The Hightower, the great beacon above Oldtown, marks a decisive stop in Alyn Oakenfist’s voyage: the fleet arrives after suffering losses in Dornish waters and leaves with twenty Hightower war galleys in its company. Its light guides the ships into harbor, while the hospitality of Lyonel Hightower turns a strategic visit into a personal reconciliation across the old divide between the Blacks and the Greens.

Beacon and Harbor

As Lord Oakenfist’s fleet reached Oldtown, the beacon atop The Hightower guided Lady Baela and the ships through Whispering Sound to the harbor. Lyonel Hightower came out to welcome them. The landing reverses the fleet’s recent fortunes: storms had scattered the ships and sunk two, while bandits had slaughtered the crew of a damaged galley and stolen its supplies.

Lyonel promised twenty warships from Oldtown, and his friend Lord Redwyne of the Arbor promised thirty more. The proposed reinforcements made Alyn’s fleet considerably more formidable, though the Redwyne galleys had not yet arrived when the fleet eventually departed.

A Welcome Across Old Enmities

Alyn’s courteous treatment of Lady Samantha Hightower quickly warmed Lyonel to him. Alyn and Lyonel struck up a close friendship, and their welcome helped put the old enmities between the Blacks and the Greens to rest. The Hightower’s hospitality therefore mattered beyond its immediate military value: it offered a personal bridge between factions still divided by the recent civil war.

Alyn lingered in Oldtown, enjoying the Hightower’s hospitality and exploring the city’s ancient wynds and ways. He also visited the Citadel, where he spent days poring over old charts and dusty Valyrian treatises on warship design and naval tactics. His stay combined the practical preparation of a commander with the welcome extended by a powerful host.

Blessing, News, and Departure

At the Starry Sept, the High Septon blessed Alyn, tracing a seven-pointed star on his brow with holy oil and sending him to bring the Warrior’s wrath upon the ironmen and their Drowned God. The religious ceremony framed the coming campaign as more than a naval undertaking, while the charts and treatises he had studied at the Citadel gave his preparations a practical counterpart.

While Alyn was still at The Hightower, news arrived of Queen Jaehaera’s death, followed within days by the announcement of the king’s betrothal to Myrielle Peake. By then Alyn had grown close to both Samantha and Lyonel. He also sent letters to his wife on Driftmark; whether he had any part in writing Samantha’s infamous letter remains conjecture, and the contents of his own letters are unknown.

In 133 AC, Alyn finally decided not to wait any longer for Lord Redwyne and gave the order to sail. Oldtown cheered as the Velaryon ships raised their sails and lowered their oars to pass down Whispering Sound. Twenty Hightower war galleys followed, commanded by Ser Leo Costayne, the seasoned seafarer known as the Sea Lion. The fleet’s departure makes the Hightower’s role tangible: its beacon had welcomed Alyn in, and its ships now sailed with him.