Red Keep

The Red Keep is the principal royal fortress of the Seven Kingdoms, located atop Aegon's High Hill in King's Landing. It serves as the seat of the Iron Throne and the residence of the royal family, the Kingsguard, and the small council. Throughout A Dance with Dragons, the Red Keep is a site of political intrigue, imprisonment, and violence, housing Queen Cersei Lannister during her captivity and trial, and witnessing the assassination of Lord Regent Kevan Lannister and Grand Maester Pycelle by Varys.

Architecture and Layout

The Red Keep is a sprawling castle complex that includes Maegor's Holdfast, a fortified inner keep surrounded by a dry moat lined with iron spikes, accessible only by a drawbridge. The White Sword Tower houses the Kingsguard, while the Tower of the Hand serves as the residence of the King's Hand. The throne room, dominated by the Iron Throne, is a vast hall where the king holds court. The castle also contains the rookery, dungeons (including the black cells), and a godswood. The Red Keep's walls are described as being pink in the light of the rising sun, and its towers and battlements are visible from across the city.

Political Center and Intrigue

The Red Keep is the epicenter of political maneuvering in the Seven Kingdoms. The small council meets within its walls, and it is where the king, his regents, and the Hand of the King govern the realm. During the events of the novel, the Red Keep is a place of tension between Lannister and Tyrell factions. Mace Tyrell, the new Hand of the King, has his own oaken throne carved in the shape of a hand, an absurd vanity. The castle is also where Queen Margaery Tyrell is held captive, accused of high treason, and where Cersei Lannister is imprisoned in the Great Sept of Baelor, not the Red Keep itself, but the castle is the center of the power that holds her.

Imprisonment and Violence

The Red Keep's dungeons, particularly the black cells, are used to hold high-profile prisoners. After Cersei's walk of atonement, she is returned to the Red Keep, where she is confined to Maegor's Holdfast. The castle is also the site of violence, including the murder of Lord Regent Kevan Lannister and Grand Maester Pycelle. Varys, the master of whisperers, kills them in Pycelle's chambers beneath the rookery, using a crossbow and a dagger, and his little birds finish the deed. This assassination is a pivotal event that destabilizes the Lannister-Tyrell alliance and clears the path for Aegon Targaryen's invasion.

Narrative Significance

The Red Keep serves as a symbol of the Iron Throne's power and its fragility. It is a place where characters are both protected and imprisoned, where alliances are forged and broken, and where the fate of the Seven Kingdoms is decided. The castle's physical and political geography shapes the actions of its inhabitants, from the small council's deliberations to Cersei's desperate attempts to maintain control. The assassination of Kevan Lannister within its walls marks a turning point, signaling the end of Lannister dominance and the beginning of a new phase in the War of the Five Kings.