Well... it might be a bit difficult for me to describe my feelings on this part, so I'll let George Takei do it instead:
Well, I might be able to describe my feelings a little bit... I am obviously very happy, yet at the same time concerned. Alara deserves someone who is at least as great as she is and Dromon might be a candidate, from what I have seen so far. She likes him, obviously and he obviously likes her and so far, he gave me a good impression. This means a lot coming from me, being in full overprotective dad mode and all. So, I approve of him. In fact, I approve of him far more than Theon and not only because he's not old enough to be her father. He is also very much like her, they have far more in common than Alara and the harsh warrior king of the North. So, if she gets together with any of these two, it should be him. With Dromon, there might even be a future, whereas whatever she could have had with Theon would be doomed to end eventually. The more I think about it, the more I am glad that she didn't give in to Theon's advances, because that would be repeating her mother's mistakes. On top of that, I absolutely want her to return home to her family when given the opportunity and having a royal lover in the North would make things a lot more complicated.
However, I am concerned about the way they parted. I doubt Theon is going to give up on her all that easily and in my opinion, Alara did a terrible job at explaining her reasons for why she can't be with him, including the fact that she already had plans with Dromon long before Theon made his move and her family backstory, with her mother having done the exact same thing and causing great grief with it. I doubt Alara would feel good in putting Theon's queen and his children through such a situation and I have the feeling if she would have tried to explain it, Theon might would have seen reason. Now, he seems angry and well, at best this means that he will only fight more furiously, but at worst it means that this won't be the last time he tried to win her heart. Or well, even worse would be him lashing out at her, but I want to believe that Theon has too much honour to do that. Anyways, for now I hope she'll be happy with Dromon and I hope this is something that lasts and not just her falling for a guy that merely plays with her feelings. That is truly the last thing she needs right now. And well... seems like I did manage to describe my feelings on this part briefly
Alara
His hands held hers by their side, his light grey eyes gently stared into her own. There was a small hopeful smile on his lips, and… more Alara’s heart sunk with the answer she was going to give him. She softly freed her hands from his, her expression saying all that needed to be said. A heavy frowned plagued his expression, exposing his wrinkles and age.
“I’m sorry.” Alara mumbled quietly, lowering her gaze. Theon took a moment before shaking his head, his hands clasping together, his gaze fell heavy on her. “The apology should be mine.” He added, but nothing else followed, other than a silence that pierced at their hearts. After a long moment that felt like hours of waiting, Alara finally spoke up.
“I think I should go.” She awkwardly suggested, and Theon remained silent, nodding. Alara took a few steps back, staring at the crushed twigs and bones that were scattered over the stony beach. She turned and headed for the tree line, ba… [view original content]
Alara
His hands held hers by their side, his light grey eyes gently stared into her own. There was a small hopeful smile on his lips, and… more Alara’s heart sunk with the answer she was going to give him. She softly freed her hands from his, her expression saying all that needed to be said. A heavy frowned plagued his expression, exposing his wrinkles and age.
“I’m sorry.” Alara mumbled quietly, lowering her gaze. Theon took a moment before shaking his head, his hands clasping together, his gaze fell heavy on her. “The apology should be mine.” He added, but nothing else followed, other than a silence that pierced at their hearts. After a long moment that felt like hours of waiting, Alara finally spoke up.
“I think I should go.” She awkwardly suggested, and Theon remained silent, nodding. Alara took a few steps back, staring at the crushed twigs and bones that were scattered over the stony beach. She turned and headed for the tree line, ba… [view original content]
[Take it further] Why not? Oh well, now that I said that, I'm sure some horrible consequences will follow But it's useless to worry about that, Dromon seems like a good man, and Alara should enjoy her life. Btw, this was very well-written part
Alara
His hands held hers by their side, his light grey eyes gently stared into her own. There was a small hopeful smile on his lips, and… more Alara’s heart sunk with the answer she was going to give him. She softly freed her hands from his, her expression saying all that needed to be said. A heavy frowned plagued his expression, exposing his wrinkles and age.
“I’m sorry.” Alara mumbled quietly, lowering her gaze. Theon took a moment before shaking his head, his hands clasping together, his gaze fell heavy on her. “The apology should be mine.” He added, but nothing else followed, other than a silence that pierced at their hearts. After a long moment that felt like hours of waiting, Alara finally spoke up.
“I think I should go.” She awkwardly suggested, and Theon remained silent, nodding. Alara took a few steps back, staring at the crushed twigs and bones that were scattered over the stony beach. She turned and headed for the tree line, ba… [view original content]
Alara
His hands held hers by their side, his light grey eyes gently stared into her own. There was a small hopeful smile on his lips, and… more Alara’s heart sunk with the answer she was going to give him. She softly freed her hands from his, her expression saying all that needed to be said. A heavy frowned plagued his expression, exposing his wrinkles and age.
“I’m sorry.” Alara mumbled quietly, lowering her gaze. Theon took a moment before shaking his head, his hands clasping together, his gaze fell heavy on her. “The apology should be mine.” He added, but nothing else followed, other than a silence that pierced at their hearts. After a long moment that felt like hours of waiting, Alara finally spoke up.
“I think I should go.” She awkwardly suggested, and Theon remained silent, nodding. Alara took a few steps back, staring at the crushed twigs and bones that were scattered over the stony beach. She turned and headed for the tree line, ba… [view original content]
Alara
His hands held hers by their side, his light grey eyes gently stared into her own. There was a small hopeful smile on his lips, and… more Alara’s heart sunk with the answer she was going to give him. She softly freed her hands from his, her expression saying all that needed to be said. A heavy frowned plagued his expression, exposing his wrinkles and age.
“I’m sorry.” Alara mumbled quietly, lowering her gaze. Theon took a moment before shaking his head, his hands clasping together, his gaze fell heavy on her. “The apology should be mine.” He added, but nothing else followed, other than a silence that pierced at their hearts. After a long moment that felt like hours of waiting, Alara finally spoke up.
“I think I should go.” She awkwardly suggested, and Theon remained silent, nodding. Alara took a few steps back, staring at the crushed twigs and bones that were scattered over the stony beach. She turned and headed for the tree line, ba… [view original content]
Alright, well this is a clear vote. Alara will take it further with Dromon Tarth It'll surely lead for some interesting development between the two Stormlanders, and will make for some interesting plotline potentials down the track. At least we haven't left Dromon teased here
Anyway, I have the next part ready, and it's a Teddy part. Last we saw of Ted Estermont, he was sailing from the smoking Griffin's Roost to Storm's End in company of Marten Tarth. Marten raised the idea that he planned to seek assistance from the Reach in the liberation of Tarth and Estermont, considering their capture by Andal invaders, and he expressed his disappointment in Qarlton's ignorance towards his own people. They later had an audience with Qarlton, and Ted confronted the King about this issue, but was quick to put to shame as Qarlton publicly humiliated him before the entire court. Ted felt he was left with two choices, abandon the Stormlands and seek aid from the Gardener's with Marten Tarth, or remain with Qarlton. Under the pressure, the majority of you chose to remain with Qarlton, and this part picks up a few days passed.
Alara
His hands held hers by their side, his light grey eyes gently stared into her own. There was a small hopeful smile on his lips, and… more Alara’s heart sunk with the answer she was going to give him. She softly freed her hands from his, her expression saying all that needed to be said. A heavy frowned plagued his expression, exposing his wrinkles and age.
“I’m sorry.” Alara mumbled quietly, lowering her gaze. Theon took a moment before shaking his head, his hands clasping together, his gaze fell heavy on her. “The apology should be mine.” He added, but nothing else followed, other than a silence that pierced at their hearts. After a long moment that felt like hours of waiting, Alara finally spoke up.
“I think I should go.” She awkwardly suggested, and Theon remained silent, nodding. Alara took a few steps back, staring at the crushed twigs and bones that were scattered over the stony beach. She turned and headed for the tree line, ba… [view original content]
He sat in the mess hall, amongst the abundance of Durrandon soldiers. They supped on stews of venison and poultry, washing the glug down with mead and ale. Ted sat at one of the long rows of tables between two men who paid him no mind, and kept to their own. Ted stared at his meal through his one good eye, his other blackened from the blow he had suffered from King Qarlton.
The bronze chainmail was cool on his skin, despite the immense heat of the crowded hall. He had agreed to this, to join Qarlton in his pointless conquest, but he hadn’t signed up to be a foot soldier. There was a reason I was not made a ranger, he irritably thought, staring down at his attire. He wore a dress of bronze mail over his regular clothing, which was heavy and partly dinted from the previous user. Above this he wore the standard Durrandon tabard, a crowned stag on a golden field.
All in all, his armour would offer him little protection on the battlefield, and the leather braces and pauldrons he had managed to secure himself were a joke. He scoffed quietly to himself, looking around at the men on his table. Some were large with muscle and fat, other scrawny and looking as fearful as Ted had once felt. Once.
It had been days since he had eaten, days since he had done anything. After his humiliating experience with Qarlton, he had been taken to the barracks and armoured, then set free around Storm’s End. The captain’s expected the men to begin building up the defence and previsions of the castle, yet few had bothered. Many drowned their thoughts in taverns, others sparred in the courtyard, and Ted sat in a storage room. In darkness. Until his hunger brought him out of his hiding.
He was dirty, foul with an odour and scruffy with a thick stubble. His dark brown hair an unclean mess, he fit in perfectly with the majority of men in the large room. His bright green eye lazily rose to the table, his stomach growling. He lifted the wooden spoon and dipped it in the stew, his arm feeling weak. As he lifted the spoon, his fingers clumsily gave way, the spoon fell back into the bowl, spraying out the brown liquid onto the man beside him.
“Good one, Estermont!” Another man from across the table quipped. Ted glared at him, but the skinny fellow had little interest in Ted’s feelings, nor did the man he had just spilt half his stew on. He rose from the table, his muscles bulging through his yellow shirt. He was a bald man with a dark moustache, his face now splattered with venison stew. His brown eyes menacing, almost deathly, his hands clenched into fists.
“Sit down.” Ted muttered quietly, turning back to his meal to try again. He dipped the spoon, but his neighbour found his current concerns displeasing to his own. He flipped the bowl into Ted’s face. “Come on, Estermont.” He taunted with ire, cracking his knuckles. The bowl slipped off Ted’s face, the stew slowly following. He lifted his hands to gently wipe his eyes, and the rest of his face.
“I said-” He began to repeat, roughing place his robust hand on Ted’s shoulder, he wasn’t expecting such a harsh retaliation. What little energy Ted possessed had sparked into something powerful all at one sudden moment, and he had flung the man over his shoulder onto the table. Bowls and stew flew everywhere, as did fists as the men saw an opportunity for a fight.
Closed fists made impact on filled guts, knees thrusted into groins, elbows into the back of heads. A mass fight erupted in the hall, men all over each other like they were either passionate for each other, or had been dark rivals for years. Ted managed to dodge an entangled couple as they slammed onto his table.
Ted stood from his seat, watching the chaos he had started immerse itself around him. Some even came for Ted, which he managed to avoid through some quick evasive manoeuvres he had learnt during his time at the Wall. The fight prolonged for another few minutes before fights were split up by the overseers, led by Captain Jorgan Buckler, who was clad in bronze plating and a golden Durrandon tabard.
“Enough!” He yelled, climbing atop one of the long tables. He nudged one of the unconscious conscripts off the tables covered with stew, ale and bile. “You lot are a disappointment. Filth from the gutters, trash from the alleys, none of you deserve the opportunity given to you. You’re a bad bunch.” He stated with disgust, glaring them all over. His audience was nothing shy of what he stated, many of them were unconscious, and those who remained standing were either drunk, confused, or in complete agony.
“Bad Bunch.” One of the soldiers commented with a grin. “That’s not a bad one, Cap. To the Bad Bunch!” He cheered, raising his half-empty cup in a toast. He received a small cheer and applause by the few remaining comrades that were able. Ted found himself grinning, to his surprise. Jorgan was far from impressed.
“Clean this shit up, then I expect you in your barracks. We will march beside King Qarlton at dawn.” He informed them, and Ted could see the worrying look in his eyes, and frankly he couldn’t blame him. He took his leave from the ‘stage,’ exiting out the main doors with his lieutenants.
Ted’s eyes followed them out the door, yet they stumbled on another, familiar looking male. He wore a swamp green vest with a white shirt beneath. His trousers were charcoal black with simple leather boots, but he wore a cape of gold with a stag embroidery. It was his facial features which gave away his lineage however, his wavy black hair and dark blue eyes. He was a Durrandon, and he was looking at Ted.
He strode towards him with a hurried pace, the Storm Prince held a solemn expression on his face. “Ted Estermont?” He asked, with little offer of a greeting. Ted sighed, crossing his arms and nodding. A small smile touched his lips. “I’m Mathias Durrandon, my father wants a word with you.” The young stag informed him, and Ted rose an eyebrow.
“What does he want?” Ted asked suspiciously, and Mathias eyed him for a moment, but Ted had no intention of showing any courtesies, his manners for the King were virtually non-existent now. “I’ll let you find that out.” Mathias simply responded, turning back for the door. “Best not keep him waiting.” He advised him, and Ted let out an agitated sigh. He turned his gaze back to the newly founded ‘Bad Bunch,’ which were slowly starting to pull themselves together, before turning back to Mathias. Alright, he submitted, following the Storm Prince.
-
The throne room. A room of humiliation and distasteful memory. It felt like years since Ted had been humiliated before all of the council and nobilities of the court, yet really it had only been a few days, and he was blessed this time to find it mostly empty, save the few guards, himself and Mathias. Qarlton sat in his throne with a reclined posture, while a woman stood beside him, her light brown hair covering her lowered eyes.
Mathias knelt down before his father, and Ted reluctantly did the same. Qarlton grinned, clasping his hands together. “Teddy Estermont.” The King greeted, rising from his throne. He descended the stone steps, his grin fading into a suspicious smirk. “It is a pleasure having you in my hall again, I see you found your manners since our last visit.” He commented, and Ted forced himself to bite his lip, nodding. This seemed only to fuel Qarlton’s amusement, as he came to a halt at the bottom of his throne.
“I’d like to introduce you to someone, someone very dear to me.” He stated, turning and beckoning to the woman to descend down the steps. She obediently did so. “Lady Meghan.” He presented to him as she met his side. She raised her gaze, revealing her beautiful amber eyes. Ted shook his head confused, but Qarlton continued.
“Meghan here is an old spouse of mine, and the wife of an old friend. Lord Jaycen.” He informed, and Ted could see the unease that Lord Caron’s name gave to his wife. “She’s come here looking for assistance in bringing her daughter back home. Our daughter.” He corrected himself, giving Meghan a warm smile, to which she seemed to have trouble reciprocating. Ted’s confusion shone through to Mathias, who further elaborated.
“Alara Caron, my half-sister. I am going North to retrieve her.” Mathias proudly claimed, and Qarlton nodded. “I cannot allow Meghan to travel to the North, so I’ve put together a team that will be more than adequate for my son, and Lady Meghan’s request, but I’d like to extend the offer to you.” Qarlton informed him, and Ted raised an eyebrow for a moment, before instinctively shaking his head. He wants to dispose of me, he thought with paranoia.
“The Night’s Watch is in the North.” Ted foolishly reminded him, and Qarlton nodded with an understanding smile. “They are.” He acknowledged. “However, I have promised you your freedom, and I also believe there would be some benefit in you assisting my son in this mission, rather than marching in my army.” He added, and Ted furrowed his eyebrows.
“Like what?” He curiously investigated, and Qarlton grinned. “I plan to liberate the isles of Tarth and Estermont after I am finished with my conquest. My father heeded the warnings of his council with the Andal’s, and lost two vassals as a consequence. My spies have informed me that Lord Jules, your cousin, is conspiring with the Andal’s in conquering the Stormland’s. I am branding him a traitor to the Kingdom, and I will personally disembowel him. Yet there needs to be a new Lord of Estermont once he’s gone.” Qarlton hinted, and Ted held back a scoff in disbelief. Hypocrite, he wanted to scream, yet all he could do was clench his fists.
“I will also offer you Lady Meghan’s hand in marriage. She informs me that she is still able to provide children, I’m sure you would appreciate an experienced woman. I know I did.” Qarlton grinned, and Meghan’s eyes widened in shock, but like Ted, she held her tongue. Ted gulped, releasing the tension in his hands. The offer surprised him, but he was sceptical. Going so far north was dangerous, especially with Ted’s last encounter with the Night’s Watch, perhaps remaining as a foot soldier was best for him.
[Go North with Mathias] [Remain in Qarlton’s army]
“I will also offer you Lady Meghan’s hand in marriage. She informs me that she is still able to provide children, I’m sure you would appreciate an experienced woman. I know I did.”
Wait, waitwaitwait, hold it right there, you Storm Jerk! Holy shit, that guy is a complete tool. That's Martin Shkreli levels of jackassery, if he is serious with his offer. And I have reason to believe that he is anything but serious. The thing there is, Meghan is obviously Jaycen's wife, so forcing her to marry Ted would more or less mean losing the support of House Caron, either due to Jaycen fighting tooth and nail for his wife or Gareth protecting the honour of his mother. Qarlton knows that and he can't possibly be that stupic/cruel, especially if there's the far more reasonable offer of Bethany or even Alara herself on the table if he wants to give Ted a Caron wife. That makes me think that he doesn't really plan on going through with that offer, though Ted is obviously too naive to see it. And as a woman in her fifties, Meghan is certainly unable to have any more children, so that is even an outright lie, especially considering that her surprised reaction makes it all but clear that she never told him anything like this. I would also like to believe that Qarlton is more fond of his former lover, even if it seems that he has changed a lot since their affair.
Also, that final sentence of his... this does not imply what I fear it implies, right? Meghan's behaviour here, the way she seems almost scared of him... and if she genuinely informed him that she is still able to provide children, there is only one possible reason for it, namely her bringing it up as a reason to refuse Qarlton's advances towards her after she arrived in Storm's End. That, paired with his final sentence... I surely hope I am reading too much into this, but it seems he more or less forced himself on her just after she arrived in Storm's End this time.
[Go North with Mathias]
Well, it is probably surprising that I choose this despite my distrust for Qarlton, my doubts about his honesty and me being convinced that he is lying to Ted here. Of course he has no intention of making him, a Night's Watch deserter, Lord Estermont, or giving him the wife of one of his most important bannermen, provoking a war with the Marches in the worst possible time for no reason. I'd be a lot less sceptical if he would have offered Bethany, but that detail clued me in that he is lying. However, here is the problem, one of the main reasons why I am choosing this: The Storm King want Ted to do this. He is trying to manipulate him into doing this. If there is one thing I know it's that it is not wise to refuse this man's wish. So, if Ted refuses, he is going to be in mortal danger, because if Qarlton wants him dead, he can always just kill him without any repercussions at all. So, I say Ted should get away from that man and his army. There is also the factor that I am highly concerned for Alara's well-being, now more than ever, as we see what a massive son of a bitch her father is. I want to believe that he is genuinely concerned for his daughter, his own flesh and blood, but I am not sure. I can't trust him. The jury is still up on Mathias. He could be a good guy, a better man than his father, and actually interested in Alara's well-being. But just like his father, I can't be sure, even if he has given me less of a reason to distrust him. So, having someone whom we know to be a decent guy as part of this mission can only be good for Alara. That is yet another reason for Ted to go with them, because his presence might safe her life if Mathias' intentions are not as benign as he claims them to be.
By the way, completely unrelated by the way, but I am excited to learn more of the Durrandon's. Qarlton's obviously the biggest jerk in the entire story, but he has children and I see them in the character list. That means Alara has three half-brothers and one half-sister on top of Gareth and Bethany and I am interested in learning more about them. Surely they can't all be asshols, right? I'm sure at least some of them would actually get along with their half-sister. Maybe Mathias is one of them and I look forward to learn more about him, hopefully in Ted's future parts. That said, I am quite sad that there won't be a mother/daughter reunion in the North. If anything, this is even more of a reason for Alara to go home again, because now her family might even be in danger from the colossal asshole that is her biological father. With a bit of luck, she gets a chance to reunite with her parents (not Qarlton, but Jaycen) and her siblings once she has returned south. And I believe Ted might be helpful for that goal, maybe a key for a relatively happy family reunion.
Ted
He sat in the mess hall, amongst the abundance of Durrandon soldiers. They supped on stews of venison and poultry, washing the glug d… moreown with mead and ale. Ted sat at one of the long rows of tables between two men who paid him no mind, and kept to their own. Ted stared at his meal through his one good eye, his other blackened from the blow he had suffered from King Qarlton.
The bronze chainmail was cool on his skin, despite the immense heat of the crowded hall. He had agreed to this, to join Qarlton in his pointless conquest, but he hadn’t signed up to be a foot soldier. There was a reason I was not made a ranger, he irritably thought, staring down at his attire. He wore a dress of bronze mail over his regular clothing, which was heavy and partly dinted from the previous user. Above this he wore the standard Durrandon tabard, a crowned stag on a golden field.
All in all, his armour would offer him little protection on the battlef… [view original content]
[Go North with Mathias] Oddly enough this seems like the far safer option for Ted even though he really would not be heading in the right direction since he is a Night's Watch deserter. With that said, getting away from Qarlton's amd his army is arguably of even greater importanve at this point. I don't really believe that Qarlton will keep any of his promises to Teddy but Ted is also in no position to refuse him. Overall though, this seems like the better choice for Ted and his safety and along with that, there also seems to be a chance for Meghan to go back to Blackhaven which would obviously be great for Bethany and the rest of the Caron's in general.
Ted
He sat in the mess hall, amongst the abundance of Durrandon soldiers. They supped on stews of venison and poultry, washing the glug d… moreown with mead and ale. Ted sat at one of the long rows of tables between two men who paid him no mind, and kept to their own. Ted stared at his meal through his one good eye, his other blackened from the blow he had suffered from King Qarlton.
The bronze chainmail was cool on his skin, despite the immense heat of the crowded hall. He had agreed to this, to join Qarlton in his pointless conquest, but he hadn’t signed up to be a foot soldier. There was a reason I was not made a ranger, he irritably thought, staring down at his attire. He wore a dress of bronze mail over his regular clothing, which was heavy and partly dinted from the previous user. Above this he wore the standard Durrandon tabard, a crowned stag on a golden field.
All in all, his armour would offer him little protection on the battlef… [view original content]
Ted
He sat in the mess hall, amongst the abundance of Durrandon soldiers. They supped on stews of venison and poultry, washing the glug d… moreown with mead and ale. Ted sat at one of the long rows of tables between two men who paid him no mind, and kept to their own. Ted stared at his meal through his one good eye, his other blackened from the blow he had suffered from King Qarlton.
The bronze chainmail was cool on his skin, despite the immense heat of the crowded hall. He had agreed to this, to join Qarlton in his pointless conquest, but he hadn’t signed up to be a foot soldier. There was a reason I was not made a ranger, he irritably thought, staring down at his attire. He wore a dress of bronze mail over his regular clothing, which was heavy and partly dinted from the previous user. Above this he wore the standard Durrandon tabard, a crowned stag on a golden field.
All in all, his armour would offer him little protection on the battlef… [view original content]
Wait, waitwaitwait, hold it right there, you Storm Jerk! Holy shit, that guy is a complete tool. That's Martin Shkreli levels of jackassery, if he is serious with his offer. And I have reason to believe that he is anything but serious. The thing there is, Meghan is obviously Jaycen's wife, so forcing her to marry Ted would more or less mean losing the support of House Caron, either due to Jaycen fighting tooth and nail for his wife or Gareth protecting the honour of his mother. Qarlton knows that and he can't possibly be that stupic/cruel, especially if there's the far more reasonable offer of Bethany or even Alara herself on the table if he wants to give Ted a Caron wife. That makes me think that he doesn't really plan on going through with that offer, though Ted is obviously too naive to see it. And as a woman in her fifties, Meghan is certainly unable to have any more children, so that is even an outright lie, especially considering that her surprised reaction makes it all but clear that she never told him anything like this. I would also like to believe that Qarlton is more fond of his former lover, even if it seems that he has changed a lot since their affair.
I think Qarlton makes things quite clear that his interests align purely on one thing over all else. Power. His focus is quite clearly on this conquest and little else, and while he does make these rash claims, you are right in saying that there is a lot more to this man than what meets the eye. Whether he tells the truth in this instance is completely irrelevant, he is definitely coming off as a manipulative prick, and by part that is what he has been molded into. Power corrupts even the strongest willed minds, but we will see some closer depth of Qarlton from perspectives that may mean more to him, unlike Ted, who to him is just a pawn to his disposal. Ted is indeed naive, and he's also very paranoid. First off, being born to the lower side of the Estermont family goes to show his upraising, but also being framed for the murder of the Lord of Estermont by his cousin and fleeing to the Wall chucked in some real paranoia and anxiety issues. He's easily manipulated, as you can see in this part, and this choice is a key part of his development in whether he will allow himself to manipulated, or form himself into the newly found Bad Bunch (which I will feature more of soon). '
Also, that final sentence of his... this does not imply what I fear it implies, right? Meghan's behaviour here, the way she seems almost scared of him... and if she genuinely informed him that she is still able to provide children, there is only one possible reason for it, namely her bringing it up as a reason to refuse Qarlton's advances towards her after she arrived in Storm's End. That, paired with his final sentence... I surely hope I am reading too much into this, but it seems he more or less forced himself on her just after she arrived in Storm's End this time.
There definitely is a reason for Meghan's... Reserved and timid behavior here, and we'll learn more of that through the next PoV who arrives at Storm's End. Desperate measures call for desperate decisions, and Qarlton makes it quite clear he's not interested in diverting any forces anywhere other than his conquest. So Meghan would have had to have given him a reason to take up her offer, whatever that might be.
There is also the factor that I am highly concerned for Alara's well-being, now more than ever, as we see what a massive son of a bitch her father is. I want to believe that he is genuinely concerned for his daughter, his own flesh and blood, but I am not sure. I can't trust him. The jury is still up on Mathias. He could be a good guy, a better man than his father, and actually interested in Alara's well-being. But just like his father, I can't be sure, even if he has given me less of a reason to distrust him. So, having someone whom we know to be a decent guy as part of this mission can only be good for Alara. That is yet another reason for Ted to go with them, because his presence might safe her life if Mathias' intentions are not as benign as he claims them to be.
As I said, we've only seen Qarlton through Ted's perspective, but I can definitely understand your rationale behind this due to Meghan's odd behavior. If this part does show anything though, it shows that Qarlton has acknowledged Alara as his daughter, which could lead to something interesting later on depending on some choices. Mathias' intentions are pretty reasonable and true to what he says, he is the youngest son of Qarlton, and like many others he is a victim to Qarlton's manipulation. However, the choice for Mathias to go north was entirely of his own, as we'll learn later on.
By the way, completely unrelated by the way, but I am excited to learn more of the Durrandon's. Qarlton's obviously the biggest jerk in the entire story, but he has children and I see them in the character list. That means Alara has three half-brothers and one half-sister on top of Gareth and Bethany and I am interested in learning more about them. Surely they can't all be asshols, right? I'm sure at least some of them would actually get along with their half-sister. Maybe Mathias is one of them and I look forward to learn more about him, hopefully in Ted's future parts. That said, I am quite sad that there won't be a mother/daughter reunion in the North. If anything, this is even more of a reason for Alara to go home again, because now her family might even be in danger from the colossal asshole that is her biological father. With a bit of luck, she gets a chance to reunite with her parents (not Qarlton, but Jaycen) and her siblings once she has returned south. And I believe Ted might be helpful for that goal, maybe a key for a relatively happy family reunion.
I'm excited to show off more of them! Qarlton is the biggest jerk eh? I haven't shown off enough jerks it seems, but I'm glad to see that Jorrhen's been knocked off the top of the list All the siblings are different, and I'll give you a rough explanation of a few of them. Qarlton's first born son, Qarlton (blame the canon, not me! ) takes much after his father, perhaps not as severely however. Dante takes much after the meaning of his name, and I have a feeling you'll like Acadia. She's very different to Alara, but she's got some Durrandon traits which I'm sure you'll appreciate
“I will also offer you Lady Meghan’s hand in marriage. She informs me that she is still able to provide children, I’m sure you would appreci… moreate an experienced woman. I know I did.”
Wait, waitwaitwait, hold it right there, you Storm Jerk! Holy shit, that guy is a complete tool. That's Martin Shkreli levels of jackassery, if he is serious with his offer. And I have reason to believe that he is anything but serious. The thing there is, Meghan is obviously Jaycen's wife, so forcing her to marry Ted would more or less mean losing the support of House Caron, either due to Jaycen fighting tooth and nail for his wife or Gareth protecting the honour of his mother. Qarlton knows that and he can't possibly be that stupic/cruel, especially if there's the far more reasonable offer of Bethany or even Alara herself on the table if he wants to give Ted a Caron wife. That makes me think that he doesn't really plan on going through with that offer, tho… [view original content]
I think Qarlton makes things quite clear that his interests align purely on one thing over all else. Power. His focus is quite clearly on this conquest and little else, and while he does make these rash claims, you are right in saying that there is a lot more to this man than what meets the eye. Whether he tells the truth in this instance is completely irrelevant, he is definitely coming off as a manipulative prick, and by part that is what he has been molded into. Power corrupts even the strongest willed minds, but we will see some closer depth of Qarlton from perspectives that may mean more to him, unlike Ted, who to him is just a pawn to his disposal. Ted is indeed naive, and he's also very paranoid. First off, being born to the lower side of the Estermont family goes to show his upraising, but also being framed for the murder of the Lord of Estermont by his cousin and fleeing to the Wall chucked in some real paranoia and anxiety issues. He's easily manipulated, as you can see in this part, and this choice is a key part of his development in whether he will allow himself to manipulated, or form himself into the newly found Bad Bunch (which I will feature more of soon). '
Yeah, Qarlton does seem like a power-hungry bastard. Not the first we had in the story, but the first who is so damn open about it. That said, for me it mostly matters if he told the truth, because I would like to believe that not even he could go that far without risking the significant loss of power in a situation where he really can't afford it (such as a Caron rebellion, which would likely gather support from other Marcher houses such as Dondarrion, in the middle of an Andal invasion that already took part of his kingdom). Naturally, it would tell quite a lot about his plans for Meghan and Jaycen if he told the truth with this. The problem there is, I initially got huge warning signs there, considering that Meghan is Jaycen's wife and quite clearly not in the age to give birth to another child, so Ted is clearly being manipulated here, with at the very least one false promise. It's not that I want him to fall for this manipulation, but I don't think it is healthy for him to go against Qarlton's wish here. Remaining in this Bad Bunch and therefore near Qarlton is going to keep him close to a man that could take his refusal to join the mission very personally. On top of that, considering that he is a decent person, having him joining this group would mean at least one well-intentioned person joins the search for Alara and it should also provide us with a PoV that can reveal more on the other people that travel with Mathias, which in return could give Alara more of a chance to avoid danger, should they pose a threat to her.
There definitely is a reason for Meghan's... Reserved and timid behavior here, and we'll learn more of that through the next PoV who arrives at Storm's End. Desperate measures call for desperate decisions, and Qarlton makes it quite clear he's not interested in diverting any forces anywhere other than his conquest. So Meghan would have had to have given him a reason to take up her offer, whatever that might be.
The next PoV... that's going to be Jaycen, isn't it? Sounds likely at the very least. I am concerned what this means for him. Considering how easily Qarlton offered her hand in marriage, this does not bode well for him and given her own resentment towards him, which just got even worse after the horrible way they parted with, I kind of fear for his safety now. Perhaps Meghan and Qarlton have plans to dispose of him, to have the possibly more loyal Gareth, who doesn't have a bad history with the king, as the new Lord Caron, as risky as such a move would be. I hope that Meghan won't be willing to go that far, though I think it's clear that she cares more strongly for her child than she does for her estranged husband. That said, it's not the only possible thing she could have offered. A daughter would already be something to give to him, though I am not sure how much value he puts into having more children. But well, perhaps she did promise him to make Alara's parentage public knowledge, so that he'd have a second daughter for a possible marriage alliance. Though frankly, it sounds more likely that whatever these two have planned won't be good for Jaycen and considering that her feelings on him are more complicated and not entirely negative, it might also be possible that her behaviour comes from already second-guessing her approach to this situation.
As I said, we've only seen Qarlton through Ted's perspective, but I can definitely understand your rationale behind this due to Meghan's odd behavior. If this part does show anything though, it shows that Qarlton has acknowledged Alara as his daughter, which could lead to something interesting later on depending on some choices. Mathias' intentions are pretty reasonable and true to what he says, he is the youngest son of Qarlton, and like many others he is a victim to Qarlton's manipulation. However, the choice for Mathias to go north was entirely of his own, as we'll learn later on.
Aye, it is already a good thing that he acknowledged her as his daughter. Maybe this means his intentions for her are indeed not too bad. Then again, if Rogar Bolton proved one thing, it's that not all men are too fond of their bastard children, even if Alara is far from a threat to the legitimate Durrandon children. Mathias meanwhile, the thing is that I don't know anything about him. Maybe he wishes to save this sister he never met, maybe his intentions are less pure, but that is only more of a reason for me to stick with Ted's choice here, because I'd like to know as much as possible about the youngest Storm Prince before he meets up with Alara.
I'm excited to show off more of them! Qarlton is the biggest jerk eh? I haven't shown off enough jerks it seems, but I'm glad to see that Jorrhen's been knocked off the top of the list All the siblings are different, and I'll give you a rough explanation of a few of them. Qarlton's first born son, Qarlton (blame the canon, not me! ) takes much after his father, perhaps not as severely however. Dante takes much after the meaning of his name, and I have a feeling you'll like Acadia. She's very different to Alara, but she's got some Durrandon traits which I'm sure you'll appreciate
Well, yeah, so far Qarlton is the biggest jerk and if my speculation on his intentions, his actions towards Meghan and the things he claimed to have in mind for her and Ted are all true, then he is a next-level jerk, the kind of level that can't grow much further in terms of sheer jerkishness. Of course, it's possible to be more evil, but more jerkish than what we just saw here? That is pretty hard. Jorrhen, he's bigger on the evil scale so far and while he is also pretty huge on the jerk scale, there's the possibility that some of his moments of ultimate jerkassery are motivated by a greater goal, such as framing Darren. Meanwhile, if Qarlton has been honest about his plans, which I doubt, then this is just a plain bastard move, because it won't even have all that many benefits for him, considering how easily that can backfire (and how little sense it makes in general to use Meghan for a marriage, considering she got two unmarried daughters who won't come with the risk of a Marcher rebellion). On top of that, Jorrhen has been, for all the danger he posed, also given me rather pathetic vibes, kind of like Joffrey. Take away his wealth, take away his thugs and he is nothing. Qarlton meanwhile is someone who has authority, not only the kind his father has granted to him and that makes him damn intimidating. I am really curious about the other Durrandon's though. Chances are they are not all complete assholes, from what you wrote here
Wait, waitwaitwait, hold it right there, you Storm Jerk! Holy shit, that guy is a complete tool. That's Martin Shkreli levels of jackassery,… more if he is serious with his offer. And I have reason to believe that he is anything but serious. The thing there is, Meghan is obviously Jaycen's wife, so forcing her to marry Ted would more or less mean losing the support of House Caron, either due to Jaycen fighting tooth and nail for his wife or Gareth protecting the honour of his mother. Qarlton knows that and he can't possibly be that stupic/cruel, especially if there's the far more reasonable offer of Bethany or even Alara herself on the table if he wants to give Ted a Caron wife. That makes me think that he doesn't really plan on going through with that offer, though Ted is obviously too naive to see it. And as a woman in her fifties, Meghan is certainly unable to have any more children, so that is even an outright lie, especially considering that h… [view original content]
Ted
He sat in the mess hall, amongst the abundance of Durrandon soldiers. They supped on stews of venison and poultry, washing the glug d… moreown with mead and ale. Ted sat at one of the long rows of tables between two men who paid him no mind, and kept to their own. Ted stared at his meal through his one good eye, his other blackened from the blow he had suffered from King Qarlton.
The bronze chainmail was cool on his skin, despite the immense heat of the crowded hall. He had agreed to this, to join Qarlton in his pointless conquest, but he hadn’t signed up to be a foot soldier. There was a reason I was not made a ranger, he irritably thought, staring down at his attire. He wore a dress of bronze mail over his regular clothing, which was heavy and partly dinted from the previous user. Above this he wore the standard Durrandon tabard, a crowned stag on a golden field.
All in all, his armour would offer him little protection on the battlef… [view original content]
Ted
He sat in the mess hall, amongst the abundance of Durrandon soldiers. They supped on stews of venison and poultry, washing the glug d… moreown with mead and ale. Ted sat at one of the long rows of tables between two men who paid him no mind, and kept to their own. Ted stared at his meal through his one good eye, his other blackened from the blow he had suffered from King Qarlton.
The bronze chainmail was cool on his skin, despite the immense heat of the crowded hall. He had agreed to this, to join Qarlton in his pointless conquest, but he hadn’t signed up to be a foot soldier. There was a reason I was not made a ranger, he irritably thought, staring down at his attire. He wore a dress of bronze mail over his regular clothing, which was heavy and partly dinted from the previous user. Above this he wore the standard Durrandon tabard, a crowned stag on a golden field.
All in all, his armour would offer him little protection on the battlef… [view original content]
Well the voting is closed! Ted will go North with Mathias. This definitely leads to a new and interesting storyline for Ted to look forward to, as his time in Storm's End has been pretty placid. We will see more of Storm's End through Jaycen's PoV when he arrives, but until then, some things will happen off screen. For now though, I have the next parts ready, which go to Warrick and Tylar.
The last we saw of either of them... was about 5 months ago! (Yikes). Warrick was suffering some paranoia with his arrival at Silentport, and became obsessed with a shady kid roaming the streets. After pursuing him, and finding his son, Willem, with him, Warrick ultimately scared him off. He also underwent some issues with his brother, Lord Mericus, for not paying better attention of Willem when he asked him to. Warrick then talked with Lady Emilee Yew, Lord Bryce Lantell's future wife, to which she brought up the issues in their relationship. She left him in a distressed mood, but in the middle of a rather odd diversion, with many flocking to the gates to see a supposed 'Lannister vs Banefort' battle arising. Warrick found this all too odd, and you chose to have Warrick go to the Great Hall and check on Emilee.
Tylar and the Lannister convoy had finally arrived outside of Silentport, to indeed meet with the Banefort's that had massed there. Maxwell, Tylar's uncle, suggested that the best way to approach this was with diplomacy. You all agreed, and chose to rally the Lannister forces in preparation for a battle, rather than joining Maxwell by his side in the negotiations.
This part picks up directly after their last parts.
Ted
He sat in the mess hall, amongst the abundance of Durrandon soldiers. They supped on stews of venison and poultry, washing the glug d… moreown with mead and ale. Ted sat at one of the long rows of tables between two men who paid him no mind, and kept to their own. Ted stared at his meal through his one good eye, his other blackened from the blow he had suffered from King Qarlton.
The bronze chainmail was cool on his skin, despite the immense heat of the crowded hall. He had agreed to this, to join Qarlton in his pointless conquest, but he hadn’t signed up to be a foot soldier. There was a reason I was not made a ranger, he irritably thought, staring down at his attire. He wore a dress of bronze mail over his regular clothing, which was heavy and partly dinted from the previous user. Above this he wore the standard Durrandon tabard, a crowned stag on a golden field.
All in all, his armour would offer him little protection on the battlef… [view original content]
He shook his head, turning back around. The crowd flowed around him like a running river would around a rock. He battled his way through the meat current, slowed by the mass diversion of attention heading to the main gates. Something was off, Warrick knew it. Lady Emilee may be in danger, he told himself as he battled through the rushing crowd for the Great Hall.
The keep of Silentport was rather impressive, especially considering House Lantell was a fairly new house, it was clear that their ‘silent port’ had prospered greatly from the trade. While their keep was not large, it was built all from stone and tinted glass. The main doors were made from oak, and when opened they revealed a grand establishment of hearths, red carpets and Lantell banners.
A few closed rooms branched off the side of the hall, but at the near end of the hall was the seat of Lantell, a wooden carved lion lined with fur. Lady Emilee sat in the chair beside it, her head buried in her hands, surrounded my hand maidens. She was weeping, Warrick realised. He took some cautious steps closer, his left hand gravitating to the hilt of Honor.
“Lady Emilee.” He called, and wearily the young woman lifted her gaze, her wet hazel eyes gleaming in the hearth light. Her two hand maidens also turned their attention to Warrick, one slim with dark brown hair, the other plump with orange hair.
“Warrick.” She greeted with a sniffle, she brought her trembling hands to her eyes, wiping away the tears. “I thought you were going to the gate.” She admitted, a look of embarrassment appeared on her weakened expression. Warrick shook his head, walking up to her and her hand maidens.
“Something doesn’t feel right.” Warrick stated with suggestion, gaining the curiosity of Emilee. “Masses flocking to the main gates. I saw a boy earlier who looked up to no good.” Warrick continued, his gaze scanned the hall. “Where are the guards?” He asked, and Emilee too rose from her seat, looking quite perplexed.
“What are you suggesting?” She finally asked, taking a few steps closer to him, her hand maidens shadowing her. Warrick shook his head disappointedly. “I do not know. Something just feels off.” He put bluntly. “I’ll remain with you until Bryce returns.” Warrick decided, and received a scowl from the dark haired hand maiden. “My lord, we have everything under control.” She tried to convince, but Warrick shook his head.
“I’m no lord, and I will wait.” He said decisively, causing the woman to frown. Warrick’s eyes scanned the hall, closely watching, preying. An abrupt startling moment arose on them when a crashing sound came from the kitchen in one of the side rooms. Warrick secured his grip around Honor, unsheathing the blade. “Wait here.” He ordered them, taking cautiously approaching the door to the kitchen.
The door swung open smoothly, and surely enough, clay and bronze pottery and was scattered over the stone floor. Warrick readjusted his grip on Honor, entering the kitchen. The room was dark, but Warrick had an idea for what he was searching for. The boy he had seen earlier. He carefully treaded through the shards of plates and jugs, the clay further crunching beneath his boot and the floor.
He spotted him. It. A… cat? The creature revealed itself from the darkness, with ginger fur and a pale green eyes. It hissed, revealing its white fangs to him. Warrick let out a sigh of relief, lowering Honor for a moment to let his arms relax.
A sudden scream brought him back on edge, as he stormed out of the kitchens to Lady Emilee. She lay on the ground, a growing puddle of red spilling out of her shoulder, the plump hand maiden unconscious beside her. The thudding sound of footsteps and a slamming door across the hall. The other hand maiden, Warrick cursed himself, his feet already starting to move in pursuit. He turned his gaze to Emilee, her blood staining the stone floor. He moved his gaze back to the direction the perpetrator had fled, a moment of uncertainty arose on him.
[Chase after the perpetrator] [Remain with Emilee]
Tylar
His gaze flickered between his younger brother and his uncle, and his decision weighed heavily in favour of Maxwell. He tightened his grip on the reins of his courser. “Go, Maxwell. I will rally the men.” Tylar decided, breaking the argument. His uncle nodded to him, while Loras gritted his teeth, spurring his horse back into the army. Maxwell steered his courser towards the Banefort mass, taking in a deep breath.
“Uncle.” Tylar called, and Maxwell turned his gaze towards him, some unease in his dark green eyes, which looked as droopy and sleepless as Tylar felt. “I will not hesitate to slaughter every man standing there if they turn their blades on you. Wedding or not, they are no allies of ours.” Tylar informed him, and the Master of Coin nodded solemnly, before spurring his horse for the Banefort convoy.
Tylar steered his horse back to the vanguard, where Lord Gerwint Greenfield sat high on his horse, his son, Tavion, beside him. “My Prince, what are your orders?” Gerwint asked as Tylar approached, and Tylar looked over the small army. They were intended for a guarded escort, Tylar thought grimly, now they would become an offensive. He turned his attention to Gerwint.
“I want a cavalry formed and ready to charge on the Banefort’s at the first sign of resistance. Find Sedrick, he will lead the cavalry. My brother may join him if he wishes. I want the rest of the men in an offensive formation, shields and swords.” Tylar notified him. “Have Baiden Hill rally the archers into the backlines, we can’t afford for a volley to reach the walls of Silentport.” Gerwint nodded.
“I will bring the men, Tavion will find Sedrick and Baiden.” Gerwint stated, and Tylar nodded. The two rode in their separate directions, while Tylar turned his gaze back toward Maxwell, who galloped towards the Banefort’s. I hope you know what you’re doing, Uncle, he frowned, before turning his gaze to Lawsen. “Let’s get me armoured up.” Tylar sighed, and Lawsen reluctantly nodded.
-
The formation was small, perhaps two hundred men at the most. All were clad in red shirts with bronze chest plates, pauldrons and braces, painted red with gilded edges. Wearing bronze helms and wielding bronze short swords and wooden shields with the painted Lannister crest.
Tylar wore full bronze plating, a maned lion crest on his chest piece, as for his pauldrons and bracers. A heavy red cloak fell from his shoulders, proudly adorning the golden lion of Lannister. His brown hair wavered in the soft wind, yet he remained unshaken, his left hand resting on his sheathed long sword: “Storm.”
The Prince of the Rock closely watched the flapping red cape of Maxwell Lannister, among the Banefort banners. Tylar turned his gaze to the men rallied behind him, a mixture of expressions were hidden under their armoured masks. Anger, courage, fear. Tylar turned his steed around, all eyes suddenly turning to him.
“Men of the Rock!” He called to them, and they responded with a booming cheer. Tylar allowed himself a small smile. “For countless generations, the Banefort’s and Lannister’s have fought, and each time, we have prevailed. Today will be no different, whether by words or sword, we will prevail. As we always have.” He assured them, and his speech was followed with another cheer. It was done. He turned his gaze back to the Banefort’s and Maxwell. They’re taking too long, he thought impatiently, yet he was not the impatient one.
Loras and the makeshift Lannister cavalry sat atop a small hill, him pacing back and forth in front of the riders, screaming chants and glorifying himself beyond a doubt. It was him that Tylar was worried about, and there was a reason he made Sedrick Sarsfield the leader of the cavalry. Loras would charge in instantly.
Retreating hooves and moving banners took Tylar’s attention from his brother, and surely enough, the Banefort’s rode north, while Maxwell remained on his horse, unharmed as it appeared. The main gates of Silentport opened, and some figures immersed from the castle walls. Tylar let out a sigh of relief. “To the gates!” He ordered, spurring his horse forward at a steady walking pace, the troops joined him, while the cavalry stormed down the hill, leaving naught but a trail of dust in their wake.
Maxwell gave Tylar a warm smile when he arrived with the convoy of troops, merchants and nobles. Beside him sat the impatient Loras Lannister, and then two men which Tylar recognised to be Bryce Lantell and Mericus Westerling. He dismounted his horse, joining them on the ground.
“My lords.” Tylar greeted, undoing the buckles on his bronze gloves to shake their hands. The men nodded. “Prince Tylar.” Bryce greeted with a grin. “Welcome to Silentport, my apologies for the… delay.” He added, somewhat awkwardly.
“There is no need for an apology.” Maxwell picked up, putting a hand on his son’s shoulder. “I’m just glad we could end this little dispute before anything else could erupt from it.” Maxwell said with a relieved tone, and Bryce nodded. “What was it all about?” Tylar asked, and Maxwell sighed. “I will tell you soon. For now…” Maxwell turned his attention to his son. “Where is your wife-to-be? Where is Lady Emilee? And Warrick, for that matter?” He asked, and this time it was Lord Mericus that answered.
“My brother was speaking with Lady Emilee before we all headed here. I presume he is still with her.” He suggested, and Bryce nodded. “Likely in the hall. Will you join me there, my Lords and Princes?” He offered, and Maxwell nodded. The small group followed Bryce into the city, while Lantell guards exited to assist in making the Lannister camp.
Ah, very nice to see these characters back It's been indeed a while since we last saw them and I am excited to see them back. Even better is that we got two at once, that's always a treat. And well, this has been quite an eventful part. I remember that back then, I already expected an attack on Emilee, so this wasn't too much of a surprise, yet very well-executed nonetheless. Although I must say that I am not too sure about this Banefort thing. It felt a bit too easy, so I am pretty sure that there's some ulterior motive on the Banefort's side involved. Maybe they were supposed to distract them, so that their assassin had a chance at killing Emilee? Given, we don't even know if it's their assassin in the first place, but these two events did happen oddly close to each other time-wise, so it sounds very likely.
[Remain with Emilee]
I got the feeling that chasing after this would-be assassin is not going to achieve much, as I doubt Warrick is going to catch up with her. Instead, staying might prevent Emilee's death at the hands of a second assassin, or save her life if the first one returns to finish the job. We also don't know how bad the wound is, but from the sound of it, she is bleeding heavily. Perhaps if he stays, he'll be able to stop the bleeding a bit, a move that might very well save her life. Depending on how bad the wound is, we need to get her help as quick as possible. Warrick only saw that she was stabbed in the shoulder, but considering that the neck and some pretty major blood vessels are very close to the shoulder and could be damaged if the blade went deep enough, she absolutely will need first aid as quick as possible if she is to have any chance to survive this.
Warrick
He shook his head, turning back around. The crowd flowed around him like a running river would around a rock. He battled his way … morethrough the meat current, slowed by the mass diversion of attention heading to the main gates. Something was off, Warrick knew it. Lady Emilee may be in danger, he told himself as he battled through the rushing crowd for the Great Hall.
The keep of Silentport was rather impressive, especially considering House Lantell was a fairly new house, it was clear that their ‘silent port’ had prospered greatly from the trade. While their keep was not large, it was built all from stone and tinted glass. The main doors were made from oak, and when opened they revealed a grand establishment of hearths, red carpets and Lantell banners.
A few closed rooms branched off the side of the hall, but at the near end of the hall was the seat of Lantell, a wooden carved lion lined with fur. Lady Emilee sat in the chair bes… [view original content]
I knew it had been awhile since Warrick and Tylar appeared but five months, I had not realized it had been that long! Safe to say, that these parts were awesome and was without a doubt an awesome way to bring them back into the story
Ah poor Warrick, he had the hunch something was wrong, went with Emilee and wanted to make sure she was safe and still she ended up getting wounded. Warrick had some bad luck here I had a feeling something would happen to Lady Emilee but I definitely was not expecting a handmaiden to be the one to attack her. From the sound of things though, this handmaiden was not really her handmaiden after all and it seems like she may have been in with the Banefort's but the big question is why would the Banefort's want to kill Lady Emilee? That part I have not figured out yet. Lady Emilee was crying when Warrick came in, so I wonder if she knew this was going to happen but if she did, I would assume she would have ran for Warrick immediately when he came in and let him know the truth. Honestly, I am not even sure about the Banefort theory but now that I think about it, it seems the goal would have been to affect Bryce by attacking his wife rather then just wanting to kill her. I am probably so off the mark so I probably better just end my little rant until I learn more
As for the choice, I think I am going to go with having Warrick [Remain with Emilee] Ing with for now. Well this was a quick change I know but I just read Liquid's reasoning and it was far better then the reasoning for my choice I was so on the fence with this choice and really after thinking about it, Warrick staying with her may very well be her best chance to survive. With Warrick around, the chance that someone tries to finish the job with Emilee pretty much becomes nomexistant as well. Overall though, great part Stigz! You came right out of the gate with a fastball with these tough choices and safe to say I am whiffing pretty bad right now
As for Tylar's part, it was epic! I really felt the intensity and uncertainty that Tylar felt with a battle potentially about to happen and everything about this part was so cool. From the worry that Maxwell could be attacked, Tylar's speech, to Loras up on the hill with the cavalry ready to take out all of the Banefort's by himself It was all excellent! Of course though, I am worried about how Bryce is going to react when he sees his wife has been attacked and I am curious to how Tylar, Maxwell and the Lannister army will react because the potential is there for the Lannister-Banefort battle to happen anyway. The fact that Bryce will see Emilee laying there wounded alone is enough to make me change my Warrick vote but I would say I will probably think on it more.
Warrick
He shook his head, turning back around. The crowd flowed around him like a running river would around a rock. He battled his way … morethrough the meat current, slowed by the mass diversion of attention heading to the main gates. Something was off, Warrick knew it. Lady Emilee may be in danger, he told himself as he battled through the rushing crowd for the Great Hall.
The keep of Silentport was rather impressive, especially considering House Lantell was a fairly new house, it was clear that their ‘silent port’ had prospered greatly from the trade. While their keep was not large, it was built all from stone and tinted glass. The main doors were made from oak, and when opened they revealed a grand establishment of hearths, red carpets and Lantell banners.
A few closed rooms branched off the side of the hall, but at the near end of the hall was the seat of Lantell, a wooden carved lion lined with fur. Lady Emilee sat in the chair bes… [view original content]
Warrick
He shook his head, turning back around. The crowd flowed around him like a running river would around a rock. He battled his way … morethrough the meat current, slowed by the mass diversion of attention heading to the main gates. Something was off, Warrick knew it. Lady Emilee may be in danger, he told himself as he battled through the rushing crowd for the Great Hall.
The keep of Silentport was rather impressive, especially considering House Lantell was a fairly new house, it was clear that their ‘silent port’ had prospered greatly from the trade. While their keep was not large, it was built all from stone and tinted glass. The main doors were made from oak, and when opened they revealed a grand establishment of hearths, red carpets and Lantell banners.
A few closed rooms branched off the side of the hall, but at the near end of the hall was the seat of Lantell, a wooden carved lion lined with fur. Lady Emilee sat in the chair bes… [view original content]
She may need his assistance. If he just leaves her without some form of treatment, she could bleed out. The thing about chasing the perpetrator is that they could just get her later. Warrick, Emilee, and the other handmaiden all know who it is. They could just tell Bryce who the attacker was and he can organize a search party to capture and question her.
Warrick
He shook his head, turning back around. The crowd flowed around him like a running river would around a rock. He battled his way … morethrough the meat current, slowed by the mass diversion of attention heading to the main gates. Something was off, Warrick knew it. Lady Emilee may be in danger, he told himself as he battled through the rushing crowd for the Great Hall.
The keep of Silentport was rather impressive, especially considering House Lantell was a fairly new house, it was clear that their ‘silent port’ had prospered greatly from the trade. While their keep was not large, it was built all from stone and tinted glass. The main doors were made from oak, and when opened they revealed a grand establishment of hearths, red carpets and Lantell banners.
A few closed rooms branched off the side of the hall, but at the near end of the hall was the seat of Lantell, a wooden carved lion lined with fur. Lady Emilee sat in the chair bes… [view original content]
Warrick
He shook his head, turning back around. The crowd flowed around him like a running river would around a rock. He battled his way … morethrough the meat current, slowed by the mass diversion of attention heading to the main gates. Something was off, Warrick knew it. Lady Emilee may be in danger, he told himself as he battled through the rushing crowd for the Great Hall.
The keep of Silentport was rather impressive, especially considering House Lantell was a fairly new house, it was clear that their ‘silent port’ had prospered greatly from the trade. While their keep was not large, it was built all from stone and tinted glass. The main doors were made from oak, and when opened they revealed a grand establishment of hearths, red carpets and Lantell banners.
A few closed rooms branched off the side of the hall, but at the near end of the hall was the seat of Lantell, a wooden carved lion lined with fur. Lady Emilee sat in the chair bes… [view original content]
Warrick
He shook his head, turning back around. The crowd flowed around him like a running river would around a rock. He battled his way … morethrough the meat current, slowed by the mass diversion of attention heading to the main gates. Something was off, Warrick knew it. Lady Emilee may be in danger, he told himself as he battled through the rushing crowd for the Great Hall.
The keep of Silentport was rather impressive, especially considering House Lantell was a fairly new house, it was clear that their ‘silent port’ had prospered greatly from the trade. While their keep was not large, it was built all from stone and tinted glass. The main doors were made from oak, and when opened they revealed a grand establishment of hearths, red carpets and Lantell banners.
A few closed rooms branched off the side of the hall, but at the near end of the hall was the seat of Lantell, a wooden carved lion lined with fur. Lady Emilee sat in the chair bes… [view original content]
Alright, well I'll bring this vote to a close. Warrick will remain with Emilee. This is likely the smartest option, but also a bit of a missed opportunity in a sense. We'll see how that plays out through both his next PoV, and Tylar's.
Now the next part was initially going to be either Samira's or Nathan's, but I have an announcement to make. Guys for nearly the past two years I've been writing this story, and for that two years I've had the grandest time of my life. We've formed an awesome community and I've had great conversations with all of you, and I really appreciate the lot of you. Though, unfortunately it is my time to go. The Invasion is going to be shut down as I am having to leave the forums. I am dropping out of school to pursue a career of sky-diving over the west Indies.
I am willing to pass the story on to anyone else if they wish to continue this mess, as the likelihood of my return will be unlikely, or for a while anyway. So I'd advise you to just move on and be happy, and enjoy your April 1st when it comes!
Warrick
He shook his head, turning back around. The crowd flowed around him like a running river would around a rock. He battled his way … morethrough the meat current, slowed by the mass diversion of attention heading to the main gates. Something was off, Warrick knew it. Lady Emilee may be in danger, he told himself as he battled through the rushing crowd for the Great Hall.
The keep of Silentport was rather impressive, especially considering House Lantell was a fairly new house, it was clear that their ‘silent port’ had prospered greatly from the trade. While their keep was not large, it was built all from stone and tinted glass. The main doors were made from oak, and when opened they revealed a grand establishment of hearths, red carpets and Lantell banners.
A few closed rooms branched off the side of the hall, but at the near end of the hall was the seat of Lantell, a wooden carved lion lined with fur. Lady Emilee sat in the chair bes… [view original content]
You... you... god damn it, you got me I didn't even realize the date! Then I read your post and I was like... wait... that cannot be, right? A Samira part? No way! That would have, I mean, really shocked me. Thankfully, I realized it in time. Now, I wish you a lot of luck with your sky-diving career. I wasn't even aware that people can do that for a living. Always thought that was one of these rich people sports, such as golf or tax evasion. This is amazing and I hope you won't get eaten by a cloud or whatever danger you have to face there!
Surely I will miss you, but I am gladly going to take that offer and pick up writing where you left. Now that I have free reign, expect the next part to feature the messy deaths of Rechar Greenblood, Jorrhen and Qarlton Durrandon, who are all going to be on the same spot, for reasons. Oh, and Lorrhen probably too, just to be on the safe side when it comes to him.
Also you totally got me for real for a moment, but don't tell anyone, 'cause that would be embrasassing.
Alright, well I'll bring this vote to a close. Warrick will remain with Emilee. This is likely the smartest option, but also a bit of a miss… moreed opportunity in a sense. We'll see how that plays out through both his next PoV, and Tylar's.
Now the next part was initially going to be either Samira's or Nathan's, but I have an announcement to make. Guys for nearly the past two years I've been writing this story, and for that two years I've had the grandest time of my life. We've formed an awesome community and I've had great conversations with all of you, and I really appreciate the lot of you. Though, unfortunately it is my time to go. The Invasion is going to be shut down as I am having to leave the forums. I am dropping out of school to pursue a career of sky-diving over the west Indies.
I am willing to pass the story on to anyone else if they wish to continue this mess, as the likelihood of my return will be unlikely, or for a while anywa… [view original content]
Alright, well I'll bring this vote to a close. Warrick will remain with Emilee. This is likely the smartest option, but also a bit of a miss… moreed opportunity in a sense. We'll see how that plays out through both his next PoV, and Tylar's.
Now the next part was initially going to be either Samira's or Nathan's, but I have an announcement to make. Guys for nearly the past two years I've been writing this story, and for that two years I've had the grandest time of my life. We've formed an awesome community and I've had great conversations with all of you, and I really appreciate the lot of you. Though, unfortunately it is my time to go. The Invasion is going to be shut down as I am having to leave the forums. I am dropping out of school to pursue a career of sky-diving over the west Indies.
I am willing to pass the story on to anyone else if they wish to continue this mess, as the likelihood of my return will be unlikely, or for a while anywa… [view original content]
Hey guys, so I've been gone for a while and I do apologise for that. My last week of school till term break was a tough one, and I admit the last few days I've encountered some writers block, and taken up some other projects. However I found that mostly I was stuck on some characters I was trying to write, so I chose to write a parts for some characters I had some reasonable motivation for. This part goes to Warmond, and the parts are now rearranged so that we have a Manderly run, then we go onto Samira and Nathan.
The last time we saw Warmond was at the funeral of Aunt Wyona Manderly. He and his uncle Wyman, the Strong Merman, took her out to sea, and witnessed a dramatic change as she was tossed out of her casket and formed a mermaid's tail. During a council meeting, King Waldemar brought up the importance of family, and changed some of his initial plans, one being that Warmond and his wife will travel to Dorne to see their son: Willow, at Starfall. Wyman requested that he might take an army to the Fingers to support his ex-wife, Ursula Upcliff, and Waldemar left the decision up to Warmond. You decided to approve Wyman's request, a day or so after that.
P.S. I've managed to make it a spoilers comment somehow, and I don't know how to get rid of that so... apologies
The ceiling held a variety of delicacies which Warmond often found himself staring at. It had once been a dark slab of green stone, matching the walls and flooring of his chambers, and the rest of the Citadel. Once. Warmond had seen to it that he would not be driven to insanity with his repetitive life. No, he had made a request to Aunt Wyona a decade ago to unleash her skill in his chambers, and that she had.
The ceiling was no longer a dark green slab, but a seabed, and there, there was life. Beds of seaweed, kelp, corals. Half of the ceiling was dedicated to coloured reef, and fish of variant sizes and species swam without a wonder, as the mermaids and selkies conversed and laughed, and that was only the ceiling. Over the years, Warmond had started to see the messages hidden within the paintings, scripted or not, he had begun to understand the world that Wyona had endured. Now the paintings on the wall began to fade, and the ceiling was starting to smudge and run with the moisture. A cruel irony.
Warmond let out a heavy sigh, placing his hand on top of the soft hand that rustled through his chest hair. Lady Dia radiated with warmth, and a beauty which never ceased. Warmond allowed her to steal his attention, his eyes entranced by her own, a vibrant lilac. She had aged well, maintaining her beautiful straight silver hair and toned facial features. She still maintained a beautiful slim figure after her two pregnancies, and her smile was erotic.
“Do I have you?” She asked, her eyes narrowing in on him. The edge of her lip lifting as she started to run her hand down his torso. Warmond smirked, placing his hand around her waist before rolling her on top of him. “You do.” She grinned. He stared at the two beauties above him, running his hands up her thighs as she set into her rhythm.
Smoothly, he coursed his way up her torso, running past her breasts and to her neck. He pulled her in, their lips meeting. The door sounded violently with three knocks. Dia’s eyes widened, but her playful expression returned as she bit her lip and straightened herself. “You going to get that?” She prompted, and Warmond let out an annoyed sigh, lifting her off of him.
Standing from the bed, he pulled some trousers on before approaching the door, and opening it a crack. His eyes lifted as he spotted the Strong Merman, an embarrassed look coating his face. “Warmond… I-” He stumbled with his words, but Warmond shook his head with a light chuckle.
“What is it, Wyman?” He urged him, and his uncle’s mind snapped back into action. “Father. He’s waiting for you in the gardens.” Delivering the message, Wyman cleared his throat and started to take his leave. Warmond frowned for a moment, his thoughts drifting to Wyona’s garden, and then Wyona.
“Wyman.” Warmond called after him, and the Strong Merman halted a moment, turning his gaze back to his nephew. “Could you wait a moment?” He requested, and Wyman nodded obediently. Without further stall, Warmond shut the door and turned back to Dia, grabbing his shirt.
“Waldemar again?” She asked with a bored tone, and Warmond nodded with annoyance. “As always.” He muttered, pulling his shirt over his head. He reached for his gilded green vest, which he buttoned up over his shirt, before pulling it all together with a leather belt. “It’s okay, Warmond.” Dia tried to persuade him, showing a small smile, but Warmond shook his head.
“I’m sick of it. All my life I’ve been training to be the man that my father was. The man my grandfather wants.” Warmond clenching his hands into fists, staring at the green floor. “He should’ve named Wyman his heir.” Warmond stated bitterly, and Dia arose from the bed, approaching with soft footsteps.
“My Merman, you carry a heavy burden on your shoulders. I recall how stressed my brother was when training to become King. Andrey was practically isolated from the rest of the family, I seldom saw him.” She informed him, and Warmond laid out a heavy frown. “Is that meant to make me feel any better?” He asked, and Dia shook her head.
“It’s beyond the point. What matters is what is to come. Andrey surpassed the expectations placed on him, and grew into a far better king than our father. You too will be a great king, and no matter how much he steals you from me, Waldemar will never break my loyalty to you as a wife, or as a friend.” She stated with utmost confidence, a smile building on her lips. Warmond pulled her close, kissing her before turning to the door.
“I’ll be back.” He promised, separating from her as he pulled the door open. “I know.” She smiled, shutting the door behind him. Warmond left the chambers with warmth in his chest, and the gaze of Wyman prickling his skin. He leant against the wall, his arms crossed and a wide grin spread across his face.
“I remember when I used to have love like that.” He mentioned, his grin settling down to a warm smile. Warmond reciprocated the gesture, giving him a nod. “It’s a rare and beautiful commodity.” Warmond stated, and Wyman nodded in agreeance. The two started their walk down the corridor, making for the stairwell that would lead them to the courtyard.
“When will you ride for the Fingers?” Warmond asked, and Wyman took in a breath. “Soon.” He stated, exhaling his breath. “Within the next few days, I hope.” He added, and Warmond nodded. “You still love her?” Warmond questioned, more to himself than Wyman, referring to Ursula Upcliff. Wyman raised an eyebrow.
“You need to ask?” Wyman responded with a hint of annoyance, causing Warmond to sigh. “I meant no harm by it, Uncle. I only wonder if you’re doing yourself more harm by longing for her. She did term the marriage void.” He pointlessly reminded him, receiving a displeasing glare. “I know what she did.” Wyman snapped. They descended down the stairs in silence, until Warmond spoke up again.
“Wyman… About Wyona.” He started, and Wyman momentarily shifted his gaze to him. “What about her?” He asked cautiously, and Warmond pressed on. “You saw it too, didn’t you?” Warmond asked, and Wyman lowered his gaze for a moment before shaking his head. “I don’t know what I saw.” He muttered, shrugging it off. Warmond placed a hand on his shoulder, turning the giant around.
“This needs to stop.” Warmond stated, staring into his uncle’s turquoise eyes. Wyman shrugged his hand off, but still gave him his attention. “Wynne, Wyona, Ursula. You need to stop living in the last. They’re gone, one way or another. I respect that you are taking forces to support the Royce’s, but I won’t allow you to throw your life away for a woman that no longer loves you, and do not take me for someone to naive to see that.” Wyman’s gaze lowered for a moment, brooding carefully on the words he wanted to say.
“I love her. I don’t think I’ll ever stop loving her, and I’d rather die for her in battle than of old age in my deathbed.” Wyman stated defiantly, turning away. “Out of all people, I’d have expected you to know that.” He muttered, before leaving him alone in the open hallway. Warmond sighed, turning his gaze to the courtyard, Wyona’s Gardens had grown beautiful over the years, yet they lacked now with her passing.
-
The sun was starting to fall in the west, and he found himself strolling through Wyona’s Gardens. The hedges had grown tall, and the flowers had begun to shut themselves from the darkening sky. Stories told of a Mermaid Pearl lost to the gardens, and an annual event had been set each year for farmers and peasants alike to find it, with the reward being enough gold and land to build a small keep and attain lordship. None had ever found it.
The old man stood staring into the damp soil beneath him, his turquoise eyes fixed to the withering worms and fighting beetles. His unkempt white beard and long white hair blew softly in the breeze, and his crown of shells and rare dark green corals sat firmly atop his head.
“Grandfather.” Warmond greeted, and the old man nodded to him, keeping his eyes fixed to the soil. “Warmond. Please, join me.” He beckoned, and Warmond did so without question. He took his place by his side, staring at the bugs in the soil. “It is a beautiful thing, to see that all her work is rewarded with life. She may have never felt it, but she did make it. Don’t you agree?” He asked, and Warmond nodded. “She was a fine woman.” Warmond commended her, turning his eyes from the bugs and to his grandfather. “You called for me?” Warmond prompted, and Waldemar nodded, lifting his eyes up the tower that stood in the centre of the garden.
“Walden’s Tower.” Waldemar announced. “It’s stated in his first volume that this tower was the first of the Citadel that Walden the Wise constructed, before he left the construction to fight against the First Men at the Arm of Dorne.” Warmond raised his eyebrows, trying to show an amused expression.
“Lord Waylon later founded House Manderly, and added onto the construction of the Flooded Citadel, including making his own athenaeum. From then onwards, the Manderly’s documented the history that we possess today. Do you know why that makes us one of the most powerful kingdoms to date?” Waldemar asked, and Warmond nodded.
“We are able to learn from history.” He stated, and Waldemar nodded. “Indeed.” Waldemar turned his gaze down to the soil again, clasping his hands. “Lord Wilmer constructed the great Western Fleet with ambitions of conquest, until he used those ships to chase after a mermaid. His son, Wesley, took up his reins and conquered the eastern isles of Westeros, and introduced trade with Essos, while his daughter, Wanda, sailed west and never returned.”
“My father raised House Manderly from a lordship to a kingdom in the spans of a moment. All he did was self-proclaim himself and took to arms for anyone that opposed him. I furthered that claim to where we are now, and will continue to do so until my last breath. In our history, we have had those who have ruled with wisdom, knowledge and power. So I wonder, when you become king, how will you change the kingdom? What will your ambitions be?” Waldemar questioned, and Warmond found himself pausing for a moment, thinking carefully on how he would answer.
His son, Wesley, took up his reins and conquered the eastern isles of Westeros,
Oh god... oh my god... he's here as well! I'm pretty sure some of you will get why I had to chuckle when I read that name But in all seriousness, I liked that part a lot. The Manderly's have felt a bit like a late addition to the party initially, but they quickly prove themselves to be very nice and complex, so I look forward for how that storyline is unwrapping there. Great job so far!
[To trade]
I was tempted to pick proselytize, mostly because I actually had to google that word. Do you know when I last had to google a word? Me neither! Proselytize, I have literally never even heard of that word before, but it is actually not all that rare, as I have been made aware of. This is weird, but informative But well, neither proselytize nor conquer sound all that great and promising. I would love for a more peaceful and diplomatic House Manderly than a brutal army that conquers either in the name of power or faith.
[To trade] Yeah, I agree with Liquid, I'd much more respect a peaceful House Manderly, rather than one that tries to spread its power or religion via force.
Hey guys, so I've been gone for a while and I do apologise for that. My last week of school till term break was a tough one, and I admit the… more last few days I've encountered some writers block, and taken up some other projects. However I found that mostly I was stuck on some characters I was trying to write, so I chose to write a parts for some characters I had some reasonable motivation for. This part goes to Warmond, and the parts are now rearranged so that we have a Manderly run, then we go onto Samira and Nathan.
The last time we saw Warmond was at the funeral of Aunt Wyona Manderly. He and his uncle Wyman, the Strong Merman, took her out to sea, and witnessed a dramatic change as she was tossed out of her casket and formed a mermaid's tail. During a council meeting, King Waldemar brought up the importance of family, and changed some of his initial plans, one being that Warmond and his wife will travel to Dorne to see their son: Willow, … [view original content]
[To trade] I would have to agree with the others on this one. Trading and trying to grow House Manderly's kingdom through trade rather than conquest is probably the best route. You can only try to conquer for so long until you overstretch beyond your capabilities, so trying to gain alliances through trade would better for them in the long run from what I would gather about them.
Hey guys, so I won't close the voting to the Warmond part just yet, but I do have the next part ready, which is a Wylla part. Now the last time we saw her was in her first part, and was in a boring council meeting with Admiral Maxim Westerling, Lord Allie Vines, Lord Howett Clifton, Eddin Pyke, and her son: Ryman Farman. They discussed the position of the Ironborn, and the vacancy of raids around the Riverlands and activity around the Iron Islands, which Eddin Pyke assured was due to their attacks on the North. When decided they needed to put action forward against their raids on the North, Wylla was faced with a decision to request help from the Redwyne Fleet, not yet knowing that the Western Military Fleet of House Manderly would come to support them. You chose to request assistance from the Redwyne's, and this part takes off where it left.
And the voting is closed. Warmond will say to trade.
Lord Allie stared at her with patient eyes, awaiting an answer. Wylla flicked her gaze to the other members of the table. Some will disagree with my decision, she thought regretfully, but she knew that was the price of leadership. Always the price of leadership.
“Lord Allie, we would appreciate any assistance King Tydus can afford to offer.” Wylla informed him, and Allie nodded gracefully. “I will see what I can do, my Lady.” He responded diligently. Wylla spotted the disappointed look on Admiral Maxim’s eyes, but she could successfully say she gained the approval of Lord Howett, and her son, which was a rare sight.
“My lady, with your permission, the captain requested that we set sail for day’s end. We have a long journey ahead, and merchandise is spoiling.” Allie brought up, rising from his chair. Wylla gave him an acknowledging nod. “I understand. Give King Tydus my regards, and I wish you safe travels.” She bid him, and he took his bow before exiting the court.
Lord Howett Clifton cleared his throat, attracting Wylla’s gaze. “If that’s all, my Lady…” He prompted, and Wylla let out a sigh. “You’re dismissed.” She stated nonchalantly, and Howett nodded respectfully before taking his leave, Ryman following after him. Wylla couldn’t help but frown. Eddin Pyke left without a word, and before long the courtroom was mostly empty, all save for Admiral Maxim, who stood by his seat with a lowered gaze.
“Lady Wylla, a word?” He requested, and Wylla nodded. “My lady, it’s about the wedding.” Maxim informed her, to which Wylla raised an eyebrow. “Between my son and that grey mouse? What about it?” She investigated, and Maxim sighed.
“Lord Kyle Kenning sent a raven, they will be arriving at Fair Isle by the morrow.” Maxim stated, and Wylla’s eyes widened in surprise. “So soon.” She said silently to herself. “Why did you not bring this up in the court?” She asked, to which Maxim shrugged gently.
“I did not see it as a matter of urgency, but one nonetheless that you ought to know of before then.” He stated proficiently, and Wylla let out a sigh before nodding. “Alright, thank you Maxim.” She said, giving him leave. The courtroom grew dark with rising shadows, the sun was drowning in the western sea, and soon the Kenning’s would arrive. All in too short notice.
-
The Great Hall of Faircastle was nothing extravagant. The long table seated perhaps only a dozen people, of which only four seats were always occupied. Wylla sat by her husband, Lord Frenken, who sat at the head of the table, quiet and reserved. Ryman sat at the far end of the table for no valid reason, and Wylla’s daughter, Elyana, sat in the mid. Her straw blonde hair was tied back into Iron braided pigtails, but her grandfather’s turquoise eyes stood out from her pretty little face.
Lord Frenken possessed the straw blonde hair that their children had inherited, which fell straight and did not reach his shoulders, and he had a simple moustache which connected with his chin beard. His eyes were as green as the shallow sea, vibrant and beautiful, but reserved and cold. Wylla frowned, placing her hand on his, to which she got a small reaction from him.
“The court went well today, I presume?” He asked, withdrawing his hand from hers. Wylla sighed, giving him a brief nod. “I apologise that I could not make it today, I…” He stumbled on his words a moment, but Wylla shrugged it off. “The book, I know.” She stated nonchalantly, turning to her meal. Smoked salmon, served with golden baked potatoes and butter glazed asparagus.
“I’m sorry.” He mumbled quietly, and Wylla flickered her gaze to her quiet children before responding to her husband. “Lord Clifton worries me.” Wylla admitted under her breath, causing Frenken to raise an eyebrow. “Why? What has happened?” He asked, and Wylla couldn’t help but smile.
“Perhaps if you attended the council meetings, you would understand. Though then again, I doubt it.” She riddled, agitating him. “What in the hell are you talking about?” He yelled, startling the table with his sudden temper. “What is Howett doing?” He asked again, lowering his voice a notch. Wylla thought of her words carefully, but in the end it was not her who answered.
“Lord Howett doesn’t approve of Mother’s power in the court.” Ryman piped up boldly. “Or in the house.” He added, and received a distasteful glare from his mother, instantly chastising him. He gulped, but it was drowned out by Frenken’s soft and unconvincing chuckle. “He has nothing to worry about. I am the lord of this house.” He tried to say confidently, but received an unconvinced look from his daughter.
“You don’t act like it, Father.” Elyana muttered, turning her gaze back to her meal. Wylla could spot the ire building in Frenken’s eyes. “Excuse me?” Frenken challenged, but Wylla was quick to intervene. “Leave her, Frenk.” Though he would not have any of it. “I will not be challenged by my own daughter, in my own hall, about the authority of this house! I am the lord.” He stated defiantly, putting emphasis on his final words. Wylla sighed, deciding to steer the conversation elsewhere.
“The Kenning’s will be arriving at Fair Isle tomorrow.” Wylla announced, and she spotted a spark of interest from her son in the corner of her eye. Frenken groaned. “We will have to start making preparations for the wedding then.” He mumbled, and Wylla nodded. “If we are to marry them under the blessing of the Lady of Waves, that grey mouse will have to convert to our faith.” Wylla stated arrogantly, and Frenken let out a heavy sigh.
“You can’t force the girl to convert. If she wishes to stay with her Kraken faith then so be it, you have no say over it.” Frenken stated, pointing his fork at her. Wylla rolled her eyes, clearly in disagreement with her husband. “I will not house a worshiper of the Drowned God in my halls.” Wylla burst, and Frenken raised an eyebrow.
“Your halls? I thought we just established the lordship of this house.” He rebuked. “And if you hate her religion so much, why engage her with my son?” He challenged, causing Wylla to smash her fists on the table. “Oh believe me husband, I wouldn’t marry our son to that grey mouse if I was given another choice, but the marriage too important to secure another bastion for the support of Manderly dominance.” She stated, and Frenken squinted at her with confusion.
“Manderly dominance?! Fucking Mande… Where the hell is the importance for House Farman fitting into all of this?” He yelled, and Wylla shook her head with frustration. “House Farman will escalate as House Manderly rises in power. You would know this if you attended the fucking council!” She shouted in return, causing the two to bicker on until interruption.
“Enough!” A boy shouted from across the table, and Wylla fought herself to turn her gaze to the angry Ryman at the end of the table. The two parents stared at their son with such vicious disdain that he looked to almost collapse under the pressure, yet he held through.
“I will not sit here while you two bicker! Mother is right, if you attending the meetings you would have half a clue that we are rising in power through the aid of the Manderly’s, and also the Redwyne’s as of today.” He announced to him, somewhat impressing Wylla that he had been paying attention during the session. “As for you Mother, stop talking about Keyra like that. You two arranged her to be engaged to me, so you will stop insulting my betrothed.” He stated with defiance, taking both Wylla and Frenken aback with his outburst.
Without another word, Ryman rose from his chair and stormed out the hall, leaving a hushing silence over the table. Wylla turned her gaze to Frenken, raising her eyebrows at him. He scowled at her in return. “Don’t raise your eyebrows at me, woman.” He muttered, also rising from his chair and leaving the hall, until only Wylla and Elyana remained.
Wylla let out a long-winded sigh, reclining in her chair with mental exhaustion. She stared up at the ceiling for a moment, observing the dull wood above her. She thought of what things were like back at the Citadel. At home. It would be a blessing to see Wyvern again if her father approved her plans, and to get back on the seas again. The thought was lusting.
“Another happy meal.” Elyana stated sarcastically, rising from her chair and stealing the salmon off the absent plates before taking her leave. Wylla chuckled to herself quietly before cupping her face with her hands. I’ll have to check on one of them. She thought, groaning into her palms. She was not eager for the new day, and especially with a shattered family after tonight. She had to make amends.
Ah, this was a nice part. I greatly enjoyed the family dynamics between these, this is shaping up to be great I feel like here, Wylla has better chances to make amends to her son. He seems merely annyoed, whereas Frenken appears to be seriously angry and I would like for him to get some time to cool down. At the same time, I could see a good reason to talk to him especially now, but well, I feel like giving him some time could be better, whereas Ryman can certainly be talked to right now already. Clearly, I feel that Wylla has more to apologize to him in the first place. She didn't really do all that much to upset Frenken, at least not without reason. With Ryman though, I clearly see her as in the wrong, so he is one she rightfully can apologize to.
Wylla
Lord Allie stared at her with patient eyes, awaiting an answer. Wylla flicked her gaze to the other members of the table. Some will… more disagree with my decision, she thought regretfully, but she knew that was the price of leadership. Always the price of leadership.
“Lord Allie, we would appreciate any assistance King Tydus can afford to offer.” Wylla informed him, and Allie nodded gracefully. “I will see what I can do, my Lady.” He responded diligently. Wylla spotted the disappointed look on Admiral Maxim’s eyes, but she could successfully say she gained the approval of Lord Howett, and her son, which was a rare sight.
“My lady, with your permission, the captain requested that we set sail for day’s end. We have a long journey ahead, and merchandise is spoiling.” Allie brought up, rising from his chair. Wylla gave him an acknowledging nod. “I understand. Give King Tydus my regards, and I wish you safe travels.” She bid him, and he … [view original content]
[Go seek Frenken] At this point, I feel like there is a legitimate rift between Wylla and Franken and that Ryman's outburst was just all because he seen his parents arguing. While giving Franken time to cool off may be the best idea, I feel like she sure try to reassure him that House Farman is not just a pawn for House Manderly to use to increase in power. During this talk, it is also possible they can talk more about Ryman's marriage as well.
Wylla
Lord Allie stared at her with patient eyes, awaiting an answer. Wylla flicked her gaze to the other members of the table. Some will… more disagree with my decision, she thought regretfully, but she knew that was the price of leadership. Always the price of leadership.
“Lord Allie, we would appreciate any assistance King Tydus can afford to offer.” Wylla informed him, and Allie nodded gracefully. “I will see what I can do, my Lady.” He responded diligently. Wylla spotted the disappointed look on Admiral Maxim’s eyes, but she could successfully say she gained the approval of Lord Howett, and her son, which was a rare sight.
“My lady, with your permission, the captain requested that we set sail for day’s end. We have a long journey ahead, and merchandise is spoiling.” Allie brought up, rising from his chair. Wylla gave him an acknowledging nod. “I understand. Give King Tydus my regards, and I wish you safe travels.” She bid him, and he … [view original content]
Wylla
Lord Allie stared at her with patient eyes, awaiting an answer. Wylla flicked her gaze to the other members of the table. Some will… more disagree with my decision, she thought regretfully, but she knew that was the price of leadership. Always the price of leadership.
“Lord Allie, we would appreciate any assistance King Tydus can afford to offer.” Wylla informed him, and Allie nodded gracefully. “I will see what I can do, my Lady.” He responded diligently. Wylla spotted the disappointed look on Admiral Maxim’s eyes, but she could successfully say she gained the approval of Lord Howett, and her son, which was a rare sight.
“My lady, with your permission, the captain requested that we set sail for day’s end. We have a long journey ahead, and merchandise is spoiling.” Allie brought up, rising from his chair. Wylla gave him an acknowledging nod. “I understand. Give King Tydus my regards, and I wish you safe travels.” She bid him, and he … [view original content]
Wylla
Lord Allie stared at her with patient eyes, awaiting an answer. Wylla flicked her gaze to the other members of the table. Some will… more disagree with my decision, she thought regretfully, but she knew that was the price of leadership. Always the price of leadership.
“Lord Allie, we would appreciate any assistance King Tydus can afford to offer.” Wylla informed him, and Allie nodded gracefully. “I will see what I can do, my Lady.” He responded diligently. Wylla spotted the disappointed look on Admiral Maxim’s eyes, but she could successfully say she gained the approval of Lord Howett, and her son, which was a rare sight.
“My lady, with your permission, the captain requested that we set sail for day’s end. We have a long journey ahead, and merchandise is spoiling.” Allie brought up, rising from his chair. Wylla gave him an acknowledging nod. “I understand. Give King Tydus my regards, and I wish you safe travels.” She bid him, and he … [view original content]
Comments
[Take it further]
Well... it might be a bit difficult for me to describe my feelings on this part, so I'll let George Takei do it instead:
Well, I might be able to describe my feelings a little bit... I am obviously very happy, yet at the same time concerned. Alara deserves someone who is at least as great as she is and Dromon might be a candidate, from what I have seen so far. She likes him, obviously and he obviously likes her and so far, he gave me a good impression. This means a lot coming from me, being in full overprotective dad mode and all. So, I approve of him. In fact, I approve of him far more than Theon and not only because he's not old enough to be her father. He is also very much like her, they have far more in common than Alara and the harsh warrior king of the North. So, if she gets together with any of these two, it should be him. With Dromon, there might even be a future, whereas whatever she could have had with Theon would be doomed to end eventually. The more I think about it, the more I am glad that she didn't give in to Theon's advances, because that would be repeating her mother's mistakes. On top of that, I absolutely want her to return home to her family when given the opportunity and having a royal lover in the North would make things a lot more complicated.
However, I am concerned about the way they parted. I doubt Theon is going to give up on her all that easily and in my opinion, Alara did a terrible job at explaining her reasons for why she can't be with him, including the fact that she already had plans with Dromon long before Theon made his move and her family backstory, with her mother having done the exact same thing and causing great grief with it. I doubt Alara would feel good in putting Theon's queen and his children through such a situation and I have the feeling if she would have tried to explain it, Theon might would have seen reason. Now, he seems angry and well, at best this means that he will only fight more furiously, but at worst it means that this won't be the last time he tried to win her heart. Or well, even worse would be him lashing out at her, but I want to believe that Theon has too much honour to do that. Anyways, for now I hope she'll be happy with Dromon and I hope this is something that lasts and not just her falling for a guy that merely plays with her feelings. That is truly the last thing she needs right now. And well... seems like I did manage to describe my feelings on this part briefly
[Take it further] It seems that Alara wants this and Dromon no doubt does so there is no need to deprive them
[Take it further] Why not?
Oh well, now that I said that, I'm sure some horrible consequences will follow 
But it's useless to worry about that, Dromon seems like a good man, and Alara should enjoy her life. Btw, this was very well-written part 
Edit: Shit, I had the wrong option
[Take it further]
[Take it further] Woo-hooo
Alright, well this is a clear vote. Alara will take it further with Dromon Tarth
It'll surely lead for some interesting development between the two Stormlanders, and will make for some interesting plotline potentials down the track. At least we haven't left Dromon teased here 
Anyway, I have the next part ready, and it's a Teddy part. Last we saw of Ted Estermont, he was sailing from the smoking Griffin's Roost to Storm's End in company of Marten Tarth. Marten raised the idea that he planned to seek assistance from the Reach in the liberation of Tarth and Estermont, considering their capture by Andal invaders, and he expressed his disappointment in Qarlton's ignorance towards his own people. They later had an audience with Qarlton, and Ted confronted the King about this issue, but was quick to put to shame as Qarlton publicly humiliated him before the entire court. Ted felt he was left with two choices, abandon the Stormlands and seek aid from the Gardener's with Marten Tarth, or remain with Qarlton. Under the pressure, the majority of you chose to remain with Qarlton, and this part picks up a few days passed.
Ted
He sat in the mess hall, amongst the abundance of Durrandon soldiers. They supped on stews of venison and poultry, washing the glug down with mead and ale. Ted sat at one of the long rows of tables between two men who paid him no mind, and kept to their own. Ted stared at his meal through his one good eye, his other blackened from the blow he had suffered from King Qarlton.
The bronze chainmail was cool on his skin, despite the immense heat of the crowded hall. He had agreed to this, to join Qarlton in his pointless conquest, but he hadn’t signed up to be a foot soldier. There was a reason I was not made a ranger, he irritably thought, staring down at his attire. He wore a dress of bronze mail over his regular clothing, which was heavy and partly dinted from the previous user. Above this he wore the standard Durrandon tabard, a crowned stag on a golden field.
All in all, his armour would offer him little protection on the battlefield, and the leather braces and pauldrons he had managed to secure himself were a joke. He scoffed quietly to himself, looking around at the men on his table. Some were large with muscle and fat, other scrawny and looking as fearful as Ted had once felt. Once.
It had been days since he had eaten, days since he had done anything. After his humiliating experience with Qarlton, he had been taken to the barracks and armoured, then set free around Storm’s End. The captain’s expected the men to begin building up the defence and previsions of the castle, yet few had bothered. Many drowned their thoughts in taverns, others sparred in the courtyard, and Ted sat in a storage room. In darkness. Until his hunger brought him out of his hiding.
He was dirty, foul with an odour and scruffy with a thick stubble. His dark brown hair an unclean mess, he fit in perfectly with the majority of men in the large room. His bright green eye lazily rose to the table, his stomach growling. He lifted the wooden spoon and dipped it in the stew, his arm feeling weak. As he lifted the spoon, his fingers clumsily gave way, the spoon fell back into the bowl, spraying out the brown liquid onto the man beside him.
“Good one, Estermont!” Another man from across the table quipped. Ted glared at him, but the skinny fellow had little interest in Ted’s feelings, nor did the man he had just spilt half his stew on. He rose from the table, his muscles bulging through his yellow shirt. He was a bald man with a dark moustache, his face now splattered with venison stew. His brown eyes menacing, almost deathly, his hands clenched into fists.
“Sit down.” Ted muttered quietly, turning back to his meal to try again. He dipped the spoon, but his neighbour found his current concerns displeasing to his own. He flipped the bowl into Ted’s face. “Come on, Estermont.” He taunted with ire, cracking his knuckles. The bowl slipped off Ted’s face, the stew slowly following. He lifted his hands to gently wipe his eyes, and the rest of his face.
“I said-” He began to repeat, roughing place his robust hand on Ted’s shoulder, he wasn’t expecting such a harsh retaliation. What little energy Ted possessed had sparked into something powerful all at one sudden moment, and he had flung the man over his shoulder onto the table. Bowls and stew flew everywhere, as did fists as the men saw an opportunity for a fight.
Closed fists made impact on filled guts, knees thrusted into groins, elbows into the back of heads. A mass fight erupted in the hall, men all over each other like they were either passionate for each other, or had been dark rivals for years. Ted managed to dodge an entangled couple as they slammed onto his table.
Ted stood from his seat, watching the chaos he had started immerse itself around him. Some even came for Ted, which he managed to avoid through some quick evasive manoeuvres he had learnt during his time at the Wall. The fight prolonged for another few minutes before fights were split up by the overseers, led by Captain Jorgan Buckler, who was clad in bronze plating and a golden Durrandon tabard.
“Enough!” He yelled, climbing atop one of the long tables. He nudged one of the unconscious conscripts off the tables covered with stew, ale and bile. “You lot are a disappointment. Filth from the gutters, trash from the alleys, none of you deserve the opportunity given to you. You’re a bad bunch.” He stated with disgust, glaring them all over. His audience was nothing shy of what he stated, many of them were unconscious, and those who remained standing were either drunk, confused, or in complete agony.
“Bad Bunch.” One of the soldiers commented with a grin. “That’s not a bad one, Cap. To the Bad Bunch!” He cheered, raising his half-empty cup in a toast. He received a small cheer and applause by the few remaining comrades that were able. Ted found himself grinning, to his surprise. Jorgan was far from impressed.
“Clean this shit up, then I expect you in your barracks. We will march beside King Qarlton at dawn.” He informed them, and Ted could see the worrying look in his eyes, and frankly he couldn’t blame him. He took his leave from the ‘stage,’ exiting out the main doors with his lieutenants.
Ted’s eyes followed them out the door, yet they stumbled on another, familiar looking male. He wore a swamp green vest with a white shirt beneath. His trousers were charcoal black with simple leather boots, but he wore a cape of gold with a stag embroidery. It was his facial features which gave away his lineage however, his wavy black hair and dark blue eyes. He was a Durrandon, and he was looking at Ted.
He strode towards him with a hurried pace, the Storm Prince held a solemn expression on his face. “Ted Estermont?” He asked, with little offer of a greeting. Ted sighed, crossing his arms and nodding. A small smile touched his lips. “I’m Mathias Durrandon, my father wants a word with you.” The young stag informed him, and Ted rose an eyebrow.
“What does he want?” Ted asked suspiciously, and Mathias eyed him for a moment, but Ted had no intention of showing any courtesies, his manners for the King were virtually non-existent now. “I’ll let you find that out.” Mathias simply responded, turning back for the door. “Best not keep him waiting.” He advised him, and Ted let out an agitated sigh. He turned his gaze back to the newly founded ‘Bad Bunch,’ which were slowly starting to pull themselves together, before turning back to Mathias. Alright, he submitted, following the Storm Prince.
-
The throne room. A room of humiliation and distasteful memory. It felt like years since Ted had been humiliated before all of the council and nobilities of the court, yet really it had only been a few days, and he was blessed this time to find it mostly empty, save the few guards, himself and Mathias. Qarlton sat in his throne with a reclined posture, while a woman stood beside him, her light brown hair covering her lowered eyes.
Mathias knelt down before his father, and Ted reluctantly did the same. Qarlton grinned, clasping his hands together. “Teddy Estermont.” The King greeted, rising from his throne. He descended the stone steps, his grin fading into a suspicious smirk. “It is a pleasure having you in my hall again, I see you found your manners since our last visit.” He commented, and Ted forced himself to bite his lip, nodding. This seemed only to fuel Qarlton’s amusement, as he came to a halt at the bottom of his throne.
“I’d like to introduce you to someone, someone very dear to me.” He stated, turning and beckoning to the woman to descend down the steps. She obediently did so. “Lady Meghan.” He presented to him as she met his side. She raised her gaze, revealing her beautiful amber eyes. Ted shook his head confused, but Qarlton continued.
“Meghan here is an old spouse of mine, and the wife of an old friend. Lord Jaycen.” He informed, and Ted could see the unease that Lord Caron’s name gave to his wife. “She’s come here looking for assistance in bringing her daughter back home. Our daughter.” He corrected himself, giving Meghan a warm smile, to which she seemed to have trouble reciprocating. Ted’s confusion shone through to Mathias, who further elaborated.
“Alara Caron, my half-sister. I am going North to retrieve her.” Mathias proudly claimed, and Qarlton nodded. “I cannot allow Meghan to travel to the North, so I’ve put together a team that will be more than adequate for my son, and Lady Meghan’s request, but I’d like to extend the offer to you.” Qarlton informed him, and Ted raised an eyebrow for a moment, before instinctively shaking his head. He wants to dispose of me, he thought with paranoia.
“The Night’s Watch is in the North.” Ted foolishly reminded him, and Qarlton nodded with an understanding smile. “They are.” He acknowledged. “However, I have promised you your freedom, and I also believe there would be some benefit in you assisting my son in this mission, rather than marching in my army.” He added, and Ted furrowed his eyebrows.
“Like what?” He curiously investigated, and Qarlton grinned. “I plan to liberate the isles of Tarth and Estermont after I am finished with my conquest. My father heeded the warnings of his council with the Andal’s, and lost two vassals as a consequence. My spies have informed me that Lord Jules, your cousin, is conspiring with the Andal’s in conquering the Stormland’s. I am branding him a traitor to the Kingdom, and I will personally disembowel him. Yet there needs to be a new Lord of Estermont once he’s gone.” Qarlton hinted, and Ted held back a scoff in disbelief. Hypocrite, he wanted to scream, yet all he could do was clench his fists.
“I will also offer you Lady Meghan’s hand in marriage. She informs me that she is still able to provide children, I’m sure you would appreciate an experienced woman. I know I did.” Qarlton grinned, and Meghan’s eyes widened in shock, but like Ted, she held her tongue. Ted gulped, releasing the tension in his hands. The offer surprised him, but he was sceptical. Going so far north was dangerous, especially with Ted’s last encounter with the Night’s Watch, perhaps remaining as a foot soldier was best for him.
[Go North with Mathias] [Remain in Qarlton’s army]
Wait, waitwaitwait, hold it right there, you Storm Jerk! Holy shit, that guy is a complete tool. That's Martin Shkreli levels of jackassery, if he is serious with his offer. And I have reason to believe that he is anything but serious. The thing there is, Meghan is obviously Jaycen's wife, so forcing her to marry Ted would more or less mean losing the support of House Caron, either due to Jaycen fighting tooth and nail for his wife or Gareth protecting the honour of his mother. Qarlton knows that and he can't possibly be that stupic/cruel, especially if there's the far more reasonable offer of Bethany or even Alara herself on the table if he wants to give Ted a Caron wife. That makes me think that he doesn't really plan on going through with that offer, though Ted is obviously too naive to see it. And as a woman in her fifties, Meghan is certainly unable to have any more children, so that is even an outright lie, especially considering that her surprised reaction makes it all but clear that she never told him anything like this. I would also like to believe that Qarlton is more fond of his former lover, even if it seems that he has changed a lot since their affair.
Also, that final sentence of his... this does not imply what I fear it implies, right? Meghan's behaviour here, the way she seems almost scared of him... and if she genuinely informed him that she is still able to provide children, there is only one possible reason for it, namely her bringing it up as a reason to refuse Qarlton's advances towards her after she arrived in Storm's End. That, paired with his final sentence... I surely hope I am reading too much into this, but it seems he more or less forced himself on her just after she arrived in Storm's End this time.
[Go North with Mathias]
Well, it is probably surprising that I choose this despite my distrust for Qarlton, my doubts about his honesty and me being convinced that he is lying to Ted here. Of course he has no intention of making him, a Night's Watch deserter, Lord Estermont, or giving him the wife of one of his most important bannermen, provoking a war with the Marches in the worst possible time for no reason. I'd be a lot less sceptical if he would have offered Bethany, but that detail clued me in that he is lying. However, here is the problem, one of the main reasons why I am choosing this: The Storm King want Ted to do this. He is trying to manipulate him into doing this. If there is one thing I know it's that it is not wise to refuse this man's wish. So, if Ted refuses, he is going to be in mortal danger, because if Qarlton wants him dead, he can always just kill him without any repercussions at all. So, I say Ted should get away from that man and his army. There is also the factor that I am highly concerned for Alara's well-being, now more than ever, as we see what a massive son of a bitch her father is. I want to believe that he is genuinely concerned for his daughter, his own flesh and blood, but I am not sure. I can't trust him. The jury is still up on Mathias. He could be a good guy, a better man than his father, and actually interested in Alara's well-being. But just like his father, I can't be sure, even if he has given me less of a reason to distrust him. So, having someone whom we know to be a decent guy as part of this mission can only be good for Alara. That is yet another reason for Ted to go with them, because his presence might safe her life if Mathias' intentions are not as benign as he claims them to be.
By the way, completely unrelated by the way, but I am excited to learn more of the Durrandon's. Qarlton's obviously the biggest jerk in the entire story, but he has children and I see them in the character list. That means Alara has three half-brothers and one half-sister on top of Gareth and Bethany and I am interested in learning more about them. Surely they can't all be asshols, right? I'm sure at least some of them would actually get along with their half-sister. Maybe Mathias is one of them and I look forward to learn more about him, hopefully in Ted's future parts. That said, I am quite sad that there won't be a mother/daughter reunion in the North. If anything, this is even more of a reason for Alara to go home again, because now her family might even be in danger from the colossal asshole that is her biological father. With a bit of luck, she gets a chance to reunite with her parents (not Qarlton, but Jaycen) and her siblings once she has returned south. And I believe Ted might be helpful for that goal, maybe a key for a relatively happy family reunion.
[Go North with Mathias] Oddly enough this seems like the far safer option for Ted even though he really would not be heading in the right direction since he is a Night's Watch deserter. With that said, getting away from Qarlton's amd his army is arguably of even greater importanve at this point. I don't really believe that Qarlton will keep any of his promises to Teddy but Ted is also in no position to refuse him. Overall though, this seems like the better choice for Ted and his safety and along with that, there also seems to be a chance for Meghan to go back to Blackhaven which would obviously be great for Bethany and the rest of the Caron's in general.
[Go North with Mathias]
Remain in Qarlton's army
He won't get what he wants.
Also f u c k Qarlton
I think Qarlton makes things quite clear that his interests align purely on one thing over all else. Power. His focus is quite clearly on this conquest and little else, and while he does make these rash claims, you are right in saying that there is a lot more to this man than what meets the eye. Whether he tells the truth in this instance is completely irrelevant, he is definitely coming off as a manipulative prick, and by part that is what he has been molded into. Power corrupts even the strongest willed minds, but we will see some closer depth of Qarlton from perspectives that may mean more to him, unlike Ted, who to him is just a pawn to his disposal. Ted is indeed naive, and he's also very paranoid. First off, being born to the lower side of the Estermont family goes to show his upraising, but also being framed for the murder of the Lord of Estermont by his cousin and fleeing to the Wall chucked in some real paranoia and anxiety issues. He's easily manipulated, as you can see in this part, and this choice is a key part of his development in whether he will allow himself to manipulated, or form himself into the newly found Bad Bunch (which I will feature more of soon). '
There definitely is a reason for Meghan's... Reserved and timid behavior here, and we'll learn more of that through the next PoV who arrives at Storm's End. Desperate measures call for desperate decisions, and Qarlton makes it quite clear he's not interested in diverting any forces anywhere other than his conquest. So Meghan would have had to have given him a reason to take up her offer, whatever that might be.
As I said, we've only seen Qarlton through Ted's perspective, but I can definitely understand your rationale behind this due to Meghan's odd behavior. If this part does show anything though, it shows that Qarlton has acknowledged Alara as his daughter, which could lead to something interesting later on depending on some choices. Mathias' intentions are pretty reasonable and true to what he says, he is the youngest son of Qarlton, and like many others he is a victim to Qarlton's manipulation. However, the choice for Mathias to go north was entirely of his own, as we'll learn later on.
I'm excited to show off more of them! Qarlton is the biggest jerk eh? I haven't shown off enough jerks it seems, but I'm glad to see that Jorrhen's been knocked off the top of the list
All the siblings are different, and I'll give you a rough explanation of a few of them. Qarlton's first born son, Qarlton (blame the canon, not me! 
) takes much after his father, perhaps not as severely however. Dante takes much after the meaning of his name, and I have a feeling you'll like Acadia. She's very different to Alara, but she's got some Durrandon traits which I'm sure you'll appreciate 
Yeah, Qarlton does seem like a power-hungry bastard. Not the first we had in the story, but the first who is so damn open about it. That said, for me it mostly matters if he told the truth, because I would like to believe that not even he could go that far without risking the significant loss of power in a situation where he really can't afford it (such as a Caron rebellion, which would likely gather support from other Marcher houses such as Dondarrion, in the middle of an Andal invasion that already took part of his kingdom). Naturally, it would tell quite a lot about his plans for Meghan and Jaycen if he told the truth with this. The problem there is, I initially got huge warning signs there, considering that Meghan is Jaycen's wife and quite clearly not in the age to give birth to another child, so Ted is clearly being manipulated here, with at the very least one false promise. It's not that I want him to fall for this manipulation, but I don't think it is healthy for him to go against Qarlton's wish here. Remaining in this Bad Bunch and therefore near Qarlton is going to keep him close to a man that could take his refusal to join the mission very personally. On top of that, considering that he is a decent person, having him joining this group would mean at least one well-intentioned person joins the search for Alara and it should also provide us with a PoV that can reveal more on the other people that travel with Mathias, which in return could give Alara more of a chance to avoid danger, should they pose a threat to her.
The next PoV... that's going to be Jaycen, isn't it? Sounds likely at the very least. I am concerned what this means for him. Considering how easily Qarlton offered her hand in marriage, this does not bode well for him and given her own resentment towards him, which just got even worse after the horrible way they parted with, I kind of fear for his safety now. Perhaps Meghan and Qarlton have plans to dispose of him, to have the possibly more loyal Gareth, who doesn't have a bad history with the king, as the new Lord Caron, as risky as such a move would be. I hope that Meghan won't be willing to go that far, though I think it's clear that she cares more strongly for her child than she does for her estranged husband. That said, it's not the only possible thing she could have offered. A daughter would already be something to give to him, though I am not sure how much value he puts into having more children. But well, perhaps she did promise him to make Alara's parentage public knowledge, so that he'd have a second daughter for a possible marriage alliance. Though frankly, it sounds more likely that whatever these two have planned won't be good for Jaycen and considering that her feelings on him are more complicated and not entirely negative, it might also be possible that her behaviour comes from already second-guessing her approach to this situation.
Aye, it is already a good thing that he acknowledged her as his daughter. Maybe this means his intentions for her are indeed not too bad. Then again, if Rogar Bolton proved one thing, it's that not all men are too fond of their bastard children, even if Alara is far from a threat to the legitimate Durrandon children. Mathias meanwhile, the thing is that I don't know anything about him. Maybe he wishes to save this sister he never met, maybe his intentions are less pure, but that is only more of a reason for me to stick with Ted's choice here, because I'd like to know as much as possible about the youngest Storm Prince before he meets up with Alara.
Well, yeah, so far Qarlton is the biggest jerk and if my speculation on his intentions, his actions towards Meghan and the things he claimed to have in mind for her and Ted are all true, then he is a next-level jerk, the kind of level that can't grow much further in terms of sheer jerkishness. Of course, it's possible to be more evil, but more jerkish than what we just saw here? That is pretty hard. Jorrhen, he's bigger on the evil scale so far and while he is also pretty huge on the jerk scale, there's the possibility that some of his moments of ultimate jerkassery are motivated by a greater goal, such as framing Darren. Meanwhile, if Qarlton has been honest about his plans, which I doubt, then this is just a plain bastard move, because it won't even have all that many benefits for him, considering how easily that can backfire (and how little sense it makes in general to use Meghan for a marriage, considering she got two unmarried daughters who won't come with the risk of a Marcher rebellion). On top of that, Jorrhen has been, for all the danger he posed, also given me rather pathetic vibes, kind of like Joffrey. Take away his wealth, take away his thugs and he is nothing. Qarlton meanwhile is someone who has authority, not only the kind his father has granted to him and that makes him damn intimidating. I am really curious about the other Durrandon's though. Chances are they are not all complete assholes, from what you wrote here
[Go North with Mathias]
[Go North with Mathias]
Well the voting is closed! Ted will go North with Mathias. This definitely leads to a new and interesting storyline for Ted to look forward to, as his time in Storm's End has been pretty placid. We will see more of Storm's End through Jaycen's PoV when he arrives, but until then, some things will happen off screen. For now though, I have the next parts ready, which go to Warrick and Tylar.
The last we saw of either of them... was about 5 months ago! (Yikes). Warrick was suffering some paranoia with his arrival at Silentport, and became obsessed with a shady kid roaming the streets. After pursuing him, and finding his son, Willem, with him, Warrick ultimately scared him off. He also underwent some issues with his brother, Lord Mericus, for not paying better attention of Willem when he asked him to. Warrick then talked with Lady Emilee Yew, Lord Bryce Lantell's future wife, to which she brought up the issues in their relationship. She left him in a distressed mood, but in the middle of a rather odd diversion, with many flocking to the gates to see a supposed 'Lannister vs Banefort' battle arising. Warrick found this all too odd, and you chose to have Warrick go to the Great Hall and check on Emilee.
Tylar and the Lannister convoy had finally arrived outside of Silentport, to indeed meet with the Banefort's that had massed there. Maxwell, Tylar's uncle, suggested that the best way to approach this was with diplomacy. You all agreed, and chose to rally the Lannister forces in preparation for a battle, rather than joining Maxwell by his side in the negotiations.
This part picks up directly after their last parts.
Warrick
He shook his head, turning back around. The crowd flowed around him like a running river would around a rock. He battled his way through the meat current, slowed by the mass diversion of attention heading to the main gates. Something was off, Warrick knew it. Lady Emilee may be in danger, he told himself as he battled through the rushing crowd for the Great Hall.
The keep of Silentport was rather impressive, especially considering House Lantell was a fairly new house, it was clear that their ‘silent port’ had prospered greatly from the trade. While their keep was not large, it was built all from stone and tinted glass. The main doors were made from oak, and when opened they revealed a grand establishment of hearths, red carpets and Lantell banners.
A few closed rooms branched off the side of the hall, but at the near end of the hall was the seat of Lantell, a wooden carved lion lined with fur. Lady Emilee sat in the chair beside it, her head buried in her hands, surrounded my hand maidens. She was weeping, Warrick realised. He took some cautious steps closer, his left hand gravitating to the hilt of Honor.
“Lady Emilee.” He called, and wearily the young woman lifted her gaze, her wet hazel eyes gleaming in the hearth light. Her two hand maidens also turned their attention to Warrick, one slim with dark brown hair, the other plump with orange hair.
“Warrick.” She greeted with a sniffle, she brought her trembling hands to her eyes, wiping away the tears. “I thought you were going to the gate.” She admitted, a look of embarrassment appeared on her weakened expression. Warrick shook his head, walking up to her and her hand maidens.
“Something doesn’t feel right.” Warrick stated with suggestion, gaining the curiosity of Emilee. “Masses flocking to the main gates. I saw a boy earlier who looked up to no good.” Warrick continued, his gaze scanned the hall. “Where are the guards?” He asked, and Emilee too rose from her seat, looking quite perplexed.
“What are you suggesting?” She finally asked, taking a few steps closer to him, her hand maidens shadowing her. Warrick shook his head disappointedly. “I do not know. Something just feels off.” He put bluntly. “I’ll remain with you until Bryce returns.” Warrick decided, and received a scowl from the dark haired hand maiden. “My lord, we have everything under control.” She tried to convince, but Warrick shook his head.
“I’m no lord, and I will wait.” He said decisively, causing the woman to frown. Warrick’s eyes scanned the hall, closely watching, preying. An abrupt startling moment arose on them when a crashing sound came from the kitchen in one of the side rooms. Warrick secured his grip around Honor, unsheathing the blade. “Wait here.” He ordered them, taking cautiously approaching the door to the kitchen.
The door swung open smoothly, and surely enough, clay and bronze pottery and was scattered over the stone floor. Warrick readjusted his grip on Honor, entering the kitchen. The room was dark, but Warrick had an idea for what he was searching for. The boy he had seen earlier. He carefully treaded through the shards of plates and jugs, the clay further crunching beneath his boot and the floor.
He spotted him. It. A… cat? The creature revealed itself from the darkness, with ginger fur and a pale green eyes. It hissed, revealing its white fangs to him. Warrick let out a sigh of relief, lowering Honor for a moment to let his arms relax.
A sudden scream brought him back on edge, as he stormed out of the kitchens to Lady Emilee. She lay on the ground, a growing puddle of red spilling out of her shoulder, the plump hand maiden unconscious beside her. The thudding sound of footsteps and a slamming door across the hall. The other hand maiden, Warrick cursed himself, his feet already starting to move in pursuit. He turned his gaze to Emilee, her blood staining the stone floor. He moved his gaze back to the direction the perpetrator had fled, a moment of uncertainty arose on him.
[Chase after the perpetrator] [Remain with Emilee]
Tylar
His gaze flickered between his younger brother and his uncle, and his decision weighed heavily in favour of Maxwell. He tightened his grip on the reins of his courser. “Go, Maxwell. I will rally the men.” Tylar decided, breaking the argument. His uncle nodded to him, while Loras gritted his teeth, spurring his horse back into the army. Maxwell steered his courser towards the Banefort mass, taking in a deep breath.
“Uncle.” Tylar called, and Maxwell turned his gaze towards him, some unease in his dark green eyes, which looked as droopy and sleepless as Tylar felt. “I will not hesitate to slaughter every man standing there if they turn their blades on you. Wedding or not, they are no allies of ours.” Tylar informed him, and the Master of Coin nodded solemnly, before spurring his horse for the Banefort convoy.
Tylar steered his horse back to the vanguard, where Lord Gerwint Greenfield sat high on his horse, his son, Tavion, beside him. “My Prince, what are your orders?” Gerwint asked as Tylar approached, and Tylar looked over the small army. They were intended for a guarded escort, Tylar thought grimly, now they would become an offensive. He turned his attention to Gerwint.
“I want a cavalry formed and ready to charge on the Banefort’s at the first sign of resistance. Find Sedrick, he will lead the cavalry. My brother may join him if he wishes. I want the rest of the men in an offensive formation, shields and swords.” Tylar notified him. “Have Baiden Hill rally the archers into the backlines, we can’t afford for a volley to reach the walls of Silentport.” Gerwint nodded.
“I will bring the men, Tavion will find Sedrick and Baiden.” Gerwint stated, and Tylar nodded. The two rode in their separate directions, while Tylar turned his gaze back toward Maxwell, who galloped towards the Banefort’s. I hope you know what you’re doing, Uncle, he frowned, before turning his gaze to Lawsen. “Let’s get me armoured up.” Tylar sighed, and Lawsen reluctantly nodded.
-
The formation was small, perhaps two hundred men at the most. All were clad in red shirts with bronze chest plates, pauldrons and braces, painted red with gilded edges. Wearing bronze helms and wielding bronze short swords and wooden shields with the painted Lannister crest.
Tylar wore full bronze plating, a maned lion crest on his chest piece, as for his pauldrons and bracers. A heavy red cloak fell from his shoulders, proudly adorning the golden lion of Lannister. His brown hair wavered in the soft wind, yet he remained unshaken, his left hand resting on his sheathed long sword: “Storm.”
The Prince of the Rock closely watched the flapping red cape of Maxwell Lannister, among the Banefort banners. Tylar turned his gaze to the men rallied behind him, a mixture of expressions were hidden under their armoured masks. Anger, courage, fear. Tylar turned his steed around, all eyes suddenly turning to him.
“Men of the Rock!” He called to them, and they responded with a booming cheer. Tylar allowed himself a small smile. “For countless generations, the Banefort’s and Lannister’s have fought, and each time, we have prevailed. Today will be no different, whether by words or sword, we will prevail. As we always have.” He assured them, and his speech was followed with another cheer. It was done. He turned his gaze back to the Banefort’s and Maxwell. They’re taking too long, he thought impatiently, yet he was not the impatient one.
Loras and the makeshift Lannister cavalry sat atop a small hill, him pacing back and forth in front of the riders, screaming chants and glorifying himself beyond a doubt. It was him that Tylar was worried about, and there was a reason he made Sedrick Sarsfield the leader of the cavalry. Loras would charge in instantly.
Retreating hooves and moving banners took Tylar’s attention from his brother, and surely enough, the Banefort’s rode north, while Maxwell remained on his horse, unharmed as it appeared. The main gates of Silentport opened, and some figures immersed from the castle walls. Tylar let out a sigh of relief. “To the gates!” He ordered, spurring his horse forward at a steady walking pace, the troops joined him, while the cavalry stormed down the hill, leaving naught but a trail of dust in their wake.
Maxwell gave Tylar a warm smile when he arrived with the convoy of troops, merchants and nobles. Beside him sat the impatient Loras Lannister, and then two men which Tylar recognised to be Bryce Lantell and Mericus Westerling. He dismounted his horse, joining them on the ground.
“My lords.” Tylar greeted, undoing the buckles on his bronze gloves to shake their hands. The men nodded. “Prince Tylar.” Bryce greeted with a grin. “Welcome to Silentport, my apologies for the… delay.” He added, somewhat awkwardly.
“There is no need for an apology.” Maxwell picked up, putting a hand on his son’s shoulder. “I’m just glad we could end this little dispute before anything else could erupt from it.” Maxwell said with a relieved tone, and Bryce nodded. “What was it all about?” Tylar asked, and Maxwell sighed. “I will tell you soon. For now…” Maxwell turned his attention to his son. “Where is your wife-to-be? Where is Lady Emilee? And Warrick, for that matter?” He asked, and this time it was Lord Mericus that answered.
“My brother was speaking with Lady Emilee before we all headed here. I presume he is still with her.” He suggested, and Bryce nodded. “Likely in the hall. Will you join me there, my Lords and Princes?” He offered, and Maxwell nodded. The small group followed Bryce into the city, while Lantell guards exited to assist in making the Lannister camp.
No decision.
Ah, very nice to see these characters back
It's been indeed a while since we last saw them and I am excited to see them back. Even better is that we got two at once, that's always a treat. And well, this has been quite an eventful part. I remember that back then, I already expected an attack on Emilee, so this wasn't too much of a surprise, yet very well-executed nonetheless. Although I must say that I am not too sure about this Banefort thing. It felt a bit too easy, so I am pretty sure that there's some ulterior motive on the Banefort's side involved. Maybe they were supposed to distract them, so that their assassin had a chance at killing Emilee? Given, we don't even know if it's their assassin in the first place, but these two events did happen oddly close to each other time-wise, so it sounds very likely.
[Remain with Emilee]
I got the feeling that chasing after this would-be assassin is not going to achieve much, as I doubt Warrick is going to catch up with her. Instead, staying might prevent Emilee's death at the hands of a second assassin, or save her life if the first one returns to finish the job. We also don't know how bad the wound is, but from the sound of it, she is bleeding heavily. Perhaps if he stays, he'll be able to stop the bleeding a bit, a move that might very well save her life. Depending on how bad the wound is, we need to get her help as quick as possible. Warrick only saw that she was stabbed in the shoulder, but considering that the neck and some pretty major blood vessels are very close to the shoulder and could be damaged if the blade went deep enough, she absolutely will need first aid as quick as possible if she is to have any chance to survive this.
I knew it had been awhile since Warrick and Tylar appeared but five months, I had not realized it had been that long! Safe to say, that these parts were awesome and was without a doubt an awesome way to bring them back into the story
Ah poor Warrick, he had the hunch something was wrong, went with Emilee and wanted to make sure she was safe and still she ended up getting wounded. Warrick had some bad luck here
I had a feeling something would happen to Lady Emilee but I definitely was not expecting a handmaiden to be the one to attack her. From the sound of things though, this handmaiden was not really her handmaiden after all and it seems like she may have been in with the Banefort's but the big question is why would the Banefort's want to kill Lady Emilee? That part I have not figured out yet. Lady Emilee was crying when Warrick came in, so I wonder if she knew this was going to happen but if she did, I would assume she would have ran for Warrick immediately when he came in and let him know the truth. Honestly, I am not even sure about the Banefort theory but now that I think about it, it seems the goal would have been to affect Bryce by attacking his wife rather then just wanting to kill her. I am probably so off the mark so I probably better just end my little rant until I learn more 
As for the choice, I think I am going to go with having Warrick [Remain with Emilee] Ing with for now. Well this was a quick change I know but I just read Liquid's reasoning and it was far better then the reasoning for my choice
I was so on the fence with this choice and really after thinking about it, Warrick staying with her may very well be her best chance to survive. With Warrick around, the chance that someone tries to finish the job with Emilee pretty much becomes nomexistant as well. Overall though, great part Stigz! You came right out of the gate with a fastball with these tough choices and safe to say I am whiffing pretty bad right now 
As for Tylar's part, it was epic! I really felt the intensity and uncertainty that Tylar felt with a battle potentially about to happen and everything about this part was so cool. From the worry that Maxwell could be attacked, Tylar's speech, to Loras up on the hill with the cavalry ready to take out all of the Banefort's by himself
It was all excellent! Of course though, I am worried about how Bryce is going to react when he sees his wife has been attacked and I am curious to how Tylar, Maxwell and the Lannister army will react because the potential is there for the Lannister-Banefort battle to happen anyway. The fact that Bryce will see Emilee laying there wounded alone is enough to make me change my Warrick vote but I would say I will probably think on it more.
Double post.
[Remain with Emilee]
She may need his assistance. If he just leaves her without some form of treatment, she could bleed out. The thing about chasing the perpetrator is that they could just get her later. Warrick, Emilee, and the other handmaiden all know who it is. They could just tell Bryce who the attacker was and he can organize a search party to capture and question her.
[Remain with Emilee]
Remain with Emilee
It means no sense to leave now.
[Remain with Emilee] Gotta agree with the others on this one. Good part
Alright, well I'll bring this vote to a close. Warrick will remain with Emilee. This is likely the smartest option, but also a bit of a missed opportunity in a sense. We'll see how that plays out through both his next PoV, and Tylar's.
Now the next part was initially going to be either Samira's or Nathan's, but I have an announcement to make. Guys for nearly the past two years I've been writing this story, and for that two years I've had the grandest time of my life. We've formed an awesome community and I've had great conversations with all of you, and I really appreciate the lot of you. Though, unfortunately it is my time to go. The Invasion is going to be shut down as I am having to leave the forums. I am dropping out of school to pursue a career of sky-diving over the west Indies.
I am willing to pass the story on to anyone else if they wish to continue this mess, as the likelihood of my return will be unlikely, or for a while anyway. So I'd advise you to just move on and be happy, and enjoy your April 1st when it comes!
You... you... god damn it, you got me
I didn't even realize the date! Then I read your post and I was like... wait... that cannot be, right? A Samira part? No way! That would have, I mean, really shocked me. Thankfully, I realized it in time. Now, I wish you a lot of luck with your sky-diving career. I wasn't even aware that people can do that for a living. Always thought that was one of these rich people sports, such as golf or tax evasion. This is amazing and I hope you won't get eaten by a cloud or whatever danger you have to face there!
Surely I will miss you, but I am gladly going to take that offer and pick up writing where you left. Now that I have free reign, expect the next part to feature the messy deaths of Rechar Greenblood, Jorrhen and Qarlton Durrandon, who are all going to be on the same spot, for reasons. Oh, and Lorrhen probably too, just to be on the safe side when it comes to him.
Also you totally got me for real for a moment, but don't tell anyone, 'cause that would be embrasassing.
For a split second there, I was pretty concerned that you were serious... These April Fools jokes always sneak up on me.
Ps: I'm not sure if you know this, but I sent you a pm.
Hey guys, so I've been gone for a while and I do apologise for that. My last week of school till term break was a tough one, and I admit the last few days I've encountered some writers block, and taken up some other projects. However I found that mostly I was stuck on some characters I was trying to write, so I chose to write a parts for some characters I had some reasonable motivation for. This part goes to Warmond, and the parts are now rearranged so that we have a Manderly run, then we go onto Samira and Nathan.
The last time we saw Warmond was at the funeral of Aunt Wyona Manderly. He and his uncle Wyman, the Strong Merman, took her out to sea, and witnessed a dramatic change as she was tossed out of her casket and formed a mermaid's tail. During a council meeting, King Waldemar brought up the importance of family, and changed some of his initial plans, one being that Warmond and his wife will travel to Dorne to see their son: Willow, at Starfall. Wyman requested that he might take an army to the Fingers to support his ex-wife, Ursula Upcliff, and Waldemar left the decision up to Warmond. You decided to approve Wyman's request, a day or so after that.
P.S. I've managed to make it a spoilers comment somehow, and I don't know how to get rid of that so... apologies
Warmond
The ceiling held a variety of delicacies which Warmond often found himself staring at. It had once been a dark slab of green stone, matching the walls and flooring of his chambers, and the rest of the Citadel. Once. Warmond had seen to it that he would not be driven to insanity with his repetitive life. No, he had made a request to Aunt Wyona a decade ago to unleash her skill in his chambers, and that she had.
The ceiling was no longer a dark green slab, but a seabed, and there, there was life. Beds of seaweed, kelp, corals. Half of the ceiling was dedicated to coloured reef, and fish of variant sizes and species swam without a wonder, as the mermaids and selkies conversed and laughed, and that was only the ceiling. Over the years, Warmond had started to see the messages hidden within the paintings, scripted or not, he had begun to understand the world that Wyona had endured. Now the paintings on the wall began to fade, and the ceiling was starting to smudge and run with the moisture. A cruel irony.
Warmond let out a heavy sigh, placing his hand on top of the soft hand that rustled through his chest hair. Lady Dia radiated with warmth, and a beauty which never ceased. Warmond allowed her to steal his attention, his eyes entranced by her own, a vibrant lilac. She had aged well, maintaining her beautiful straight silver hair and toned facial features. She still maintained a beautiful slim figure after her two pregnancies, and her smile was erotic.
“Do I have you?” She asked, her eyes narrowing in on him. The edge of her lip lifting as she started to run her hand down his torso. Warmond smirked, placing his hand around her waist before rolling her on top of him. “You do.” She grinned. He stared at the two beauties above him, running his hands up her thighs as she set into her rhythm.
Smoothly, he coursed his way up her torso, running past her breasts and to her neck. He pulled her in, their lips meeting. The door sounded violently with three knocks. Dia’s eyes widened, but her playful expression returned as she bit her lip and straightened herself. “You going to get that?” She prompted, and Warmond let out an annoyed sigh, lifting her off of him.
Standing from the bed, he pulled some trousers on before approaching the door, and opening it a crack. His eyes lifted as he spotted the Strong Merman, an embarrassed look coating his face. “Warmond… I-” He stumbled with his words, but Warmond shook his head with a light chuckle.
“What is it, Wyman?” He urged him, and his uncle’s mind snapped back into action. “Father. He’s waiting for you in the gardens.” Delivering the message, Wyman cleared his throat and started to take his leave. Warmond frowned for a moment, his thoughts drifting to Wyona’s garden, and then Wyona.
“Wyman.” Warmond called after him, and the Strong Merman halted a moment, turning his gaze back to his nephew. “Could you wait a moment?” He requested, and Wyman nodded obediently. Without further stall, Warmond shut the door and turned back to Dia, grabbing his shirt.
“Waldemar again?” She asked with a bored tone, and Warmond nodded with annoyance. “As always.” He muttered, pulling his shirt over his head. He reached for his gilded green vest, which he buttoned up over his shirt, before pulling it all together with a leather belt. “It’s okay, Warmond.” Dia tried to persuade him, showing a small smile, but Warmond shook his head.
“I’m sick of it. All my life I’ve been training to be the man that my father was. The man my grandfather wants.” Warmond clenching his hands into fists, staring at the green floor. “He should’ve named Wyman his heir.” Warmond stated bitterly, and Dia arose from the bed, approaching with soft footsteps.
“My Merman, you carry a heavy burden on your shoulders. I recall how stressed my brother was when training to become King. Andrey was practically isolated from the rest of the family, I seldom saw him.” She informed him, and Warmond laid out a heavy frown. “Is that meant to make me feel any better?” He asked, and Dia shook her head.
“It’s beyond the point. What matters is what is to come. Andrey surpassed the expectations placed on him, and grew into a far better king than our father. You too will be a great king, and no matter how much he steals you from me, Waldemar will never break my loyalty to you as a wife, or as a friend.” She stated with utmost confidence, a smile building on her lips. Warmond pulled her close, kissing her before turning to the door.
“I’ll be back.” He promised, separating from her as he pulled the door open. “I know.” She smiled, shutting the door behind him. Warmond left the chambers with warmth in his chest, and the gaze of Wyman prickling his skin. He leant against the wall, his arms crossed and a wide grin spread across his face.
“I remember when I used to have love like that.” He mentioned, his grin settling down to a warm smile. Warmond reciprocated the gesture, giving him a nod. “It’s a rare and beautiful commodity.” Warmond stated, and Wyman nodded in agreeance. The two started their walk down the corridor, making for the stairwell that would lead them to the courtyard.
“When will you ride for the Fingers?” Warmond asked, and Wyman took in a breath. “Soon.” He stated, exhaling his breath. “Within the next few days, I hope.” He added, and Warmond nodded. “You still love her?” Warmond questioned, more to himself than Wyman, referring to Ursula Upcliff. Wyman raised an eyebrow.
“You need to ask?” Wyman responded with a hint of annoyance, causing Warmond to sigh. “I meant no harm by it, Uncle. I only wonder if you’re doing yourself more harm by longing for her. She did term the marriage void.” He pointlessly reminded him, receiving a displeasing glare. “I know what she did.” Wyman snapped. They descended down the stairs in silence, until Warmond spoke up again.
“Wyman… About Wyona.” He started, and Wyman momentarily shifted his gaze to him. “What about her?” He asked cautiously, and Warmond pressed on. “You saw it too, didn’t you?” Warmond asked, and Wyman lowered his gaze for a moment before shaking his head. “I don’t know what I saw.” He muttered, shrugging it off. Warmond placed a hand on his shoulder, turning the giant around.
“This needs to stop.” Warmond stated, staring into his uncle’s turquoise eyes. Wyman shrugged his hand off, but still gave him his attention. “Wynne, Wyona, Ursula. You need to stop living in the last. They’re gone, one way or another. I respect that you are taking forces to support the Royce’s, but I won’t allow you to throw your life away for a woman that no longer loves you, and do not take me for someone to naive to see that.” Wyman’s gaze lowered for a moment, brooding carefully on the words he wanted to say.
“I love her. I don’t think I’ll ever stop loving her, and I’d rather die for her in battle than of old age in my deathbed.” Wyman stated defiantly, turning away. “Out of all people, I’d have expected you to know that.” He muttered, before leaving him alone in the open hallway. Warmond sighed, turning his gaze to the courtyard, Wyona’s Gardens had grown beautiful over the years, yet they lacked now with her passing.
-
The sun was starting to fall in the west, and he found himself strolling through Wyona’s Gardens. The hedges had grown tall, and the flowers had begun to shut themselves from the darkening sky. Stories told of a Mermaid Pearl lost to the gardens, and an annual event had been set each year for farmers and peasants alike to find it, with the reward being enough gold and land to build a small keep and attain lordship. None had ever found it.
The old man stood staring into the damp soil beneath him, his turquoise eyes fixed to the withering worms and fighting beetles. His unkempt white beard and long white hair blew softly in the breeze, and his crown of shells and rare dark green corals sat firmly atop his head.
“Grandfather.” Warmond greeted, and the old man nodded to him, keeping his eyes fixed to the soil. “Warmond. Please, join me.” He beckoned, and Warmond did so without question. He took his place by his side, staring at the bugs in the soil. “It is a beautiful thing, to see that all her work is rewarded with life. She may have never felt it, but she did make it. Don’t you agree?” He asked, and Warmond nodded. “She was a fine woman.” Warmond commended her, turning his eyes from the bugs and to his grandfather. “You called for me?” Warmond prompted, and Waldemar nodded, lifting his eyes up the tower that stood in the centre of the garden.
“Walden’s Tower.” Waldemar announced. “It’s stated in his first volume that this tower was the first of the Citadel that Walden the Wise constructed, before he left the construction to fight against the First Men at the Arm of Dorne.” Warmond raised his eyebrows, trying to show an amused expression.
“Lord Waylon later founded House Manderly, and added onto the construction of the Flooded Citadel, including making his own athenaeum. From then onwards, the Manderly’s documented the history that we possess today. Do you know why that makes us one of the most powerful kingdoms to date?” Waldemar asked, and Warmond nodded.
“We are able to learn from history.” He stated, and Waldemar nodded. “Indeed.” Waldemar turned his gaze down to the soil again, clasping his hands. “Lord Wilmer constructed the great Western Fleet with ambitions of conquest, until he used those ships to chase after a mermaid. His son, Wesley, took up his reins and conquered the eastern isles of Westeros, and introduced trade with Essos, while his daughter, Wanda, sailed west and never returned.”
“My father raised House Manderly from a lordship to a kingdom in the spans of a moment. All he did was self-proclaim himself and took to arms for anyone that opposed him. I furthered that claim to where we are now, and will continue to do so until my last breath. In our history, we have had those who have ruled with wisdom, knowledge and power. So I wonder, when you become king, how will you change the kingdom? What will your ambitions be?” Waldemar questioned, and Warmond found himself pausing for a moment, thinking carefully on how he would answer.
[To proselytize] [To conquer] [To trade]
Oh god... oh my god... he's here as well! I'm pretty sure some of you will get why I had to chuckle when I read that name
But in all seriousness, I liked that part a lot. The Manderly's have felt a bit like a late addition to the party initially, but they quickly prove themselves to be very nice and complex, so I look forward for how that storyline is unwrapping there. Great job so far!
[To trade]
I was tempted to pick proselytize, mostly because I actually had to google that word. Do you know when I last had to google a word? Me neither! Proselytize, I have literally never even heard of that word before, but it is actually not all that rare, as I have been made aware of. This is weird, but informative
But well, neither proselytize nor conquer sound all that great and promising. I would love for a more peaceful and diplomatic House Manderly than a brutal army that conquers either in the name of power or faith.
[To trade] Yeah, I agree with Liquid, I'd much more respect a peaceful House Manderly, rather than one that tries to spread its power or religion via force.
And yay for the Andrey mention
Hey Stigz, I wanted to let you know that I sent you a pm.
[To trade] I would have to agree with the others on this one. Trading and trying to grow House Manderly's kingdom through trade rather than conquest is probably the best route. You can only try to conquer for so long until you overstretch beyond your capabilities, so trying to gain alliances through trade would better for them in the long run from what I would gather about them.
Hey guys, so I won't close the voting to the Warmond part just yet, but I do have the next part ready, which is a Wylla part. Now the last time we saw her was in her first part, and was in a boring council meeting with Admiral Maxim Westerling, Lord Allie Vines, Lord Howett Clifton, Eddin Pyke, and her son: Ryman Farman. They discussed the position of the Ironborn, and the vacancy of raids around the Riverlands and activity around the Iron Islands, which Eddin Pyke assured was due to their attacks on the North. When decided they needed to put action forward against their raids on the North, Wylla was faced with a decision to request help from the Redwyne Fleet, not yet knowing that the Western Military Fleet of House Manderly would come to support them. You chose to request assistance from the Redwyne's, and this part takes off where it left.
And the voting is closed. Warmond will say to trade.
Wylla
Lord Allie stared at her with patient eyes, awaiting an answer. Wylla flicked her gaze to the other members of the table. Some will disagree with my decision, she thought regretfully, but she knew that was the price of leadership. Always the price of leadership.
“Lord Allie, we would appreciate any assistance King Tydus can afford to offer.” Wylla informed him, and Allie nodded gracefully. “I will see what I can do, my Lady.” He responded diligently. Wylla spotted the disappointed look on Admiral Maxim’s eyes, but she could successfully say she gained the approval of Lord Howett, and her son, which was a rare sight.
“My lady, with your permission, the captain requested that we set sail for day’s end. We have a long journey ahead, and merchandise is spoiling.” Allie brought up, rising from his chair. Wylla gave him an acknowledging nod. “I understand. Give King Tydus my regards, and I wish you safe travels.” She bid him, and he took his bow before exiting the court.
Lord Howett Clifton cleared his throat, attracting Wylla’s gaze. “If that’s all, my Lady…” He prompted, and Wylla let out a sigh. “You’re dismissed.” She stated nonchalantly, and Howett nodded respectfully before taking his leave, Ryman following after him. Wylla couldn’t help but frown. Eddin Pyke left without a word, and before long the courtroom was mostly empty, all save for Admiral Maxim, who stood by his seat with a lowered gaze.
“Lady Wylla, a word?” He requested, and Wylla nodded. “My lady, it’s about the wedding.” Maxim informed her, to which Wylla raised an eyebrow. “Between my son and that grey mouse? What about it?” She investigated, and Maxim sighed.
“Lord Kyle Kenning sent a raven, they will be arriving at Fair Isle by the morrow.” Maxim stated, and Wylla’s eyes widened in surprise. “So soon.” She said silently to herself. “Why did you not bring this up in the court?” She asked, to which Maxim shrugged gently.
“I did not see it as a matter of urgency, but one nonetheless that you ought to know of before then.” He stated proficiently, and Wylla let out a sigh before nodding. “Alright, thank you Maxim.” She said, giving him leave. The courtroom grew dark with rising shadows, the sun was drowning in the western sea, and soon the Kenning’s would arrive. All in too short notice.
-
The Great Hall of Faircastle was nothing extravagant. The long table seated perhaps only a dozen people, of which only four seats were always occupied. Wylla sat by her husband, Lord Frenken, who sat at the head of the table, quiet and reserved. Ryman sat at the far end of the table for no valid reason, and Wylla’s daughter, Elyana, sat in the mid. Her straw blonde hair was tied back into Iron braided pigtails, but her grandfather’s turquoise eyes stood out from her pretty little face.
Lord Frenken possessed the straw blonde hair that their children had inherited, which fell straight and did not reach his shoulders, and he had a simple moustache which connected with his chin beard. His eyes were as green as the shallow sea, vibrant and beautiful, but reserved and cold. Wylla frowned, placing her hand on his, to which she got a small reaction from him.
“The court went well today, I presume?” He asked, withdrawing his hand from hers. Wylla sighed, giving him a brief nod. “I apologise that I could not make it today, I…” He stumbled on his words a moment, but Wylla shrugged it off. “The book, I know.” She stated nonchalantly, turning to her meal. Smoked salmon, served with golden baked potatoes and butter glazed asparagus.
“I’m sorry.” He mumbled quietly, and Wylla flickered her gaze to her quiet children before responding to her husband. “Lord Clifton worries me.” Wylla admitted under her breath, causing Frenken to raise an eyebrow. “Why? What has happened?” He asked, and Wylla couldn’t help but smile.
“Perhaps if you attended the council meetings, you would understand. Though then again, I doubt it.” She riddled, agitating him. “What in the hell are you talking about?” He yelled, startling the table with his sudden temper. “What is Howett doing?” He asked again, lowering his voice a notch. Wylla thought of her words carefully, but in the end it was not her who answered.
“Lord Howett doesn’t approve of Mother’s power in the court.” Ryman piped up boldly. “Or in the house.” He added, and received a distasteful glare from his mother, instantly chastising him. He gulped, but it was drowned out by Frenken’s soft and unconvincing chuckle. “He has nothing to worry about. I am the lord of this house.” He tried to say confidently, but received an unconvinced look from his daughter.
“You don’t act like it, Father.” Elyana muttered, turning her gaze back to her meal. Wylla could spot the ire building in Frenken’s eyes. “Excuse me?” Frenken challenged, but Wylla was quick to intervene. “Leave her, Frenk.” Though he would not have any of it. “I will not be challenged by my own daughter, in my own hall, about the authority of this house! I am the lord.” He stated defiantly, putting emphasis on his final words. Wylla sighed, deciding to steer the conversation elsewhere.
“The Kenning’s will be arriving at Fair Isle tomorrow.” Wylla announced, and she spotted a spark of interest from her son in the corner of her eye. Frenken groaned. “We will have to start making preparations for the wedding then.” He mumbled, and Wylla nodded. “If we are to marry them under the blessing of the Lady of Waves, that grey mouse will have to convert to our faith.” Wylla stated arrogantly, and Frenken let out a heavy sigh.
“You can’t force the girl to convert. If she wishes to stay with her Kraken faith then so be it, you have no say over it.” Frenken stated, pointing his fork at her. Wylla rolled her eyes, clearly in disagreement with her husband. “I will not house a worshiper of the Drowned God in my halls.” Wylla burst, and Frenken raised an eyebrow.
“Your halls? I thought we just established the lordship of this house.” He rebuked. “And if you hate her religion so much, why engage her with my son?” He challenged, causing Wylla to smash her fists on the table. “Oh believe me husband, I wouldn’t marry our son to that grey mouse if I was given another choice, but the marriage too important to secure another bastion for the support of Manderly dominance.” She stated, and Frenken squinted at her with confusion.
“Manderly dominance?! Fucking Mande… Where the hell is the importance for House Farman fitting into all of this?” He yelled, and Wylla shook her head with frustration. “House Farman will escalate as House Manderly rises in power. You would know this if you attended the fucking council!” She shouted in return, causing the two to bicker on until interruption.
“Enough!” A boy shouted from across the table, and Wylla fought herself to turn her gaze to the angry Ryman at the end of the table. The two parents stared at their son with such vicious disdain that he looked to almost collapse under the pressure, yet he held through.
“I will not sit here while you two bicker! Mother is right, if you attending the meetings you would have half a clue that we are rising in power through the aid of the Manderly’s, and also the Redwyne’s as of today.” He announced to him, somewhat impressing Wylla that he had been paying attention during the session. “As for you Mother, stop talking about Keyra like that. You two arranged her to be engaged to me, so you will stop insulting my betrothed.” He stated with defiance, taking both Wylla and Frenken aback with his outburst.
Without another word, Ryman rose from his chair and stormed out the hall, leaving a hushing silence over the table. Wylla turned her gaze to Frenken, raising her eyebrows at him. He scowled at her in return. “Don’t raise your eyebrows at me, woman.” He muttered, also rising from his chair and leaving the hall, until only Wylla and Elyana remained.
Wylla let out a long-winded sigh, reclining in her chair with mental exhaustion. She stared up at the ceiling for a moment, observing the dull wood above her. She thought of what things were like back at the Citadel. At home. It would be a blessing to see Wyvern again if her father approved her plans, and to get back on the seas again. The thought was lusting.
“Another happy meal.” Elyana stated sarcastically, rising from her chair and stealing the salmon off the absent plates before taking her leave. Wylla chuckled to herself quietly before cupping her face with her hands. I’ll have to check on one of them. She thought, groaning into her palms. She was not eager for the new day, and especially with a shattered family after tonight. She had to make amends.
[Go seek Frenken] [Go seek Ryman]
[To trade]
This will probably help the house better, in the long run. It will help them make connections and possibly future alliances.
[Go seek Ryman]
Ah, this was a nice part. I greatly enjoyed the family dynamics between these, this is shaping up to be great
I feel like here, Wylla has better chances to make amends to her son. He seems merely annyoed, whereas Frenken appears to be seriously angry and I would like for him to get some time to cool down. At the same time, I could see a good reason to talk to him especially now, but well, I feel like giving him some time could be better, whereas Ryman can certainly be talked to right now already. Clearly, I feel that Wylla has more to apologize to him in the first place. She didn't really do all that much to upset Frenken, at least not without reason. With Ryman though, I clearly see her as in the wrong, so he is one she rightfully can apologize to.
[Go seek Frenken] At this point, I feel like there is a legitimate rift between Wylla and Franken and that Ryman's outburst was just all because he seen his parents arguing. While giving Franken time to cool off may be the best idea, I feel like she sure try to reassure him that House Farman is not just a pawn for House Manderly to use to increase in power. During this talk, it is also possible they can talk more about Ryman's marriage as well.
[Go seek Frenken]
[Go seek Ryman]
Like Liquid said, we might need to let Frenken cool down. Plus, she needs to ensure that she has a good relationship with her son and heir.