Counting on his fingers, by today, there have been twenty kings who have sat legally on the Iron Throne. Robert was the eighteenth, Stannis the nineteenth, and Renly was the twentieth.
The Iron Throne, forged by dragonlords, had finally returned to the hands of a dragonlord with Renly, a mage ranked second in power across the Seven Kingdoms. However, he did not show arrogance from his position; instead, he maintained a courteous smile, being polite both to nobles and commoners, fair and just to the Stormlands nobility and business partners alike.
From the day Stannis ascended the throne to the day Renly took the Iron Throne, after the initial cheers, the nobles began to worry.
"Didn't the High Septon of the Faith of the Seven attend the coronation?" Martyn Lannister asked his brother Willem.
"Stannis was the first king since the unification of Westeros to voluntarily abdicate. The gods already blessed Stannis, and by passing the throne to Renly while still alive, he essentially passed on the blessings. It's understandable that the High Septon didn't need to be involved, though it's still a stretch," Willem replied, crossing his arms while watching Renly on the high platform.
Martyn gestured toward the large statue: "If we think about it, the Faith of the Seven is also a foreign religion. Is Renly now making a clear stand against the Faith of the Seven? Magic is real, while the Seven are intangible."
"Religion is just a tool to control the masses, and magic is a tangible force. They're not on equal terms. The Andals used the Faith of the Seven to control the continent after their invasion, but now, Renly…" Willem pulled out a finely carved dragonhead pendant made of high-quality wood from his pocket. It had been given to him by Dofas Pennymion, a noble from Volantis, during a banquet a few days ago.
"The Dragon Cult!" Martyn exclaimed, noticing the pendant and pulling out an identical one from his own pocket.
"I also have one, given to me by Lord Wright's lover, Kana Rogare," Martyn's fiancée, Myrielle, added.
"It seems the Baratheon brothers planned all of this, using religion to fight against religion. Let's just watch and wait," Willem said, putting the pendant back in his pocket.
The Lord of the Westerlands, Jaime Lannister, stood nearby, staring at the ground in a daze. He had spoken less and less lately, growing more isolated, and had even taken over the bedroom that his sister Cersei used to sleep in. He had stopped dealing with state affairs entirely, and many said that he had gone mad.
With the Lannister main line wiped out by vampires and no heirs, the closest relatives, the late uncle Kevan's sons, Willem and Martyn, had become the first and second heirs.
Jaime, neglecting affairs of the realm, left Casterly Rock without officials, so the brothers, Willem and Martyn, stepped up to take on the responsibilities of inheritance. They brought many young knights, who had made great contributions in the Riverlands, to serve at Casterly Rock. Thanks to their efforts and those of the knights, the Westerlands had not descended into chaos, and their abilities were recognized by the noble families.
As heirs, Willem and Martyn began to study the arts of governance, learning from the family's never-before-shared books on ruling. Once prosperous, the Westerlands had fallen behind, and Willem had already decided on the future direction, learning from the examples of the noble houses of the Seven Kingdoms, especially following the example of Lord Wright from Tyrosh.
"Willem, no matter what you do, we'll support you," Cerenna said, tugging at his sleeve as she looked at him with concern.
Willem turned to face Cerenna, noticing her golden hair and striking beauty. She was from a pure-blooded branch of the Lannisters and made her affection for him clear. The noble families had even tried to match the two brothers with the two sisters. But as the heir to the Westerlands, Willem had not accepted her for the future of the house.
Willem looked toward the Tyroshi delegation. Lord Wright was happily walking along with two beautiful ladies, Tyene and Kana, engaged in lively conversation.
"The future belongs to mages. For the sake of the Lannisters and the future of the Westerlands, I must marry Rosamund, Lord Wright's disciple, and bear a mage heir to continue the legacy of the Westerlands. But I won't abandon you; I will always keep you by my side." Willem took Cerenna's hands in his own and pressed them against his chest.
He had finally made his decision. He wasn't going to half-heartedly follow Lord Wright's example—if he was going to learn, he would learn completely. Two women? He would have them both!
Cerenna smiled brightly but didn't immediately agree. Instead, she changed the subject. "So, you want to learn from Lord Wright's lifestyle? Should we make a big statue of you and place it at the gates of Casterly Rock?"
"Absolutely not!"
Willem laughed, knowing he couldn't compare to an artistic pioneer.
---
In the city's garrison prison, a guard with bruises still visible on his face came to the prison door.
"Haha, you bastards can't escape to Tyrosh anymore!"
"We didn't kill anyone, just minor offenses. The Night's Watch can't draft us," the prisoners inside lay on the floor, lounging in comfort.
This time, the guard took out a club in advance and had other guards help maintain order. He unlocked the prison door with a key and announced, "You've been pardoned by the King!"
"What? Again!"
"Bastard, did you take my mother's money and try to trick me into going home?"
The prisoners began to curse, but none of them moved toward the door.
"Stannis has abdicated, and the new king is Renly. You're lucky to get pardoned twice in one week. Get out of here!" The guard hit the bars with his club.
This time, with the guards in full force, the prisoners reluctantly walked out of the cell, cursing under their breath. But they were not ready to let it go. As soon as they adapted to the sunlight outside, they ran toward the nearby military camp, carrying tables and chairs, shouting, "Catch me if you can!"
---
"The King is merciful!" A cheer went up again in the square. Like every new king before him, Renly announced a pardon during his coronation ceremony.
Renly was now King, and Margery was crowned the new queen.
She and Stannis' wife did not inherit the crowns from the former Queen Doris Rowan, but instead actively decided to craft two new crowns. Doris and Selyse Florent, both former queens, were family, and Margaery allowed them to keep the crowns that once belonged to them.
Lord Mace was overjoyed. He had previously worried that Stannis would cause trouble, but now, his son-in-law was the king, and his daughter was the queen. Nobles crowded around him to offer congratulations, and his round face never stopped smiling. "Who dares call me a blowfish now!" he laughed.
The new king, Renly, stood on the platform with his family, accepting the cheers of the nobility. As the cheers began to subside, Wright released his hold on Tyene's hand. "I must go up now, give it to me."
Tyene handed him the long staff wrapped in black cloth. Wright took it, walking toward the stage under the watchful eyes of the crowd.
Renly, Margaery, and her son Lyonel, looked at Wright in confusion, not knowing what he was about to do.
"Are you giving me another gift? How thoughtful of you!" Renly beamed, knowing that anything from Wright was sure to be valuable.
"Who says it's for you? You don't need this kind of thing," Wright replied, lifting his arm high.
Boom~~~
Flames erupted from the cloth, revealing a golden long sword in Wright's hand. At the crossguard, a small sun-like orb of light emitted golden rays, while magic pulsed through the blade.
"Oh!" "Goodness!"
The crowd gasped. In this martial age, a Valyrian steel sword was enough to make knights lose their minds. And now, every Valyrian sword, no matter how unique or jeweled, lacked the magic radiating from this one. Even Wright's famous black giant sword only emitted a red glow on the blade.
Among the crowd, only a few Valyrian nobles and women who had entered Wright's chambers had seen such a blade before.
Margaery, holding Lyonel in her arms, kept her eyes fixed on Wright, trying hard to remain composed.
"The sword is called Dawnbreaker, a gift for Prince Lyonel," Wright said, offering the sword to Renly.
Lyonel, still under two years old, was too young to handle the explosive magic within the sword, so Wright handed it to Renly instead.
"Lyonel, thank your uncle quickly," Margaery said, encouraging her son to show politeness.
"Thank you, Uncle," Lyonel said.
"Haha!" Wright laughed heartily.
Renly took the sword's hilt and immediately felt its extraordinary magic. He looked up at Wright, astonished. "This sword?"
Wright lowered his voice. "It is a weapon blessed by Meridia, the Daedric Prince of life and energy. She is a benevolent one, don't worry."
"A Daedric artifact!" Renly exclaimed, slapping Wright on the shoulder in amazement.
Then he raised Dawnbreaker high. With a slight infusion of his own magic, the orb on the sword exploded with brilliant golden light. "The sword of Prince Lyonel, a gift from Lord Wright! Dawnbreaker!"
"Lyonel!" "Wright!"
Cheers erupted, and even the former light priest, Thoros, watching from the crowd, felt his heart racing.
Tyene pouted slightly, displeased. The sword had been very useful as a light source in her bedroom, and she had even crafted several beautiful lampshades for it. Now, it was being given away, and she felt reluctant, almost like sending her child off to someone else.
Wright noticed Tyene's expression and was about to step down to comfort her when Margaery extended her hand, palm down, placing it in front of him.
Now, Margaery's position was higher than Wright's, and as a married woman, she had the right to offer her hand for him to kiss.
Wright knelt, taking her right hand and placing it gently to his lips. As he did, Margaery's hand lightly brushed his lips as she withdrew it.
"Tonight, bring Nymeria and the others to the Red Keep, Maegor Holdfast," Margaery whispered softly.
"Huh?" Wright was taken aback. Was she really discussing this at such an important occasion?
He glanced at Renly, who appeared calm, watching Loras at the edge of the platform. Clearly, they had already discussed this and planned to celebrate that evening.
Margaery kept her elegant smile, but the words she spoke were far from elegant: "What do you mean 'huh'? I am your queen now, and as your queen, I command you!"
"At your command!" The dutiful Lord Wright immediately complied.
"Your Majesty!"
After stepping down from the platform, Wright noticed the eyes of his subordinate, Theon, who was in the Tyrell group. He approached the stage.
Theon kneeled in front of the platform, two of his sisters' temporary squire holding the mermaid flag behind him.
"Oh, Ser Theon, do you have something important to discuss?" Renly thought this must be something that needed to be handled well.
"Your Majesty, every fine weapon is the lifelong pursuit of knights. While my Nightfall may not match Dawnbreaker, it still represents the honor of House Greyjoy. However, there has been a dispute over the sword's ownership, and I wish for the king to make a fair judgment in front of the Seven Kingdoms' nobility." Theon spoke his rehearsed words and then turned toward the Iron Islands nobles.
The incident of Theon killing and stealing the sword happened before the siege of Tyrosh, and the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms all knew about it. Later, King Robert issued a pardon to Theon and his sister, which only forgave their treasonous acts, without clarifying the ownership of Nightfall.
Under the gaze of over a thousand nobles, the head of House Harlaw, Rodrick, had no choice but to step forward. He walked through the crowd and knelt beside Theon, beginning to state his claim to Nightfall.
However, there weren't many famous Valyrian steel swords in the Seven Kingdoms, and both the Citadel and Red Keep had detailed records of them. The nobles were well-versed in these stories, and the first known owner of Nightfall was Dalton Greyjoy, who had taken it from pirates. It was Dalton who named the sword as well.
House Greyjoy had suffered a decline, and there were no transaction or gifting records, so it was unclear how House Harlaw came to possess Nightfall. According to the laws of the Seven Kingdoms, descendants of the Greyjoys could directly demand the sword's return.
The trouble was that Theon had killed Harras Harlaw and the soldiers with him at the time, leaving only one soldier to escape and report the incident. Many years had passed, and it was impossible to verify if Theon had ever requested that Harras return the sword.
"I wasn't a fugitive back then, I certainly asked for its return, but Harras refused me outright," Theon said.
"The soldier who was present at the military council testified in front of King Robert and hundreds of officers, you killed and stole the sword!" Rodrick retorted.
The two men did not yield, their faces flushed in anger as they argued.
"Theon, Rodrick, both of you have valid points. Please, quiet down for a moment," Renly raised his hand, pushing his crown, which still felt unfamiliar.
"Your Majesty, since both sides are justified, I demand a trial by combat!" Theon declared, stating his purpose for the day.
Renly thought for a moment. "That would be acceptable. The matter can be decided in the presence of the Seven and the nobles, and afterward, there shall be no further dispute over the sword's ownership. Both of you may fight yourselves or choose champions to fight on your behalf."
"I won't choose a champion to fight for me. As for the House Harlaw, whoever wants Nightfall can step forward. This opportunity is only for today!" Theon said. Since weapons were not allowed at the coronation, Nightfall had been left outside the hall, and Theon had to ask the king for help.
Renly, eager to make an impression, raised both hands and used his ice magic. Dozens of weapons made from ice—long swords, great swords, spears, and shields—fell to the ground. "Rodrick, have you decided on your champion?"