"I went to see the oracle yesterday," Ortheg said quietly, to which Tanya raised her eyebrow. "The one who just arrived to the court with those septons and septas?" She asked calmly, and Ortheg nodded. "Well, why did you go to them?"
"For answers," Ortheg answered quietly, letting out a nervous chuckle. "What answers?" Tanya asked, a confused and concerned expression on her face.
"I wanted to know if would be a knight one day," Ortheg said with a slightly embarrassed tone. "And I wanted to know if my... if our father would be proud of me." Tanya let out a sigh and closed her eyes for a moment. As she opened them, she patted Ortheg gently on his shoulder. "Well, what did the oracle and her septons tell you?" She asked softly.
"They said that I would be a knight and find greatness, but the path to that greatness would be paved with bones and blood, and I would have to ask the forgiveness of the gods many times," he said with a gulp, wondering if he should even take these words seriously. "As for father, they said that he might be watching me, but I would never hear his praise, or see his eyes."
"You didn’t have to go for the oracle to talk about these thing, little brother," Tanya said with a gentle and caring tone, putting her hand lightly against his arm. "If you want to know more about father, you can always ask me," she said with a soft smile on her face. "And as for your future, I'll make sure you will be a knight, and a bloody good one at that."
"Thank you, sister," Ortheg said with a genuine tone, and Tanya patted him on the back before taking a couple steps back. "Now, pick up the sword and we'll continue," she commanded sharply.
-
The whole royal family, as well as the rest of the court stood on the courtyard when the gates were opened, and a convoy in the colors of House Vass rode in. There were couple dozens of them, and they were led by a young woman with a long black hair that she wore in a thick braid. Ortheg estimated the girl to be about the same age as he was. They dismounted their horses, and the young lady fell on her knee in front of King Yorick, her soldiers quickly following the example. "Your Grace, I have arrived as you commanded," the lady said with a humble tone.
"Stand," the King commanded nonchalantly, and the young lady and her soldiers obeyed. "Laina Vass, it is a pleasure to see you of course, but my invitation was for your father. Where is Lord Barris?"
"I'm afraid he has recently fallen ill, Your Grace, which is why he couldn't come himself," Laina Vass explained calmly, and Yorick nodded to her. "Understandable," he said dryly, now eyeing at the soldiers behind the young lady. "Did you at least bring the man I asked you to bring?"
"Carsen, step forward," Laina commanded softly, and a tall and muscular man stepped forward from the line of soldiers. He removed his helmet, revealing a long and ugly face, made only uglier by the nasty burn scar under his left eye. This was when Willem Pyke rushed out of the crowd, his eyes oozing of anger as he stopped just a few feet away from Carsen, who towered him by a head.
"You're the man who murdered and raped my sister," Willem said, his voice shaking as he looked Carsen to the eyes. Carsen let out a cold laughter, and Willem unsheathed his sword. "Stop!" Yorick roared, and the whole courtyard fell silent. After a moment, Willem sheathed his sword again, and turned towards King Yorick. "You promised me to bring this man to justice," he said sternly, and Yorick nodded.
"Carsen, you've heard what this man, Willem Pyke, is accusing you of. Do you admit to the crime?" Yorick asked, taking a step closer to the man. Carsen shook his head. "It is entirely possible that I have fucked his sister, I did visit the Iron Isles some time ago," he said with a subtle smirk on his face. "But I don't recall raping anyone, or murdering. Your Grace, why should you trust an Ironborn's word anyway? They rape and murder as they please themselves, they have no right to judge anyone."
"He may be an Ironborn, but he is still a son of a nobleman," Yorick stated sternly. "If a nobleman's son from another kingdom claims that a man serving me or one of my vassals has raped and murdered their sister, it is an accusation that I must take seriously. And he has also provided an eye-witness to the crime, who has vowed to men in the name of all the gods that he saw you commit the crime. Now, what do you have to offer as an evidence of your innocence?"
"The gods can prove my innocence, Your Grace," Carsen answered confidently, now turning his eyes to Willem Pyke again, a scornful look in them. "I will fight a trial by combat against this man, if it pleases you."
"Do you agree to this, Willem Pyke?" Yorick asked, and the Ironborn nodded. "I do," he said sternly, anger oozing from his words as he glared at Carsen.
"It is settled then," Yorick said with a satisfied smirk on his face. "The trial will be held by tomorrow noon on this courtyard. Until then, the accused will be kept in the cells. Lady Laina, you are invited to dinner with my family tonight." With these words Yorick turned around and walked back towards the keep, most of his family following quickly after him, while the soldiers shackled Carsen and started to drag him towards the cells. Ortheg noticed Laina Vass and Prince Trevyr eyeing at each other for a prolonged moment, before finally Trevyr turned around and followed after his father.
"People here are going to treat this duel like it's entertainment," Tanya suddenly said, which made Ortheg shift his attention back to her. "Well, a duel to the death... I must admit, it is a pretty fascinating thing to see," he replied quietly, and his half-sister chuckled.
"Aye, but for this man it is vengeance for his sister's life," she said, nodding subtly towards Willem Pyke who still stood at the middle of the courtyard. "True, but I doubt he cares much about what people here think of it. At least I wouldn't, in his position," Ortheg pointed out, and Tanya nodded.
"I suppose you're right," she said with a sigh. "Well, no training for tomorrow then."
-
Next day the court of Yronwood had once again gathered to the courtyard. A small wooden platform with a canopy and chairs had been set up for King Yorick and his family, where they could observe the trial in a relaxed manner, while the rest of the court had to stand. Ortheg, Artos and Tanya stood right next to the platform. Listening to the chatter around the courtyard, Ortheg could hear many of the soldiers and knights placing their bets over the victor against each other. Tanya was right, this is entertainment for these people.
Willem Pyke stood already in the middle of the courtyard, armed with a sword and shield, and clad in a chainmail and a half-helm. A horn was blown once, as Carsen was escorted to the ring. He was similarly armed and armored as the Ironborn bastard, and Ortheg noticed the vicious and bloodthirsty grin on his face.
Maester Symon walked between the fighters, facing the King. "This is the trial by combat between Willem Pyke of Saltcliffe, and the accused, Carsen of Watersmeet," he announced with powerful and formal tone on his voice, glancing at both of the fighters as he spoke. "May the Warrior strike down the accused if he is guilty, and protect him if he is innocent." With these words the maester walked to the platform, where he stood behind the King.
The horn was blown again, and with a furious battlecry Willem charged against Carsen. Carsen blocked the first strike with his shield, and took a step back. He struck himself from above, but Willem managed to deflect the blade away with his shield. Quickly the Ironborn warrior took a sidestep, and attempted to thrust his sword from below Carsen's shield. He succeeded in that, but there wasn't enough strength behind his thrust to penetrate the chainmail, and Carsen smashed Willem in the face with his shield, sending him staggering back.
Now it was Carsen who charged with a mighty roar. He struck hard, but Willem had managed to find his stance and parried the strike with his shield, quickly going for a counterattack. Willem's swing landed on Carsen's head, but the helmet saved him, and he was able to step away from Willem to regain his composure.
"You will die today, Carsen!" Willem roared, banging his sword against his shield. Carsen chuckled coldly, proceeding to remove his dented helmet, and throwing it away. "Come on then, bastard," he replied with his coarse voice, and Willem charged again.
Their swords clashed against each other with a shrill noise. After that they smashed their shields against each other, which resulted in Willem falling on his back. Carsen tried to strike him while he was down, but the Ironborn warrior rolled away quickly, and got back up on his feet. However, Carsen charged towards him again, and this time his strike landed on Willem's right shoulder, cutting through the chainmail.
Willem grunted in pain, but managed to also hit Carsen with his shield, which gave him time to recoup. Ortheg saw blood dripping down from Willem's fresh wound, and judging by the vicious grin on his face, Carsen noticed it as well. The big man swung again and again, oozing of confidence, and Willem kept blocking the strikes with his shield, looking more and more tired every time Carsen's sword slammed against the shield. He tried to strike back a few times, but Carsen parried his weak efforts with ease.
Finally one of Carsen's swings slipped past Willem's shield, and cut across his chest, sending him to the ground. There he laid with a pained expression, letting go of his shield. Carsen walked closer to Willem, twiddling the sword on his hand. He stepped right next to him, moving his blade a foot above Willem's face. "Your sister was a bitch," Carsen mocked with a gleeful grin on his face.
Anger rekindled in Willem's face, and with an animalistic roar he stabbed Carsen straight onto crotch, before getting back on his feet. Carsen screamed in agony, but Willem showed him no mercy. He charged in once more, and opened Carsen's skull with his final swing.
Carsen fell to the ground, dead, while Willem remained standing, if only barely. Silence lingered in the courtyard, until King Yorick spoke up. "The gods have made their will known, and punished Carsen for his crimes," he stated ceremonially, and clapped, which was followed by applauds from the crowd. With staggering steps Willem approached the King, and fell on his knees in front of him, laying the sword on the ground.
"You have helped me avenge my sister, and deliver justice to this man," he said, breathing heavily as he spoke. "To show my gratitude, I will pledge my sword, and my life, to serve you, King Yorick Yronwood."
Yorick stepped down from the platfrom, and helped the Ironborn back on his feet. "And I accept your service!" He yelled, and the court of Yronwood cheered.
No decision
-
Dianna
After days of sailing along the southern coast of Dorne, the Sea Reaper and Lady Vengeance finally reached the mouth of river Brimstone. Dianna sat at the bow the Sea Reaper, its captain Bjorn Harlaw standing next to her, while the Ironborn crew rowed the ship towards the river ahead of them.
"Here we are," Bjorn said quietly, a small grin on his face as he looked at the lands ahead. "The people of Brimstone will soon remember what the world has known since the days of Qhored the Cruel."
"And what exactly is that?" Dianna asked dryly, and Bjorn lowered his eyes to look at her. "That wherever a longship can sail, no man is safe from the wrath of the Ironborn," he answered sharply, a quiet and menacing tone on his voice. "It was the Reachmen who gave Qhored the moniker of 'the Cruel', because he brought his wrath to their shores and cities with more power than any man before."
"And when did this Qhored live?" Dianna asked with a mildly interested tone, but Bjorn just shrugged. "It could've been hundreds of years ago, maybe thousands," he answered nonchalantly. "That doesn't matter. What matters is that his legacy still lives on, through every Ironborn that sets their sails to raid."
"A legacy of raping and pillaging," Dianna commented with a scornful tone, to which Bjorn responded only with a cold smirk and sharp glare.
After sailing up the river for almost an hour, they finally saw the first village. It was a small village of five houses, built with mudbricks on the eastern bank of the river. Hilsgurd Drumm blew the horn by Bjorn's command, and both longships headed towards the village. Without slowing down, they sailed the ships right onto the sands, chanting as they went. Roryn Drumm was the first to jump out of the ship, armed with his axe and shield. "For the Drowned God!" He roared, which was echoed by the rest of the crew.
The people of the village had gathered outside, confused and frightened by the intruders. One of them, an older man, decided to approach them peacefully. He kept his hands up to indicate that he was unarmed. "We have no warriors here," the man said with a gulp, eyeing nervously at the Ironborn as he spoke. "Take what you need to, but please spare us."
Ignoring the old man's pleads, Rory threw his axe straight into his chest. The rest of the villagers reacted to this with screams of panic, some of the attempting to run away, while others fell on their knees to beg for mercy. The Ironborn charged after them, slaying them one by one, and busted into their houses to loot whatever small possession these people had. Dianna looked at all of this quietly from the side, disgusted at the sight of these innocent people being slaughtered. Bjorn gave her a glance with gleeful smirk, before following after his men.
Turning to look towards Lady Vengeance, Dianna saw Lysera standing alone at the beach, right in front of the ship. Approaching her, she noticed how tired and sad Lysera looked, so very different from the innocent and dutiful young girl she had been back in Sandship. "Are you alright?" Dianna asked with a quiet and compassionate tone, and Lysera turned to look at her with a meek gaze in her eyes.
"Yes, I'm just... tired," she answered with a hollow tone. Dianna put her hand on the girl's shoulder, looking her to the eyes. "We'll survive this, alright, just believe me," she said with an encouraging tone. Lysera nodded, though the look in her eyes revealed she didn't have much hope left. Part of Dianna even felt wrong giving her hope, knowing it could well turn out to be false, and that there might never come an opportunity for them to escape. Dianna herself could only stay hopeful because of her sense of duty, both towards Nymeria as her Princess and Lyseria as her subordinate. I must save her and return to Nymeria.
"I believe in you, captain," Lysera mumbled quietly, and a thin smile formed on Dianna's face.
After having killed and looted to their satisfaction, the Ironborn decided to set camp in the village for the night. The loot there was poor, with hardly anything valuable aside from a couple old silver trinkets. Most of the raiders didn't care, it merely meant they would need to sail deeper to find more, but Dianna did notice some of them looking at her with displeasure or even anger. After all, it was Dianna who had given them the idea to raid Brimstone, and their first taste of the riches of this kingdom were underwhelming to say the least. They had already taken some prisoners from Lemonwood as salt wives and thralls, so even the villagers themselves weren't valuable to them, which was why all of them were put to the sword.
-
In the evening the Ironborn were feasting in the largest house of the village. Of course not all of them could fit into the house, so the rest were having their feast by the fire outside. Dianna sat next to Bjorn by the large table, Hargan and Lysera sitting opposed to them. Roryn and Hilsgurd also sat next to Hargan.
The other men in the room were drunkenly singing a song about some ancient king slaying a sea dragon, or something like that. However, the atmosphere on the table was tenser, with Bjorn and Hilsgurd being the only ones who seemed to be having a good time. Lysera was nervous of course, and Hargan seemed frustrated. Roryn on the other hand kept glaring at Dianna, which made her feel uncomfortable.
"If there is nothing valuable to raid in this kingdom, I say we should sacrifice her to the Drowned God," Roryn suddenly said, a murderous look in his eyes. "After all, it was she who led us here."
"That will be my decision, Roryn," Bjorn responded with a relaxed tone. "She is my captive, and I decide what is to be done with her. Besides, what makes you think we won't find anything valuable here?"
"These people are poor," Roryn said with a frustrated sigh. "The bitch doesn't care about that of course, she took us here so we would kill her princess' enemies. She has admitted to me herself that she is still loyal to Nymeria."
"And I admire that," Bjorn said with a small chuckle, taking a gulp of the ale. "If one of my men were captured, I sure would hope they'd still remain loyal to me. And what comes to Dianna, I believe she'll learn to respect us in time."
"We should make her prove herself," Roryn demanded sternly, his gaze shifting from Bjorn to Dianna. "Since she refused to bloody her blade against the villagers earlier, she should show her allegiance by converting to our faith." For a moment no one said anything, and Dianna could see from Bjorn's expression that he was frustrated by Roryn's demands.
"You want me to baptize her?" The Ironborn captain asked quietly, and Roryn nodded. "Aye, if she is not planning to betray us, there should be no reason for her to refuse."
Bjorn looked at Dianna for a moment, a calm and calculative look in his eyes. "Fine," he finally said. "I will baptize her, if she agrees to it." Dianna felt all eyes shifting on her, waiting for her answer.
[Refuse to be baptized] Yeah, I see no way in which Dianna would accept this, given her latest choices. If she loathes the Old Way so much, I really doubt she would willingly be baptized here. Besides, giving Roryn a "fuck you" would be great too.
Ortheg
"I went to see the oracle yesterday," Ortheg said quietly, to which Tanya raised her eyebrow. "The one who just arrived to the cou… morert with those septons and septas?" She asked calmly, and Ortheg nodded. "Well, why did you go to them?"
"For answers," Ortheg answered quietly, letting out a nervous chuckle. "What answers?" Tanya asked, a confused and concerned expression on her face.
"I wanted to know if would be a knight one day," Ortheg said with a slightly embarrassed tone. "And I wanted to know if my... if our father would be proud of me." Tanya let out a sigh and closed her eyes for a moment. As she opened them, she patted Ortheg gently on his shoulder. "Well, what did the oracle and her septons tell you?" She asked softly.
"They said that I would be a knight and find greatness, but the path to that greatness would be paved with bones and blood, and I would have to ask the forgiveness of the gods many times," he said with … [view original content]
Didn't expect Carsen to be dealt with so easily, but is good Willem got his vengeance.
[Refuse to be baptized] Respect for their ways isn't the same as becoming like them and taking the risk of drowning (which some Ironborn have done) isn't going to change the fact that she's a Rhoynar, and Mother Rhoyne, as far as we know, is far more kind than the Drowned God.
Funnily, Bjorn has a point, while it is mentioned Qhored the Cruel lived during the Age of Heroes, it is also mentioned he extinguished House Justman, which only came into existence after the Andal Invasion.
Funnily, Bjorn has a point, while it is mentioned Qhored the Cruel lived during the Age of Heroes, it is also mentioned he extinguished House Justman, which only came into existence after the Andal Invasion.
Yeah, this is exactly why I wrote Bjorn's answer the way I did It's so confusing to try to figure out when exactly did Qhored the Cruel live.
Didn't expect Carsen to be dealt with so easily, but is good Willem got his vengeance.
[Refuse to be baptized] Respect for their ways isn… more't the same as becoming like them and taking the risk of drowning (which some Ironborn have done) isn't going to change the fact that she's a Rhoynar, and Mother Rhoyne, as far as we know, is far more kind than the Drowned God.
Funnily, Bjorn has a point, while it is mentioned Qhored the Cruel lived during the Age of Heroes, it is also mentioned he extinguished House Justman, which only came into existence after the Andal Invasion.
Ortheg
"I went to see the oracle yesterday," Ortheg said quietly, to which Tanya raised her eyebrow. "The one who just arrived to the cou… morert with those septons and septas?" She asked calmly, and Ortheg nodded. "Well, why did you go to them?"
"For answers," Ortheg answered quietly, letting out a nervous chuckle. "What answers?" Tanya asked, a confused and concerned expression on her face.
"I wanted to know if would be a knight one day," Ortheg said with a slightly embarrassed tone. "And I wanted to know if my... if our father would be proud of me." Tanya let out a sigh and closed her eyes for a moment. As she opened them, she patted Ortheg gently on his shoulder. "Well, what did the oracle and her septons tell you?" She asked softly.
"They said that I would be a knight and find greatness, but the path to that greatness would be paved with bones and blood, and I would have to ask the forgiveness of the gods many times," he said with … [view original content]
Ortheg
"I went to see the oracle yesterday," Ortheg said quietly, to which Tanya raised her eyebrow. "The one who just arrived to the cou… morert with those septons and septas?" She asked calmly, and Ortheg nodded. "Well, why did you go to them?"
"For answers," Ortheg answered quietly, letting out a nervous chuckle. "What answers?" Tanya asked, a confused and concerned expression on her face.
"I wanted to know if would be a knight one day," Ortheg said with a slightly embarrassed tone. "And I wanted to know if my... if our father would be proud of me." Tanya let out a sigh and closed her eyes for a moment. As she opened them, she patted Ortheg gently on his shoulder. "Well, what did the oracle and her septons tell you?" She asked softly.
"They said that I would be a knight and find greatness, but the path to that greatness would be paved with bones and blood, and I would have to ask the forgiveness of the gods many times," he said with … [view original content]
Well, I got to say, I did not expect this Wyllem's conflict with Carsen to end at this very point, I would have actually bet that it would take until Book 2 to resolve, with Wyllem having to find evidence against Carsen and maybe eventually confronting him with Ortheg's assistance. You definitely proved me wrong there and I like this more sudden ending just as much, because that trial by combat was epic! Definitely makes me look forward for some of the fights that might end up happening in the parts to come in the near future
[Refuse to be baptized]
This is a really hard choice, as I think that getting baptized would have a positive effect on Dianna's relationship to Bjorn, who might be more willing to trust her, therefore also more willing to give her some freedom, which she might be able to use to get out of there. However, the question I got to ask myself is, if we give in to the Ironborn way of life, how long will it take until she starts to actually embrace it? Sure, she might be able to fake it, but an Ironborn baptizing is not exactly an oath she can swear without meaning, it includes a super violent drowning procedure that regularly outright kills people. Dianna is not one of Bjorn's crew and while I am all for making smart decisions to free her and Lysera, I am definitely more than just unsure about this whole thing and doubt being baptized is the best way to achieve that. On top of that Roryn is a piece of shit and shouldn't get his way. Bjorn seems to have at least some degree of respect for Dianna regardless, so that cannot possibly be a bad thing. My only fear is what would happen if Bjorn dies? The other Ironborn don't seem to share his relatively affable outlook, as evidenced by Roryn, even if he is undeniably an extreme case. So, if there is a different chance to win the trust of further Ironborn, I'll probably pick it, but the baptizing thing, I do not quite agree with it.
Ortheg
"I went to see the oracle yesterday," Ortheg said quietly, to which Tanya raised her eyebrow. "The one who just arrived to the cou… morert with those septons and septas?" She asked calmly, and Ortheg nodded. "Well, why did you go to them?"
"For answers," Ortheg answered quietly, letting out a nervous chuckle. "What answers?" Tanya asked, a confused and concerned expression on her face.
"I wanted to know if would be a knight one day," Ortheg said with a slightly embarrassed tone. "And I wanted to know if my... if our father would be proud of me." Tanya let out a sigh and closed her eyes for a moment. As she opened them, she patted Ortheg gently on his shoulder. "Well, what did the oracle and her septons tell you?" She asked softly.
"They said that I would be a knight and find greatness, but the path to that greatness would be paved with bones and blood, and I would have to ask the forgiveness of the gods many times," he said with … [view original content]
Well that was an epic trial by combat! Willem won but it looked pretty bad for him on more than one occasion there so it is safe to say I'm glad he pulled it out! I can't say I was expecting him to pledge his sword to Yorick Yronwood but it does make alot of sense since avenging his sister was something he was clearly passionate about. Now knowing what has happened with WIllem's quest, it makes me wonder how things with Kortney would have turned out if she actually did choose to go with Willem when he offered her that chance. Since Willem decided to stay in Yronwood rather than move on, would he have let Kortney leave on her own from Yronwood or would something worse have happened for her? On a side note it was really nice to see how Tanya is looking out for Ortheg the way that she is since from what I can tell, living in Yronwood might be more of an adjustment if she weren't there with him.
[Refuse to be baptized]
Like some of the others have said, Dianna has stayed as strong as she can in her loyalty to Nymeria and she has showed she has basically no respect for the Ironborn's ways so I don't think she should agree to be baptized here. From what I can tell, Bjorn has respect for Dianna and would not hold this against her but like Liquid said, I also think she will at some point need to do something to gain respect from the other Ironborn if she wants the chance to gain her and Lyrsera's freedom however, I don't think this is what she should do.
Ortheg
"I went to see the oracle yesterday," Ortheg said quietly, to which Tanya raised her eyebrow. "The one who just arrived to the cou… morert with those septons and septas?" She asked calmly, and Ortheg nodded. "Well, why did you go to them?"
"For answers," Ortheg answered quietly, letting out a nervous chuckle. "What answers?" Tanya asked, a confused and concerned expression on her face.
"I wanted to know if would be a knight one day," Ortheg said with a slightly embarrassed tone. "And I wanted to know if my... if our father would be proud of me." Tanya let out a sigh and closed her eyes for a moment. As she opened them, she patted Ortheg gently on his shoulder. "Well, what did the oracle and her septons tell you?" She asked softly.
"They said that I would be a knight and find greatness, but the path to that greatness would be paved with bones and blood, and I would have to ask the forgiveness of the gods many times," he said with … [view original content]
Ortheg
"I went to see the oracle yesterday," Ortheg said quietly, to which Tanya raised her eyebrow. "The one who just arrived to the cou… morert with those septons and septas?" She asked calmly, and Ortheg nodded. "Well, why did you go to them?"
"For answers," Ortheg answered quietly, letting out a nervous chuckle. "What answers?" Tanya asked, a confused and concerned expression on her face.
"I wanted to know if would be a knight one day," Ortheg said with a slightly embarrassed tone. "And I wanted to know if my... if our father would be proud of me." Tanya let out a sigh and closed her eyes for a moment. As she opened them, she patted Ortheg gently on his shoulder. "Well, what did the oracle and her septons tell you?" She asked softly.
"They said that I would be a knight and find greatness, but the path to that greatness would be paved with bones and blood, and I would have to ask the forgiveness of the gods many times," he said with … [view original content]
And Dianna will refuse to be baptized. Well, Roryn at least won't be happy with this choice, but Bjorn most likely won't care that much, since it wasn't his idea to baptize Dianna in the first place. While accepting to get baptized would've perhaps convinced most of the Ironborn that Dianna was starting to accept their ways, it would've also been quite a traumatic experience for Dianna.
Next up, I have an Emerson part ready. However, I'll also try to finish that Dalia part that I mentioned earlier, and post both of them later today. However, if I don't manage to finish the Dalia part today, I'll once again push it to the next time and post just the Emerson part. So, you will be getting at least something today, possibly even two PoVs. I already recapped Dalia last time, but as for Emerson, he is on his way towards Yronwood with Lord Terren Jordayne and his second son Yoren Jordayne. Recently they arrived to the Wells, the seat of House Wells. Meeting the Wells family, most of them were nice towards Emerson, especially Lord Olyvar, but Lena was being a bit more thorny. First she questioned if Emerson was truly capable of ruling when they were having dinner, though she later apologized for it. However, as Emerson was playing drinking games with Yoren, Leo, Andar and Lena, she once again decided to be cheeky, by saying "I swear that I have never betrayed my family." Emerson decided not to drink to this, meaning he doesn't think he ever betrayed his family. And that's where we'll continue.
Emerson didn't drink, and neither did anyone else. "No one admits to ever having betrayed their family?" Lena asked with a raised eyebrow, her gaze shifting from her brothers to Yoren, and finally to Emerson, where it lingered for a couple long seconds. However, Emerson kept on a calm and confident face, until finally Lena turned her eyes away with a sigh. "Fine, guess that means I should take a drink then", she said, and gulped down her wine.
"Your turn, Emerson", Leo said with a friendly tone, and Emerson nodded, considering his words for a moment. "I swear that I have never knelt to a king", he then said with a subtle smirk, noticing Lena rolling her eyes, and both Leo and Andar Wells chuckling softly at his words. "Cheeky", Leo commented with a smirk, before taking a sip, and the other three quickly followed.
"You probably won't be able to say that for much longer", Yoren said as he was done drinking. "That is if you wish to gain King Yorick's support, of course."
"That is the plan," Emerson replied calmly, feeling slightly nervous for what was to come.
"Let's just forget kings and lords for a moment and have some fun, alright?" Andar said with a sigh, and they all agreed. And so they spent the rest of the evening, drinking and having fun.
-
Emerson woke up to the door of his chambers being knocked on. Rubbing his eyes and yawning, he raised to a sitting position and noticed the sun shining in from the window, and the breakfast that had been left on his small table. "Emerson?" He heard the voice of Lord Terren as the door was knocked again.
"Just a moment!" He yelled as he got up from his bed and gathered his clothes. Finally, he walked to the door and opened it, seeing Lord Terren standing there in his fine clothes, a calm and sharp expression on his face. "Had a pleasant evening, aye?" He asked with a smile, and Emerson nodded.
"Yeah, I... we had some wine", he said with a sigh, to which Terren chuckled softly. "It's alright, lad", he said, tapping Emerson lightly on the shoulder. "Eat your breakfast and get ready, we continue our ride towards Yronwood today."
"Understood", Emerson said with a nod, just barely managing to suppress another yawn.
"See you soon", Terren quipped, before closing the door. With a tired sigh Emerson walked to the table and ate his breakfast. After this he packed all his stuff and made his way out of the chambers. Arriving to the courtyard he saw Yoren already mounted on his horse, as well as a dozen Wells soldiers and Lena, while Terren was still conversing with Lord Olyvar and Lady Mina. Emerson walked to them, looking at Leo and Andar, who stood next to their parents.
"If you join forces with King Yorick, I'm sure we'll meet again soon, buddy", Leo said with a smirk, and Emerson nodded to his words. Then, Lord Olyvar approached him and grabbed his hand. "Emerson Allyrion, it was an honor to have you here in our halls", he said with a wide grin on his face.
"I should thank you for your hospitality, my lord", Emerson said politely, but Olyvar just bridled humorously at his words. "The Lord of Godsgrace deserves all the hospitality we can offer", he said with a wink, tapping Emerson on the shoulder. He nodded to the lord once more, before walking away.
Mounting his horse, Emerson glared at Lena with some confusion. "What are you doing?" He asked with a tired tone on his voice.
"I'll escort you to Yronwood, genius", Lena quipped with a sarcastic tone, before galloping out of the gate with a smirk on her face.
-
They made their camp on that evening where the desert was starting to turn to steppe, and the Red Mountains could already be seen on the horizon. "We should reach Yronwood by tomorrow afternoon", Terren said as he noticed Emerson looking at the sun setting behind the mountains. Emerson glanced at the Jordayne lord, who smiled at him softly. "Are you nervous?" He asked with a friendly and humorous tone.
"No, it's just... I keep hearing about King Yorick, and the more I hear, the more I question if he is a good man," Emerson said quietly, and the smile faded from Lord Terren's face. He took in a deep breath before responding. "King Yorick is a great man, a man with a lot of power, and even more ambition," Terren began calmly, gazing at the distance as he spoke. "However, he is still just a man. And just like any other man he has his weaknesses, insecurities and doubts. He simply hides all these things from the world, which makes him appear as strong and determined, even ruthless, to both his allies and his enemies. Because of this some people think he is devoid of emotion, having no compassion or love for anyone. However, I have known Yorick since we were both just kids, and I know better. They say that power corrupts even the best of us, and perhaps that is true even with Yorick, but I also know that under his cold and heavy crown he is still a good man. Earn his respect, Emerson, and you will never find a more trustworthy and caring friend."
"And what will it take for me to earn his respect?" Emerson asked sharply. Terren considered his answer for a moment, a subtle smirk forming on his face. "You must impress him, and prove your loyalty towards him", he said, putting his hand on Emerson's shoulder. "But don't worry about it too much. At first, all you need to do is be respectful towards him. Later on, you will surely be given a chance to prove yourself."
"In battle?" Emerson asked quietly, and Terren nodded. "In battle, and outside of it," he responded smoothly. "Because if you are to rule Godsgrace one day, you must be capable in both areas." As he said this, Terren removed his hand from Emerson's shoulder, and looked at him once more. "Get some rest, tomorrow will be a long day."
As Terren began to walk towards his own tent, Emerson also turned to look at his, letting out a tired sigh. With lazy steps he walked to his tent, and as he stepped in he saw something he wasn't expecting. Lena was there, lying on his fur blanket. As she noticed Emerson entering the tent, she got back up on her feet, and approached him with a playful smirk on her face.
"What are you doing in-", Emerson's sentence was cut off by Lena putting her finger against his lips. "Quiet, boy", she said with a voice that managed to be mocking and seducing at the same time. And before Emerson could say anything more, Lena pushed her lips against his. Feeling her soft lips, part of Emerson wanted to just stay there, and keep kissing her forever. However, another part of him felt that it was wrong, and so he pulled himself away from her. "Why are you doing this?" He asked with a confused tone, and Lena slid her left hand on his thigh. "I want to know if you are a man, Emerson", she said playfully, before kissing him again, while her other hand found its way under his shirt.
Emerson was overtaken by a rush of excitement, but there was also something else creeping in the back of his mind. He was nervous, and uncertain. Emerson had never been with a woman, and he wasn't sure if he would be able to satisfy Lena. Having lived his childhood as a bastard, he also didn't want to accidentally father one himself. So, as Lena started to undress him, he knew he had to make a decision now, and live with the consequences.
[Stop Lena] [Keep kissing her]
-
Dalia
After a few days of traveling through the desert under the blazing Dornish sun, the group of six led by Dalia and Desirea reached the river Scourge. The river was running low here due to the summer, so low that each of them could cross it without getting their knees wet. Nonetheless, it offered them a great spot to rest, and refill their flasks with water.
While Kris, Belan and the freed slave who called himself Hangman started to set up the camp for the night, Dalia approached Desi and Minesa, who were standing by the water, looking towards the north. "Are you sure we are going to the right direction?" She asked calmly, and her daughter took in a deep breath, uncertainty in her eyes. "I can never be sure, mother", she admitted quietly. "However, I have to trust in the guidance that R'hllor has given me, and that guidance has led me to believe we must continue north until we reach the sea."
"And then?" Dalia asked, but now it was Minesa who answered. "And then we face our enemy", the older red priestess said with a bleak tone, a stern glare in her eyes. "Just like your daughter, I have seen the warriors of darkness as I've looked into the flames. They stand by the sea, their hands are stained with blood, and a storm surrounds them. We will have to defeat them and make the flames burn away their sinful flesh, or perish in the trying."
"We will destroy them", Dalia assured with calm determination in her words. "Why would the Lord of Light lead us to them, if not because we are fated to defeat them?" She asked, and Minesa smiled confidently to her words. Desirea's expression on the other hand remained sullen, as she gazed quietly at the river in front of them. "Because our Lord has also shown me the storm blowing out the fire", the young priestess said with quiet and fearful words. "Perhaps R'hllor isn't trying to lead us to victory, but rather warn us of defeat."
Dalia put her arm around her daughter, embracing her on a tight hug and kissing her on the forehead. "Do not fear, my child," she said softly as they separated. "Nothing in this world is as dear to me as you are, and I will protect you from anything it throws against us. You can believe in me."
Desi nodded with a gulp, and as Dalia stroked her hair, a shy smile finally formed on her face. After comforting her daughter, Dalia approached Kris, who was sitting at the sandy riverbank cleaning his shining sword while Hangman and Belan built the fire close by. Dalia sat next to Kris, looking him to the eyes. Kris didn't say anything, so she decided to speak up. "Do you regret coming with me?" She asked bluntly, to which Kris let out a dry chuckle.
"A part of me does, yes", he admitted quietly, putting his sword down and turning to look at Dalia. "I left my son and wife behind, once again, to follow the path of R'hllor. I have tried to convince myself that it was the right thing to do, but the truth is I don't know what is right or wrong anymore. For so long I saw Myra as my enemy, thinking my love for her had never been more than the influence of some dark magic, but now I know otherwise. Now I know that my love for her was always real, and that she never stopped loving me, even after I abandoned her and Nickon." After saying this, Kris let out a deep sigh and turned his eyes forward, anger taking over them. "But then there is the other part of me, the part that yearns for vengeance and blood. The part that wants to make Valerie suffer for all the pain and misery she has caused. That is why I came with you."
"Good", Dalia said sternly. "Now is the time for hatred and vengeance, for fire and blood. Valerie deserves to suffer, just like all the worshipers of the dark god." Kris nodded at her words quietly, picking up his sword again, and looking at the orange glimmer that danced on the blade magically. "I came to put an end to this madness, and that is what I will do. But after we are done, I must return to my family", he said, giving a meaningful glance at Dalia.
"I understand", Dalia responded calmly. "What was between the two of us... it wasn't meant to be", she said with a wistful sigh. "We both have our own duties to take care of, our own loved ones to protect. But before that, we have to stand together this one time, and defeat this evil once and for all."
"And that is what we shall do", Kris said, forcing a small smile on his face, which Dalia reciprocated. Then Hangman and Belan approached them, sitting down on the other side of Kris.
"What were you talking about?" Belan inquired eagerly. "Are we close to the enemy?" He asked, an intense thirst for blood in his eyes. The boy was still formally a bodyguard of Desirea, but it was easy to see that his true motive right now was to avenge his father, who had been killed by the mind-controlled Jamison Dayne back in Vaith. "We should find them once we reach the sea", Dalia answered quietly.
"The flames told you this?" Hangman asked with his coarse voice, and Dalia nodded. "They told it to my daughter, and I believe her", she answered nonchalantly.
"Is there anything else she saw in the flames?" Kris now asked, his voice quiet and serious. "Anything that would help us prepare?"
Dalia gulped subtly, turning her gaze down. They didn't know the details about Desirea's visions, about the storm, or the fire being blown out. But would it even be wise to share it with them? Dalia asked herself, wondering if it would only make them fearful and uncertain in the face of this confrontation.
Ah, two very interesting PoV's, I'm glad you decided to include both, especially as I follow Dalia's storyline with increased interest, so I gotta try and analyze the things we learned there a bit more thoroughly than usual to order my naturally confused thoughts. So, first of all, Emerson's storyline is one I could see reaching their end for this chapter quite soon, depending on wether or not you want him to join in on the coming fight at Godsgrace. I am not sure, it seems they are not fully aware of the Dryland army marching on it, but Yorick could know, in which case his next steps could be influenced by the outcome of this battle quite severely.
Meanwhile, we got Dalia and co. continue down the path and yes, I am nervous, if you allow me the understatement. We did good so far, for her, for Kris, for Gwen, just a little bit more and we might make it. Turns out, Desi has the same vision as Gwen, means both gods try to warn them of something, but I believe there should be at least one outcome to this whole situation I am happy with and it won't be the one favouring the Great Other. Desi is very alright, even Dalia is growing on me (veery slowly, because out of Team Rollmop, she has the greatest chance of actually killing Gwen), while Kris is probably the one I put most of my hopes into, as he knows what it is to be a victim of the Great Other nutjobs schemes, he can sympathize. Meanwhile, I utterly loathe Mother Minesa, who is probably my fourthmost disliked character in the story, after the much hated terrible trio. I stand neutral to Belan and Hangman, the latter of which has not given me much of an impression so far, though I am a bit concerned of the former's thirst for vengeance, whereas the latter, well, with a name like that he leaves a sour taste. Argh, just a little bit more and I am soooo utterly nervous that we screw up on the final metres
[Keep kissing her]
If I understand this correctly, he is (among other things) afraid of messing up his first time, huh? Well, he could not possibly fuck this up worse than rejecting Lena. She seems to have at least some experience, so I am sure she knows the usual ways to prevent a pregnancy, meaning I consider it extremely unlikely Emerson will father a bastard now. Let's grant him some fun, good times happen rarely enough.
[Say that you don't know]
See, I am really unsure here. It might not even factor into it at all, as I fully admit to being absolutely paranoid when it comes to this situation, with the only character from these two storylines I trust around Gwen at all being Trentan. Not even Desi has my full trust, though she is admittedly one of the better options to keep her company. So, I might be too cautious here and it could go either way with this choice, but I believe the more they know, the more nervous they will be. At this point, it should be clear that Gwen has not given in to the temptation of power the Great Other offered. She is pure, at least not less pure than Kris when he was released from Valerie's control, or Nickon after Vaith has been freed. By all accounts, she should be given a chance. However, while the true danger surely lies with the absolutely awful trio that is Aisha, Wesley and Valerie, the one way I could see the R'hllor team becoming a danger to her after all is when they overreact. If they just give her the chance to explain, it should be clear that she is on their side, a victim and not a threat. If they are nervous, people such as Belan, already giving me a somewhat trigger happy impression, could do something foolish and Gwen could pay the price for that. That is naturally the thing I want to avoid the most and while it might not factor into her fate at all (after all, there's other fates to decide as well and I still cling to the hope that our choices so far already assured her well-being), I think it cannot hurt to be cautious.
Emerson
Emerson didn't drink, and neither did anyone else. "No one admits to ever having betrayed their family?" Lena asked with a raised… more eyebrow, her gaze shifting from her brothers to Yoren, and finally to Emerson, where it lingered for a couple long seconds. However, Emerson kept on a calm and confident face, until finally Lena turned her eyes away with a sigh. "Fine, guess that means I should take a drink then", she said, and gulped down her wine.
"Your turn, Emerson", Leo said with a friendly tone, and Emerson nodded, considering his words for a moment. "I swear that I have never knelt to a king", he then said with a subtle smirk, noticing Lena rolling her eyes, and both Leo and Andar Wells chuckling softly at his words. "Cheeky", Leo commented with a smirk, before taking a sip, and the other three quickly followed.
"You probably won't be able to say that for much longer", Yoren said as he was done drinking. "That is if you wish… [view original content]
Ah, two very interesting PoV's, I'm glad you decided to include both, especially as I follow Dalia's storyline with increased interest, so I gotta try and analyze the things we learned there a bit more thoroughly than usual to order my naturally confused thoughts. So, first of all, Emerson's storyline is one I could see reaching their end for this chapter quite soon, depending on wether or not you want him to join in on the coming fight at Godsgrace. I am not sure, it seems they are not fully aware of the Dryland army marching on it, but Yorick could know, in which case his next steps could be influenced by the outcome of this battle quite severely.
Well, it's quite unlikely that Emerson will take part in the coming battle, since the Dryland armies are just a couple days of march away from Godsgrace. So, Emerson (or any other forces from the Yronwood) simply don't have enough time to intervene in any way. Whatever plans Yorick may have for Emerson and Godsgrace, will probably have to wait until Book 2. Still, there should be some fairly interesting parts coming for Emerson before the end of the book nonetheless, even though nothing close to what some other storylines will have. Like, Dalia's for example
Meanwhile, we got Dalia and co. continue down the path and yes, I am nervous, if you allow me the understatement. We did good so far, for her, for Kris, for Gwen, just a little bit more and we might make it. Turns out, Desi has the same vision as Gwen, means both gods try to warn them of something, but I believe there should be at least one outcome to this whole situation I am happy with and it won't be the one favouring the Great Other. Desi is very alright, even Dalia is growing on me (veery slowly, because out of Team Rollmop, she has the greatest chance of actually killing Gwen), while Kris is probably the one I put most of my hopes into, as he knows what it is to be a victim of the Great Other nutjobs schemes, he can sympathize. Meanwhile, I utterly loathe Mother Minesa, who is probably my fourthmost disliked character in the story, after the much hated terrible trio. I stand neutral to Belan and Hangman, the latter of which has not given me much of an impression so far, though I am a bit concerned of the former's thirst for vengeance, whereas the latter, well, with a name like that he leaves a sour taste. Argh, just a little bit more and I am soooo utterly nervous that we screw up on the final metres
Mm, understandable, the climax is looming closer and closer, and the signs aren't exactly promising a happy encounter between teams R'hllor and GO And yeah, it is the visions of Desi and Gwen that pull these two teams towards each other, both having the intent to destory their enemies. Or at least some members from both teams have that intent Belan, much like Kris, has mostly grudge against Valerie, though obviously he doesn't have any love for other members of team GO either. Hangman on the other hand, yeah, I haven't had much opportunities to define him as a character, but we will learn a bit more about him in Kris' next part. I can reveal though that he got his nickname from surviving a hanging once. He was originally called "Hanged Man" after that, but over time it shortened to Hangman. Of course he does have a real name as well though, which we will learn in the future.
Emerson
Emerson didn't drink, and neither did anyone else. "No one admits to ever having betrayed their family?" Lena asked with a raised… more eyebrow, her gaze shifting from her brothers to Yoren, and finally to Emerson, where it lingered for a couple long seconds. However, Emerson kept on a calm and confident face, until finally Lena turned her eyes away with a sigh. "Fine, guess that means I should take a drink then", she said, and gulped down her wine.
"Your turn, Emerson", Leo said with a friendly tone, and Emerson nodded, considering his words for a moment. "I swear that I have never knelt to a king", he then said with a subtle smirk, noticing Lena rolling her eyes, and both Leo and Andar Wells chuckling softly at his words. "Cheeky", Leo commented with a smirk, before taking a sip, and the other three quickly followed.
"You probably won't be able to say that for much longer", Yoren said as he was done drinking. "That is if you wish… [view original content]
Emerson
Emerson didn't drink, and neither did anyone else. "No one admits to ever having betrayed their family?" Lena asked with a raised… more eyebrow, her gaze shifting from her brothers to Yoren, and finally to Emerson, where it lingered for a couple long seconds. However, Emerson kept on a calm and confident face, until finally Lena turned her eyes away with a sigh. "Fine, guess that means I should take a drink then", she said, and gulped down her wine.
"Your turn, Emerson", Leo said with a friendly tone, and Emerson nodded, considering his words for a moment. "I swear that I have never knelt to a king", he then said with a subtle smirk, noticing Lena rolling her eyes, and both Leo and Andar Wells chuckling softly at his words. "Cheeky", Leo commented with a smirk, before taking a sip, and the other three quickly followed.
"You probably won't be able to say that for much longer", Yoren said as he was done drinking. "That is if you wish… [view original content]
[Keep kissing her] Didn't think this would progress so fast, but I'm not gonna stop them.
** [Say that you don't know]** Ignorance can be a bliss and the possibility of death while fighting the dark could demoralize them.
Emerson
Emerson didn't drink, and neither did anyone else. "No one admits to ever having betrayed their family?" Lena asked with a raised… more eyebrow, her gaze shifting from her brothers to Yoren, and finally to Emerson, where it lingered for a couple long seconds. However, Emerson kept on a calm and confident face, until finally Lena turned her eyes away with a sigh. "Fine, guess that means I should take a drink then", she said, and gulped down her wine.
"Your turn, Emerson", Leo said with a friendly tone, and Emerson nodded, considering his words for a moment. "I swear that I have never knelt to a king", he then said with a subtle smirk, noticing Lena rolling her eyes, and both Leo and Andar Wells chuckling softly at his words. "Cheeky", Leo commented with a smirk, before taking a sip, and the other three quickly followed.
"You probably won't be able to say that for much longer", Yoren said as he was done drinking. "That is if you wish… [view original content]
I agree with the others on this one, Emerson more than deserves the opportunity to have some fun and I see no reason for us to deprive him of that here.
[Tell them the details]
The way I see it, Kris while I am not too big a fan of him for obvious reasons , he along with the others deserve to know exactly what they are up against here. I don't see any of them backing out because of the details of the vision and with a very important battle for several PoV's most likely happening very soon, I feel they all need to be on the same page as much as possible with none of them underestimating exactly what they are up against or going into this battle in a reckless way especially with Valerie and her brain washed soldiers officially meeting up with Gwendis and Aisha. With this happening, Aisha and Valerie now have the numbers to go against team R'hllor which makes them even more of a threat so I think that team R'hllor definitely needs to know all of the potential danger in this situation if they want to succeed in their mission. As far as Gwendis and Trentan go, I believe if they stay out of the fighting then they should be safe and will be for certain if Aisha, Valerie, and Mordekhai are killed here.
Emerson
Emerson didn't drink, and neither did anyone else. "No one admits to ever having betrayed their family?" Lena asked with a raised… more eyebrow, her gaze shifting from her brothers to Yoren, and finally to Emerson, where it lingered for a couple long seconds. However, Emerson kept on a calm and confident face, until finally Lena turned her eyes away with a sigh. "Fine, guess that means I should take a drink then", she said, and gulped down her wine.
"Your turn, Emerson", Leo said with a friendly tone, and Emerson nodded, considering his words for a moment. "I swear that I have never knelt to a king", he then said with a subtle smirk, noticing Lena rolling her eyes, and both Leo and Andar Wells chuckling softly at his words. "Cheeky", Leo commented with a smirk, before taking a sip, and the other three quickly followed.
"You probably won't be able to say that for much longer", Yoren said as he was done drinking. "That is if you wish… [view original content]
Emerson
Emerson didn't drink, and neither did anyone else. "No one admits to ever having betrayed their family?" Lena asked with a raised… more eyebrow, her gaze shifting from her brothers to Yoren, and finally to Emerson, where it lingered for a couple long seconds. However, Emerson kept on a calm and confident face, until finally Lena turned her eyes away with a sigh. "Fine, guess that means I should take a drink then", she said, and gulped down her wine.
"Your turn, Emerson", Leo said with a friendly tone, and Emerson nodded, considering his words for a moment. "I swear that I have never knelt to a king", he then said with a subtle smirk, noticing Lena rolling her eyes, and both Leo and Andar Wells chuckling softly at his words. "Cheeky", Leo commented with a smirk, before taking a sip, and the other three quickly followed.
"You probably won't be able to say that for much longer", Yoren said as he was done drinking. "That is if you wish… [view original content]
[Keep kissing her] [Say that you don't know] It's not like they are expecting this to be a walk in the park, they know that the possibility of some death, or even total defeat, is real. Thing is, reminding of them that can be quite problematic. Someone like Belan, who's already got a lot to deal with, might interpret this as a warning to take no chances with the enemy, thus leading him to do something bad to Gwendis just to be sure the enemy has been dealt with.
Emerson
Emerson didn't drink, and neither did anyone else. "No one admits to ever having betrayed their family?" Lena asked with a raised… more eyebrow, her gaze shifting from her brothers to Yoren, and finally to Emerson, where it lingered for a couple long seconds. However, Emerson kept on a calm and confident face, until finally Lena turned her eyes away with a sigh. "Fine, guess that means I should take a drink then", she said, and gulped down her wine.
"Your turn, Emerson", Leo said with a friendly tone, and Emerson nodded, considering his words for a moment. "I swear that I have never knelt to a king", he then said with a subtle smirk, noticing Lena rolling her eyes, and both Leo and Andar Wells chuckling softly at his words. "Cheeky", Leo commented with a smirk, before taking a sip, and the other three quickly followed.
"You probably won't be able to say that for much longer", Yoren said as he was done drinking. "That is if you wish… [view original content]
[Tell them the details]
This one is a somewhat difficult choice, and I might change it in the future. Right now, they think they are only chasing Valerie. I think, it might be a good idea for them to know the details so they aren't overconfident and under prepared, for the fight. On the other hand, I don't want this to cause them to overreact, (possibly hurting or killing Gwendis or Trentan) in the future, when they encounter team GO. However, telling them of the risks in the vision might cause Belan to not be reckless when they encounter them. This is very difficult, but I think I'm going with this one.
Emerson
Emerson didn't drink, and neither did anyone else. "No one admits to ever having betrayed their family?" Lena asked with a raised… more eyebrow, her gaze shifting from her brothers to Yoren, and finally to Emerson, where it lingered for a couple long seconds. However, Emerson kept on a calm and confident face, until finally Lena turned her eyes away with a sigh. "Fine, guess that means I should take a drink then", she said, and gulped down her wine.
"Your turn, Emerson", Leo said with a friendly tone, and Emerson nodded, considering his words for a moment. "I swear that I have never knelt to a king", he then said with a subtle smirk, noticing Lena rolling her eyes, and both Leo and Andar Wells chuckling softly at his words. "Cheeky", Leo commented with a smirk, before taking a sip, and the other three quickly followed.
"You probably won't be able to say that for much longer", Yoren said as he was done drinking. "That is if you wish… [view original content]
So, Emerson will keep kissing Lena, no surprises there. Obviously this isn't a super important choice, but it will affect the relationship of Emerson and Lena going forward.
Aand, then we have a tie... damn it Well, I'll have to go with the choice that got 4 votes first, meaning that Dalia will say that she doesn't know, hoping that this way Kris and the rest will be less nervous going into this confrontation against the worshipers of GO.
Next up, we'll have an Isabella part and a Naemon part. They are both almost ready, just need to do some finishing touches. For recap, Isabella is on her way towards Starfall to marry Jamison, and right now she is in Oasis Castle with her brother Desmor, as well as Cassana Blackpool and Soren Ashford. Last time the news about Ferris' death arrived there, and Desmor wanted to leave so he could avenge their brother. However, you chose for Isabella to ask her brother to stay. And as for Naemon, he is on his mission to find and destroy what is left of Karsan Taller's rebellion. The rebels are hiding in the lands of House Oakswood, and Naemon & co. are about to go after them. Last time Naemon had to make a strategical choice, and he decided to keep the forces together, instead of splitting them up to smaller groups.
Isabella rushed to hug her brother, sinking her face against his shoulder, tears running down from her cheeks to Desmor's tunic. "I don't want you to leave me", she managed to utter under her tears, before separating from Desmor and looking him weakly to the eyes. The expression on Desmor's face had softened, the anger now replaced with grief and empathy, as he let out a sigh and turned his gaze up. "I know you want to avenge our brother, trust me, I understand, but I need you to stay with me now", Isabella pleaded with a weak and shaky voice. Desmor lowered his eyes to look at her again, and by now there was no trace left of the anger that had consumed him just a few short moments ago.
"I won't leave you, Bella", he assured quietly, hugging her again. For a moment they stayed there in silence, and no words were needed. They shared the same pain, the same grief, but they could at least rely on each other in this moment of despair. "Thank you, brother", Isabella finally mumbled quietly, and Desmor patted her gently on the back as they separated from the hug.
"I... I think I need some rest", Desmor muttered, and Isabella could see that he was clearly holding back tears. "I'll see you soon", he added quietly, and Isabella nodded approvingly. Without any more words, Desmor walked out of the room.
-
Isabella sat at the garden by the oasis, Cassana sitting next to her, the handmaiden's arm around the princess to comfort her. Isabella's eyes were red from crying, and Cassana looked at her with sympathy, patiently listening to all her woes, while Ser Soren stood in guard a dozen feet behind them.
"More than anything, I feel sorry for Dana and Matthos", Isabella said, tears streaming down her face. "The poor boy will have to grow up without a father", she said, her voice breaking during the last words. Cassana stroked her in a gentle and soothing manner, an understanding look in her eyes. "Do not worry, my princess, I am sure Prince Matthos will still grow up to be a great man", she tried to console her, but it did little to make Isabella feel any better.
"Ferris didn't deserve to die like this", she said, a touch of anger in her words as she attempted to wipe away her tears. "He was a good man, and deserved so much more from this life", she continued, now letting out a painful sigh.
"Perhaps the gods took him because they were jealous, and wanted such a great man join them in the heavens", Cassana suggested sweetly, and Isabella couldn't help but chuckle quietly under her tears. However, the moment of levity was gone as quickly as it came, replaced once again by grief and anger. "If only it had been the gods who took him", Isabella said grimly. "But it wasn't the gods, it was wicked men, evil men who will burn in the deepest of the seven hells once they die." Isabella noticed that she was clenching her fists in anger as she spoke. Though she had never even seen King Albin, right now she imagined him dying in most gruesome ways possible. This brought her pleasure, if only for a short moment.
"I agree", the calm voice of Soren Ashford said suddenly, which made both Isabella and Cassana shift their gaze to him. "Albin Manwoody will burn in the deepest hell, as will all those who served him." There was a touch of uncharacteristic anger in the words of the Reachman knight who was usually so friendly and stoic. "The war is not over, and I promise you that the day will come when the Manwoody's will pay for their crimes. It may take years, but I know your father will not rest until Albin is dead."
Isabella nodded to Soren's words, feeling now at least slightly more confident that justice would be served in time. At least she wanted to believe it, but part of her feared that Garrison was getting too old and weak to defeat Albin. And even if he would, it wouldn't bring back Ferris. His death was a loss that they all had to carry in their hearts from now on, to the end of their lives.
Raising her gaze up, Isabella noticed something strange on the other side of the oasis. An old white-haired and -bearded man dressed in simple blue clothes was being escorted towards the keep. He looked like a peasant, or a poor merchant at best, yet half a dozen guards of House Drinkwater surrounded him, and it didn't look like he was a prisoner either. Happy for any distraction from the grief, Isabella stood up and followed after this strange old man. Soren and Cassana shared a confused glance, before quickly following after Isabella.
Walking in from the gates to the courtyard, Isabella saw Lady Darinna approaching the old man with a warm smile on her face. Surprisingly she even took a few running steps as she rushed to hug the old bearded man. "Wylie, you came!" Darinna exclaimed, her usual calm and authoritative mannerism gone, replaced by excitement and joy more fitting for a young girl. The old man chuckled warmly as he hugged the old lady, tapping her gently on the back. "Of course I came. You invited me, old friend", he responded with a peaceful voice that oozed of wisdom and experience. "I apologize for taking so long. The journey was hard, and this land is filled with war."
"There is no need to apologize, dear friend", Darinna said, almost crying tears of joy as she spoke. "It is a great honor to have you here again, after all these years."
Now this Wylie turned towards Isabella, Cassana and Soren, who had made their way to the side of the courtyard. The look on the old man's turquoise eyes was surprisingly sharp, as he eyed each of them. "I see you have guests", he said softly, and Darinna nodded, only now noticing that they were there. "Ah yes, let me introduce you to them", she said, and they approached each other. "This is Princess Isabella Fowler, the daughter of King Garrison, as well as her handmaiden Cassana Blackpool and guard Soren Ashford." They all nodded politely to Wylie, who reciprocated the gesture. "And this is Wylie, a healer, and a very old friend of mine", Darinna continued, speaking to Isabella now.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, princess", Wylie said politely, and Isabella smiled thinly, still uncertain what to think of this man. "I see that you have cried, is everything alright?" The old man asked with a soft and gentle tone. Isabella tried to find words, but ended up just gulping, so it was Darinna who spoke up. "Tragic news recently arrived from Skyreach", she explained calmly. "Prince Ferris, the older brother of Princess Isabella, was murdered by servants of House Manwoody."
Isabella felt the tears welling up again, and she had to turn her gaze down and clench her teeth to prevent herself from breaking into tears again. However, Wylie gently grabbed her hand, and looked her to the eyes as he spoke up with an emphatic tone. "Do not be ashamed of your tears, princess," he said, taking in a deep breath. "A wound from the battlefield must be cleaned and stitched up quickly, but the only way to tend a wound left by the loss of a loved one is to let it bleed. For if you refuse to cry today, you will simply cry some other day, be it months or years later. Such is the way of grief. So, let you tears flow freely, for as long as they need to, and I promise you that someday your wound will be nothing but a pale scar, and you will be happy again."
"Th-thank you", Isabella stuttered, genuinely grateful for this stranger's encouraging words, a single tear rolling down her cheek now. "You are welcome, sweet princess", Wylie replied softly, before turning towards Darinna again. "So, you said in your letter that you need my advice", he said with a small sigh, and Darinna nodded. "Come with me", she said quietly. "It is something we should discuss in private."
Wylie gave one more glance at Isabella, before following Darinna inside the keep.
-
Next morning, Isabella walked out to the courtyard with Cassana, and the whole court had gathered there to give their goodbyes for the royal guests. Immediately Isabella noticed that Desmor was talking with Arianne, and they were holding hands. Darianne and Wylie stood close to them, as well as Maron, Elyra and Waldemar, while Raewyn was getting the horses ready with Ser Soren. Lord Jared Drinkwater on the other hand stood on the other side of the courtyard with his wife and son, looking at this all with a stern frown on his face.
"I'll come back for you", Isabella heard Desmor saying to Arianne as she walked past them to approach Lady Darinna.
"I wanted to thank you for your hospitality, my lady", Isabella said with a kind and polite tone, bowing to Darinna, who smiled at her words. "It has been an honor, my princess", she responded with a sincere tone. "It is a shame that these tragic news soured the mood of your important journey, but I suppose that's what life is always like. It gives with one hand, and takes with the other. Nonetheless, I wish you well on your new life in Starfall, and want you to know that you are always welcome here in Oasis Castle."
"Thank you, my lady", Isabella replied with a thin smile, as Raewyn walked next to her. "Alright then, princess, let's get moving", she said, gesturing for Isabella to come after her. "I'll be escorting you through the desert, it's easy to get lost there," Raewyn explained calmly as they arrived to the horses.
Raewyn and Soren helped both Isabella and Cassana on their mounts, and finally Desmor got around to separating from Arianne as well. He mounted his own horse, and turned to look at Isabella with a soft smile on his face. "To Starfall", he said calmly, and Isabella nodded. The gates were opened, and Isabella turned her gaze forward. Despite the pain that was still in her heart from the loss of Ferris, she felt hopeful for tomorrow.
No decision.
-
Naemon
It was the second dusk after they had left from Oakswood, and following the traces of the rebels had finally led them somewhere. Sadly, it was merely an abandoned camp.
"They have left with haste", Ser Edwyn Oakswood observed as they walked through the camp. It was true, they had left behind a pile of ashy logs where their fire had been, as well as some stolen goods they apparently thought wasn't worth carrying around any longer. Pots, bowls, spoons, goblets and other miscellaneous items. "They've noticed us", Malcolm deduced with a sigh.
"Bloody cowards", Alester cursed, kicking one of the pots in frustration. "They can't be far ahead", he added sternly, and Naemon nodded in agreement.
"But it's almost night, there is no knowing how far away they'll be by tomorrow", Davos remarked quietly. For a moment no one said anything, and the Upton troops began to put up the camp for the night.
"Stop", Naemon commanded suddenly, and everyone shifted their attention to him. "We won't make a camp here", he said calmly, and they all looked at him with confusion. "No, we will keep going, through the night. They haven't had time to cover their tracks, so we should be able to keep following them even in the night."
A wide grin formed on Alester's face, and he approached Naemon, tapping him on the shoulder. "I think that is a wonderful idea, Prince Naemon", he complimented, before turning towards his troops. "You heard the Prince, we'll keep marching!"
"Hopefully it'll work", Naemon muttered under his breath.
-
In the light of the dawn the two hundred Upton troops stood atop a ridge, looking down on the small pond that the rebels had made their camp around. They had caught them off guard, and the camp was now in complete panic, with some of the rebels attempting to form a line of defense, while others just ran away to the woods.
Alester and Edwyn stood in front of the troops, ready to lead them to battle, while Naemon sat on his horse behind the lines with Davos and Malcolm. His eyes shifted through the camp, wondering which one of the rebels could be Karsan Taller. Perhaps it was one of the men standing in defense, or perhaps it was one of the escaping ones.
"Brothers, show no mercy!" Alester roared to his soldiers, raising his sword up as he spoke, a bloodthirsty grin on his face. "Kill every single outlaw you can, take no prisoners! Attack!"
Then, as the troops led by Alester and Edwyn overwhelmed the rebel defenders, Naemon saw it. On the other side of the camp, dozens of feet away from the fighting, one man was mounting a horse. He was better dressed than anyone else among the rebels, and there were even two men helping him to get on his horse, like he was their leader. That has to be Karsan, Naemon deduced. Without saying a word, he sprinted past the fighting and after the man whom he suspected to be Karsan. Glancing back, Naemon saw Davos and Malcolm coming after him.
Karsan noticed him as well, and quickly began to ride towards north, following a small path in the woods. Being a couple dozen feet behind him, Naemon shouted from the bottom of his lungs. "Karsan Taller, stop right there! In the name of the King!"
Of course Karsan didn't stop, and soon all the sounds of the battle at the camp faded away, as the chase continued further and further north. They were very close to the border of the Reach by now, Naemon knew it, but he wouldn't let that stop him. He hadn't come all the way here just to give up. This was his mission, and he would see it to its end. Naemon kept his eyes at the back of Karsan.
Riding down a hill, the path turned gradually to left, going towards a small river where the forest ended. As they got closer to the river, suddenly Davos Dayne appeared with his horse from the woods, leaving Karsan between him and Naemon. He took a shortcut through the forest, Naemon realized, a satisfied grin forming on his face. Karsan halted, and attempted to escape to the forest himself, but Naemon caught up to him now, and pulled him down from his horse.
There Karsan Taller was, lying alone on a small forest road middle of nowhere. He stood up with a painful grunt, and raised up his sword. However, seeing that he was surrounded by three mounted warriors, the defiance and fury quickly faded from his eyes, replaced by grim realization, and he dropped his sword.
Naemon dismounted his horse now, and picked up the sword that Karsan had dropped. "Karsan Taller", he said calmly, and the bearded man with long and sweaty brown hair nodded. "I am", he confirmed grimly.
"I am Prince Naemon Blackmont, the heir of King Benedict Blackmont", Naemon introduced himself casually, handing Karsan's sword to Davos. "Blackmont, eh?" Karsan exclaimed with some surprise. "Would've never guessed that a prince would get me. Oh well, you've won, Blackmont. Congratulations", he said with an exaggeratedly theatrical bow.
"You stand accused of treason", Naemon stated nonchalantly. "The punishment is death."
"Aye, you want to kill me now, I get it", Karsan said with a dry chuckle, to which Naemon frowned. "It's not about what I want, it's what has to be done", he protested sternly. "A crime warrants a punishment; the King's law must be enforced."
"You've already defeated my rebellion, and slaughtered all the men that followed me", Karsan said with a deep sigh. "And those men followed me, because they no longer believed in the King and his law. You put an end to their freedom, because you saw them as a sickness pestering your precious kingdom. However, the truth is that they were merely a symptom, and the sickness starts from that grand castle of yours."
"I know my father isn't a good king, but that doesn't change the fact that you are a bad man, and many innocents have suffered because of your deeds", Naemon said, now raising up his sword and pointing Karsan with it. The man just chuckled and shook his head. "And what do you know of that, prince?" He asked quietly. "Have you witnessed any of these deeds?"
"I saw the state that you left Gravesend in", Naemon responded immediately, and for a moment a hint of regret could be seen in Karsan's eyes. "Aye, things there got ugly, I admit", he said with a subtle gulp. "It was war, and we believed we were fighting for a good cause."
"On your knees", Naemon commanded quietly, and Karsan obeyed, turning his eyes to look at him once more. "Killing me is useless, prince", he said nonchalantly. "I am nothing now, just a man who lost everything. But the sickness hasn't gone anywhere, and there will be more men like me." With these words he put his head down, ready for Naemon's swing. However, the prince was hesitating. The punishment for treason is death, Naemon knew it, but still he struggled to do it. Does he really have to die? He asked himself, looking at Karsan. After all, he wasn't the root cause of what had happened, and right now he was just a man with no power. He wasn't a threat anymore, so the only reason to kill him would be to punish him.
Silence lingered in the forest, and Naemon felt the eyes of Davos and Malcolm on his back as he raised his sword. He had made his choice.
Isabella
Isabella rushed to hug her brother, sinking her face against his shoulder, tears running down from her cheeks to Desmor's tunic.… more "I don't want you to leave me", she managed to utter under her tears, before separating from Desmor and looking him weakly to the eyes. The expression on Desmor's face had softened, the anger now replaced with grief and empathy, as he let out a sigh and turned his gaze up. "I know you want to avenge our brother, trust me, I understand, but I need you to stay with me now", Isabella pleaded with a weak and shaky voice. Desmor lowered his eyes to look at her again, and by now there was no trace left of the anger that had consumed him just a few short moments ago.
"I won't leave you, Bella", he assured quietly, hugging her again. For a moment they stayed there in silence, and no words were needed. They shared the same pain, the same grief, but they could at least rely on each other in this moment of desp… [view original content]
[Kill Karsan] Unless you're planning on making Naemon more ruthless, executing a man who committed a grave crime against the kingdom is the punishment. And I doubt other rulers of the setting would do the same.
You're right, for most noblemen in Westeros this would be an obvious choice, they would of course execute Karsan for his treason. Naemon however isn't really fond of killing, and in this moment he sees killing Karsan almost pointless. He is not a threat any longer, so the only reasons to kill him now would be to enfore the King's law and give him the punishment his crimes warrant. However, Naemon is the kind of guy who gravitates more towards mercy than punishment, and the King whose law he would be passing by the execution is of course his father Benedict, whom he kind of despises at the moment.
Obviously this is a character development choice more than anything, but with that I don't mean to imply that choosing to kill Karsan would make Naemon suddenly an extremely ruthless and cold-blooded killer. If anything, the experience would harden him a bit, and make him a bit more accepting of the idea of killing.
[Kill Karsan] Unless you're planning on making Naemon more ruthless, executing a man who committed a grave crime against the kingdom is the punishment. And I doubt other rulers of the setting would do the same.
Isabella
Isabella rushed to hug her brother, sinking her face against his shoulder, tears running down from her cheeks to Desmor's tunic.… more "I don't want you to leave me", she managed to utter under her tears, before separating from Desmor and looking him weakly to the eyes. The expression on Desmor's face had softened, the anger now replaced with grief and empathy, as he let out a sigh and turned his gaze up. "I know you want to avenge our brother, trust me, I understand, but I need you to stay with me now", Isabella pleaded with a weak and shaky voice. Desmor lowered his eyes to look at her again, and by now there was no trace left of the anger that had consumed him just a few short moments ago.
"I won't leave you, Bella", he assured quietly, hugging her again. For a moment they stayed there in silence, and no words were needed. They shared the same pain, the same grief, but they could at least rely on each other in this moment of desp… [view original content]
Ah, Wylie has returned! I knew we'd see the old man again, but I am really curious where his destination lies in the story. He has travelled to Oasis Castle now, making me believe it'll be the northwestern parts of Dorne he aims for, either Starfall or Blackmont, but from there on? I got not a single clue, though I have the feeling we haven't seen the last of him. Maybe we have seen the last of him in this book, but I expect his journey coming closer to his mysterious goal in Book 2.
And also, eat shit, Karsan! Hah, that was satisfying I knew Naemon had it in him and now the world saw as well at last. I doubt he'll ever have what it takes, but this is a good first step to improve on what he has, as well as an important step for him to grow into his own person. Albeit I had to notice, the rebels apparently noticed the approaching army. Probably not surprising, but you know, I have this distrust towards Edwyn and as such, I can't help but have the paranoid suspicion that he is behind this, that he warned the rebels of the approaching army. Then again, they are large enough that them being noticed isn't an unusual thing. Still though, Edwyn is giving me Chapter 1 Aisha vibes, if in a far less extreme way, in that he is this shady person whom I am always switching my mind on. I can only hope that unlike Aisha, I ultimately will not hate every single aspect about him I can think of, but really, if there is one thing I can say about him, it's that he has a talent of doing stuff that can be interpreted as helpful, while also somehow remaining shady XD
[Let him go]
I'm following a slightly different approach here. First of all, I am fine with killing Karsan here and in fact, this was my initial urge, but you know me, I'd be nothing if not paranoid and overanalyzing. At times, I analyze too much, probably making myself more worried than I must be, but at other times, this is what I believe is actually going to help me picking the right choice. Not that killing Karsan is a bad choice, I could see him surviving coming as something negative later on, if he decides to restart his rebellion. He did so once, what's going to stop him from doing so again? However, the reason why I still decide to keep him alive is because I do not want to create a martyr. Just imagine this, he died here and half a dozen men rise in his stead, all claiming to continue Karsan's work. He was ultimately more of a nuisance than a true threat, someone who believed himself to be more capable than he truly is and as a result, he got crushed the moment someone competent dealt with him. I have every reason to believe that Naemon, or maybe Gwendis, or at best even both, are properly skilled to handle him time and time again if he decides that this act of mercy is not enough to earn his loyalty. However, if we kill him now and he becomes a martyr, this could cause even larger problems for the kingdom and its future ruler. That is pretty much the only reason I pick this. Trust me, Karsan deserves to be punished and if there would be an option to take him prisoner, I'd pick it, but between killing him and getting rid of what ultimately was a nuisance or sparing him and preventing him from dying a martyr's death, I slightly lean in favour of the latter.
Isabella
Isabella rushed to hug her brother, sinking her face against his shoulder, tears running down from her cheeks to Desmor's tunic.… more "I don't want you to leave me", she managed to utter under her tears, before separating from Desmor and looking him weakly to the eyes. The expression on Desmor's face had softened, the anger now replaced with grief and empathy, as he let out a sigh and turned his gaze up. "I know you want to avenge our brother, trust me, I understand, but I need you to stay with me now", Isabella pleaded with a weak and shaky voice. Desmor lowered his eyes to look at her again, and by now there was no trace left of the anger that had consumed him just a few short moments ago.
"I won't leave you, Bella", he assured quietly, hugging her again. For a moment they stayed there in silence, and no words were needed. They shared the same pain, the same grief, but they could at least rely on each other in this moment of desp… [view original content]
Ah, Wylie has returned! I knew we'd see the old man again, but I am really curious where his destination lies in the story. He has travelled to Oasis Castle now, making me believe it'll be the northwestern parts of Dorne he aims for, either Starfall or Blackmont, but from there on? I got not a single clue, though I have the feeling we haven't seen the last of him. Maybe we have seen the last of him in this book, but I expect his journey coming closer to his mysterious goal in Book 2.
I can actually reveal that Oasis Castle is Wylie's destination, since he was summoned there by Lady Darinna, to help her with something. But nonetheless, you are correct in that we haven't seen the last of him. He won't be coming a main character or anything, but we will indeed learn a bit more about why he is in Dorne in Book 2.
And also, eat shit, Karsan! Hah, that was satisfying I knew Naemon had it in him and now the world saw as well at last. I doubt he'll ever have what it takes, but this is a good first step to improve on what he has, as well as an important step for him to grow into his own person. Albeit I had to notice, the rebels apparently noticed the approaching army. Probably not surprising, but you know, I have this distrust towards Edwyn and as such, I can't help but have the paranoid suspicion that he is behind this, that he warned the rebels of the approaching army. Then again, they are large enough that them being noticed isn't an unusual thing. Still though, Edwyn is giving me Chapter 1 Aisha vibes, if in a far less extreme way, in that he is this shady person whom I am always switching my mind on. I can only hope that unlike Aisha, I ultimately will not hate every single aspect about him I can think of, but really, if there is one thing I can say about him, it's that he has a talent of doing stuff that can be interpreted as helpful, while also somehow remaining shady XD
Indeed, Naemon claimed a big W here, putting an end to Karsan's rebellion. Benedict will surely be proud, even if his approval isn't really what Naemon is seeking right now. And I'd say Naemon's whole Book 1 storyline has been mostly revolved around him growing as a person, and that growth will surely continue going forward. As for the rebels noticing them, I can confirm that this was because of the strategy they chose. Had they split up they would've found the rebels faster, but the battle itself would've been a bit harder. That said, the most important consequence of choosing the other strategy would've been that not only Davos and Malcolm but also Alester and Edwyn would've been present when Naemon would've made this choice regarding Karsan, giving more pressure to kill him. Now if he decides to spare Karsan, Alester and Edwyn will have no idea, unless Davos or Malcolm rats him out, which is unlikely.
I'm following a slightly different approach here. First of all, I am fine with killing Karsan here and in fact, this was my initial urge, but you know me, I'd be nothing if not paranoid and overanalyzing. At times, I analyze too much, probably making myself more worried than I must be, but at other times, this is what I believe is actually going to help me picking the right choice. Not that killing Karsan is a bad choice, I could see him surviving coming as something negative later on, if he decides to restart his rebellion. He did so once, what's going to stop him from doing so again? However, the reason why I still decide to keep him alive is because I do not want to create a martyr. Just imagine this, he died here and half a dozen men rise in his stead, all claiming to continue Karsan's work. He was ultimately more of a nuisance than a true threat, someone who believed himself to be more capable than he truly is and as a result, he got crushed the moment someone competent dealt with him. I have every reason to believe that Naemon, or maybe Gwendis, or at best even both, are properly skilled to handle him time and time again if he decides that this act of mercy is not enough to earn his loyalty. However, if we kill him now and he becomes a martyr, this could cause even larger problems for the kingdom and its future ruler. That is pretty much the only reason I pick this. Trust me, Karsan deserves to be punished and if there would be an option to take him prisoner, I'd pick it, but between killing him and getting rid of what ultimately was a nuisance or sparing him and preventing him from dying a martyr's death, I slightly lean in favour of the latter.
Interesting thoughts there for sure, and I can comment on some of them at least. You bring up the possibility that if left alive, Karsan could just start gathering supporters again, and it is true, that is a possibility. However, it would be really hard for him, because he would have to start from zero support, whereas last time he had his little gang to start with. Then there is also the fact that people will probably be less willing to join him this time since he already failed once. I can also reveal that if spared, Karsan would at first travel to Reach. Whether he'd ever come back to Dorne or not, who knows. He does believe though that rebellions on Kingdom of Blackmont won't end with him being killed (or exiled for that matter), because the people aren't happy with their king. So, you might be onto something there with the martyr speculation. And as for imprisoning him, I'll admit I didn't consider that option, but thinking about it now, I'm pretty sure it would just lead to him being executed anyway. I mean, if Naemon brings a traitor to Blackmont in chains, Benedict will just arrange a public execution for that traitor.
Ah, Wylie has returned! I knew we'd see the old man again, but I am really curious where his destination lies in the story. He has travelled… more to Oasis Castle now, making me believe it'll be the northwestern parts of Dorne he aims for, either Starfall or Blackmont, but from there on? I got not a single clue, though I have the feeling we haven't seen the last of him. Maybe we have seen the last of him in this book, but I expect his journey coming closer to his mysterious goal in Book 2.
And also, eat shit, Karsan! Hah, that was satisfying I knew Naemon had it in him and now the world saw as well at last. I doubt he'll ever have what it takes, but this is a good first step to improve on what he has, as well as an important step for him to grow into his own person. Albeit I had to notice, the rebels apparently noticed the approaching army. Probably not surprising, but you know, I have this distrust towards Edwyn and as such, I can't help but h… [view original content]
[Kill Karsan] He committed a crime and there should be punishment for it, that's the way things go. If he lets Karsan live here, I imagine there's a chance that other people such as him would rise again with ease, knowing that the kingdom would let them live if only they pleaded nicely enough. If Naemon ever wishes to be a king, he has to learn how to make harsh choices, one does not go without the other.
Isabella
Isabella rushed to hug her brother, sinking her face against his shoulder, tears running down from her cheeks to Desmor's tunic.… more "I don't want you to leave me", she managed to utter under her tears, before separating from Desmor and looking him weakly to the eyes. The expression on Desmor's face had softened, the anger now replaced with grief and empathy, as he let out a sigh and turned his gaze up. "I know you want to avenge our brother, trust me, I understand, but I need you to stay with me now", Isabella pleaded with a weak and shaky voice. Desmor lowered his eyes to look at her again, and by now there was no trace left of the anger that had consumed him just a few short moments ago.
"I won't leave you, Bella", he assured quietly, hugging her again. For a moment they stayed there in silence, and no words were needed. They shared the same pain, the same grief, but they could at least rely on each other in this moment of desp… [view original content]
That is true, having no fear of punishment could indeed increase other people's willingness to rebel against the Blackmont's. That said, if spared Karsan would head to the Reach, so the only people in Dorne knowing about this act of mercy would be Naemon, Davos and Malcolm. At least unless Karsan decides to come back some day. And it should also be noted that most of the rebels did get slaughtered by Alester's troops, which itself probably should be enough to discourage most people from rebelling for a while.
[Kill Karsan] He committed a crime and there should be punishment for it, that's the way things go. If he lets Karsan live here, I imagine t… morehere's a chance that other people such as him would rise again with ease, knowing that the kingdom would let them live if only they pleaded nicely enough. If Naemon ever wishes to be a king, he has to learn how to make harsh choices, one does not go without the other.
First off with the Isabella part, seeing the scene that came from it, I'm definitely glad that the asking Desmor to stay option won. This is definitely a very emotional time for the both of them and with Isabella breaking down like she did, she definitely needs someone to share her grief with and I believe this choice is definitely the best for Desmor too. Also, it looks like Desmor has convinced Arianne to marry him. Go Desmor! I am definitely excited to see Isabella arrive in Starfall and I am especially intrigued to learn what Wylie's big plan is moving forward!
As for the Naemon part, I am going to vote for Naemon to [Let him go]. Like most of the others, I had planned on voting for Naemon to kill Karsan but Liquid's argument definitely convinced me on this one. This part confirmed that Karsan Taller was very much nowhere near powerful enough for his rebellion to succeed and in one moment, his entire following has basically been annihilated and he has been caught with his life in Naemon's hands. It's pretty clear that he was indeed just a nuisance and with this victory, Naemon accomplished what he set out to do and that was to end Karsan's rebellion. Killing Karsan could very well be yet another spark which could lead to another smallfolk uprising and next time it could very well be on a larger scale. Plus I feel this choice fits well with the choices we have made for Naemon so far and while Naemon won't be able to avoid killing forever, I feel this is one time he can get away with not killing with minimal repercussions since I don't think Karsan will be a threat again. At the same time though, I'm not against Naemon killing Karsan either since it would definitely guarantee that we would get no trouble from him ever again. On a side note though, man Alester's part was really epic here! When he lead his men to battle with that battle cry, I definitely got hyped reading it
Isabella
Isabella rushed to hug her brother, sinking her face against his shoulder, tears running down from her cheeks to Desmor's tunic.… more "I don't want you to leave me", she managed to utter under her tears, before separating from Desmor and looking him weakly to the eyes. The expression on Desmor's face had softened, the anger now replaced with grief and empathy, as he let out a sigh and turned his gaze up. "I know you want to avenge our brother, trust me, I understand, but I need you to stay with me now", Isabella pleaded with a weak and shaky voice. Desmor lowered his eyes to look at her again, and by now there was no trace left of the anger that had consumed him just a few short moments ago.
"I won't leave you, Bella", he assured quietly, hugging her again. For a moment they stayed there in silence, and no words were needed. They shared the same pain, the same grief, but they could at least rely on each other in this moment of desp… [view original content]
First off with the Isabella part, seeing the scene that came from it, I'm definitely glad that the asking Desmor to stay option won. This is definitely a very emotional time for the both of them and with Isabella breaking down like she did, she definitely needs someone to share her grief with and I believe this choice is definitely the best for Desmor too. Also, it looks like Desmor has convinced Arianne to marry him. Go Desmor! I am definitely excited to see Isabella arrive in Starfall and I am especially intrigued to learn what Wylie's big plan is moving forward!
Yeah, I think it's safe to say that asking for Desmor to stay was the better choice here His first impulse was to rush back to avenge his brother, but Isabella straight up saying that she needs him right now sort of made him stop and think, and realize that supporting his surviving sibling is at least equally important as avenging Ferris, if not more so. And like you said, staying is for Desmor's own good as well. And managing to convince Arianne is another positive consequence here. Well, basically Desmor had already managed to convince her earlier, but if he had left, he would've missed Arianne actually accepting the proposal. But as it is now, it indeed seems like Desmor and Arianne are getting married in the near future.
Like most of the others, I had planned on voting for Naemon to kill Karsan but Liquid's argument definitely convinced me on this one. This part confirmed that Karsan Taller was very much nowhere near powerful enough for his rebellion to succeed and in one moment, his entire following has basically been annihilated and he has been caught with his life in Naemon's hands. It's pretty clear that he was indeed just a nuisance and with this victory, Naemon accomplished what he set out to do and that was to end Karsan's rebellion. Killing Karsan could very well be yet another spark which could lead to another smallfolk uprising and next time it could very well be on a larger scale. Plus I feel this choice fits well with the choices we have made for Naemon so far and while Naemon won't be able to avoid killing forever, I feel this is one time he can get away with not killing with minimal repercussions since I don't think Karsan will be a threat again. At the same time though, I'm not against Naemon killing Karsan either since it would definitely guarantee that we would get no trouble from him ever again. On a side note though, man Alester's part was really epic here! When he lead his men to battle with that battle cry, I definitely got hyped reading it
Indeed, Karsan's rebellion was never really a threat in the large scale of things. The reason it was even as big of a nuisance as it was is the fact that Blackmont armies had marched to war, leaving the kingdom with less authority to keep things in control. All it took in the end was one (fairly small) professionally trained army from the Kingdom of Torrentine to squash Karsan and his band of rebels. That said, his numbers were notably larger back in Gravesend, and at this point only his most loyal followers were still with him. And as I said to Liquid, it is indeed possible that some other rebels could use the death of Karsan to elevate him as a martyr. Though in all fairness, they might still do that even if Naemon spares him, because Karsan would still be presumed dead by everyone except Naemon, Davos and Malcolm. So, where does that leave us? Well, I'd say this is first and foremost a character building choice, and the possible effects outside of that are harder to predict Oh, and I'm glad to hear you liked that bit with Alester! It was actually something I added while proofreading the part, as I felt Alester needed to have a bit more of a presence in that scene.
First off with the Isabella part, seeing the scene that came from it, I'm definitely glad that the asking Desmor to stay option won. This is… more definitely a very emotional time for the both of them and with Isabella breaking down like she did, she definitely needs someone to share her grief with and I believe this choice is definitely the best for Desmor too. Also, it looks like Desmor has convinced Arianne to marry him. Go Desmor! I am definitely excited to see Isabella arrive in Starfall and I am especially intrigued to learn what Wylie's big plan is moving forward!
As for the Naemon part, I am going to vote for Naemon to [Let him go]. Like most of the others, I had planned on voting for Naemon to kill Karsan but Liquid's argument definitely convinced me on this one. This part confirmed that Karsan Taller was very much nowhere near powerful enough for his rebellion to succeed and in one moment, his entire following has basically been annih… [view original content]
Isabella
Isabella rushed to hug her brother, sinking her face against his shoulder, tears running down from her cheeks to Desmor's tunic.… more "I don't want you to leave me", she managed to utter under her tears, before separating from Desmor and looking him weakly to the eyes. The expression on Desmor's face had softened, the anger now replaced with grief and empathy, as he let out a sigh and turned his gaze up. "I know you want to avenge our brother, trust me, I understand, but I need you to stay with me now", Isabella pleaded with a weak and shaky voice. Desmor lowered his eyes to look at her again, and by now there was no trace left of the anger that had consumed him just a few short moments ago.
"I won't leave you, Bella", he assured quietly, hugging her again. For a moment they stayed there in silence, and no words were needed. They shared the same pain, the same grief, but they could at least rely on each other in this moment of desp… [view original content]
So, Naemon will kill Karsan. As I've said, this is primarly a character building choice, factoring into how Naemon will evolve going forward. Don't worry though, this doesn't mean Naemon will turn into a cold and ruthless killer, just hardens him up a bit.
And next up, we will return to Godsgrace, in form of two PoVs, Nymeria and Nealia. These are quite important parts, and will together show us the Martell-Dryland battle. And since this is a very important event, I want to make sure I'm 100% satisfied with these parts before posting them, which means it'll probably take until tomorrow before they'll be ready. It should be worth the wait though! I don't think there is much need for a recap, but I will remind that Nealia's latest part ended in her deciding to ask Lien if she'd be willing to come to Starfall with her when she leaves the Rose Company behind. I'll show Lien's answer to this in the part, but it will mostly concentrate on the battle.
"The enemy forces will be here in a day," Princess Nymeria informed her council. Ibraim D'un with his desert tribe had returned from scouting earlier that morning. The savages had gone against Nymeria's orders and raided the camp of the attackers in the night, destroying some of their supplies and murdering many soldiers in their sleep. Ibraim even dropped a severed head of a Dryland knight on the floor of Nymeria's office when reporting to her. "A battle is ahead of us, and we must decide how are we going to face the Dryland army when they arrive."
"The Fallen Dragons won't be here soon enough to aid us in the battle," Mors stated with a quiet and calm tone. "However, if we can withhold a siege for just a couple days, the Dryland's will be stuck between us and Valor Veltaris."
"I doubt the Dryland's will try to starve us," Varyn said grimly. "They have a long march behind them, and they lost supplies to the tribesmen. Most likely they will be aggressive and try to breach the walls and gates, taking the city with assault as quickly as they can."
"Let them try, Godsgrace has strong walls and sturdy gates," Esperence Allyrion said confidently, her younger brother Emmett nodding next to her in agreement. "I don't doubt that, mylady, but they have a large army to throw against them," Varyn responded sternly. "Defending the walls will be a hard task, and even a small leak in defense will bring the battle to the streets. Safe to say that wouldn't be the ideal way to begin your rulership over this city," Varyn looked at both Nymeria and Esperence as he said this.
"What do you think we should do then, general?" Nymeria asked calmly, a slight touch of frustration in her words. "Your Grace, I believe we should position our army by the bridge, and prevent the Dryland's from crossing the Greenblood," Varyn suggested with his stern and humorless tone.
"A battle by the bridge," Nymeria stated with a pondering tone, and the general nodded. "That is where I believe we would have the biggest advantage," he said calmly. "All fighting will happen on the bridge, and they will have no way to flank us. We will build barricades and set up a line of spearmen at the northern end of the bridge to prevent them from charging in with their cavalry, and as they send their infantry to clear the way, we rain arrows upon them. They may have the advantage in numbers, but attacking the bridge will be so hard and costly that those numbers will quickly diminish."
"And if they decide to wait instead of attacking, they will once again be stuck between us and the Fallen Dragons," Mors concluded, a subtle smirk forming on his face.
"Indeed", Varyn said with a nod. "It will still be hard, and hundreds will die, but at least the townsfolk will not be in danger."
"I like you idea, General Varyn", Nymeria stated calmly, standing up from her seat. "Begin the preparations immediately."
-
In the noon of the next the day, two massive armies stood on the opposite sides of the river, the stony bridge between them. The Godsgrace Bridge was wide enough for two carts or a dozen men to go side by side, and about two hundred feet long. They had built and set up wooden spiked barricades at the end of the bridge, and behind them stood three lines of spearmen with tall shields. Leading the spearmen was Ser Arnol of Greenblood. Behind the spearmen were the sellswords and tribesmen, ready to pick apart any enemy infantry that would make its way through the lines of spearmen. Behind the sellswords and on the riverbanks around the bridge were the archers. And finally, atop a small dusty hill overlooking all of this was the cavalry led by Nymeria, Mors and the rest of their royal guard, ready to charge in if the first line of defense were to break. And of course, by their side were also the infantry reinforcements led by General Varyn.
Looking at the other side of the river, Nymeria could tell that the enemy outnumbered them. Perhaps that wouldn't have been the case had she not sent away the Santagar's and Ladybright's, but it was too late to regret that now. Nymeria saw banners of House Dryland, as well as Uller and Vaith, but also many black banners with red sun, which apparently belonged to the sellsword company that King Lucifer had hired. And at the first line of the enemy army was a well-organized unit of about seventy infantrymen, all dressed in grey uniforms and spiked helmets, armed with small round shields and spears. Unsullied, Nymeria recognized. She had never seen them in battle, but she had heard of their reputation as unyielding and fearless soldiers.
Then, three riders made their way to the middle of the bridge, carrying a white banner. "I suppose they want to negotiate", Mors stated nervously. Beside him was his young squire Cason Bloodspill, who looked absolutely terrified. "Your Grace, this could be a trap", warned General Varyn, and Nymeria nodded.
"It could be, but I doubt it", she said calmly. "Edd, Nesea, Jadisha, Boran, you come with me. Mors, if something happens to me, you will take charge." With these words the princess began to approach the bridge, surrounded by her guards and the spymaster Edd Prally. The troops made way for them, and moved the barricades slightly so they could get past them onto the bridge. Close to the barricades they had scattered dry hay on the bridge, and poured oil on it. The hay crackled quietly under the hooves as Nymeria and her entourage rode over it.
"On the left is Harbert Uller, the heir of Lord Harrion Uller", Edd whispered to Nymeria as they approached the enemy leaders, nodding at the lightly armored man with long black hair and strong jawline. "On the right is Lord Jorvian Gargalen, but I do not know the man in the middle", he added.
Jorvian Gargalen was the oldest of them, a stern-looking middle-aged man, while the man in the middle was the youngest of the three, even if still older than Nymeria. He didn't exactly look like a Dornish nobleman, and since even Edd didn't recognize him, Nymeria deduced he had to be the leader of the sellsword company.
They stopped a dozen feet away from the enemy leaders, and for a moment silence lingered in the air. "So, you must be Princess Nymeria of Rhoyne", Harbert Uller spoke up with his deep and coarse voice, a smirk on his face. "What a pity to meet such a beautiful lady in such... grim circumstances."
Ignoring the man's flattery, Nymeria spoke up. "We will not surrender, and I will not revoke my claim to Godsgrace", she said sternly.
"But it is more than just Godsgrace that you are after, isn't it?" Lord Jorvian now spoke up, a cold glare in his eyes. With a thin smirk, Nymeria nodded. "Indeed, Lord Gargalen", she confirmed quietly. "My dream is to unite all of Dorne under one banner, and you can still join me in realizing that dream."
"Join you?" He asked with a mocking tone, shaking his head. "I will never join you, you are a foreign invader, here to tear down legacy of the families that have ruled Dorne for centuries."
"So be it", Nymeria said coldly. "But I will let you know that my ally Valor Veltaris has already taken Salt Shore, and holds your family as hostages." Jorvian's eyes widened in shock for a moment, until he chuckled nervously and shook his head. "You are attempting to deceive me, princess", he said, anger oozing from his words. "But I do not believe you! This day... this day will go down to history as the day that your reign ended." With these words Lord Jorvian turned around and rode back to his troops.
"Apologies, princess, our intention was to negotiate for a possible peaceful solution", the man in the middle now said. "By the way, I am Mizro the Sharp, acting commander of the Wild Suns. As I was saying, we can offer you fair terms of surrender, and no one has to die. You can even keep your crown and rule the lands on the eastern shore."
"You heard me earlier, Mizro the Sharp, I do not intend to stand down without a fight", Nymeria repeated calmly, and the sellsword leader nodded with a sigh. "My reinforcements will be here in a few days, so if you wish to defeat me, you better make haste", she added coldly, before turning around and riding away.
As she rode back past her troops, Nymeria felt her heart beating wildly. Hundreds, perhaps thousands were about to die, because of the war she had started. Nothing can ever be achieved without sacrifice, she thought grimly, as she reached the top of the hill again, and turned to look towards the bridge that would soon be turned into a battlefield.
No decision.
-
Nealia
"I was thinking...", Nealia started to say, but hesitated, and Lien raised her eyebrows curiously. "What, Nealia?" She asked softly.
"That maybe you could come with me to Starfall", Nealia finally managed to utter, shrugging apologetically as she said it. "Just a thought", she added shyly. Lien smiled sweetly, but there was also uncertainty in her eyes.
"That would mean leaving my sister behind", she said quietly, and Nealia nodded hastily. "I know, it was a stupid idea..."
"No", Lien cut her off. "I'll think about it. I don't need to decide right now, do I?" She asked with a humorous tone, and Nealia let out a relieved chuckle. "No, of course not", she said quickly, and they both smiled.
"For now, I think we should focus on the battle ahead", Lien said now, and the smile faded from Nealia's face. "Aye, the battle", she replied with a sigh, and Lien put a hand on her shoulder.
"We'll make it through", she said softly. "Together."
-
The Dornish sun burned bright on the blue sky above Godsgrace, and under it stood two armies on the opposite sides of Greenblood, between them a stony bridge. The Rose Company and other sellswords hired by the Martell's stood behind the first line of defense, which was three lines of Martell and Allyrion spearmen. The leaders of the armies had met at the middle of the bridge to negotiate, but no peaceful solution was to be found – a battle was ahead of them.
Nealia stood next to Lien and Ying, Manda and Sarina being right behind them. She could see Tryden ahead, standing right behind the lines of spearmen with the White Elephant and Jinora Ling. Jacke, Broden and Fenn were also near them, and right behind them were Edric Thorne and Gauron Aerarys. Nealia closed her eyes for a moment, taking in a deep breath to calm down. Aside from the occasional muttering and clanking of the weapons and armor, it was dead silent. The calm before the storm, Nealia thought grimly, glancing at the friends around her.
Then, the silence was broken by the enemy leaders shouting their commands at the other side of the river, and about thirty Unsullied soldiers began to march towards the bridge in wedge formation. They advanced slowly on the bridge, keeping their shields up and staying strictly in formation, despite the arrows of the Rhoynar archers taking down few of them. As they got closer to the northern end of the bridge, flaming arrows were shot on their feet, setting ablaze the oiled hay that had been scattered there.
Even the Unsullied couldn't keep formation in the flames. Many of them died in the fire, others leaped down from the bridge to Greenblood where they drowned, and about a dozen of them managed to retreat back to the southern end of the bridge to wait for the fires to go down. There were also a few of them that kept charging forward despite the flames, but they were taken down quickly by the spearmen and archers.
A minute or two passed before the flames died down, and another set of Unsullied formed up and started advancing towards the defenders. The Martell's had played their trick with the fire, and now their line of defense would get its first real test. The Unsullied marched forward despite the rain of arrows falling on them, stepping over the bodies of their fallen comrades, step by step getting closer to the barricades and the spearmen behind them.
As the Unsullied finally reached the northern end of the bridge, there were about twenty of them left. They stayed in formation, tearing down the barricades, while the Martell defenders harassed them with their spears. In span of a few minutes every single one of the Unsullied died, and not a single one of them retreated. Nonetheless, they had managed to do notable damage to the barricades, as well as kill about a dozen of the defenders.
Now another kind of infantry unit charged towards the bridge. There were more of them, close to a hundred, and they advanced in a loose formation, screaming from the bottom of their lungs as they charged. They were lightly armored, and many of them were double wielding either axes or arakhs. The volleys of arrows took down many of them on the way, but several dozens of them still made it to the northern end of the bridge, where they faced the Martell spearmen.
Steel hitting wood and steel, screams of agony, the smell of blood. Nealia and the rest of the Rose Company witnessed all of this from behind, standing on their post, waiting for the attackers to get through. Meanwhile, the enemy had moved a unit of archers at the southern end of the bridge, and they were now shooting volleys upon the spearmen to support the attackers.
Eventually a few of the attackers did indeed manage to slip through the first line of defense, but they were quickly cut down by Tryden and the White Elephant. These men weren't quite as unyielding as the Unsullied, and upon noticing that their numbers had diminished to under twenty troops, most of them started running back towards the southern end of the bridge. Some made it, others got a spear or an arrow to their back. Then, one more unit of infantry approached the bridge, this time spearmen in tabards of House Gargalen.
"Brace yourselves, this is when the battle truly begins", Manda said sternly. She wasn't wrong. By now the barricades has been completely torn down, and the first line of defense had weakened under first waves of attack. The Gargalen spearmen stopped a couple dozen feet away from the defenders, and the first line of attackers threw their spears. Most of the spears simply smashed against the tall shields of the defenders, but few slipped past and took down a defender. The second line of attackers stepped forward, and threw their spears, once again taking down a couple of the defenders. This was repeated three more times, all the while the archers on the southern end of the bridge kept shooting volleys on the defenders, until the sixth line of the attackers decided to charge instead of throwing their spears.
This was when the battle started to get truly chaotic and bloody. The defenders did their best to keep the attackers on the bridge, but the pressure was rising, as well as the pile of bodies. This was when Nealia unsheathed her words, glancing at Lien and Ying who did the same. While the attackers were about to break through the first line of defense, Nealia noticed the Martell's moving their cavalry on the eastern flank, while the infantry reinforcements moved on the western flank – the bridge and its defenders between them.
However, Nealia's attention was quickly shifted away from this, as the Gargalen troops finally pushed through the defenders, now charging against the sellswords and tribesmen. Lien and Ying on her flanks, Nealia rushed into the battle. The first enemy she came across had been injured, limping as he approached Nealia. He roared and swung his sword desperately at Nealia, but she deflected it with her left sword, and stabbed him on the stomach with the other blade. The man fell on his knees, wailing in pain, and Ying ended it by slashing his throat open.
As they kept pushing towards the bridge, Nealia saw Fenn and Tryden standing there back to back, surrounded by enemies. Tryden was hacking some poor Gargalen soldier to pieces with his battleaxe, while Fenn impaled another one with his greatsword. Manda charged into help them, as did many other members of the Rose Company. Soon the attackers were overwhelmed, and had to retreat back to the bridge. The White Elephant chase down the retreating attackers together with Jinora and bunch of the tribesmen.
The attackers had been overwhelmed and pushed back, but they had broken the Martell's first line of defense, and taken down a considerable number of their forces. As the sellswords and tribesmen began to re-establish the defensive line on the northern end of the bridge, they realized what the next move of the attackers would be. Cavalry of more than hundred riders carrying the banners of Dryland, Gargalen and Uller approached the southern end of the bridge. "Oh fuck", Ying muttered grimly. They all picked spears from the ground and formed up, waiting for the cavalry to charge. With the barricades and spearmen gone, all that was in the way of the enemy riders now was a poorly organized line of sellswords and tribesmen.
"Forward, Children of the Sun!" Nealia heard the leader of the enemy cavalry roaring at the other end of the bridge, and so they charged forward with thunderous battle cries. The sound of the hooves striking against the stone of the bridge filled the world for a moment, and then the riders crashed against the defenders, turning the world around Nealia into a pit of chaos and blood. She wasn't even sure what hit her, but she stumbled on her back, loosing grip of the spear, as a dead body fell on top of her. She heard screams of pain from both men and horses all around her, she was stuck, and could hardly breath. Gathering all her strength, Nealia pushed the dead body away, and crawled to grab her spear. As she was about to get back on her feet, she saw an enemy rider charging right towards her. However, just as she thought she'd be crushed, an arrow landed on the head of the horse, and in crumbled down just a few feet away from her.
Nealia got quickly back up on her feet, and rushed towards the fallen horse. The rider was still alive, crushed and stuck under his dead mount, couching blood. Nealia eyed him for a few seconds with pity, before granting him the mercy of death.
The enemy cavalry had rushed through the sellswords and tribesmen, and was now rallying at the small hill north of the bridge, while the rest of their infantry was starting to advance towards the bridge from the south. The Dryland cavalry had three choices, it could either challenge the Martell cavalry on the eastern flank or the infantry reinforcements on the western flank, or it could charge right back towards the bridge, leaving the sellswords and tribesmen stuck between them and the advancing infantry.
The choice was not left for them though, as Nymeria made the first move. The Martell cavalry was on the move, and charged towards the Dryland cavalry. However, Nealia had no time concentrate on that, as the diminished force of sellswords and tribesmen formed up once again to defend the northern end of the bridge. "We hold the bridge!" Tryden roared, and the troops obeyed and stayed at their post, even if the advancing infantry force outnumbered them at least three to one.
Nealia made her way to the second line, right behind Tryden and Fenn, her lower back and upper left leg aching with every step. At this point she couldn't see Lien or Ying anywhere, but she pushed that out of her mind, concentrating solely on the approaching enemy. Looking further towards the bridge though, she spotted the dead bodies of the White Elephant, Jacke and Broden, lying among the dozens and dozens of lifeless corpses. None of them had been close to her, but it was a disheartening sight nonetheless.
"Forward!" Tryden commanded, and so they started marching towards the middle of the bridge, where they would face the enemy. Stepping over the bodies, blood spalshing under her boots, Nealia was convinced that she was marching towards her death. As they clashed with the enemy, all Nealia could think of in the middle of cacophony of the battle was that she would take down as many of them as she could. She parried, thrusted, swung, over and over again, and more enemies just kept pouring towards her. Finally, one of the enemy blades hit her, stabbing her on the lower abdomen, and sending her to stumble down behind the first line of defense.
There she laid, on top of dead bodies, gazing at the blazing sun above her with squinted eyes, sure that any moment now the defense would be overwhelmed and she'd be trampled to death by the attackers. Minutes went by as she laid there half-conscious, and the sounds of battle were faint, almost like in a dream.
Then, suddenly she heard cheers, louder and louder. Forcing to tilt her head up, she saw the attackers retreating from the bridge. As she turned around to look towards north, she saw the reason. The Martell's had defeated the Dryland cavalry, and now marched on the bridge, led by Princess Nymeria herself.
"Victory!" Was the last thing Nealia heard, before finally passing out.
The first major victory of Nymeria, but at what cost for the Rose Company, and the friends of the White Elephant.
Shame for the Unsullied, but they did what they were bred for.
Nymeria
"The enemy forces will be here in a day," Princess Nymeria informed her council. Ibraim D'un with his desert tribe had returned f… morerom scouting earlier that morning. The savages had gone against Nymeria's orders and raided the camp of the attackers in the night, destroying some of their supplies and murdering many soldiers in their sleep. Ibraim even dropped a severed head of a Dryland knight on the floor of Nymeria's office when reporting to her. "A battle is ahead of us, and we must decide how are we going to face the Dryland army when they arrive."
"The Fallen Dragons won't be here soon enough to aid us in the battle," Mors stated with a quiet and calm tone. "However, if we can withhold a siege for just a couple days, the Dryland's will be stuck between us and Valor Veltaris."
"I doubt the Dryland's will try to starve us," Varyn said grimly. "They have a long march behind them, and they lost supplies to the tribesmen. Most l… [view original content]
Whoa... this definitely did not go as I thought and I'm quite a bit shocked right now. I mean, not the outcome of the battle in general, but you know, Nealia. Her part was absolutely brutal and crushing. I am glad Ying and Lien likely survived, but holy shit, Nealia. Seeing the White Elephant, Jacke and Broden all dead would have been enough to shock me already, because of how fast it all went. Particularly the White Elephant was so strangely intriguing as a character that I would have been willing to bet that he would live to Book 2 and I couldn't have been more wrong. But Nealia herself, oh man, that one caught me absolutely by surprise. Thing is, I am not sure if she is dead, because we all know, the rule is nobody is dead until we see their actual dead body, but her chances are horrible. She is alone, bleeding out from a wound that could easily kill her on its own, many of her allies are dead, we don't know if those that care for her are still alive and if they are, we don't know if they are anywhere near her and she needs immediate medical attention to survive this. The silver lining is Nymeria herself, who probably has an interest in saving the wounded, but it all comes down to if Nealia can be saved at all, because abdominal wounds are nothing to take lightly. I remain carefully optimistic that she will survive, because Nealia is among the PoV's I consider the least likely to die before Book 2 due to the potential a reunion with her family could provide. However, I have been wrong before and am probably wrong with a majority of my assumptions to begin with, so I am not certain and that makes me nervous. If anything, this part pretty much proved that it's on, absolutely everyone can die in these next couple of parts and that is something I really dread. If not even Nealia is safe, then I have to rethink some speculation I considered quite likely before. The battle itself was awesome though, brutal, but awesome, even if I was surprised that Nymeria managed to win already. I wonder if Lucifer is truly defeated, or if he manages to regroup and become a threat once more. So far, Valor hasn't even been needed to turn the tides, which was the true surprise here, so if Lucifer cannot beat Nymeria on her own, his chances will turn even worse once the reinforcements arrive. I guess this alone could seal Lucifer's fate, as his lords might be less loyal to him now that he has lost what was supposed to be the easier part of the battle. Jorvian Gargalen might switch sides for the good of his family, if he realizes that Nym was not bluffing, Harrion Uller could turn against Lucifer since his victory becomes less and less likely. But well, oh well, I am scared for Nealia and since I was previously so certain she would live for sure, I am also growing more and more concerned for those I already am concerned for. Argh, the finale of this chapter is really shaping up to be super intense and I am already on the edge of my seat.
Nymeria
"The enemy forces will be here in a day," Princess Nymeria informed her council. Ibraim D'un with his desert tribe had returned f… morerom scouting earlier that morning. The savages had gone against Nymeria's orders and raided the camp of the attackers in the night, destroying some of their supplies and murdering many soldiers in their sleep. Ibraim even dropped a severed head of a Dryland knight on the floor of Nymeria's office when reporting to her. "A battle is ahead of us, and we must decide how are we going to face the Dryland army when they arrive."
"The Fallen Dragons won't be here soon enough to aid us in the battle," Mors stated with a quiet and calm tone. "However, if we can withhold a siege for just a couple days, the Dryland's will be stuck between us and Valor Veltaris."
"I doubt the Dryland's will try to starve us," Varyn said grimly. "They have a long march behind them, and they lost supplies to the tribesmen. Most l… [view original content]
Whoa... this definitely did not go as I thought and I'm quite a bit shocked right now. I mean, not the outcome of the battle in general, but you know, Nealia. Her part was absolutely brutal and crushing. I am glad Ying and Lien likely survived, but holy shit, Nealia. Seeing the White Elephant, Jacke and Broden all dead would have been enough to shock me already, because of how fast it all went. Particularly the White Elephant was so strangely intriguing as a character that I would have been willing to bet that he would live to Book 2 and I couldn't have been more wrong. But Nealia herself, oh man, that one caught me absolutely by surprise. Thing is, I am not sure if she is dead, because we all know, the rule is nobody is dead until we see their actual dead body, but her chances are horrible. She is alone, bleeding out from a wound that could easily kill her on its own, many of her allies are dead, we don't know if those that care for her are still alive and if they are, we don't know if they are anywhere near her and she needs immediate medical attention to survive this.
Indeed, Nealia is in quite a critical condition, and had the battle continued for much longer she would've had no hope of surviving. Now, if she is spotted and given first aid quickly enough, she might still have a chance to pull through. I can at least confirm that she is not dead at the end of this part. And yep, White Elephant is dead, leaving his small group without a leader. This was actually the reason I chose to kill him in particular here - it puts the other characters from his group in a situation where they have to choose what to do next, whom to follow, etc. He was a quite intriguing character, and it's clear he has a lot of interesting adventures behind him, but tbh there wasn't that much he had to offer narratively to NW. Jacke and Broden on the other hand, well, they are tough losses for Tryden and the Rose Company. Broden especially, since he is probably the closest thing Tryden has to an actual friend, and after Illor's death he was the second-in-command for the Rose Company.
The battle itself was awesome though, brutal, but awesome, even if I was surprised that Nymeria managed to win already. I wonder if Lucifer is truly defeated, or if he manages to regroup and become a threat once more. So far, Valor hasn't even been needed to turn the tides, which was the true surprise here, so if Lucifer cannot beat Nymeria on her own, his chances will turn even worse once the reinforcements arrive. I guess this alone could seal Lucifer's fate, as his lords might be less loyal to him now that he has lost what was supposed to be the easier part of the battle. Jorvian Gargalen might switch sides for the good of his family, if he realizes that Nym was not bluffing, Harrion Uller could turn against Lucifer since his victory becomes less and less likely. But well, oh well, I am scared for Nealia and since I was previously so certain she would live for sure, I am also growing more and more concerned for those I already am concerned for. Argh, the finale of this chapter is really shaping up to be super intense and I am already on the edge of my seat.
Ah, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I had a blast planning and then writing this battle, especially since it was quite different from what we've had so far in NW. I would say it was definitely the most brutal battle of the story so far, and will probably remain that at least until later parts of Book 2. But yeah, what really determined the outcome of this battle was the advantage that defending the bridge gave to the Martell's. The Dryland's had the numbers, but they simply had to sacrifice too much to get through that first line of defense. Normally it would've been smarter for the Dryland's to just wait and not engage, perhaps even retreat and find an alternative route, but they were pressed on time here because of the Fallen Dragons, as well as the fact that they were running out of supplies because of the earlier raid by the Hyenas. Anyway, you have some good speculation there, and let's just say that the next Nymeria part will concentrate on the aftermath of this battle, which should give you a lot of answers regarding how will the war continue from here.
Comments
Ortheg
"I went to see the oracle yesterday," Ortheg said quietly, to which Tanya raised her eyebrow. "The one who just arrived to the court with those septons and septas?" She asked calmly, and Ortheg nodded. "Well, why did you go to them?"
"For answers," Ortheg answered quietly, letting out a nervous chuckle. "What answers?" Tanya asked, a confused and concerned expression on her face.
"I wanted to know if would be a knight one day," Ortheg said with a slightly embarrassed tone. "And I wanted to know if my... if our father would be proud of me." Tanya let out a sigh and closed her eyes for a moment. As she opened them, she patted Ortheg gently on his shoulder. "Well, what did the oracle and her septons tell you?" She asked softly.
"They said that I would be a knight and find greatness, but the path to that greatness would be paved with bones and blood, and I would have to ask the forgiveness of the gods many times," he said with a gulp, wondering if he should even take these words seriously. "As for father, they said that he might be watching me, but I would never hear his praise, or see his eyes."
"You didn’t have to go for the oracle to talk about these thing, little brother," Tanya said with a gentle and caring tone, putting her hand lightly against his arm. "If you want to know more about father, you can always ask me," she said with a soft smile on her face. "And as for your future, I'll make sure you will be a knight, and a bloody good one at that."
"Thank you, sister," Ortheg said with a genuine tone, and Tanya patted him on the back before taking a couple steps back. "Now, pick up the sword and we'll continue," she commanded sharply.
-
The whole royal family, as well as the rest of the court stood on the courtyard when the gates were opened, and a convoy in the colors of House Vass rode in. There were couple dozens of them, and they were led by a young woman with a long black hair that she wore in a thick braid. Ortheg estimated the girl to be about the same age as he was. They dismounted their horses, and the young lady fell on her knee in front of King Yorick, her soldiers quickly following the example. "Your Grace, I have arrived as you commanded," the lady said with a humble tone.
"Stand," the King commanded nonchalantly, and the young lady and her soldiers obeyed. "Laina Vass, it is a pleasure to see you of course, but my invitation was for your father. Where is Lord Barris?"
"I'm afraid he has recently fallen ill, Your Grace, which is why he couldn't come himself," Laina Vass explained calmly, and Yorick nodded to her. "Understandable," he said dryly, now eyeing at the soldiers behind the young lady. "Did you at least bring the man I asked you to bring?"
"Carsen, step forward," Laina commanded softly, and a tall and muscular man stepped forward from the line of soldiers. He removed his helmet, revealing a long and ugly face, made only uglier by the nasty burn scar under his left eye. This was when Willem Pyke rushed out of the crowd, his eyes oozing of anger as he stopped just a few feet away from Carsen, who towered him by a head.
"You're the man who murdered and raped my sister," Willem said, his voice shaking as he looked Carsen to the eyes. Carsen let out a cold laughter, and Willem unsheathed his sword. "Stop!" Yorick roared, and the whole courtyard fell silent. After a moment, Willem sheathed his sword again, and turned towards King Yorick. "You promised me to bring this man to justice," he said sternly, and Yorick nodded.
"Carsen, you've heard what this man, Willem Pyke, is accusing you of. Do you admit to the crime?" Yorick asked, taking a step closer to the man. Carsen shook his head. "It is entirely possible that I have fucked his sister, I did visit the Iron Isles some time ago," he said with a subtle smirk on his face. "But I don't recall raping anyone, or murdering. Your Grace, why should you trust an Ironborn's word anyway? They rape and murder as they please themselves, they have no right to judge anyone."
"He may be an Ironborn, but he is still a son of a nobleman," Yorick stated sternly. "If a nobleman's son from another kingdom claims that a man serving me or one of my vassals has raped and murdered their sister, it is an accusation that I must take seriously. And he has also provided an eye-witness to the crime, who has vowed to men in the name of all the gods that he saw you commit the crime. Now, what do you have to offer as an evidence of your innocence?"
"The gods can prove my innocence, Your Grace," Carsen answered confidently, now turning his eyes to Willem Pyke again, a scornful look in them. "I will fight a trial by combat against this man, if it pleases you."
"Do you agree to this, Willem Pyke?" Yorick asked, and the Ironborn nodded. "I do," he said sternly, anger oozing from his words as he glared at Carsen.
"It is settled then," Yorick said with a satisfied smirk on his face. "The trial will be held by tomorrow noon on this courtyard. Until then, the accused will be kept in the cells. Lady Laina, you are invited to dinner with my family tonight." With these words Yorick turned around and walked back towards the keep, most of his family following quickly after him, while the soldiers shackled Carsen and started to drag him towards the cells. Ortheg noticed Laina Vass and Prince Trevyr eyeing at each other for a prolonged moment, before finally Trevyr turned around and followed after his father.
"People here are going to treat this duel like it's entertainment," Tanya suddenly said, which made Ortheg shift his attention back to her. "Well, a duel to the death... I must admit, it is a pretty fascinating thing to see," he replied quietly, and his half-sister chuckled.
"Aye, but for this man it is vengeance for his sister's life," she said, nodding subtly towards Willem Pyke who still stood at the middle of the courtyard. "True, but I doubt he cares much about what people here think of it. At least I wouldn't, in his position," Ortheg pointed out, and Tanya nodded.
"I suppose you're right," she said with a sigh. "Well, no training for tomorrow then."
-
Next day the court of Yronwood had once again gathered to the courtyard. A small wooden platform with a canopy and chairs had been set up for King Yorick and his family, where they could observe the trial in a relaxed manner, while the rest of the court had to stand. Ortheg, Artos and Tanya stood right next to the platform. Listening to the chatter around the courtyard, Ortheg could hear many of the soldiers and knights placing their bets over the victor against each other. Tanya was right, this is entertainment for these people.
Willem Pyke stood already in the middle of the courtyard, armed with a sword and shield, and clad in a chainmail and a half-helm. A horn was blown once, as Carsen was escorted to the ring. He was similarly armed and armored as the Ironborn bastard, and Ortheg noticed the vicious and bloodthirsty grin on his face.
Maester Symon walked between the fighters, facing the King. "This is the trial by combat between Willem Pyke of Saltcliffe, and the accused, Carsen of Watersmeet," he announced with powerful and formal tone on his voice, glancing at both of the fighters as he spoke. "May the Warrior strike down the accused if he is guilty, and protect him if he is innocent." With these words the maester walked to the platform, where he stood behind the King.
The horn was blown again, and with a furious battlecry Willem charged against Carsen. Carsen blocked the first strike with his shield, and took a step back. He struck himself from above, but Willem managed to deflect the blade away with his shield. Quickly the Ironborn warrior took a sidestep, and attempted to thrust his sword from below Carsen's shield. He succeeded in that, but there wasn't enough strength behind his thrust to penetrate the chainmail, and Carsen smashed Willem in the face with his shield, sending him staggering back.
Now it was Carsen who charged with a mighty roar. He struck hard, but Willem had managed to find his stance and parried the strike with his shield, quickly going for a counterattack. Willem's swing landed on Carsen's head, but the helmet saved him, and he was able to step away from Willem to regain his composure.
"You will die today, Carsen!" Willem roared, banging his sword against his shield. Carsen chuckled coldly, proceeding to remove his dented helmet, and throwing it away. "Come on then, bastard," he replied with his coarse voice, and Willem charged again.
Their swords clashed against each other with a shrill noise. After that they smashed their shields against each other, which resulted in Willem falling on his back. Carsen tried to strike him while he was down, but the Ironborn warrior rolled away quickly, and got back up on his feet. However, Carsen charged towards him again, and this time his strike landed on Willem's right shoulder, cutting through the chainmail.
Willem grunted in pain, but managed to also hit Carsen with his shield, which gave him time to recoup. Ortheg saw blood dripping down from Willem's fresh wound, and judging by the vicious grin on his face, Carsen noticed it as well. The big man swung again and again, oozing of confidence, and Willem kept blocking the strikes with his shield, looking more and more tired every time Carsen's sword slammed against the shield. He tried to strike back a few times, but Carsen parried his weak efforts with ease.
Finally one of Carsen's swings slipped past Willem's shield, and cut across his chest, sending him to the ground. There he laid with a pained expression, letting go of his shield. Carsen walked closer to Willem, twiddling the sword on his hand. He stepped right next to him, moving his blade a foot above Willem's face. "Your sister was a bitch," Carsen mocked with a gleeful grin on his face.
Anger rekindled in Willem's face, and with an animalistic roar he stabbed Carsen straight onto crotch, before getting back on his feet. Carsen screamed in agony, but Willem showed him no mercy. He charged in once more, and opened Carsen's skull with his final swing.
Carsen fell to the ground, dead, while Willem remained standing, if only barely. Silence lingered in the courtyard, until King Yorick spoke up. "The gods have made their will known, and punished Carsen for his crimes," he stated ceremonially, and clapped, which was followed by applauds from the crowd. With staggering steps Willem approached the King, and fell on his knees in front of him, laying the sword on the ground.
"You have helped me avenge my sister, and deliver justice to this man," he said, breathing heavily as he spoke. "To show my gratitude, I will pledge my sword, and my life, to serve you, King Yorick Yronwood."
Yorick stepped down from the platfrom, and helped the Ironborn back on his feet. "And I accept your service!" He yelled, and the court of Yronwood cheered.
No decision
-
Dianna
After days of sailing along the southern coast of Dorne, the Sea Reaper and Lady Vengeance finally reached the mouth of river Brimstone. Dianna sat at the bow the Sea Reaper, its captain Bjorn Harlaw standing next to her, while the Ironborn crew rowed the ship towards the river ahead of them.
"Here we are," Bjorn said quietly, a small grin on his face as he looked at the lands ahead. "The people of Brimstone will soon remember what the world has known since the days of Qhored the Cruel."
"And what exactly is that?" Dianna asked dryly, and Bjorn lowered his eyes to look at her. "That wherever a longship can sail, no man is safe from the wrath of the Ironborn," he answered sharply, a quiet and menacing tone on his voice. "It was the Reachmen who gave Qhored the moniker of 'the Cruel', because he brought his wrath to their shores and cities with more power than any man before."
"And when did this Qhored live?" Dianna asked with a mildly interested tone, but Bjorn just shrugged. "It could've been hundreds of years ago, maybe thousands," he answered nonchalantly. "That doesn't matter. What matters is that his legacy still lives on, through every Ironborn that sets their sails to raid."
"A legacy of raping and pillaging," Dianna commented with a scornful tone, to which Bjorn responded only with a cold smirk and sharp glare.
After sailing up the river for almost an hour, they finally saw the first village. It was a small village of five houses, built with mudbricks on the eastern bank of the river. Hilsgurd Drumm blew the horn by Bjorn's command, and both longships headed towards the village. Without slowing down, they sailed the ships right onto the sands, chanting as they went. Roryn Drumm was the first to jump out of the ship, armed with his axe and shield. "For the Drowned God!" He roared, which was echoed by the rest of the crew.
The people of the village had gathered outside, confused and frightened by the intruders. One of them, an older man, decided to approach them peacefully. He kept his hands up to indicate that he was unarmed. "We have no warriors here," the man said with a gulp, eyeing nervously at the Ironborn as he spoke. "Take what you need to, but please spare us."
Ignoring the old man's pleads, Rory threw his axe straight into his chest. The rest of the villagers reacted to this with screams of panic, some of the attempting to run away, while others fell on their knees to beg for mercy. The Ironborn charged after them, slaying them one by one, and busted into their houses to loot whatever small possession these people had. Dianna looked at all of this quietly from the side, disgusted at the sight of these innocent people being slaughtered. Bjorn gave her a glance with gleeful smirk, before following after his men.
Turning to look towards Lady Vengeance, Dianna saw Lysera standing alone at the beach, right in front of the ship. Approaching her, she noticed how tired and sad Lysera looked, so very different from the innocent and dutiful young girl she had been back in Sandship. "Are you alright?" Dianna asked with a quiet and compassionate tone, and Lysera turned to look at her with a meek gaze in her eyes.
"Yes, I'm just... tired," she answered with a hollow tone. Dianna put her hand on the girl's shoulder, looking her to the eyes. "We'll survive this, alright, just believe me," she said with an encouraging tone. Lysera nodded, though the look in her eyes revealed she didn't have much hope left. Part of Dianna even felt wrong giving her hope, knowing it could well turn out to be false, and that there might never come an opportunity for them to escape. Dianna herself could only stay hopeful because of her sense of duty, both towards Nymeria as her Princess and Lyseria as her subordinate. I must save her and return to Nymeria.
"I believe in you, captain," Lysera mumbled quietly, and a thin smile formed on Dianna's face.
After having killed and looted to their satisfaction, the Ironborn decided to set camp in the village for the night. The loot there was poor, with hardly anything valuable aside from a couple old silver trinkets. Most of the raiders didn't care, it merely meant they would need to sail deeper to find more, but Dianna did notice some of them looking at her with displeasure or even anger. After all, it was Dianna who had given them the idea to raid Brimstone, and their first taste of the riches of this kingdom were underwhelming to say the least. They had already taken some prisoners from Lemonwood as salt wives and thralls, so even the villagers themselves weren't valuable to them, which was why all of them were put to the sword.
-
In the evening the Ironborn were feasting in the largest house of the village. Of course not all of them could fit into the house, so the rest were having their feast by the fire outside. Dianna sat next to Bjorn by the large table, Hargan and Lysera sitting opposed to them. Roryn and Hilsgurd also sat next to Hargan.
The other men in the room were drunkenly singing a song about some ancient king slaying a sea dragon, or something like that. However, the atmosphere on the table was tenser, with Bjorn and Hilsgurd being the only ones who seemed to be having a good time. Lysera was nervous of course, and Hargan seemed frustrated. Roryn on the other hand kept glaring at Dianna, which made her feel uncomfortable.
"If there is nothing valuable to raid in this kingdom, I say we should sacrifice her to the Drowned God," Roryn suddenly said, a murderous look in his eyes. "After all, it was she who led us here."
"That will be my decision, Roryn," Bjorn responded with a relaxed tone. "She is my captive, and I decide what is to be done with her. Besides, what makes you think we won't find anything valuable here?"
"These people are poor," Roryn said with a frustrated sigh. "The bitch doesn't care about that of course, she took us here so we would kill her princess' enemies. She has admitted to me herself that she is still loyal to Nymeria."
"And I admire that," Bjorn said with a small chuckle, taking a gulp of the ale. "If one of my men were captured, I sure would hope they'd still remain loyal to me. And what comes to Dianna, I believe she'll learn to respect us in time."
"We should make her prove herself," Roryn demanded sternly, his gaze shifting from Bjorn to Dianna. "Since she refused to bloody her blade against the villagers earlier, she should show her allegiance by converting to our faith." For a moment no one said anything, and Dianna could see from Bjorn's expression that he was frustrated by Roryn's demands.
"You want me to baptize her?" The Ironborn captain asked quietly, and Roryn nodded. "Aye, if she is not planning to betray us, there should be no reason for her to refuse."
Bjorn looked at Dianna for a moment, a calm and calculative look in his eyes. "Fine," he finally said. "I will baptize her, if she agrees to it." Dianna felt all eyes shifting on her, waiting for her answer.
[Agree to be baptized] [Refuse to be baptized]
[Refuse to be baptized] Yeah, I see no way in which Dianna would accept this, given her latest choices. If she loathes the Old Way so much, I really doubt she would willingly be baptized here. Besides, giving Roryn a "fuck you" would be great too.
Didn't expect Carsen to be dealt with so easily, but is good Willem got his vengeance.
[Refuse to be baptized] Respect for their ways isn't the same as becoming like them and taking the risk of drowning (which some Ironborn have done) isn't going to change the fact that she's a Rhoynar, and Mother Rhoyne, as far as we know, is far more kind than the Drowned God.
Funnily, Bjorn has a point, while it is mentioned Qhored the Cruel lived during the Age of Heroes, it is also mentioned he extinguished House Justman, which only came into existence after the Andal Invasion.
Yeah, this is exactly why I wrote Bjorn's answer the way I did
It's so confusing to try to figure out when exactly did Qhored the Cruel live.
[Agree to be baptized]
[Refuse to be baptized]
Well, I got to say, I did not expect this Wyllem's conflict with Carsen to end at this very point, I would have actually bet that it would take until Book 2 to resolve, with Wyllem having to find evidence against Carsen and maybe eventually confronting him with Ortheg's assistance. You definitely proved me wrong there and I like this more sudden ending just as much, because that trial by combat was epic! Definitely makes me look forward for some of the fights that might end up happening in the parts to come in the near future
[Refuse to be baptized]
This is a really hard choice, as I think that getting baptized would have a positive effect on Dianna's relationship to Bjorn, who might be more willing to trust her, therefore also more willing to give her some freedom, which she might be able to use to get out of there. However, the question I got to ask myself is, if we give in to the Ironborn way of life, how long will it take until she starts to actually embrace it? Sure, she might be able to fake it, but an Ironborn baptizing is not exactly an oath she can swear without meaning, it includes a super violent drowning procedure that regularly outright kills people. Dianna is not one of Bjorn's crew and while I am all for making smart decisions to free her and Lysera, I am definitely more than just unsure about this whole thing and doubt being baptized is the best way to achieve that. On top of that Roryn is a piece of shit and shouldn't get his way. Bjorn seems to have at least some degree of respect for Dianna regardless, so that cannot possibly be a bad thing. My only fear is what would happen if Bjorn dies? The other Ironborn don't seem to share his relatively affable outlook, as evidenced by Roryn, even if he is undeniably an extreme case. So, if there is a different chance to win the trust of further Ironborn, I'll probably pick it, but the baptizing thing, I do not quite agree with it.
Well that was an epic trial by combat! Willem won but it looked pretty bad for him on more than one occasion there so it is safe to say I'm glad he pulled it out! I can't say I was expecting him to pledge his sword to Yorick Yronwood but it does make alot of sense since avenging his sister was something he was clearly passionate about. Now knowing what has happened with WIllem's quest, it makes me wonder how things with Kortney would have turned out if she actually did choose to go with Willem when he offered her that chance. Since Willem decided to stay in Yronwood rather than move on, would he have let Kortney leave on her own from Yronwood or would something worse have happened for her? On a side note it was really nice to see how Tanya is looking out for Ortheg the way that she is since from what I can tell, living in Yronwood might be more of an adjustment if she weren't there with him.
[Refuse to be baptized]
Like some of the others have said, Dianna has stayed as strong as she can in her loyalty to Nymeria and she has showed she has basically no respect for the Ironborn's ways so I don't think she should agree to be baptized here. From what I can tell, Bjorn has respect for Dianna and would not hold this against her but like Liquid said, I also think she will at some point need to do something to gain respect from the other Ironborn if she wants the chance to gain her and Lyrsera's freedom however, I don't think this is what she should do.
[Refuse to be baptized]
Voting is closed!
And Dianna will refuse to be baptized. Well, Roryn at least won't be happy with this choice, but Bjorn most likely won't care that much, since it wasn't his idea to baptize Dianna in the first place. While accepting to get baptized would've perhaps convinced most of the Ironborn that Dianna was starting to accept their ways, it would've also been quite a traumatic experience for Dianna.
Next up, I have an Emerson part ready. However, I'll also try to finish that Dalia part that I mentioned earlier, and post both of them later today. However, if I don't manage to finish the Dalia part today, I'll once again push it to the next time and post just the Emerson part. So, you will be getting at least something today, possibly even two PoVs. I already recapped Dalia last time, but as for Emerson, he is on his way towards Yronwood with Lord Terren Jordayne and his second son Yoren Jordayne. Recently they arrived to the Wells, the seat of House Wells. Meeting the Wells family, most of them were nice towards Emerson, especially Lord Olyvar, but Lena was being a bit more thorny. First she questioned if Emerson was truly capable of ruling when they were having dinner, though she later apologized for it. However, as Emerson was playing drinking games with Yoren, Leo, Andar and Lena, she once again decided to be cheeky, by saying "I swear that I have never betrayed my family." Emerson decided not to drink to this, meaning he doesn't think he ever betrayed his family. And that's where we'll continue.
Emerson
Emerson didn't drink, and neither did anyone else. "No one admits to ever having betrayed their family?" Lena asked with a raised eyebrow, her gaze shifting from her brothers to Yoren, and finally to Emerson, where it lingered for a couple long seconds. However, Emerson kept on a calm and confident face, until finally Lena turned her eyes away with a sigh. "Fine, guess that means I should take a drink then", she said, and gulped down her wine.
"Your turn, Emerson", Leo said with a friendly tone, and Emerson nodded, considering his words for a moment. "I swear that I have never knelt to a king", he then said with a subtle smirk, noticing Lena rolling her eyes, and both Leo and Andar Wells chuckling softly at his words. "Cheeky", Leo commented with a smirk, before taking a sip, and the other three quickly followed.
"You probably won't be able to say that for much longer", Yoren said as he was done drinking. "That is if you wish to gain King Yorick's support, of course."
"That is the plan," Emerson replied calmly, feeling slightly nervous for what was to come.
"Let's just forget kings and lords for a moment and have some fun, alright?" Andar said with a sigh, and they all agreed. And so they spent the rest of the evening, drinking and having fun.
-
Emerson woke up to the door of his chambers being knocked on. Rubbing his eyes and yawning, he raised to a sitting position and noticed the sun shining in from the window, and the breakfast that had been left on his small table. "Emerson?" He heard the voice of Lord Terren as the door was knocked again.
"Just a moment!" He yelled as he got up from his bed and gathered his clothes. Finally, he walked to the door and opened it, seeing Lord Terren standing there in his fine clothes, a calm and sharp expression on his face. "Had a pleasant evening, aye?" He asked with a smile, and Emerson nodded.
"Yeah, I... we had some wine", he said with a sigh, to which Terren chuckled softly. "It's alright, lad", he said, tapping Emerson lightly on the shoulder. "Eat your breakfast and get ready, we continue our ride towards Yronwood today."
"Understood", Emerson said with a nod, just barely managing to suppress another yawn.
"See you soon", Terren quipped, before closing the door. With a tired sigh Emerson walked to the table and ate his breakfast. After this he packed all his stuff and made his way out of the chambers. Arriving to the courtyard he saw Yoren already mounted on his horse, as well as a dozen Wells soldiers and Lena, while Terren was still conversing with Lord Olyvar and Lady Mina. Emerson walked to them, looking at Leo and Andar, who stood next to their parents.
"If you join forces with King Yorick, I'm sure we'll meet again soon, buddy", Leo said with a smirk, and Emerson nodded to his words. Then, Lord Olyvar approached him and grabbed his hand. "Emerson Allyrion, it was an honor to have you here in our halls", he said with a wide grin on his face.
"I should thank you for your hospitality, my lord", Emerson said politely, but Olyvar just bridled humorously at his words. "The Lord of Godsgrace deserves all the hospitality we can offer", he said with a wink, tapping Emerson on the shoulder. He nodded to the lord once more, before walking away.
Mounting his horse, Emerson glared at Lena with some confusion. "What are you doing?" He asked with a tired tone on his voice.
"I'll escort you to Yronwood, genius", Lena quipped with a sarcastic tone, before galloping out of the gate with a smirk on her face.
-
They made their camp on that evening where the desert was starting to turn to steppe, and the Red Mountains could already be seen on the horizon. "We should reach Yronwood by tomorrow afternoon", Terren said as he noticed Emerson looking at the sun setting behind the mountains. Emerson glanced at the Jordayne lord, who smiled at him softly. "Are you nervous?" He asked with a friendly and humorous tone.
"No, it's just... I keep hearing about King Yorick, and the more I hear, the more I question if he is a good man," Emerson said quietly, and the smile faded from Lord Terren's face. He took in a deep breath before responding. "King Yorick is a great man, a man with a lot of power, and even more ambition," Terren began calmly, gazing at the distance as he spoke. "However, he is still just a man. And just like any other man he has his weaknesses, insecurities and doubts. He simply hides all these things from the world, which makes him appear as strong and determined, even ruthless, to both his allies and his enemies. Because of this some people think he is devoid of emotion, having no compassion or love for anyone. However, I have known Yorick since we were both just kids, and I know better. They say that power corrupts even the best of us, and perhaps that is true even with Yorick, but I also know that under his cold and heavy crown he is still a good man. Earn his respect, Emerson, and you will never find a more trustworthy and caring friend."
"And what will it take for me to earn his respect?" Emerson asked sharply. Terren considered his answer for a moment, a subtle smirk forming on his face. "You must impress him, and prove your loyalty towards him", he said, putting his hand on Emerson's shoulder. "But don't worry about it too much. At first, all you need to do is be respectful towards him. Later on, you will surely be given a chance to prove yourself."
"In battle?" Emerson asked quietly, and Terren nodded. "In battle, and outside of it," he responded smoothly. "Because if you are to rule Godsgrace one day, you must be capable in both areas." As he said this, Terren removed his hand from Emerson's shoulder, and looked at him once more. "Get some rest, tomorrow will be a long day."
As Terren began to walk towards his own tent, Emerson also turned to look at his, letting out a tired sigh. With lazy steps he walked to his tent, and as he stepped in he saw something he wasn't expecting. Lena was there, lying on his fur blanket. As she noticed Emerson entering the tent, she got back up on her feet, and approached him with a playful smirk on her face.
"What are you doing in-", Emerson's sentence was cut off by Lena putting her finger against his lips. "Quiet, boy", she said with a voice that managed to be mocking and seducing at the same time. And before Emerson could say anything more, Lena pushed her lips against his. Feeling her soft lips, part of Emerson wanted to just stay there, and keep kissing her forever. However, another part of him felt that it was wrong, and so he pulled himself away from her. "Why are you doing this?" He asked with a confused tone, and Lena slid her left hand on his thigh. "I want to know if you are a man, Emerson", she said playfully, before kissing him again, while her other hand found its way under his shirt.
Emerson was overtaken by a rush of excitement, but there was also something else creeping in the back of his mind. He was nervous, and uncertain. Emerson had never been with a woman, and he wasn't sure if he would be able to satisfy Lena. Having lived his childhood as a bastard, he also didn't want to accidentally father one himself. So, as Lena started to undress him, he knew he had to make a decision now, and live with the consequences.
[Stop Lena] [Keep kissing her]
-
Dalia
After a few days of traveling through the desert under the blazing Dornish sun, the group of six led by Dalia and Desirea reached the river Scourge. The river was running low here due to the summer, so low that each of them could cross it without getting their knees wet. Nonetheless, it offered them a great spot to rest, and refill their flasks with water.
While Kris, Belan and the freed slave who called himself Hangman started to set up the camp for the night, Dalia approached Desi and Minesa, who were standing by the water, looking towards the north. "Are you sure we are going to the right direction?" She asked calmly, and her daughter took in a deep breath, uncertainty in her eyes. "I can never be sure, mother", she admitted quietly. "However, I have to trust in the guidance that R'hllor has given me, and that guidance has led me to believe we must continue north until we reach the sea."
"And then?" Dalia asked, but now it was Minesa who answered. "And then we face our enemy", the older red priestess said with a bleak tone, a stern glare in her eyes. "Just like your daughter, I have seen the warriors of darkness as I've looked into the flames. They stand by the sea, their hands are stained with blood, and a storm surrounds them. We will have to defeat them and make the flames burn away their sinful flesh, or perish in the trying."
"We will destroy them", Dalia assured with calm determination in her words. "Why would the Lord of Light lead us to them, if not because we are fated to defeat them?" She asked, and Minesa smiled confidently to her words. Desirea's expression on the other hand remained sullen, as she gazed quietly at the river in front of them. "Because our Lord has also shown me the storm blowing out the fire", the young priestess said with quiet and fearful words. "Perhaps R'hllor isn't trying to lead us to victory, but rather warn us of defeat."
Dalia put her arm around her daughter, embracing her on a tight hug and kissing her on the forehead. "Do not fear, my child," she said softly as they separated. "Nothing in this world is as dear to me as you are, and I will protect you from anything it throws against us. You can believe in me."
Desi nodded with a gulp, and as Dalia stroked her hair, a shy smile finally formed on her face. After comforting her daughter, Dalia approached Kris, who was sitting at the sandy riverbank cleaning his shining sword while Hangman and Belan built the fire close by. Dalia sat next to Kris, looking him to the eyes. Kris didn't say anything, so she decided to speak up. "Do you regret coming with me?" She asked bluntly, to which Kris let out a dry chuckle.
"A part of me does, yes", he admitted quietly, putting his sword down and turning to look at Dalia. "I left my son and wife behind, once again, to follow the path of R'hllor. I have tried to convince myself that it was the right thing to do, but the truth is I don't know what is right or wrong anymore. For so long I saw Myra as my enemy, thinking my love for her had never been more than the influence of some dark magic, but now I know otherwise. Now I know that my love for her was always real, and that she never stopped loving me, even after I abandoned her and Nickon." After saying this, Kris let out a deep sigh and turned his eyes forward, anger taking over them. "But then there is the other part of me, the part that yearns for vengeance and blood. The part that wants to make Valerie suffer for all the pain and misery she has caused. That is why I came with you."
"Good", Dalia said sternly. "Now is the time for hatred and vengeance, for fire and blood. Valerie deserves to suffer, just like all the worshipers of the dark god." Kris nodded at her words quietly, picking up his sword again, and looking at the orange glimmer that danced on the blade magically. "I came to put an end to this madness, and that is what I will do. But after we are done, I must return to my family", he said, giving a meaningful glance at Dalia.
"I understand", Dalia responded calmly. "What was between the two of us... it wasn't meant to be", she said with a wistful sigh. "We both have our own duties to take care of, our own loved ones to protect. But before that, we have to stand together this one time, and defeat this evil once and for all."
"And that is what we shall do", Kris said, forcing a small smile on his face, which Dalia reciprocated. Then Hangman and Belan approached them, sitting down on the other side of Kris.
"What were you talking about?" Belan inquired eagerly. "Are we close to the enemy?" He asked, an intense thirst for blood in his eyes. The boy was still formally a bodyguard of Desirea, but it was easy to see that his true motive right now was to avenge his father, who had been killed by the mind-controlled Jamison Dayne back in Vaith. "We should find them once we reach the sea", Dalia answered quietly.
"The flames told you this?" Hangman asked with his coarse voice, and Dalia nodded. "They told it to my daughter, and I believe her", she answered nonchalantly.
"Is there anything else she saw in the flames?" Kris now asked, his voice quiet and serious. "Anything that would help us prepare?"
Dalia gulped subtly, turning her gaze down. They didn't know the details about Desirea's visions, about the storm, or the fire being blown out. But would it even be wise to share it with them? Dalia asked herself, wondering if it would only make them fearful and uncertain in the face of this confrontation.
[Tell them the details] [Say that you don't know]
Ah, two very interesting PoV's, I'm glad you decided to include both, especially as I follow Dalia's storyline with increased interest, so I gotta try and analyze the things we learned there a bit more thoroughly than usual to order my naturally confused thoughts. So, first of all, Emerson's storyline is one I could see reaching their end for this chapter quite soon, depending on wether or not you want him to join in on the coming fight at Godsgrace. I am not sure, it seems they are not fully aware of the Dryland army marching on it, but Yorick could know, in which case his next steps could be influenced by the outcome of this battle quite severely.
Meanwhile, we got Dalia and co. continue down the path and yes, I am nervous, if you allow me the understatement. We did good so far, for her, for Kris, for Gwen, just a little bit more and we might make it. Turns out, Desi has the same vision as Gwen, means both gods try to warn them of something, but I believe there should be at least one outcome to this whole situation I am happy with and it won't be the one favouring the Great Other. Desi is very alright, even Dalia is growing on me (veery slowly, because out of Team Rollmop, she has the greatest chance of actually killing Gwen), while Kris is probably the one I put most of my hopes into, as he knows what it is to be a victim of the Great Other nutjobs schemes, he can sympathize. Meanwhile, I utterly loathe Mother Minesa, who is probably my fourthmost disliked character in the story, after the much hated terrible trio. I stand neutral to Belan and Hangman, the latter of which has not given me much of an impression so far, though I am a bit concerned of the former's thirst for vengeance, whereas the latter, well, with a name like that he leaves a sour taste. Argh, just a little bit more and I am soooo utterly nervous that we screw up on the final metres
[Keep kissing her]
If I understand this correctly, he is (among other things) afraid of messing up his first time, huh? Well, he could not possibly fuck this up worse than rejecting Lena. She seems to have at least some experience, so I am sure she knows the usual ways to prevent a pregnancy, meaning I consider it extremely unlikely Emerson will father a bastard now. Let's grant him some fun, good times happen rarely enough.
[Say that you don't know]
See, I am really unsure here. It might not even factor into it at all, as I fully admit to being absolutely paranoid when it comes to this situation, with the only character from these two storylines I trust around Gwen at all being Trentan. Not even Desi has my full trust, though she is admittedly one of the better options to keep her company. So, I might be too cautious here and it could go either way with this choice, but I believe the more they know, the more nervous they will be. At this point, it should be clear that Gwen has not given in to the temptation of power the Great Other offered. She is pure, at least not less pure than Kris when he was released from Valerie's control, or Nickon after Vaith has been freed. By all accounts, she should be given a chance. However, while the true danger surely lies with the absolutely awful trio that is Aisha, Wesley and Valerie, the one way I could see the R'hllor team becoming a danger to her after all is when they overreact. If they just give her the chance to explain, it should be clear that she is on their side, a victim and not a threat. If they are nervous, people such as Belan, already giving me a somewhat trigger happy impression, could do something foolish and Gwen could pay the price for that. That is naturally the thing I want to avoid the most and while it might not factor into her fate at all (after all, there's other fates to decide as well and I still cling to the hope that our choices so far already assured her well-being), I think it cannot hurt to be cautious.
Well, it's quite unlikely that Emerson will take part in the coming battle, since the Dryland armies are just a couple days of march away from Godsgrace. So, Emerson (or any other forces from the Yronwood) simply don't have enough time to intervene in any way. Whatever plans Yorick may have for Emerson and Godsgrace, will probably have to wait until Book 2. Still, there should be some fairly interesting parts coming for Emerson before the end of the book nonetheless, even though nothing close to what some other storylines will have. Like, Dalia's for example
Mm, understandable, the climax is looming closer and closer, and the signs aren't exactly promising a happy encounter between teams R'hllor and GO
And yeah, it is the visions of Desi and Gwen that pull these two teams towards each other, both having the intent to destory their enemies. Or at least some members from both teams have that intent 
Belan, much like Kris, has mostly grudge against Valerie, though obviously he doesn't have any love for other members of team GO either. Hangman on the other hand, yeah, I haven't had much opportunities to define him as a character, but we will learn a bit more about him in Kris' next part. I can reveal though that he got his nickname from surviving a hanging once. He was originally called "Hanged Man" after that, but over time it shortened to Hangman. Of course he does have a real name as well though, which we will learn in the future.
[Keep kissing her]
[Tell them the details]
[Keep kissing her]
[Tell them the details]
[Keep kissing her] Didn't think this would progress so fast, but I'm not gonna stop them.
** [Say that you don't know]** Ignorance can be a bliss and the possibility of death while fighting the dark could demoralize them.
[Keep kissing her]
I agree with the others on this one, Emerson more than deserves the opportunity to have some fun and I see no reason for us to deprive him of that here.
[Tell them the details]
The way I see it, Kris while I am not too big a fan of him for obvious reasons
, he along with the others deserve to know exactly what they are up against here. I don't see any of them backing out because of the details of the vision and with a very important battle for several PoV's most likely happening very soon, I feel they all need to be on the same page as much as possible with none of them underestimating exactly what they are up against or going into this battle in a reckless way especially with Valerie and her brain washed soldiers officially meeting up with Gwendis and Aisha. With this happening, Aisha and Valerie now have the numbers to go against team R'hllor which makes them even more of a threat so I think that team R'hllor definitely needs to know all of the potential danger in this situation if they want to succeed in their mission. As far as Gwendis and Trentan go, I believe if they stay out of the fighting then they should be safe and will be for certain if Aisha, Valerie, and Mordekhai are killed here.
[Stop Lena]
[Say that you don't know]
[Keep kissing her]
[Say that you don't know] It's not like they are expecting this to be a walk in the park, they know that the possibility of some death, or even total defeat, is real. Thing is, reminding of them that can be quite problematic. Someone like Belan, who's already got a lot to deal with, might interpret this as a warning to take no chances with the enemy, thus leading him to do something bad to Gwendis just to be sure the enemy has been dealt with.
[Keep kissing her]
[Tell them the details]
This one is a somewhat difficult choice, and I might change it in the future. Right now, they think they are only chasing Valerie. I think, it might be a good idea for them to know the details so they aren't overconfident and under prepared, for the fight. On the other hand, I don't want this to cause them to overreact, (possibly hurting or killing Gwendis or Trentan) in the future, when they encounter team GO. However, telling them of the risks in the vision might cause Belan to not be reckless when they encounter them. This is very difficult, but I think I'm going with this one.
Voting is closed!
So, Emerson will keep kissing Lena, no surprises there. Obviously this isn't a super important choice, but it will affect the relationship of Emerson and Lena going forward.
Aand, then we have a tie... damn it
Well, I'll have to go with the choice that got 4 votes first, meaning that Dalia will say that she doesn't know, hoping that this way Kris and the rest will be less nervous going into this confrontation against the worshipers of GO.
Next up, we'll have an Isabella part and a Naemon part. They are both almost ready, just need to do some finishing touches. For recap, Isabella is on her way towards Starfall to marry Jamison, and right now she is in Oasis Castle with her brother Desmor, as well as Cassana Blackpool and Soren Ashford. Last time the news about Ferris' death arrived there, and Desmor wanted to leave so he could avenge their brother. However, you chose for Isabella to ask her brother to stay. And as for Naemon, he is on his mission to find and destroy what is left of Karsan Taller's rebellion. The rebels are hiding in the lands of House Oakswood, and Naemon & co. are about to go after them. Last time Naemon had to make a strategical choice, and he decided to keep the forces together, instead of splitting them up to smaller groups.
You can expect these parts within an hour or two!
Isabella
Isabella rushed to hug her brother, sinking her face against his shoulder, tears running down from her cheeks to Desmor's tunic. "I don't want you to leave me", she managed to utter under her tears, before separating from Desmor and looking him weakly to the eyes. The expression on Desmor's face had softened, the anger now replaced with grief and empathy, as he let out a sigh and turned his gaze up. "I know you want to avenge our brother, trust me, I understand, but I need you to stay with me now", Isabella pleaded with a weak and shaky voice. Desmor lowered his eyes to look at her again, and by now there was no trace left of the anger that had consumed him just a few short moments ago.
"I won't leave you, Bella", he assured quietly, hugging her again. For a moment they stayed there in silence, and no words were needed. They shared the same pain, the same grief, but they could at least rely on each other in this moment of despair. "Thank you, brother", Isabella finally mumbled quietly, and Desmor patted her gently on the back as they separated from the hug.
"I... I think I need some rest", Desmor muttered, and Isabella could see that he was clearly holding back tears. "I'll see you soon", he added quietly, and Isabella nodded approvingly. Without any more words, Desmor walked out of the room.
-
Isabella sat at the garden by the oasis, Cassana sitting next to her, the handmaiden's arm around the princess to comfort her. Isabella's eyes were red from crying, and Cassana looked at her with sympathy, patiently listening to all her woes, while Ser Soren stood in guard a dozen feet behind them.
"More than anything, I feel sorry for Dana and Matthos", Isabella said, tears streaming down her face. "The poor boy will have to grow up without a father", she said, her voice breaking during the last words. Cassana stroked her in a gentle and soothing manner, an understanding look in her eyes. "Do not worry, my princess, I am sure Prince Matthos will still grow up to be a great man", she tried to console her, but it did little to make Isabella feel any better.
"Ferris didn't deserve to die like this", she said, a touch of anger in her words as she attempted to wipe away her tears. "He was a good man, and deserved so much more from this life", she continued, now letting out a painful sigh.
"Perhaps the gods took him because they were jealous, and wanted such a great man join them in the heavens", Cassana suggested sweetly, and Isabella couldn't help but chuckle quietly under her tears. However, the moment of levity was gone as quickly as it came, replaced once again by grief and anger. "If only it had been the gods who took him", Isabella said grimly. "But it wasn't the gods, it was wicked men, evil men who will burn in the deepest of the seven hells once they die." Isabella noticed that she was clenching her fists in anger as she spoke. Though she had never even seen King Albin, right now she imagined him dying in most gruesome ways possible. This brought her pleasure, if only for a short moment.
"I agree", the calm voice of Soren Ashford said suddenly, which made both Isabella and Cassana shift their gaze to him. "Albin Manwoody will burn in the deepest hell, as will all those who served him." There was a touch of uncharacteristic anger in the words of the Reachman knight who was usually so friendly and stoic. "The war is not over, and I promise you that the day will come when the Manwoody's will pay for their crimes. It may take years, but I know your father will not rest until Albin is dead."
Isabella nodded to Soren's words, feeling now at least slightly more confident that justice would be served in time. At least she wanted to believe it, but part of her feared that Garrison was getting too old and weak to defeat Albin. And even if he would, it wouldn't bring back Ferris. His death was a loss that they all had to carry in their hearts from now on, to the end of their lives.
Raising her gaze up, Isabella noticed something strange on the other side of the oasis. An old white-haired and -bearded man dressed in simple blue clothes was being escorted towards the keep. He looked like a peasant, or a poor merchant at best, yet half a dozen guards of House Drinkwater surrounded him, and it didn't look like he was a prisoner either. Happy for any distraction from the grief, Isabella stood up and followed after this strange old man. Soren and Cassana shared a confused glance, before quickly following after Isabella.
Walking in from the gates to the courtyard, Isabella saw Lady Darinna approaching the old man with a warm smile on her face. Surprisingly she even took a few running steps as she rushed to hug the old bearded man. "Wylie, you came!" Darinna exclaimed, her usual calm and authoritative mannerism gone, replaced by excitement and joy more fitting for a young girl. The old man chuckled warmly as he hugged the old lady, tapping her gently on the back. "Of course I came. You invited me, old friend", he responded with a peaceful voice that oozed of wisdom and experience. "I apologize for taking so long. The journey was hard, and this land is filled with war."
"There is no need to apologize, dear friend", Darinna said, almost crying tears of joy as she spoke. "It is a great honor to have you here again, after all these years."
Now this Wylie turned towards Isabella, Cassana and Soren, who had made their way to the side of the courtyard. The look on the old man's turquoise eyes was surprisingly sharp, as he eyed each of them. "I see you have guests", he said softly, and Darinna nodded, only now noticing that they were there. "Ah yes, let me introduce you to them", she said, and they approached each other. "This is Princess Isabella Fowler, the daughter of King Garrison, as well as her handmaiden Cassana Blackpool and guard Soren Ashford." They all nodded politely to Wylie, who reciprocated the gesture. "And this is Wylie, a healer, and a very old friend of mine", Darinna continued, speaking to Isabella now.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, princess", Wylie said politely, and Isabella smiled thinly, still uncertain what to think of this man. "I see that you have cried, is everything alright?" The old man asked with a soft and gentle tone. Isabella tried to find words, but ended up just gulping, so it was Darinna who spoke up. "Tragic news recently arrived from Skyreach", she explained calmly. "Prince Ferris, the older brother of Princess Isabella, was murdered by servants of House Manwoody."
Isabella felt the tears welling up again, and she had to turn her gaze down and clench her teeth to prevent herself from breaking into tears again. However, Wylie gently grabbed her hand, and looked her to the eyes as he spoke up with an emphatic tone. "Do not be ashamed of your tears, princess," he said, taking in a deep breath. "A wound from the battlefield must be cleaned and stitched up quickly, but the only way to tend a wound left by the loss of a loved one is to let it bleed. For if you refuse to cry today, you will simply cry some other day, be it months or years later. Such is the way of grief. So, let you tears flow freely, for as long as they need to, and I promise you that someday your wound will be nothing but a pale scar, and you will be happy again."
"Th-thank you", Isabella stuttered, genuinely grateful for this stranger's encouraging words, a single tear rolling down her cheek now. "You are welcome, sweet princess", Wylie replied softly, before turning towards Darinna again. "So, you said in your letter that you need my advice", he said with a small sigh, and Darinna nodded. "Come with me", she said quietly. "It is something we should discuss in private."
Wylie gave one more glance at Isabella, before following Darinna inside the keep.
-
Next morning, Isabella walked out to the courtyard with Cassana, and the whole court had gathered there to give their goodbyes for the royal guests. Immediately Isabella noticed that Desmor was talking with Arianne, and they were holding hands. Darianne and Wylie stood close to them, as well as Maron, Elyra and Waldemar, while Raewyn was getting the horses ready with Ser Soren. Lord Jared Drinkwater on the other hand stood on the other side of the courtyard with his wife and son, looking at this all with a stern frown on his face.
"I'll come back for you", Isabella heard Desmor saying to Arianne as she walked past them to approach Lady Darinna.
"I wanted to thank you for your hospitality, my lady", Isabella said with a kind and polite tone, bowing to Darinna, who smiled at her words. "It has been an honor, my princess", she responded with a sincere tone. "It is a shame that these tragic news soured the mood of your important journey, but I suppose that's what life is always like. It gives with one hand, and takes with the other. Nonetheless, I wish you well on your new life in Starfall, and want you to know that you are always welcome here in Oasis Castle."
"Thank you, my lady", Isabella replied with a thin smile, as Raewyn walked next to her. "Alright then, princess, let's get moving", she said, gesturing for Isabella to come after her. "I'll be escorting you through the desert, it's easy to get lost there," Raewyn explained calmly as they arrived to the horses.
Raewyn and Soren helped both Isabella and Cassana on their mounts, and finally Desmor got around to separating from Arianne as well. He mounted his own horse, and turned to look at Isabella with a soft smile on his face. "To Starfall", he said calmly, and Isabella nodded. The gates were opened, and Isabella turned her gaze forward. Despite the pain that was still in her heart from the loss of Ferris, she felt hopeful for tomorrow.
No decision.
-
Naemon
It was the second dusk after they had left from Oakswood, and following the traces of the rebels had finally led them somewhere. Sadly, it was merely an abandoned camp.
"They have left with haste", Ser Edwyn Oakswood observed as they walked through the camp. It was true, they had left behind a pile of ashy logs where their fire had been, as well as some stolen goods they apparently thought wasn't worth carrying around any longer. Pots, bowls, spoons, goblets and other miscellaneous items. "They've noticed us", Malcolm deduced with a sigh.
"Bloody cowards", Alester cursed, kicking one of the pots in frustration. "They can't be far ahead", he added sternly, and Naemon nodded in agreement.
"But it's almost night, there is no knowing how far away they'll be by tomorrow", Davos remarked quietly. For a moment no one said anything, and the Upton troops began to put up the camp for the night.
"Stop", Naemon commanded suddenly, and everyone shifted their attention to him. "We won't make a camp here", he said calmly, and they all looked at him with confusion. "No, we will keep going, through the night. They haven't had time to cover their tracks, so we should be able to keep following them even in the night."
A wide grin formed on Alester's face, and he approached Naemon, tapping him on the shoulder. "I think that is a wonderful idea, Prince Naemon", he complimented, before turning towards his troops. "You heard the Prince, we'll keep marching!"
"Hopefully it'll work", Naemon muttered under his breath.
-
In the light of the dawn the two hundred Upton troops stood atop a ridge, looking down on the small pond that the rebels had made their camp around. They had caught them off guard, and the camp was now in complete panic, with some of the rebels attempting to form a line of defense, while others just ran away to the woods.
Alester and Edwyn stood in front of the troops, ready to lead them to battle, while Naemon sat on his horse behind the lines with Davos and Malcolm. His eyes shifted through the camp, wondering which one of the rebels could be Karsan Taller. Perhaps it was one of the men standing in defense, or perhaps it was one of the escaping ones.
"Brothers, show no mercy!" Alester roared to his soldiers, raising his sword up as he spoke, a bloodthirsty grin on his face. "Kill every single outlaw you can, take no prisoners! Attack!"
Then, as the troops led by Alester and Edwyn overwhelmed the rebel defenders, Naemon saw it. On the other side of the camp, dozens of feet away from the fighting, one man was mounting a horse. He was better dressed than anyone else among the rebels, and there were even two men helping him to get on his horse, like he was their leader. That has to be Karsan, Naemon deduced. Without saying a word, he sprinted past the fighting and after the man whom he suspected to be Karsan. Glancing back, Naemon saw Davos and Malcolm coming after him.
Karsan noticed him as well, and quickly began to ride towards north, following a small path in the woods. Being a couple dozen feet behind him, Naemon shouted from the bottom of his lungs. "Karsan Taller, stop right there! In the name of the King!"
Of course Karsan didn't stop, and soon all the sounds of the battle at the camp faded away, as the chase continued further and further north. They were very close to the border of the Reach by now, Naemon knew it, but he wouldn't let that stop him. He hadn't come all the way here just to give up. This was his mission, and he would see it to its end. Naemon kept his eyes at the back of Karsan.
Riding down a hill, the path turned gradually to left, going towards a small river where the forest ended. As they got closer to the river, suddenly Davos Dayne appeared with his horse from the woods, leaving Karsan between him and Naemon. He took a shortcut through the forest, Naemon realized, a satisfied grin forming on his face. Karsan halted, and attempted to escape to the forest himself, but Naemon caught up to him now, and pulled him down from his horse.
There Karsan Taller was, lying alone on a small forest road middle of nowhere. He stood up with a painful grunt, and raised up his sword. However, seeing that he was surrounded by three mounted warriors, the defiance and fury quickly faded from his eyes, replaced by grim realization, and he dropped his sword.
Naemon dismounted his horse now, and picked up the sword that Karsan had dropped. "Karsan Taller", he said calmly, and the bearded man with long and sweaty brown hair nodded. "I am", he confirmed grimly.
"I am Prince Naemon Blackmont, the heir of King Benedict Blackmont", Naemon introduced himself casually, handing Karsan's sword to Davos. "Blackmont, eh?" Karsan exclaimed with some surprise. "Would've never guessed that a prince would get me. Oh well, you've won, Blackmont. Congratulations", he said with an exaggeratedly theatrical bow.
"You stand accused of treason", Naemon stated nonchalantly. "The punishment is death."
"Aye, you want to kill me now, I get it", Karsan said with a dry chuckle, to which Naemon frowned. "It's not about what I want, it's what has to be done", he protested sternly. "A crime warrants a punishment; the King's law must be enforced."
"You've already defeated my rebellion, and slaughtered all the men that followed me", Karsan said with a deep sigh. "And those men followed me, because they no longer believed in the King and his law. You put an end to their freedom, because you saw them as a sickness pestering your precious kingdom. However, the truth is that they were merely a symptom, and the sickness starts from that grand castle of yours."
"I know my father isn't a good king, but that doesn't change the fact that you are a bad man, and many innocents have suffered because of your deeds", Naemon said, now raising up his sword and pointing Karsan with it. The man just chuckled and shook his head. "And what do you know of that, prince?" He asked quietly. "Have you witnessed any of these deeds?"
"I saw the state that you left Gravesend in", Naemon responded immediately, and for a moment a hint of regret could be seen in Karsan's eyes. "Aye, things there got ugly, I admit", he said with a subtle gulp. "It was war, and we believed we were fighting for a good cause."
"On your knees", Naemon commanded quietly, and Karsan obeyed, turning his eyes to look at him once more. "Killing me is useless, prince", he said nonchalantly. "I am nothing now, just a man who lost everything. But the sickness hasn't gone anywhere, and there will be more men like me." With these words he put his head down, ready for Naemon's swing. However, the prince was hesitating. The punishment for treason is death, Naemon knew it, but still he struggled to do it. Does he really have to die? He asked himself, looking at Karsan. After all, he wasn't the root cause of what had happened, and right now he was just a man with no power. He wasn't a threat anymore, so the only reason to kill him would be to punish him.
Silence lingered in the forest, and Naemon felt the eyes of Davos and Malcolm on his back as he raised his sword. He had made his choice.
[Kill Karsan] [Let him go]
[Kill Karsan]
[Kill Karsan] Unless you're planning on making Naemon more ruthless, executing a man who committed a grave crime against the kingdom is the punishment. And I doubt other rulers of the setting would do the same.
You're right, for most noblemen in Westeros this would be an obvious choice, they would of course execute Karsan for his treason. Naemon however isn't really fond of killing, and in this moment he sees killing Karsan almost pointless. He is not a threat any longer, so the only reasons to kill him now would be to enfore the King's law and give him the punishment his crimes warrant. However, Naemon is the kind of guy who gravitates more towards mercy than punishment, and the King whose law he would be passing by the execution is of course his father Benedict, whom he kind of despises at the moment.
Obviously this is a character development choice more than anything, but with that I don't mean to imply that choosing to kill Karsan would make Naemon suddenly an extremely ruthless and cold-blooded killer. If anything, the experience would harden him a bit, and make him a bit more accepting of the idea of killing.
[Kill Karsan]
Ah, Wylie has returned! I knew we'd see the old man again, but I am really curious where his destination lies in the story. He has travelled to Oasis Castle now, making me believe it'll be the northwestern parts of Dorne he aims for, either Starfall or Blackmont, but from there on? I got not a single clue, though I have the feeling we haven't seen the last of him. Maybe we have seen the last of him in this book, but I expect his journey coming closer to his mysterious goal in Book 2.
And also, eat shit, Karsan! Hah, that was satisfying
I knew Naemon had it in him and now the world saw as well at last. I doubt he'll ever have what it takes, but this is a good first step to improve on what he has, as well as an important step for him to grow into his own person. Albeit I had to notice, the rebels apparently noticed the approaching army. Probably not surprising, but you know, I have this distrust towards Edwyn and as such, I can't help but have the paranoid suspicion that he is behind this, that he warned the rebels of the approaching army. Then again, they are large enough that them being noticed isn't an unusual thing. Still though, Edwyn is giving me Chapter 1 Aisha vibes, if in a far less extreme way, in that he is this shady person whom I am always switching my mind on. I can only hope that unlike Aisha, I ultimately will not hate every single aspect about him I can think of, but really, if there is one thing I can say about him, it's that he has a talent of doing stuff that can be interpreted as helpful, while also somehow remaining shady XD
[Let him go]
I'm following a slightly different approach here. First of all, I am fine with killing Karsan here and in fact, this was my initial urge, but you know me, I'd be nothing if not paranoid and overanalyzing. At times, I analyze too much, probably making myself more worried than I must be, but at other times, this is what I believe is actually going to help me picking the right choice. Not that killing Karsan is a bad choice, I could see him surviving coming as something negative later on, if he decides to restart his rebellion. He did so once, what's going to stop him from doing so again? However, the reason why I still decide to keep him alive is because I do not want to create a martyr. Just imagine this, he died here and half a dozen men rise in his stead, all claiming to continue Karsan's work. He was ultimately more of a nuisance than a true threat, someone who believed himself to be more capable than he truly is and as a result, he got crushed the moment someone competent dealt with him. I have every reason to believe that Naemon, or maybe Gwendis, or at best even both, are properly skilled to handle him time and time again if he decides that this act of mercy is not enough to earn his loyalty. However, if we kill him now and he becomes a martyr, this could cause even larger problems for the kingdom and its future ruler. That is pretty much the only reason I pick this. Trust me, Karsan deserves to be punished and if there would be an option to take him prisoner, I'd pick it, but between killing him and getting rid of what ultimately was a nuisance or sparing him and preventing him from dying a martyr's death, I slightly lean in favour of the latter.
I can actually reveal that Oasis Castle is Wylie's destination, since he was summoned there by Lady Darinna, to help her with something. But nonetheless, you are correct in that we haven't seen the last of him. He won't be coming a main character or anything, but we will indeed learn a bit more about why he is in Dorne in Book 2.
Indeed, Naemon claimed a big W here, putting an end to Karsan's rebellion. Benedict will surely be proud, even if his approval isn't really what Naemon is seeking right now. And I'd say Naemon's whole Book 1 storyline has been mostly revolved around him growing as a person, and that growth will surely continue going forward. As for the rebels noticing them, I can confirm that this was because of the strategy they chose. Had they split up they would've found the rebels faster, but the battle itself would've been a bit harder. That said, the most important consequence of choosing the other strategy would've been that not only Davos and Malcolm but also Alester and Edwyn would've been present when Naemon would've made this choice regarding Karsan, giving more pressure to kill him. Now if he decides to spare Karsan, Alester and Edwyn will have no idea, unless Davos or Malcolm rats him out, which is unlikely.
Interesting thoughts there for sure, and I can comment on some of them at least. You bring up the possibility that if left alive, Karsan could just start gathering supporters again, and it is true, that is a possibility. However, it would be really hard for him, because he would have to start from zero support, whereas last time he had his little gang to start with. Then there is also the fact that people will probably be less willing to join him this time since he already failed once. I can also reveal that if spared, Karsan would at first travel to Reach. Whether he'd ever come back to Dorne or not, who knows. He does believe though that rebellions on Kingdom of Blackmont won't end with him being killed (or exiled for that matter), because the people aren't happy with their king. So, you might be onto something there with the martyr speculation. And as for imprisoning him, I'll admit I didn't consider that option, but thinking about it now, I'm pretty sure it would just lead to him being executed anyway. I mean, if Naemon brings a traitor to Blackmont in chains, Benedict will just arrange a public execution for that traitor.
[Kill Karsan] He committed a crime and there should be punishment for it, that's the way things go. If he lets Karsan live here, I imagine there's a chance that other people such as him would rise again with ease, knowing that the kingdom would let them live if only they pleaded nicely enough. If Naemon ever wishes to be a king, he has to learn how to make harsh choices, one does not go without the other.
@Javier Raviolli
That is true, having no fear of punishment could indeed increase other people's willingness to rebel against the Blackmont's. That said, if spared Karsan would head to the Reach, so the only people in Dorne knowing about this act of mercy would be Naemon, Davos and Malcolm. At least unless Karsan decides to come back some day. And it should also be noted that most of the rebels did get slaughtered by Alester's troops, which itself probably should be enough to discourage most people from rebelling for a while.
First off with the Isabella part, seeing the scene that came from it, I'm definitely glad that the asking Desmor to stay option won. This is definitely a very emotional time for the both of them and with Isabella breaking down like she did, she definitely needs someone to share her grief with and I believe this choice is definitely the best for Desmor too. Also, it looks like Desmor has convinced Arianne to marry him. Go Desmor!
I am definitely excited to see Isabella arrive in Starfall and I am especially intrigued to learn what Wylie's big plan is moving forward!
As for the Naemon part, I am going to vote for Naemon to [Let him go]. Like most of the others, I had planned on voting for Naemon to kill Karsan but Liquid's argument definitely convinced me on this one. This part confirmed that Karsan Taller was very much nowhere near powerful enough for his rebellion to succeed and in one moment, his entire following has basically been annihilated and he has been caught with his life in Naemon's hands. It's pretty clear that he was indeed just a nuisance and with this victory, Naemon accomplished what he set out to do and that was to end Karsan's rebellion. Killing Karsan could very well be yet another spark which could lead to another smallfolk uprising and next time it could very well be on a larger scale. Plus I feel this choice fits well with the choices we have made for Naemon so far and while Naemon won't be able to avoid killing forever, I feel this is one time he can get away with not killing with minimal repercussions since I don't think Karsan will be a threat again. At the same time though, I'm not against Naemon killing Karsan either since it would definitely guarantee that we would get no trouble from him ever again. On a side note though, man Alester's part was really epic here! When he lead his men to battle with that battle cry, I definitely got hyped reading it
Yeah, I think it's safe to say that asking for Desmor to stay was the better choice here
His first impulse was to rush back to avenge his brother, but Isabella straight up saying that she needs him right now sort of made him stop and think, and realize that supporting his surviving sibling is at least equally important as avenging Ferris, if not more so. And like you said, staying is for Desmor's own good as well. And managing to convince Arianne is another positive consequence here. Well, basically Desmor had already managed to convince her earlier, but if he had left, he would've missed Arianne actually accepting the proposal. But as it is now, it indeed seems like Desmor and Arianne are getting married in the near future.
Indeed, Karsan's rebellion was never really a threat in the large scale of things. The reason it was even as big of a nuisance as it was is the fact that Blackmont armies had marched to war, leaving the kingdom with less authority to keep things in control. All it took in the end was one (fairly small) professionally trained army from the Kingdom of Torrentine to squash Karsan and his band of rebels. That said, his numbers were notably larger back in Gravesend, and at this point only his most loyal followers were still with him. And as I said to Liquid, it is indeed possible that some other rebels could use the death of Karsan to elevate him as a martyr. Though in all fairness, they might still do that even if Naemon spares him, because Karsan would still be presumed dead by everyone except Naemon, Davos and Malcolm. So, where does that leave us? Well, I'd say this is first and foremost a character building choice, and the possible effects outside of that are harder to predict
Oh, and I'm glad to hear you liked that bit with Alester! It was actually something I added while proofreading the part, as I felt Alester needed to have a bit more of a presence in that scene.
[Kill Karsan]
Voting is closed!
So, Naemon will kill Karsan. As I've said, this is primarly a character building choice, factoring into how Naemon will evolve going forward. Don't worry though, this doesn't mean Naemon will turn into a cold and ruthless killer, just hardens him up a bit.
And next up, we will return to Godsgrace, in form of two PoVs, Nymeria and Nealia. These are quite important parts, and will together show us the Martell-Dryland battle. And since this is a very important event, I want to make sure I'm 100% satisfied with these parts before posting them, which means it'll probably take until tomorrow before they'll be ready. It should be worth the wait though! I don't think there is much need for a recap, but I will remind that Nealia's latest part ended in her deciding to ask Lien if she'd be willing to come to Starfall with her when she leaves the Rose Company behind. I'll show Lien's answer to this in the part, but it will mostly concentrate on the battle.
Nymeria
"The enemy forces will be here in a day," Princess Nymeria informed her council. Ibraim D'un with his desert tribe had returned from scouting earlier that morning. The savages had gone against Nymeria's orders and raided the camp of the attackers in the night, destroying some of their supplies and murdering many soldiers in their sleep. Ibraim even dropped a severed head of a Dryland knight on the floor of Nymeria's office when reporting to her. "A battle is ahead of us, and we must decide how are we going to face the Dryland army when they arrive."
"The Fallen Dragons won't be here soon enough to aid us in the battle," Mors stated with a quiet and calm tone. "However, if we can withhold a siege for just a couple days, the Dryland's will be stuck between us and Valor Veltaris."
"I doubt the Dryland's will try to starve us," Varyn said grimly. "They have a long march behind them, and they lost supplies to the tribesmen. Most likely they will be aggressive and try to breach the walls and gates, taking the city with assault as quickly as they can."
"Let them try, Godsgrace has strong walls and sturdy gates," Esperence Allyrion said confidently, her younger brother Emmett nodding next to her in agreement. "I don't doubt that, mylady, but they have a large army to throw against them," Varyn responded sternly. "Defending the walls will be a hard task, and even a small leak in defense will bring the battle to the streets. Safe to say that wouldn't be the ideal way to begin your rulership over this city," Varyn looked at both Nymeria and Esperence as he said this.
"What do you think we should do then, general?" Nymeria asked calmly, a slight touch of frustration in her words. "Your Grace, I believe we should position our army by the bridge, and prevent the Dryland's from crossing the Greenblood," Varyn suggested with his stern and humorless tone.
"A battle by the bridge," Nymeria stated with a pondering tone, and the general nodded. "That is where I believe we would have the biggest advantage," he said calmly. "All fighting will happen on the bridge, and they will have no way to flank us. We will build barricades and set up a line of spearmen at the northern end of the bridge to prevent them from charging in with their cavalry, and as they send their infantry to clear the way, we rain arrows upon them. They may have the advantage in numbers, but attacking the bridge will be so hard and costly that those numbers will quickly diminish."
"And if they decide to wait instead of attacking, they will once again be stuck between us and the Fallen Dragons," Mors concluded, a subtle smirk forming on his face.
"Indeed", Varyn said with a nod. "It will still be hard, and hundreds will die, but at least the townsfolk will not be in danger."
"I like you idea, General Varyn", Nymeria stated calmly, standing up from her seat. "Begin the preparations immediately."
-
In the noon of the next the day, two massive armies stood on the opposite sides of the river, the stony bridge between them. The Godsgrace Bridge was wide enough for two carts or a dozen men to go side by side, and about two hundred feet long. They had built and set up wooden spiked barricades at the end of the bridge, and behind them stood three lines of spearmen with tall shields. Leading the spearmen was Ser Arnol of Greenblood. Behind the spearmen were the sellswords and tribesmen, ready to pick apart any enemy infantry that would make its way through the lines of spearmen. Behind the sellswords and on the riverbanks around the bridge were the archers. And finally, atop a small dusty hill overlooking all of this was the cavalry led by Nymeria, Mors and the rest of their royal guard, ready to charge in if the first line of defense were to break. And of course, by their side were also the infantry reinforcements led by General Varyn.
Looking at the other side of the river, Nymeria could tell that the enemy outnumbered them. Perhaps that wouldn't have been the case had she not sent away the Santagar's and Ladybright's, but it was too late to regret that now. Nymeria saw banners of House Dryland, as well as Uller and Vaith, but also many black banners with red sun, which apparently belonged to the sellsword company that King Lucifer had hired. And at the first line of the enemy army was a well-organized unit of about seventy infantrymen, all dressed in grey uniforms and spiked helmets, armed with small round shields and spears. Unsullied, Nymeria recognized. She had never seen them in battle, but she had heard of their reputation as unyielding and fearless soldiers.
Then, three riders made their way to the middle of the bridge, carrying a white banner. "I suppose they want to negotiate", Mors stated nervously. Beside him was his young squire Cason Bloodspill, who looked absolutely terrified. "Your Grace, this could be a trap", warned General Varyn, and Nymeria nodded.
"It could be, but I doubt it", she said calmly. "Edd, Nesea, Jadisha, Boran, you come with me. Mors, if something happens to me, you will take charge." With these words the princess began to approach the bridge, surrounded by her guards and the spymaster Edd Prally. The troops made way for them, and moved the barricades slightly so they could get past them onto the bridge. Close to the barricades they had scattered dry hay on the bridge, and poured oil on it. The hay crackled quietly under the hooves as Nymeria and her entourage rode over it.
"On the left is Harbert Uller, the heir of Lord Harrion Uller", Edd whispered to Nymeria as they approached the enemy leaders, nodding at the lightly armored man with long black hair and strong jawline. "On the right is Lord Jorvian Gargalen, but I do not know the man in the middle", he added.
Jorvian Gargalen was the oldest of them, a stern-looking middle-aged man, while the man in the middle was the youngest of the three, even if still older than Nymeria. He didn't exactly look like a Dornish nobleman, and since even Edd didn't recognize him, Nymeria deduced he had to be the leader of the sellsword company.
They stopped a dozen feet away from the enemy leaders, and for a moment silence lingered in the air. "So, you must be Princess Nymeria of Rhoyne", Harbert Uller spoke up with his deep and coarse voice, a smirk on his face. "What a pity to meet such a beautiful lady in such... grim circumstances."
Ignoring the man's flattery, Nymeria spoke up. "We will not surrender, and I will not revoke my claim to Godsgrace", she said sternly.
"But it is more than just Godsgrace that you are after, isn't it?" Lord Jorvian now spoke up, a cold glare in his eyes. With a thin smirk, Nymeria nodded. "Indeed, Lord Gargalen", she confirmed quietly. "My dream is to unite all of Dorne under one banner, and you can still join me in realizing that dream."
"Join you?" He asked with a mocking tone, shaking his head. "I will never join you, you are a foreign invader, here to tear down legacy of the families that have ruled Dorne for centuries."
"So be it", Nymeria said coldly. "But I will let you know that my ally Valor Veltaris has already taken Salt Shore, and holds your family as hostages." Jorvian's eyes widened in shock for a moment, until he chuckled nervously and shook his head. "You are attempting to deceive me, princess", he said, anger oozing from his words. "But I do not believe you! This day... this day will go down to history as the day that your reign ended." With these words Lord Jorvian turned around and rode back to his troops.
"Apologies, princess, our intention was to negotiate for a possible peaceful solution", the man in the middle now said. "By the way, I am Mizro the Sharp, acting commander of the Wild Suns. As I was saying, we can offer you fair terms of surrender, and no one has to die. You can even keep your crown and rule the lands on the eastern shore."
"You heard me earlier, Mizro the Sharp, I do not intend to stand down without a fight", Nymeria repeated calmly, and the sellsword leader nodded with a sigh. "My reinforcements will be here in a few days, so if you wish to defeat me, you better make haste", she added coldly, before turning around and riding away.
As she rode back past her troops, Nymeria felt her heart beating wildly. Hundreds, perhaps thousands were about to die, because of the war she had started. Nothing can ever be achieved without sacrifice, she thought grimly, as she reached the top of the hill again, and turned to look towards the bridge that would soon be turned into a battlefield.
No decision.
-
Nealia
"I was thinking...", Nealia started to say, but hesitated, and Lien raised her eyebrows curiously. "What, Nealia?" She asked softly.
"That maybe you could come with me to Starfall", Nealia finally managed to utter, shrugging apologetically as she said it. "Just a thought", she added shyly. Lien smiled sweetly, but there was also uncertainty in her eyes.
"That would mean leaving my sister behind", she said quietly, and Nealia nodded hastily. "I know, it was a stupid idea..."
"No", Lien cut her off. "I'll think about it. I don't need to decide right now, do I?" She asked with a humorous tone, and Nealia let out a relieved chuckle. "No, of course not", she said quickly, and they both smiled.
"For now, I think we should focus on the battle ahead", Lien said now, and the smile faded from Nealia's face. "Aye, the battle", she replied with a sigh, and Lien put a hand on her shoulder.
"We'll make it through", she said softly. "Together."
-
The Dornish sun burned bright on the blue sky above Godsgrace, and under it stood two armies on the opposite sides of Greenblood, between them a stony bridge. The Rose Company and other sellswords hired by the Martell's stood behind the first line of defense, which was three lines of Martell and Allyrion spearmen. The leaders of the armies had met at the middle of the bridge to negotiate, but no peaceful solution was to be found – a battle was ahead of them.
Nealia stood next to Lien and Ying, Manda and Sarina being right behind them. She could see Tryden ahead, standing right behind the lines of spearmen with the White Elephant and Jinora Ling. Jacke, Broden and Fenn were also near them, and right behind them were Edric Thorne and Gauron Aerarys. Nealia closed her eyes for a moment, taking in a deep breath to calm down. Aside from the occasional muttering and clanking of the weapons and armor, it was dead silent. The calm before the storm, Nealia thought grimly, glancing at the friends around her.
Then, the silence was broken by the enemy leaders shouting their commands at the other side of the river, and about thirty Unsullied soldiers began to march towards the bridge in wedge formation. They advanced slowly on the bridge, keeping their shields up and staying strictly in formation, despite the arrows of the Rhoynar archers taking down few of them. As they got closer to the northern end of the bridge, flaming arrows were shot on their feet, setting ablaze the oiled hay that had been scattered there.
Even the Unsullied couldn't keep formation in the flames. Many of them died in the fire, others leaped down from the bridge to Greenblood where they drowned, and about a dozen of them managed to retreat back to the southern end of the bridge to wait for the fires to go down. There were also a few of them that kept charging forward despite the flames, but they were taken down quickly by the spearmen and archers.
A minute or two passed before the flames died down, and another set of Unsullied formed up and started advancing towards the defenders. The Martell's had played their trick with the fire, and now their line of defense would get its first real test. The Unsullied marched forward despite the rain of arrows falling on them, stepping over the bodies of their fallen comrades, step by step getting closer to the barricades and the spearmen behind them.
As the Unsullied finally reached the northern end of the bridge, there were about twenty of them left. They stayed in formation, tearing down the barricades, while the Martell defenders harassed them with their spears. In span of a few minutes every single one of the Unsullied died, and not a single one of them retreated. Nonetheless, they had managed to do notable damage to the barricades, as well as kill about a dozen of the defenders.
Now another kind of infantry unit charged towards the bridge. There were more of them, close to a hundred, and they advanced in a loose formation, screaming from the bottom of their lungs as they charged. They were lightly armored, and many of them were double wielding either axes or arakhs. The volleys of arrows took down many of them on the way, but several dozens of them still made it to the northern end of the bridge, where they faced the Martell spearmen.
Steel hitting wood and steel, screams of agony, the smell of blood. Nealia and the rest of the Rose Company witnessed all of this from behind, standing on their post, waiting for the attackers to get through. Meanwhile, the enemy had moved a unit of archers at the southern end of the bridge, and they were now shooting volleys upon the spearmen to support the attackers.
Eventually a few of the attackers did indeed manage to slip through the first line of defense, but they were quickly cut down by Tryden and the White Elephant. These men weren't quite as unyielding as the Unsullied, and upon noticing that their numbers had diminished to under twenty troops, most of them started running back towards the southern end of the bridge. Some made it, others got a spear or an arrow to their back. Then, one more unit of infantry approached the bridge, this time spearmen in tabards of House Gargalen.
"Brace yourselves, this is when the battle truly begins", Manda said sternly. She wasn't wrong. By now the barricades has been completely torn down, and the first line of defense had weakened under first waves of attack. The Gargalen spearmen stopped a couple dozen feet away from the defenders, and the first line of attackers threw their spears. Most of the spears simply smashed against the tall shields of the defenders, but few slipped past and took down a defender. The second line of attackers stepped forward, and threw their spears, once again taking down a couple of the defenders. This was repeated three more times, all the while the archers on the southern end of the bridge kept shooting volleys on the defenders, until the sixth line of the attackers decided to charge instead of throwing their spears.
This was when the battle started to get truly chaotic and bloody. The defenders did their best to keep the attackers on the bridge, but the pressure was rising, as well as the pile of bodies. This was when Nealia unsheathed her words, glancing at Lien and Ying who did the same. While the attackers were about to break through the first line of defense, Nealia noticed the Martell's moving their cavalry on the eastern flank, while the infantry reinforcements moved on the western flank – the bridge and its defenders between them.
However, Nealia's attention was quickly shifted away from this, as the Gargalen troops finally pushed through the defenders, now charging against the sellswords and tribesmen. Lien and Ying on her flanks, Nealia rushed into the battle. The first enemy she came across had been injured, limping as he approached Nealia. He roared and swung his sword desperately at Nealia, but she deflected it with her left sword, and stabbed him on the stomach with the other blade. The man fell on his knees, wailing in pain, and Ying ended it by slashing his throat open.
As they kept pushing towards the bridge, Nealia saw Fenn and Tryden standing there back to back, surrounded by enemies. Tryden was hacking some poor Gargalen soldier to pieces with his battleaxe, while Fenn impaled another one with his greatsword. Manda charged into help them, as did many other members of the Rose Company. Soon the attackers were overwhelmed, and had to retreat back to the bridge. The White Elephant chase down the retreating attackers together with Jinora and bunch of the tribesmen.
The attackers had been overwhelmed and pushed back, but they had broken the Martell's first line of defense, and taken down a considerable number of their forces. As the sellswords and tribesmen began to re-establish the defensive line on the northern end of the bridge, they realized what the next move of the attackers would be. Cavalry of more than hundred riders carrying the banners of Dryland, Gargalen and Uller approached the southern end of the bridge. "Oh fuck", Ying muttered grimly. They all picked spears from the ground and formed up, waiting for the cavalry to charge. With the barricades and spearmen gone, all that was in the way of the enemy riders now was a poorly organized line of sellswords and tribesmen.
"Forward, Children of the Sun!" Nealia heard the leader of the enemy cavalry roaring at the other end of the bridge, and so they charged forward with thunderous battle cries. The sound of the hooves striking against the stone of the bridge filled the world for a moment, and then the riders crashed against the defenders, turning the world around Nealia into a pit of chaos and blood. She wasn't even sure what hit her, but she stumbled on her back, loosing grip of the spear, as a dead body fell on top of her. She heard screams of pain from both men and horses all around her, she was stuck, and could hardly breath. Gathering all her strength, Nealia pushed the dead body away, and crawled to grab her spear. As she was about to get back on her feet, she saw an enemy rider charging right towards her. However, just as she thought she'd be crushed, an arrow landed on the head of the horse, and in crumbled down just a few feet away from her.
Nealia got quickly back up on her feet, and rushed towards the fallen horse. The rider was still alive, crushed and stuck under his dead mount, couching blood. Nealia eyed him for a few seconds with pity, before granting him the mercy of death.
The enemy cavalry had rushed through the sellswords and tribesmen, and was now rallying at the small hill north of the bridge, while the rest of their infantry was starting to advance towards the bridge from the south. The Dryland cavalry had three choices, it could either challenge the Martell cavalry on the eastern flank or the infantry reinforcements on the western flank, or it could charge right back towards the bridge, leaving the sellswords and tribesmen stuck between them and the advancing infantry.
The choice was not left for them though, as Nymeria made the first move. The Martell cavalry was on the move, and charged towards the Dryland cavalry. However, Nealia had no time concentrate on that, as the diminished force of sellswords and tribesmen formed up once again to defend the northern end of the bridge. "We hold the bridge!" Tryden roared, and the troops obeyed and stayed at their post, even if the advancing infantry force outnumbered them at least three to one.
Nealia made her way to the second line, right behind Tryden and Fenn, her lower back and upper left leg aching with every step. At this point she couldn't see Lien or Ying anywhere, but she pushed that out of her mind, concentrating solely on the approaching enemy. Looking further towards the bridge though, she spotted the dead bodies of the White Elephant, Jacke and Broden, lying among the dozens and dozens of lifeless corpses. None of them had been close to her, but it was a disheartening sight nonetheless.
"Forward!" Tryden commanded, and so they started marching towards the middle of the bridge, where they would face the enemy. Stepping over the bodies, blood spalshing under her boots, Nealia was convinced that she was marching towards her death. As they clashed with the enemy, all Nealia could think of in the middle of cacophony of the battle was that she would take down as many of them as she could. She parried, thrusted, swung, over and over again, and more enemies just kept pouring towards her. Finally, one of the enemy blades hit her, stabbing her on the lower abdomen, and sending her to stumble down behind the first line of defense.
There she laid, on top of dead bodies, gazing at the blazing sun above her with squinted eyes, sure that any moment now the defense would be overwhelmed and she'd be trampled to death by the attackers. Minutes went by as she laid there half-conscious, and the sounds of battle were faint, almost like in a dream.
Then, suddenly she heard cheers, louder and louder. Forcing to tilt her head up, she saw the attackers retreating from the bridge. As she turned around to look towards north, she saw the reason. The Martell's had defeated the Dryland cavalry, and now marched on the bridge, led by Princess Nymeria herself.
"Victory!" Was the last thing Nealia heard, before finally passing out.
No decision
The first major victory of Nymeria, but at what cost for the Rose Company, and the friends of the White Elephant.
Shame for the Unsullied, but they did what they were bred for.
Whoa... this definitely did not go as I thought and I'm quite a bit shocked right now. I mean, not the outcome of the battle in general, but you know, Nealia. Her part was absolutely brutal and crushing. I am glad Ying and Lien likely survived, but holy shit, Nealia. Seeing the White Elephant, Jacke and Broden all dead would have been enough to shock me already, because of how fast it all went. Particularly the White Elephant was so strangely intriguing as a character that I would have been willing to bet that he would live to Book 2 and I couldn't have been more wrong. But Nealia herself, oh man, that one caught me absolutely by surprise. Thing is, I am not sure if she is dead, because we all know, the rule is nobody is dead until we see their actual dead body, but her chances are horrible. She is alone, bleeding out from a wound that could easily kill her on its own, many of her allies are dead, we don't know if those that care for her are still alive and if they are, we don't know if they are anywhere near her and she needs immediate medical attention to survive this. The silver lining is Nymeria herself, who probably has an interest in saving the wounded, but it all comes down to if Nealia can be saved at all, because abdominal wounds are nothing to take lightly. I remain carefully optimistic that she will survive, because Nealia is among the PoV's I consider the least likely to die before Book 2 due to the potential a reunion with her family could provide. However, I have been wrong before and am probably wrong with a majority of my assumptions to begin with, so I am not certain and that makes me nervous. If anything, this part pretty much proved that it's on, absolutely everyone can die in these next couple of parts and that is something I really dread. If not even Nealia is safe, then I have to rethink some speculation I considered quite likely before. The battle itself was awesome though, brutal, but awesome, even if I was surprised that Nymeria managed to win already. I wonder if Lucifer is truly defeated, or if he manages to regroup and become a threat once more. So far, Valor hasn't even been needed to turn the tides, which was the true surprise here, so if Lucifer cannot beat Nymeria on her own, his chances will turn even worse once the reinforcements arrive. I guess this alone could seal Lucifer's fate, as his lords might be less loyal to him now that he has lost what was supposed to be the easier part of the battle. Jorvian Gargalen might switch sides for the good of his family, if he realizes that Nym was not bluffing, Harrion Uller could turn against Lucifer since his victory becomes less and less likely. But well, oh well, I am scared for Nealia and since I was previously so certain she would live for sure, I am also growing more and more concerned for those I already am concerned for. Argh, the finale of this chapter is really shaping up to be super intense and I am already on the edge of my seat.
Indeed, Nealia is in quite a critical condition, and had the battle continued for much longer she would've had no hope of surviving. Now, if she is spotted and given first aid quickly enough, she might still have a chance to pull through. I can at least confirm that she is not dead at the end of this part. And yep, White Elephant is dead, leaving his small group without a leader. This was actually the reason I chose to kill him in particular here - it puts the other characters from his group in a situation where they have to choose what to do next, whom to follow, etc. He was a quite intriguing character, and it's clear he has a lot of interesting adventures behind him, but tbh there wasn't that much he had to offer narratively to NW. Jacke and Broden on the other hand, well, they are tough losses for Tryden and the Rose Company. Broden especially, since he is probably the closest thing Tryden has to an actual friend, and after Illor's death he was the second-in-command for the Rose Company.
Ah, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
I had a blast planning and then writing this battle, especially since it was quite different from what we've had so far in NW. I would say it was definitely the most brutal battle of the story so far, and will probably remain that at least until later parts of Book 2. But yeah, what really determined the outcome of this battle was the advantage that defending the bridge gave to the Martell's. The Dryland's had the numbers, but they simply had to sacrifice too much to get through that first line of defense. Normally it would've been smarter for the Dryland's to just wait and not engage, perhaps even retreat and find an alternative route, but they were pressed on time here because of the Fallen Dragons, as well as the fact that they were running out of supplies because of the earlier raid by the Hyenas. Anyway, you have some good speculation there, and let's just say that the next Nymeria part will concentrate on the aftermath of this battle, which should give you a lot of answers regarding how will the war continue from here.
Has season 2 started?
Book 2 should start around mid to late February