Storm's End, the Stormlands.
The magnificent castle, said to have been built by Brandon the Builder with magic and massive stones, stood silently atop the cliffs of Shipbreaker Bay as waves crashed against the shore below.
The castle's stag banners snapped in the bitter sea wind.
At that moment, a deadly tension hung beneath the towering walls of Storm's End, built from enormous blocks of stone.
Stannis Baratheon sat on a black warhorse at the head of the formation of several thousand soldiers he had brought from Dragonstone.
Behind him stood Davos Seaworth and the conspicuous Red Priestess, Melisandre.
Though the Dragonstone soldiers were few, their ranks were disciplined and exuded resilience.
Opposite them, a bowshot from the walls, Ser Cortnay Penrose, acting castellan of Storm's End and King Edric's Hand of the King, faced them with the principal surviving nobles of the Stormlands and their mounted household guards.
The young face of the new Earl Wheldon of Rain House bore an uneasy expression.
Earl Sebastian Ellor of Haystack Hall had a complicated look in his eyes.
Behind them, the walls of Storm's End were crowded with soldiers ready for battle.
"Stannis!"
Cortnay Penrose's voice broke the silence first. "You should never have landed in the Stormlands. False kings are not welcome here. Turn your ships around and return to Dragonstone, or you will find nothing but blades pointed at you!"
Stannis jerked on his reins, and the black horse beneath him gave a disgruntled whinny.
"Abandon your ridiculous obstinacy, Cortnay. Have that bastard in the castle who dares not be born take off his absurd crown. He is merely a bastard placed on the throne by desire, not a king."
The word "bastard" stabbed deep into the hearts of every Stormlands noble beneath the walls.
Stannis, too, was furious.