted in Gulltown.
"Duke Robert fought bravely, routing the royalists, and Gulltown has fallen—"
As Lady Olenna read, she acutely sensed something fishy.
Duke Mace, oblivious as usual, asked, "Mother, is something wrong?"
"Yes!"
Lady Olenna set the letter down, looking at her foolish eldest son with half an eye, and delivered a sharp quip. "The only thing wrong is that I truly should have cracked your head with a wooden spoon when you were a boy. That way, your head wouldn't be so empty that you have to ask this old woman everything."
Duke Mace's face flushed bright red, caught awkwardly by his mother's dark humor.
Feeling a twinge of guilt for not having given her eldest son a better brain, Lady Olenna didn't press him further and explained, "If I remember correctly, the Graftons of Gulltown formed a 'Defenders of the Gullet' alliance with Houses Velaryon and Celtigar."
"When fighting that stench of pirates from the Disputed Lands, Prince Daeron Targaryen of the Black faction even flew his dragon to support them, burning four or five large ships."
"Gulltown falls, and Velaryon and Celtigar do nothing? Is the Iron Throne also turning a blind eye?"
Fearing her eldest son wouldn't understand, she quickly took a sip of wine to moisten her throat after speaking.
Duke Mace was completely lost and asked in confusion, "Gulltown has ties with Prince Daeron, but what does that have to do with the Iron Throne?"
When Gulltown fell, the Iron Throne was still unaware.
"Oh! Why wouldn't the Mother show you a little mercy and grant you even a sliver of wisdom?"
Lady Olenna rolled her eyes and spoke very bluntly, "Rhaegar eloped with the Stark girl. The one sitting in King's Landing now is that Dragon Prince, Daeron."
"Do you think the Iron Throne currently belongs to the madman King above, or to Rhaegar, who is mad with love?"
"It belongs to—"
Duke Mace was about to answer.
"It belongs to the Dragon Prince, Daeron!"
Lady Olenna cut him off, stating the obvious. "Because he has a dragon, and the whole realm recognizes him."
"Mother—!"
Duke Mace complained speechlessly, sounding like a child.
But he wasn't completely brain-dead; he knew that once war started, House Tyrell would finally have a place to use its strength.
"The King will definitely call upon House Tyrell. Should I start preparing now? As soon as the decree is issued, I will march my army north."
Duke Mace daydreamed about the future.
Lady Olenna looked at her eldest son in astonishment and asked in return, "Why should we prepare early and deliver ourselves to their doorstep to be used?"
Is 'Tyrell of Highgarden' some lowly surname?
Duke Mace didn't understand.
Lady Olenna waved toward the corner.
Standing there were a pair of identical twin young men, tall, with long arms and legs, fully armored, looking exactly like guards.
"Mother, you provided Ser Arryk and Ser Erryk with special gems?"
Seeing the heavy aura radiating from the twin guards, Duke Mace had a good eye; he noticed the two had undergone Gem Sequence enhancement.
"Of course."
Lady Olenna took a letter handed to her by one of the twin guards and said, "There's a way to make them stronger, why wouldn't I use it?"
The brothers were noble orphans she had adopted, and they served exclusively as her personal guards.
Duke Mace looked around and whispered, "I heard from Alerie that her great-uncle, Ser Gerold Hightower, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, has mastered a new method of Vitality training that is exclusive to the royal family."
"Will House Targaryen just hand it over to me for free?"
Lady Olenna retorted, then scolded, "And don't mention that Alerie woman to me. All she excels at is spending money. She's full of House Hightower's bad habits, and her brain is even dumber than yours."
Duke Mace's face drooped.
Alerie Hightower was his wife, and her father was Lord Leyton of the Hightower.
But his mother despised his wife and constantly criticized the Hightower family's upbringing.
Lady Olenna shook her head, guessing what her eldest son was thinking.
She wasn't critical of the Hightower family's upbringing; she despised the House Hightower managed by Lord Leyton.
Overly secretive and sneaking around.
If it weren't necessary, she truly wouldn't have wanted to marry into a family that exuded such a strange and dangerous vibe.
"Here, take a good look."
Lady Olenna slapped the latest news onto the table.
Duke Mace took a look and exclaimed in surprise, "Daeron is on his way south and has already passed through Longtable and Cider Hall."
So the Prince had already headed south to personally summon House Tyrell.
"Then I really should be preparing."
Duke Mace beamed with joy, considering hosting a grand feast to welcome the Prince from afar.
"Your head is full of nothing but feasts and tourneys."
Lady Olenna couldn't laugh.
Having seen enough of the cruel struggles between nobles, she knew clearly that any decision made by a Great House could topple a minor one.
Gulltown fell too quickly, and the Iron Throne was slow to react.
Instead of leading an army to counterattack, Daeron came south to the Reach.
The whole thing was too fishy, making her overthink.
---
King's Landing.
Upon receiving the news of Gulltown's fall, Aerys couldn't help but fly into a rage.
Following that, he appointed Hand of the King Tywin as the leader of the suppression army, ordering him to summon the lords of all regions to wipe out the rebels and kill Robert and Jon Arryn.
Tywin immediately transformed into a suppression general.
His first move was to mobilize troops from Casterly Rock, march out of the Golden Tooth, and camp outside Riverrun.
Here, we must mention the geographical concepts of the Golden Tooth and Riverrun.
The Golden Tooth was the gateway for the Westerlands army to march out.
By controlling the Golden Tooth, the Lannisters could invade the Riverlands if they advanced, and rely on the natural defenses to block enemy troops if they retreated.
Its geographical location was even more critical than Bronzegate in the Stormlands.
Riverrun was located at the end of the Red Fork, with the Whispering Wood to the north and the River Road to the south, sitting squarely on the advance route of the Westerlands army after they marched out of the Golden Tooth.
Back then, the Tullys were promoted to a Warden family—it was easy to see it was due to their special geographical location, serving as the front line to resist the Westerlands, that Aegon the Conqueror elevated them.
Tywin intended to seize Riverlands territory and immediately targeted Riverrun, driving a nail right next to it.
Only then did he summon the lords of all regions to gather at Harrenhal, held by House Whent.
"The Starks and the Arryns—"
Tywin pondered, "The Northmen and the knights of the Vale have fierce battle records. The primary goal is for the allied forces of the two regions to block them north of the Trident."
This was where Harrenhal's strategic value became apparent.
With Harrenhal deploying a large army at the Gods Eye, the noble lords on both sides of the Trident wouldn't be able to cross the river easily.
"Black Harren" and Aegon the Conqueror didn't lack strategic vision.
"As for the Baratheons in the Stormlands, leave them to that boy to handle."
Tywin had thought it through thoroughly.
Robert had just finished the Battle of Gulltown. He had to take a ship back to Storm's End, summon his bannermen, and face the royalist army composed of Crown loyalists.
In his haste, it would be very difficult for him to organize the Stormlands traitors to attack.
Daeron had headed south to the Reach beforehand. Relying on the loyalty of the Tyrells of Highgarden and the deterrence of his dragon, he could easily form a northbound army of tens of thousands from the Reach.
As long as he didn't mess up, with the air superiority of his dragon and the strong troops and robust horses of the Reach allied forces, he could string up the Stormlands rebels and beat them.
"House Tully—"
Tywin narrowed his eyes, exuding a sense of oppression.
So far, the rebels clearly included Jon Arryn's Vale allied forces, the second son of House Stark, and Robert Baratheon.
Duke Hoster had delayed making his stance known, hiding in Riverrun and playing dead.
A flash of light crossed Tywin's eyes, and he said coldly, "Loyalty that isn't absolute is absolutely disloyal. If we make an example of House Tully, that boy won't be able to find fault with it."
If he didn't take Riverrun, how could he reap the dividends of war?
He still didn't know that Daeron's ambitions were even greater than his own, focusing his sights only on the easily attainable Riverlands.
---
In early August, the climate in the Reach grew increasingly scorching; even the river water seemed to lack the strength to surge forward.
But this climate was perfectly suited for the family of Dragonlords.
Highgarden.
Early in the morning, Duke Mace was in high spirits, urging the squires to sweep the courtyard and instructing the maids to decorate the banquet hall.
All because the Dragon Prince, Daeron, was coming.
"We must let the Prince see the strength of House Tyrell."
Duke Mace led a group of his bannermen, waiting painstakingly at the castle gates.
Just then, a procession carrying the three-headed red dragon banner appeared at the end of the Roseroad, heading toward the hill where Highgarden sat.
Duke Mace was overjoyed. "He's here!"
The next moment, layers of clouds and mist were suddenly torn apart. A massive creature appeared like searing lightning, its snake-like body swaying back and forth, its huge red wings blotting out the sky.
"Skreee!"
Caraxes let out a piercing screech and flew over the hills where the white marble castle stood, performing a Dance of Dragons that was both dangerous and magnificent, as a display of deterrence.