3rd Month - 148 AC

After years of her lord husband's indulgence, Lady Cassandra of Griffin's Roost has finally put her foot down. House Connington, despite its numbers, has at present a troubled future ahead, with no betrothals, marriages, or connections planned for the next generation of griffins. This cannot stand, hammers on the Lady of the Roost to her husband, who tiredly acquiesces to her demands and gives her permission to send out letters in his name.

Cassandra, for all that she was happy to live blindly to the rising tensions within her house, could not lie to herself any longer. Griffin's Roost had, of late, become a place of many roosts of varied griffins, each seeking their own space from the fractured family that was once whole. Cassandra was especially nervous about the worsening relationship of her three eldest children - Gyles, Steffon, and Aelinor. The first two, while saddening, was to be expected. Both are proud, accomplished in their respective spheres, but Gyles had always resented his younger brother's military prowess and acumen, while Steffon found his older brother's less than stellar reputation a stain on the House's honour. Aelinor, for her part, was more than happy to ignore and hold her brothers' feather ruffling in disdain as she accumulated more and more responsibilities in the stewardship of Griffin's Roost from her ailing father.

In short - the roost was a bonfire ready to be lit and would engulf the holding whole. In retrospect, it is no surprise that Richard had put off marrying off his children, knowing things could easily worsen should it be mismanaged. Nevertheless, Cassandra needed to bite the proverbial arrow and secure House Connington's future - no matter what that future may lead to. Gyles' and Steffon's marriages are the most difficult - as an unworthy match for either could deepen wounds in their pride.

Cassandra sighed - gone were the halcyon days of her roost's childhood, before the war and the scarring of her family. Despondently, she gestures for a page to call for the Maester.