You can give as short or lenghty answers as you wish, I'd just like to hear your thoughts and opinions
1. Who was your favorite PoV in Book 1? Why? (You can give several)
2. Who was your least favorite PoV in Book 1?
3. Who was your favorite non-PoV in Book 1?
4. Who was your least favorite non-PoV in Book 1?
5. What were your favorite moments/parts/scenes in Book 1? (You can also tell your least favorite if you wish)
6. What was your favorite storyline in Book 1?
Bonus: Which storyline(s) are you most looking forward to in Book 2?
Also, if you have any advises/ideas/suggestions regarding the story that you'd like to share, go ahead
And if you have any questions for me, feel free to ask!
-
And I also have an announcement to make! Before Book 2 begins, there will be an Interlude which includes 6 parts, one for each of the Dornish kings. If you read FoT (and I think most of you do), then you know where I got this idea from And don't worry, I've been working on these beforehand and I'm planning on publishing them in quite a rapid succession, so this shouldn't prolong the wait for Book 2 too much. The first two of these parts should come in just a couple of days
Let's see
1.- I guess my favorite POV's were Nymeria, Valor and Naelia.
2.- I suppose it was Dianna for how, despite succeeding in her goal of saving Lysera, I think she was a bit wasted.
3.- I like Raina, mainly because she helped Kourtney escape Kingsgrave, and unlike Myke and Joran, lived to return.
4.- Valerie Sand, mainly because she killed Trendan without mercy.
5.- The Battles of Lemonwood and Godsgrace bridge were quite intense and awesome to read.
6.- I guess it was Naelia's storyline and how she comes to truly love Lien, staying with her and hoping she recovers.
Bonus: I'm all fired up for the clash against House Dayne, although first they have to defeat House Qorgyle, who most certainly will not make it easy.
There it is, the questions I shall try my best to answer them all to my best ability, for Book 1 has been, hands down, one of the best things I have read.
Who was your favorite PoV in Book 1? Why? (You can give several)
Ah, I am definitely glad I am allowed to give several here, because there is no way I could have ever narrowed it down to one. In short, it is Gwendis, Jamison and Nealia, maybe Valor as well, but I am more on the fence about him for the entirety of Book 1, given that he was only part of it for one chapter. If it would be just this one chapter, I would probably include him, but I am obviously feeling more strongly about the ones who have been part of the story for longer. If he stays as great as he is in this chapter, he has perfect chances of becoming a favourite for the entirety of Book 2 though. Now, I suppose it is obvious why I include Gwendis, there is without a doubt not a character I tried harder to get through this first book. I absolutely love her development and her storyline, though more about the latter one below. And well, as such, not naming her here would be lying to myself. Jamison meanwhile is, I think, one of the most intriguing characters in the story, because he is such a grey character, serving for one of the most audaciously funny scenes while also being this badass, a jerk at most times but also with moments of genuine kindness in him, mostly for Isabella. And well, Nealia is a close third in this list, because she has simply always been amazing and this chapter was her best to date. I cannot wait for each of these three in the next chapter, they are, without any doubt, my favourite characters at this point. Honourable mentions go to Nym and Verro, but I really cannot include all of them, as much as I'd want to
Who was your least favorite PoV in Book 1?
Pretty much the only one I could possibly mention here is Tomas. All of the other PoV's, I felt at least neutral about at all times, but he had to recover from being my least favourite character in general, in the pre-Aisha days. And he still hasn't recovered in full. I mean, it is not that I hate him, not anymore, but when he competes with inherently sympathetic characters such as Isabella or Gwendis, plain badass ones such as Nealia or Jamison or Nymeria as the main character, there is really not much he has speaking in his favour. As such, my least favourite has to be him and I really wouldn't have been too sad if he would have died instead of Myke, Dalia or Dianna.
Who was your favorite non-PoV in Book 1?
Aaaah, there's so many XD Once more, I gotta have this little list here, it is, in no particular order: Desi, Hondo, Varyn, Desmor, Benedict, Garrison and Bridget. Mors would be among them, but with the surprising and very welcome reveal that he will be a recurring PoV in Book 2, I obviously cannot include him here anymore. Bridget and Hondo are relatively new characters, but they quickly left and impression, with Hondo in particular having this spectacular role in the second half of Kris' storyline. Desmor meanwhile, I always liked him, I feel downright sorry for him and I must say, he is certainly the non-PoV I want to see surviving the story the most at this point. Benny and Garry have always been my favourite kings and I cannot wait for their upcoming parts. And Varyn, well, I was always curious how you'd portray him and I gotta say, you are knocking it out of the park in every part he's appearing in. Finally, Desi... how could I not name her? Is there anything not to absolutely love about that girl? Seriously, she is my favourite non-PoV in Book 1, without a doubt.
Who was your least favorite non-PoV in Book 1?
Oh man, grab a seat, this is going to take a while XD No, seriously, it actually can be summed up pretty quickly it is... not Aisha. No, really, it is not Aisha, albeit I would like to give her an honorary mention here, may she burn in hell. In the end, she has lost everything, even the one thing that has always been for certain, my utter hatred. She is now no longer Worst #1, but Worst #3, after the eternal second, Wesley the Worstley and, of course, Valerie fucking Sand. She has, by no means, redeemed herself with her final act of pleading for Gwen's life, because she is majorly responsible for her current condition to begin with, but she was arguably out-worsed by her own henchman and that witch lich bitch. The reason why she is still here is because she has been the catalyst for the bad in that storyline and I will never, under any circumstance, forgive that she murdered my dear ship Wesley, well, he has been more a force of nature than a genuine character, that silent, absolutely terrifying tool of evil and he has been the most unsettling out of the three. He shall never be forgiven for being the weapon to murder Lyla and Dalia and I strongly suspect that he was also the one to murder Trentan, albeit on Valerie's order. And Valerie... whom else could have gained this position? If someone manages to be worse than Aisha in such a short amount of time, they earn this place as the single worst character in the story. I hope so badly that she stays dead, but I fear the worst. Now, to name at least one character not actually involved with the Great Other, I have developed a serious hatred for Larry. Like Valerie became worse than Aisha, he became worse than Albin and as such, I really am sad about him surviving Book 1. Let's hope we can correct this mistake in Book 2.
What were your favorite moments/parts/scenes in Book 1? (You can also tell your least favorite if you wish)
Does pretty much every Gwendis scene were I nearly got a heartattack count? That'd be the time she saw the Great Other in the cave, the death of Lyla, the death of Trentan and the confrontation between Team R'hllor and Team Awful. While I did not necessarily enjoy these scenes in their contents, there is no doubt these were utterly thrilling and they deserve a mention. Also, the battle scenes. Lemonwood and Godsgrace have been highlights, but the one that stuck with me the most is actually the battle of Vaith, even if the stakes haven't been as high there. It was the first time Kris truly got to shine and I consider the fight between him, Dalia and Jamison to be simply amazing. In general, I was super concerned for Jamison during this battle, because I have deduced pretty early that he would fall under Valerie's spell. Kortney's escape from Kingsgrave, the final parts for Valor and Gwen, the marriage between Jamison and Isabella and, one part from way back that always stuck with me, the talk between Benedict and Gwendis, pretty much the first time I began to like him. It was their last talk for now and I will do whatever it takes to make sure it won't remain their last.
What was your favorite storyline in Book 1?
First of all, if we'd go just by Chapter 3, I'd include Kris, because he has had some of the best material this chapter, but I found him kinda alright in Chapter 2, so he is overall more mixed. Valor would also be here in that case, because his sole chapter has been tremendous, but not enough to outshine the ones who have been here for longer. Same as with the PoV's, the answer is Gwendis, Jamison, Nealia and this time, I will include Nymeria and Kortney. Gwendis, no doubts here, I have been on the edge of my seat the entire time. Her storyline was terrifying, thrilling, gut-wrenching, occasionally heartwarming and ultimately triumphant. Jamison has been less terrifying, but more on the awesome part and his whole personality has made his storyline an occasionally hilarious joy to read. Nealia had some of the best scenes, taking place during most of the large battles in Book 1 and I somehow can see this trend continuing in Book 2. Nym has grown on me from having a rather mediocre storyline in Chapter 1 to constantly getting better and better and ultimately plain awesome in Chapters 2 and 3, while Kortney has been in the worst place of them all, mentally and physically, but she somehow pulled through and her storyline has therefore been absolutely great to read.
Bonus: Which storyline(s) are you most looking forward to in Book 2?
Ah, would you be surprised when I say Gwen? The bias is strong with this one, but I cannot not name her, because with her leaving for Volantis, I can see her storyline developing in a really fascinating and new way. Jamison and Isabella, I can't wait to see them again and I am super curious to see what Verro and Kortney will be up to next time we see them. And now that Mors is a proper PoV, I am actually really excited to see what sort of a storyline we'll be getting from him in the coming chapters
Alright, I think it's time for the questions!
You can give as short or lenghty answers as you wish, I'd just like to hear your thoughts a… morend opinions
1. Who was your favorite PoV in Book 1? Why? (You can give several)
2. Who was your least favorite PoV in Book 1?
3. Who was your favorite non-PoV in Book 1?
4. Who was your least favorite non-PoV in Book 1?
5. What were your favorite moments/parts/scenes in Book 1? (You can also tell your least favorite if you wish)
6. What was your favorite storyline in Book 1?
Bonus: Which storyline(s) are you most looking forward to in Book 2?
Also, if you have any advises/ideas/suggestions regarding the story that you'd like to share, go ahead
And if you have any questions for me, feel free to ask!
-
And I also have an announcement to make! Before Book 2 begins, there will be an Interlude which includes 6 parts, one for each of the Dornish kings. If you read FoT (and I t… [view original content]
Who was your favorite PoV in Book 1? Why? (You can give several)
Well, Verro for very bias reasons. I also enjoyed Gwendis and her intriguing storyline.
Who was your least favorite PoV in Book 1?
I would have to agree with Liquid and say Tomas Toland.
Who was your favorite non-PoV in Book 1?
There is so many to choose from. I quite enjoyed Trentan and his character development. Eraehra also played an important role in helping to develop Nymeria's character. I still have a soft spot for Illor and wished he could have survived. There are plenty of others as well, but I want to get on to the next question.
Who was your least favorite non-PoV in Book 1?
That's easy. Valerie Sand. She had Trentan murdered gruesomely. Not to mention, all the other horrible things she did. Hopefully, she stays dead, and if not she dies in a much worse way in the future.
What were your favorite moments/parts/scenes in Book 1? (You can also tell your least favorite if you wish)
The battles provided some pretty epic moments. Particularly the battle between Kris and a mind controlled Jamison was pretty cool, during the Battle of Vaith. I also enjoyed seeing Jamison and Isabella's wedding. I was also happy that Kortney managed to escape Kingsgrave. There are many other moments I enjoyed as well.
What was your favorite storyline in Book 1?
Despite Trentan's death, Gwendis's storyline was the most intense and interesting to me. I was always excited when one of her parts came up.
Bonus: Which storyline(s) are you most looking forward to in Book 2?
I'm really curious to see how Verro and Kortney's storylines will collide. How will Nesila react to finding out the truth of what happened to Norano? I can't wait to find out.
* Who was your favorite PoV in Book 1? Why? (You can give several)
Well, Verro for very bias reasons. I also enjoyed Gwendis and her intrig… moreuing storyline.
* Who was your least favorite PoV in Book 1?
I would have to agree with Liquid and say Tomas Toland.
* Who was your favorite non-PoV in Book 1?
There is so many to choose from. I quite enjoyed Trentan and his character development. Eraehra also played an important role in helping to develop Nymeria's character. I still have a soft spot for Illor and wished he could have survived. There are plenty of others as well, but I want to get on to the next question.
* Who was your least favorite non-PoV in Book 1?
That's easy. Valerie Sand. She had Trentan murdered gruesomely. Not to mention, all the other horrible things she did. Hopefully, she stays dead, and if not she dies in a much worse way in the future.
* What were your favorite moments/parts/scenes in Book 1? (You can also tell your… [view original content]
Who was your favorite PoV in Book 1? Why? (You can give several)
Jamison stoods out as my favourite, just because we can see him growing as a character so much while still remaining a bad ass. But very close behing him are Naemon, Dianna, Isabella and Ortheg.
Who was your least favorite PoV in Book 1?
There was no PoV i disliked, but for the sole reason of me generally disliking both great other and R'hllor followers, Dalia stood out as least favourite I guess.
Who was your favorite non-PoV in Book 1?
Oh, my boy Tryden for sure. I may be biased here but I genuinely like him as a bad ass character and a great leader. Other than him, I really liked Mors, Garrison and Tanya.
Who was your least favorite non-PoV in Book 1?
Aisha, is it even a surprise? Yeah we all hate her, together with Valerie. I also don't trust Forovos yet, at all. Albin Manwoody is up there as well together with all thos freaks in his castle (Thankfully only Larry is still alive).
What were your favorite moments/parts/scenes in Book 1? (You can also tell your least favorite if you wish)
Battles generally, all of them. Also both last Jamison part and Epilogue was quite heart warming. Myke dying for Kortney was also pretty epic.
What was your favorite storyline in Book 1?
It was Jamison's for pretty much the same reason he is my favourite PoV. Also I liked Nymeria's storyline as kind of the main storyline. But many others were up there as well, mostly aligning with my favourite PoVs.
Bonus: Which storyline(s) are you most looking forward to in Book 2?
The most immediate thing I'm looking forward is to see where are we after the time skip. After that I'll probably realise which storylines I'm looking forward the most. And of course, there are some epic battles coming that I'm definitely looking forward as well.
Anyways, keep doing what you are doing without hesitating to improve where you think you should improve, and this story will remain awesome!
Hello! So, as I said earlier, there will be an interlude before Book 2 begins, giving us a single PoV part for each of the kings. We'll start this with a Lucifer PoV, getting a glimpse to his life at the Wall. I'll try to get all of these parts out within a week or so
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Interlude: The Kings of Dorne
Crows of a Feather
It was summer, but up here in the North that didn't mean much. Lucifer Dryland felt the crisp wind on his skin, and it felt colder than anything he had ever felt back in Dorne. Even under his thick wool and leather clothes and fur coat Lucifer was shivering. I'll never get used to this, he thought grimly.
Another thing Lucifer would never get used to was looking up a seven hundred feet tall wall of ice every single day. Right now, he was riding towards said wall, and specifically the gates of Nightfort, already hearing the horn of the gatekeeper welcoming him. Nightfort was the oldest and largest castle the Night's Watch had, and it did have a certain crude majesty to it. Just by looking at it Lucifer could tell that parts of it had stood there for thousands of years, whereas other parts had been added or rebuilt much later. This was the first time Lucifer was here, summoned by the Lord Commander himself, after serving almost two years in Eastwatch-by-the-sea. They had been the two most miserable years in his life, and not a day went by without him hoping he had defeated Nymeria, or at least fell on the battlefield fighting for his kingdom. Now he was just withering away here at the edge of the civilized world, struggling every day with the thought that his line would come to an end and there was nothing he could do about it.
Lucifer's grim thoughts were interrupted by the gates of the Nightfort opening in front of him. He rode into the crowded courtyard, which had no welcoming party waiting for him. The brothers of the castle all continued their chores and training, hardly even paying attention to the newcomer. I'm certainly not a king to these people.
As he dismounted his horse, Lucifer did notice one man approaching him. This man was on his mid-twenties, tall and handsome, with pale skin, short dark hair and sharp grey eyes. "Lucifer Dryland?" He asked with a deep and smooth voice, and Lucifer nodded with a stern expression on his face. "Aye, I am," he grunted as an answer, and a small smile formed on the young man's face.
"Welcome to Nightfort," he said casually, and offered his hand for shaking. "I'm Eldon Stark, ranger of the Night's Watch, and the fourthborn son of King Eyron Stark." Lucifer grabbed the ranger's hand and looked him in the eyes. "Never thought I'd meet a Stark," he said with a mildly amused tone, to which Eldon chuckled softly.
"Can't say I ever expected to meet a Dryland," he replied with a relaxed tone. "Anyway, Lord Commander Osmund is waiting for you," the Stark continued with a more professional tone, and Lucifer nodded. "Let's go then," he urged, and Eldon Stark began to lead him towards the quarters of the Lord Commander.
Lucifer had heard a lot about Osmund Gardener during his days in the Eastwatch, and he had looked forward to meeting him in person. Being the son of the late King Gyles Gardener, fifth of his name, Osmund came from a status even higher than Lucifer, which was rare in this place. So far most of the fellow brothers-in-black that Lucifer had met had been either third- or fourthborn sons of some petty lords, or common folk criminals. Osmund was a thirdborn as well, but the thirdborn of one of the most powerful families in Westeros.
Eldon led them past the armory and the great hall, leading them to the ancient stony keep that was leaning against the giant wall of ice. The watchers guarding the doors paid no mind to them, and soon they were at the dark wooden door of the Lord Commander's office. Eldon Stark knocked, and soon a dark-haired and pale boy on his early teens opened the door. "Morning, Ned," Eldon greeted with a warm and friendly tone, and a happy smile formed on the boy's face. "Morning, Uncle Eldon," he responded calmly, before turning his eyes to Lucifer. "You're Lucifer Dryland, right?" He asked, and Lucifer nodded. "Yes, I've been summoned here by the Lord Commander."
"Aye, he's been waiting for you," the boy said, making way for him. "We'll wait outside," he added, walking next to Eldon. Lucifer nodded again, and entered the room, closing the door behind him. Turning his eyes to left, he saw the Lord Commander sitting quietly behind his desk. He was an old man, probably on his early eighties, with wavy light grey hair, bushy beard and wrinkled pale skin. However, the look on his green eyes was still sharp, and he sat on his chair with a remarkably good composure for his age.
"Lucifer Dryland," Osmund Gardener spoke up with a calm and sharp tone on his voice. "Please, take a seat." Quietly Lucifer approached the desk, and sat down opposed to Osmund. "Lord Commander," he grunted with a small nod, and a sly smirk formed on the old Gardener's face.
"How has your time in Eastwatch been?" He asked calmly. Lucifer stayed quiet for a few seconds, considering his words. "Could've been worse," he finally answered with a shrug, which made Osmund chuckle. "It's been over thirty years, but I still remember my first days at the Wall," he said with a wistful sigh. "It was winter back then, and a harsh one as well. I had never experienced anything like it in the Reach, and there were days when I was certain I wouldn't survive. But I did, and here I am now. I imagine these two years have been hard for you, for multitude of reasons."
"They have," Lucifer admitted sternly, and Osmund nodded. "I must say I was surprised when I received the letter from the Martells. A Dornish king being sent to the Wall by a foreign conqueror? I admit, the Reachman in me felt a certain glee at the thought. Less than two centuries ago the Dornish raided our lands and burned down Highgarden while the kingdom was torn apart by the civil war between the Peakes and the Manderlys. My great-grandfather Mern the Sixth rebuilt Highgarden and united the Reach under one banner again, and my grandfather Garth the Eleventh took vengeance upon the Dornish by littering the Red Mountains with Blackmont and Manwoody corpses."
"That was over a century ago," Lucifer pointed out nonchalantly, and Osmund nodded in agreement. "True. By now my grandfather is long dead, as is my father and all my brothers. Now the kingdom is ruled by my nephew whom I last saw when he was still more boy than a man, but I can guarantee you that the hatred for Dornish still runs deep in my family."
"So, now you want to take some petty vengeance on me, is that it?" Lucifer asked cynically, but to his surprise Osmund Gardener shook his head. "If I was still Prince Osmund Gardener, grandson of King Garth the Painter, then yes, perhaps I would feel the need to humiliate you, just as Garth humiliated your people so long ago. However, I am no prince, I am the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, sworn by a sacred oath to take no sides in the conflicts of Westeros. I assume we can extend that oath to apply for the conflicts of the past. I am not a Gardener, and you are not a Dryland – not anymore. No, we are both brothers of the Night's Watch, the watchers on the Wall."
"So, why did you summon me here, Lord Commander?" Lucifer asked sharply. Osmund took in a deep breath, studying Lucifer's face while he considered his answer. "You were defeated by a conqueror, but you were a king before that," he began with a calm tone on his words. "You may have a new purpose here, but there is no reason to ignore your past. You were a ruler, raised to a position of power, trained to command. The past two years you have been acting as a mere servant on the Eastwatch, and perhaps that has been necessary to remind you that you are not a king anymore, but one of many equal brothers in black, serving the realms of men. However, about a month ago I received a raven from Westwatch, informing me that its commander had fallen. Harwin Umber was a great warrior, who had successfully defended the Westwatch against the wildlings for over a decade, so I was shocked to learn he had been slain by a band of raiders attempting to cross the Bridge of Skulls. Westwatch is the fort that gets assaulted by the wildling tribes most frequently, and now it has been left without a proper leader."
"You would make me Commander of Westwatch?" Lucifer asked with a genuinely surprised tone, and the Lord Commander nodded affirmatively. “Aye”, he said quietly, narrowing his eyes as he leaned closer and looked Lucifer to the eyes. “The position is not a comfortable one, nor does it give you a crown or bring you any personal glory. Westwatch is a hard place, and it requires a strong leader, a commander capable of rallying his brothers against the wildlings, again and again. Do you see yourself as the man for the job, Lucifer Dryland?”
“I do”, Lucifer answered with stern determination in his voice, and the Lord Commander’s lips formed a satisfied smirk.
Ah, it seems between all these Stark's and Gardener's, Lucifer is in good company, actually. Good for him. He's been a shitty king and person, but I still believe that he does not deserve death, so this is good. It isn't even all that humiliating anymore now that he is Commander of Westwatch. I mean, I have this heavy dislike for him, he deserves every bit of his current situation, but this part made me hate him a little bit less. I really have to wonder though if he will run into one of the other kings once they are sent to the wall
One thing I am curious about, does Lucifer even know that Dalia died? She did abandon him, so he might consider her dead to him in a figurative sense, but as far as I know, nobody ever went and told him about her actual fate. It might be common knowledge by now due to Kris' return to Vaith and him likely informing some people, such as Myra and maybe even Nymeria about what happened, but it got me thinking if word has reached the Wall, given that he seems to be certain his line will end with him.
Actually, that reminds me, I forgot to ask one important thing: What would have happened if Dalia wouldn't have accompanied Desi and instead led the Dryland armies? And in a similar manner, what would have happened if Kris wouldn't have accompanied them? And what would have happened if neither would have went with Desi?
Hello! So, as I said earlier, there will be an interlude before Book 2 begins, giving us a single PoV part for each of the kings. We'll star… moret this with a Lucifer PoV, getting a glimpse to his life at the Wall. I'll try to get all of these parts out within a week or so
-
Interlude: The Kings of Dorne
Crows of a Feather
It was summer, but up here in the North that didn't mean much. Lucifer Dryland felt the crisp wind on his skin, and it felt colder than anything he had ever felt back in Dorne. Even under his thick wool and leather clothes and fur coat Lucifer was shivering. I'll never get used to this, he thought grimly.
Another thing Lucifer would never get used to was looking up a seven hundred feet tall wall of ice every single day. Right now, he was riding towards said wall, and specifically the gates of Nightfort, already hearing the horn of the gatekeeper welcoming him. Nightfort was the oldest and largest castle the Night… [view original content]
Ah, it seems between all these Stark's and Gardener's, Lucifer is in good company, actually. Good for him. He's been a shitty king and person, but I still believe that he does not deserve death, so this is good. It isn't even all that humiliating anymore now that he is Commander of Westwatch. I mean, I have this heavy dislike for him, he deserves every bit of his current situation, but this part made me hate him a little bit less. I really have to wonder though if he will run into one of the other kings once they are sent to the wall
Indeed, Osmund Gardener is a pretty fair and competent Lord Commander, and these Starks are an example of the more honorable members of the Night's Watch. That said, I can guarantee you that the two years Lucifer spent at Eastwatch were absolutely miserable. I mean, going from a king to a grunt level servant must be quite shocking in itself, but the Wall is a remarkably miserable place, which would've only intensified Lucifer's misery And it's not like being Commander of Westwatch will be particularly easy or luxurious either, but at least he'll have some authority again.
One thing I am curious about, does Lucifer even know that Dalia died? She did abandon him, so he might consider her dead to him in a figurative sense, but as far as I know, nobody ever went and told him about her actual fate. It might be common knowledge by now due to Kris' return to Vaith and him likely informing some people, such as Myra and maybe even Nymeria about what happened, but it got me thinking if word has reached the Wall, given that he seems to be certain his line will end with him.
Ah yes, in retrospect I probably should've made this more clear, but he does indeed know that Dalia is dead. He would've learned it before sailing to the Wall, probably in Vaith when being escorted to Salt Shore (from where he then was transported to Eastwatch).
Actually, that reminds me, I forgot to ask one important thing: What would have happened if Dalia wouldn't have accompanied Desi and instead led the Dryland armies? And in a similar manner, what would have happened if Kris wouldn't have accompanied them? And what would have happened if neither would have went with Desi?
It would've depended on if she would've surrendered early enough to Nymeria. If she would've kept resisting even after the defeat at the battle of Godsgrace she would've ended up dead. However, if she had surrendered and knelt to Nymeria, she would've been made the Lady of Hellgate Hall once Lucifer was removed. However, the Ullers would've demanded that she is their bannerman, and not the other way around. She also wouldn't have had any more children, and because Desi has no interest in the Dryland name and legacy, the line would've still ended eventually. Oh, and in terms of the confrontation, it would've been fairly similar to how it was now, just Belan dying instead of Dalia. As for if Kris hadn't been there, Team R'hllor would've still won, it just would've been a bit harder. And if neither of them would've gone... I'll be honest, I really hoped to avoid this scenario and I'm not sure if I would've actually had the guts to go through with it, but at least in my planning it would've led to Team GO winning. This would've really been the most miserable scenario possible, because the GO victory wouldn't have even been due to Dark Gwen turning the tables, but rather just Team R'hllor being too weak to defeat Valerie. Ugh, I'm glad I didn't have to write that
Ah, it seems between all these Stark's and Gardener's, Lucifer is in good company, actually. Good for him. He's been a shitty king and perso… moren, but I still believe that he does not deserve death, so this is good. It isn't even all that humiliating anymore now that he is Commander of Westwatch. I mean, I have this heavy dislike for him, he deserves every bit of his current situation, but this part made me hate him a little bit less. I really have to wonder though if he will run into one of the other kings once they are sent to the wall
One thing I am curious about, does Lucifer even know that Dalia died? She did abandon him, so he might consider her dead to him in a figurative sense, but as far as I know, nobody ever went and told him about her actual fate. It might be common knowledge by now due to Kris' return to Vaith and him likely informing some people, such as Myra and maybe even Nymeria about what happened, but it got me thinking if … [view original content]
It would've depended on if she would've surrendered early enough to Nymeria. If she would've kept resisting even after the defeat at the battle of Godsgrace she would've ended up dead. However, if she had surrendered and knelt to Nymeria, she would've been made the Lady of Hellgate Hall once Lucifer was removed. However, the Ullers would've demanded that she is their bannerman, and not the other way around. She also wouldn't have had any more children, and because Desi has no interest in the Dryland name and legacy, the line would've still ended eventually. Oh, and in terms of the confrontation, it would've been fairly similar to how it was now, just Belan dying instead of Dalia. As for if Kris hadn't been there, Team R'hllor would've still won, it just would've been a bit harder. And if neither of them would've gone... I'll be honest, I really hoped to avoid this scenario and I'm not sure if I would've actually had the guts to go through with it, but at least in my planning it would've led to Team GO winning. This would've really been the most miserable scenario possible, because the GO victory wouldn't have even been due to Dark Gwen turning the tables, but rather just Team R'hllor being too weak to defeat Valerie. Ugh, I'm glad I didn't have to write that
Holy shit, that would have indeed been the worst possible outcome, as well as the only one that would have seen Gwen remaining under Valerie's control. While I am heavily against that Dark Gwen part as well, I must at least admit that it sounds preferrable over whatever fate would have awaited her in that case. I mean, we know Valerie's spell did a serious number on her after only a couple of days, but with no one around to intervene in that case, I suppose she would have remained in that state probably for the entire timeskip (unless the Great Other takes offense at it for some reason). I also suppose Wesley would have survived and that piece of shit already overstayed his welcome. I ultimately think that we have picked the best possible route here. While Dalia's death holds a certain sadness, I like Belan more than her, so I am not too unhappy with the alternative, especially as she had a good death, fighting to protect her daughter. Argh, while we ultimately followed the right path from the very beginning, there were so many bullets we dodged along the way
Ah, it seems between all these Stark's and Gardener's, Lucifer is in good company, actually. Good for him. He's been a shitty king and perso… moren, but I still believe that he does not deserve death, so this is good. It isn't even all that humiliating anymore now that he is Commander of Westwatch. I mean, I have this heavy dislike for him, he deserves every bit of his current situation, but this part made me hate him a little bit less. I really have to wonder though if he will run into one of the other kings once they are sent to the wall
Indeed, Osmund Gardener is a pretty fair and competent Lord Commander, and these Starks are an example of the more honorable members of the Night's Watch. That said, I can guarantee you that the two years Lucifer spent at Eastwatch were absolutely miserable. I mean, going from a king to a grunt level servant must be quite shocking in itself, but the Wall is a remarkably miserable place, which would've on… [view original content]
When it comes to the epilogue, man how did I not realize that was where you were going with it? I would not have ever guessed but I guessed that just left me room to be surprised. With that said, it was obviously very enjoyable to read and it kept with the positive theme of the last few parts in chapter 3 as well. Overall, that was a pretty great ending to Book 1 seeing a happy moment and now knowing that Mors will be a PoV it is safe to say I am excited to learn more about him and his particular view on what is going on moving forward.
Now for the questions!
Who was your favorite PoV in Book 1? Why? (You can give several)
Of course I have to mention Jamison to start Throughout the story I have said this and I have no problem saying it again, you have did a phenomenal job with his character with him being just as imagined. Jamison's PoV was very much a wild ride throughout the book and seeing things from his perspective is something that I have very much enjoyed. He is skilled, confident, and sometimes arrogant along with providing some humor while also showing other traits like his determination to succeed as well. I could go on and on about how much I enjoy his character but I'll go ahead and sum it up and say it was nice seeing him get a happy ending for Book 1 and I feel Book 2 will lead to many more awesome moments for Jamison as well. As far as other favorite PoV's I have enjoyed them all in some way but narrowing it down, I would say my other favorites that are closer to Jamison in no particular order are Gwendis, Naemon, Isabella and Nealia. While I was one of the biggest advocates for the Skyreach storyline for Gwendis, the storyline she went down was very much an exciting one and with us being able to get her out of it safe and sound, I am definitely glad we were able to pull that off. Naemon arguably received the most character development of all the PoV's with him now starting to accept a role foreign to him as a leader and I am very curious to see where book 2 will lead him. Isabella of course, because she brings a very unique perspective to this world with her being a relatively normal and sweet girl along with how she brings the best out of Jamison as well and Nealia because of her being a Dayne by all rights and because she pretty much seen all of the big battles firsthand! Overall I enjoyed all of the PoV's and could go on and on about the ones mentioned above and ones I haven't mentioned but I guess I'll quit here
Who was your least favorite PoV in Book 1?
Honestly at this point, I don't really have one. I suppose I wasn't really a Kris fan after the battle of Vaith but I never was all that mad at him I suppose I could also have said Nymeria back in chapter 1 but I have grown to enjoy her storyline as well but considering that she will eventually trying to conquer the Kingdom of the Torrentine, I suppose I will throw her here for the time being even though I can't even say she is my least favorite
Who was your favorite non-PoV in Book 1?
There are so many here that there is no way I can name them all but off the top of my head, I will go with Alester, Malcolm, Vorian, Garrison, Benedict, Desmor, and Edd Prally. Alester because he has had many epic moments considering he is a secondary character and I enjoy seeing his personality in the story, Malcolm has also made his presence felt as well with him being very helpful in Naemon's storyline and like Alester I very much look forward to seeing him make his presence felt in Book 2. Vorian, Garrison, and Benedict are my favorite kings with Garrison and Benedict both having very unique roles in this book and Vorian while not having as large of a role in this book as those two, he made his presence felt and I am especially excited to see him take on a larger role in Book 2. Desmor because he is unique in that he has been a calming influence and a great big brother to Isabella while he has also been a sympathetic character with how much has not seemed to go his way. I will also go with Edd Prally because he is such an intriguing character and I am curious to see his role moving forward. There are many more to mention and I'll probably think of more I should have mentioned later
Who was your least favorite non-PoV in Book 1?
Like some of the others, I will go with Valerie Sand because of all the the problems she has caused throughout the story with her almost damaging Gwendis beyond repair and bringing Jamison into a fight that wasn't his to begin with. Other characters I will mention will be Mordekhai because of how he killed Lyla, Dalia and probably Trentan as well. A character that hasn't been seen as much but I still want to see him taken out is is Zereth because he killed Ferris Fowler at the end of his amazing one off PoV part and as an assassin he has gotten off with that murder with no repercussions. I definitely feel it would be fitting if Desmor takes him down even though I don't think anyone will even find out he was the one to kill Ferris. Also Larry the Kind as well because he has gotten away with killing Myke with no repercussions and the fact he would literally be no threat if not for his affiliation with Albin will probably make his death pretty funny if he does end up being taken down.
What were your favorite moments/parts/scenes in Book 1? (You can also tell your least favorite if you wish)
There are so many here yet again but I'll try to keep this short. Pretty much Jamison entire storyline with his fight in Godsgrace, conversation with Lucifer, battle in Vaith, reunion with Isabella and the tourney and wedding all being top notch. and displaying different facets of Jamison's character. I would also like to mention the scene where he dropped Horidos' severed head at Lord Morgan's feet, that one is right up there with all of the stuff previously mentioned as well! Jamison's fights in Godsgrace and Vaith showed how dangerous he really is while his conversation with Lucifer showed how ruthless and arrogant he can be with his words while his reunion with Isabella with the tourney and wedding that followed showed his other side as well and how he kind he can be. I hate to sound so biased but these scenes are very much massive favorites of mine! Other scenes include the battles of Lemonwood and Godsgrace bridge along with the Battle of the Wide Way is another awesome battle which is arguably my favorite one up to this point depending on the day Another scene would be Kortney's return to Nightsong since I pretty much she would end up dying pretty much the whole story so seeing her make it home because of our choices was a very satisfying result.
What was your favorite storyline in Book 1?
I would definitely have to go with all of the PoV's I have previously mentioned along with add Valor and Nymeria to the mix. Valor's storyline was top notch with him immediately making an impact and playing an important role for Nymeria. I didn't put him in the favorite PoV list but he definitely belongs there and if his book 2 storyline continues at this pace, he will make it there no problem! Nymeria of course has had an excellent storyline as well once he got going and I am sure it continue to be exciing moving forward!
Bonus: Which storyline(s) are you most looking forward to in Book 2?
I would definitely have to say any storyline concerning House Dayne vs House Martell because I have a feeling it is going to be an epic war with so much going on and many PoV's being involved in it! In general though, I am very much excited to see where the time skip takes everyone and of course I am looking forward to Isabella and Jamison's storylines and how their marriage has went!
As far as advice or suggestions, just keep doing what you are doing and writing this amazing story
Alright, I think it's time for the questions!
You can give as short or lenghty answers as you wish, I'd just like to hear your thoughts a… morend opinions
1. Who was your favorite PoV in Book 1? Why? (You can give several)
2. Who was your least favorite PoV in Book 1?
3. Who was your favorite non-PoV in Book 1?
4. Who was your least favorite non-PoV in Book 1?
5. What were your favorite moments/parts/scenes in Book 1? (You can also tell your least favorite if you wish)
6. What was your favorite storyline in Book 1?
Bonus: Which storyline(s) are you most looking forward to in Book 2?
Also, if you have any advises/ideas/suggestions regarding the story that you'd like to share, go ahead
And if you have any questions for me, feel free to ask!
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And I also have an announcement to make! Before Book 2 begins, there will be an Interlude which includes 6 parts, one for each of the Dornish kings. If you read FoT (and I t… [view original content]
This was a very fun start to the interlude with us getting a glimpse at the Wall! From what I can tell, this is set right where Book 2 will start and while Lucifer clearly wasn't my favorite King or anything, he still played an awesome role in the story and it looks as if he will have a purpose at the wall which is definitely good for him! This part has showed me one thing though, if it does work out to where all of the Kings go to the Wall, there definitely has to be a part where they all end up in the same room and have a conversation or something Anyway, great part and I am excited to see the rest of the Interlude parts
Hello! So, as I said earlier, there will be an interlude before Book 2 begins, giving us a single PoV part for each of the kings. We'll star… moret this with a Lucifer PoV, getting a glimpse to his life at the Wall. I'll try to get all of these parts out within a week or so
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Interlude: The Kings of Dorne
Crows of a Feather
It was summer, but up here in the North that didn't mean much. Lucifer Dryland felt the crisp wind on his skin, and it felt colder than anything he had ever felt back in Dorne. Even under his thick wool and leather clothes and fur coat Lucifer was shivering. I'll never get used to this, he thought grimly.
Another thing Lucifer would never get used to was looking up a seven hundred feet tall wall of ice every single day. Right now, he was riding towards said wall, and specifically the gates of Nightfort, already hearing the horn of the gatekeeper welcoming him. Nightfort was the oldest and largest castle the Night… [view original content]
Albin Manwoody held a piece of parchment in his hands, a letter sent from the Yronwood. Filled with empty words and hollow compliments, its true message was to ask Albin to seize his war efforts against the Fowlers. "I hope you will follow the instructions I have given here, so the negotiations for alliance with King Garrison can begin," Albin muttered the last words of the letter, before squashing the parchment in his fist and throwing it away.
Maester Gilbert picked the letter up sheepishly and slipped it into the sleeve of his dark robe, before giving the King a meek look. "Your Grace, how shall we answer?" He asked with a shivering voice, and Albin shot him a cold glare. "Yorick Yronwood does not command me," he said sternly, his words oozing of anger. "There will be no answer, and we will keep raiding the lands of House Fowler," he said determinedly, and Gilbert bowed to his words.
"Your Grace, I should remind you that Yorick still has troops on our lands," the maester said with a gulp, and Albin slammed his fist furiously against the desk. "I said there will be no answer," he growled, and once again Gilbert bowed. "Now, get out of here," he commanded, and the maester obeyed without missing a beat. Now Albin turned his eyes to the other man still in the room, his son and heir Prince Arvin Manwoody. For a moment they were both quiet, until Albin chuckled coldly. "You want to say something, don't you?" He asked sharply. "Go on then boy, say what you have to say."
"Maester Gilbert mentioned the Yronwood troops patrolling our lands, but they are not our only problem" Arvin said with a sigh, and Albin narrowed his eyes, gesturing for his son to continue. "Several reports from the north have come recently, sent by lords Littlemill and Purell. Apparently, some foreign band of raiders has been causing trouble there."
“The Carons again?” Albin asked sternly, to which Arvin shrugged. “It could be, but I doubt it”, he said calmly. “After all, it has been only a few months since the Storm King marched to Riverlands. And if these men do work for the Carons, at least they aren’t carrying their banners.”
"I don't have any troops to spare for something like this, my vassals can bloody well take care of their own problems," Albin hissed, and Arvin gave him a displeased look. "And what will our vassals think of us if we don't even bother to protect them against foreign invaders?" He asked with a frustrated tone on his voice.
"They will speak ill, as always, but at the end of the day they will all bend their knee and kiss my feet, because I am the Great King of the Red Mountains, and disobeying me means death," Albin answered to his son, an underlying threat in his words. "Really?" Arvin asked dryly. "Because the way I see it, right now you are not the Great King of the Red Mountains, you are not the Great King of anything. In fact, you are just another vassal of Yorick Yronwood."
Albin clenched his fists, almost shaking in anger. How could his own son dare to say something like that to his face, it made him furious. "Shut your mouth!" He roared. "You are my son, how dare you speak against me like that? It is treasonous, it is disgusting!"
Arvin turned his gaze down regretfully, letting out a deep sigh. "I am sorry father," he muttered quietly, before turning his eyes up again. "All I'm saying is that perhaps it would be wise to pull our troops from the Fowlers’ lands, and instead concentrate on driving away this foreign army from our northern borders. This would please both Yorick and our own vassals."
Now Albin stormed up from his chair and approached Arvin, proceeding to grab him from the collar of his tunic and staring him straight to the eyes. "Did you not hear me, boy?" He asked with a chilling tone, his voice shaking of anger. "I have made my decision, and disobeying it will mean death. Do you understand me?"
"I... I understand, Your Grace," Arvin managed to mutter, clearly shaken, and Albin let go of him. "Is there no one I can trust?" The King asked hysterically, leaning against his desk with one hand and breathing heavily. "Even my own son is trying to undermine me," he spat, glaring at Arvin.
"I am not trying to undermine you," Arvin tried to assure, but Albin just laughed coldly at his words. "I can see it from your eyes, boy," he said with a grim smirk, pointing at his son. "The way you look at me, you can't wait to see me die so you can claim my crown, don't even try to deny it. That crown will be yours one day, as undeserving of it as you are, but before that I intend to make sure that history will remember my name."
"I understand," Arvin said quietly, avoiding eye contact with his father, and for a moment silence lingered in the room. "Go!" Albin yelled with frustration. "I can't stand to look at your treasonous face any longer, go!"
With a deep bow Arvin quickly made his way out of the room, and so Albin collapsed back into his chair with a sigh. "Missy," he muttered quietly. "Why can't you be here, Missy?" Albin asked with his eyes closed. Every woman in his life had betrayed him, but Missy had been different. They took her away from me, he thought bitterly. She admired me and loved me, and they took her away.
He remembered all the times Missy had pledged her love for him, her loyalty and service. Why can’t you be here? Albin’s thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. The king clenched his fists and frowned. “Who is it?” He bellowed, and the door was opened. In stepped Larry the Kind, bowing deeply to his king. “Your Grace, I apologize for bothering you, but you have a guest”, Larry spoke with a humble tone.
“A guest?” Albin asked with narrowed eyes, and Larry nodded. “Yes, a strange woman, some sort of priestess. She is saying that the gods have sent her to…”
Larry was cut off by a tall woman walking behind him and putting her hand on his shoulder. She was dressed in black robes, and her skin was dark. The woman walked silently past Larry and removed her hood, revealing a bald head and a face mutilated with burn scars. In her brown eyes was a tense and sharp glare, oozing of confidence and power.
“Who are you?” Albin asked sternly, and a tiny smirk formed on the burned woman’s face. “I am a servant of the one true god, the great lord of darkness and death, and I’ve come here to make you the strongest king in Dorne”, she introduced herself smoothly.
“And how would you do that?” Albin asked with narrowed eyes. The priestess glanced at Larry, and Albin understood her gesture. “Leave us”, he said nonchalantly, and after hesitating for a couple seconds, Larry walked out of the room.
“I knew your cousin, Ser Mordekhai, before he died”, the woman spoke up again, and Albin raised his eyebrows in surprise. There was something strange about this woman, something unsettling even, and there wasn’t much that could make Albin feel that way. “You knew Mordekhai?” he asked quietly, and the woman nodded.
“I serve the same god as he did”, she answered, now standing right next to Albin. “He died fighting for our lord, slain by the servants of fire. The same people left me scarred and mutilated, but by the mercy of the Great Other I survived, and now I have come to show you his power.” As she finished speaking, the priestess offered her hand for him. Albin took in a deep breath and looked the burned woman to the eyes, and finally grabbed her hand.
He fell into abyss, surrounded by nothing but darkness. Screams of pain echoed around her, voices of all the people he had made suffer in his life. And then he saw them, the cold blue eyes in the darkness. Their stern gaze brought Albin down on his knees, and made him bow his head before them.
“You are King of Nothing”, the screeching voice said, and the words made Albin shiver in fear and anger. “You shall serve me, you shall be my weapon, and my enemies shall tremble before you.”
I shall serve you, Albin thought, and fell asleep.
Not surprised Valerie is alive, and now the people of the Red Mountains have more than bandits to worry about. Albin is certainly leaving his mark in history, as the Mad King of the Red Mountains.
Holy shit! Holy shit, aaaah Oh my god, I can't even, what is happening? Don't mind me, just having a minor major meltdown right here.
Alright, alright, gotta breathe calmly, this is crazy. I knew Valerie is not dead. I fucking knew it! However, actually what wouldn't have been a surprise to be revealed in, say, Book 3 or so, is extremely shocking at this particular point. The timing threw me off completely. Never, and I mean absolutely never would I have guessed she'd be back so soon. Here I was hoping we'd get at least a whole book of a break from her, but this... holy shit, this is terrifying.
Fucking Valerie should have stayed dead. But this is legitimately a shocker, because of just about everything her. Her return so soon, her being actually alive and not a reanimated corpse (A shame, as I kinda liked calling her the lich witch bitch) and her allying with freaking Albin! I was already determined to end that fucker before, but now, I am so going to kill that man. Considering that Gwen is part of Team R'hllor, Albin is now her enemy and that makes it personal.
Though this part is a new low for quite a number of people here. Valerie, well, she is clearly off worse than before. The Great Other spared her life, as expected from someone who controls death, but without her looks, one important part of her previous strategy is gone and as far as it is implied, Great Other cultists don't have the same illusion powers at their disposal as the Red Priests have. Her allies went from the at least similarly dedicated Aisha and Wesley and the implied to be incredibly talented Gwendis to the Mad King and his freaks. Albin went from Yorick's puppet king to the Great Other's puppet king and though Yorick is morally grey at his absolute best, he definitely is preferrable over a literal god of evil (and I could actually see the man himself being heavily opposed to Albin's new master should he ever find out. Everyone has standards, unless it's complete lunatics such as Albin) and in this case, I suppose the puppet part of their arrangement can be seen a bit more literal than usual. And the Great Other went from having true believers such as Aisha and Wesley as his servants to having merely an overly ambitious snake in the form of Valerie and an absolute madman as his champion. Compared to Gwen, Albin is definitely not the least bit competent at anything. He is, however, at least nominally powerful, so I won't make the mistake of underestimating him.
But holy shit, I am still a bit speechless right there, because of... this! I fear this might mean Team R'hllor will have to face the worst king in all Westeros and since Gwen is likely to be with them from now on, this means the danger for her is not over yet, not at all. Between Albin, who already took and broke one PoV and Valerie who is probably even crazier and with a legit grudge on top, the villain roster for Book 2 just got some significant upgrades. Though actually there is one thing I am curious about and it is Kris' role in all of this. See, the only even remotely calming thing in all this is that there is no reason why Gwen should be at the top of Valerie's hit list. No doubt she is part of it, especially should Valerie ever learn that she now serves R'hllor, but I kinda have the feeling that her connection to Kris is a stronger one. He might be the one having to fight her off and I consider him more skilled at that. Phew... didn't take me long to go into full Gwen survival mode again, eh? My watch is not ended yet.
So, with the first chapter of Book 3 being heavily implied to be a Manwoody heavy chapter, I suppose this continuing fight between R'hllor and Great Other will take place over the entirety of Book 2, albeit it is a good and a bad thing that neither side fully knows about their enemies. Who knows what sort of power Gwendis will have once we see her again and Desi can only grow stronger from here as well, whereas Valerie, already at the peak of her power before, was no match for one of them before. The inclusion of Albin though will change things, make it harder for them. Maybe an army will be needed and well... I do know at least two armies who have reason to fight against House Manwoody, namely being the Blackmont army (mostly if Gwen manages to convince Benny or Naemon) and the Martell army by default. Nymeria wants to overthrow Albin, so in a way, this just made her an ally of Team R'hllor in my opinion, in a "The enemy of my enemy" kinda way.
The King of Nothing
Albin Manwoody held a piece of parchment in his hands, a letter sent from the Yronwood. Filled with empty words and h… moreollow compliments, its true message was to ask Albin to seize his war efforts against the Fowlers. "I hope you will follow the instructions I have given here, so the negotiations for alliance with King Garrison can begin," Albin muttered the last words of the letter, before squashing the parchment in his fist and throwing it away.
Maester Gilbert picked the letter up sheepishly and slipped it into the sleeve of his dark robe, before giving the King a meek look. "Your Grace, how shall we answer?" He asked with a shivering voice, and Albin shot him a cold glare. "Yorick Yronwood does not command me," he said sternly, his words oozing of anger. "There will be no answer, and we will keep raiding the lands of House Fowler," he said determinedly, and Gilbert bowed to his words.
"Your Grace, I should remin… [view original content]
A band of foreigners raiding the Manwoody lands coming from the north? I wonder who are these people...
Man, this part got me even more hyped for Book 2, I just can't wait! The R'hllor vs GO storyline was among my favorite ones, but it seems to me that storyline will take things to a whole different level going forward. Valerie is alive and now has a mad king and his armies/kingdom pretty much under "her" control, Kortney and the Caron army are going to war with Albin (probably with Verro and his "group" joining in as well), Team R'hllor will definitely end up mixed in this mess too and there's the Yronwood troops patrolling the Manwoody lands. As if that was not enough, now there's this army of raiders coming from the north who are already leaving their mark on the kingdom from the looks of it. A lot of PoVs are probably going to be crossing paths in those storylines(Gwen, Kortney and possibly Verro), I know I've already said it, but I'm really looking forward to what's next and I can't help but feel ecstatic about it all. CHOO CHOO! ALL ABOARD THE HYPE TRAIN! XD
The King of Nothing
Albin Manwoody held a piece of parchment in his hands, a letter sent from the Yronwood. Filled with empty words and h… moreollow compliments, its true message was to ask Albin to seize his war efforts against the Fowlers. "I hope you will follow the instructions I have given here, so the negotiations for alliance with King Garrison can begin," Albin muttered the last words of the letter, before squashing the parchment in his fist and throwing it away.
Maester Gilbert picked the letter up sheepishly and slipped it into the sleeve of his dark robe, before giving the King a meek look. "Your Grace, how shall we answer?" He asked with a shivering voice, and Albin shot him a cold glare. "Yorick Yronwood does not command me," he said sternly, his words oozing of anger. "There will be no answer, and we will keep raiding the lands of House Fowler," he said determinedly, and Gilbert bowed to his words.
"Your Grace, I should remin… [view original content]
Alright, alright, gotta breathe calmly, this is crazy. I knew Valerie is not dead. I fucking knew it! However, actually what wouldn't have been a surprise to be revealed in, say, Book 3 or so, is extremely shocking at this particular point. The timing threw me off completely. Never, and I mean absolutely never would I have guessed she'd be back so soon. Here I was hoping we'd get at least a whole book of a break from her, but this... holy shit, this is terrifying.
Haha, yeah, Valerie isn't wasting any time getting back into the ring That said, you have to remember that there has been two years since the confrontation now, so she has had plenty of time to regain her strength and rethink her strategy.
Fucking Valerie should have stayed dead. But this is legitimately a shocker, because of just about everything her. Her return so soon, her being actually alive and not a reanimated corpse (A shame, as I kinda liked calling her the lich witch bitch) and her allying with freaking Albin! I was already determined to end that fucker before, but now, I am so going to kill that man. Considering that Gwen is part of Team R'hllor, Albin is now her enemy and that makes it personal.
Team R'hllor's victory wasn't quite as definitive as it seemed, it turns out And yeah, zombie Valerie would've been interesting, but that would've probably required someone else raising her from the death. However, there is definitely still something unnatural about surviving both burning and drowning the way she did. Kinda brings to mind Patchface, actually And yeah, who better ally for Valerie than the maddest of all madmen in the story You're right though, this most certainly makes Albin an enemy of Team R'hllor, as if he didn't have enough enemies already.
Though this part is a new low for quite a number of people here. Valerie, well, she is clearly off worse than before. The Great Other spared her life, as expected from someone who controls death, but without her looks, one important part of her previous strategy is gone and as far as it is implied, Great Other cultists don't have the same illusion powers at their disposal as the Red Priests have. Her allies went from the at least similarly dedicated Aisha and Wesley and the implied to be incredibly talented Gwendis to the Mad King and his freaks. Albin went from Yorick's puppet king to the Great Other's puppet king and though Yorick is morally grey at his absolute best, he definitely is preferrable over a literal god of evil (and I could actually see the man himself being heavily opposed to Albin's new master should he ever find out. Everyone has standards, unless it's complete lunatics such as Albin) and in this case, I suppose the puppet part of their arrangement can be seen a bit more literal than usual. And the Great Other went from having true believers such as Aisha and Wesley as his servants to having merely an overly ambitious snake in the form of Valerie and an absolute madman as his champion. Compared to Gwen, Albin is definitely not the least bit competent at anything. He is, however, at least nominally powerful, so I won't make the mistake of underestimating him.
Yeah, like I said, Valerie has had plenty of time to rethink her strategy, and the seduction part is something she has definitely had to drop. However, Albin was the perfect target for her, because he is desperate for power, no matter how he gets it. Like you say, Yorick's standards for example would've prevented him from falling under Valerie's influence the way Albin did. Whether this development has any bearing on the alliance between Albin and Yorick, we'll have to wait and see. And you're right, Albin isn't competent at all, but he does have armies at his disposal, which is probably a fine compensation for the GO
But holy shit, I am still a bit speechless right there, because of... this! I fear this might mean Team R'hllor will have to face the worst king in all Westeros and since Gwen is likely to be with them from now on, this means the danger for her is not over yet, not at all. Between Albin, who already took and broke one PoV and Valerie who is probably even crazier and with a legit grudge on top, the villain roster for Book 2 just got some significant upgrades. Though actually there is one thing I am curious about and it is Kris' role in all of this. See, the only even remotely calming thing in all this is that there is no reason why Gwen should be at the top of Valerie's hit list. No doubt she is part of it, especially should Valerie ever learn that she now serves R'hllor, but I kinda have the feeling that her connection to Kris is a stronger one. He might be the one having to fight her off and I consider him more skilled at that. Phew... didn't take me long to go into full Gwen survival mode again, eh? My watch is not ended yet.
Well, I'll just say that you will probably have control via the choices regarding how involved exactly will Gwen be with this ongoing conflict. That said, regardless of her future choices there is no denying that there is an established connection/grudge between her and Valerie already from the past, even if not quite as significant as the one between Kris and Valerie. Anyway, I'll certainly be interested to see your choices in Gwen's Book 2 storyline
So, with the first chapter of Book 3 being heavily implied to be a Manwoody heavy chapter, I suppose this continuing fight between R'hllor and Great Other will take place over the entirety of Book 2, albeit it is a good and a bad thing that neither side fully knows about their enemies. Who knows what sort of power Gwendis will have once we see her again and Desi can only grow stronger from here as well, whereas Valerie, already at the peak of her power before, was no match for one of them before. The inclusion of Albin though will change things, make it harder for them. Maybe an army will be needed and well... I do know at least two armies who have reason to fight against House Manwoody, namely being the Blackmont army (mostly if Gwen manages to convince Benny or Naemon) and the Martell army by default. Nymeria wants to overthrow Albin, so in a way, this just made her an ally of Team R'hllor in my opinion, in a "The enemy of my enemy" kinda way.
Aha, the servants of R'hllor see themselves as being in an ongoing conflict with the GO that will only end with Azor Ahai come again, so it's not like even Desi thought that the confrontation would necessarily end it all. Granted, she probably didn't expect this to happen So yeah, the conflict between R'hllor and GO will continue in the shadows, and for now Dorne is one of the hotspots of this conflict. And you're right, with this development Nymeria and Team R'hllor are natural allies, which will probably be brought up once we start Gwen's Book 2 storyline.
Literally me right now:
Holy shit! Holy shit, aaaah Oh my god, I can't even, what is happening? Don't mind me, just having a minor m… moreajor meltdown right here.
Alright, alright, gotta breathe calmly, this is crazy. I knew Valerie is not dead. I fucking knew it! However, actually what wouldn't have been a surprise to be revealed in, say, Book 3 or so, is extremely shocking at this particular point. The timing threw me off completely. Never, and I mean absolutely never would I have guessed she'd be back so soon. Here I was hoping we'd get at least a whole book of a break from her, but this... holy shit, this is terrifying.
Fucking Valerie should have stayed dead. But this is legitimately a shocker, because of just about everything her. Her return so soon, her being actually alive and not a reanimated corpse (A shame, as I kinda liked calling her the lich witch bitch) and her allying with freaking Albin! I was already determined to e… [view original content]
Ah, I'm glad to hear you're getting hyped! I share the feeling, I can't wait to get to write all these storylines I've been planning for Book 2, it's going to be a wild ride. And yeah, it seems like Valerie is indeed in control of Albin, but she'll have to be discreet about it, because if Albin's subjects begin to suspect that he isn't really in control anymore they might stop following his orders. So, in other words we aren't probably going to see Valerie take the role of a leader, but rather she'll be pulling the strings behind the scenes. As for the Carons, it was sort of implied in this part that they have been attacking Manwoody lands during the timeskip, but have recently pulled their troops to join the Storm King in his march to Riverlands. That said, as long as Albin lives the Carons are sure to have a grudge against him, Kortney especially. But yeah, the fuckery and chaos on Manwoody lands will be a major focus in Book 2, with several PoVs involved one way or the other.
A band of foreigners raiding the Manwoody lands coming from the north? I wonder who are these people...
Man, this part got me even more… more hyped for Book 2, I just can't wait! The R'hllor vs GO storyline was among my favorite ones, but it seems to me that storyline will take things to a whole different level going forward. Valerie is alive and now has a mad king and his armies/kingdom pretty much under "her" control, Kortney and the Caron army are going to war with Albin (probably with Verro and his "group" joining in as well), Team R'hllor will definitely end up mixed in this mess too and there's the Yronwood troops patrolling the Manwoody lands. As if that was not enough, now there's this army of raiders coming from the north who are already leaving their mark on the kingdom from the looks of it. A lot of PoVs are probably going to be crossing paths in those storylines(Gwen, Kortney and possibly Verro), I know I've already said it, but I'… [view original content]
Haha, yeah, Valerie isn't wasting any time getting back into the ring That said, you have to remember that there has been two years since the confrontation now, so she has had plenty of time to regain her strength and rethink her strategy.
Yeah, true, some time has passed in the story, but I am mostly stunned from a technical standpoint here, as I thought we'd have months or even years out of the story until she'd show up again. I wouldn't have protested against that
Team R'hllor's victory wasn't quite as definitive as it seemed, it turns out And yeah, zombie Valerie would've been interesting, but that would've probably required someone else raising her from the death. However, there is definitely still something unnatural about surviving both burning and drowning the way she did. Kinda brings to mind Patchface, actually And yeah, who better ally for Valerie than the maddest of all madmen in the story You're right though, this most certainly makes Albin an enemy of Team R'hllor, as if he didn't have enough enemies already.
It gives me uncomfortable implications, as it might mean that the Great Other outright prevented her from dying. This could mean he might do so again. Stab her in the heart, what could prevent him from keeping her alive? At this point, the safest way to get rid of her for good would be to cut off her head and then drop it somewhere in the Narrow Sea, halfway between Dorne and Essos. Or maybe completely burning her will do the trick. After all, if there is no body left to keep alive, maybe she'll finally be dead for good. And Albin... I have the feeling he really has no idea just how screwed he is. He has the Caron's, the Fowler's, to a degree even the Blackmont's against him, Nymeria will eventually turn her attention towards him after already controlling half of Dorne and now he has been dragged into a conflict of literally divine proportions. He'd be pitiable if he wouldn't be such a complete monster. Aisha 2.0., that's what he is, the deranged lunatic of the bunch.
Yeah, like I said, Valerie has had plenty of time to rethink her strategy, and the seduction part is something she has definitely had to drop. However, Albin was the perfect target for her, because he is desperate for power, no matter how he gets it. Like you say, Yorick's standards for example would've prevented him from falling under Valerie's influence the way Albin did. Whether this development has any bearing on the alliance between Albin and Yorick, we'll have to wait and see. And you're right, Albin isn't competent at all, but he does have armies at his disposal, which is probably a fine compensation for the GO
I suppose seduction isn't even a strategy to work with Albin. His thoughts here gave some insight into how his mind works, he doesn't want to be seduced, he wants to be respected and Valerie probably can give him the impression of respecting him. I am curious just how stable their alliance will be though. At best, Valerie underestimates how volatile Albin can be and that he might not be the obedient tool she wants him to be. I am also really curious how Yorick will react to this. As I said, I cannot see him appreciating this, as it means Albin has truly made more enemies than he is worth it, but at the same time, he doesn't know it yet. He is also the one ultimately in charge, so I could see Valerie even trying to manipulate him as well.
Well, I'll just say that you will probably have control via the choices regarding how involved exactly will Gwen be with this ongoing conflict. That said, regardless of her future choices there is no denying that there is an established connection/grudge between her and Valerie already from the past, even if not quite as significant as the one between Kris and Valerie. Anyway, I'll certainly be interested to see your choices in Gwen's Book 2 storyline
Hm, I myself am not even sure how involved I want her to be. Her safety is my main goal. That being said, completely turning her back on this conflict could be harmful to her, if she is confronted by Valerie without the power of R'hllor to back her up. Actually, she herself could even be interested in bringing Valerie to justice, given that aside from her, the only living people who suffered more at that witch's hands are Kris and Myra. At this point, I think working with Team R'hllor and possibly Nymeria is a good strategy, but without knowing more about the circumstances of her involvement, I'd be opposed to a fully-blown commitment in the way Dalia did, given that it eventually claimed her life. Perhaps something similar to Kris, where he is a believer and supporter, but not exactly the most zealous and with responsibilities beyond his role in the R'hllor-Great Other conflict. But I think making sure that Gwen has allies beyond her own family will be highly important to keep her alive.
Aha, the servants of R'hllor see themselves as being in an ongoing conflict with the GO that will only end with Azor Ahai come again, so it's not like even Desi thought that the confrontation would necessarily end it all. Granted, she probably didn't expect this to happen So yeah, the conflict between R'hllor and GO will continue in the shadows, and for now Dorne is one of the hotspots of this conflict. And you're right, with this development Nymeria and Team R'hllor are natural allies, which will probably be brought up once we start Gwen's Book 2 storyline.
Yeah, I doubt Desi expected this. I have to wonder if she eventually learns of it though and this might mean her return to Dorne. Interestingly, while I expected Nym to cross paths with Team R'hllor and already sufficiently hyped myself for a possible encounter between her and Gwen, I just now got the thought that there might be more potential allies. Nymeria is someone I absolutely want Gwen to get along with. It will be a serious piece of work, but if she ever wants to have any chance to become Lady of Blackmont, Nymeria's favour is something that is no doubt going to be crucial. But ironically, for as much of a douche as he is, Arvin could even be an ally for Team R'hllor as well. It is heavily implied he has limits to how loyal he is to his father and he definitely isn't a madman, so I suspect he might draw the line at serving the god of evil. This could make him an unexpected ally against his own father, given that he is also implied to have aspirations to replace him already, something that can only grow stronger if he learns of the downsides of Albin's new alliance. No doubt some convincing has to be done, but I believe it shouldn't be impossible for Gwendis and Desi to bring up better arguments than Valerie. If a cooperation between Team R'hllor and Nymeria ends up being established, Arvin supporting them could even be the reason why House Manwoody as a whole even manages to survive Albin's reign. Eh... you made me dislike him a little bit less with this line of thought, but he still has miles to go
Alright, alright, gotta breathe calmly, this is crazy. I knew Valerie is not dead. I fucking knew it! However, actually what wouldn't have b… moreeen a surprise to be revealed in, say, Book 3 or so, is extremely shocking at this particular point. The timing threw me off completely. Never, and I mean absolutely never would I have guessed she'd be back so soon. Here I was hoping we'd get at least a whole book of a break from her, but this... holy shit, this is terrifying.
Haha, yeah, Valerie isn't wasting any time getting back into the ring That said, you have to remember that there has been two years since the confrontation now, so she has had plenty of time to regain her strength and rethink her strategy.
Fucking Valerie should have stayed dead. But this is legitimately a shocker, because of just about everything her. Her return so soon, her being actually alive and not a reanimated corpse (A shame, as I kinda liked calling her the l… [view original content]
Literally me right now:
Holy shit! Holy shit, aaaah Oh my god, I can't even, what is happening? Don't mind me, just having a minor m… moreajor meltdown right here.
Alright, alright, gotta breathe calmly, this is crazy. I knew Valerie is not dead. I fucking knew it! However, actually what wouldn't have been a surprise to be revealed in, say, Book 3 or so, is extremely shocking at this particular point. The timing threw me off completely. Never, and I mean absolutely never would I have guessed she'd be back so soon. Here I was hoping we'd get at least a whole book of a break from her, but this... holy shit, this is terrifying.
Fucking Valerie should have stayed dead. But this is legitimately a shocker, because of just about everything her. Her return so soon, her being actually alive and not a reanimated corpse (A shame, as I kinda liked calling her the lich witch bitch) and her allying with freaking Albin! I was already determined to e… [view original content]
Wow! What an unexpected development. With Valerie controlling Albin's mind she has basically become a Shadow/unofficial Queen of the Red Mountains. However, she might have bit off more than she can chew. Although, she has some experience with politics in Vaith, she has no idea how to run a kingdom. Especially one as unstable as Albin's currently is. She has no idea how many enemies Albin has already made and how he is currently making terrible political decisions for his kingdom. She might try to ally with that GO worshipping brother of a Dornish Lord (don't remember who it was but remember reading about it, in I think was one of Naemon's parts). Anyways, I hope Gwen, Desi, and their current and future allies will be prepared for their next confrontation with Valerie and her forces.
The King of Nothing
Albin Manwoody held a piece of parchment in his hands, a letter sent from the Yronwood. Filled with empty words and h… moreollow compliments, its true message was to ask Albin to seize his war efforts against the Fowlers. "I hope you will follow the instructions I have given here, so the negotiations for alliance with King Garrison can begin," Albin muttered the last words of the letter, before squashing the parchment in his fist and throwing it away.
Maester Gilbert picked the letter up sheepishly and slipped it into the sleeve of his dark robe, before giving the King a meek look. "Your Grace, how shall we answer?" He asked with a shivering voice, and Albin shot him a cold glare. "Yorick Yronwood does not command me," he said sternly, his words oozing of anger. "There will be no answer, and we will keep raiding the lands of House Fowler," he said determinedly, and Gilbert bowed to his words.
"Your Grace, I should remin… [view original content]
Yeah, Valerie has with one swift move placed herself in a real position of power. That said, her plan isn't necessarily to mindcontrol Albin's every action, at least if she doesn't absolutely have to, but rather just influence him and make him serve the Great Other. After all, it's not like Valerie has much interest for governing, just power. And I think you might be referring to Ajax Safyre, who is the uncle of Lord Joachim Safyre. They were brought up in one of Nealia's parts, specifically by Fenn who told about his past mission to House Safyre's lands. That said, it hasn't actually been confirmed if Ajax is a GO worshiper though, just that Lord Joachim suspected him to be behind the murders and atrocities committed in his lands, whereas others suspected it was Ser Mordekhai's doing.
Wow! What an unexpected development. With Valerie controlling Albin's mind she has basically become a Shadow/unofficial Queen of the Red Mou… morentains. However, she might have bit off more than she can chew. Although, she has some experience with politics in Vaith, she has no idea how to run a kingdom. Especially one as unstable as Albin's currently is. She has no idea how many enemies Albin has already made and how he is currently making terrible political decisions for his kingdom. She might try to ally with that GO worshipping brother of a Dornish Lord (don't remember who it was but remember reading about it, in I think was one of Naemon's parts). Anyways, I hope Gwen, Desi, and their current and future allies will be prepared for their next confrontation with Valerie and her forces.
Yeah, Valerie has with one swift move placed herself in a real position of power. That said, her plan isn't necessarily to mindcontrol Albin… more's every action, at least if she doesn't absolutely have to, but rather just influence him and make him serve the Great Other. After all, it's not like Valerie has much interest for governing, just power. And I think you might be referring to Ajax Safyre, who is the uncle of Lord Joachim Safyre. They were brought up in one of Nealia's parts, specifically by Fenn who told about his past mission to House Safyre's lands. That said, it hasn't actually been confirmed if Ajax is a GO worshiper though, just that Lord Joachim suspected him to be behind the murders and atrocities committed in his lands, whereas others suspected it was Ser Mordekhai's doing.
An Albin PoV was definitely something that I was looking for to and it didn't disappoint! He's very much as delusional and insane as I thought he would be from his own PoV and actually getting to see inside his head confirmed my thoughts about him even more. The conversation between him and Arvin also was a highlight for me since it showed that how delusional he truly is, Arvin from what I have seen is pretty much nothing like his father with him actually seeming to be pretty level headed and rational with his thoughts which are two traits that are pretty foreign to Albin without a doubt Another thing that also really surprised me a bit was how Albin has decided to ignore Yorick Yronwood especially considering how he is the one that has kept Albin and his entire kingdom safe. I suppose Yorick may have more to worry about rather than putting Albin Manwoody in his place but I could also see Yorick completely abandoning Albin which will definitely be detrimental to them in the long run. Oh I think I might be forgetting something as well But really, I figured Valerie returning wouldn't be a matter of if but when but even still, her allying with Albin was definitely a massive surprise largely because I am not sure he will be a massive threat to anyone but he does have armies and I would say that she will mostly use them to take out her enemies rather than help Albin himself on his quest to be the Great King of the Red Mountains. With all of this said, I am really curious to see what her plans will end up being and how Albin will be involved with them!
The King of Nothing
Albin Manwoody held a piece of parchment in his hands, a letter sent from the Yronwood. Filled with empty words and h… moreollow compliments, its true message was to ask Albin to seize his war efforts against the Fowlers. "I hope you will follow the instructions I have given here, so the negotiations for alliance with King Garrison can begin," Albin muttered the last words of the letter, before squashing the parchment in his fist and throwing it away.
Maester Gilbert picked the letter up sheepishly and slipped it into the sleeve of his dark robe, before giving the King a meek look. "Your Grace, how shall we answer?" He asked with a shivering voice, and Albin shot him a cold glare. "Yorick Yronwood does not command me," he said sternly, his words oozing of anger. "There will be no answer, and we will keep raiding the lands of House Fowler," he said determinedly, and Gilbert bowed to his words.
"Your Grace, I should remin… [view original content]
Indeed, delusional is the perfect word to describe Albin And I'm glad you enjoyed Albin's conversation with his son! Prince Arvin has had a pretty small role in the story so far, but Book 2 is going to flesh him out a lot.
And you're right, Albin isn't necessarily a massive threat to anyone himself, but he is the source of a lot of chaos and conflict, and Valerie's presence is only going to add to that. It's unclear for now what exactly Valerie has in mind, but allying with Albin not only gives her armies to perhaps use for her own agendas, but also makes her much harder to reach by anyone who would wish to kill her.
An Albin PoV was definitely something that I was looking for to and it didn't disappoint! He's very much as delusional and insane as I thoug… moreht he would be from his own PoV and actually getting to see inside his head confirmed my thoughts about him even more. The conversation between him and Arvin also was a highlight for me since it showed that how delusional he truly is, Arvin from what I have seen is pretty much nothing like his father with him actually seeming to be pretty level headed and rational with his thoughts which are two traits that are pretty foreign to Albin without a doubt Another thing that also really surprised me a bit was how Albin has decided to ignore Yorick Yronwood especially considering how he is the one that has kept Albin and his entire kingdom safe. I suppose Yorick may have more to worry about rather than putting Albin Manwoody in his place but I could also see Yorick completely abandoning Albin which will definit… [view original content]
King Vorian Dayne stood on the balcony of his royal chambers, gazing at the eastern shores of Torrentine. It was a calm and sunny day, but something bothered Vorian. He was distressed, though there shouldn’t have been a reason for it. His kingdom was in peace, his people were safe, and his vassals respected him. His heir had just a couple weeks ago married Ashara Nightfall, the daughter of one of his most important vassals, and little over half-a-year ago his second son had become the father of two healthy boys, their mother the daughter of Vorian’s strongest ally. There was plenty of reasons for him to feel happy and accomplished in this moment, but there were a few concerns creeping in the back of his mind that he just couldn’t shake.
First one was the looming threat of Nymeria. The Rhoynar princess had made herself strong after defeating Lucifer, and held now even more territory than King Yorick Yronwood. Granted, a large portion of that territory was desert, but nonetheless there was no denying of her power. Vorian had no illusions that Nymeria wouldn’t sooner or later make her move against him, and he could only hope he’d be strong enough to defeat her.
Secondly, Vorian was concerned for Nealia, his only daughter. It had been years since she left, and there was no way of knowing if she was still alive or not. Ser Rolan Nightfall claimed to have met her at Salt Shore, but even that was over two years ago, and knowing that she was travelling with an infamous sellsword company didn’t exactly reassure Vorian that she was safe. Perhaps I shouldn’t have let her go, he thought with a subtle gulp.
Queen Arenna suddenly walked next to him and laid her hand gently on top of his on the railing. “You look concerned, dear. Is everything alright?” She asked softly, a sincere tone on her voice. Vorian flashed her a smile, and put his arm around her in a calming manner. “Everything’s alright, Arenna”, he assured quietly. “I was just thinking about what’s to come, the challenges we’ll have to face.”
“You mean the Rhoynar invader?” Arenna asked calmly, and Vorian nodded, letting out a small sigh. “From what I know of Nymeria and her past, I can appreciate her vision for Dorne. She has been a hero to her people, and now she wants to be the hero for all of Dorne. I agree with her that the Dornish kingdoms should strive to work together, especially if we’ll ever be threatened by the Reachmen or the Stormlanders. However, it shouldn’t come at the cost of our legacies being swept aside, and our crowns denied from us.”
“Perhaps you’ll be able to change her mind”, Arenna suggested with her typical optimism, to which Vorian chuckled amusedly. Arenna raised an eyebrow and spoke up again. “What? Trust me, we women can be much more reasonable about these things than you men.”
“I know, but I have a feeling this Nymeria won’t be so easily swayed to change her mind”, Vorian responded calmly. “We’ll have to prove our strength to her first, and perhaps then she’ll be willing to listen.”
“You have allies in Blackmont and Skyreach”, Arenna reminded, and Vorian nodded. “I do. However, Benedict’s willingness to give any meaningful support is questionable to say the least, and Garrison is continuously struggling with the Manwoodys. In fact, I have a feeling that is where Nymeria will strike first. She has surely made notice of the Fowlers being weakened by their prolonged war with King Albin. And if that happens, Garrison will be the one asking for my help.”
“And do you plan to help him?” Arenna asked quietly. “Of course”, Vorian answered immediately. “Our kingdoms are tied together by marriage, it would be shameful of me to abandon Garrison in his time of need.” After this they both remained quiet for a moment.
“Look”, Arenna suddenly said, pointing towards south with a surprised expression on her face. Vorian turned his eyes where she pointed, and saw a single ship with the sails of House Dayne approaching Starfall. It wasn’t just some merchant ship though, but one of their war galleys. “Isn’t that your brother’s ship?”
“It is”, Vorian muttered, frowning as he looked at it. “But… he is supposed to be garrisoning Clearhaven, right?” Arenna asked, and Vorian nodded wordlessly. Garret had just visited Starfall a couple weeks ago during Malcolm’s wedding, there was no reason for him to be returning so soon. Vorian knew his brother to be a dutiful man, which meant he had to have a very important reason for leaving his post. “Perhaps he forgot something here”, Arenna suggested, but Vorian wasn’t convinced of that. Without even responding to his wife, the king walked back inside from the balcony. He changed his clothes quickly and made his way down from the tower.
At the hallway of the main keep, Vorian was approached by Jamison. “Father, I saw Garret’s ship approaching the docks”, the dark-haired prince said with a tense tone, and Vorian nodded to him. “I saw it too”, he replied, continuing to walk towards the doors of the keep, and Jamison followed after him.
“Why do you think he’s here?” Jamison asked as they walked through the courtyard, and Vorian shook his head. “I don’t know, but I doubt it’s anything good”, he muttered sternly.
Ser Laroy and his squire Darnis of Southpoint joined them at the gates, and together they made their way down to the docks. There they stood in tense silence, as Garret’s galley swam closer and closer. When the ship was finally anchored, Garret was the first to storm to the docks, approaching his brother and king with a stern and concerned look in his eyes.
“Brother”, Vorian greeted him with an alarmed tone, and he bowed to him in response. “Your Grace, Clearhaven is lost”, he blurted out immediately, which was followed by a tense silence.
“What?” Jamison was the first to speak up, his voice equally angry and baffled. “How?”
“The Martells launched an attack during Prince Malcolm’s wedding, which suggests they knew its defenses would be weakened”, Garret spoke grimly. “I left rest of my ships to Southpoint, to prepare for either retaking Clearhaven or defending Southpoint from further attacks.”
So, it has begun, Vorian thought with a sigh, turning his gaze down. “So, what happens next?” Ser Laroy asked with a frown. “That’s what I’ve come to ask from my brother”, Garret responded without missing a beat. “Your Grace, how shall we answer to the Martells actions?”
“We should take Clearhaven back”, Jamison argued impatiently, and Vorian gave him a meaningful glance to calm him down. “We shall gather all the ships we have and attack”, the king stated calmly, which brought a satisfied smirk on Jamison’s face. “Garret, are the sellswords still under our command?”
“Some of them fell at Clearhaven, but most managed to retreat to Southpoint, including their leader Khazor the Sarnori”, Garret responded with a dutiful tone. “Good”, Vorian said calmly. “We must act quickly. The Martell forces have surely suffered losses in taking over the town, and there is no easy way for them to bring in reinforcements and supplies. If we strike now, and strike hard, we should be able to take Clearhaven back, and reinforce its defenses so it won’t fall into our enemies’ hands again.”
“I will begin the preparations right away, Your Grace”, Garret said with a firm nod.
“I will lead the attack”, Jamison declared suddenly, stern confidence in his voice. Vorian raised his chin, eyeing his son for a moment. He had to admit that he was proud to see him so eager to fight for their kingdom, even if he couldn’t tell whether it was a sense of duty or something else that compelled him. “Are you sure?” Vorian asked sternly. “You are a father now, no one would blame you for staying to protect your sons.”
“Samwell and Ferris are perfectly safe here with their mother”, Jamison pointed out calmly. “However, by taking Clearhaven the Martells have just robbed them of their legacy. What kind of father would I be if I didn’t fight to take it back?” He asked with a subtle smirk on his face.
“So be it”, Vorian agreed, giving his son a small nod, before turning towards Ser Laroy. “Laroy, tell Maester Norbert to send ravens to Nightfall and Sword’s Edge. Lords Gerold and Alester are to muster as many men as they can in a week, and bring them here.”
“Understood, Your Grace”, Laroy responded with a dutiful nod, and began to march back towards the gates, his squire coming closely behind him. Vorian took in a deep breath, gazing at the shimmering sea ahead of him.
“The war has begun”, he stated quietly. And it will be the most important we ever fought.
Is nice to read that both Malcolm and Jamison are settling as family men. And it seems that the remnants of the Wild Suns are still stuck in Westeros.
Fowler and Dayne are in danger on both sides and Blackmont can't help either of them without leaving themselves unguarded. The Martell can't cross the desert without taking over Sandstone and that is a challenge they'll need to overcome, or fully taking over Clearhaven to have a foothold on the sea.
The Dawn of War
King Vorian Dayne stood on the balcony of his royal chambers, gazing at the eastern shores of Torrentine. It was a calm a… morend sunny day, but something bothered Vorian. He was distressed, though there shouldn’t have been a reason for it. His kingdom was in peace, his people were safe, and his vassals respected him. His heir had just a couple weeks ago married Ashara Nightfall, the daughter of one of his most important vassals, and little over half-a-year ago his second son had become the father of two healthy boys, their mother the daughter of Vorian’s strongest ally. There was plenty of reasons for him to feel happy and accomplished in this moment, but there were a few concerns creeping in the back of his mind that he just couldn’t shake.
First one was the looming threat of Nymeria. The Rhoynar princess had made herself strong after defeating Lucifer, and held now even more territory than King Yorick Yronwood. Granted, a l… [view original content]
So many surprises, along with there being so much to say that I am not sure where to begin but I'll give it a shot! First off, I'll start with the stuff that won't take as long to write up. First off, the Vorian PoV is one that I have been really hyped about seeing obviously and it certainly didn't disappoint! He is very much a calm and composed man with an aura about him that makes him very respected and like someone that you would run through a brick wall for him so to say because of how respected he is. I also enjoyed the little conversation between Vorian and Arenna and it really seems like they have a loving and healthy relationship which certainly is not a very common theme with most of the couples in story so that's nice to see!
I also very much enjoyed the massive updates in regard to his son's lives starting off with Malcolm getting married which is a pretty awesome development! I was pretty curious about when he would marry and who he would get married to and while I thought Ashara Nightfall would be a possibility, there is several other characters in the waiting to be introduced list as well that it also could have been or maybe a character that isn't on there so I am definitely excited to see this couple whenever they appear. Also, Jamison is a father! He even had twin boys which is obviously pretty awesome and I figure we will be seeing them pretty soon most likely from Isabella's PoV and I am intrigued to see how these kids end up looking if they take the prototypical Dayne look or if they take Jamison's more unique Dayne look or even if they take after the Fowler side mostly! With all of that said, there clearly was some neat progress for House Dayne over the time skip and obviously something huge happened in this part which I will now delve into
Haha man WIldling, the Dayne vs Martell war escalated way quicker than I would have expected at this point! I pretty much figured they would be going after the Fowler's first before attempting to take on House Dayne with that actually being how the Dayne's vs Martell would start with Vorian stepping in to aid Garrison but with the Martell's taking Clearhaven right out of the gate, it shows how ballsy Nymeria is but at the same time, it has made me optimistic in an odd sort of way but first I have to get this what if question out of the way Obviously with choosing to keep Isabella and Jamison in Starfall, we made the right decision it seems but if we would have moved them to Clearhaven, would they have been there when the Martell's attacked? I primarily wonder this because while I would not see them missing Malcolm's wedding, their kids are obviously still very young and I suppose it is possible they couldn't make a trip that far just yet. Obviously I can't really say that for sure but I am pretty curious nonetheless!
Now back to this odd sort of optimism I have right now. The Martell's have struck first with a big attack on Clearhaven which clearly means the war is on and Vorian has officially called his banners so the first Martell vs Dayne battle is happening very soon probably within the first two or three Jamison parts we will witness it if Clearhaven hasn't been abandoned but with Book 2 being primarily focused on the Dayne-Martell war, I think there is a decent possibility that Jamison and the Dayne army could very well succeed in taking back Clearhaven and give Nymeria her first major defeat in her war of conquest and maybe even more defeats after that! Varyn has said on multiple occasions that Nymeria hasn't tasted true defeat yet to where she was in over her head any and this could very well be that time with Vorian bringing all of his ships and calling his banners to bring the fight to her. At least from how I have taken it in the story and I could be very wrong, the Kingdom of the Torrentine is arguably the second most powerful kingdom in Dorne out of the six original Dornish kingdoms or at worst tied with the Kingdom of Brimstone. The big difference between the two being that Vorian is not underestimating her and he is said to be the best knight in all of Dorne plus a great commander and along with that, Vorian's kingdom actually is unified unlike Lucifer's or at least I think they are. With all of that said, of course House Dayne and Vorian will inevitably lose but I definitely feel like they will definitely make Nymeria work for it and she will get a real taste of what war is really like! I also could be way off but I have a feeling this war will be an epic one!
On a couple of side notes, it looks like the battles will be coming early and the whole imagery of Jamison leading an army to Clearhaven is epic and I and very excited to see where this is going to go and also I feel like I have said before that Nymeria was working her way up my favorite PoV list, she has definitely dropped to the bottom with her little surprise attack on Clearhaven Anyway, nice choice putting the interlude parts in and I hope you liked the novel I have written
The Dawn of War
King Vorian Dayne stood on the balcony of his royal chambers, gazing at the eastern shores of Torrentine. It was a calm a… morend sunny day, but something bothered Vorian. He was distressed, though there shouldn’t have been a reason for it. His kingdom was in peace, his people were safe, and his vassals respected him. His heir had just a couple weeks ago married Ashara Nightfall, the daughter of one of his most important vassals, and little over half-a-year ago his second son had become the father of two healthy boys, their mother the daughter of Vorian’s strongest ally. There was plenty of reasons for him to feel happy and accomplished in this moment, but there were a few concerns creeping in the back of his mind that he just couldn’t shake.
First one was the looming threat of Nymeria. The Rhoynar princess had made herself strong after defeating Lucifer, and held now even more territory than King Yorick Yronwood. Granted, a l… [view original content]
Ah, this part, while less big on the shocking revelations of Albin's part (though I am certain none will manage to top that one), held a couple surprises in itself and quite nice ones. First of all, I don't know why it never occurred to me that the characters might develop so much during the timeskip, but it makes perfect sense and I feel a bit stupid now So, Malcolm got married, that really makes me wonder what other relationships we might see having evolved during this timeskip. There are a couple characters whom I can imagine could have quite progressed since we last saw them. I am curious to learn more about Malcolm's bride, given that she is a character whom we have not met so far, and I noticed, quite interestingly, that now that she is married to a Dayne, her name is the exact same as the most famous female Dayne from the canon. And Jamison is a father now, which isn't quite unexpected, but still very nice! I was already excited for his next part before, but now I am really curious to see how he has developed as a character over the last two years. Furthermore, I noticed he named his sons after one of the Dayne heroes and after Isabella's late brother, the latter of which is an actually sweet touch.
And well, this part officially heralded the beginning of the Martell-Dayne war in full. I think at this point it is actually the war I am the most hyped for out of the several conflicts in NW, with only the Martell-Yronwood war in the distance potentially being a larger one and I am super excited, yet worried, because both sides hold quite a number of my favourites. I must admit, I am really glad that Isabella and Jamison remained in Starfall instead of moving to Clearhaven, given how it was taken far earlier than I thought. While it might not have made a difference, given that it was Malcolm's wedding and both were likely in Starfall either way, I have to wonder if something would have happened if we would have chosen for them to move to Clearhaven in Jamison's last Book 1 part. One thing I am concerned about is his desire to secure a legacy for his sons. We know House Dayne will eventually lose the war and given that he already has an understandable problem with letting go of Clearhaven, I am worried that he will take the loss of their royal status even harder.
Also, I forgot to comment on it a couple of days ago and I am deeply sorry for it, but five days ago marked the two-year anniversary of Nymeria's War. I actually thought we'd have more time until that, at least another week, but I noticed I was wrong. I would like to take the belated occasion to thank you for two years of writing this truly magnificent story! There is no doubt that Nymeria's War is my favourite of the ongoing stories here and the fact that it shows no signs of slowing down makes me so very hyped for its future. It has been a wonderful ride so far and I really am excited to see what has happened to these characters I have grown attached to in a year from now
The Dawn of War
King Vorian Dayne stood on the balcony of his royal chambers, gazing at the eastern shores of Torrentine. It was a calm a… morend sunny day, but something bothered Vorian. He was distressed, though there shouldn’t have been a reason for it. His kingdom was in peace, his people were safe, and his vassals respected him. His heir had just a couple weeks ago married Ashara Nightfall, the daughter of one of his most important vassals, and little over half-a-year ago his second son had become the father of two healthy boys, their mother the daughter of Vorian’s strongest ally. There was plenty of reasons for him to feel happy and accomplished in this moment, but there were a few concerns creeping in the back of his mind that he just couldn’t shake.
First one was the looming threat of Nymeria. The Rhoynar princess had made herself strong after defeating Lucifer, and held now even more territory than King Yorick Yronwood. Granted, a l… [view original content]
So many surprises, along with there being so much to say that I am not sure where to begin but I'll give it a shot! First off, I'll start with the stuff that won't take as long to write up. First off, the Vorian PoV is one that I have been really hyped about seeing obviously and it certainly didn't disappoint! He is very much a calm and composed man with an aura about him that makes him very respected and like someone that you would run through a brick wall for him so to say because of how respected he is. I also enjoyed the little conversation between Vorian and Arenna and it really seems like they have a loving and healthy relationship which certainly is not a very common theme with most of the couples in story so that's nice to see!
I knew you'd be excited for this one, and I'm glad to hear you weren't disappointed And you're right, Vorian is a very calm and composed man, which is why I'm glad I got the opportunity to show some of his internal concerns in this part, because he rarely expresses that kind of thoughts externally. And yeah, while Vorian and Arenna didn't exactly marry out of love like Jamison and Isabella, they still have a very healthy and happy relationship.
I also very much enjoyed the massive updates in regard to his son's lives starting off with Malcolm getting married which is a pretty awesome development! I was pretty curious about when he would marry and who he would get married to and while I thought Ashara Nightfall would be a possibility, there is several other characters in the waiting to be introduced list as well that it also could have been or maybe a character that isn't on there so I am definitely excited to see this couple whenever they appear. Also, Jamison is a father! He even had twin boys which is obviously pretty awesome and I figure we will be seeing them pretty soon most likely from Isabella's PoV and I am intrigued to see how these kids end up looking if they take the prototypical Dayne look or if they take Jamison's more unique Dayne look or even if they take after the Fowler side mostly! With all of that said, there clearly was some neat progress for House Dayne over the time skip and obviously something huge happened in this part which I will now delve into
Yeah, a lot can change in two years, and while the most important developments will always be covered in the books, especially the younger characters will likely grow and mature during the timeskips. And sometimes they make babies We will indeed see more of Samwell and Ferris in the next Isabella part, as well as whom they take after in terms of looks. Granted, they are still infants, but some features can already be seen. And I can also reveal that they aren't be identical twins, so one may have inherited more Dayne features than the other and vice versa
Haha man WIldling, the Dayne vs Martell war escalated way quicker than I would have expected at this point! I pretty much figured they would be going after the Fowler's first before attempting to take on House Dayne with that actually being how the Dayne's vs Martell would start with Vorian stepping in to aid Garrison but with the Martell's taking Clearhaven right out of the gate, it shows how ballsy Nymeria is but at the same time, it has made me optimistic in an odd sort of way but first I have to get this what if question out of the way Obviously with choosing to keep Isabella and Jamison in Starfall, we made the right decision it seems but if we would have moved them to Clearhaven, would they have been there when the Martell's attacked? I primarily wonder this because while I would not see them missing Malcolm's wedding, their kids are obviously still very young and I suppose it is possible they couldn't make a trip that far just yet. Obviously I can't really say that for sure but I am pretty curious nonetheless!
Hehe, yeah let's just say that I didn't want to waste any time getting this Martell-Dayne war started I mean, it is one of the most interesting conflicts of the whole war imo, so I really want to use the whole of Book 2 for it. And yeah, it'll be soon revealed just how ballsy Nymeria's strategy actually is when we learn of her moves elsewhere in Dorne As for your question, Jamison would've been in Starfall due to Malcolm's wedding, but Isabella would've stayed in Clearhaven with the babies. So, instead of just securing his sons' legacy, Jamison's motivation for leading the attack would've been to rescue his family. Of course, the Martell forces wouldn't have treated Isabella and the boys badly or anything, but they would've still been hostages.
Now back to this odd sort of optimism I have right now. The Martell's have struck first with a big attack on Clearhaven which clearly means the war is on and Vorian has officially called his banners so the first Martell vs Dayne battle is happening very soon probably within the first two or three Jamison parts we will witness it if Clearhaven hasn't been abandoned but with Book 2 being primarily focused on the Dayne-Martell war, I think there is a decent possibility that Jamison and the Dayne army could very well succeed in taking back Clearhaven and give Nymeria her first major defeat in her war of conquest and maybe even more defeats after that! Varyn has said on multiple occasions that Nymeria hasn't tasted true defeat yet to where she was in over her head any and this could very well be that time with Vorian bringing all of his ships and calling his banners to bring the fight to her. At least from how I have taken it in the story and I could be very wrong, the Kingdom of the Torrentine is arguably the second most powerful kingdom in Dorne out of the six original Dornish kingdoms or at worst tied with the Kingdom of Brimstone. The big difference between the two being that Vorian is not underestimating her and he is said to be the best knight in all of Dorne plus a great commander and along with that, Vorian's kingdom actually is unified unlike Lucifer's or at least I think they are. With all of that said, of course House Dayne and Vorian will inevitably lose but I definitely feel like they will definitely make Nymeria work for it and she will get a real taste of what war is really like! I also could be way off but I have a feeling this war will be an epic one!
That is a good point. One of the reasons why I wanted to have the whole book for this war is precisely because I don't want it to be an easy win for Nymeria. Now, obviously I'm not going to reveal how exactly the war is going to pan out, but I can promise that the Martells are going to be taking some L's as well along the way. And yeah, I would say that Vorian could be seen as the second strongest of the kings after Yorick. The Drylands may have been the stronger kingdom in the past, but they were in decline even before Nymeria's arrival. Kingdom of Torrentine on the other hand is vital and strong, as well as firmly loyal to Vorian. So yeah, Torrentine will be a much harder challenge for Nym than Brimstone was. That said, the Principality is much stronger now as well.
On a couple of side notes, it looks like the battles will be coming early and the whole imagery of Jamison leading an army to Clearhaven is epic and I and very excited to see where this is going to go and also I feel like I have said before that Nymeria was working her way up my favorite PoV list, she has definitely dropped to the bottom with her little surprise attack on Clearhaven Anyway, nice choice putting the interlude parts in and I hope you liked the novel I have written
Indeed, we'll be having our first battles of Book 2 in Chapter 1, and not just some small skirmishes either And I suppose sooner or later Nymeria's favor in your books was bound to drop at least temporarily during Book 2 One thing I wanted to bring up in this part was that Vorian understands and even agrees to some degree with Nymeria's goals of uniting Dorne, he just doesn't appreciate her way of going about it. What he would prefer is some sort of coalition between the independent kingdoms of Dorne, and if each of them had a king as reasonable as Vorian it could even work And I've had a blast writing these king PoVs, so I'm really glad you guys seem to be enjoying them as well
So many surprises, along with there being so much to say that I am not sure where to begin but I'll give it a shot! First off, I'll start wi… moreth the stuff that won't take as long to write up. First off, the Vorian PoV is one that I have been really hyped about seeing obviously and it certainly didn't disappoint! He is very much a calm and composed man with an aura about him that makes him very respected and like someone that you would run through a brick wall for him so to say because of how respected he is. I also enjoyed the little conversation between Vorian and Arenna and it really seems like they have a loving and healthy relationship which certainly is not a very common theme with most of the couples in story so that's nice to see!
I also very much enjoyed the massive updates in regard to his son's lives starting off with Malcolm getting married which is a pretty awesome development! I was pretty curious about when he would marry and w… [view original content]
Ah, this part, while less big on the shocking revelations of Albin's part (though I am certain none will manage to top that one), held a couple surprises in itself and quite nice ones. First of all, I don't know why it never occurred to me that the characters might develop so much during the timeskip, but it makes perfect sense and I feel a bit stupid now So, Malcolm got married, that really makes me wonder what other relationships we might see having evolved during this timeskip. There are a couple characters whom I can imagine could have quite progressed since we last saw them. I am curious to learn more about Malcolm's bride, given that she is a character whom we have not met so far, and I noticed, quite interestingly, that now that she is married to a Dayne, her name is the exact same as the most famous female Dayne from the canon. And Jamison is a father now, which isn't quite unexpected, but still very nice! I was already excited for his next part before, but now I am really curious to see how he has developed as a character over the last two years. Furthermore, I noticed he named his sons after one of the Dayne heroes and after Isabella's late brother, the latter of which is an actually sweet touch.
Yeah, I can confirm that the Valerie twist will be the most shocking revelation you'll get in the interlude That said, just like in this part, there will be a lot of surprises and developments in all of them. And yeah, showing the growth and development in all these characters is something I'm really looking forward to in the next chapter. Like you say, there are some characters who will have changed quite a lot, but they'll all still be recognizable. And that is exactly the thought process behind the names of Jamison's sons, good catch
And well, this part officially heralded the beginning of the Martell-Dayne war in full. I think at this point it is actually the war I am the most hyped for out of the several conflicts in NW, with only the Martell-Yronwood war in the distance potentially being a larger one and I am super excited, yet worried, because both sides hold quite a number of my favourites. I must admit, I am really glad that Isabella and Jamison remained in Starfall instead of moving to Clearhaven, given how it was taken far earlier than I thought. While it might not have made a difference, given that it was Malcolm's wedding and both were likely in Starfall either way, I have to wonder if something would have happened if we would have chosen for them to move to Clearhaven in Jamison's last Book 1 part. One thing I am concerned about is his desire to secure a legacy for his sons. We know House Dayne will eventually lose the war and given that he already has an understandable problem with letting go of Clearhaven, I am worried that he will take the loss of their royal status even harder.
So it did indeed. Glad to hear you're hyped for this war, I'll try my absolute best to make it as entertaining as I can in the coming chapters. While the Martell-Yronwood conflict is arguably the most important of the war as a whole, the Martell-Dayne isn't far behind, and I can't wait to get to write it. And like I said in my response to CM3434, Jamison would've indeed been in Starfall anyway, but Isabella would've actually stayed in Clearhaven with the babies. And I understand your concern, Jamison surely won't give up easily on his legacy, but we'll just have to wait and see how it goes.
Also, I forgot to comment on it a couple of days ago and I am deeply sorry for it, but five days ago marked the two-year anniversary of Nymeria's War. I actually thought we'd have more time until that, at least another week, but I noticed I was wrong. I would like to take the belated occasion to thank you for two years of writing this truly magnificent story! There is no doubt that Nymeria's War is my favourite of the ongoing stories here and the fact that it shows no signs of slowing down makes me so very hyped for its future. It has been a wonderful ride so far and I really am excited to see what has happened to these characters I have grown attached to in a year from now
Well, no need to be sorry because I completely forgot about it myself But you're right, NW has now been ongoing for two whole years, which is a crazy thought. And I can only be grateful for still having as many active readers as I do, it's you guys who keep me motivated to continue writing this story, so thank you
Ah, this part, while less big on the shocking revelations of Albin's part (though I am certain none will manage to top that one), held a cou… moreple surprises in itself and quite nice ones. First of all, I don't know why it never occurred to me that the characters might develop so much during the timeskip, but it makes perfect sense and I feel a bit stupid now So, Malcolm got married, that really makes me wonder what other relationships we might see having evolved during this timeskip. There are a couple characters whom I can imagine could have quite progressed since we last saw them. I am curious to learn more about Malcolm's bride, given that she is a character whom we have not met so far, and I noticed, quite interestingly, that now that she is married to a Dayne, her name is the exact same as the most famous female Dayne from the canon. And Jamison is a father now, which isn't quite unexpected, but still very nice! I was already excited for h… [view original content]
I just realized something. Wouldn't it have been terrible if Valerie went to Benedict and tried to influence him instead of Albin. Then when Gwendis eventually came back, she would have had to face her all over again. Anyways, happy 2 year anniversary writing Nymeria's War!
Ah, this part, while less big on the shocking revelations of Albin's part (though I am certain none will manage to top that one), held a cou… moreple surprises in itself and quite nice ones. First of all, I don't know why it never occurred to me that the characters might develop so much during the timeskip, but it makes perfect sense and I feel a bit stupid now So, Malcolm got married, that really makes me wonder what other relationships we might see having evolved during this timeskip. There are a couple characters whom I can imagine could have quite progressed since we last saw them. I am curious to learn more about Malcolm's bride, given that she is a character whom we have not met so far, and I noticed, quite interestingly, that now that she is married to a Dayne, her name is the exact same as the most famous female Dayne from the canon. And Jamison is a father now, which isn't quite unexpected, but still very nice! I was already excited for h… [view original content]
I knew you'd be excited for this one, and I'm glad to hear you weren't disappointed And you're right, Vorian is a very calm and composed man, which is why I'm glad I got the opportunity to show some of his internal concerns in this part, because he rarely expresses that kind of thoughts externally. And yeah, while Vorian and Arenna didn't exactly marry out of love like Jamison and Isabella, they still have a very healthy and happy relationship.
You are correct. the part where the war officially started with Vorian officially deciding it is time to fight was a scene that was very much near the top of my list when it comes to scenes that I was hyped about seeing and it definitely didn't disappoint Indeed, getting to see Vorian's internal thoughts brought some insight to his mind that we probably wouldn't have gotten if not for the interlude. As far as Vorian and Arenna's relationship, that does make sense considering Vorian had a child before he married her which I could imagine put a strain on their relationship but they definitely have seemed to overcome that which just speaks to the strength of their characters I suppose. Oh also i am really curious, what family did Arenna come from before she married Vorian? I have wondered but just haven't thought to ask about it until now.
Yeah, a lot can change in two years, and while the most important developments will always be covered in the books, especially the younger characters will likely grow and mature during the timeskips. And sometimes they make babies We will indeed see more of Samwell and Ferris in the next Isabella part, as well as whom they take after in terms of looks. Granted, they are still infants, but some features can already be seen. And I can also reveal that they aren't be identical twins, so one may have inherited more Dayne features than the other and vice versa
Haha very true, the timeskip definitely is a primetime for characters to develop in many different ways and I am excited to see how all of the characters have turned out And haha yeah, two years definitely does leave plenty of time for babymaking As far as Samwell and Ferris go, I definitely am excited to see them along with getting to see how they have changed Isabella since she has became a mother and married woman! I also just realized that with the story spanning over several years, we will get to see these two grow up over time so like with Princess Sarella, I am very intrigued to see what kind of personalities the younger children will have as they get older.
Hehe, yeah let's just say that I didn't want to waste any time getting this Martell-Dayne war started I mean, it is one of the most interesting conflicts of the whole war imo, so I really want to use the whole of Book 2 for it. And yeah, it'll be soon revealed just how ballsy Nymeria's strategy actually is when we learn of her moves elsewhere in Dorne As for your question, Jamison would've been in Starfall due to Malcolm's wedding, but Isabella would've stayed in Clearhaven with the babies. So, instead of just securing his sons' legacy, Jamison's motivation for leading the attack would've been to rescue his family. Of course, the Martell forces wouldn't have treated Isabella and the boys badly or anything, but they would've still been hostages.
Obviously I am somewhat biased with characters of mine playing a large role on the Dayne side but even without that, the Martell-Dayne war does seem like the one of the most interesting conflicts of the whole war especially considering how by all rights, Nymeria does seem like a true invader and a bit of an antagonist here since at least with Vorian at the helm, the Kingdom of Torrentine doesn't need to be conquered for positive changes to be made especially compared to Albin Manwoody's kingdom for example. Of course I am sure we will see Nymeria's PoV about the whole thing too which should make it more neutral and along with that, the Kingdom of Torrentine is a step up in difficulty as well so there is so much potential here and taking the whole book to cover the war is definitely an awesome idea! Wait? Nymeria is going to be trying to attack other areas of Dorne at the same time? I am now going to be racking my brain about what else Nymeria is trying to pull right now and now knowing Isabella and the boys would have been in Clearhaven, we definitely made the right decision it looks like!
That is a good point. One of the reasons why I wanted to have the whole book for this war is precisely because I don't want it to be an easy win for Nymeria. Now, obviously I'm not going to reveal how exactly the war is going to pan out, but I can promise that the Martells are going to be taking some L's as well along the way. And yeah, I would say that Vorian could be seen as the second strongest of the kings after Yorick. The Drylands may have been the stronger kingdom in the past, but they were in decline even before Nymeria's arrival. Kingdom of Torrentine on the other hand is vital and strong, as well as firmly loyal to Vorian. So yeah, Torrentine will be a much harder challenge for Nym than Brimstone was. That said, the Principality is much stronger now as well.
The Principality being stronger is a very good point and one I hadn't really even taken into account. As Vorian said here, she holds the most land in all of Dorne even if a majority of it is desert at this point. So I guess with Nymeria taking Lucifer's place in the role of the six Dornish kingdoms, Nymeria and Mors' principality might actually be debatable as the number one kingdom in all of Dorne because she really has secured some important allies with Houses Uller, Allyrion, and Toland all being very huge additions for her with all of them either being independent at one point or powerful bannerman in the case of House Uller. If I had to guess, Nymeria's biggest struggle might actually be the loyalty of some her new bannerman which is the kingdom of Torrentine's arguable biggest strength. But as you have said, the Kingdom of Torrentine is certainly not going to be easy to conquer either with positives of their own so it is safe to say this war is going to be epic!
Indeed, we'll be having our first battles of Book 2 in Chapter 1, and not just some small skirmishes either And I suppose sooner or later Nymeria's favor in your books was bound to drop at least temporarily during Book 2 One thing I wanted to bring up in this part was that Vorian understands and even agrees to some degree with Nymeria's goals of uniting Dorne, he just doesn't appreciate her way of going about it. What he would prefer is some sort of coalition between the independent kingdoms of Dorne, and if each of them had a king as reasonable as Vorian it could even work And I've had a blast writing these king PoVs, so I'm really glad you guys seem to be enjoying them as well
With those words, it is safe to say the hype is indeed real not that it ever wasn't of course and haha yeah, I will probably flip flop back and forth quite a bit in regards to my opinion on Nymeria depending on who she is up against at the time but she is definitely public enemy number one during her war with the Dayne's and now that I think about it, I don't think Valor is safe from it either since he is guilty by association and yeah, Vorian seems like he is probably the most suited to be king out of all of the Dornish Kings and his idea is especially good in theory but unfortunately most things are great in theory but kings like Albin Manwoody don't really fit into theory all that well! and yeah it definitely shows that you're having fun! and btw I hadn't realized it already passed but Happy 2nd to Nymeria's War! That's something to be proud of and keep up the good work man!
So many surprises, along with there being so much to say that I am not sure where to begin but I'll give it a shot! First off, I'll start wi… moreth the stuff that won't take as long to write up. First off, the Vorian PoV is one that I have been really hyped about seeing obviously and it certainly didn't disappoint! He is very much a calm and composed man with an aura about him that makes him very respected and like someone that you would run through a brick wall for him so to say because of how respected he is. I also enjoyed the little conversation between Vorian and Arenna and it really seems like they have a loving and healthy relationship which certainly is not a very common theme with most of the couples in story so that's nice to see!
I knew you'd be excited for this one, and I'm glad to hear you weren't disappointed And you're right, Vorian is a very calm and composed man, which is why I'm glad I got the opportunity to show some of… [view original content]
Yes, a book 2 Jamison portrait! I remember you mentioned that you would be making an updated Jamison portrait but I definitely didn't expect it this soon so this is definitely a nice surprise! As I expected, Jamison does look really awesome now that the scar has healed and with two years since the first book, he definitely does look a bit manlier with the new details like his beard now growing in thicker than it did in the first book which was a nice addition to this portrait and his hair now trimmed a bit shorter than his younger portrait which was another neat detail to put in! I also have to point out the background though which depicts dusk behind him which I have to say was a phenomenal idea as well and right up there with the other details in Jamison's portrait as well! Overall, I have enjoyed all of the Jamison portraits with them being my personal favorites that show the changes that have taken place throughout his time in the story so this is definitely another great job
Hello again! I have another new portrait for you, updated Jamison this time I'll be adding a link to the Book 2 album to the opening post, … morebtw.
As for the next part of the interlude, it'll be Garrison PoV, and it's almost ready. You can expect it to be posted tomorrow!
You are correct. the part where the war officially started with Vorian officially deciding it is time to fight was a scene that was very much near the top of my list when it comes to scenes that I was hyped about seeing and it definitely didn't disappoint Indeed, getting to see Vorian's internal thoughts brought some insight to his mind that we probably wouldn't have gotten if not for the interlude. As far as Vorian and Arenna's relationship, that does make sense considering Vorian had a child before he married her which I could imagine put a strain on their relationship but they definitely have seemed to overcome that which just speaks to the strength of their characters I suppose. Oh also i am really curious, what family did Arenna come from before she married Vorian? I have wondered but just haven't thought to ask about it until now.
That's a good question about Arenna Tbh, when I made her my thought process was just "she's a daughter of one of the Dayne vassals, I'll decide later which one if it becomes relevant". And after that I just didn't really think about it much, but now the major Dayne vassals have kind of been established so it'd make sense to finally determine which house exactly she came from Now, to me Nightfall would make the most sense, them being a pretty big family and all. Of course, that might make Malcolm and Ashara technically cousins, but cousins marrying isn't really a taboo among Westerosi nobility, so that shouldn't be a problem
I knew you'd be excited for this one, and I'm glad to hear you weren't disappointed And you're right, Vorian is a very calm and composed ma… moren, which is why I'm glad I got the opportunity to show some of his internal concerns in this part, because he rarely expresses that kind of thoughts externally. And yeah, while Vorian and Arenna didn't exactly marry out of love like Jamison and Isabella, they still have a very healthy and happy relationship.
You are correct. the part where the war officially started with Vorian officially deciding it is time to fight was a scene that was very much near the top of my list when it comes to scenes that I was hyped about seeing and it definitely didn't disappoint Indeed, getting to see Vorian's internal thoughts brought some insight to his mind that we probably wouldn't have gotten if not for the interlude. As far as Vorian and Arenna's relationship, that does make sense considering Vorian had a chil… [view original content]
Garrison Fowler felt the soft wind on his skin, heard the calming sound of the running water from the fountain close by, and smelled the flowers. This garden had been his favorite place in Skyreach ever since he had completely lost his sight almost fourteen years ago, because it offered something pleasing for his other senses. He had many fond memories from here, earliest of them being the memories with his parents, and his sister Obara. Those memories were fading, a lingering shadow of the times when Garrison had no care in the world. Then there were the memories with Ashara. They used to spend many evenings together in this garden back when they first got to know each other. My beautiful Queen, Garrison thought wistfully. His sight was already getting worse during those years, but he at least saw well enough to know that Ashara had been the most beautiful woman on this world.
Then there were the memories with the children. Garrison remembered an afternoon just weeks after Ferris' birth, when he had sat on this very same bench, looking at Ashara feeding their baby, and feeling like the luckiest man in the world. Now they were both gone, and Garrison was still here, blind and broken. Andren had traveled to the Citadel almost a decade ago, and Isabella now had a new life and family in Starfall. All I can do is hope that they are both happy, Garrison thought. It had been over three years since Andren had last sent a raven, and the last time Isabella had wrote to him was over half-a-year ago after she had given birth to her twin sons. Garrison certainly didn’t blame her, being a mother of two was surely keeping her busy.
"Grandfather!" A happy voice of a young boy suddenly yelled from the other end of the garden. "It's Prince Matthos and his mother", Ser Russal calmly informed the King, while the steps of the boy came closer and closer, until Garrison felt him hugging on his leg. "Matthos!" He exclaimed in delight, and searched the boy’s head so he could ruffle his hair.
"Your Grace", the voice of Dana Fowler said, and Garrison nodded towards the direction he heard it from. "Arianne just gave birth!" Matthos yelled. "It's a girl", he said, his voice slightly less enthusiastic now, and Garrison chuckled. "I am sure she is beautiful", he said calmly.
"I'm not so sure about that", Matthos replied immediately. "Her face was all red and she just kept wailing and screeching", he explained with an amused tone.
"You were just the same when I gave birth to you", Dana remarked calmly, but Matthos just huffed at her words dismissingly. "No way, I wasn't like that", he claimed pompously.
"Maester Gannon is approaching", Ser Russel said quietly, and soon Garrison also noticed the soft footsteps approaching. "Your Grace", the maester spoke with his calm voice, and Garrison nodded. "Maester Gannon, I just heard I have a new granddaughter", he replied warmly.
"Indeed," the maester confirmed. "There were no complications on the childbirth, and the baby seems to be perfectly healthy. In case you are interested, Desmor and Arianne are planning to name her Ashara."
Garrison gulped, being for a brief moment unable to find words. “They chose a good name”, he finally spoke quietly, hoping in his heart that his late wife could see this from wherever she was now. “I thought so too, Your Grace”, the maester said with a lighthearted tone. He then proceeded to gently grab the King’s hand. “Would you like to go meet them, Your Grace?” he asked, and wordlessly Garrison nodded to him and stood up.
As they made their way into the keep, Garrison could constantly hear the cheerful chatter of Matthos close behind him. The boy had been so young when his father died that Garrison wasn’t sure if he had even truly understood it, but regardless of that he was happy that the prince and his mother had managed to move on from it. Garrison himself would be forever bitter about losing his firstborn son to Manwoody blades, but it was reassuring to see that life would go on nonetheless.
As they got closer to Princess Arianne’s chambers, the crying of the baby could be heard. She was loud, and even as a newborn baby there was strength in her voice. She will be a strong-willed girl once she grows up, Garrison thought with a smile on his face. Maester Gannon opened the door for them, and they stepped inside.
“Shh girl, it’s fine, ma is here”, Arianne tried to soothe the baby, a tired but still affectionate tone on her voice.
“Father”, Desmor greeted Garrison, and escorted him to a seat by the bed. Suddenly the girl’s crying mellowed down a bit, and Arianne chuckled softly. “That’s your grandpa”, she chirped.
Garrison heard Desmor standing up and walking next to his wife. “Come, let’s get you to grandpa’s lap”, he said with a relaxed tone, and soon he indeed lowered the newborn girl to Garrison’s lap. With slightly shivering fingers he gently stroked the baby’s head. “Sweet girl”, he mumbled, overwhelmed by feelings. “Sweet little Ashara.”
“She is staring at you with her eyes wide open”, Desmor described with an amused tone. “Poor baby must be wondering who this withered old man who keeps his eyes closed is”, Garrison responded jokingly.
After a moment Desmor raised that baby to his own arms. The baby stopped crying, and as they sat there together, it was the happiest Garrison had been in a long time. Then someone knocked on the door. Maester Gannon opened it and walked out, only to return just a moment later. “King Garrison, Prince Desmor, something has happened”, the maester spoke with an ominously concerned tone. “We’ll come”, Desmor said calmly, and handed the baby back to Arianne.
The prince helped his father up from the seat, and together they made their way out of the room. “Your Grace, this is a messenger of House Blackpool”, Gannon informed as they closed the door.
“I am Ser Justan, Your Grace, and unfortunately I am bringing bad news from the Blackpool lands”, the voice of a young man said, and Garrison gave him a firm nod. “Have the Manwoody raiders trespassed that far south?” He asked sternly.
“No, Your Grace”, Ser Justan responded with a small sigh. “Not the Manwoodys.”
“Well, what is it then?” Desmor asked with a hint of impatience in his voice. “An army of approximately four-thousand men has crossed the desert from south, and are now camped half-a-days ride from the Blackpool Keep”, Ser Justan responded to the prince, and Garrison could spot the fear in the man’s voice. He then continued. “The scouts spotted them carrying banners of House Martell and House Uller.”
“So, the Principality finally makes its move”, Garrison said grimly. “Four-thousand men… I’m not sure if we have the manpower to face them on the field.”
“I can send ravens to Starfall and Blackmont, perhaps they’d be willing to aid”, Maester Gannon suggested, and the King gave him a nod. “Yes, do it”, he agreed quietly.
“Did the reports tell who is leading this army?” Desmor asked sternly. “No, my prince”, Ser Justan answered, and a tense silence followed. Finally, Desmor broke it by speaking up again. “Father, I think I should go speak to these invaders”, he spoke with a calm and serious tone. “Perhaps they can be reasoned with. Our kingdom is weakened by the war, we should try our best to avoid this conflict with the Martells, or at least stall it for long enough to get support from our allies.”
Garrison took in a deep breath, considering his answer carefully. His dream had been to raise the Kingdom of Stone and Sky back to its former glory, but now it seemed that dream was coming crumbling down. However, he knew his son was right, they had to buy time or they would be crushed.
“I agree”, Garrison said weakly, and searched the shoulder of his son with his right hand. “Go meet them, try to convince we should be allies instead of enemies, but do not show weakness. The future of our kingdom will be decided on these coming months, and we have no room for mistakes.”
“I understand, father”, Desmor responded with a dutiful tone. Garrison gave his son a smile, though he doubted it was enough to hide his concern.
Garrison's POV was rather touching, not only he lost both his beloved wife and eldest son, his second son is out of touch and Isabella is busy with her own family.
Three years are more than enough for Nymeria to settle and regain strength, which is of course bad for both House Fowler and Dayne. I do wonder were is Obara Fowler, since we haven't seen her since Ortheg's POV months ago.
I'm pleased to read that the Drinkwaters agreed to marry Arianne with Desmor, now he's the father of a girl who has the name of her grandmother.
Blind and Broken
Garrison Fowler felt the soft wind on his skin, heard the calming sound of the running water from the fountain close by,… more and smelled the flowers. This garden had been his favorite place in Skyreach ever since he had completely lost his sight almost fourteen years ago, because it offered something pleasing for his other senses. He had many fond memories from here, earliest of them being the memories with his parents, and his sister Obara. Those memories were fading, a lingering shadow of the times when Garrison had no care in the world. Then there were the memories with Ashara. They used to spend many evenings together in this garden back when they first got to know each other. My beautiful Queen, Garrison thought wistfully. His sight was already getting worse during those years, but he at least saw well enough to know that Ashara had been the most beautiful woman on this world.
Then there were the memories with the chil… [view original content]
Oh god, we are coming to that point in the storyline when Nymeria starts fighting people I don't want to see lose ( Vorian and Garrison).
Now, what came to my mind after this part and Vorian's part, specifically after this part, is possibly really smart strategy from Nymeria. When I read Vorian's part I thought getting Clearhaven back shouldn't be that hard and that it was kind off useless move by Nymeria, but considering that now Daynes can't send help to Flowers because they have their own issues, or at least not as big of a help they would send if Nymeria didn't attack, this changes my view of their strategy to pretty smart, and I wouldn't mind that against Yorick, Albin or Benedict, but I don't like it against Vorian and Garrison.
Of course this is only a prediction and I'm not sure if I'm right about Nymeria's strategy, but yeah Nymeria actually has considerable forces now.
Blind and Broken
Garrison Fowler felt the soft wind on his skin, heard the calming sound of the running water from the fountain close by,… more and smelled the flowers. This garden had been his favorite place in Skyreach ever since he had completely lost his sight almost fourteen years ago, because it offered something pleasing for his other senses. He had many fond memories from here, earliest of them being the memories with his parents, and his sister Obara. Those memories were fading, a lingering shadow of the times when Garrison had no care in the world. Then there were the memories with Ashara. They used to spend many evenings together in this garden back when they first got to know each other. My beautiful Queen, Garrison thought wistfully. His sight was already getting worse during those years, but he at least saw well enough to know that Ashara had been the most beautiful woman on this world.
Then there were the memories with the chil… [view original content]
Comments
Alright, I think it's time for the questions!
You can give as short or lenghty answers as you wish, I'd just like to hear your thoughts and opinions
1. Who was your favorite PoV in Book 1? Why? (You can give several)
2. Who was your least favorite PoV in Book 1?
3. Who was your favorite non-PoV in Book 1?
4. Who was your least favorite non-PoV in Book 1?
5. What were your favorite moments/parts/scenes in Book 1? (You can also tell your least favorite if you wish)
6. What was your favorite storyline in Book 1?
Bonus: Which storyline(s) are you most looking forward to in Book 2?
Also, if you have any advises/ideas/suggestions regarding the story that you'd like to share, go ahead
And if you have any questions for me, feel free to ask!
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And I also have an announcement to make! Before Book 2 begins, there will be an Interlude which includes 6 parts, one for each of the Dornish kings. If you read FoT (and I think most of you do), then you know where I got this idea from
And don't worry, I've been working on these beforehand and I'm planning on publishing them in quite a rapid succession, so this shouldn't prolong the wait for Book 2 too much. The first two of these parts should come in just a couple of days 
Let's see
1.- I guess my favorite POV's were Nymeria, Valor and Naelia.
2.- I suppose it was Dianna for how, despite succeeding in her goal of saving Lysera, I think she was a bit wasted.
3.- I like Raina, mainly because she helped Kourtney escape Kingsgrave, and unlike Myke and Joran, lived to return.
4.- Valerie Sand, mainly because she killed Trendan without mercy.
5.- The Battles of Lemonwood and Godsgrace bridge were quite intense and awesome to read.
6.- I guess it was Naelia's storyline and how she comes to truly love Lien, staying with her and hoping she recovers.
Bonus: I'm all fired up for the clash against House Dayne, although first they have to defeat House Qorgyle, who most certainly will not make it easy.
There it is, the questions
I shall try my best to answer them all to my best ability, for Book 1 has been, hands down, one of the best things I have read.
Ah, I am definitely glad I am allowed to give several here, because there is no way I could have ever narrowed it down to one. In short, it is Gwendis, Jamison and Nealia, maybe Valor as well, but I am more on the fence about him for the entirety of Book 1, given that he was only part of it for one chapter. If it would be just this one chapter, I would probably include him, but I am obviously feeling more strongly about the ones who have been part of the story for longer. If he stays as great as he is in this chapter, he has perfect chances of becoming a favourite for the entirety of Book 2 though. Now, I suppose it is obvious why I include Gwendis, there is without a doubt not a character I tried harder to get through this first book. I absolutely love her development and her storyline, though more about the latter one below. And well, as such, not naming her here would be lying to myself. Jamison meanwhile is, I think, one of the most intriguing characters in the story, because he is such a grey character, serving for one of the most audaciously funny scenes while also being this badass, a jerk at most times but also with moments of genuine kindness in him, mostly for Isabella. And well, Nealia is a close third in this list, because she has simply always been amazing and this chapter was her best to date. I cannot wait for each of these three in the next chapter, they are, without any doubt, my favourite characters at this point. Honourable mentions go to Nym and Verro, but I really cannot include all of them, as much as I'd want to
Pretty much the only one I could possibly mention here is Tomas. All of the other PoV's, I felt at least neutral about at all times, but he had to recover from being my least favourite character in general, in the pre-Aisha days. And he still hasn't recovered in full. I mean, it is not that I hate him, not anymore, but when he competes with inherently sympathetic characters such as Isabella or Gwendis, plain badass ones such as Nealia or Jamison or Nymeria as the main character, there is really not much he has speaking in his favour. As such, my least favourite has to be him and I really wouldn't have been too sad if he would have died instead of Myke, Dalia or Dianna.
Aaaah, there's so many XD Once more, I gotta have this little list here, it is, in no particular order: Desi, Hondo, Varyn, Desmor, Benedict, Garrison and Bridget. Mors would be among them, but with the surprising and very welcome reveal that he will be a recurring PoV in Book 2, I obviously cannot include him here anymore. Bridget and Hondo are relatively new characters, but they quickly left and impression, with Hondo in particular having this spectacular role in the second half of Kris' storyline. Desmor meanwhile, I always liked him, I feel downright sorry for him and I must say, he is certainly the non-PoV I want to see surviving the story the most at this point. Benny and Garry have always been my favourite kings and I cannot wait for their upcoming parts. And Varyn, well, I was always curious how you'd portray him and I gotta say, you are knocking it out of the park in every part he's appearing in. Finally, Desi... how could I not name her? Is there anything not to absolutely love about that girl? Seriously, she is my favourite non-PoV in Book 1, without a doubt.
Oh man, grab a seat, this is going to take a while XD No, seriously, it actually can be summed up pretty quickly it is... not Aisha. No, really, it is not Aisha, albeit I would like to give her an honorary mention here, may she burn in hell. In the end, she has lost everything, even the one thing that has always been for certain, my utter hatred. She is now no longer Worst #1, but Worst #3, after the eternal second, Wesley the Worstley and, of course, Valerie fucking Sand. She has, by no means, redeemed herself with her final act of pleading for Gwen's life, because she is majorly responsible for her current condition to begin with, but she was arguably out-worsed by her own henchman and that witch lich bitch. The reason why she is still here is because she has been the catalyst for the bad in that storyline and I will never, under any circumstance, forgive that she murdered my dear ship
Wesley, well, he has been more a force of nature than a genuine character, that silent, absolutely terrifying tool of evil and he has been the most unsettling out of the three. He shall never be forgiven for being the weapon to murder Lyla and Dalia and I strongly suspect that he was also the one to murder Trentan, albeit on Valerie's order. And Valerie... whom else could have gained this position? If someone manages to be worse than Aisha in such a short amount of time, they earn this place as the single worst character in the story. I hope so badly that she stays dead, but I fear the worst. Now, to name at least one character not actually involved with the Great Other, I have developed a serious hatred for Larry. Like Valerie became worse than Aisha, he became worse than Albin and as such, I really am sad about him surviving Book 1. Let's hope we can correct this mistake in Book 2.
Does pretty much every Gwendis scene were I nearly got a heartattack count? That'd be the time she saw the Great Other in the cave, the death of Lyla, the death of Trentan and the confrontation between Team R'hllor and Team Awful. While I did not necessarily enjoy these scenes in their contents, there is no doubt these were utterly thrilling and they deserve a mention. Also, the battle scenes. Lemonwood and Godsgrace have been highlights, but the one that stuck with me the most is actually the battle of Vaith, even if the stakes haven't been as high there. It was the first time Kris truly got to shine and I consider the fight between him, Dalia and Jamison to be simply amazing. In general, I was super concerned for Jamison during this battle, because I have deduced pretty early that he would fall under Valerie's spell. Kortney's escape from Kingsgrave, the final parts for Valor and Gwen, the marriage between Jamison and Isabella and, one part from way back that always stuck with me, the talk between Benedict and Gwendis, pretty much the first time I began to like him. It was their last talk for now and I will do whatever it takes to make sure it won't remain their last.
First of all, if we'd go just by Chapter 3, I'd include Kris, because he has had some of the best material this chapter, but I found him kinda alright in Chapter 2, so he is overall more mixed. Valor would also be here in that case, because his sole chapter has been tremendous, but not enough to outshine the ones who have been here for longer. Same as with the PoV's, the answer is Gwendis, Jamison, Nealia and this time, I will include Nymeria and Kortney. Gwendis, no doubts here, I have been on the edge of my seat the entire time. Her storyline was terrifying, thrilling, gut-wrenching, occasionally heartwarming and ultimately triumphant. Jamison has been less terrifying, but more on the awesome part and his whole personality has made his storyline an occasionally hilarious joy to read. Nealia had some of the best scenes, taking place during most of the large battles in Book 1 and I somehow can see this trend continuing in Book 2. Nym has grown on me from having a rather mediocre storyline in Chapter 1 to constantly getting better and better and ultimately plain awesome in Chapters 2 and 3, while Kortney has been in the worst place of them all, mentally and physically, but she somehow pulled through and her storyline has therefore been absolutely great to read.
Ah, would you be surprised when I say Gwen? The bias is strong with this one, but I cannot not name her, because with her leaving for Volantis, I can see her storyline developing in a really fascinating and new way. Jamison and Isabella, I can't wait to see them again and I am super curious to see what Verro and Kortney will be up to next time we see them. And now that Mors is a proper PoV, I am actually really excited to see what sort of a storyline we'll be getting from him in the coming chapters
Well, Verro for very bias reasons. I also enjoyed Gwendis and her intriguing storyline.
I would have to agree with Liquid and say Tomas Toland.
There is so many to choose from. I quite enjoyed Trentan and his character development. Eraehra also played an important role in helping to develop Nymeria's character. I still have a soft spot for Illor and wished he could have survived. There are plenty of others as well, but I want to get on to the next question.
That's easy. Valerie Sand. She had Trentan murdered gruesomely. Not to mention, all the other horrible things she did. Hopefully, she stays dead, and if not she dies in a much worse way in the future.
The battles provided some pretty epic moments. Particularly the battle between Kris and a mind controlled Jamison was pretty cool, during the Battle of Vaith. I also enjoyed seeing Jamison and Isabella's wedding. I was also happy that Kortney managed to escape Kingsgrave. There are many other moments I enjoyed as well.
Despite Trentan's death, Gwendis's storyline was the most intense and interesting to me. I was always excited when one of her parts came up.
Bonus: Which storyline(s) are you most looking forward to in Book 2?
I'm really curious to see how Verro and Kortney's storylines will collide. How will Nesila react to finding out the truth of what happened to Norano? I can't wait to find out.
PS: I sent you a pm.
I just sent you another pm.
Who was your favorite PoV in Book 1? Why? (You can give several)
Jamison stoods out as my favourite, just because we can see him growing as a character so much while still remaining a bad ass. But very close behing him are Naemon, Dianna, Isabella and Ortheg.
Who was your least favorite PoV in Book 1?
There was no PoV i disliked, but for the sole reason of me generally disliking both great other and R'hllor followers, Dalia stood out as least favourite I guess.
Who was your favorite non-PoV in Book 1?
Oh, my boy Tryden for sure. I may be biased here but I genuinely like him as a bad ass character and a great leader. Other than him, I really liked Mors, Garrison and Tanya.
Who was your least favorite non-PoV in Book 1?
Aisha, is it even a surprise? Yeah we all hate her, together with Valerie. I also don't trust Forovos yet, at all. Albin Manwoody is up there as well together with all thos freaks in his castle (Thankfully only Larry is still alive).
What were your favorite moments/parts/scenes in Book 1? (You can also tell your least favorite if you wish)
Battles generally, all of them. Also both last Jamison part and Epilogue was quite heart warming. Myke dying for Kortney was also pretty epic.
What was your favorite storyline in Book 1?
It was Jamison's for pretty much the same reason he is my favourite PoV. Also I liked Nymeria's storyline as kind of the main storyline. But many others were up there as well, mostly aligning with my favourite PoVs.
Bonus: Which storyline(s) are you most looking forward to in Book 2?
The most immediate thing I'm looking forward is to see where are we after the time skip. After that I'll probably realise which storylines I'm looking forward the most. And of course, there are some epic battles coming that I'm definitely looking forward as well.
Anyways, keep doing what you are doing without hesitating to improve where you think you should improve, and this story will remain awesome!
Hello! So, as I said earlier, there will be an interlude before Book 2 begins, giving us a single PoV part for each of the kings. We'll start this with a Lucifer PoV, getting a glimpse to his life at the Wall. I'll try to get all of these parts out within a week or so
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Interlude: The Kings of Dorne
Crows of a Feather
It was summer, but up here in the North that didn't mean much. Lucifer Dryland felt the crisp wind on his skin, and it felt colder than anything he had ever felt back in Dorne. Even under his thick wool and leather clothes and fur coat Lucifer was shivering. I'll never get used to this, he thought grimly.
Another thing Lucifer would never get used to was looking up a seven hundred feet tall wall of ice every single day. Right now, he was riding towards said wall, and specifically the gates of Nightfort, already hearing the horn of the gatekeeper welcoming him. Nightfort was the oldest and largest castle the Night's Watch had, and it did have a certain crude majesty to it. Just by looking at it Lucifer could tell that parts of it had stood there for thousands of years, whereas other parts had been added or rebuilt much later. This was the first time Lucifer was here, summoned by the Lord Commander himself, after serving almost two years in Eastwatch-by-the-sea. They had been the two most miserable years in his life, and not a day went by without him hoping he had defeated Nymeria, or at least fell on the battlefield fighting for his kingdom. Now he was just withering away here at the edge of the civilized world, struggling every day with the thought that his line would come to an end and there was nothing he could do about it.
Lucifer's grim thoughts were interrupted by the gates of the Nightfort opening in front of him. He rode into the crowded courtyard, which had no welcoming party waiting for him. The brothers of the castle all continued their chores and training, hardly even paying attention to the newcomer. I'm certainly not a king to these people.
As he dismounted his horse, Lucifer did notice one man approaching him. This man was on his mid-twenties, tall and handsome, with pale skin, short dark hair and sharp grey eyes. "Lucifer Dryland?" He asked with a deep and smooth voice, and Lucifer nodded with a stern expression on his face. "Aye, I am," he grunted as an answer, and a small smile formed on the young man's face.
"Welcome to Nightfort," he said casually, and offered his hand for shaking. "I'm Eldon Stark, ranger of the Night's Watch, and the fourthborn son of King Eyron Stark." Lucifer grabbed the ranger's hand and looked him in the eyes. "Never thought I'd meet a Stark," he said with a mildly amused tone, to which Eldon chuckled softly.
"Can't say I ever expected to meet a Dryland," he replied with a relaxed tone. "Anyway, Lord Commander Osmund is waiting for you," the Stark continued with a more professional tone, and Lucifer nodded. "Let's go then," he urged, and Eldon Stark began to lead him towards the quarters of the Lord Commander.
Lucifer had heard a lot about Osmund Gardener during his days in the Eastwatch, and he had looked forward to meeting him in person. Being the son of the late King Gyles Gardener, fifth of his name, Osmund came from a status even higher than Lucifer, which was rare in this place. So far most of the fellow brothers-in-black that Lucifer had met had been either third- or fourthborn sons of some petty lords, or common folk criminals. Osmund was a thirdborn as well, but the thirdborn of one of the most powerful families in Westeros.
Eldon led them past the armory and the great hall, leading them to the ancient stony keep that was leaning against the giant wall of ice. The watchers guarding the doors paid no mind to them, and soon they were at the dark wooden door of the Lord Commander's office. Eldon Stark knocked, and soon a dark-haired and pale boy on his early teens opened the door. "Morning, Ned," Eldon greeted with a warm and friendly tone, and a happy smile formed on the boy's face. "Morning, Uncle Eldon," he responded calmly, before turning his eyes to Lucifer. "You're Lucifer Dryland, right?" He asked, and Lucifer nodded. "Yes, I've been summoned here by the Lord Commander."
"Aye, he's been waiting for you," the boy said, making way for him. "We'll wait outside," he added, walking next to Eldon. Lucifer nodded again, and entered the room, closing the door behind him. Turning his eyes to left, he saw the Lord Commander sitting quietly behind his desk. He was an old man, probably on his early eighties, with wavy light grey hair, bushy beard and wrinkled pale skin. However, the look on his green eyes was still sharp, and he sat on his chair with a remarkably good composure for his age.
"Lucifer Dryland," Osmund Gardener spoke up with a calm and sharp tone on his voice. "Please, take a seat." Quietly Lucifer approached the desk, and sat down opposed to Osmund. "Lord Commander," he grunted with a small nod, and a sly smirk formed on the old Gardener's face.
"How has your time in Eastwatch been?" He asked calmly. Lucifer stayed quiet for a few seconds, considering his words. "Could've been worse," he finally answered with a shrug, which made Osmund chuckle. "It's been over thirty years, but I still remember my first days at the Wall," he said with a wistful sigh. "It was winter back then, and a harsh one as well. I had never experienced anything like it in the Reach, and there were days when I was certain I wouldn't survive. But I did, and here I am now. I imagine these two years have been hard for you, for multitude of reasons."
"They have," Lucifer admitted sternly, and Osmund nodded. "I must say I was surprised when I received the letter from the Martells. A Dornish king being sent to the Wall by a foreign conqueror? I admit, the Reachman in me felt a certain glee at the thought. Less than two centuries ago the Dornish raided our lands and burned down Highgarden while the kingdom was torn apart by the civil war between the Peakes and the Manderlys. My great-grandfather Mern the Sixth rebuilt Highgarden and united the Reach under one banner again, and my grandfather Garth the Eleventh took vengeance upon the Dornish by littering the Red Mountains with Blackmont and Manwoody corpses."
"That was over a century ago," Lucifer pointed out nonchalantly, and Osmund nodded in agreement. "True. By now my grandfather is long dead, as is my father and all my brothers. Now the kingdom is ruled by my nephew whom I last saw when he was still more boy than a man, but I can guarantee you that the hatred for Dornish still runs deep in my family."
"So, now you want to take some petty vengeance on me, is that it?" Lucifer asked cynically, but to his surprise Osmund Gardener shook his head. "If I was still Prince Osmund Gardener, grandson of King Garth the Painter, then yes, perhaps I would feel the need to humiliate you, just as Garth humiliated your people so long ago. However, I am no prince, I am the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, sworn by a sacred oath to take no sides in the conflicts of Westeros. I assume we can extend that oath to apply for the conflicts of the past. I am not a Gardener, and you are not a Dryland – not anymore. No, we are both brothers of the Night's Watch, the watchers on the Wall."
"So, why did you summon me here, Lord Commander?" Lucifer asked sharply. Osmund took in a deep breath, studying Lucifer's face while he considered his answer. "You were defeated by a conqueror, but you were a king before that," he began with a calm tone on his words. "You may have a new purpose here, but there is no reason to ignore your past. You were a ruler, raised to a position of power, trained to command. The past two years you have been acting as a mere servant on the Eastwatch, and perhaps that has been necessary to remind you that you are not a king anymore, but one of many equal brothers in black, serving the realms of men. However, about a month ago I received a raven from Westwatch, informing me that its commander had fallen. Harwin Umber was a great warrior, who had successfully defended the Westwatch against the wildlings for over a decade, so I was shocked to learn he had been slain by a band of raiders attempting to cross the Bridge of Skulls. Westwatch is the fort that gets assaulted by the wildling tribes most frequently, and now it has been left without a proper leader."
"You would make me Commander of Westwatch?" Lucifer asked with a genuinely surprised tone, and the Lord Commander nodded affirmatively. “Aye”, he said quietly, narrowing his eyes as he leaned closer and looked Lucifer to the eyes. “The position is not a comfortable one, nor does it give you a crown or bring you any personal glory. Westwatch is a hard place, and it requires a strong leader, a commander capable of rallying his brothers against the wildlings, again and again. Do you see yourself as the man for the job, Lucifer Dryland?”
“I do”, Lucifer answered with stern determination in his voice, and the Lord Commander’s lips formed a satisfied smirk.
Ah, it seems between all these Stark's and Gardener's, Lucifer is in good company, actually. Good for him. He's been a shitty king and person, but I still believe that he does not deserve death, so this is good. It isn't even all that humiliating anymore now that he is Commander of Westwatch. I mean, I have this heavy dislike for him, he deserves every bit of his current situation, but this part made me hate him a little bit less. I really have to wonder though if he will run into one of the other kings once they are sent to the wall
One thing I am curious about, does Lucifer even know that Dalia died? She did abandon him, so he might consider her dead to him in a figurative sense, but as far as I know, nobody ever went and told him about her actual fate. It might be common knowledge by now due to Kris' return to Vaith and him likely informing some people, such as Myra and maybe even Nymeria about what happened, but it got me thinking if word has reached the Wall, given that he seems to be certain his line will end with him.
Actually, that reminds me, I forgot to ask one important thing: What would have happened if Dalia wouldn't have accompanied Desi and instead led the Dryland armies? And in a similar manner, what would have happened if Kris wouldn't have accompanied them? And what would have happened if neither would have went with Desi?
Indeed, Osmund Gardener is a pretty fair and competent Lord Commander, and these Starks are an example of the more honorable members of the Night's Watch. That said, I can guarantee you that the two years Lucifer spent at Eastwatch were absolutely miserable. I mean, going from a king to a grunt level servant must be quite shocking in itself, but the Wall is a remarkably miserable place, which would've only intensified Lucifer's misery
And it's not like being Commander of Westwatch will be particularly easy or luxurious either, but at least he'll have some authority again.
Ah yes, in retrospect I probably should've made this more clear, but he does indeed know that Dalia is dead. He would've learned it before sailing to the Wall, probably in Vaith when being escorted to Salt Shore (from where he then was transported to Eastwatch).
It would've depended on if she would've surrendered early enough to Nymeria. If she would've kept resisting even after the defeat at the battle of Godsgrace she would've ended up dead. However, if she had surrendered and knelt to Nymeria, she would've been made the Lady of Hellgate Hall once Lucifer was removed. However, the Ullers would've demanded that she is their bannerman, and not the other way around. She also wouldn't have had any more children, and because Desi has no interest in the Dryland name and legacy, the line would've still ended eventually. Oh, and in terms of the confrontation, it would've been fairly similar to how it was now, just Belan dying instead of Dalia. As for if Kris hadn't been there, Team R'hllor would've still won, it just would've been a bit harder. And if neither of them would've gone... I'll be honest, I really hoped to avoid this scenario and I'm not sure if I would've actually had the guts to go through with it, but at least in my planning it would've led to Team GO winning. This would've really been the most miserable scenario possible, because the GO victory wouldn't have even been due to Dark Gwen turning the tables, but rather just Team R'hllor being too weak to defeat Valerie. Ugh, I'm glad I didn't have to write that
Holy shit, that would have indeed been the worst possible outcome, as well as the only one that would have seen Gwen remaining under Valerie's control. While I am heavily against that Dark Gwen part as well, I must at least admit that it sounds preferrable over whatever fate would have awaited her in that case. I mean, we know Valerie's spell did a serious number on her after only a couple of days, but with no one around to intervene in that case, I suppose she would have remained in that state probably for the entire timeskip (unless the Great Other takes offense at it for some reason). I also suppose Wesley would have survived and that piece of shit already overstayed his welcome. I ultimately think that we have picked the best possible route here. While Dalia's death holds a certain sadness, I like Belan more than her, so I am not too unhappy with the alternative, especially as she had a good death, fighting to protect her daughter. Argh, while we ultimately followed the right path from the very beginning, there were so many bullets we dodged along the way
When it comes to the epilogue, man how did I not realize that was where you were going with it?
I would not have ever guessed but I guessed that just left me room to be surprised. 
With that said, it was obviously very enjoyable to read and it kept with the positive theme of the last few parts in chapter 3 as well. Overall, that was a pretty great ending to Book 1 seeing a happy moment and now knowing that Mors will be a PoV it is safe to say I am excited to learn more about him and his particular view on what is going on moving forward.
Now for the questions!
Of course I have to mention Jamison to start
Throughout the story I have said this and I have no problem saying it again, you have did a phenomenal job with his character with him being just as imagined. Jamison's PoV was very much a wild ride throughout the book and seeing things from his perspective is something that I have very much enjoyed. He is skilled, confident, and sometimes arrogant along with providing some humor while also showing other traits like his determination to succeed as well. I could go on and on about how much I enjoy his character but I'll go ahead and sum it up and say it was nice seeing him get a happy ending for Book 1 and I feel Book 2 will lead to many more awesome moments for Jamison as well. As far as other favorite PoV's I have enjoyed them all in some way but narrowing it down, I would say my other favorites that are closer to Jamison in no particular order are Gwendis, Naemon, Isabella and Nealia. While I was one of the biggest advocates for the Skyreach storyline for Gwendis, the storyline she went down was very much an exciting one and with us being able to get her out of it safe and sound, I am definitely glad we were able to pull that off. Naemon arguably received the most character development of all the PoV's with him now starting to accept a role foreign to him as a leader and I am very curious to see where book 2 will lead him. Isabella of course, because she brings a very unique perspective to this world with her being a relatively normal and sweet girl along with how she brings the best out of Jamison as well and Nealia because of her being a Dayne by all rights and because she pretty much seen all of the big battles firsthand! Overall I enjoyed all of the PoV's and could go on and on about the ones mentioned above and ones I haven't mentioned but I guess I'll quit here 
Honestly at this point, I don't really have one. I suppose I wasn't really a Kris fan after the battle of Vaith but I never was all that mad at him
I suppose I could also have said Nymeria back in chapter 1 but I have grown to enjoy her storyline as well but considering that she will eventually trying to conquer the Kingdom of the Torrentine, I suppose I will throw her here for the time being even though I can't even say she is my least favorite 
There are so many here that there is no way I can name them all but off the top of my head, I will go with Alester, Malcolm, Vorian, Garrison, Benedict, Desmor, and Edd Prally. Alester because he has had many epic moments considering he is a secondary character and I enjoy seeing his personality in the story, Malcolm has also made his presence felt as well with him being very helpful in Naemon's storyline and like Alester I very much look forward to seeing him make his presence felt in Book 2. Vorian, Garrison, and Benedict are my favorite kings with Garrison and Benedict both having very unique roles in this book and Vorian while not having as large of a role in this book as those two, he made his presence felt and I am especially excited to see him take on a larger role in Book 2. Desmor because he is unique in that he has been a calming influence and a great big brother to Isabella while he has also been a sympathetic character with how much has not seemed to go his way. I will also go with Edd Prally because he is such an intriguing character and I am curious to see his role moving forward. There are many more to mention and I'll probably think of more I should have mentioned later
Like some of the others, I will go with Valerie Sand because of all the the problems she has caused throughout the story with her almost damaging Gwendis beyond repair and bringing Jamison into a fight that wasn't his to begin with. Other characters I will mention will be Mordekhai because of how he killed Lyla, Dalia and probably Trentan as well. A character that hasn't been seen as much but I still want to see him taken out is is Zereth because he killed Ferris Fowler at the end of his amazing one off PoV part and as an assassin he has gotten off with that murder with no repercussions. I definitely feel it would be fitting if Desmor takes him down even though I don't think anyone will even find out he was the one to kill Ferris. Also Larry the Kind as well because he has gotten away with killing Myke with no repercussions and the fact he would literally be no threat if not for his affiliation with Albin will probably make his death pretty funny if he does end up being taken down.
There are so many here yet again but I'll try to keep this short. Pretty much Jamison entire storyline with his fight in Godsgrace, conversation with Lucifer, battle in Vaith, reunion with Isabella and the tourney and wedding all being top notch. and displaying different facets of Jamison's character. I would also like to mention the scene where he dropped Horidos' severed head at Lord Morgan's feet, that one is right up there with all of the stuff previously mentioned as well! Jamison's fights in Godsgrace and Vaith showed how dangerous he really is while his conversation with Lucifer showed how ruthless and arrogant he can be with his words while his reunion with Isabella with the tourney and wedding that followed showed his other side as well and how he kind he can be. I hate to sound so biased but these scenes are very much massive favorites of mine! Other scenes include the battles of Lemonwood and Godsgrace bridge along with the Battle of the Wide Way is another awesome battle which is arguably my favorite one up to this point depending on the day
Another scene would be Kortney's return to Nightsong since I pretty much she would end up dying pretty much the whole story so seeing her make it home because of our choices was a very satisfying result.
I would definitely have to go with all of the PoV's I have previously mentioned along with add Valor and Nymeria to the mix. Valor's storyline was top notch with him immediately making an impact and playing an important role for Nymeria. I didn't put him in the favorite PoV list but he definitely belongs there and if his book 2 storyline continues at this pace, he will make it there no problem! Nymeria of course has had an excellent storyline as well once he got going and I am sure it continue to be exciing moving forward!
I would definitely have to say any storyline concerning House Dayne vs House Martell because I have a feeling it is going to be an epic war with so much going on and many PoV's being involved in it! In general though, I am very much excited to see where the time skip takes everyone and of course I am looking forward to Isabella and Jamison's storylines and how their marriage has went!
As far as advice or suggestions, just keep doing what you are doing and writing this amazing story
This was a very fun start to the interlude with us getting a glimpse at the Wall! From what I can tell, this is set right where Book 2 will start and while Lucifer clearly wasn't my favorite King or anything, he still played an awesome role in the story and it looks as if he will have a purpose at the wall which is definitely good for him! This part has showed me one thing though, if it does work out to where all of the Kings go to the Wall, there definitely has to be a part where they all end up in the same room and have a conversation or something
Anyway, great part and I am excited to see the rest of the Interlude parts 
The King of Nothing
Albin Manwoody held a piece of parchment in his hands, a letter sent from the Yronwood. Filled with empty words and hollow compliments, its true message was to ask Albin to seize his war efforts against the Fowlers. "I hope you will follow the instructions I have given here, so the negotiations for alliance with King Garrison can begin," Albin muttered the last words of the letter, before squashing the parchment in his fist and throwing it away.
Maester Gilbert picked the letter up sheepishly and slipped it into the sleeve of his dark robe, before giving the King a meek look. "Your Grace, how shall we answer?" He asked with a shivering voice, and Albin shot him a cold glare. "Yorick Yronwood does not command me," he said sternly, his words oozing of anger. "There will be no answer, and we will keep raiding the lands of House Fowler," he said determinedly, and Gilbert bowed to his words.
"Your Grace, I should remind you that Yorick still has troops on our lands," the maester said with a gulp, and Albin slammed his fist furiously against the desk. "I said there will be no answer," he growled, and once again Gilbert bowed. "Now, get out of here," he commanded, and the maester obeyed without missing a beat. Now Albin turned his eyes to the other man still in the room, his son and heir Prince Arvin Manwoody. For a moment they were both quiet, until Albin chuckled coldly. "You want to say something, don't you?" He asked sharply. "Go on then boy, say what you have to say."
"Maester Gilbert mentioned the Yronwood troops patrolling our lands, but they are not our only problem" Arvin said with a sigh, and Albin narrowed his eyes, gesturing for his son to continue. "Several reports from the north have come recently, sent by lords Littlemill and Purell. Apparently, some foreign band of raiders has been causing trouble there."
“The Carons again?” Albin asked sternly, to which Arvin shrugged. “It could be, but I doubt it”, he said calmly. “After all, it has been only a few months since the Storm King marched to Riverlands. And if these men do work for the Carons, at least they aren’t carrying their banners.”
"I don't have any troops to spare for something like this, my vassals can bloody well take care of their own problems," Albin hissed, and Arvin gave him a displeased look. "And what will our vassals think of us if we don't even bother to protect them against foreign invaders?" He asked with a frustrated tone on his voice.
"They will speak ill, as always, but at the end of the day they will all bend their knee and kiss my feet, because I am the Great King of the Red Mountains, and disobeying me means death," Albin answered to his son, an underlying threat in his words. "Really?" Arvin asked dryly. "Because the way I see it, right now you are not the Great King of the Red Mountains, you are not the Great King of anything. In fact, you are just another vassal of Yorick Yronwood."
Albin clenched his fists, almost shaking in anger. How could his own son dare to say something like that to his face, it made him furious. "Shut your mouth!" He roared. "You are my son, how dare you speak against me like that? It is treasonous, it is disgusting!"
Arvin turned his gaze down regretfully, letting out a deep sigh. "I am sorry father," he muttered quietly, before turning his eyes up again. "All I'm saying is that perhaps it would be wise to pull our troops from the Fowlers’ lands, and instead concentrate on driving away this foreign army from our northern borders. This would please both Yorick and our own vassals."
Now Albin stormed up from his chair and approached Arvin, proceeding to grab him from the collar of his tunic and staring him straight to the eyes. "Did you not hear me, boy?" He asked with a chilling tone, his voice shaking of anger. "I have made my decision, and disobeying it will mean death. Do you understand me?"
"I... I understand, Your Grace," Arvin managed to mutter, clearly shaken, and Albin let go of him. "Is there no one I can trust?" The King asked hysterically, leaning against his desk with one hand and breathing heavily. "Even my own son is trying to undermine me," he spat, glaring at Arvin.
"I am not trying to undermine you," Arvin tried to assure, but Albin just laughed coldly at his words. "I can see it from your eyes, boy," he said with a grim smirk, pointing at his son. "The way you look at me, you can't wait to see me die so you can claim my crown, don't even try to deny it. That crown will be yours one day, as undeserving of it as you are, but before that I intend to make sure that history will remember my name."
"I understand," Arvin said quietly, avoiding eye contact with his father, and for a moment silence lingered in the room. "Go!" Albin yelled with frustration. "I can't stand to look at your treasonous face any longer, go!"
With a deep bow Arvin quickly made his way out of the room, and so Albin collapsed back into his chair with a sigh. "Missy," he muttered quietly. "Why can't you be here, Missy?" Albin asked with his eyes closed. Every woman in his life had betrayed him, but Missy had been different. They took her away from me, he thought bitterly. She admired me and loved me, and they took her away.
He remembered all the times Missy had pledged her love for him, her loyalty and service. Why can’t you be here? Albin’s thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. The king clenched his fists and frowned. “Who is it?” He bellowed, and the door was opened. In stepped Larry the Kind, bowing deeply to his king. “Your Grace, I apologize for bothering you, but you have a guest”, Larry spoke with a humble tone.
“A guest?” Albin asked with narrowed eyes, and Larry nodded. “Yes, a strange woman, some sort of priestess. She is saying that the gods have sent her to…”
Larry was cut off by a tall woman walking behind him and putting her hand on his shoulder. She was dressed in black robes, and her skin was dark. The woman walked silently past Larry and removed her hood, revealing a bald head and a face mutilated with burn scars. In her brown eyes was a tense and sharp glare, oozing of confidence and power.
“Who are you?” Albin asked sternly, and a tiny smirk formed on the burned woman’s face. “I am a servant of the one true god, the great lord of darkness and death, and I’ve come here to make you the strongest king in Dorne”, she introduced herself smoothly.
“And how would you do that?” Albin asked with narrowed eyes. The priestess glanced at Larry, and Albin understood her gesture. “Leave us”, he said nonchalantly, and after hesitating for a couple seconds, Larry walked out of the room.
“I knew your cousin, Ser Mordekhai, before he died”, the woman spoke up again, and Albin raised his eyebrows in surprise. There was something strange about this woman, something unsettling even, and there wasn’t much that could make Albin feel that way. “You knew Mordekhai?” he asked quietly, and the woman nodded.
“I serve the same god as he did”, she answered, now standing right next to Albin. “He died fighting for our lord, slain by the servants of fire. The same people left me scarred and mutilated, but by the mercy of the Great Other I survived, and now I have come to show you his power.” As she finished speaking, the priestess offered her hand for him. Albin took in a deep breath and looked the burned woman to the eyes, and finally grabbed her hand.
He fell into abyss, surrounded by nothing but darkness. Screams of pain echoed around her, voices of all the people he had made suffer in his life. And then he saw them, the cold blue eyes in the darkness. Their stern gaze brought Albin down on his knees, and made him bow his head before them.
“You are King of Nothing”, the screeching voice said, and the words made Albin shiver in fear and anger. “You shall serve me, you shall be my weapon, and my enemies shall tremble before you.”
I shall serve you, Albin thought, and fell asleep.
Not surprised Valerie is alive, and now the people of the Red Mountains have more than bandits to worry about. Albin is certainly leaving his mark in history, as the Mad King of the Red Mountains.
Literally me right now:
Holy shit! Holy shit, aaaah
Oh my god, I can't even, what is happening? Don't mind me, just having a minor major meltdown right here.
Alright, alright, gotta breathe calmly, this is crazy. I knew Valerie is not dead. I fucking knew it! However, actually what wouldn't have been a surprise to be revealed in, say, Book 3 or so, is extremely shocking at this particular point. The timing threw me off completely. Never, and I mean absolutely never would I have guessed she'd be back so soon. Here I was hoping we'd get at least a whole book of a break from her, but this... holy shit, this is terrifying.
Fucking Valerie should have stayed dead. But this is legitimately a shocker, because of just about everything her. Her return so soon, her being actually alive and not a reanimated corpse (A shame, as I kinda liked calling her the lich witch bitch) and her allying with freaking Albin! I was already determined to end that fucker before, but now, I am so going to kill that man. Considering that Gwen is part of Team R'hllor, Albin is now her enemy and that makes it personal.
Though this part is a new low for quite a number of people here. Valerie, well, she is clearly off worse than before. The Great Other spared her life, as expected from someone who controls death, but without her looks, one important part of her previous strategy is gone and as far as it is implied, Great Other cultists don't have the same illusion powers at their disposal as the Red Priests have. Her allies went from the at least similarly dedicated Aisha and Wesley and the implied to be incredibly talented Gwendis to the Mad King and his freaks. Albin went from Yorick's puppet king to the Great Other's puppet king and though Yorick is morally grey at his absolute best, he definitely is preferrable over a literal god of evil (and I could actually see the man himself being heavily opposed to Albin's new master should he ever find out. Everyone has standards, unless it's complete lunatics such as Albin) and in this case, I suppose the puppet part of their arrangement can be seen a bit more literal than usual. And the Great Other went from having true believers such as Aisha and Wesley as his servants to having merely an overly ambitious snake in the form of Valerie and an absolute madman as his champion. Compared to Gwen, Albin is definitely not the least bit competent at anything. He is, however, at least nominally powerful, so I won't make the mistake of underestimating him.
But holy shit, I am still a bit speechless right there, because of... this! I fear this might mean Team R'hllor will have to face the worst king in all Westeros and since Gwen is likely to be with them from now on, this means the danger for her is not over yet, not at all. Between Albin, who already took and broke one PoV and Valerie who is probably even crazier and with a legit grudge on top, the villain roster for Book 2 just got some significant upgrades. Though actually there is one thing I am curious about and it is Kris' role in all of this. See, the only even remotely calming thing in all this is that there is no reason why Gwen should be at the top of Valerie's hit list. No doubt she is part of it, especially should Valerie ever learn that she now serves R'hllor, but I kinda have the feeling that her connection to Kris is a stronger one. He might be the one having to fight her off and I consider him more skilled at that. Phew... didn't take me long to go into full Gwen survival mode again, eh? My watch is not ended yet.
So, with the first chapter of Book 3 being heavily implied to be a Manwoody heavy chapter, I suppose this continuing fight between R'hllor and Great Other will take place over the entirety of Book 2, albeit it is a good and a bad thing that neither side fully knows about their enemies. Who knows what sort of power Gwendis will have once we see her again and Desi can only grow stronger from here as well, whereas Valerie, already at the peak of her power before, was no match for one of them before. The inclusion of Albin though will change things, make it harder for them. Maybe an army will be needed and well... I do know at least two armies who have reason to fight against House Manwoody, namely being the Blackmont army (mostly if Gwen manages to convince Benny or Naemon) and the Martell army by default. Nymeria wants to overthrow Albin, so in a way, this just made her an ally of Team R'hllor in my opinion, in a "The enemy of my enemy" kinda way.
A band of foreigners raiding the Manwoody lands coming from the north? I wonder who are these people...
Man, this part got me even more hyped for Book 2, I just can't wait! The R'hllor vs GO storyline was among my favorite ones, but it seems to me that storyline will take things to a whole different level going forward. Valerie is alive and now has a mad king and his armies/kingdom pretty much under "her" control, Kortney and the Caron army are going to war with Albin (probably with Verro and his "group" joining in as well), Team R'hllor will definitely end up mixed in this mess too and there's the Yronwood troops patrolling the Manwoody lands. As if that was not enough, now there's this army of raiders coming from the north who are already leaving their mark on the kingdom from the looks of it. A lot of PoVs are probably going to be crossing paths in those storylines(Gwen, Kortney and possibly Verro), I know I've already said it, but I'm really looking forward to what's next and I can't help but feel ecstatic about it all. CHOO CHOO! ALL ABOARD THE HYPE TRAIN! XD
Haha, yeah, Valerie isn't wasting any time getting back into the ring
That said, you have to remember that there has been two years since the confrontation now, so she has had plenty of time to regain her strength and rethink her strategy.
Team R'hllor's victory wasn't quite as definitive as it seemed, it turns out
And yeah, zombie Valerie would've been interesting, but that would've probably required someone else raising her from the death. However, there is definitely still something unnatural about surviving both burning and drowning the way she did. Kinda brings to mind Patchface, actually 
And yeah, who better ally for Valerie than the maddest of all madmen in the story 
You're right though, this most certainly makes Albin an enemy of Team R'hllor, as if he didn't have enough enemies already.
Yeah, like I said, Valerie has had plenty of time to rethink her strategy, and the seduction part is something she has definitely had to drop. However, Albin was the perfect target for her, because he is desperate for power, no matter how he gets it. Like you say, Yorick's standards for example would've prevented him from falling under Valerie's influence the way Albin did. Whether this development has any bearing on the alliance between Albin and Yorick, we'll have to wait and see. And you're right, Albin isn't competent at all, but he does have armies at his disposal, which is probably a fine compensation for the GO
Well, I'll just say that you will probably have control via the choices regarding how involved exactly will Gwen be with this ongoing conflict. That said, regardless of her future choices there is no denying that there is an established connection/grudge between her and Valerie already from the past, even if not quite as significant as the one between Kris and Valerie. Anyway, I'll certainly be interested to see your choices in Gwen's Book 2 storyline
Aha, the servants of R'hllor see themselves as being in an ongoing conflict with the GO that will only end with Azor Ahai come again, so it's not like even Desi thought that the confrontation would necessarily end it all. Granted, she probably didn't expect this to happen
So yeah, the conflict between R'hllor and GO will continue in the shadows, and for now Dorne is one of the hotspots of this conflict. And you're right, with this development Nymeria and Team R'hllor are natural allies, which will probably be brought up once we start Gwen's Book 2 storyline.
Ah, I'm glad to hear you're getting hyped!
I share the feeling, I can't wait to get to write all these storylines I've been planning for Book 2, it's going to be a wild ride. And yeah, it seems like Valerie is indeed in control of Albin, but she'll have to be discreet about it, because if Albin's subjects begin to suspect that he isn't really in control anymore they might stop following his orders. So, in other words we aren't probably going to see Valerie take the role of a leader, but rather she'll be pulling the strings behind the scenes. As for the Carons, it was sort of implied in this part that they have been attacking Manwoody lands during the timeskip, but have recently pulled their troops to join the Storm King in his march to Riverlands. That said, as long as Albin lives the Carons are sure to have a grudge against him, Kortney especially. But yeah, the fuckery and chaos on Manwoody lands will be a major focus in Book 2, with several PoVs involved one way or the other.
Yeah, true, some time has passed in the story, but I am mostly stunned from a technical standpoint here, as I thought we'd have months or even years out of the story until she'd show up again. I wouldn't have protested against that
It gives me uncomfortable implications, as it might mean that the Great Other outright prevented her from dying. This could mean he might do so again. Stab her in the heart, what could prevent him from keeping her alive? At this point, the safest way to get rid of her for good would be to cut off her head and then drop it somewhere in the Narrow Sea, halfway between Dorne and Essos. Or maybe completely burning her will do the trick. After all, if there is no body left to keep alive, maybe she'll finally be dead for good. And Albin... I have the feeling he really has no idea just how screwed he is. He has the Caron's, the Fowler's, to a degree even the Blackmont's against him, Nymeria will eventually turn her attention towards him after already controlling half of Dorne and now he has been dragged into a conflict of literally divine proportions. He'd be pitiable if he wouldn't be such a complete monster. Aisha 2.0., that's what he is, the deranged lunatic of the bunch.
I suppose seduction isn't even a strategy to work with Albin. His thoughts here gave some insight into how his mind works, he doesn't want to be seduced, he wants to be respected and Valerie probably can give him the impression of respecting him. I am curious just how stable their alliance will be though. At best, Valerie underestimates how volatile Albin can be and that he might not be the obedient tool she wants him to be. I am also really curious how Yorick will react to this. As I said, I cannot see him appreciating this, as it means Albin has truly made more enemies than he is worth it, but at the same time, he doesn't know it yet. He is also the one ultimately in charge, so I could see Valerie even trying to manipulate him as well.
Hm, I myself am not even sure how involved I want her to be. Her safety is my main goal. That being said, completely turning her back on this conflict could be harmful to her, if she is confronted by Valerie without the power of R'hllor to back her up. Actually, she herself could even be interested in bringing Valerie to justice, given that aside from her, the only living people who suffered more at that witch's hands are Kris and Myra. At this point, I think working with Team R'hllor and possibly Nymeria is a good strategy, but without knowing more about the circumstances of her involvement, I'd be opposed to a fully-blown commitment in the way Dalia did, given that it eventually claimed her life. Perhaps something similar to Kris, where he is a believer and supporter, but not exactly the most zealous and with responsibilities beyond his role in the R'hllor-Great Other conflict. But I think making sure that Gwen has allies beyond her own family will be highly important to keep her alive.
Yeah, I doubt Desi expected this. I have to wonder if she eventually learns of it though and this might mean her return to Dorne. Interestingly, while I expected Nym to cross paths with Team R'hllor and already sufficiently hyped myself for a possible encounter between her and Gwen, I just now got the thought that there might be more potential allies. Nymeria is someone I absolutely want Gwen to get along with. It will be a serious piece of work, but if she ever wants to have any chance to become Lady of Blackmont, Nymeria's favour is something that is no doubt going to be crucial. But ironically, for as much of a douche as he is, Arvin could even be an ally for Team R'hllor as well. It is heavily implied he has limits to how loyal he is to his father and he definitely isn't a madman, so I suspect he might draw the line at serving the god of evil. This could make him an unexpected ally against his own father, given that he is also implied to have aspirations to replace him already, something that can only grow stronger if he learns of the downsides of Albin's new alliance. No doubt some convincing has to be done, but I believe it shouldn't be impossible for Gwendis and Desi to bring up better arguments than Valerie. If a cooperation between Team R'hllor and Nymeria ends up being established, Arvin supporting them could even be the reason why House Manwoody as a whole even manages to survive Albin's reign. Eh... you made me dislike him a little bit less with this line of thought, but he still has miles to go
Don't forget the Caron army.
Wow! What an unexpected development. With Valerie controlling Albin's mind she has basically become a Shadow/unofficial Queen of the Red Mountains. However, she might have bit off more than she can chew. Although, she has some experience with politics in Vaith, she has no idea how to run a kingdom. Especially one as unstable as Albin's currently is. She has no idea how many enemies Albin has already made and how he is currently making terrible political decisions for his kingdom. She might try to ally with that GO worshipping brother of a Dornish Lord (don't remember who it was but remember reading about it, in I think was one of Naemon's parts). Anyways, I hope Gwen, Desi, and their current and future allies will be prepared for their next confrontation with Valerie and her forces.
Yeah, Valerie has with one swift move placed herself in a real position of power. That said, her plan isn't necessarily to mindcontrol Albin's every action, at least if she doesn't absolutely have to, but rather just influence him and make him serve the Great Other. After all, it's not like Valerie has much interest for governing, just power. And I think you might be referring to Ajax Safyre, who is the uncle of Lord Joachim Safyre. They were brought up in one of Nealia's parts, specifically by Fenn who told about his past mission to House Safyre's lands. That said, it hasn't actually been confirmed if Ajax is a GO worshiper though, just that Lord Joachim suspected him to be behind the murders and atrocities committed in his lands, whereas others suspected it was Ser Mordekhai's doing.
O ok, so it was probably Mordekhai that was doing that then.
Hello again, everyone!
Just thought I should post this updated portrait of Valerie now
Oh, and the next king PoV will be posted tomorrow. It'll be Vorian
An Albin PoV was definitely something that I was looking for to and it didn't disappoint! He's very much as delusional and insane as I thought he would be from his own PoV and actually getting to see inside his head confirmed my thoughts about him even more. The conversation between him and Arvin also was a highlight for me since it showed that how delusional he truly is, Arvin from what I have seen is pretty much nothing like his father with him actually seeming to be pretty level headed and rational with his thoughts which are two traits that are pretty foreign to Albin without a doubt
Another thing that also really surprised me a bit was how Albin has decided to ignore Yorick Yronwood especially considering how he is the one that has kept Albin and his entire kingdom safe. I suppose Yorick may have more to worry about rather than putting Albin Manwoody in his place but I could also see Yorick completely abandoning Albin which will definitely be detrimental to them in the long run. Oh I think I might be forgetting something as well 
But really, I figured Valerie returning wouldn't be a matter of if but when but even still, her allying with Albin was definitely a massive surprise largely because I am not sure he will be a massive threat to anyone but he does have armies and I would say that she will mostly use them to take out her enemies rather than help Albin himself on his quest to be the Great King of the Red Mountains. With all of this said, I am really curious to see what her plans will end up being and how Albin will be involved with them!
Indeed, delusional is the perfect word to describe Albin
And I'm glad you enjoyed Albin's conversation with his son! Prince Arvin has had a pretty small role in the story so far, but Book 2 is going to flesh him out a lot.
And you're right, Albin isn't necessarily a massive threat to anyone himself, but he is the source of a lot of chaos and conflict, and Valerie's presence is only going to add to that. It's unclear for now what exactly Valerie has in mind, but allying with Albin not only gives her armies to perhaps use for her own agendas, but also makes her much harder to reach by anyone who would wish to kill her.
The Dawn of War
King Vorian Dayne stood on the balcony of his royal chambers, gazing at the eastern shores of Torrentine. It was a calm and sunny day, but something bothered Vorian. He was distressed, though there shouldn’t have been a reason for it. His kingdom was in peace, his people were safe, and his vassals respected him. His heir had just a couple weeks ago married Ashara Nightfall, the daughter of one of his most important vassals, and little over half-a-year ago his second son had become the father of two healthy boys, their mother the daughter of Vorian’s strongest ally. There was plenty of reasons for him to feel happy and accomplished in this moment, but there were a few concerns creeping in the back of his mind that he just couldn’t shake.
First one was the looming threat of Nymeria. The Rhoynar princess had made herself strong after defeating Lucifer, and held now even more territory than King Yorick Yronwood. Granted, a large portion of that territory was desert, but nonetheless there was no denying of her power. Vorian had no illusions that Nymeria wouldn’t sooner or later make her move against him, and he could only hope he’d be strong enough to defeat her.
Secondly, Vorian was concerned for Nealia, his only daughter. It had been years since she left, and there was no way of knowing if she was still alive or not. Ser Rolan Nightfall claimed to have met her at Salt Shore, but even that was over two years ago, and knowing that she was travelling with an infamous sellsword company didn’t exactly reassure Vorian that she was safe. Perhaps I shouldn’t have let her go, he thought with a subtle gulp.
Queen Arenna suddenly walked next to him and laid her hand gently on top of his on the railing. “You look concerned, dear. Is everything alright?” She asked softly, a sincere tone on her voice. Vorian flashed her a smile, and put his arm around her in a calming manner. “Everything’s alright, Arenna”, he assured quietly. “I was just thinking about what’s to come, the challenges we’ll have to face.”
“You mean the Rhoynar invader?” Arenna asked calmly, and Vorian nodded, letting out a small sigh. “From what I know of Nymeria and her past, I can appreciate her vision for Dorne. She has been a hero to her people, and now she wants to be the hero for all of Dorne. I agree with her that the Dornish kingdoms should strive to work together, especially if we’ll ever be threatened by the Reachmen or the Stormlanders. However, it shouldn’t come at the cost of our legacies being swept aside, and our crowns denied from us.”
“Perhaps you’ll be able to change her mind”, Arenna suggested with her typical optimism, to which Vorian chuckled amusedly. Arenna raised an eyebrow and spoke up again. “What? Trust me, we women can be much more reasonable about these things than you men.”
“I know, but I have a feeling this Nymeria won’t be so easily swayed to change her mind”, Vorian responded calmly. “We’ll have to prove our strength to her first, and perhaps then she’ll be willing to listen.”
“You have allies in Blackmont and Skyreach”, Arenna reminded, and Vorian nodded. “I do. However, Benedict’s willingness to give any meaningful support is questionable to say the least, and Garrison is continuously struggling with the Manwoodys. In fact, I have a feeling that is where Nymeria will strike first. She has surely made notice of the Fowlers being weakened by their prolonged war with King Albin. And if that happens, Garrison will be the one asking for my help.”
“And do you plan to help him?” Arenna asked quietly. “Of course”, Vorian answered immediately. “Our kingdoms are tied together by marriage, it would be shameful of me to abandon Garrison in his time of need.” After this they both remained quiet for a moment.
“Look”, Arenna suddenly said, pointing towards south with a surprised expression on her face. Vorian turned his eyes where she pointed, and saw a single ship with the sails of House Dayne approaching Starfall. It wasn’t just some merchant ship though, but one of their war galleys. “Isn’t that your brother’s ship?”
“It is”, Vorian muttered, frowning as he looked at it. “But… he is supposed to be garrisoning Clearhaven, right?” Arenna asked, and Vorian nodded wordlessly. Garret had just visited Starfall a couple weeks ago during Malcolm’s wedding, there was no reason for him to be returning so soon. Vorian knew his brother to be a dutiful man, which meant he had to have a very important reason for leaving his post. “Perhaps he forgot something here”, Arenna suggested, but Vorian wasn’t convinced of that. Without even responding to his wife, the king walked back inside from the balcony. He changed his clothes quickly and made his way down from the tower.
At the hallway of the main keep, Vorian was approached by Jamison. “Father, I saw Garret’s ship approaching the docks”, the dark-haired prince said with a tense tone, and Vorian nodded to him. “I saw it too”, he replied, continuing to walk towards the doors of the keep, and Jamison followed after him.
“Why do you think he’s here?” Jamison asked as they walked through the courtyard, and Vorian shook his head. “I don’t know, but I doubt it’s anything good”, he muttered sternly.
Ser Laroy and his squire Darnis of Southpoint joined them at the gates, and together they made their way down to the docks. There they stood in tense silence, as Garret’s galley swam closer and closer. When the ship was finally anchored, Garret was the first to storm to the docks, approaching his brother and king with a stern and concerned look in his eyes.
“Brother”, Vorian greeted him with an alarmed tone, and he bowed to him in response. “Your Grace, Clearhaven is lost”, he blurted out immediately, which was followed by a tense silence.
“What?” Jamison was the first to speak up, his voice equally angry and baffled. “How?”
“The Martells launched an attack during Prince Malcolm’s wedding, which suggests they knew its defenses would be weakened”, Garret spoke grimly. “I left rest of my ships to Southpoint, to prepare for either retaking Clearhaven or defending Southpoint from further attacks.”
So, it has begun, Vorian thought with a sigh, turning his gaze down. “So, what happens next?” Ser Laroy asked with a frown. “That’s what I’ve come to ask from my brother”, Garret responded without missing a beat. “Your Grace, how shall we answer to the Martells actions?”
“We should take Clearhaven back”, Jamison argued impatiently, and Vorian gave him a meaningful glance to calm him down. “We shall gather all the ships we have and attack”, the king stated calmly, which brought a satisfied smirk on Jamison’s face. “Garret, are the sellswords still under our command?”
“Some of them fell at Clearhaven, but most managed to retreat to Southpoint, including their leader Khazor the Sarnori”, Garret responded with a dutiful tone. “Good”, Vorian said calmly. “We must act quickly. The Martell forces have surely suffered losses in taking over the town, and there is no easy way for them to bring in reinforcements and supplies. If we strike now, and strike hard, we should be able to take Clearhaven back, and reinforce its defenses so it won’t fall into our enemies’ hands again.”
“I will begin the preparations right away, Your Grace”, Garret said with a firm nod.
“I will lead the attack”, Jamison declared suddenly, stern confidence in his voice. Vorian raised his chin, eyeing his son for a moment. He had to admit that he was proud to see him so eager to fight for their kingdom, even if he couldn’t tell whether it was a sense of duty or something else that compelled him. “Are you sure?” Vorian asked sternly. “You are a father now, no one would blame you for staying to protect your sons.”
“Samwell and Ferris are perfectly safe here with their mother”, Jamison pointed out calmly. “However, by taking Clearhaven the Martells have just robbed them of their legacy. What kind of father would I be if I didn’t fight to take it back?” He asked with a subtle smirk on his face.
“So be it”, Vorian agreed, giving his son a small nod, before turning towards Ser Laroy. “Laroy, tell Maester Norbert to send ravens to Nightfall and Sword’s Edge. Lords Gerold and Alester are to muster as many men as they can in a week, and bring them here.”
“Understood, Your Grace”, Laroy responded with a dutiful nod, and began to march back towards the gates, his squire coming closely behind him. Vorian took in a deep breath, gazing at the shimmering sea ahead of him.
“The war has begun”, he stated quietly. And it will be the most important we ever fought.
Is nice to read that both Malcolm and Jamison are settling as family men. And it seems that the remnants of the Wild Suns are still stuck in Westeros.
Fowler and Dayne are in danger on both sides and Blackmont can't help either of them without leaving themselves unguarded. The Martell can't cross the desert without taking over Sandstone and that is a challenge they'll need to overcome, or fully taking over Clearhaven to have a foothold on the sea.
So many surprises, along with there being so much to say that I am not sure where to begin but I'll give it a shot! First off, I'll start with the stuff that won't take as long to write up. First off, the Vorian PoV is one that I have been really hyped about seeing obviously and it certainly didn't disappoint! He is very much a calm and composed man with an aura about him that makes him very respected and like someone that you would run through a brick wall for him so to say because of how respected he is. I also enjoyed the little conversation between Vorian and Arenna and it really seems like they have a loving and healthy relationship which certainly is not a very common theme with most of the couples in story so that's nice to see!
I also very much enjoyed the massive updates in regard to his son's lives starting off with Malcolm getting married which is a pretty awesome development! I was pretty curious about when he would marry and who he would get married to and while I thought Ashara Nightfall would be a possibility, there is several other characters in the waiting to be introduced list as well that it also could have been or maybe a character that isn't on there so I am definitely excited to see this couple whenever they appear. Also, Jamison is a father! He even had twin boys which is obviously pretty awesome and I figure we will be seeing them pretty soon most likely from Isabella's PoV and I am intrigued to see how these kids end up looking if they take the prototypical Dayne look or if they take Jamison's more unique Dayne look or even if they take after the Fowler side mostly! With all of that said, there clearly was some neat progress for House Dayne over the time skip and obviously something huge happened in this part which I will now delve into
Haha man WIldling, the Dayne vs Martell war escalated way quicker than I would have expected at this point! I pretty much figured they would be going after the Fowler's first before attempting to take on House Dayne with that actually being how the Dayne's vs Martell would start with Vorian stepping in to aid Garrison but with the Martell's taking Clearhaven right out of the gate, it shows how ballsy Nymeria is but at the same time, it has made me optimistic in an odd sort of way but first I have to get this what if question out of the way
Obviously with choosing to keep Isabella and Jamison in Starfall, we made the right decision it seems but if we would have moved them to Clearhaven, would they have been there when the Martell's attacked? I primarily wonder this because while I would not see them missing Malcolm's wedding, their kids are obviously still very young and I suppose it is possible they couldn't make a trip that far just yet. Obviously I can't really say that for sure but I am pretty curious nonetheless!
Now back to this odd sort of optimism I have right now. The Martell's have struck first with a big attack on Clearhaven which clearly means the war is on and Vorian has officially called his banners so the first Martell vs Dayne battle is happening very soon probably within the first two or three Jamison parts we will witness it if Clearhaven hasn't been abandoned but with Book 2 being primarily focused on the Dayne-Martell war, I think there is a decent possibility that Jamison and the Dayne army could very well succeed in taking back Clearhaven and give Nymeria her first major defeat in her war of conquest and maybe even more defeats after that! Varyn has said on multiple occasions that Nymeria hasn't tasted true defeat yet to where she was in over her head any and this could very well be that time with Vorian bringing all of his ships and calling his banners to bring the fight to her. At least from how I have taken it in the story and I could be very wrong, the Kingdom of the Torrentine is arguably the second most powerful kingdom in Dorne out of the six original Dornish kingdoms or at worst tied with the Kingdom of Brimstone. The big difference between the two being that Vorian is not underestimating her and he is said to be the best knight in all of Dorne plus a great commander and along with that, Vorian's kingdom actually is unified unlike Lucifer's or at least I think they are. With all of that said, of course House Dayne and Vorian will inevitably lose but I definitely feel like they will definitely make Nymeria work for it and she will get a real taste of what war is really like! I also could be way off but I have a feeling this war will be an epic one!
On a couple of side notes, it looks like the battles will be coming early and the whole imagery of Jamison leading an army to Clearhaven is epic and I and very excited to see where this is going to go and also I feel like I have said before that Nymeria was working her way up my favorite PoV list, she has definitely dropped to the bottom with her little surprise attack on Clearhaven
Anyway, nice choice putting the interlude parts in and I hope you liked the novel I have written 
Ah, this part, while less big on the shocking revelations of Albin's part (though I am certain none will manage to top that one), held a couple surprises in itself and quite nice ones. First of all, I don't know why it never occurred to me that the characters might develop so much during the timeskip, but it makes perfect sense and I feel a bit stupid now
So, Malcolm got married, that really makes me wonder what other relationships we might see having evolved during this timeskip. There are a couple characters whom I can imagine could have quite progressed since we last saw them. I am curious to learn more about Malcolm's bride, given that she is a character whom we have not met so far, and I noticed, quite interestingly, that now that she is married to a Dayne, her name is the exact same as the most famous female Dayne from the canon. And Jamison is a father now, which isn't quite unexpected, but still very nice! I was already excited for his next part before, but now I am really curious to see how he has developed as a character over the last two years. Furthermore, I noticed he named his sons after one of the Dayne heroes and after Isabella's late brother, the latter of which is an actually sweet touch.
And well, this part officially heralded the beginning of the Martell-Dayne war in full. I think at this point it is actually the war I am the most hyped for out of the several conflicts in NW, with only the Martell-Yronwood war in the distance potentially being a larger one and I am super excited, yet worried, because both sides hold quite a number of my favourites. I must admit, I am really glad that Isabella and Jamison remained in Starfall instead of moving to Clearhaven, given how it was taken far earlier than I thought. While it might not have made a difference, given that it was Malcolm's wedding and both were likely in Starfall either way, I have to wonder if something would have happened if we would have chosen for them to move to Clearhaven in Jamison's last Book 1 part. One thing I am concerned about is his desire to secure a legacy for his sons. We know House Dayne will eventually lose the war and given that he already has an understandable problem with letting go of Clearhaven, I am worried that he will take the loss of their royal status even harder.
Also, I forgot to comment on it a couple of days ago and I am deeply sorry for it, but five days ago marked the two-year anniversary of Nymeria's War. I actually thought we'd have more time until that, at least another week, but I noticed I was wrong. I would like to take the belated occasion to thank you for two years of writing this truly magnificent story! There is no doubt that Nymeria's War is my favourite of the ongoing stories here and the fact that it shows no signs of slowing down makes me so very hyped for its future. It has been a wonderful ride so far and I really am excited to see what has happened to these characters I have grown attached to in a year from now
I knew you'd be excited for this one, and I'm glad to hear you weren't disappointed
And you're right, Vorian is a very calm and composed man, which is why I'm glad I got the opportunity to show some of his internal concerns in this part, because he rarely expresses that kind of thoughts externally. And yeah, while Vorian and Arenna didn't exactly marry out of love like Jamison and Isabella, they still have a very healthy and happy relationship.
Yeah, a lot can change in two years, and while the most important developments will always be covered in the books, especially the younger characters will likely grow and mature during the timeskips. And sometimes they make babies
We will indeed see more of Samwell and Ferris in the next Isabella part, as well as whom they take after in terms of looks. Granted, they are still infants, but some features can already be seen. And I can also reveal that they aren't be identical twins, so one may have inherited more Dayne features than the other and vice versa 
Hehe, yeah let's just say that I didn't want to waste any time getting this Martell-Dayne war started
I mean, it is one of the most interesting conflicts of the whole war imo, so I really want to use the whole of Book 2 for it. And yeah, it'll be soon revealed just how ballsy Nymeria's strategy actually is when we learn of her moves elsewhere in Dorne 
As for your question, Jamison would've been in Starfall due to Malcolm's wedding, but Isabella would've stayed in Clearhaven with the babies. So, instead of just securing his sons' legacy, Jamison's motivation for leading the attack would've been to rescue his family. Of course, the Martell forces wouldn't have treated Isabella and the boys badly or anything, but they would've still been hostages.
That is a good point. One of the reasons why I wanted to have the whole book for this war is precisely because I don't want it to be an easy win for Nymeria. Now, obviously I'm not going to reveal how exactly the war is going to pan out, but I can promise that the Martells are going to be taking some L's as well along the way. And yeah, I would say that Vorian could be seen as the second strongest of the kings after Yorick. The Drylands may have been the stronger kingdom in the past, but they were in decline even before Nymeria's arrival. Kingdom of Torrentine on the other hand is vital and strong, as well as firmly loyal to Vorian. So yeah, Torrentine will be a much harder challenge for Nym than Brimstone was. That said, the Principality is much stronger now as well.
Indeed, we'll be having our first battles of Book 2 in Chapter 1, and not just some small skirmishes either
And I suppose sooner or later Nymeria's favor in your books was bound to drop at least temporarily during Book 2 
One thing I wanted to bring up in this part was that Vorian understands and even agrees to some degree with Nymeria's goals of uniting Dorne, he just doesn't appreciate her way of going about it. What he would prefer is some sort of coalition between the independent kingdoms of Dorne, and if each of them had a king as reasonable as Vorian it could even work 
And I've had a blast writing these king PoVs, so I'm really glad you guys seem to be enjoying them as well 
Yeah, I can confirm that the Valerie twist will be the most shocking revelation you'll get in the interlude
That said, just like in this part, there will be a lot of surprises and developments in all of them. And yeah, showing the growth and development in all these characters is something I'm really looking forward to in the next chapter. Like you say, there are some characters who will have changed quite a lot, but they'll all still be recognizable. And that is exactly the thought process behind the names of Jamison's sons, good catch 
So it did indeed. Glad to hear you're hyped for this war, I'll try my absolute best to make it as entertaining as I can in the coming chapters. While the Martell-Yronwood conflict is arguably the most important of the war as a whole, the Martell-Dayne isn't far behind, and I can't wait to get to write it. And like I said in my response to CM3434, Jamison would've indeed been in Starfall anyway, but Isabella would've actually stayed in Clearhaven with the babies. And I understand your concern, Jamison surely won't give up easily on his legacy, but we'll just have to wait and see how it goes.
Well, no need to be sorry because I completely forgot about it myself
But you're right, NW has now been ongoing for two whole years, which is a crazy thought. And I can only be grateful for still having as many active readers as I do, it's you guys who keep me motivated to continue writing this story, so thank you 
I just realized something. Wouldn't it have been terrible if Valerie went to Benedict and tried to influence him instead of Albin. Then when Gwendis eventually came back, she would have had to face her all over again. Anyways, happy 2 year anniversary writing Nymeria's War!
Hello again! I have another new portrait for you, updated Jamison this time
I'll be adding a link to the Book 2 album to the opening post, btw.
As for the next part of the interlude, it'll be Garrison PoV, and it's almost ready. You can expect it to be posted tomorrow!
You are correct. the part where the war officially started with Vorian officially deciding it is time to fight was a scene that was very much near the top of my list when it comes to scenes that I was hyped about seeing and it definitely didn't disappoint
Indeed, getting to see Vorian's internal thoughts brought some insight to his mind that we probably wouldn't have gotten if not for the interlude. As far as Vorian and Arenna's relationship, that does make sense considering Vorian had a child before he married her which I could imagine put a strain on their relationship but they definitely have seemed to overcome that which just speaks to the strength of their characters I suppose. Oh also i am really curious, what family did Arenna come from before she married Vorian? I have wondered but just haven't thought to ask about it until now.
Haha very true, the timeskip definitely is a primetime for characters to develop in many different ways and I am excited to see how all of the characters have turned out
And haha yeah, two years definitely does leave plenty of time for babymaking 
As far as Samwell and Ferris go, I definitely am excited to see them along with getting to see how they have changed Isabella since she has became a mother and married woman! I also just realized that with the story spanning over several years, we will get to see these two grow up over time so like with Princess Sarella, I am very intrigued to see what kind of personalities the younger children will have as they get older.
Obviously I am somewhat biased with characters of mine playing a large role on the Dayne side but even without that, the Martell-Dayne war does seem like the one of the most interesting conflicts of the whole war especially considering how by all rights, Nymeria does seem like a true invader and a bit of an antagonist here since at least with Vorian at the helm, the Kingdom of Torrentine doesn't need to be conquered for positive changes to be made especially compared to Albin Manwoody's kingdom for example. Of course I am sure we will see Nymeria's PoV about the whole thing too which should make it more neutral and along with that, the Kingdom of Torrentine is a step up in difficulty as well so there is so much potential here and taking the whole book to cover the war is definitely an awesome idea! Wait? Nymeria is going to be trying to attack other areas of Dorne at the same time? I am now going to be racking my brain about what else Nymeria is trying to pull right now
and now knowing Isabella and the boys would have been in Clearhaven, we definitely made the right decision it looks like!
The Principality being stronger is a very good point and one I hadn't really even taken into account. As Vorian said here, she holds the most land in all of Dorne even if a majority of it is desert at this point. So I guess with Nymeria taking Lucifer's place in the role of the six Dornish kingdoms, Nymeria and Mors' principality might actually be debatable as the number one kingdom in all of Dorne because she really has secured some important allies with Houses Uller, Allyrion, and Toland all being very huge additions for her with all of them either being independent at one point or powerful bannerman in the case of House Uller. If I had to guess, Nymeria's biggest struggle might actually be the loyalty of some her new bannerman which is the kingdom of Torrentine's arguable biggest strength. But as you have said, the Kingdom of Torrentine is certainly not going to be easy to conquer either with positives of their own so it is safe to say this war is going to be epic!
With those words, it is safe to say the hype is indeed real not that it ever wasn't of course
and haha yeah, I will probably flip flop back and forth quite a bit in regards to my opinion on Nymeria depending on who she is up against at the time but she is definitely public enemy number one during her war with the Dayne's and now that I think about it, I don't think Valor is safe from it either since he is guilty by association 
and yeah, Vorian seems like he is probably the most suited to be king out of all of the Dornish Kings and his idea is especially good in theory but unfortunately most things are great in theory but kings like Albin Manwoody don't really fit into theory all that well! and yeah it definitely shows that you're having fun! and btw I hadn't realized it already passed but Happy 2nd to Nymeria's War! That's something to be proud of and keep up the good work man! 
Yes, a book 2 Jamison portrait! I remember you mentioned that you would be making an updated Jamison portrait but I definitely didn't expect it this soon so this is definitely a nice surprise! As I expected, Jamison does look really awesome now that the scar has healed and with two years since the first book, he definitely does look a bit manlier with the new details like his beard now growing in thicker than it did in the first book which was a nice addition to this portrait and his hair now trimmed a bit shorter than his younger portrait which was another neat detail to put in! I also have to point out the background though which depicts dusk behind him which I have to say was a phenomenal idea as well and right up there with the other details in Jamison's portrait as well! Overall, I have enjoyed all of the Jamison portraits with them being my personal favorites that show the changes that have taken place throughout his time in the story so this is definitely another great job
That's a good question about Arenna
Tbh, when I made her my thought process was just "she's a daughter of one of the Dayne vassals, I'll decide later which one if it becomes relevant". And after that I just didn't really think about it much, but now the major Dayne vassals have kind of been established so it'd make sense to finally determine which house exactly she came from 
Now, to me Nightfall would make the most sense, them being a pretty big family and all. Of course, that might make Malcolm and Ashara technically cousins, but cousins marrying isn't really a taboo among Westerosi nobility, so that shouldn't be a problem 
Blind and Broken
Garrison Fowler felt the soft wind on his skin, heard the calming sound of the running water from the fountain close by, and smelled the flowers. This garden had been his favorite place in Skyreach ever since he had completely lost his sight almost fourteen years ago, because it offered something pleasing for his other senses. He had many fond memories from here, earliest of them being the memories with his parents, and his sister Obara. Those memories were fading, a lingering shadow of the times when Garrison had no care in the world. Then there were the memories with Ashara. They used to spend many evenings together in this garden back when they first got to know each other. My beautiful Queen, Garrison thought wistfully. His sight was already getting worse during those years, but he at least saw well enough to know that Ashara had been the most beautiful woman on this world.
Then there were the memories with the children. Garrison remembered an afternoon just weeks after Ferris' birth, when he had sat on this very same bench, looking at Ashara feeding their baby, and feeling like the luckiest man in the world. Now they were both gone, and Garrison was still here, blind and broken. Andren had traveled to the Citadel almost a decade ago, and Isabella now had a new life and family in Starfall. All I can do is hope that they are both happy, Garrison thought. It had been over three years since Andren had last sent a raven, and the last time Isabella had wrote to him was over half-a-year ago after she had given birth to her twin sons. Garrison certainly didn’t blame her, being a mother of two was surely keeping her busy.
"Grandfather!" A happy voice of a young boy suddenly yelled from the other end of the garden. "It's Prince Matthos and his mother", Ser Russal calmly informed the King, while the steps of the boy came closer and closer, until Garrison felt him hugging on his leg. "Matthos!" He exclaimed in delight, and searched the boy’s head so he could ruffle his hair.
"Your Grace", the voice of Dana Fowler said, and Garrison nodded towards the direction he heard it from. "Arianne just gave birth!" Matthos yelled. "It's a girl", he said, his voice slightly less enthusiastic now, and Garrison chuckled. "I am sure she is beautiful", he said calmly.
"I'm not so sure about that", Matthos replied immediately. "Her face was all red and she just kept wailing and screeching", he explained with an amused tone.
"You were just the same when I gave birth to you", Dana remarked calmly, but Matthos just huffed at her words dismissingly. "No way, I wasn't like that", he claimed pompously.
"Maester Gannon is approaching", Ser Russel said quietly, and soon Garrison also noticed the soft footsteps approaching. "Your Grace", the maester spoke with his calm voice, and Garrison nodded. "Maester Gannon, I just heard I have a new granddaughter", he replied warmly.
"Indeed," the maester confirmed. "There were no complications on the childbirth, and the baby seems to be perfectly healthy. In case you are interested, Desmor and Arianne are planning to name her Ashara."
Garrison gulped, being for a brief moment unable to find words. “They chose a good name”, he finally spoke quietly, hoping in his heart that his late wife could see this from wherever she was now. “I thought so too, Your Grace”, the maester said with a lighthearted tone. He then proceeded to gently grab the King’s hand. “Would you like to go meet them, Your Grace?” he asked, and wordlessly Garrison nodded to him and stood up.
As they made their way into the keep, Garrison could constantly hear the cheerful chatter of Matthos close behind him. The boy had been so young when his father died that Garrison wasn’t sure if he had even truly understood it, but regardless of that he was happy that the prince and his mother had managed to move on from it. Garrison himself would be forever bitter about losing his firstborn son to Manwoody blades, but it was reassuring to see that life would go on nonetheless.
As they got closer to Princess Arianne’s chambers, the crying of the baby could be heard. She was loud, and even as a newborn baby there was strength in her voice. She will be a strong-willed girl once she grows up, Garrison thought with a smile on his face. Maester Gannon opened the door for them, and they stepped inside.
“Shh girl, it’s fine, ma is here”, Arianne tried to soothe the baby, a tired but still affectionate tone on her voice.
“Father”, Desmor greeted Garrison, and escorted him to a seat by the bed. Suddenly the girl’s crying mellowed down a bit, and Arianne chuckled softly. “That’s your grandpa”, she chirped.
Garrison heard Desmor standing up and walking next to his wife. “Come, let’s get you to grandpa’s lap”, he said with a relaxed tone, and soon he indeed lowered the newborn girl to Garrison’s lap. With slightly shivering fingers he gently stroked the baby’s head. “Sweet girl”, he mumbled, overwhelmed by feelings. “Sweet little Ashara.”
“She is staring at you with her eyes wide open”, Desmor described with an amused tone. “Poor baby must be wondering who this withered old man who keeps his eyes closed is”, Garrison responded jokingly.
After a moment Desmor raised that baby to his own arms. The baby stopped crying, and as they sat there together, it was the happiest Garrison had been in a long time. Then someone knocked on the door. Maester Gannon opened it and walked out, only to return just a moment later. “King Garrison, Prince Desmor, something has happened”, the maester spoke with an ominously concerned tone. “We’ll come”, Desmor said calmly, and handed the baby back to Arianne.
The prince helped his father up from the seat, and together they made their way out of the room. “Your Grace, this is a messenger of House Blackpool”, Gannon informed as they closed the door.
“I am Ser Justan, Your Grace, and unfortunately I am bringing bad news from the Blackpool lands”, the voice of a young man said, and Garrison gave him a firm nod. “Have the Manwoody raiders trespassed that far south?” He asked sternly.
“No, Your Grace”, Ser Justan responded with a small sigh. “Not the Manwoodys.”
“Well, what is it then?” Desmor asked with a hint of impatience in his voice. “An army of approximately four-thousand men has crossed the desert from south, and are now camped half-a-days ride from the Blackpool Keep”, Ser Justan responded to the prince, and Garrison could spot the fear in the man’s voice. He then continued. “The scouts spotted them carrying banners of House Martell and House Uller.”
“So, the Principality finally makes its move”, Garrison said grimly. “Four-thousand men… I’m not sure if we have the manpower to face them on the field.”
“I can send ravens to Starfall and Blackmont, perhaps they’d be willing to aid”, Maester Gannon suggested, and the King gave him a nod. “Yes, do it”, he agreed quietly.
“Did the reports tell who is leading this army?” Desmor asked sternly. “No, my prince”, Ser Justan answered, and a tense silence followed. Finally, Desmor broke it by speaking up again. “Father, I think I should go speak to these invaders”, he spoke with a calm and serious tone. “Perhaps they can be reasoned with. Our kingdom is weakened by the war, we should try our best to avoid this conflict with the Martells, or at least stall it for long enough to get support from our allies.”
Garrison took in a deep breath, considering his answer carefully. His dream had been to raise the Kingdom of Stone and Sky back to its former glory, but now it seemed that dream was coming crumbling down. However, he knew his son was right, they had to buy time or they would be crushed.
“I agree”, Garrison said weakly, and searched the shoulder of his son with his right hand. “Go meet them, try to convince we should be allies instead of enemies, but do not show weakness. The future of our kingdom will be decided on these coming months, and we have no room for mistakes.”
“I understand, father”, Desmor responded with a dutiful tone. Garrison gave his son a smile, though he doubted it was enough to hide his concern.
Garrison's POV was rather touching, not only he lost both his beloved wife and eldest son, his second son is out of touch and Isabella is busy with her own family.
Three years are more than enough for Nymeria to settle and regain strength, which is of course bad for both House Fowler and Dayne. I do wonder were is Obara Fowler, since we haven't seen her since Ortheg's POV months ago.
I'm pleased to read that the Drinkwaters agreed to marry Arianne with Desmor, now he's the father of a girl who has the name of her grandmother.
Oh god, we are coming to that point in the storyline when Nymeria starts fighting people I don't want to see lose ( Vorian and Garrison).
Now, what came to my mind after this part and Vorian's part, specifically after this part, is possibly really smart strategy from Nymeria. When I read Vorian's part I thought getting Clearhaven back shouldn't be that hard and that it was kind off useless move by Nymeria, but considering that now Daynes can't send help to Flowers because they have their own issues, or at least not as big of a help they would send if Nymeria didn't attack, this changes my view of their strategy to pretty smart, and I wouldn't mind that against Yorick, Albin or Benedict, but I don't like it against Vorian and Garrison.
Of course this is only a prediction and I'm not sure if I'm right about Nymeria's strategy, but yeah Nymeria actually has considerable forces now.