SWNOVELXO Chapter 8: 8
**The Rise of House Redwyne: A Bannerlord's Conquest**
**Volume I: The Vineyard Prince**
**Chapter 8: The Thorned Rose**
---
### **Highgarden – 275 AC**
The Tyrell roses hung heavy with morning dew as Aemon's retinue rode through the gates of Highgarden. At sixteen, he arrived not as the boy who had once been mocked in this very court, but as the undisputed master of the Redwyne Straits—his fleet now numbering twenty-three warships, his coffers overflowing with Lannister gold.
Yet the true test awaited in the throne room.
Mace Tyrell sat bloated on the Oakenseat, his fingers drumming impatiently on the armrests. To his right stood Ser Loras in gleaming armor, his famous beauty now marred by a scar across his cheek—courtesy of an Ironborn axe. To his left...
*Ah.*
Margaery.
At nine years old, she was already the image of her grandmother—sharp-eyed, poised, and dangerous as a viper in silk.
**"Lord Redwyne,"** Mace boomed. **"You come at last to honor our agreement."**
The parchment from three years prior lay unrolled on the table—the betrothal contract between Aemon and Margaery, signed when he was still a boy playing at war.
**[Quest Alert: The Thorned Betrothal]**
*Objective: Navigate the Tyrell marriage trap*
*Reward: Alliance with the Reach's most powerful house*
*Failure Risk: Becoming a Tyrell puppet*
---
### **The Game of Roses**
That evening's feast was a masterpiece of Tyrell opulence—peacocks stuffed with truffles, towers of fruit that wept honey, and wine flowing like water. Aemon found himself seated between Margaery and her grandmother, the Queen of Thorns.
**"Tell me, Lord Redwyne,"** Olenna began, spearing a pear with her knife, **"do you still dream of burning Lannister ships?"**
Margaery's knee brushed against Aemon's under the table. A test.
**"I dream of vineyards, my lady,"** Aemon replied smoothly. **"And the ships are merely how I protect them."**
Olenna's cackle drew eyes from across the hall. **"Oh, he's good, this one."**
**[Skill Check: Courtly Manners (Success)]**
*Tyrell Court Opinion: "Cautiously Amused"*
Later, in the moonlit gardens, Margaery led him down a path of pale roses.
**"Grandmother says you'll either be the Reach's greatest lord or its deadest,"** she mused, plucking a thorn from a stem. **"I wonder which it will be?"**
Aemon caught her wrist—gently but firmly. **"That depends on whether your family sees me as an ally... or a threat to prune."**
Her smile didn't reach her eyes. **"All roses have thorns, my lord. The trick is learning how to hold them."**
**[Relationship Status: Margaery Tyrell]**
*Current: Political curiosity*
*Potential: Deadly partnership*
---
### **The Dragon Dream**
That night, Aemon woke gasping—his chambers awash in silver moonlight, his skin slick with sweat.
The dream had been clearer than ever before:
*A great winged shadow over King's Landing...*
*Three fires burning...*
*And a silver-haired girl astride a dragon, her violet eyes meeting his across the flames...*
**[System Alert: Dragonbond Visions Intensifying]**
*Targaryen resurgence probability: 68%*
*Recommended action: Secure dragonglass reserves*
---
### **The Bastard's Visit**
At dawn, a rider arrived from the North—a tall, grim-faced youth with auburn hair and a bastard's name.
**"Jon Snow,"** the boy introduced himself, his direwolf prowling at his heels. **"Lord Stark sent me to learn shipcraft from the famous Redwyne fleet."**
But the sealed letter from Eddard Stark told another story:
*"The winds of war are changing. My son sees what others do not. Keep him safe."*
**[New Companion: Jon Snow]**
*Skills: Swordplay (75%), Tactics (60%), Mysticism (40%)*
*Special Trait: "Wolf's Blood" (Night vision, enhanced tracking)*
---
### **Next Chapter Preview:**
- **The Wolf and the Kraken** – Jon Snow's secret mission to the Iron Islands
- **A Royal Proposal** – King Robert's shocking offer
- **Dragon Sightings** – News from Essos shakes the realm
*(Type* ***YES*** *to continue the epic saga!)*