The Nights of Bright Candles
After years of conflict with Orders of the Faith and decree stripping these Orders from exercising traditionally held rights over the nobility of Westeros and issuing penalties to nobility who aid them, some houses continue to support the Warrior's Sons and Poor Fellows. Dowager Queen Visenya takes flight upon Vhagar setting fire to a number of Reachland houses that are well known to openly aid the militant arm of the Faith. Vhagar strikes the Shield Islands first, the port at Oakenshield takes fire, swiftly followed by the keep of house Chester at Greenshield before the shrill cry of Vhagar breaks the evening peace. The Round, a circular domed fortress held by House Ball is the next to earn Vhagar's fire for helping to cover fleeing Militants who harassed the Gold Road and Riverlands. Following that Vhagar takes flight to Smithyton, the seat of house Shermer where the fields around the town are given the flame and lastly Vhagar lands before the keep at Starpike, waiting just long enough for the people in the castle to flee before flames are breathed through the great doorway of the keep, washing across Lord Peake who called Visenya to hold her ire. It is said Visenya sat upon Vhagar and watched as Lord Peake and the interior of his stone castle cooked for nearly an hour before flying away back toward king's Landing and that from Highgarden, Starpike could be seen burning to the East, and the Shield Islands to the West.
A couple nights later, perhaps at the urging of Visenya, King Baelon took flight upon Balerion and offered similar treatment to Westerland Lords who had not heeded a call to King's Landing to answer for similar charges of aiding the Faith Militant. Balerion set fire to Deep Den first, where Lord Lydden and his family survived in the deep halls carved into the mountain, proving the strength of Westerland seats like Deep Den, Silverhill and Casterly Rock. Balerion then burned Hornvale, killing the Heir and two daughters to Lord Brax when part of the supports of the keep collapsed, trapping them in the oven the outer stone hall had become. Lastly Baelon burned Golden Tooth, leaving the keep intact though the large stone gates were melted much like Harrenhal, closing the road between the Riverlands and the West for weeks until the stone gates could be broken free and reopened. A not so subtle message that free travel for the Militants between the West and Riverlands should stop.
The cheeky name for these two nights comes mostly from Visenya's ride as she left keeps burning where as Balerion chose rather strong holds and a more precise message to send. Though still they are together known as the Nights of Bright Candles for how well the Reachland keeps lit the night into morning. The lasting effects of the attacks beside terror are few, though Lord Brax will likely be the end of his particular line, having already named his aged cousin and his children as heir to Hornvale, additionally most of house Doggett were killed at Hornvale with the heir to house Brax elevating Roland Doggett to Lordship. There were few deaths in the Reach beside Lord Peake and some commonfolk at the shield ports, but the impact to the crops, and thus the taxes from those houses prove a great strain, even to this very day. This is considered the key that unlocked Old Town as shortly after these strikes were the 6 months of Trials that lead to the Blackfield and many say threats of burning Old Town would not have been taken seriously without these attacks.
Reach
- Chester of Greenshield, Hewett of Oakenshield
Damage to the port of Oakenshield claims the lives of twenty some sailors and impacts the shipwrights of the Shield Islands, The burning of the Keep at Greenshield harms Chester more than the port harmed Hewett but ultimately both houses survive with little impact.
- Ball of the Round
The castle is blackened from the fire, turning from a gleaming white to a charred black and gray. A handful of servants inside the castle are killed by the heat, but most of the household was in the fields surrounding the castle when Vhagar arrived, Lady Ball is said to have yelled at Visenya and Vhagar the entire time.
- Shermer of Smithyton
The fields and 'iron pits' of house Shermer are set fire leaving fused ores in the old Iron Pits and decimated crops, Shermer suffers greatly for the lack of income from both sides of the business of their lands.
- Peake of Starpike
Beside the death of Lord Peake and the loss of the contents of their castle, Starpike is swiftly rebuilt, retaining some of the charred timber as a reminder. The young Lord Peake proves defiant, angered more by the death of his Father than deterred by the threat of Dragonfire.
Westerlands
- Lydden of Deepden
The only casualties at Deepden are from fright, an old serving woman who is said to have 'looked down Balerion's maw' before being pulled deeper into the castle. The stout stone halls cut from ancient mines prove too grand to suffer. However the ancient carvings around the outside of the Den are left cracked and melted by the heat.
- Brax of Hornvale
One of the worst tragedied of the entire 'campaign' with the death of the Children of house Brax as well as the visiting Lord Doggett, his Wife, and his grown daughter and her husband Ser Jensen Sarsfield. Lord Brax is a shell of the man he once was and has been all but forced to name his cousin as heir.
- Lefford of Golden Tooth
Coming out perhaps the best of all involved beside house Ball, suffering only damage to the grand gates of Golden Tooth, losing out on toll revenue for the weeks the road between the Riverlands and West were closed.
- Lydden of Deepden
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