The Tourney at Ashford

Walking among the tents in the cool evening air, the Dornishman had cooked trout with a stick protruding through it in hand. He was picking off pieces and apparently enjoying them. Eventually he found a spot to sit and enjoy his little meal, looking up at the dark cloudy sky.

"That fish looks quite tasty. Did you buy it from a stall nearby?" Cassana waved over at the man and then gave him a curtsy.

"I did, but you are free to share," he says, offering the stick.

She smirked. "For a moment, I believed you would claim to have caught it yourself. Many men enjoy being braggarts.'

"Well, I did catch it myself. There I was standing over a pool of them and I knew I had to choose the right bait from my change purse. A hard fought battle came next but I think we can all see how that turned out," he say with an entertained smile, holding out the fish for her to take a piece. "If you like it I can walk you back to my favorite fishing tent so you can catch your own."

"No thank you. On both accounts." The woman then looked around at the tents. "You mean they made you catch the fish yourself and made you pay for it?"

"No... I'm terrible at jokes," he says with a smile. "And thus because it is not good, it does not bear figuring out. But you don't have to catch them yourself."

He rises from his seated position and offers a bow. "I'm Ser Davelyn Sand, sworn knight of Lord Cedric Kellington. It's a pleasure to meet you.

Cassana tilted her head, smirked, and then dipped her head. "Oh, I see. The joke is clear to me now," she replied with a small smile.

The woman returned the bow with a curtsy of her own. "Cassana Algood, sister of Lord Algood of Redwall. You said you were a knight of Lord Kellington? I cannot say i have met many Dornish knights in the Stormlands."

"Well, that's because there aren't many," he replies. "One by my count. And as we haven't had the pleasure before now." He smiles pleasantly at her. "You've spent time in the Stormlands then?"

"Oh, no, not much at all. I simply was inferring based on what I know from standard customs." Cassana let out a soft sigh. "What i know most about it the Westerlands."

"Truth is that you'd probably be hard pressed to meet another Dornish knight. We don't usually follow that tradition," he says with a nod. "I have not been to the Westerlands myself. I'd like to visit someday, but I imagine I'll only be able to if duty permits. What are the lands like?"

"Oh but the Dornish have such other, excellent qualities." She let out a whimsical sigh. "Though perhaps I should not allow myself to be enraptured by tales and rumors."

Cassana smiled. "Most of my experience is along the coastline, at Lannisport."

"I see. Lannisport is a pretty big city. I haven't heard the sounds of a big city since I left Sunspear," he says, smiling at the memories of the sounds.

"We Dornish simply have different qualities. Not all are better or worse. And it's not so bad to become enraptured with takes that seem exotic. If that didn't happen I wouldn't have wanted to become a knight."

"That is true," she admitted in regards to his last statement, "There certainly is much to share among cultures." Cassana looked away sheepishly and then looked back to him. "What do you believe I admire about Dorne?"

"I could not begin to guess what you admire. A womans heart is a mysterious thing," he replies. "Aunt Avella always taught me not to assume to know. But I would be glad to find out."

Cassana muffled a laugh behind her fingertips. "That is an excellent way to deflect the question, Ser. But it also carries much merit." She then let out a soft sigh. "I admire Dorne for its freedom. It is my impression that it is less restrictive than the rest of Westeros."

"I believe that it is so too," he agrees with a nod, smiling. "We value our freedom a great deal. Which is why it took so much longer for the Targaryen's to take us... we refused with all we could. Of course, once they had the support of the other realms backing them, there was little to be done, about that."

"But personal too. People are seen for what they can do far more often, and less about how they were born. One of my aunts, Emberlei, was my spear instructor. As a bastard I was treated well. Things are so much different in the northern realms."

"I had heard that Dorne was very loose with who was allowed into positions of authority," she stated plainly. The noblewoman dipped her head with a smirk. "I suppose Dornishmen did resist for a long time."

"We allow our women to inherit, gender means nothing for that," he says with a nod. "And outside of nepotism which can be found anywhere, whoever is most fit for a duty or who wants it most usually gets it."

He then smirks back. "Queen Nymeria did much to shape Dorne's opinion of the Valyrians, as well as many other things. The greatest warrior queen in history."