In the weeks following the fall of the Targaryen dynasty, while Robert Baratheon prepared for his coronation and the lords of the realm returned to their lands, Halys Hornwood remained steadfast in King's Landing. His new responsibility as Master of Laws on the Small Council demanded more than a presence at throne room meetings—it required the establishment of order in a city that had endured years of tyranny, corruption, and violence.
He knew good intentions weren't enough. What was needed were capable men—harsh, but just.
So he recruited the best among his own.
First, those to whom he would entrust command of the City Watch, the Gold Cloaks.
—Hother Umber, called the Maul, would be one of his two captains of the Gold Cloaks. A Northerner with brute strength, a thunderous voice, and a sense of duty as straightforward as an axe—yet unbreakable.
—Rodrik Cassel, a veteran of many wars, would serve as the second captain. Where Hother struck, Rodrik spoke. Disciplined, wise, and with a natural talent for training new recruits.
Both swore to serve justice and the king, but above all, the code of honor that Halys would enforce as the cornerstone of his administration.
For his personal guard, he entrusted leadership to his loyal comrade-in-arms: Thorren Flint, whose spear had saved him more than once on the battlefield. Thorren wore black armor adorned with small stag antlers—a symbol of his loyalty to Halys.
To ensure the law was upheld throughout the capital and its surrounding areas, Halys surrounded himself with three key figures:
—Wyman Manderly, already confirmed as Master of Coin, would also serve as his economic and political voice on the Council, balancing justice with pragmatism.
—Robett Glover, young but resolute, was charged with enforcing the law in the port districts, where foreign gold and long knives were more common than royal coins.
—Brandon Flint, heir to House Flint of the Flint Cliffs, would oversee the royal roads and the safety of commercial caravans. His loyalty and resilience were beyond question.
These three men would form the Triumvirate of Justice, acting in Halys's name whenever he was absent from the city.
Because he could not forget his own lands.
To his sister, Lady Donelle Hornwood, he gave the keys to Antler Keep, the ancestral seat of their lineage. The young lady, clever and firm of temperament, would act as his regent of the southern Neck, tasked with maintaining order and managing finances.
In the North, in their ancestral castle of Hornwood, his second brother, Robert Hornwood, was proclaimed regent of their main domain, receiving the oaths of the local vassals in Halys's name.
To ensure his business and commitments were upheld even during his travels, Ricard Hornwood, the youngest of the brothers, was named Master of the Horn Caravan—a trading company that had begun linking the North to the South.
Finally, Eddard Hornwood, his brother in blood and battle, remained by his side in King's Landing as a personal confidant and field advisor. The two could communicate with just a glance. And in a place like the capital, that was worth more than a thousand oaths.
With each name appointed, each letter sealed, and each banner raised in the right place, Halys was building not just a power network, but a new way of delivering justice in the Seven Kingdoms.
A justice without favoritism, without blackmail, without fear.
Because the war might be over.
But the law of Halys had only just begun.