Re: [D7, MA] Forming The Treaty (Open)

[Septon Arlyn]

Lady Corrine gives her approval, "
You may speak Septon,"


Septon Arlyn grips his crystal dangling from the leather necklace around his neck briefly, before moving up to the front of the pavilion. Septon Arlyn positions himself so that he can be seen by everyone in the pavilion and on the right hand side of Lady Corrine. As he moves forward his robe swishes around his body in what appears to almost be a vain attempt to hide his big figure. However Septon Arlyn does not move like a man who has any fear, but his bearing is tall and he was moving not as a humble Septon but more of an authority, not allowing himself to be cowed by the Lords and Ladies of high standing.

Septon Arlyn pauses for just long enough, standing in front of the audience he puts states firmly, but without the hint of demand that one that was desperate, "
My Lords and Ladies, we are from many different houses, and many different Ideoligies, however all of the representatives here are charged with the forming of a peace treaty. There are some who claim that we have been set up to fail. Their are some who claim is that someone in authority at kings landing has set us up to fail. What I am here to say is that they may very well have succeed. I myself have been guilty of accusing people of misdeeds, not trusting the nature of their investigative styles. However here we are, at the end of this grueling week, that for many of us, myself included, feels like we have been in this battle valley for a month. We have made progress though, Slow grudging progress, but progress just the same. I think we have done much good here in this valley, My hope is that the peace we make when we deliver this treaty to the king will last for longer then a generation. That the goodwill that we have all tried to foster here will last longer than a generation. For it is the smallfolk who suffer the most at the whims of war, and my hope is that all the work we have done will not be undone by improper wording of this treaty. If this is the case some may even claim we have purposely sabotaged this treaty "


Septon Arlyn pauses for dramatic effect, then whips his arms out from the depths of his robes, displaying his forearms and hands to the gathered crowd, both hands raised upwards with the palms facing the Septon.

"
This is foolishness!"


Septon Arlyn shakes his fists. Then he begins listing out the various houses, using his fingers to keep track of the various people.

"
If that is the case, why would we have done so much to assist others;


In House Marsten, you have:
Lady Corrine Marsten, The leader of these investigation's, helping herd this group of cats that these various houses are.
Lord Ben Marsten, He entered the cave after the explosion at the Green Door Inn, helping disrupt the fanatics and bringing the wildfire under investigator custody.
Ser Kevan Lyras, Entered the cave with his liege, and personally saved my life by taunting two wildmen towards himself and away from me.

In House Longshore;

Lord Yoren Longshore, used his words to bring peace to the valley when we had the restlessness and looters, turning many from a life of banditry
Athelstan Helped bring the false brothers wyld to justice,

In House Tullison;

Lord Dustin Tullison offered his houses expertise in mining to get the Iron Mines back to working orders,
Ser Theomore Tullison has gathered up bandits, allowing the rest of us to focus on the investigations"
as well as feeding them to the dragon, but best not mention that now thinks Septon Arlyn

in House Kytley;

Lord Jamys has helped in the investigation of the Septry,

In House Dulver;

Ser Walton Dulver defeated Jack Black, as well as entering the cave to prevent those responsible for the attack on the inn to escape
Lord Terren Dulver has spoken eloqently after the attack on the green door in at raventree hall, helping clam spirits
Luecain Longbow has used his own bow to feed the hungry in the refugee camps, as well as entering the caves

In House Baratheld;

Lord Davian brings his experience to help us form this treaty
Nathan Mason has devoted his efforts of the rebuilding of the village of Blackbuckle

House Coldbrook;

Lord Daveth helped me assist the injured, using his knowledge and skills to help the smallfolk
Ser Jorah saved the prince as well as entering the cave to help remove the threat of wildfire
Loreia has helped calm the stampede, as well as entering the caves to help remove the wildfire

House Drakeson;

Lord Baelon Drakeson's ordered his cavalry to help the smallfolk, they even took time to rescue a small girls kitten from a tree
Lady Gwyn Drakeson's voice helped calm hearts and sooth spirits in the warriors seat."


(*This is not a comprehensive list, if anyone wants me to add anything just PM me and I will edit it in)


Septon Arlyn looks around at the assembled group. "
I tell you for we have done much good in this past week, and we have discovered many thing in our investigations. I would say that those whom wanted us to fail, underestimated what we can accomplish when we set aside our differences and work towards a solution. I feel like this phrasing is one such issue. So let us stop this tedious bickering and work together on accomplishing this treaty. It has come to my attention, from one of the brightest minds that I know,"
Septon Arlyn gestures to Terren Dulver, sitting next to the empty chair that the Septon had been using. "
This young man has informed me that if we use the words Dornish in the treaty, It will simply fan the flames of the situation that is already simmering, possibly bringing things to a boil. A metaphorical straw that broke the aurochs back. There has already been rumors of raids against the stormlands from the boneway, the Dornish are restless and honorable. They will likely see us using the word Dornish caravan as an insult against them."


"
I know that many in this room supported the princesses claim on the throne. And I know that many of you think that I am nothing more than a green laptop trying to spread Queen agenda. Some may even posit that Ser Theomore would be a black given ,his close connection to Prince Daemon as his squire."
There have been man questionable actions that he has made lately, but I doubt that he would squander his close connection to the prince unless something very dramatic happened.

"
But on this one thing with me and him agree, putting the word Dornish into the treaty is a mistake of the greatest gravity. Including the word dornish is not about green and black, although the blacks will certainly benefit more from us leaving the word Dornish out of the treaty. This is about peace in the realm more so than even peace in battle valley."


"
The Seven Pointed Star states that we should always strive for peace. So here I am and accused Green agreeing with an accused black that if we want peace we should leave the word Dornish out of the treaty."


Septon Arlynd turns to Lady Corrine, "
with your permission I would like to give everyone a few minutes break to converse with their various courtiers about this new information, and then I would like to have a revote on the issue of Dorne being put into the treaty. But as of now Dulvers vote is nay."


Septon Arlyn looks around the room.

"
I hope that a few others will change their vote to nay, for the peace of the realm."


With that final statement he walks back to his seat next to Terren Dulver, casting a few furtive glances around the room and waits for the assemblies response.

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

Corrine regards the Septon unmovingly, but not without sympathy.

"
You speak well, Septon, of our triumphs this week. But, you cannot just ask for time to discuss a voted outcome, just because you disagree with it. That negates the point of having a vote. Our duty is to our King, not Dorne. We should not risk accusations of a cover-up by hiding the truth, and do we not ask the Crone to shine the light of truth on our path when we pray? I am sorry, Septon, but we cannot acquiesce."

[Gwyneth Drakeson]

"
I wouldn't worry overmuch,"
Gwyneth adds. "
Dorne is unlikely to seek war, or further conflict over such a tiny thing as this. They may issue some sort of complaint, make noises about an apology or some such...noises that will almost certainly be ignored by the King. This place, this moment, is extremely important to all of us...but I think because of that it's easy to lose perspective. The rest of world knows little of Battle Valley or its troubles...and most likely cares even less. It's a sad thing, perhaps, but then again how many other little places like this are there out there that we know nothing of?"


She shrugs, and smiles a little.

"
Lets not fall prey to melodrama here at the end of things. We've almost done the impossible. I for one would like to finish before the week is out."

[Septon Arlyn]

A slow smile approaches the Septons lips and he bows his head towards Lady Corrine. I'm sorry Terren, I tried. Septon Arlyn then pats his hand on Terren's Shoulder.

[Loreia]

[Consider the following my response coming not much later, in timely succession with the others, instead of coming with hesitation or pause that effectively drags it on.]

The holy man's haranguing bears on Loreia as hotly as the sun did a few days ago. She soon tires of it, and as his speech peters out, she manages to find her words. "
M'lord septon, the merchants were foreign,"
she responds definitively. "
What kind of message do you think we'll send if we don't bother to mention that? Either we're coverin' it up, or we don't care about Dorne or its people. The problems that might rise from choosin' to say boldly what they were are surely worth bein' seen as honest and mindful of the neighborin' country of Dorne, and enough to weigh under the fallout that'd come if we left it out."

[Septon Arlyn]

Septon Arlyn smiles warmly at the guard women, "
Lady Loreia, I am not suggesting that we ignore the dornish. In fact, it has been suggested that we find out where these dornish men came from so that we can recompense their families properly. However, in our haste to complete the treaty the words we use may cause unintended consequences. Just as my hasty yet righteous condemnation of Benjen frey at the trial last year lead to him later coming and attacking House Dulver's lands, so to will including the word dornish lead to unintended consequences."


Septon Arlyn sighs.

"
I understand that it seems an innocuous thing. 'How can including the word Dornish cause any more issue? The Dornish are an honorable people. Leaving out the word Dornish will cause more issue then it's worth, as they may feel that we are hiding something from them.' These words might sound like wisdom. In fact these were my own thoughts when Ser Theomore brought it to my attention that this might be an issue."


Septon Arlyn opens his hands towards the ceiling and shrugs his shoulders in an I don't know gesture.

"
However, after thinking on this matter, and conferring with Lord Terren, as well as following up on my investigations of Pennytree that is the conclusion I have reached, with the assistance of Lady Gwyn herself I have discovered that the mercenaries that attacked the village of Pennytree itself supported the princess, and may have come to the same conclusion that Terren did and may have been a contributing factor to why they would attack the village."


Septon Arlyn relaxes into his chair

"
Ser Theomore does know much about the way the courts work. For he has spent much time in them this last year alone. His experience could be a great asset here."
even if his methods are questionable, "
But the matter has been settled, so let us move on from this topic."

[Baelon Drakeson]

Baelon barely resits the urge to roll his eyes and speak up at the Septon's last-ditch attempt to convince an unconvinced audience. He has no such reservations about thinking such things, however.

Ser Theomore, Ser Theomore, Black, Black, Black. You sound like a fool, Arlyn. None here who might be motivated to help the Princess' cause thinks of Ser Theomore as Black.... nor you. You have made your Green allegiance quite clear;
you aren't fooling anyone now. Do you really believe that anyone is afraid that this could hurt Prince Daemon's reputation? No... but you - like the turncloak that you are parroting - sure are interested in protecting Green relations with Dorne. It wouldn't do for it to be known that Green soldiers attacked a Dornish caravan, now would it? You'd best hope you are wearing brown robes when you find out what's going to be happening in Dorne in a couple months. The Dornish might not like Prince Daemon, but they are going to absolutely hate Prince Aemond.

[Ereth Redwain]

Ereth can only smile in amusement as the obvious tinges of green and black show.

It's convenient to be red, after all neutrality has it's perks and this is one of them

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

"
Let us move on. The sooner we finish this, the sooner we can all go home to our families,"
Corrine tactfully guides the group onwards.

[Theomore Tullison]

"
Shall we tackle Ser Tyron, then?"
Theomore suggests.

[Since that part is kinda decided, I suggest we breeze through with a presentation of argument for exile (and the foster/squire thing) and then Theo wants to pitch in his suggestion of counterbalance for Bracken incursion over Darry lands, hopefully we can breeze through that as well.]

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

"
Yes, Ser Tyron,"
Corrine nods.

The investigators discussed Ser Tyron's fate, and settled upon exile from The Riverlands for fifteen years.

[ooc: I think that was what we arrived at. If I'm mistaken, let me know and I'll fix it. Goahead with your thing, Theo.]

[Theomore Tullison]

"
So we find that Ser Tyron's absence will be good for peace."
Theomore does not seem overly against the idea, though his crimes would ordinarily merit little more than a fine. "
But the scales of justice does need balance, and house Bracken committed the same crime as he, which allows for more leeway, they did cause damage to Darry lands after all. No matter the circumstances that called for their incursion, they still chose to violate the border with destruction as consequence. It cannot be said to be unreasonable to expect reparations to be paid? And if the intent is to make the peace last a while longer, perhaps we should demand that the eldest son of Ser Wyll will serve as page at Raventree and then squire to Lord Blackwood when he grows old enough, as is often custom for boys of high birth?"


"
Perhaps there also would be a Bracken boy from a lesser branch that is of age with Lord Benjicot that could be sent to foster with Ser Myles? It is to the young that we must put our hopes for the future, I should think."

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

"
What say you all to this proposal?"
Corrine extends the question to the voting investigators.

[Davain Bartheld]

"
Aye, send a lad over to the Blackwoods so we can be done with this."

[Baelon Drakeson]

"
It is not unusual for highborn to be fostered in other houses, but it is unusual to have them foster in a house viewed as a dire enemy. Call it what it is: sending a hostage, not fostering. Further, I'm not so sure that such punishment is warranted. From what I have heard, House Darry seemed... passively accepting of House Blackwood's presence in their lands;
as such I see them as passively accepting of risk of fighting on their lands and attendant. Ser Tyron's punishment has been justified on the basis of the damage done by salting the fields at Warrior's Seat, not the Darry incident."


He frowns.

"
Even if it is decided that such a punishment is warranted, Ser Wyll's heir would be far from on par with Jojen Blackwood. The latter is from a lesser branch of the family, the former will be heir to the house. This would not balance the scales of justice, it would unbalance them severely. If we are to require someone be sent from House Bracken to House Blackwood, it should not be someone in direct succession. Lady Kerry is too old to foster, but perhaps a wedding? There are simply too few options for whom to send to truly have parity."


EDIT/OOC: I have made the assumption that the Marsten/Bartheld Darry investigation findings were shared as part of the deliberations up to this point. If something was to be withheld let me know and I will edit appropriately.

[Reader]

[OOC: final treaty with any tweaks as a result of this thread as son as you lot are ready please.

I'll:

- update it for the trial by combat results and note what choice was made by each house (plus mechanical impacts suffered by Olyver Lucas), where they are given a choice of punishment/who to send
- preserve it as the official IC document for reference
- post it to various forums as an example of what the game throws up
- use it to draw-up long-term impacts]

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

"
A marriage may be a more amiable choice. I like that idea. However, we should not push such a thing too hard. Consent by both parties involved is a requirement for good reason. But it could be suggested, with positive emphasis."

[Septon Arlyn]

"
This is true, Lady Corinne, but we could strongly encourage such a thing in the treaty, stating it would go a long ways in healing the rifts between house Bracken and house Blackwood."
Septon Arlyn smiles warmly, "
it is not a requirement, but with our strong request in the treaty it might give more weight to the words of whomever might discuss such things individually with Lord Bracken and Ser Myles."

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

"
That was rather what I meant, Septon. Frame it as a way they can be proactive in fostering peace."

[Theomore Tullison]

"
Exile for salting the fields?"
Theomore raises an eyebrow. "
Then I would expect Ser Frank Mooton to suffer similar measures for ordering the attack upon the mines, surely that act cannot be considered that much less severe?"


"
The fact remains, Lord Baelon, just because House Darry have proven unable or unwilling to rebuke incursions does not make them any less serious, and as I recall you yourself saying earlier, the salting of fields warrants no more than a fine, an assessment that most lords and knights of Westeros will find themselves in agreement with. The act of violating the domains of another, that will concern them more. Shall we send the signal that we, as the king's representatives, mete out no punishment for this sort of thing? Such a precedence would disturb many. A good case can be made that House Darry made the right choice by not confronting the invaders but await the crown's representatives to sort things out, only the gods can know what might have happened had they attempted to respond by force."


"
Reparations and a ward is only one way to make things come into balance, if we feel House Darry has no entitlement to any of the former by their actions, there are other options we can explore, but the Darry response does not diminish the severity of Bracken and Blackwood transgressions."


"
Marriage, however, would be a concession from both sides, and cannot be seen as an alternative in this case. But it would indeed be good for peace if it was arranged."

[Baelon Drakeson]

"
I did indeed say that, Ser Theomore - but like you I am no legal scholar. The case of Ser Colm Blackwood, brought to our attention by Master Daveth, contradicts my previous assessment. Who are we to argue with that?"


He shakes his head.

"
It is a Lord's duty to protect his lands. If Lord Darry could not, he should have appealed to Lord Gorman for assistance - which might have actually stopped this fighting sooner. Instead he let the fighting continue on unabated. Just as we have been... frustrated... by Lord Gorman's inaction in this matter, Lord Darry's inaction was part of the problem. Had he done his duty in the first place his lands would not have been damaged. Should we really reward him for failing to do his duty?"

[Theomore Tullison]

"
If so, that argument should apply to Ser Frank regarding the Iron Mines as well, passive acceptance of the risks involved, no? Nor does it explain the need to have his son be a ward of Lord Bracken."


"
But again, it does not diminish the fact that we cannot simply ignore the Darry incursions, which remains a more serious charge than the salting of fields. Unless it is our intent to leave that matter unsettled and have Lord Darry seek resolution on his own, something I would call unwise. If we think that they deserve no reparations at all, neither to repair damaged lands nor the amount demanded to repair damaged pride, then that is a choice we can make an argument for, though for the sake of Lord Joffrey's people, I should think that paying for the damaged lands is warranted. Failure to make a strong statement regarding the violations of the domains of another lord? I would find that quite inadvisable. House Darry's failures matters not to whether or not Ser Tyron and Ser Wyll committed themselves to wrongdoing, though it is my understanding that he did appeal to the king, perhaps he sent a raven to riverrun as well? I will not speculate on his reasons if he did not, nor the implications that him doing so would entail."
Lord Gormon had ignored open warfare among two bannermen, would a third getting embroiled matter at all? Food for thought. And this was who's feet Theomore might have to grovel to....wonderful.

[Lady Corrine Marsten]

"
The Darry lands should be restored, though Lord Darry should have been less permissive of the incursions."

[Baelon Drakeson]

"
Perhaps, as there are three parties at fault, the expense of restoring the Darry lands should be split evenly among those three parties. I have nothing more to say on the matter - my only concern was the suggestion of an heir to House Bracken being made a hostage to House Blackwood - not that I believe he would be in danger, rather I am concerned that it might spur Ser Wyll - or his father - into attempting a 'rescue' and restarting the feud."


Baelon's face turns dark.

"
As for Ser Frank and the iron mines... if he did order the attack, I would not be opposed to an example being made of him. I would like to see someone be punished for it."

[Theomore Tullison]

"
The challenge is that Ser Tyron is one of those three parties, we could perhaps extend his exile, but we cannot expect him to be able to contribute to any repairs without assistance from his house, and since he acted on his own, I think it unreasonable to put young Lord Blackwood in a situation where he might feel obliged to give it, thus ultimately penalizing Raventree for that which they neither approved nor condones."
Well, maybe he could work with Baelon on this one for a change...fancy that.

"
Hence my suggestion that House Bracken pays reparations as punishment and that we levy upon Ser Tyron penance of a more personal nature to match it as best we can."
Theomore goes on to test the waters. "
By my assessment, I would say that the size of Darry demands is a reasonable punishment for House Bracken, but it may well be unreasonable to give Lord Joffrey more than what is needed to repair the damages wrought upon his land, and it may also hamper the rebuilding efforts should more than this be levied upon them. So perhaps some other measures can be applied instead, a ward to Riverrun or the Red Keep, perhaps?"


On the matter of the iron mines, Theomore nods. "
Ser Frank did indeed confess to ordering the attack, he claimed to have given the order on his own authority and I believe the man, he can certainly be sent for if others wish to question him."

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