Now, the part itself has also been quite nice. I was already curious about the Fallen Dragons from the H&L, but it is safe to say that now I have quickly grown to enjoy them even more, seeing that they will definitely play an important role in the Martell-Dryland part of the war and certainly beyond as well. The battle for Salt Shore did went shockingly smoothly, it seems between Gabby Gargalen's failure at leading her troops (a general failure, if I may say so) and Esperence's scheming to overthrow Morgan, Nymeria is getting some good victories at this early stage of the war. Sure, Lucifer took Vaith and Efran took Lemonwood, but with Efran's man about to abandon him and Lucifer losing some prime allies with House Gargalen and Allyrion (as well as his own daughter hopefully leaving with Desi and maybe even the Lord of Vaith), it seems the Dryland's are quickly losing their initial advantage.
Aye, the Fallen Dragons are a sort of wild card in Nymeria's arsenal, something the Dryland's definitely haven't been expecting. And yes, they will have a pretty big role to play in this conflict. Yeah, this is an easy win for the Fallen Dragons, much easier than they were expecting themselves. The main reason for this is that Lord Jorvian felt comfortable leaving Salt Shore without proper defenses (or a competent commander), because no one expects Nymeria to attack from the sea - she burned her fleet after all. Obviously it's a bit of luck that the Fallen Dragons happened to arrive after the combined army of Lucifer and Jorvian had already marched to Vaith. Had they arrived when that army was still positioned in Salt Shore... it would've been a very hard battle, and the odds would not have been on the Fallen Dragons' side. But, as it is, Nymeria indeed gains an advantage with her recent victories. I'll point out though that the Gargalen army is still with Lucifer - they just lost Salt Shore.
Ah, I remember Valor! The H&L we got from him a while ago has already made me very interested in the character. Doesn't happen often tha… moret we get an H&L of a character that's not even introduced, so I expected him to have an important role at some point in the future. Didn't expect it to be now though, nor did I expect him to be a PoV, both decisions I find very interesting
Now, the part itself has also been quite nice. I was already curious about the Fallen Dragons from the H&L, but it is safe to say that now I have quickly grown to enjoy them even more, seeing that they will definitely play an important role in the Martell-Dryland part of the war and certainly beyond as well. The battle for Salt Shore did went shockingly smoothly, it seems between Gabby Gargalen's failure at leading her troops (a general failure, if I may say so) and Esperence's scheming to overthrow Morgan, Nymeria is getting some good victories at this earl… [view original content]
Oh no, Gabby Gargalen is about as bad a commander as one could be. She has no experience on warfare whatsoever, nor has she even studied it. She is just the one Lord Jorvian left in charge, because he wasn't expecting there would be a battle, and Gabby is competent enough in other aspects of ruling.
That said, with properly manned ships and a more clever tactic, sending ships as a first line of defense wouldn't have necessarily been a bad idea, and could've possibly even damaged the attacking force enough that they would've had to retreat before even trying to breach the gates. However, with the forces that Gabby had here, she definitely should've concentrated her limited amount of men on defending the walls and the gates, just like Valor points out.
[Lead the assault yourself]
This could be a good way to witness Valor's skills, and see if this sword is more than just fancy.
I always fo… moreund curious the difference between male and female Norvoshi, while men are only allowed to have mustaches, while women and slaves must be shaved bald.
Gabby Gargalen doesn't seem as a particularly smart commander, since everyone knows a castle a far more defendable than attacking head on with ships.
Valor
Valor Veltaris stood at the bow of his flagship. Mele Jelmazma it was called, or the Red Storm in Common Tongue. Standing there, he… more could feel the soft sea breeze on his skin, which made it slightly easier to bear the heat of the blazing Dornish sun. Said sun felt particularly fierce now that Valor was clad in his plated armor. He had to wear it though, as they would reach their destination today. After a long wait the Fallen Dragons would finally get a taste of battle again.
For now, all Valor could see as he gazed at the shore were steep cliffs and treacherous shoals, but the navigators had assured him they would arrive to Salt Shore before sundown. Valor hoped they were right, but he had enough experience to know everything didn't always go to plan – least of all on the sea.
"What do you see, commander?" Valor heard the voice of his friend ask behind him, and he turned to face Olyvar Forrester. The Northman had a subtle smir… [view original content]
Valor
Valor Veltaris stood at the bow of his flagship. Mele Jelmazma it was called, or the Red Storm in Common Tongue. Standing there, he… more could feel the soft sea breeze on his skin, which made it slightly easier to bear the heat of the blazing Dornish sun. Said sun felt particularly fierce now that Valor was clad in his plated armor. He had to wear it though, as they would reach their destination today. After a long wait the Fallen Dragons would finally get a taste of battle again.
For now, all Valor could see as he gazed at the shore were steep cliffs and treacherous shoals, but the navigators had assured him they would arrive to Salt Shore before sundown. Valor hoped they were right, but he had enough experience to know everything didn't always go to plan – least of all on the sea.
"What do you see, commander?" Valor heard the voice of his friend ask behind him, and he turned to face Olyvar Forrester. The Northman had a subtle smir… [view original content]
Firstly, Nymeria will send Morgan to the Wall. This is mostly a character building choice, but it does also affect Nymeria's relationship with Esperence. And considering that Esperence was the one who brought up the idea of sending his father to the Wall, we can assume she'll see this positively.
And, Valor will lead the assault himself. Again, mostly character building, but there are some immediate consequences as well, which you'll see in Valor's next part.
The next part will be an Isabella PoV, but sadly I haven't made much progress at all, because I was very busy yesterday. Today I'm honestly feeling a bit sick, but I think I'll still be able to do some writing. Most likely I won't get the part done today, but we'll have to see.
As a recap, since Isabella hasn't had a part in a while, earlier in her storyline Isabella found out she would not be marrying Naemon Blackmont after all, but instead the alliance would be established on a marriage between Princess Gwendis Blackmont and Prince Desmor Fowler. Except, that didn't happen either, as Gwendis ran away from Blackmont with Aisha. King Garrison had denied Desmor the honor to lead their armies against the Manwoody's because of the importance of this marriage, and now that it resulted into nothing Desmor felt let down and useless. Isabella tried to console her brother, but he wasn't very receptive. Later news came to Skyreach about a Manwoody force having invaded into the northern valleys of the Kingdom of Stone and Sky. Garrison decided to send a small force drive these intruders out, and Desmor wanted to bet the one to lead the attack. Afraid of the possibility to lose both of his sons to this war, Garrison was hesitant to grant Desmor's wish. However, Isabella later convinced her father to send Desmor, knowing it would make her brother feel better about himself. After this, Garrison told Isabella that he was willing to send a marriage proposal to Starfall, for Isabella to marry Jamison, which was what she had been hoping for. She decided to send the proposal right away.
Pretty cool portrait, and reminds us Valyrian's indeed look like that.
Sending Morgan to the Wall was indeed necessary, since we all know several of those recruits were people who happened to fight for the losing side of a war, like Alliser Thorne and Jeremy Rykker.
This means conflict between Esperence and Emerson, since while Esperence is Morgan's eldest surviving child, Emerson is technically the rightful heir as the eldest child of the previous lord, who was Morgan's older brother.
This puts Emerson at Yronwood's side for now, although Godsgrace right now belongs to House Martell.
Voting is closed!
Firstly, Nymeria will send Morgan to the Wall. This is mostly a character building choice, but it does also affect Nyme… moreria's relationship with Esperence. And considering that Esperence was the one who brought up the idea of sending his father to the Wall, we can assume she'll see this positively.
And, Valor will lead the assault himself. Again, mostly character building, but there are some immediate consequences as well, which you'll see in Valor's next part.
The next part will be an Isabella PoV, but sadly I haven't made much progress at all, because I was very busy yesterday. Today I'm honestly feeling a bit sick, but I think I'll still be able to do some writing. Most likely I won't get the part done today, but we'll have to see.
As a recap, since Isabella hasn't had a part in a while, earlier in her storyline Isabella found out she would not be marrying Naemon Blackmont after all, but instead the alliance wou… [view original content]
Princess Isabella Fowler stood on the courtyard of Skyreach, next to his father King Garrison, whose blind eyes were closed as always. The lords, knights and ladies of the court were all there, including Princess Dana and little Prince Matthos, waiting for the heroic return of Prince Desmor. The gates were open, and the horns of the returning prince could already be heard from the distance.
Isabella was smiling, because right now she had a lot to be happy for. Desmor was returning home safely, and just a couple days ago a raven from Starfall had arrived, carrying a letter from King Vorian. The King of Torrentine had accepted Garrison's proposal. I will finally marry Jamison, Isabella thought with a dreamy look in her eyes, picturing in her head the moment they would meet at the courtyard of Starfall.
Isabella's thoughts were cut off by Desmor riding in from the gates with his black war horse, Ser Soren Ashford and the rest of the forces coming after him. The Prince cantered right in front of his family, before halting his horse and dismounting it. While on the road, Desmor had grown himself a small beard, which made him look a bit older. As he begun to approach them, Isabella could see that he was limping, if only slightly. He is injured, she realized. Despite that, the prince had a triumphant smile on his face, and a proud look on his blue eyes.
"Welcome home, Prince Desmor," Garrison said, a smile forming on his face. "Thank you, father," Desmor responded, and the excitement could be heard in his voice. "We faced the Manwoody raiders on the field, and utterly destroyed their forces. The few who survived escaped back to the mountains they came from."
"You have done well, my son," Garrison complimented, genuine pride in his words. "Tonight, we will have a feast in the great hall, to celebrate your victorious return."
"Sounds good," Desmor said, still smiling, and Garrison nodded. "Now, give me your hand," he said quietly, and with some confusion Desmor grabbed his father's hand. Then, the King raised up his son's hand, like announcing the champion of a tourney. "Hail Prince Desmor, the savior of the northern valleys!" He yelled.
"Hail Prince Desmor!" The people on the courtyard repeated in unison, and Isabella could see from her brother's eyes that this moment was a fulfilment of his dreams.
-
The great hall was crowded with knights and soldiers that had fought alongside Prince Desmor. Wine had flown throughout the evening, which was evident by the loud chatter and singing on the lower tables. The chatter on the high table was calmer, but no less cheerful. Garrison had looked and sounded more relaxed than in a long time, and Desmor's mood was obviously better than in ages. The only one who seemed to be in a less joyous mood was Princess Dana, but Isabella could easily forgive her for it, considering that Prince Ferris was still to return from the war.
Suddenly Garrison stood up from his seat, and gradually the hall quieted down. The King had his cup on his hand, clearly ready to give them a speech. "The gallant warriors of Skyreach!" He began, and the crowd cheered for him. "It is my honor and joy to have you all here with me tonight, sharing my wine and meat. You all did your duty, and fought bravely beside my son." Again, the people in the hall cheered and applauded, and Garrison nodded for them, before continuing. "The Kingdom of Stone and Sky is not just the King, or even the royal family. I am just the man who sits on the throne and watches over it all, as well as I can without working eyes." The people reacted to this with a hearty laughter, and Isabella could see a smirk on her father's face. "But you, my friends, you are the foundation that this kingdom is truly built on. Brave and honorable men, willing to risk their lives doing their duty for the good of the realm. I am proud of my son for leading us to this victory, but I am just as proud of all of you, for we are all a family. Let's raise our cups, for the heroes of Skyreach! Let Me Soar!" The King ended his speech with the words of House Fowler, raising his goblet. The soldiers repeated the words with pride, before emptying their cups.
As they all sat down, the chatter continued in the hall. "Desmor, Isabella," Garrison said quietly, and they both shifted their attention to him. "Meet me in my office in the morning, there is something important we need to discuss."
-
The celebrations in the great hall had continued long into the night, but Isabella had left for her chambers pretty early. The sun had risen about an hour ago, and Isabella had already bathed, dressed up and had her hair made by her handmaiden Cassana Blackpool, who now sat with her on the balcony. The summer had gotten hotter every day, and already in the morning the heat was almost unbearable, despite Isabella being dressed in one of her skimpier dresses.
"What do you think you father wants to discuss?" Cassana asked with her cheerful tone, and Isabella shrugged lightly. "Hopefully it's about Starfall," the princess replied quietly. The past few days she had been impatiently waiting for the day she would finally be sent to the Dayne's. Garrison wouldn't come with her, she knew that much. It would be too long and hard journey for him, and he was too busy handling the Manwoody conflict anyway. Isabella knew already that she would miss her father, as well as her brothers, but it was a price she was willing to pay to be with Jamison.
Suddenly, the door of her chambers was knocked. Isabella and Cassana both stood up and stepped back inside from the balcony. "I'll open it, my princess," Cassana said politely, and skittered quickly for the door. The handmaiden pulled the door open, and behind it stood Ser Soren Ashford.
"Ser Soren," Cassana greeted the knight with an excited tone, giving him a curtsy. Ser Soren nodded politely to the girl, before turning his eyes to Isabella. "My princess, the King has summoned you to his office," he informed with soft and polite words, and Isabella nodded with a smile.
"I'm ready, ser," she answered quickly, and walked next to Cassana. "Cassana, you can take the next few hours off," she said to her handmaiden, before stepping to the corridor, and following Ser Soren towards her father's office. As they arrived to said office, they were welcomed by Ser Dustran Drinkwater, who stood in guard at the door.
"Prince Desmor already arrived," Dustran informed with his calm and professional tone, before opening the door for them. "I'll wait outside," Soren said with a friendly tone, and Isabella gave him a nod, before walking in and closing the door behind her.
As the door was closed, silence lingered in the room for a few seconds. "Isabella?" Garrison finally asked. "Yes," Isabella answered, taking her seat opposed to the King, and next to her brother. Desmor looked tired, possibly a bit hungover, and he still hadn't shaved off his beard from the road.
"So, now that you are both here, I can get to the point," Garrison said with a small sigh, pushing his fingers together. "You will leave for Starfall tomorrow." Isabella's face lit up from joy, but she saw a bit more confused expression forming on her brother's face.
"You... as in we? Me and Isabella both?" Desmor asked, and Garrison nodded. "You will escort your sister to Starfall, along with Ser Soren and a small convoy of troops," he explained calmly. "You will stay there until the wedding, and give away the bride in my stead. After that you can return, but Ser Soren will stay there permanently, serving as Isabella's personal guard."
"With all due respect father, wouldn't there be something more important for me to do?" Desmor asked with a hint of frustration in his words. "We are still at war after all."
"Don't you consider the safety of your sister important?" Garrison asked sharply, and Desmor let out a sigh. "Of course I do," he grumbled as an answer. "But is it really necessary for me to go?"
"It is," Garrison answered firmly. "As I said, you will be the one to give away the bride. Besides, this is about making alliances, and I need you to be there to present me in front of King Vorian. Also, you will stop at Oasis Castle on your way to Starfall, and I need you to speak with the Drinkwater's. So far, they have been... hesitant to support us in this war. You must remind Lord Jared of his oaths, as well as deliver him a message from me."
"A message?" Desmor asked bluntly, raising an eyebrow. "Yes, a marriage proposal," Garrison answered calmly. "Lord Jared has a younger sister named Arianne, just a few years younger than you. Perhaps a stern reminder of their duties and a prospect of a royal marriage will bring the Drinkwater's back to fold."
"So, once again I'm just a tool for you to make alliances with," Desmor said dryly. "Haven't I proved already that the battlefield is where my true value for this kingdom is?"
"You did well in the northern valleys, it is true, and you will continue to fight for the Kingdom of Stone and Sky in the future," Garrison's kept his tone calm and patient as he spoke. "However, you will also marry Arianne Drinkwater, to solidify our rule over Oasis Castle."
Isabella could see from Desmor's face that he wasn't pleased with this turn of events, but he didn't protest any further. "So be it," the prince just said sternly, and a tense silence followed.
"Desmor, you can leave us now," Garrison finally spoke up again. "I'll share a few more words with Isabella."
"Understood, Your Grace," Desmor responded dryly, stood up from his chair, and walked out of the office. As the door was closed, Isabella spoke up. "He clearly doesn't want to go," she said calmly, and Garrison nodded.
"No, he doesn't," he acknowledged with a small sigh. "But he is still my son, and will do his duty. Besides, most would consider marriage to a Drinkwater maiden a reward, not a punishment."
"Not Desmor," Isabella stated with a mildly amused tone. "He has never been one to settle down with one woman."
"Perhaps, but he's a grown man now, and it is time for him to settle down and have children of his own," the King spoke with a calm, almost detached tone on his voice. "But you, Isabella, you have the journey of your life ahead of you. How are you feeling now?" Garrison's voice told that he was genuinely interested to hear his daughter's thoughts.
"I'm happy," she began quietly, "but also... nervous. It will be such a big change, living with the Dayne's, in Starfall. Away from you, Desmor and Ferris." Garrison nodded, a gentle and understanding expression on his face.
"I will be sure to write you as often as I can," he said softly, a smile forming on his old face. "I hope you will remember to write back, at least a couple times a year."
"Of course I will!" Isabella insisted, and her father chuckled. "Oh, my dear Bella, you have grown up to be such a wonderful young woman," he said, letting out a wistful sigh. "This might be the last day we spend with each other."
"Don't say that, father!" Isabella snapped, and it looked to amuse Garrison. "I'm an old man, Bella, but your life is just about to begin," he said, leaning back on his chair. "And it will be a happy and long life, filled with beautiful memories, I know it will." Isabella felt tears coming to her eyes, and as she started to sob, Garrison spoke up again. "There is no need to cry, sweet girl," he said softly, and now Isabella spurted up from her chair, walked around the desk, and embraced into a tight hug with her father.
"I will miss you, father," she said with tearful words, her hands still tightly around the old king.
"Farewell, my lovely daughter," Garrison said quietly, and Isabella gulped as she separated from him, tears still running down her cheeks. Looking at her father, she didn't want to say farewell, it just felt wrong. This can't be the last time I see him.
I believe that this way of parting will at least soften Garrison's heart a little. It's more of emotional choice, so there can't be a lot of reasoning behind it, but, I don't know, this one just feels more right. Besides - nice to see Soren again, happy to see him still finding his place in your story.
Isabella
Princess Isabella Fowler stood on the courtyard of Skyreach, next to his father King Garrison, whose blind eyes were closed as a… morelways. The lords, knights and ladies of the court were all there, including Princess Dana and little Prince Matthos, waiting for the heroic return of Prince Desmor. The gates were open, and the horns of the returning prince could already be heard from the distance.
Isabella was smiling, because right now she had a lot to be happy for. Desmor was returning home safely, and just a couple days ago a raven from Starfall had arrived, carrying a letter from King Vorian. The King of Torrentine had accepted Garrison's proposal. I will finally marry Jamison, Isabella thought with a dreamy look in her eyes, picturing in her head the moment they would meet at the courtyard of Starfall.
Isabella's thoughts were cut off by Desmor riding in from the gates with his black war horse, Ser Soren Ashford and the rest o… [view original content]
Isabella
Princess Isabella Fowler stood on the courtyard of Skyreach, next to his father King Garrison, whose blind eyes were closed as a… morelways. The lords, knights and ladies of the court were all there, including Princess Dana and little Prince Matthos, waiting for the heroic return of Prince Desmor. The gates were open, and the horns of the returning prince could already be heard from the distance.
Isabella was smiling, because right now she had a lot to be happy for. Desmor was returning home safely, and just a couple days ago a raven from Starfall had arrived, carrying a letter from King Vorian. The King of Torrentine had accepted Garrison's proposal. I will finally marry Jamison, Isabella thought with a dreamy look in her eyes, picturing in her head the moment they would meet at the courtyard of Starfall.
Isabella's thoughts were cut off by Desmor riding in from the gates with his black war horse, Ser Soren Ashford and the rest o… [view original content]
Ah, it seems Desmor cannot catch a break. One unwanted marriage out of the way, he is now forced into the other and I really doubt there's going to be a way out of it this time, unless of course, his new possibly betrothed also runs away with some crappy demon slut (it's pronounced Aisha). Somehow, I don't think he'll be this "lucky" once again. At the same time, it means yet another ship of mine has sunken Of course, in this particular case, I had a shockingly crucial role in sinking the glory that is Gwesmor by choosing wrongly so long ago... just as the very same choice means I am not innocent of killing Lyla either, oh my god Ah, it has always been unlikely to ever happen, but has been a nice thought experiment of mine, so it shall be remembered as yet another victim of Aisha. I believe I have not given you the daily reminder that she's the worst, so consider yourself reminded, because she's still the worst.
That being said, I just noticed that Desmor being married off means that there is absolutely no way for the Fowler-Blackmont alliance to be strengthened by marriage, so that might mean that it is save for Gwendis to return home to Blackmont... ah, yet another reason for her to get away from a certain frigid pile of shit named Aisha. Surely, getting away from Worst and Worstley is not as easy as it sounds, but it is relieving to know that after all, her home is an actual option once again. No thanks to Aisha for that! So... perhaps I should be happy that Garrison has found a new match for Desmor? I should, I know it, but why do I still feel so hollow?
But ah, aside from my very personally biased feeling of tragedy, I cannot deny that I got the feels here and not just because you are adamant to pull a Nymeria on my fleet of ships I hope the best for Desmor, I felt for him ever since I realized how unwantingly my fateful change of votes hurt him. And just now that he won some pride for himself, this happens again and this time, it seems likely he'll have to go through with it. Well, he won't have it as good as he could have had it, but for his sake, I hope he'll be at least somewhat content with the coming marriage. And Garry, perhaps my favourite king that is not Benny, my heart breaks for that scheming old bastard. No, really, I might feel a bit ambiguous towards him, but at the core, he has always been a guy whom I enjoyed and his interaction with Isabella has always been his saving grace. With his scheming and the way it (admittedly unintentionally) affected Gwen and Naemon, I should, by all means, hate him on a level somewhere between Aisha and Wesley, but the fact that it has always tremendously warmed my heart to see him interact with Isa means he is always someone I am strangely fond of. We'll see how I feel about him once this chapter continues. I do wonder though what this means for his role in general. This is likely Isabella's last part as the Skyreach PoV, so hm... I wonder who will follow in this role. Maybe we actually won't see Skyreach in a while now, with Isabella and Desmor on the road.
["Until we meet again"]
Now, knowing what happens to Garrison, this being their last talk is quite likely. However, part of me doubts it and more importantly, I want Isabella to doubt it. She has always been amazing as this sweet, innocent lady and she really doesn't need to get a cynical streak now. Let's keep her bright and positive as long as possible. After all, hope is the most important thing of them all and with this choice, I believe she might at least keep the hope of seeing her father again.
Isabella
Princess Isabella Fowler stood on the courtyard of Skyreach, next to his father King Garrison, whose blind eyes were closed as a… morelways. The lords, knights and ladies of the court were all there, including Princess Dana and little Prince Matthos, waiting for the heroic return of Prince Desmor. The gates were open, and the horns of the returning prince could already be heard from the distance.
Isabella was smiling, because right now she had a lot to be happy for. Desmor was returning home safely, and just a couple days ago a raven from Starfall had arrived, carrying a letter from King Vorian. The King of Torrentine had accepted Garrison's proposal. I will finally marry Jamison, Isabella thought with a dreamy look in her eyes, picturing in her head the moment they would meet at the courtyard of Starfall.
Isabella's thoughts were cut off by Desmor riding in from the gates with his black war horse, Ser Soren Ashford and the rest o… [view original content]
Isabella
Princess Isabella Fowler stood on the courtyard of Skyreach, next to his father King Garrison, whose blind eyes were closed as a… morelways. The lords, knights and ladies of the court were all there, including Princess Dana and little Prince Matthos, waiting for the heroic return of Prince Desmor. The gates were open, and the horns of the returning prince could already be heard from the distance.
Isabella was smiling, because right now she had a lot to be happy for. Desmor was returning home safely, and just a couple days ago a raven from Starfall had arrived, carrying a letter from King Vorian. The King of Torrentine had accepted Garrison's proposal. I will finally marry Jamison, Isabella thought with a dreamy look in her eyes, picturing in her head the moment they would meet at the courtyard of Starfall.
Isabella's thoughts were cut off by Desmor riding in from the gates with his black war horse, Ser Soren Ashford and the rest o… [view original content]
Ah, it seems Desmor cannot catch a break. One unwanted marriage out of the way, he is now forced into the other and I really doubt there's going to be a way out of it this time, unless of course, his new possibly betrothed also runs away with some crappy demon slut (it's pronounced Aisha). Somehow, I don't think he'll be this "lucky" once again. At the same time, it means yet another ship of mine has sunken Of course, in this particular case, I had a shockingly crucial role in sinking the glory that is Gwesmor by choosing wrongly so long ago... just as the very same choice means I am not innocent of killing Lyla either, oh my god Ah, it has always been unlikely to ever happen, but has been a nice thought experiment of mine, so it shall be remembered as yet another victim of Aisha. I believe I have not given you the daily reminder that she's the worst, so consider yourself reminded, because she's still the worst.
Hah, didn't even know there was a Gwesmor ship I mean, Gwendis staying a Blackmont was one of the big motives for going with Aisha IIRC, so I figured you wouldn't mind the possibility of this marriage being out of question now And yeah, we'll have to see if this potential marriage pact with the Drinkwater's will work out any better than the one with the Blackmont's, but at the very least we'll soon(ish) be introduced to another interesting noble family!
That being said, I just noticed that Desmor being married off means that there is absolutely no way for the Fowler-Blackmont alliance to be strengthened by marriage, so that might mean that it is save for Gwendis to return home to Blackmont... ah, yet another reason for her to get away from a certain frigid pile of shit named Aisha. Surely, getting away from Worst and Worstley is not as easy as it sounds, but it is relieving to know that after all, her home is an actual option once again. No thanks to Aisha for that! So... perhaps I should be happy that Garrison has found a new match for Desmor? I should, I know it, but why do I still feel so hollow?
Indeed, the alliance between these two houses rests now solely on them having a common enemy in Manwoody. That said, we can expect a pretty strong alliance between the Fowler's and Dayne's now that Isabella will be married to Jamison, and they might also have a common enemy soon enough. But you're right, now there would really be hardly any drawbacks for Gwendis on returning to home. Obviously it's easier said than done - Aisha isn't about to let her just go. And well, I suppose Gwendis and Desmor could've become a pretty sweet couple in time, so there is a bit of bittersweetness to this.
But ah, aside from my very personally biased feeling of tragedy, I cannot deny that I got the feels here and not just because you are adamant to pull a Nymeria on my fleet of ships I hope the best for Desmor, I felt for him ever since I realized how unwantingly my fateful change of votes hurt him. And just now that he won some pride for himself, this happens again and this time, it seems likely he'll have to go through with it. Well, he won't have it as good as he could have had it, but for his sake, I hope he'll be at least somewhat content with the coming marriage. And Garry, perhaps my favourite king that is not Benny, my heart breaks for that scheming old bastard. No, really, I might feel a bit ambiguous towards him, but at the core, he has always been a guy whom I enjoyed and his interaction with Isabella has always been his saving grace. With his scheming and the way it (admittedly unintentionally) affected Gwen and Naemon, I should, by all means, hate him on a level somewhere between Aisha and Wesley, but the fact that it has always tremendously warmed my heart to see him interact with Isa means he is always someone I am strangely fond of. We'll see how I feel about him once this chapter continues. I do wonder though what this means for his role in general. This is likely Isabella's last part as the Skyreach PoV, so hm... I wonder who will follow in this role. Maybe we actually won't see Skyreach in a while now, with Isabella and Desmor on the road.
We'll be seeing a lot of Desmor in Isabella's coming parts, and we'll hear a bit more of his thoughts on this situation in time. He is displeased, that much is clear, but perhaps meeting this Arianne Drinkwater will change his mind. We'll have to see. And ah, Garry... Isabella is definitely this old schemer's soft spot, and brings out the best of him. That also brings up the question, how will he be without Isabella around? Probably not dramatically different, but perhaps slightly colder. And well, I can reveal we won't be seeing much of Garrison in this book anymore, now that Isabella is leaving Skyreach. However, he will have big role in Book 2.
Ah, it seems Desmor cannot catch a break. One unwanted marriage out of the way, he is now forced into the other and I really doubt there's g… moreoing to be a way out of it this time, unless of course, his new possibly betrothed also runs away with some crappy demon slut (it's pronounced Aisha). Somehow, I don't think he'll be this "lucky" once again. At the same time, it means yet another ship of mine has sunken Of course, in this particular case, I had a shockingly crucial role in sinking the glory that is Gwesmor by choosing wrongly so long ago... just as the very same choice means I am not innocent of killing Lyla either, oh my god Ah, it has always been unlikely to ever happen, but has been a nice thought experiment of mine, so it shall be remembered as yet another victim of Aisha. I believe I have not given you the daily reminder that she's the worst, so consider yourself reminded, because she's still the worst.
That being said, I just n… [view original content]
Isabella
Princess Isabella Fowler stood on the courtyard of Skyreach, next to his father King Garrison, whose blind eyes were closed as a… morelways. The lords, knights and ladies of the court were all there, including Princess Dana and little Prince Matthos, waiting for the heroic return of Prince Desmor. The gates were open, and the horns of the returning prince could already be heard from the distance.
Isabella was smiling, because right now she had a lot to be happy for. Desmor was returning home safely, and just a couple days ago a raven from Starfall had arrived, carrying a letter from King Vorian. The King of Torrentine had accepted Garrison's proposal. I will finally marry Jamison, Isabella thought with a dreamy look in her eyes, picturing in her head the moment they would meet at the courtyard of Starfall.
Isabella's thoughts were cut off by Desmor riding in from the gates with his black war horse, Ser Soren Ashford and the rest o… [view original content]
Isabella
Princess Isabella Fowler stood on the courtyard of Skyreach, next to his father King Garrison, whose blind eyes were closed as a… morelways. The lords, knights and ladies of the court were all there, including Princess Dana and little Prince Matthos, waiting for the heroic return of Prince Desmor. The gates were open, and the horns of the returning prince could already be heard from the distance.
Isabella was smiling, because right now she had a lot to be happy for. Desmor was returning home safely, and just a couple days ago a raven from Starfall had arrived, carrying a letter from King Vorian. The King of Torrentine had accepted Garrison's proposal. I will finally marry Jamison, Isabella thought with a dreamy look in her eyes, picturing in her head the moment they would meet at the courtyard of Starfall.
Isabella's thoughts were cut off by Desmor riding in from the gates with his black war horse, Ser Soren Ashford and the rest o… [view original content]
Hah, didn't even know there was a Gwesmor ship I mean, Gwendis staying a Blackmont was one of the big motives for going with Aisha IIRC, so I figured you wouldn't mind the possibility of this marriage being out of question now And yeah, we'll have to see if this potential marriage pact with the Drinkwater's will work out any better than the one with the Blackmont's, but at the very least we'll soon(ish) be introduced to another interesting noble family!
It has always been one of the more obscure ships in my fleet, more a theoretical idea than anything actively existing. See, if everything works out in the best possible way, and I still hold more than just a bit of doubt for this, Gwendis will be Lady Blackmont in the end. In this case, she would need a husband, but due to her position, it cannot be another lord or heir, who would have to give up title or inheritance as a result to become Lord Blackmont by her side. So, a thirdborn son, while having been a crushing disappointment to her back when Benedict first mentioned this marriage, would have actually been a perfect match. There's also the sweet component of making it work the second time after, well, things did not quite work the first time. But as I said, it was never more than a theoretical scenario and one I myself did a lot to ruin, so I do not mind its passing too much, but still, this is a bit of a bittersweet moment, because of how different it could have been.
Indeed, the alliance between these two houses rests now solely on them having a common enemy in Manwoody. That said, we can expect a pretty strong alliance between the Fowler's and Dayne's now that Isabella will be married to Jamison, and they might also have a common enemy soon enough. But you're right, now there would really be hardly any drawbacks for Gwendis on returning to home. Obviously it's easier said than done - Aisha isn't about to let her just go. And well, I suppose Gwendis and Desmor could've become a pretty sweet couple in time, so there is a bit of bittersweetness to this.
Hm, with Manwoody lasting at least until Book 3, I wonder if this means the alliance will still hold for longer than I thought. That being said, it is obviously far from the most stable thing ever. Interestingly, Dayne and Blackmont also seem close, due to Benedict's marriage with Valaena and his children being half Dayne as a result. So, it will be interesting to see how that works out, because with the marriage between Jamison and Isabella, Vorian will have yet another reason to ensure that House Manwoody fails. With Nymeria on the move, they absolutely have to hurry to make sure there won't be an enemy to the north to worry about. And well, I guessed that much about Aisha and her being willing to do literally anything to keep Gwendis as her prisoner. I believe you know what I'm going to say now: She's the worst. She also seems to be the main reason none of my preferred ships work out, so that is yet another reason to hate her, not that I needed any more
We'll be seeing a lot of Desmor in Isabella's coming parts, and we'll hear a bit more of his thoughts on this situation in time. He is displeased, that much is clear, but perhaps meeting this Arianne Drinkwater will change his mind. We'll have to see. And ah, Garry... Isabella is definitely this old schemer's soft spot, and brings out the best of him. That also brings up the question, how will he be without Isabella around? Probably not dramatically different, but perhaps slightly colder. And well, I can reveal we won't be seeing much of Garrison in this book anymore, now that Isabella is leaving Skyreach. However, he will have big role in Book 2.
Well, I hope the best for him. I feel quite guilty for putting him into this situation, so for his sake, I hope it all works out, at least somewhat. And I truly look forward for the next PoV to interact with Garrison. At this point, I have no idea at all. If there's a Dayne-Fowler alliance against Nymeria in Book 2, which I consider highly likely, I guess it will be one of the Dayne's interacting with him. Maybe Jamison? We never quite learned how he sees Jamison, did we? I mean, him agreeing to marry Isabella to Jamison seemed to be mostly motivated out of love for his daughter, not out of any fondness he feels for the intended husband. I am really curious now for how these two would get along.
Ah, it seems Desmor cannot catch a break. One unwanted marriage out of the way, he is now forced into the other and I really doubt there's g… moreoing to be a way out of it this time, unless of course, his new possibly betrothed also runs away with some crappy demon slut (it's pronounced Aisha). Somehow, I don't think he'll be this "lucky" once again. At the same time, it means yet another ship of mine has sunken Of course, in this particular case, I had a shockingly crucial role in sinking the glory that is Gwesmor by choosing wrongly so long ago... just as the very same choice means I am not innocent of killing Lyla either, oh my god Ah, it has always been unlikely to ever happen, but has been a nice thought experiment of mine, so it shall be remembered as yet another victim of Aisha. I believe I have not given you the daily reminder that she's the worst, so consider yourself reminded, because she's still the worst.
Hah, didn't even kno… [view original content]
["Until we meet again"] I also believe that this is the best choice to keep more in line with Isabella being more optimistic even if the chance of her seeing her father again are pretty slim.
From the looks of things, it looks like the Isabella and Jamison marriage will indeed be happening. Admittedly, alot can happen from now to when Isabella and Jamison get back to Starfall but I do believe there is alot of interesting potential here in what could happen with their potential marriage. If I had to guess, Isabella will probably be the new Starfall PoV for book 2 while Jamison will be off fighting somewhere but the interactions that we do get between them should be really interesting plus the idea of Jamison being the one to interact with Garrison will be interesting since we don't know what Garrison really thinks of him and vice versa.
On a side note though, I am really intrigued to meet the Oasis Castle Drinkwaters. It sounds like they are pretty powerful bannerman of the Fowler's and that not having them helping the Fowler's for whatever reason has affected them so it will be interesting to see their role moving forward and the question about whether their loyalty is an issue or not will be solved as well
Isabella
Princess Isabella Fowler stood on the courtyard of Skyreach, next to his father King Garrison, whose blind eyes were closed as a… morelways. The lords, knights and ladies of the court were all there, including Princess Dana and little Prince Matthos, waiting for the heroic return of Prince Desmor. The gates were open, and the horns of the returning prince could already be heard from the distance.
Isabella was smiling, because right now she had a lot to be happy for. Desmor was returning home safely, and just a couple days ago a raven from Starfall had arrived, carrying a letter from King Vorian. The King of Torrentine had accepted Garrison's proposal. I will finally marry Jamison, Isabella thought with a dreamy look in her eyes, picturing in her head the moment they would meet at the courtyard of Starfall.
Isabella's thoughts were cut off by Desmor riding in from the gates with his black war horse, Ser Soren Ashford and the rest o… [view original content]
["Until we meet again"] I also believe that this is the best choice to keep more in line with Isabella being more optimistic even if the ch… moreance of her seeing her father again are pretty slim.
From the looks of things, it looks like the Isabella and Jamison marriage will indeed be happening. Admittedly, alot can happen from now to when Isabella and Jamison get back to Starfall but I do believe there is alot of interesting potential here in what could happen with their potential marriage. If I had to guess, Isabella will probably be the new Starfall PoV for book 2 while Jamison will be off fighting somewhere but the interactions that we do get between them should be really interesting plus the idea of Jamison being the one to interact with Garrison will be interesting since we don't know what Garrison really thinks of him and vice versa.
On a side note though, I am really intrigued to meet the Oasis Castle Drinkwaters. It sounds like the… [view original content]
["Until we meet again"] I also believe that this is the best choice to keep more in line with Isabella being more optimistic even if the ch… moreance of her seeing her father again are pretty slim.
From the looks of things, it looks like the Isabella and Jamison marriage will indeed be happening. Admittedly, alot can happen from now to when Isabella and Jamison get back to Starfall but I do believe there is alot of interesting potential here in what could happen with their potential marriage. If I had to guess, Isabella will probably be the new Starfall PoV for book 2 while Jamison will be off fighting somewhere but the interactions that we do get between them should be really interesting plus the idea of Jamison being the one to interact with Garrison will be interesting since we don't know what Garrison really thinks of him and vice versa.
On a side note though, I am really intrigued to meet the Oasis Castle Drinkwaters. It sounds like the… [view original content]
From the looks of things, it looks like the Isabella and Jamison marriage will indeed be happening. Admittedly, alot can happen from now to when Isabella and Jamison get back to Starfall but I do believe there is alot of interesting potential here in what could happen with their potential marriage. If I had to guess, Isabella will probably be the new Starfall PoV for book 2 while Jamison will be off fighting somewhere but the interactions that we do get between them should be really interesting plus the idea of Jamison being the one to interact with Garrison will be interesting since we don't know what Garrison really thinks of him and vice versa.
So it seems indeed. Jamison of course doesn't know about this yet, but it will certainly be a pleasant surprise for him when he eventually returns to Starfall. So far, aside from your great Isabella H&L, the relationship of these two lovebirds has been established purely through Isabella thinking about Jamison and vice versa, so I'm really pumped to write some actual interaction between the two. And that is a very likely scenario for Book 2. Isabella will certainly remain a PoV, and it would make sense for her to be in Starfall, just like it would make sense that Jamison is spending a lot of his time fighting the war against Nymeria. Interesting times ahead for these characters, to say the least. And oh, I certainly hope I'll get a chance to show Jamison and Garrison in a scene together, because they are so different from each other as characters, but have an equal love for Isabella. I'd say Jamison would probably act much more respectfully around Garrison than he does around most people
On a side note though, I am really intrigued to meet the Oasis Castle Drinkwaters. It sounds like they are pretty powerful bannerman of the Fowler's and that not having them helping the Fowler's for whatever reason has affected them so it will be interesting to see their role moving forward and the question about whether their loyalty is an issue or not will be solved as well
Hehe, I'm pretty happy to finally get to introduce House Drinkwater, because there are several interesting characters in Oasis Castle to be explored. They are a fairly powerful house, perhaps the strongest vassal the Fowler's have. However, they are sort of disconnected from the rest of the Kingdom of Stone and Sky, due to their seat being in the desert. There have been times in their history when they have been very loyal and helpful towards the Fowler kings, but most of the time they just care about themselves. And since they have fortified one of the few bits of good drinking water on a quite important trade route, well, let's just say it gives them a reliable source of income - guess you could compare it to the Frey's and their crossing. That in turn allows the Drinkwater's to be fairly autonomous, even if still sworn to House Fowler.
["Until we meet again"] I also believe that this is the best choice to keep more in line with Isabella being more optimistic even if the ch… moreance of her seeing her father again are pretty slim.
From the looks of things, it looks like the Isabella and Jamison marriage will indeed be happening. Admittedly, alot can happen from now to when Isabella and Jamison get back to Starfall but I do believe there is alot of interesting potential here in what could happen with their potential marriage. If I had to guess, Isabella will probably be the new Starfall PoV for book 2 while Jamison will be off fighting somewhere but the interactions that we do get between them should be really interesting plus the idea of Jamison being the one to interact with Garrison will be interesting since we don't know what Garrison really thinks of him and vice versa.
On a side note though, I am really intrigued to meet the Oasis Castle Drinkwaters. It sounds like the… [view original content]
Isabella
Princess Isabella Fowler stood on the courtyard of Skyreach, next to his father King Garrison, whose blind eyes were closed as a… morelways. The lords, knights and ladies of the court were all there, including Princess Dana and little Prince Matthos, waiting for the heroic return of Prince Desmor. The gates were open, and the horns of the returning prince could already be heard from the distance.
Isabella was smiling, because right now she had a lot to be happy for. Desmor was returning home safely, and just a couple days ago a raven from Starfall had arrived, carrying a letter from King Vorian. The King of Torrentine had accepted Garrison's proposal. I will finally marry Jamison, Isabella thought with a dreamy look in her eyes, picturing in her head the moment they would meet at the courtyard of Starfall.
Isabella's thoughts were cut off by Desmor riding in from the gates with his black war horse, Ser Soren Ashford and the rest o… [view original content]
And Isabella will say "Until we meet again". You interpreted this choice correctly, as choosing this will mean that Isabella departs from her father with more hopeful and positive thoughts, believing they will indeed meet again. Whether that actually happens, we'll have to see. For now she is going to Starfall, though there will be a stop at Oasis Castle first.
Next up, we will have a Myke part. In Chapter 2, he arrived to Kingsgrave with Ser Joran Storm and Raina Serviene, finding the castle under siege by the armies of House Blackmont and House Fowler. However, there was also Prestan Caron with a small convoy of Caron troops, who had arrived after receiving the message Myke sent from Blackmont, telling about the rumor he heard of Kortney possibly being a prisoner of the Manwoody's. In Kortney's earlier part in this chapter, she woke up during the night, hearing sounds of fighting inside the castle - the mutiny lead by Queen Sofina had began. Myke's part takes place that very same night. Anyway, I'll try to make as much progress today as I can, but most likely this part won't be ready until tomorrow.
-
And here we have a portrait of Prince Desmor Fowler:
Myke was sleeping, but his dreams were restless. He was climbing up a wall, but a storm raged around him and he kept slipping down. And all the time the wall just grew taller, so tall that Myke couldn't see the top. However, he knew that he needed to climb up there, and he wouldn't give up.
"Myke," a distant voice said, and the wall begun to crumble. Myke was falling, beneath him only the abyss. "Myke!" He woke up to Ser Joran shaking him from the shoulder. Looking outside from the doorway of the tent, Myke could see that it was still night. "What is it?" He muttered tiredly.
"You have to get up, there is something happening in the castle," Joran explained sternly, and Myke raised to a sitting position. "What do you mean? What is happening?"
"I'm not sure," Joran answered quickly, "but sounds of fighting have been heard from inside the walls, and there are hardly any guardsmen to be seen on the battlements."
"A mutiny?" Myke asked quietly, and Joran responded with a shrug. "Could be," he said with a small smirk forming on his face. "Anyway, get up and get your armor on. I'll meet you in Prestan's pavilion." With these words Ser Joran Storm walked out of the tent, leaving Myke alone to dress up.
After getting his gear on, Myke walked out of his tent, and through the faintly illuminated camp, finally making it to the pavilion of Prestan Caron, which was brightly lit with two burning braziers. Aside from the heir of Nightsong himself, inside the pavilion were Ser Joran, Raina Serviene and a young brown-haired knight wearing the colors of House Caron, whom Myke didn't recognize.
"Ser Steffon Toyne," the young man introduced himself, extending his hand for Myke. Myke grabbed the hand for a shake, looking the knight straight into his green eyes. "Ser Myke of the Marches," he responded calmly, and Steffon nodded with a subtle smile forming on his face.
"I've heard a lot about you from Lord Trevas, and from Ser Joran of course," he spoke with a respectful tone. "I arrived to Nightsong and pledged my sword to Lord Trevas a few months after you had left."
"Unfortunately, there is no more time for introductions," Prestan said sternly, and Myke turned towards him. "What do you have in mind, mylord?" He asked calmly, seeing a determined look on the boy's eyes.
"There is a mutiny inside the castle," he said quietly, walking next to one of the braziers. "This is our time to act, our chance to save my sister."
"If the rumor is indeed true and Kortney really is in there," Myke pointed out. As Prestan ignored his words, he spoke up again. "Are Prince Ferris and Ser Kegan planning to storm the castle?" He asked curiously, and Prestan shook his head.
"They have decided to wait it out," he said with a touch of frustration in his words. Myke nodded calmly, considering his next words carefully. "Perhaps it would be wise for us to do the same," he finally said. "If there is indeed a mutiny, the castle might well surrender in the morning."
"And what if Kortney doesn't survive until the morning?" Prestan asked strictly, and Myke let out a sigh. "If she is there, and still alive, she has managed to survive a long time without our help." Prestan shook his head for Myke's words.
"I will not command you to follow, but I will go there and save my sister," the boy said decisively. For a while everyone was quiet, until Ser Joran spoke up. "I'm with you," he said to Prestan, who gave him a small nod.
"As am I, mylord," Steffon Toyne said. Myke glanced at Raina, who just shrugged. "I'll go if you go," she said quietly.
"Fine," Myke finally said with a sigh, and a small smile formed on Prestan's face. "I knew I could trust you, Ser Myke," he said, and Myke nodded. However, as the young lord turned his back to fetch his weapons, Myke elbowed him in the back of his head. Prestan was knocked out, and as he begun to collapse, Myke caught him, and laid him gently on the ground. He saw Ser Steffon reaching for his sword, and gave him a meaningful glare.
"No need to draw that sword, ser," he said with quiet and tense tone, and the young Toyne knight looked at him with an alarmed gaze in his eyes. "I am merely doing this protect him," Myke continued, standing up. "I will infiltrate Kingsgrave, and Joran and Raina will come with me, but I will not put the life of the heir to Nightsong at risk. You stay here, Ser Steffon, and protect him. And when he wakes up, tell him I'm sorry, and don't let him come after us. You know this is what Lord Trevas would want."
Steffon moved his hand away from the hilt of his sword, and gave Myke a silent nod. "Come on then, let's go," Myke said to Joran and Raina, walking out of the pavilion.
-
They approached the castle walls quietly in the darkness of the night. There were no torches to be seen on the battlements, and every now and then screams and clashing of swords could be heard inside the castle.
Ser Joran was carrying grappling hooks, which would be their way to climb atop the wall. If even a single guard would see them climbing up the wall, things could turn sour terribly quickly. They reached the walls on the southern side of the castle, where they expected to be the least guards. The grappling hook landing on the battlements made a noise that made Myke cringe. He could only hope no Manwoody guards had heard it.
Quietly they started to climb up, Myke going in first, Raina coming after him, and Ser Joran after her. As Myke reached the top, he saw no one on the walls. He helped Raina up, but then he heard something. Steps, close by. He drew out his dagger, while Raina helped Joran up.
Then he saw it, a guard in Manwoody attire coming up the stairs atop the wall. He looked to be out of breath, like he had ran away from something or someone. As the guard noticed Myke, his eyes widened, and he began to reach for the horn that was hanging on his belt.
There was no time to hesitate, Myke had to act quickly. He raised his dagger and threw it towards the guardsman. It landed straight on the man's throat, and he collapsed down with a nasty gurgling noise.
"Nicely done," Ser Joran complimented with a whisper, and they approached the dead body. Myke removed the Manwoody tabard from the man, and put it on himself. After that, they threw the dead guardsman down the walls.
"Follow me," Myke muttered, and they walked down the stairs. They made their way behind the kennels and stables, still hearing sounds of fighting. Finally, they arrived to the armory, where they found tabards for Joran and Raina. After that, they walked to the courtyard, which was illuminated by several torches. Lying on the ground were at least a dozen bodies. However, there were also a few living guardsmen standing next to the bodies. Finally, one of them noticed Myke, Joran and Raina approaching.
"Stop right there!" The man yelled with a nervous tone, pointing his spear at them. "Are you with the traitors?" He asked frantically. Myke raised his hands up calmly. "Relax, brother," he said, trying to sound as confident as he could. "We just chased down a couple of the traitors on the walls."
"You happened to see Jack there?" The man asked with a raised eyebrow. "He went to check out the walls a couple minutes go."
"We didn't see anyone," Joran answered sternly, and though the guardsman nodded, there was suspicion in his eyes. "How long have you been serving in Kingsgrave?" He asked quietly, and Myke gave Joran a meaningful glance.
"Not long," he said nonchalantly. "We were recruited to the army when the prince was marching down the Wide Way. In fact, I had never even seen Kingsgrave before we retreated here with the Blackmont and Fowler armies on our back." The expressions of all the guardsmen turned much more relaxed now.
"It was quite a battle on the Wide Way," one of them said with a sigh. "I lost many friends there, fighting for this kingdom. Thought I'd at least be safe here, and then that treasonous bitch queen does this."
"Has she been caught yet?" Myke asked carefully, and the guardsman nodded. "I believe so, yes," he answered calmly. "Most of the mutineers have been killed or brought to the dungeons by now. I heard the King is badly wounded though. I hope that's not true... I'm not sure how long we'll survive with the Blackmont's and Fowler's on our gates if King Albin can't lead us."
They kept chatting with the guards for some time, and soon it was sunrise. More guards came to the courtyard, the bodies were dragged away, and the walls were being patrolled again. Still, it was clear this night had claimed dozens of lives, making the garrison of Kingsgrave significantly weaker. Perhaps weak enough for Blackmont's and Fowler's to take over.
Suddenly, the doors of the main keep were pushed open, and out of them walked a group of soldiers, dragging with them a bruised slender woman on her late thirties. The woman's blue dress was torn apart, her nose was broken and bleeding, and her hands tied behind her back. In her dark blue eyes was a defeated and painful gaze.
"That must be the queen who instigated the mutiny," Raina whispered, as they observed the scene from the sidelines. "A shame that she failed," Joran commented dryly, and Myke gave him a meaningful glare. They had to be careful with their words, as to not blow their cover.
Behind the shamed queen and the group of soldiers walked a young man with short black hair and narrowed green eyes, dressed in elegant black-and-gold clothes. "The prince?" Joran muttered quietly, and Myke had come to the same conclusion. This had to be Prince Arvin Manwoody, the heir of King Albin.
One of the soldiers fetched a wooden block to the middle of the courtyard, and the Queen was pushed down on her knees next to it. Prince Arvin walked in front of her, staring her down with fury in his eyes. The whole courtyard was in silence, waiting for what would happen next.
"Queen Sofina," Arvin began, and behind his calm voice could be spotted the deep underlying anger. "You have been found guilty of terrible crimes against your kingdom. You conspired a mutiny against your king, you tried to murder your king. Do you deny this?"
"I do not," the Queen answered strongly, and the troops on the courtyard reacted with gasps and booing. "Silence," Prince Arvin commanded sternly, now unsheathing his sword. "The punishment for your crimes is death. Do you have any last words?"
"This kingdom is doomed under the leadership of Albin," Sofina spoke with an honest tone, but her words were received with angry barking and slander. Still, she tried to continue, this time speaking directly to Prince Arvin. "Albin is a mad tyrant! He does not deserve your loyalty!"
"Quiet!" Arvin shouted, and though he was clearly angered, Myke could also see conflict in the young man's eyes. Perhaps he knew there was some truth in the Queen's words, but refused to acknowledge it. Now the soldiers pushed Sofina against the block, and the Queen closed her eyes.
Arvin stepped next to her, raising his sword up. The courtyard was once again in complete silence. And then he swung his sword. It cut cleanly through the Queen's petite neck, and blood spilled to the ground as the head fell down. Myke turned to his companions, seeing a look of terror in Raina's eyes, and one of disgust in Joran's.
Leaving his sword for the soldiers, Arvin marched silently back towards the doors of the keep. However, as Myke followed the prince with his gaze, his eyes found something interesting. By the stairs stood a young and scarred woman with a medium length red hair, and a shocked expression on her green eyes. Those eyes. It took Myke a few seconds before he realized he was looking at Kortney Caron. But she was different, far from the sweet young lady of Nightsong whom Myke had known and loved. We are here to save her, he reminded himself, glancing quickly at Joran and Raina, who had not yet noticed Kortney. Is this the right moment to approach her?
[Keep your distance for now] While it would be good to let her know they're here to save her, if the Manwoody guards notice they're not from there, they could easily assume they're Blackmont or Fowler spies, which will mean certain death for the three of them.
It is clear Arvin doesn't enjoy serving the madman of a father that is Albin, but you gotta respect his loyalty, as misguided as it is. The fact that he did a Ned Stark's show he at least is not a coward like his father. Lets hope he does a Jamie and betrays his father eventually.
Myke
Myke was sleeping, but his dreams were restless. He was climbing up a wall, but a storm raged around him and he kept slipping down. … moreAnd all the time the wall just grew taller, so tall that Myke couldn't see the top. However, he knew that he needed to climb up there, and he wouldn't give up.
"Myke," a distant voice said, and the wall begun to crumble. Myke was falling, beneath him only the abyss. "Myke!" He woke up to Ser Joran shaking him from the shoulder. Looking outside from the doorway of the tent, Myke could see that it was still night. "What is it?" He muttered tiredly.
"You have to get up, there is something happening in the castle," Joran explained sternly, and Myke raised to a sitting position. "What do you mean? What is happening?"
"I'm not sure," Joran answered quickly, "but sounds of fighting have been heard from inside the walls, and there are hardly any guardsmen to be seen on the battlements."
"A mutiny?" My… [view original content]
Myke
Myke was sleeping, but his dreams were restless. He was climbing up a wall, but a storm raged around him and he kept slipping down. … moreAnd all the time the wall just grew taller, so tall that Myke couldn't see the top. However, he knew that he needed to climb up there, and he wouldn't give up.
"Myke," a distant voice said, and the wall begun to crumble. Myke was falling, beneath him only the abyss. "Myke!" He woke up to Ser Joran shaking him from the shoulder. Looking outside from the doorway of the tent, Myke could see that it was still night. "What is it?" He muttered tiredly.
"You have to get up, there is something happening in the castle," Joran explained sternly, and Myke raised to a sitting position. "What do you mean? What is happening?"
"I'm not sure," Joran answered quickly, "but sounds of fighting have been heard from inside the walls, and there are hardly any guardsmen to be seen on the battlements."
"A mutiny?" My… [view original content]
Damn it, now I am really afraid for Kortney. She just lost her best ally in Kingsgrave. It also shows that Sofina has been genuine in her intention to free Kortney. After all, she seems to be the only one in Kingsgrave who thought about a bigger picture, in which House Manwoody could survive the war. And making reparations, distancing herself and her family from her insane husband, that could have been a start. Now, well, with her death, that shitfest of a family deserves to be doomed. Arvin is a coward though. Though loyalty is usually an admirable trait, I cannot help but hate him for this. The fact that he knows this is utterly wrong on so many levels makes it only worse. I have no respect for people who knowingly serve a madman out of misguised loyalty. That is the main reason I have so much respect for Jaime. Sometimes, one must sacrifice their honour for the greater good and rather break a vow than to knowingly do the wrong thing, especially if we speak about serving someone as monstrously insane as Albin. His father he is not, but after this little display of baffling stupidity on his end, I'm actively hoping for Arvin to die as well. We, unfortunately, know the house is going to survive, but he has a son, hasn't he? Some innocent kid that could actually give the family a fresh start. Or maybe Alaric. We haven't seen him in a while, but with Sofina's death, he's the only Manwoody I consider an actually decent person.
[Keep your distance for now]
Aaaah, this is a hard choice. I thought about it, then I thought about it for a little more and then I came to the conclusion that I almost cannot make any at all. It's just soo hard. Like, anytime I think I find a good reason to pick one over the other, I realize there are so many arguments for both. Edinosaur brings up a good argument and I am going to agree there. I want Myke to let Kortney know that help is on the way. At the same time, right now, the remaining guards will be particularly on alert. And this won't be worth the risk, just so that she knows she still has a friend inside Kingsgrave. They can't escape with her right now and at the worst, her being quite on the edge, she might blow their cover the moment she sees Myke. It's better to approach her in private once they know how to actually free her. With Albin currently badly wounded (I seriously hope Sofina sliced his dick off, but I'm not sure if she was able to hit a target that small) and Tom the Animal dead (By the way, I notice he's still in the section of the living characters, even if Kortney's presence here means she likely killed him between her last part and this one), the absolute worst scum that Kingsgrave has to offer is gone, so perhaps they actually can make a good plan to escape with her now. However, they have to keep a low profile for that one.
Myke
Myke was sleeping, but his dreams were restless. He was climbing up a wall, but a storm raged around him and he kept slipping down. … moreAnd all the time the wall just grew taller, so tall that Myke couldn't see the top. However, he knew that he needed to climb up there, and he wouldn't give up.
"Myke," a distant voice said, and the wall begun to crumble. Myke was falling, beneath him only the abyss. "Myke!" He woke up to Ser Joran shaking him from the shoulder. Looking outside from the doorway of the tent, Myke could see that it was still night. "What is it?" He muttered tiredly.
"You have to get up, there is something happening in the castle," Joran explained sternly, and Myke raised to a sitting position. "What do you mean? What is happening?"
"I'm not sure," Joran answered quickly, "but sounds of fighting have been heard from inside the walls, and there are hardly any guardsmen to be seen on the battlements."
"A mutiny?" My… [view original content]
Damn, now this is a very tricky situation... I just can't decide what choice to go with. Still, I have this feeling that Myke maybe won't get another chance to approach Kortney for some reason... Then again, this is hardly the right moment to do anything since there's a lot of people around.
[Keep your distance for now]
Oh btw, I was just reading through the "waiting to be introduced" list and spotted Valor and Gabby still in there. Also, Olyvar and Firanisa are still in the "Status unknown" list. Thought I'd warn you just to avoid any confusion down the road.
Myke
Myke was sleeping, but his dreams were restless. He was climbing up a wall, but a storm raged around him and he kept slipping down. … moreAnd all the time the wall just grew taller, so tall that Myke couldn't see the top. However, he knew that he needed to climb up there, and he wouldn't give up.
"Myke," a distant voice said, and the wall begun to crumble. Myke was falling, beneath him only the abyss. "Myke!" He woke up to Ser Joran shaking him from the shoulder. Looking outside from the doorway of the tent, Myke could see that it was still night. "What is it?" He muttered tiredly.
"You have to get up, there is something happening in the castle," Joran explained sternly, and Myke raised to a sitting position. "What do you mean? What is happening?"
"I'm not sure," Joran answered quickly, "but sounds of fighting have been heard from inside the walls, and there are hardly any guardsmen to be seen on the battlements."
"A mutiny?" My… [view original content]
I know this won't win, but I'm not sure if they will have another chance to do this. If we wait, something might end up preventing them from seeking her out.
Myke
Myke was sleeping, but his dreams were restless. He was climbing up a wall, but a storm raged around him and he kept slipping down. … moreAnd all the time the wall just grew taller, so tall that Myke couldn't see the top. However, he knew that he needed to climb up there, and he wouldn't give up.
"Myke," a distant voice said, and the wall begun to crumble. Myke was falling, beneath him only the abyss. "Myke!" He woke up to Ser Joran shaking him from the shoulder. Looking outside from the doorway of the tent, Myke could see that it was still night. "What is it?" He muttered tiredly.
"You have to get up, there is something happening in the castle," Joran explained sternly, and Myke raised to a sitting position. "What do you mean? What is happening?"
"I'm not sure," Joran answered quickly, "but sounds of fighting have been heard from inside the walls, and there are hardly any guardsmen to be seen on the battlements."
"A mutiny?" My… [view original content]
Myke
Myke was sleeping, but his dreams were restless. He was climbing up a wall, but a storm raged around him and he kept slipping down. … moreAnd all the time the wall just grew taller, so tall that Myke couldn't see the top. However, he knew that he needed to climb up there, and he wouldn't give up.
"Myke," a distant voice said, and the wall begun to crumble. Myke was falling, beneath him only the abyss. "Myke!" He woke up to Ser Joran shaking him from the shoulder. Looking outside from the doorway of the tent, Myke could see that it was still night. "What is it?" He muttered tiredly.
"You have to get up, there is something happening in the castle," Joran explained sternly, and Myke raised to a sitting position. "What do you mean? What is happening?"
"I'm not sure," Joran answered quickly, "but sounds of fighting have been heard from inside the walls, and there are hardly any guardsmen to be seen on the battlements."
"A mutiny?" My… [view original content]
Damn, now this is a very tricky situation... I just can't decide what choice to go with. Still, I have this feeling that Myke maybe won't ge… moret another chance to approach Kortney for some reason... Then again, this is hardly the right moment to do anything since there's a lot of people around.
[Keep your distance for now]
Oh btw, I was just reading through the "waiting to be introduced" list and spotted Valor and Gabby still in there. Also, Olyvar and Firanisa are still in the "Status unknown" list. Thought I'd warn you just to avoid any confusion down the road.
Damn it, now I am really afraid for Kortney. She just lost her best ally in Kingsgrave. It also shows that Sofina has been genuine in her intention to free Kortney. After all, she seems to be the only one in Kingsgrave who thought about a bigger picture, in which House Manwoody could survive the war. And making reparations, distancing herself and her family from her insane husband, that could have been a start. Now, well, with her death, that shitfest of a family deserves to be doomed. Arvin is a coward though. Though loyalty is usually an admirable trait, I cannot help but hate him for this. The fact that he knows this is utterly wrong on so many levels makes it only worse. I have no respect for people who knowingly serve a madman out of misguised loyalty. That is the main reason I have so much respect for Jaime. Sometimes, one must sacrifice their honour for the greater good and rather break a vow than to knowingly do the wrong thing, especially if we speak about serving someone as monstrously insane as Albin.
Indeed, Sofina had a decent plan for making peace with the enemies that Albin has made, and her succeeding in this coup would've been good for almost everyone. Obviously the most devoted followers of Albin would've been killed, but who cares about them? Arvin did show loyalty towards Albin here, but it was also partly pragmatism. Sofina is not his mother, and letting her go through with her coup and murdering the loyalists of Albin, it would've left Arvin in an awkward situation. Most of his supporters would be dead, and he would've been on the mercy of Sofina, and there is zero trust between the two. Neither of them really love Albin, but they don't like each other either. In truth, Sofina sending Arvin to the Wall and making her own son the heir would've been a pretty likely scenario if she had succeeded here.
His father he is not, but after this little display of baffling stupidity on his end, I'm actively hoping for Arvin to die as well. We, unfortunately, know the house is going to survive, but he has a son, hasn't he? Some innocent kid that could actually give the family a fresh start. Or maybe Alaric. We haven't seen him in a while, but with Sofina's death, he's the only Manwoody I consider an actually decent person.
Understandable, since Arvin stopping Sofina's mutiny made things harder for everyone. That said, Arvin still has an interesting role to play in this story. And yes, Manwoody's are going to survive. Of course, that is not a guarantee that Arvin will. I don't think he has a son? If I have established that then I have completely forgotten it He is bethrothed to Sanya Purell though, and it is likely they'll eventually marry and consumate a child. However, there are also Sofina's sons, Prince Brodin being 13 and Prince Jullon 10. Their mother was a traitor, but they are also Albin's sons, so most likely they will not be punished in any way. And then there is Alaric of course, whom we will meet again in time.
Damn it, now I am really afraid for Kortney. She just lost her best ally in Kingsgrave. It also shows that Sofina has been genuine in her in… moretention to free Kortney. After all, she seems to be the only one in Kingsgrave who thought about a bigger picture, in which House Manwoody could survive the war. And making reparations, distancing herself and her family from her insane husband, that could have been a start. Now, well, with her death, that shitfest of a family deserves to be doomed. Arvin is a coward though. Though loyalty is usually an admirable trait, I cannot help but hate him for this. The fact that he knows this is utterly wrong on so many levels makes it only worse. I have no respect for people who knowingly serve a madman out of misguised loyalty. That is the main reason I have so much respect for Jaime. Sometimes, one must sacrifice their honour for the greater good and rather break a vow than to knowingly do the wrong thing, espec… [view original content]
The purpose of coming here is clear, I guess there won't be any better choice to do so. Both options make sense - approaching her can be dangerous, but waiting can be as well - it's just choice of what risk we're willing to take, at least for me. Gonna be tight voting as I see, wonder how it'll end.
Myke
Myke was sleeping, but his dreams were restless. He was climbing up a wall, but a storm raged around him and he kept slipping down. … moreAnd all the time the wall just grew taller, so tall that Myke couldn't see the top. However, he knew that he needed to climb up there, and he wouldn't give up.
"Myke," a distant voice said, and the wall begun to crumble. Myke was falling, beneath him only the abyss. "Myke!" He woke up to Ser Joran shaking him from the shoulder. Looking outside from the doorway of the tent, Myke could see that it was still night. "What is it?" He muttered tiredly.
"You have to get up, there is something happening in the castle," Joran explained sternly, and Myke raised to a sitting position. "What do you mean? What is happening?"
"I'm not sure," Joran answered quickly, "but sounds of fighting have been heard from inside the walls, and there are hardly any guardsmen to be seen on the battlements."
"A mutiny?" My… [view original content]
I may end up changing my vote here but I have a hunch that this might actually be the best choice here. Quite frankly, Kingsgrave is an absolute mess right now with a siege going on which could go on for a very long time and Sofina's mutiny failing so at this point anything and everything can happen which is dangerous for Kortney. Plus at this point Myke is able to blend in with the Manwoody tabard so he should be able to at the very least speak to her with little trouble. There has been so much bleakness in Kortney's life that her knowing Myke is there to save her can only help here especially with her becoming Kortney again so I figure approaching her should not hurt anything here but great points have been made for the other choice as well so I definitely have some thinking to do.
Myke
Myke was sleeping, but his dreams were restless. He was climbing up a wall, but a storm raged around him and he kept slipping down. … moreAnd all the time the wall just grew taller, so tall that Myke couldn't see the top. However, he knew that he needed to climb up there, and he wouldn't give up.
"Myke," a distant voice said, and the wall begun to crumble. Myke was falling, beneath him only the abyss. "Myke!" He woke up to Ser Joran shaking him from the shoulder. Looking outside from the doorway of the tent, Myke could see that it was still night. "What is it?" He muttered tiredly.
"You have to get up, there is something happening in the castle," Joran explained sternly, and Myke raised to a sitting position. "What do you mean? What is happening?"
"I'm not sure," Joran answered quickly, "but sounds of fighting have been heard from inside the walls, and there are hardly any guardsmen to be seen on the battlements."
"A mutiny?" My… [view original content]
Well, I was waiting if the tie would be broken, but looks like that's not going to happen So, Myke will keep his distance for now, because that was the choice that reached 4 votes first. It could be a smart move, considering the courtyard is quite crowded right now, and it's better to not attract too much attention. However, it also means Kortney will remain oblivious to this rescue mission, for now.
And next we will have Kortney PoV, which obviously shows us the immediate consequences of this choice. However, we will take a small jump back in time, and continue at first where we saw Kortney last in her own part. And that was inside Kingsgrave, Tom the Animal at her mercy. Kortney had the choice to knock out Tom or give him either fast or slow death. You voted for the fast death, and that's where we will continue. The part will most likely be ready tomorrow
-
This time I have two portraits, those being Queen Sofina (rip) and Prince Arvin:
Kortney looked straight into the eyes of Tom the Animal, feeling the rage take over her. This man had insulted and humiliated her countless times, and there he was, completely at her mercy. "Come on, you fuck-"
Kortney cut off the freak's words by lunging her spear through his heart. At first Tom's eyes widened in shock and pain, and Kortney felt satisfied. Then, something else took over those eyes – relief. Kortney pulled out the spear, and Tom's dead body collapsed to the floor.
He deserved much worse, Kortney thought bitterly, dropping the spear to the floor. In silence she left the corridor, feeling no remorse.
Kortney walked quietly around Kingsgrave, seeing dozens of bodies lying on the corridors and hallways. Those who had survived carried the bodies away, and quickly Kortney realized that Sofina had failed at her coup, even if she had managed to injure King Albin. When the soldiers asked whose side was Kortney on, she was quick to remind them that she was Albin's mistress, and they left her in peace.
Sun was already starting to rise, when Kortney made her way out to the courtyard. Dozens of guardsmen were flocked there, and as she was halfway down the stairways, Kortney's eyes found a shocking sight. Queen Sofina's head, severed from the rest of her body, in the middle of the courtyard. Prince Arvin walked away from the Queen's body towards the doors of the main keep. With a grim expression on his face, the prince walked right past Kortney, whose eyes were still fixed on the Queen's head.
After a moment, one of the guardsmen picked up the head, and started carrying it towards the walls. Most likely it would be put on a pike, to remind everyone what would happen to traitors. The Queen's headless corpse was dragged elsewhere – most likely where the rest of the bodies had been taken.
Among the guards Kortney saw an old face, a face that looked familiar. A face from my old life. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder, and spun around instinctively, seeing Larry standing in front of her.
"I didn't mean to startle you, mylady," he said with a subtle smirk on his face. "You haven't," Kortney muttered sternly. "What do you want?" She asked, and Larry moved his hand away from her shoulder with a small sigh.
"This night has been a rough one, for all of us," he started with a melodramatic tone on his voice. "Most of all for King Albin. He needs someone to be close to him, and he specifically mentioned you."
"So, he wants to meet me?" Kortney asked with a subtle gulp, and Larry nodded with a smile. "That is how I interpreted his words," he replied softly. "Come then, better not keep the Great King waiting." With these words Larry turned around, and Kortney followed after him. In silence they made their way through the castle, until they arrived to the quarters of the King. Kortney had rarely been here – Albin had respected his marriage at least enough to keep his mistresses away from here. Now there was no marriage though, no reason to not invite Kortney here.
Two guards stood by the door, and as Larry reached for the knob, one of the guards stopped him. "You must wait for the earlier guest to leave," he said with an authoritative tone. For a second an irritated expression flashed on Larry's face, before he found his faux smile again. "So be it," he said with a polite tone, and turned to Kortney. "Looks like we have to wait for a moment," he said smoothly, and Kortney rolled her eyes.
"I'm not deaf," she muttered, which made Larry chuckle quietly. A tense and awkward silence took over the corridor. The guards stood dutifully on their post, Larry tapped his foot impatiently, and Kortney stared at the stony floor, nervous and fearful of what would happen next.
After several quiet minutes, the door finally opened. Out walked a man in black robes, and a hood covering half of his pale face. Zereth, Kortney recognized the man immediately as the assassin who had killed the Purple Ocelot. Zereth flashed a small smirk to Kortney, before walking away without a word.
"Let's go," Larry urged Kortney as she kept staring at the back of the distancing assassin. With anger boiling inside of her Kortney turned, and marched into the King's room. As expected, it was the largest and most luxurious room in the castle, with high ceiling and black marble pillars. The bed was also one fitting for a king, and right now Albin was laying on it, a single guard standing next to him.
"Leave us, Larry," Albin creaked weakly, and with a bow Larry turned and walked out of the room. Kortney walked next to the bed, and took a seat. She could see that Albin's neck was bandaged, indicating how close Sofina had actually been to killing him. Kortney still had the dagger in her right sleeve, and she grabbed its hilt instinctively.
"Missy," Albin said with a coarse voice, and it sounded like every word was painful for him to utter. "Your Grace," Kortney answered quietly, trying to sound like seeing the King wounded was a shock to her. For a moment Albin just looked at her, until he found strength to speak up again. "They... almost killed me, Missy," he muttered, and Kortney could see the anger in his green eyes. "The traitors, they almost killed me."
"I... I am happy that you survived," Kortney replied with some uncertainty in her words, glancing at the guard on the other side of the bed. With difficulty Albin managed to extend his hand for Kortney. "Take my hand, Missy," he commanded weakly, and Kortney grabbed it with her left hand, her right one still clenched around the dagger's hilt. She looked Albin to the eyes, knowing she could end his life now, with ease. However, the punishment for it would be terrible. She would be killed, but before that they would make her suffer, for days. "I love you, Missy," the King said, his lips forming a smile, but his eyes remaining cold as ever. "Now, kiss me," he commanded.
Kortney gulped, knowing the fate of this kingdom and more was in her hands. Is my life truly worth more than that? She didn't want to go through days of torture, but perhaps she could end it herself before it would come to that.
[Kiss Albin] She is so close to being saved now, in any other circumstances I would actually vote for the other option, but her escape is a possibility at this moment, so she needs to stay alive.
Kortney
Kortney looked straight into the eyes of Tom the Animal, feeling the rage take over her. This man had insulted and humiliated her… more countless times, and there he was, completely at her mercy. "Come on, you fuck-"
Kortney cut off the freak's words by lunging her spear through his heart. At first Tom's eyes widened in shock and pain, and Kortney felt satisfied. Then, something else took over those eyes – relief. Kortney pulled out the spear, and Tom's dead body collapsed to the floor.
He deserved much worse, Kortney thought bitterly, dropping the spear to the floor. In silence she left the corridor, feeling no remorse.
Kortney walked quietly around Kingsgrave, seeing dozens of bodies lying on the corridors and hallways. Those who had survived carried the bodies away, and quickly Kortney realized that Sofina had failed at her coup, even if she had managed to injure King Albin. When the soldiers asked whose side was Kortney on, … [view original content]
Kortney
Kortney looked straight into the eyes of Tom the Animal, feeling the rage take over her. This man had insulted and humiliated her… more countless times, and there he was, completely at her mercy. "Come on, you fuck-"
Kortney cut off the freak's words by lunging her spear through his heart. At first Tom's eyes widened in shock and pain, and Kortney felt satisfied. Then, something else took over those eyes – relief. Kortney pulled out the spear, and Tom's dead body collapsed to the floor.
He deserved much worse, Kortney thought bitterly, dropping the spear to the floor. In silence she left the corridor, feeling no remorse.
Kortney walked quietly around Kingsgrave, seeing dozens of bodies lying on the corridors and hallways. Those who had survived carried the bodies away, and quickly Kortney realized that Sofina had failed at her coup, even if she had managed to injure King Albin. When the soldiers asked whose side was Kortney on, … [view original content]
She's indeed close to getting saved, but damn, this option is way more Game-of-Thrones-ish, I wouldn't be myself if I didn't pick it - for the sake of the story. As I said some time ago - this story has definitely not enough deaths as for being Song of Ice and Fire oriented creation, and well - as we could see in Martin's saga, it can really add a lot of spice and tempo to the story.
Kortney
Kortney looked straight into the eyes of Tom the Animal, feeling the rage take over her. This man had insulted and humiliated her… more countless times, and there he was, completely at her mercy. "Come on, you fuck-"
Kortney cut off the freak's words by lunging her spear through his heart. At first Tom's eyes widened in shock and pain, and Kortney felt satisfied. Then, something else took over those eyes – relief. Kortney pulled out the spear, and Tom's dead body collapsed to the floor.
He deserved much worse, Kortney thought bitterly, dropping the spear to the floor. In silence she left the corridor, feeling no remorse.
Kortney walked quietly around Kingsgrave, seeing dozens of bodies lying on the corridors and hallways. Those who had survived carried the bodies away, and quickly Kortney realized that Sofina had failed at her coup, even if she had managed to injure King Albin. When the soldiers asked whose side was Kortney on, … [view original content]
Mm, I definitely see where you are coming from, even if I have to point out that several named characters have been killed off since you last brought this up And few of them have even been quite tragic, such as Illor and Lyla. Of course, no PoV has yet been killed, but that is sure to change before Book 1 is over
[Kill Albin and yourself]
She's indeed close to getting saved, but damn, this option is way more Game-of-Thrones-ish, I wouldn't be mysel… moref if I didn't pick it - for the sake of the story. As I said some time ago - this story has definitely not enough deaths as for being Song of Ice and Fire oriented creation, and well - as we could see in Martin's saga, it can really add a lot of spice and tempo to the story.
Yeah, I'm aware of few important deaths that happened during my absence - but for example Illor - he died in a battle, when people are usually dying, Sofina was trying to straight up kill the king and her punishment coming was up-to-predict. In Martin's books and TV series (at least first 3-4 seasons) you could never be sure that given character won't die, you waited for next tomes/ episodes with rising disturbance and... it was great. No offence in your direction of course - your story is one of the best fanfic creations I've read, but here anticipation comes mainly from the characters upcoming clashes, meetings and - in that case - open war development. Not saying that it's bad too - it's your own style which got you some attention on this forum and in my opinion it's fully deserved, but - for me at least - need to be taken less like GoT/ ASOIAF orientated story, and more like Martin's/DD's universe creation. From what you told me now though - that PoV's death is coming in The Sun and the Spear, so in the rest of 3rd chapter and epilogue - I see I have nothing to worry about, and as I mentioned earlier - disturbance rises
Mm, I definitely see where you are coming from, even if I have to point out that several named characters have been killed off since you las… moret brought this up And few of them have even been quite tragic, such as Illor and Lyla. Of course, no PoV has yet been killed, but that is sure to change before Book 1 is over
Comments
Aye, the Fallen Dragons are a sort of wild card in Nymeria's arsenal, something the Dryland's definitely haven't been expecting. And yes, they will have a pretty big role to play in this conflict. Yeah, this is an easy win for the Fallen Dragons, much easier than they were expecting themselves. The main reason for this is that Lord Jorvian felt comfortable leaving Salt Shore without proper defenses (or a competent commander), because no one expects Nymeria to attack from the sea - she burned her fleet after all. Obviously it's a bit of luck that the Fallen Dragons happened to arrive after the combined army of Lucifer and Jorvian had already marched to Vaith. Had they arrived when that army was still positioned in Salt Shore... it would've been a very hard battle, and the odds would not have been on the Fallen Dragons' side. But, as it is, Nymeria indeed gains an advantage with her recent victories. I'll point out though that the Gargalen army is still with Lucifer - they just lost Salt Shore.
Oh no, Gabby Gargalen is about as bad a commander as one could be. She has no experience on warfare whatsoever, nor has she even studied it. She is just the one Lord Jorvian left in charge, because he wasn't expecting there would be a battle, and Gabby is competent enough in other aspects of ruling.
That said, with properly manned ships and a more clever tactic, sending ships as a first line of defense wouldn't have necessarily been a bad idea, and could've possibly even damaged the attacking force enough that they would've had to retreat before even trying to breach the gates. However, with the forces that Gabby had here, she definitely should've concentrated her limited amount of men on defending the walls and the gates, just like Valor points out.
[Lead the assault yourself]
Since everyone already chose this, I might as well go with [Lead the assault yourself]
Ha! now that's some Stannis feels right there
Voting is closed!
Firstly, Nymeria will send Morgan to the Wall. This is mostly a character building choice, but it does also affect Nymeria's relationship with Esperence. And considering that Esperence was the one who brought up the idea of sending his father to the Wall, we can assume she'll see this positively.
And, Valor will lead the assault himself. Again, mostly character building, but there are some immediate consequences as well, which you'll see in Valor's next part.
The next part will be an Isabella PoV, but sadly I haven't made much progress at all, because I was very busy yesterday. Today I'm honestly feeling a bit sick, but I think I'll still be able to do some writing. Most likely I won't get the part done today, but we'll have to see.
As a recap, since Isabella hasn't had a part in a while, earlier in her storyline Isabella found out she would not be marrying Naemon Blackmont after all, but instead the alliance would be established on a marriage between Princess Gwendis Blackmont and Prince Desmor Fowler. Except, that didn't happen either, as Gwendis ran away from Blackmont with Aisha. King Garrison had denied Desmor the honor to lead their armies against the Manwoody's because of the importance of this marriage, and now that it resulted into nothing Desmor felt let down and useless. Isabella tried to console her brother, but he wasn't very receptive. Later news came to Skyreach about a Manwoody force having invaded into the northern valleys of the Kingdom of Stone and Sky. Garrison decided to send a small force drive these intruders out, and Desmor wanted to bet the one to lead the attack. Afraid of the possibility to lose both of his sons to this war, Garrison was hesitant to grant Desmor's wish. However, Isabella later convinced her father to send Desmor, knowing it would make her brother feel better about himself. After this, Garrison told Isabella that he was willing to send a marriage proposal to Starfall, for Isabella to marry Jamison, which was what she had been hoping for. She decided to send the proposal right away.
-
And here is our newest PoV, Valor Veltaris:
Pretty cool portrait, and reminds us Valyrian's indeed look like that.
Sending Morgan to the Wall was indeed necessary, since we all know several of those recruits were people who happened to fight for the losing side of a war, like Alliser Thorne and Jeremy Rykker.
This means conflict between Esperence and Emerson, since while Esperence is Morgan's eldest surviving child, Emerson is technically the rightful heir as the eldest child of the previous lord, who was Morgan's older brother.
This puts Emerson at Yronwood's side for now, although Godsgrace right now belongs to House Martell.
Isabella
Princess Isabella Fowler stood on the courtyard of Skyreach, next to his father King Garrison, whose blind eyes were closed as always. The lords, knights and ladies of the court were all there, including Princess Dana and little Prince Matthos, waiting for the heroic return of Prince Desmor. The gates were open, and the horns of the returning prince could already be heard from the distance.
Isabella was smiling, because right now she had a lot to be happy for. Desmor was returning home safely, and just a couple days ago a raven from Starfall had arrived, carrying a letter from King Vorian. The King of Torrentine had accepted Garrison's proposal. I will finally marry Jamison, Isabella thought with a dreamy look in her eyes, picturing in her head the moment they would meet at the courtyard of Starfall.
Isabella's thoughts were cut off by Desmor riding in from the gates with his black war horse, Ser Soren Ashford and the rest of the forces coming after him. The Prince cantered right in front of his family, before halting his horse and dismounting it. While on the road, Desmor had grown himself a small beard, which made him look a bit older. As he begun to approach them, Isabella could see that he was limping, if only slightly. He is injured, she realized. Despite that, the prince had a triumphant smile on his face, and a proud look on his blue eyes.
"Welcome home, Prince Desmor," Garrison said, a smile forming on his face. "Thank you, father," Desmor responded, and the excitement could be heard in his voice. "We faced the Manwoody raiders on the field, and utterly destroyed their forces. The few who survived escaped back to the mountains they came from."
"You have done well, my son," Garrison complimented, genuine pride in his words. "Tonight, we will have a feast in the great hall, to celebrate your victorious return."
"Sounds good," Desmor said, still smiling, and Garrison nodded. "Now, give me your hand," he said quietly, and with some confusion Desmor grabbed his father's hand. Then, the King raised up his son's hand, like announcing the champion of a tourney. "Hail Prince Desmor, the savior of the northern valleys!" He yelled.
"Hail Prince Desmor!" The people on the courtyard repeated in unison, and Isabella could see from her brother's eyes that this moment was a fulfilment of his dreams.
-
The great hall was crowded with knights and soldiers that had fought alongside Prince Desmor. Wine had flown throughout the evening, which was evident by the loud chatter and singing on the lower tables. The chatter on the high table was calmer, but no less cheerful. Garrison had looked and sounded more relaxed than in a long time, and Desmor's mood was obviously better than in ages. The only one who seemed to be in a less joyous mood was Princess Dana, but Isabella could easily forgive her for it, considering that Prince Ferris was still to return from the war.
Suddenly Garrison stood up from his seat, and gradually the hall quieted down. The King had his cup on his hand, clearly ready to give them a speech. "The gallant warriors of Skyreach!" He began, and the crowd cheered for him. "It is my honor and joy to have you all here with me tonight, sharing my wine and meat. You all did your duty, and fought bravely beside my son." Again, the people in the hall cheered and applauded, and Garrison nodded for them, before continuing. "The Kingdom of Stone and Sky is not just the King, or even the royal family. I am just the man who sits on the throne and watches over it all, as well as I can without working eyes." The people reacted to this with a hearty laughter, and Isabella could see a smirk on her father's face. "But you, my friends, you are the foundation that this kingdom is truly built on. Brave and honorable men, willing to risk their lives doing their duty for the good of the realm. I am proud of my son for leading us to this victory, but I am just as proud of all of you, for we are all a family. Let's raise our cups, for the heroes of Skyreach! Let Me Soar!" The King ended his speech with the words of House Fowler, raising his goblet. The soldiers repeated the words with pride, before emptying their cups.
As they all sat down, the chatter continued in the hall. "Desmor, Isabella," Garrison said quietly, and they both shifted their attention to him. "Meet me in my office in the morning, there is something important we need to discuss."
-
The celebrations in the great hall had continued long into the night, but Isabella had left for her chambers pretty early. The sun had risen about an hour ago, and Isabella had already bathed, dressed up and had her hair made by her handmaiden Cassana Blackpool, who now sat with her on the balcony. The summer had gotten hotter every day, and already in the morning the heat was almost unbearable, despite Isabella being dressed in one of her skimpier dresses.
"What do you think you father wants to discuss?" Cassana asked with her cheerful tone, and Isabella shrugged lightly. "Hopefully it's about Starfall," the princess replied quietly. The past few days she had been impatiently waiting for the day she would finally be sent to the Dayne's. Garrison wouldn't come with her, she knew that much. It would be too long and hard journey for him, and he was too busy handling the Manwoody conflict anyway. Isabella knew already that she would miss her father, as well as her brothers, but it was a price she was willing to pay to be with Jamison.
Suddenly, the door of her chambers was knocked. Isabella and Cassana both stood up and stepped back inside from the balcony. "I'll open it, my princess," Cassana said politely, and skittered quickly for the door. The handmaiden pulled the door open, and behind it stood Ser Soren Ashford.
"Ser Soren," Cassana greeted the knight with an excited tone, giving him a curtsy. Ser Soren nodded politely to the girl, before turning his eyes to Isabella. "My princess, the King has summoned you to his office," he informed with soft and polite words, and Isabella nodded with a smile.
"I'm ready, ser," she answered quickly, and walked next to Cassana. "Cassana, you can take the next few hours off," she said to her handmaiden, before stepping to the corridor, and following Ser Soren towards her father's office. As they arrived to said office, they were welcomed by Ser Dustran Drinkwater, who stood in guard at the door.
"Prince Desmor already arrived," Dustran informed with his calm and professional tone, before opening the door for them. "I'll wait outside," Soren said with a friendly tone, and Isabella gave him a nod, before walking in and closing the door behind her.
As the door was closed, silence lingered in the room for a few seconds. "Isabella?" Garrison finally asked. "Yes," Isabella answered, taking her seat opposed to the King, and next to her brother. Desmor looked tired, possibly a bit hungover, and he still hadn't shaved off his beard from the road.
"So, now that you are both here, I can get to the point," Garrison said with a small sigh, pushing his fingers together. "You will leave for Starfall tomorrow." Isabella's face lit up from joy, but she saw a bit more confused expression forming on her brother's face.
"You... as in we? Me and Isabella both?" Desmor asked, and Garrison nodded. "You will escort your sister to Starfall, along with Ser Soren and a small convoy of troops," he explained calmly. "You will stay there until the wedding, and give away the bride in my stead. After that you can return, but Ser Soren will stay there permanently, serving as Isabella's personal guard."
"With all due respect father, wouldn't there be something more important for me to do?" Desmor asked with a hint of frustration in his words. "We are still at war after all."
"Don't you consider the safety of your sister important?" Garrison asked sharply, and Desmor let out a sigh. "Of course I do," he grumbled as an answer. "But is it really necessary for me to go?"
"It is," Garrison answered firmly. "As I said, you will be the one to give away the bride. Besides, this is about making alliances, and I need you to be there to present me in front of King Vorian. Also, you will stop at Oasis Castle on your way to Starfall, and I need you to speak with the Drinkwater's. So far, they have been... hesitant to support us in this war. You must remind Lord Jared of his oaths, as well as deliver him a message from me."
"A message?" Desmor asked bluntly, raising an eyebrow. "Yes, a marriage proposal," Garrison answered calmly. "Lord Jared has a younger sister named Arianne, just a few years younger than you. Perhaps a stern reminder of their duties and a prospect of a royal marriage will bring the Drinkwater's back to fold."
"So, once again I'm just a tool for you to make alliances with," Desmor said dryly. "Haven't I proved already that the battlefield is where my true value for this kingdom is?"
"You did well in the northern valleys, it is true, and you will continue to fight for the Kingdom of Stone and Sky in the future," Garrison's kept his tone calm and patient as he spoke. "However, you will also marry Arianne Drinkwater, to solidify our rule over Oasis Castle."
Isabella could see from Desmor's face that he wasn't pleased with this turn of events, but he didn't protest any further. "So be it," the prince just said sternly, and a tense silence followed.
"Desmor, you can leave us now," Garrison finally spoke up again. "I'll share a few more words with Isabella."
"Understood, Your Grace," Desmor responded dryly, stood up from his chair, and walked out of the office. As the door was closed, Isabella spoke up. "He clearly doesn't want to go," she said calmly, and Garrison nodded.
"No, he doesn't," he acknowledged with a small sigh. "But he is still my son, and will do his duty. Besides, most would consider marriage to a Drinkwater maiden a reward, not a punishment."
"Not Desmor," Isabella stated with a mildly amused tone. "He has never been one to settle down with one woman."
"Perhaps, but he's a grown man now, and it is time for him to settle down and have children of his own," the King spoke with a calm, almost detached tone on his voice. "But you, Isabella, you have the journey of your life ahead of you. How are you feeling now?" Garrison's voice told that he was genuinely interested to hear his daughter's thoughts.
"I'm happy," she began quietly, "but also... nervous. It will be such a big change, living with the Dayne's, in Starfall. Away from you, Desmor and Ferris." Garrison nodded, a gentle and understanding expression on his face.
"I will be sure to write you as often as I can," he said softly, a smile forming on his old face. "I hope you will remember to write back, at least a couple times a year."
"Of course I will!" Isabella insisted, and her father chuckled. "Oh, my dear Bella, you have grown up to be such a wonderful young woman," he said, letting out a wistful sigh. "This might be the last day we spend with each other."
"Don't say that, father!" Isabella snapped, and it looked to amuse Garrison. "I'm an old man, Bella, but your life is just about to begin," he said, leaning back on his chair. "And it will be a happy and long life, filled with beautiful memories, I know it will." Isabella felt tears coming to her eyes, and as she started to sob, Garrison spoke up again. "There is no need to cry, sweet girl," he said softly, and now Isabella spurted up from her chair, walked around the desk, and embraced into a tight hug with her father.
"I will miss you, father," she said with tearful words, her hands still tightly around the old king.
"Farewell, my lovely daughter," Garrison said quietly, and Isabella gulped as she separated from him, tears still running down her cheeks. Looking at her father, she didn't want to say farewell, it just felt wrong. This can't be the last time I see him.
["Farewell"] ["Until we meet again"]
["Until we meet again"]
I believe that this way of parting will at least soften Garrison's heart a little. It's more of emotional choice, so there can't be a lot of reasoning behind it, but, I don't know, this one just feels more right. Besides - nice to see Soren again, happy to see him still finding his place in your story.
Damn, that was tough at the end. Great part.
["Until we meet again"] This answer will give hope to the both of them that they will see each other again, as unlikely as it is.
Soren Ashford is a curious character because he seems to come from House Ashford of the Reach, wonder what's his story.
Ah, it seems Desmor cannot catch a break. One unwanted marriage out of the way, he is now forced into the other and I really doubt there's going to be a way out of it this time, unless of course, his new possibly betrothed also runs away with some crappy demon slut (it's pronounced Aisha). Somehow, I don't think he'll be this "lucky" once again. At the same time, it means yet another ship of mine has sunken
Of course, in this particular case, I had a shockingly crucial role in sinking the glory that is Gwesmor by choosing wrongly so long ago... just as the very same choice means I am not innocent of killing Lyla either, oh my god 
Ah, it has always been unlikely to ever happen, but has been a nice thought experiment of mine, so it shall be remembered as yet another victim of Aisha. I believe I have not given you the daily reminder that she's the worst, so consider yourself reminded, because she's still the worst.
That being said, I just noticed that Desmor being married off means that there is absolutely no way for the Fowler-Blackmont alliance to be strengthened by marriage, so that might mean that it is save for Gwendis to return home to Blackmont... ah, yet another reason for her to get away from a certain frigid pile of shit named Aisha. Surely, getting away from Worst and Worstley is not as easy as it sounds, but it is relieving to know that after all, her home is an actual option once again. No thanks to Aisha for that! So... perhaps I should be happy that Garrison has found a new match for Desmor? I should, I know it, but why do I still feel so hollow?
But ah, aside from my very personally biased feeling of tragedy, I cannot deny that I got the feels here and not just because you are adamant to pull a Nymeria on my fleet of ships
I hope the best for Desmor, I felt for him ever since I realized how unwantingly my fateful change of votes hurt him. And just now that he won some pride for himself, this happens again and this time, it seems likely he'll have to go through with it. Well, he won't have it as good as he could have had it, but for his sake, I hope he'll be at least somewhat content with the coming marriage. And Garry, perhaps my favourite king that is not Benny, my heart breaks for that scheming old bastard. No, really, I might feel a bit ambiguous towards him, but at the core, he has always been a guy whom I enjoyed and his interaction with Isabella has always been his saving grace. With his scheming and the way it (admittedly unintentionally) affected Gwen and Naemon, I should, by all means, hate him on a level somewhere between Aisha and Wesley, but the fact that it has always tremendously warmed my heart to see him interact with Isa means he is always someone I am strangely fond of. We'll see how I feel about him once this chapter continues. I do wonder though what this means for his role in general. This is likely Isabella's last part as the Skyreach PoV, so hm... I wonder who will follow in this role. Maybe we actually won't see Skyreach in a while now, with Isabella and Desmor on the road.
["Until we meet again"]
Now, knowing what happens to Garrison, this being their last talk is quite likely. However, part of me doubts it and more importantly, I want Isabella to doubt it. She has always been amazing as this sweet, innocent lady and she really doesn't need to get a cynical streak now. Let's keep her bright and positive as long as possible. After all, hope is the most important thing of them all and with this choice, I believe she might at least keep the hope of seeing her father again.
["Until we meet again"]
This just seems like the better and more hopeful option for her to say to her father.
Hah, didn't even know there was a Gwesmor ship
I mean, Gwendis staying a Blackmont was one of the big motives for going with Aisha IIRC, so I figured you wouldn't mind the possibility of this marriage being out of question now 
And yeah, we'll have to see if this potential marriage pact with the Drinkwater's will work out any better than the one with the Blackmont's, but at the very least we'll soon(ish) be introduced to another interesting noble family!
Indeed, the alliance between these two houses rests now solely on them having a common enemy in Manwoody. That said, we can expect a pretty strong alliance between the Fowler's and Dayne's now that Isabella will be married to Jamison, and they might also have a common enemy soon enough. But you're right, now there would really be hardly any drawbacks for Gwendis on returning to home. Obviously it's easier said than done - Aisha isn't about to let her just go. And well, I suppose Gwendis and Desmor could've become a pretty sweet couple in time, so there is a bit of bittersweetness to this.
We'll be seeing a lot of Desmor in Isabella's coming parts, and we'll hear a bit more of his thoughts on this situation in time. He is displeased, that much is clear, but perhaps meeting this Arianne Drinkwater will change his mind. We'll have to see. And ah, Garry... Isabella is definitely this old schemer's soft spot, and brings out the best of him. That also brings up the question, how will he be without Isabella around? Probably not dramatically different, but perhaps slightly colder. And well, I can reveal we won't be seeing much of Garrison in this book anymore, now that Isabella is leaving Skyreach. However, he will have big role in Book 2.
["Until we meet again"]
["Farewell"]
It has always been one of the more obscure ships in my fleet, more a theoretical idea than anything actively existing. See, if everything works out in the best possible way, and I still hold more than just a bit of doubt for this, Gwendis will be Lady Blackmont in the end. In this case, she would need a husband, but due to her position, it cannot be another lord or heir, who would have to give up title or inheritance as a result to become Lord Blackmont by her side. So, a thirdborn son, while having been a crushing disappointment to her back when Benedict first mentioned this marriage, would have actually been a perfect match. There's also the sweet component of making it work the second time after, well, things did not quite work the first time. But as I said, it was never more than a theoretical scenario and one I myself did a lot to ruin, so I do not mind its passing too much, but still, this is a bit of a bittersweet moment, because of how different it could have been.
Hm, with Manwoody lasting at least until Book 3, I wonder if this means the alliance will still hold for longer than I thought. That being said, it is obviously far from the most stable thing ever. Interestingly, Dayne and Blackmont also seem close, due to Benedict's marriage with Valaena and his children being half Dayne as a result. So, it will be interesting to see how that works out, because with the marriage between Jamison and Isabella, Vorian will have yet another reason to ensure that House Manwoody fails. With Nymeria on the move, they absolutely have to hurry to make sure there won't be an enemy to the north to worry about. And well, I guessed that much about Aisha and her being willing to do literally anything to keep Gwendis as her prisoner. I believe you know what I'm going to say now: She's the worst. She also seems to be the main reason none of my preferred ships work out, so that is yet another reason to hate her, not that I needed any more
Well, I hope the best for him. I feel quite guilty for putting him into this situation, so for his sake, I hope it all works out, at least somewhat. And I truly look forward for the next PoV to interact with Garrison. At this point, I have no idea at all. If there's a Dayne-Fowler alliance against Nymeria in Book 2, which I consider highly likely, I guess it will be one of the Dayne's interacting with him. Maybe Jamison? We never quite learned how he sees Jamison, did we? I mean, him agreeing to marry Isabella to Jamison seemed to be mostly motivated out of love for his daughter, not out of any fondness he feels for the intended husband. I am really curious now for how these two would get along.
["Until we meet again"] I also believe that this is the best choice to keep more in line with Isabella being more optimistic even if the chance of her seeing her father again are pretty slim.
From the looks of things, it looks like the Isabella and Jamison marriage will indeed be happening. Admittedly, alot can happen from now to when Isabella and Jamison get back to Starfall but I do believe there is alot of interesting potential here in what could happen with their potential marriage. If I had to guess, Isabella will probably be the new Starfall PoV for book 2 while Jamison will be off fighting somewhere but the interactions that we do get between them should be really interesting plus the idea of Jamison being the one to interact with Garrison will be interesting since we don't know what Garrison really thinks of him and vice versa.
On a side note though, I am really intrigued to meet the Oasis Castle Drinkwaters. It sounds like they are pretty powerful bannerman of the Fowler's and that not having them helping the Fowler's for whatever reason has affected them so it will be interesting to see their role moving forward and the question about whether their loyalty is an issue or not will be solved as well
Until we meet again. Also hi, I'm back lol.
Until we meet again. Also hi, I'm back lol.
So it seems indeed. Jamison of course doesn't know about this yet, but it will certainly be a pleasant surprise for him when he eventually returns to Starfall. So far, aside from your great Isabella H&L, the relationship of these two lovebirds has been established purely through Isabella thinking about Jamison and vice versa, so I'm really pumped to write some actual interaction between the two. And that is a very likely scenario for Book 2. Isabella will certainly remain a PoV, and it would make sense for her to be in Starfall, just like it would make sense that Jamison is spending a lot of his time fighting the war against Nymeria. Interesting times ahead for these characters, to say the least. And oh, I certainly hope I'll get a chance to show Jamison and Garrison in a scene together, because they are so different from each other as characters, but have an equal love for Isabella. I'd say Jamison would probably act much more respectfully around Garrison than he does around most people
Hehe, I'm pretty happy to finally get to introduce House Drinkwater, because there are several interesting characters in Oasis Castle to be explored. They are a fairly powerful house, perhaps the strongest vassal the Fowler's have. However, they are sort of disconnected from the rest of the Kingdom of Stone and Sky, due to their seat being in the desert. There have been times in their history when they have been very loyal and helpful towards the Fowler kings, but most of the time they just care about themselves. And since they have fortified one of the few bits of good drinking water on a quite important trade route, well, let's just say it gives them a reliable source of income - guess you could compare it to the Frey's and their crossing. That in turn allows the Drinkwater's to be fairly autonomous, even if still sworn to House Fowler.
["Until we meet again"]
Even though this is likely their last meeting, I think that there's no harm in being, at least, a little bit hopeful.
Voting is closed!
And Isabella will say "Until we meet again". You interpreted this choice correctly, as choosing this will mean that Isabella departs from her father with more hopeful and positive thoughts, believing they will indeed meet again. Whether that actually happens, we'll have to see. For now she is going to Starfall, though there will be a stop at Oasis Castle first.
Next up, we will have a Myke part. In Chapter 2, he arrived to Kingsgrave with Ser Joran Storm and Raina Serviene, finding the castle under siege by the armies of House Blackmont and House Fowler. However, there was also Prestan Caron with a small convoy of Caron troops, who had arrived after receiving the message Myke sent from Blackmont, telling about the rumor he heard of Kortney possibly being a prisoner of the Manwoody's. In Kortney's earlier part in this chapter, she woke up during the night, hearing sounds of fighting inside the castle - the mutiny lead by Queen Sofina had began. Myke's part takes place that very same night. Anyway, I'll try to make as much progress today as I can, but most likely this part won't be ready until tomorrow.
-
And here we have a portrait of Prince Desmor Fowler:
Myke
Myke was sleeping, but his dreams were restless. He was climbing up a wall, but a storm raged around him and he kept slipping down. And all the time the wall just grew taller, so tall that Myke couldn't see the top. However, he knew that he needed to climb up there, and he wouldn't give up.
"Myke," a distant voice said, and the wall begun to crumble. Myke was falling, beneath him only the abyss. "Myke!" He woke up to Ser Joran shaking him from the shoulder. Looking outside from the doorway of the tent, Myke could see that it was still night. "What is it?" He muttered tiredly.
"You have to get up, there is something happening in the castle," Joran explained sternly, and Myke raised to a sitting position. "What do you mean? What is happening?"
"I'm not sure," Joran answered quickly, "but sounds of fighting have been heard from inside the walls, and there are hardly any guardsmen to be seen on the battlements."
"A mutiny?" Myke asked quietly, and Joran responded with a shrug. "Could be," he said with a small smirk forming on his face. "Anyway, get up and get your armor on. I'll meet you in Prestan's pavilion." With these words Ser Joran Storm walked out of the tent, leaving Myke alone to dress up.
After getting his gear on, Myke walked out of his tent, and through the faintly illuminated camp, finally making it to the pavilion of Prestan Caron, which was brightly lit with two burning braziers. Aside from the heir of Nightsong himself, inside the pavilion were Ser Joran, Raina Serviene and a young brown-haired knight wearing the colors of House Caron, whom Myke didn't recognize.
"Ser Steffon Toyne," the young man introduced himself, extending his hand for Myke. Myke grabbed the hand for a shake, looking the knight straight into his green eyes. "Ser Myke of the Marches," he responded calmly, and Steffon nodded with a subtle smile forming on his face.
"I've heard a lot about you from Lord Trevas, and from Ser Joran of course," he spoke with a respectful tone. "I arrived to Nightsong and pledged my sword to Lord Trevas a few months after you had left."
"Unfortunately, there is no more time for introductions," Prestan said sternly, and Myke turned towards him. "What do you have in mind, mylord?" He asked calmly, seeing a determined look on the boy's eyes.
"There is a mutiny inside the castle," he said quietly, walking next to one of the braziers. "This is our time to act, our chance to save my sister."
"If the rumor is indeed true and Kortney really is in there," Myke pointed out. As Prestan ignored his words, he spoke up again. "Are Prince Ferris and Ser Kegan planning to storm the castle?" He asked curiously, and Prestan shook his head.
"They have decided to wait it out," he said with a touch of frustration in his words. Myke nodded calmly, considering his next words carefully. "Perhaps it would be wise for us to do the same," he finally said. "If there is indeed a mutiny, the castle might well surrender in the morning."
"And what if Kortney doesn't survive until the morning?" Prestan asked strictly, and Myke let out a sigh. "If she is there, and still alive, she has managed to survive a long time without our help." Prestan shook his head for Myke's words.
"I will not command you to follow, but I will go there and save my sister," the boy said decisively. For a while everyone was quiet, until Ser Joran spoke up. "I'm with you," he said to Prestan, who gave him a small nod.
"As am I, mylord," Steffon Toyne said. Myke glanced at Raina, who just shrugged. "I'll go if you go," she said quietly.
"Fine," Myke finally said with a sigh, and a small smile formed on Prestan's face. "I knew I could trust you, Ser Myke," he said, and Myke nodded. However, as the young lord turned his back to fetch his weapons, Myke elbowed him in the back of his head. Prestan was knocked out, and as he begun to collapse, Myke caught him, and laid him gently on the ground. He saw Ser Steffon reaching for his sword, and gave him a meaningful glare.
"No need to draw that sword, ser," he said with quiet and tense tone, and the young Toyne knight looked at him with an alarmed gaze in his eyes. "I am merely doing this protect him," Myke continued, standing up. "I will infiltrate Kingsgrave, and Joran and Raina will come with me, but I will not put the life of the heir to Nightsong at risk. You stay here, Ser Steffon, and protect him. And when he wakes up, tell him I'm sorry, and don't let him come after us. You know this is what Lord Trevas would want."
Steffon moved his hand away from the hilt of his sword, and gave Myke a silent nod. "Come on then, let's go," Myke said to Joran and Raina, walking out of the pavilion.
-
They approached the castle walls quietly in the darkness of the night. There were no torches to be seen on the battlements, and every now and then screams and clashing of swords could be heard inside the castle.
Ser Joran was carrying grappling hooks, which would be their way to climb atop the wall. If even a single guard would see them climbing up the wall, things could turn sour terribly quickly. They reached the walls on the southern side of the castle, where they expected to be the least guards. The grappling hook landing on the battlements made a noise that made Myke cringe. He could only hope no Manwoody guards had heard it.
Quietly they started to climb up, Myke going in first, Raina coming after him, and Ser Joran after her. As Myke reached the top, he saw no one on the walls. He helped Raina up, but then he heard something. Steps, close by. He drew out his dagger, while Raina helped Joran up.
Then he saw it, a guard in Manwoody attire coming up the stairs atop the wall. He looked to be out of breath, like he had ran away from something or someone. As the guard noticed Myke, his eyes widened, and he began to reach for the horn that was hanging on his belt.
There was no time to hesitate, Myke had to act quickly. He raised his dagger and threw it towards the guardsman. It landed straight on the man's throat, and he collapsed down with a nasty gurgling noise.
"Nicely done," Ser Joran complimented with a whisper, and they approached the dead body. Myke removed the Manwoody tabard from the man, and put it on himself. After that, they threw the dead guardsman down the walls.
"Follow me," Myke muttered, and they walked down the stairs. They made their way behind the kennels and stables, still hearing sounds of fighting. Finally, they arrived to the armory, where they found tabards for Joran and Raina. After that, they walked to the courtyard, which was illuminated by several torches. Lying on the ground were at least a dozen bodies. However, there were also a few living guardsmen standing next to the bodies. Finally, one of them noticed Myke, Joran and Raina approaching.
"Stop right there!" The man yelled with a nervous tone, pointing his spear at them. "Are you with the traitors?" He asked frantically. Myke raised his hands up calmly. "Relax, brother," he said, trying to sound as confident as he could. "We just chased down a couple of the traitors on the walls."
"You happened to see Jack there?" The man asked with a raised eyebrow. "He went to check out the walls a couple minutes go."
"We didn't see anyone," Joran answered sternly, and though the guardsman nodded, there was suspicion in his eyes. "How long have you been serving in Kingsgrave?" He asked quietly, and Myke gave Joran a meaningful glance.
"Not long," he said nonchalantly. "We were recruited to the army when the prince was marching down the Wide Way. In fact, I had never even seen Kingsgrave before we retreated here with the Blackmont and Fowler armies on our back." The expressions of all the guardsmen turned much more relaxed now.
"It was quite a battle on the Wide Way," one of them said with a sigh. "I lost many friends there, fighting for this kingdom. Thought I'd at least be safe here, and then that treasonous bitch queen does this."
"Has she been caught yet?" Myke asked carefully, and the guardsman nodded. "I believe so, yes," he answered calmly. "Most of the mutineers have been killed or brought to the dungeons by now. I heard the King is badly wounded though. I hope that's not true... I'm not sure how long we'll survive with the Blackmont's and Fowler's on our gates if King Albin can't lead us."
They kept chatting with the guards for some time, and soon it was sunrise. More guards came to the courtyard, the bodies were dragged away, and the walls were being patrolled again. Still, it was clear this night had claimed dozens of lives, making the garrison of Kingsgrave significantly weaker. Perhaps weak enough for Blackmont's and Fowler's to take over.
Suddenly, the doors of the main keep were pushed open, and out of them walked a group of soldiers, dragging with them a bruised slender woman on her late thirties. The woman's blue dress was torn apart, her nose was broken and bleeding, and her hands tied behind her back. In her dark blue eyes was a defeated and painful gaze.
"That must be the queen who instigated the mutiny," Raina whispered, as they observed the scene from the sidelines. "A shame that she failed," Joran commented dryly, and Myke gave him a meaningful glare. They had to be careful with their words, as to not blow their cover.
Behind the shamed queen and the group of soldiers walked a young man with short black hair and narrowed green eyes, dressed in elegant black-and-gold clothes. "The prince?" Joran muttered quietly, and Myke had come to the same conclusion. This had to be Prince Arvin Manwoody, the heir of King Albin.
One of the soldiers fetched a wooden block to the middle of the courtyard, and the Queen was pushed down on her knees next to it. Prince Arvin walked in front of her, staring her down with fury in his eyes. The whole courtyard was in silence, waiting for what would happen next.
"Queen Sofina," Arvin began, and behind his calm voice could be spotted the deep underlying anger. "You have been found guilty of terrible crimes against your kingdom. You conspired a mutiny against your king, you tried to murder your king. Do you deny this?"
"I do not," the Queen answered strongly, and the troops on the courtyard reacted with gasps and booing. "Silence," Prince Arvin commanded sternly, now unsheathing his sword. "The punishment for your crimes is death. Do you have any last words?"
"This kingdom is doomed under the leadership of Albin," Sofina spoke with an honest tone, but her words were received with angry barking and slander. Still, she tried to continue, this time speaking directly to Prince Arvin. "Albin is a mad tyrant! He does not deserve your loyalty!"
"Quiet!" Arvin shouted, and though he was clearly angered, Myke could also see conflict in the young man's eyes. Perhaps he knew there was some truth in the Queen's words, but refused to acknowledge it. Now the soldiers pushed Sofina against the block, and the Queen closed her eyes.
Arvin stepped next to her, raising his sword up. The courtyard was once again in complete silence. And then he swung his sword. It cut cleanly through the Queen's petite neck, and blood spilled to the ground as the head fell down. Myke turned to his companions, seeing a look of terror in Raina's eyes, and one of disgust in Joran's.
Leaving his sword for the soldiers, Arvin marched silently back towards the doors of the keep. However, as Myke followed the prince with his gaze, his eyes found something interesting. By the stairs stood a young and scarred woman with a medium length red hair, and a shocked expression on her green eyes. Those eyes. It took Myke a few seconds before he realized he was looking at Kortney Caron. But she was different, far from the sweet young lady of Nightsong whom Myke had known and loved. We are here to save her, he reminded himself, glancing quickly at Joran and Raina, who had not yet noticed Kortney. Is this the right moment to approach her?
[Approach Kortney] [Keep your distance for now]
[Keep your distance for now] While it would be good to let her know they're here to save her, if the Manwoody guards notice they're not from there, they could easily assume they're Blackmont or Fowler spies, which will mean certain death for the three of them.
It is clear Arvin doesn't enjoy serving the madman of a father that is Albin, but you gotta respect his loyalty, as misguided as it is. The fact that he did a Ned Stark's show he at least is not a coward like his father. Lets hope he does a Jamie and betrays his father eventually.
[Approach Kortney]
Damn it, now I am really afraid for Kortney. She just lost her best ally in Kingsgrave. It also shows that Sofina has been genuine in her intention to free Kortney. After all, she seems to be the only one in Kingsgrave who thought about a bigger picture, in which House Manwoody could survive the war. And making reparations, distancing herself and her family from her insane husband, that could have been a start. Now, well, with her death, that shitfest of a family deserves to be doomed. Arvin is a coward though. Though loyalty is usually an admirable trait, I cannot help but hate him for this. The fact that he knows this is utterly wrong on so many levels makes it only worse. I have no respect for people who knowingly serve a madman out of misguised loyalty. That is the main reason I have so much respect for Jaime. Sometimes, one must sacrifice their honour for the greater good and rather break a vow than to knowingly do the wrong thing, especially if we speak about serving someone as monstrously insane as Albin. His father he is not, but after this little display of baffling stupidity on his end, I'm actively hoping for Arvin to die as well. We, unfortunately, know the house is going to survive, but he has a son, hasn't he? Some innocent kid that could actually give the family a fresh start. Or maybe Alaric. We haven't seen him in a while, but with Sofina's death, he's the only Manwoody I consider an actually decent person.
[Keep your distance for now]
Aaaah, this is a hard choice. I thought about it, then I thought about it for a little more and then I came to the conclusion that I almost cannot make any at all. It's just soo hard. Like, anytime I think I find a good reason to pick one over the other, I realize there are so many arguments for both. Edinosaur brings up a good argument and I am going to agree there. I want Myke to let Kortney know that help is on the way. At the same time, right now, the remaining guards will be particularly on alert. And this won't be worth the risk, just so that she knows she still has a friend inside Kingsgrave. They can't escape with her right now and at the worst, her being quite on the edge, she might blow their cover the moment she sees Myke. It's better to approach her in private once they know how to actually free her. With Albin currently badly wounded (I seriously hope Sofina sliced his dick off, but I'm not sure if she was able to hit a target that small) and Tom the Animal dead (By the way, I notice he's still in the section of the living characters, even if Kortney's presence here means she likely killed him between her last part and this one), the absolute worst scum that Kingsgrave has to offer is gone, so perhaps they actually can make a good plan to escape with her now. However, they have to keep a low profile for that one.
Damn, now this is a very tricky situation... I just can't decide what choice to go with. Still, I have this feeling that Myke maybe won't get another chance to approach Kortney for some reason... Then again, this is hardly the right moment to do anything since there's a lot of people around.
[Keep your distance for now]
Oh btw, I was just reading through the "waiting to be introduced" list and spotted Valor and Gabby still in there. Also, Olyvar and Firanisa are still in the "Status unknown" list. Thought I'd warn you just to avoid any confusion down the road.
[Approach Kortney]
I know this won't win, but I'm not sure if they will have another chance to do this. If we wait, something might end up preventing them from seeking her out.
[Keep your distance for now]
Ah, thanks for the heads up
It's a bit of a hassle to keep the lists up to date, but now every name should be where they belong to.
Indeed, Sofina had a decent plan for making peace with the enemies that Albin has made, and her succeeding in this coup would've been good for almost everyone. Obviously the most devoted followers of Albin would've been killed, but who cares about them? Arvin did show loyalty towards Albin here, but it was also partly pragmatism. Sofina is not his mother, and letting her go through with her coup and murdering the loyalists of Albin, it would've left Arvin in an awkward situation. Most of his supporters would be dead, and he would've been on the mercy of Sofina, and there is zero trust between the two. Neither of them really love Albin, but they don't like each other either. In truth, Sofina sending Arvin to the Wall and making her own son the heir would've been a pretty likely scenario if she had succeeded here.
Understandable, since Arvin stopping Sofina's mutiny made things harder for everyone. That said, Arvin still has an interesting role to play in this story. And yes, Manwoody's are going to survive. Of course, that is not a guarantee that Arvin will. I don't think he has a son? If I have established that then I have completely forgotten it
He is bethrothed to Sanya Purell though, and it is likely they'll eventually marry and consumate a child. However, there are also Sofina's sons, Prince Brodin being 13 and Prince Jullon 10. Their mother was a traitor, but they are also Albin's sons, so most likely they will not be punished in any way. And then there is Alaric of course, whom we will meet again in time.
[Approach Kortney]
The purpose of coming here is clear, I guess there won't be any better choice to do so. Both options make sense - approaching her can be dangerous, but waiting can be as well - it's just choice of what risk we're willing to take, at least for me. Gonna be tight voting as I see, wonder how it'll end.
[Approach Kortney]
I may end up changing my vote here but I have a hunch that this might actually be the best choice here. Quite frankly, Kingsgrave is an absolute mess right now with a siege going on which could go on for a very long time and Sofina's mutiny failing so at this point anything and everything can happen which is dangerous for Kortney. Plus at this point Myke is able to blend in with the Manwoody tabard so he should be able to at the very least speak to her with little trouble. There has been so much bleakness in Kortney's life that her knowing Myke is there to save her can only help here especially with her becoming Kortney again so I figure approaching her should not hurt anything here but great points have been made for the other choice as well so I definitely have some thinking to do.
Voting is closed!
Well, I was waiting if the tie would be broken, but looks like that's not going to happen
So, Myke will keep his distance for now, because that was the choice that reached 4 votes first. It could be a smart move, considering the courtyard is quite crowded right now, and it's better to not attract too much attention. However, it also means Kortney will remain oblivious to this rescue mission, for now.
And next we will have Kortney PoV, which obviously shows us the immediate consequences of this choice. However, we will take a small jump back in time, and continue at first where we saw Kortney last in her own part. And that was inside Kingsgrave, Tom the Animal at her mercy. Kortney had the choice to knock out Tom or give him either fast or slow death. You voted for the fast death, and that's where we will continue. The part will most likely be ready tomorrow
-
This time I have two portraits, those being Queen Sofina (rip) and Prince Arvin:
Wow Queen Sofina ded. Much sad. So hate albin.
Kortney
Kortney looked straight into the eyes of Tom the Animal, feeling the rage take over her. This man had insulted and humiliated her countless times, and there he was, completely at her mercy. "Come on, you fuck-"
Kortney cut off the freak's words by lunging her spear through his heart. At first Tom's eyes widened in shock and pain, and Kortney felt satisfied. Then, something else took over those eyes – relief. Kortney pulled out the spear, and Tom's dead body collapsed to the floor.
He deserved much worse, Kortney thought bitterly, dropping the spear to the floor. In silence she left the corridor, feeling no remorse.
Kortney walked quietly around Kingsgrave, seeing dozens of bodies lying on the corridors and hallways. Those who had survived carried the bodies away, and quickly Kortney realized that Sofina had failed at her coup, even if she had managed to injure King Albin. When the soldiers asked whose side was Kortney on, she was quick to remind them that she was Albin's mistress, and they left her in peace.
Sun was already starting to rise, when Kortney made her way out to the courtyard. Dozens of guardsmen were flocked there, and as she was halfway down the stairways, Kortney's eyes found a shocking sight. Queen Sofina's head, severed from the rest of her body, in the middle of the courtyard. Prince Arvin walked away from the Queen's body towards the doors of the main keep. With a grim expression on his face, the prince walked right past Kortney, whose eyes were still fixed on the Queen's head.
After a moment, one of the guardsmen picked up the head, and started carrying it towards the walls. Most likely it would be put on a pike, to remind everyone what would happen to traitors. The Queen's headless corpse was dragged elsewhere – most likely where the rest of the bodies had been taken.
Among the guards Kortney saw an old face, a face that looked familiar. A face from my old life. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder, and spun around instinctively, seeing Larry standing in front of her.
"I didn't mean to startle you, mylady," he said with a subtle smirk on his face. "You haven't," Kortney muttered sternly. "What do you want?" She asked, and Larry moved his hand away from her shoulder with a small sigh.
"This night has been a rough one, for all of us," he started with a melodramatic tone on his voice. "Most of all for King Albin. He needs someone to be close to him, and he specifically mentioned you."
"So, he wants to meet me?" Kortney asked with a subtle gulp, and Larry nodded with a smile. "That is how I interpreted his words," he replied softly. "Come then, better not keep the Great King waiting." With these words Larry turned around, and Kortney followed after him. In silence they made their way through the castle, until they arrived to the quarters of the King. Kortney had rarely been here – Albin had respected his marriage at least enough to keep his mistresses away from here. Now there was no marriage though, no reason to not invite Kortney here.
Two guards stood by the door, and as Larry reached for the knob, one of the guards stopped him. "You must wait for the earlier guest to leave," he said with an authoritative tone. For a second an irritated expression flashed on Larry's face, before he found his faux smile again. "So be it," he said with a polite tone, and turned to Kortney. "Looks like we have to wait for a moment," he said smoothly, and Kortney rolled her eyes.
"I'm not deaf," she muttered, which made Larry chuckle quietly. A tense and awkward silence took over the corridor. The guards stood dutifully on their post, Larry tapped his foot impatiently, and Kortney stared at the stony floor, nervous and fearful of what would happen next.
After several quiet minutes, the door finally opened. Out walked a man in black robes, and a hood covering half of his pale face. Zereth, Kortney recognized the man immediately as the assassin who had killed the Purple Ocelot. Zereth flashed a small smirk to Kortney, before walking away without a word.
"Let's go," Larry urged Kortney as she kept staring at the back of the distancing assassin. With anger boiling inside of her Kortney turned, and marched into the King's room. As expected, it was the largest and most luxurious room in the castle, with high ceiling and black marble pillars. The bed was also one fitting for a king, and right now Albin was laying on it, a single guard standing next to him.
"Leave us, Larry," Albin creaked weakly, and with a bow Larry turned and walked out of the room. Kortney walked next to the bed, and took a seat. She could see that Albin's neck was bandaged, indicating how close Sofina had actually been to killing him. Kortney still had the dagger in her right sleeve, and she grabbed its hilt instinctively.
"Missy," Albin said with a coarse voice, and it sounded like every word was painful for him to utter. "Your Grace," Kortney answered quietly, trying to sound like seeing the King wounded was a shock to her. For a moment Albin just looked at her, until he found strength to speak up again. "They... almost killed me, Missy," he muttered, and Kortney could see the anger in his green eyes. "The traitors, they almost killed me."
"I... I am happy that you survived," Kortney replied with some uncertainty in her words, glancing at the guard on the other side of the bed. With difficulty Albin managed to extend his hand for Kortney. "Take my hand, Missy," he commanded weakly, and Kortney grabbed it with her left hand, her right one still clenched around the dagger's hilt. She looked Albin to the eyes, knowing she could end his life now, with ease. However, the punishment for it would be terrible. She would be killed, but before that they would make her suffer, for days. "I love you, Missy," the King said, his lips forming a smile, but his eyes remaining cold as ever. "Now, kiss me," he commanded.
Kortney gulped, knowing the fate of this kingdom and more was in her hands. Is my life truly worth more than that? She didn't want to go through days of torture, but perhaps she could end it herself before it would come to that.
[Kill Albin and yourself] [Kiss Albin]
[Kiss Albin] She is so close to being saved now, in any other circumstances I would actually vote for the other option, but her escape is a possibility at this moment, so she needs to stay alive.
[Kiss Albin] Yeah, Kortney needs Albin to think she's really on his side, and escape is still possible.
The only freaks remaining are Larry and Tregeo the Harpist right? Tom must finally join the deceased characters list.
Wonder who can defeat Zereth, he's so ominous, and unlike Crusher, we have no idea yet if he's just human or something else entirely.
[Kill Albin and yourself]
She's indeed close to getting saved, but damn, this option is way more Game-of-Thrones-ish, I wouldn't be myself if I didn't pick it - for the sake of the story. As I said some time ago - this story has definitely not enough deaths as for being Song of Ice and Fire oriented creation, and well - as we could see in Martin's saga, it can really add a lot of spice and tempo to the story.
Mm, I definitely see where you are coming from, even if I have to point out that several named characters have been killed off since you last brought this up
And few of them have even been quite tragic, such as Illor and Lyla. Of course, no PoV has yet been killed, but that is sure to change before Book 1 is over 
Yeah, I'm aware of few important deaths that happened during my absence - but for example Illor - he died in a battle, when people are usually dying, Sofina was trying to straight up kill the king and her punishment coming was up-to-predict. In Martin's books and TV series (at least first 3-4 seasons) you could never be sure that given character won't die, you waited for next tomes/ episodes with rising disturbance and... it was great. No offence in your direction of course - your story is one of the best fanfic creations I've read, but here anticipation comes mainly from the characters upcoming clashes, meetings and - in that case - open war development. Not saying that it's bad too - it's your own style which got you some attention on this forum and in my opinion it's fully deserved, but - for me at least - need to be taken less like GoT/ ASOIAF orientated story, and more like Martin's/DD's universe creation. From what you told me now though - that PoV's death is coming in The Sun and the Spear, so in the rest of 3rd chapter and epilogue - I see I have nothing to worry about, and as I mentioned earlier - disturbance rises