The Road to Ashford: a Complete Breakdown of the Event Leading to the Trial of the Seven
Finding six swords appeared hopeless until chivalric honor proved stronger than self-preservation for a handful of outlier knights. Ser Robyn Rhysling and the ferocious Ser Humfrey Hardyng volunteered based on principle. Ser Humfrey Beesbury answered the call to avenge previous insults from the royal retinue. Raymun Fossoway stepped up after his cousin, Steffon Fossoway, took Aerion’s bribes and defected to the accusers, forcing Raymun to receive an immediate battlefield knighthood from Lyonel Baratheon, "The Laughing Storm," who eagerly joined the fray for the sheer thrill of battle.
Yet dawn arrived with Duncan one man short. Six riders waited in the mist. The horns prepared to sound Duncan's forfeit. Then the royal tent parted, and Prince Baelor Breakspear, Hand of the King, Prince of Dragonstone, and the living embodiment of Targaryen statesmanship, rode out in black armor to take the seventh place. Baelor believed in Duncan’s honesty, and he knew his brother Maekar and nephew Aerion had crossed a line that degraded the integrity of the crown.
