Aha, I knew Nealia would be alive What I am more relieved about is that Lien survived as well. Sure, she's got a busted leg now, but it could have been way worse. I mean, she could have lost her leg entirely, or could have lost her ability to walk at all if those horses would have damaged her spine. She might need years to recover, might keep a bit of a limp and at worst, her fighting days are over, but she's alive and can probably go back to a normal life. If anything, this might make it easier for her and Ying to go with Nealia instead of staying with the Rose Company when the time comes, because with Lien definitely not being able to fight in the coming Martell-Dayne war, there is little reason to stay with a sellsword company and I guess Ying would ultimately be more happy to keep an eye on her sister than to continue her sellsword life. Also, let me just say that Manda has been the MVP in this battle. I mean, carrying Nealia immediately to a healer was quite probably what saved her life. What made me a bit worried for Nealia is that it seemed like she was alone, with only Nymeria's men approaching and those don't know her and have no reason to check up on her if she's still alive, they'd probably consider her as good as dead already, but Manda, well, she obviously had good reason to see if she's still breathing.
[Send troops to Ghost Hill]
And here, well, Nymeria wanted this alliance with House Toland, it seems only fitting that she gives them the same treatment she'd give any vassal of hers. If she wants people to join her, she must make sure that she can keep them protected from threats such as Yorick Yronwood. It'd also mean the first genuine clash between Martell and Yronwood troops, if things really go that badly. I mean, I'm really not too keen on Tomas, with Dalia probably having redeemed herself in my eyes he is definitely my least favourite PoV at this time, if not even close to being my least favourite character. But yeah, she wants their support and if Tomas doesn't receive it, he probably will have no choice but to submit to Yorick after all.
And well, it seems the battle was a bit lighter on deaths than I thought after all. I was pretty sure the Wild Suns would take some losses, but it seems I was wrong, even if the company might effectively disband after all, with Khazor probably leading the survivors away from Dorne. Whom I did not see coming was Jovian Gargalen. His death will definitely cause trouble, because by Rhoynar law, Gabby is now head of House Gargalen and we know, she is neither capable, nor trustworthy and with her father dead, she might do something stupid, such as trying to take revenge on Nymeria. I'd much rather have Bridget as the Lady of Salt Shore, but really, given that she is not as popular as other Gargalen's and doesn't seem to hold particular leadership abilities either, I guess the state of House Gargalen can only lead to further disaster down the line, given that Jorvian's wife might have an interest in making sure that her son will become Lord Gargalen as she assumed up until Nymeria happened. If I have to make a guess, I'd say, Valor is probably going to be the PoV involved with any potential Gargalen troubles in Book 2.
Nealia
The water of Torrentine glimmered brightly under the summer sun, and Nealia tipped her toes carefully into the water. It was cold,… more but she rushed in nonetheless, diving under the surface with a splash. Sinking down, she let the current drift her away, feeling free and at peace. As she finally emerged on the surface again, the sun made her squint her eyes. Turning to look towards the shore, she saw a familiar figure.
"Mother", Nealia said quietly, tears suddenly welling up in her eyes. She waded towards the shore with haste, the water splashing as she fell on her knees to the sand. Her mother stood in front of her, dressed in white and looking as beautiful as an angel. She offered her hand for Nealia. "Stay or go. It is your choice, my sweet daughter", she spoke with faint words that echoed in the air. Tears ran down Nealia's cheeks. I've heard these words before. The sun behind her mother shined brighter and brighter, slowly blin… [view original content]
Nealia
The water of Torrentine glimmered brightly under the summer sun, and Nealia tipped her toes carefully into the water. It was cold,… more but she rushed in nonetheless, diving under the surface with a splash. Sinking down, she let the current drift her away, feeling free and at peace. As she finally emerged on the surface again, the sun made her squint her eyes. Turning to look towards the shore, she saw a familiar figure.
"Mother", Nealia said quietly, tears suddenly welling up in her eyes. She waded towards the shore with haste, the water splashing as she fell on her knees to the sand. Her mother stood in front of her, dressed in white and looking as beautiful as an angel. She offered her hand for Nealia. "Stay or go. It is your choice, my sweet daughter", she spoke with faint words that echoed in the air. Tears ran down Nealia's cheeks. I've heard these words before. The sun behind her mother shined brighter and brighter, slowly blin… [view original content]
Aha, I knew Nealia would be alive What I am more relieved about is that Lien survived as well. Sure, she's got a busted leg now, but it could have been way worse. I mean, she could have lost her leg entirely, or could have lost her ability to walk at all if those horses would have damaged her spine. She might need years to recover, might keep a bit of a limp and at worst, her fighting days are over, but she's alive and can probably go back to a normal life. If anything, this might make it easier for her and Ying to go with Nealia instead of staying with the Rose Company when the time comes, because with Lien definitely not being able to fight in the coming Martell-Dayne war, there is little reason to stay with a sellsword company and I guess Ying would ultimately be more happy to keep an eye on her sister than to continue her sellsword life. Also, let me just say that Manda has been the MVP in this battle. I mean, carrying Nealia immediately to a healer was quite probably what saved her life. What made me a bit worried for Nealia is that it seemed like she was alone, with only Nymeria's men approaching and those don't know her and have no reason to check up on her if she's still alive, they'd probably consider her as good as dead already, but Manda, well, she obviously had good reason to see if she's still breathing.
Yeah, would've been narratively a pretty unsatisfying place to kill her Not that every character death necessarily needs to be satisfying, but killing Nealia here would've definitely been a waste of potential. Same with Lien really, even if to a somewhat smaller degree. And you bring up a good point here about this potentially making it more likely for the Yu sisters to join Nealia and come to Starfall. We'll see, Nealia's next part might already give some answers regarding this. And you are absolutely right about Manda, she was the MVP here, and the reason Nealia survived. And going back to your earlier point, Manda is very likely to stay with the Rose Company, since she got through the battle without any major injuries. So, whatever Nealia decides to do here, she will have to leave at least some of her friends behind.
And well, it seems the battle was a bit lighter on deaths than I thought after all. I was pretty sure the Wild Suns would take some losses, but it seems I was wrong, even if the company might effectively disband after all, with Khazor probably leading the survivors away from Dorne. Whom I did not see coming was Jovian Gargalen. His death will definitely cause trouble, because by Rhoynar law, Gabby is now head of House Gargalen and we know, she is neither capable, nor trustworthy and with her father dead, she might do something stupid, such as trying to take revenge on Nymeria. I'd much rather have Bridget as the Lady of Salt Shore, but really, given that she is not as popular as other Gargalen's and doesn't seem to hold particular leadership abilities either, I guess the state of House Gargalen can only lead to further disaster down the line, given that Jorvian's wife might have an interest in making sure that her son will become Lord Gargalen as she assumed up until Nymeria happened. If I have to make a guess, I'd say, Valor is probably going to be the PoV involved with any potential Gargalen troubles in Book 2.
Well Mizro and Khazor did survive, but the Wild Suns as a whole certainly took a lot of losses, and Khazor is now leading a mere fraction of what the company used to be. In fact, he has more than likely already renamed the company as the Bloodfangs, which used to be the name of his own company. As for leading the troops away from Dorne, he'll have to return to Brimstone Well where they left their ships, and well, let's just say he is not the only one heading that way And yeah, Jorvian's death definitely complicates things when it comes to the leadership of House Gargalen. Nymeria isn't really familiar with Jorvian's family yet, but she will be once Valor brings them to Godsgrace, which should be quite soon.
[Go to see Lien]
Aha, I knew Nealia would be alive What I am more relieved about is that Lien survived as well. Sure, she's got a busted… more leg now, but it could have been way worse. I mean, she could have lost her leg entirely, or could have lost her ability to walk at all if those horses would have damaged her spine. She might need years to recover, might keep a bit of a limp and at worst, her fighting days are over, but she's alive and can probably go back to a normal life. If anything, this might make it easier for her and Ying to go with Nealia instead of staying with the Rose Company when the time comes, because with Lien definitely not being able to fight in the coming Martell-Dayne war, there is little reason to stay with a sellsword company and I guess Ying would ultimately be more happy to keep an eye on her sister than to continue her sellsword life. Also, let me just say that Manda has been the MVP in this battle. I mean, carryin… [view original content]
Nealia
The water of Torrentine glimmered brightly under the summer sun, and Nealia tipped her toes carefully into the water. It was cold,… more but she rushed in nonetheless, diving under the surface with a splash. Sinking down, she let the current drift her away, feeling free and at peace. As she finally emerged on the surface again, the sun made her squint her eyes. Turning to look towards the shore, she saw a familiar figure.
"Mother", Nealia said quietly, tears suddenly welling up in her eyes. She waded towards the shore with haste, the water splashing as she fell on her knees to the sand. Her mother stood in front of her, dressed in white and looking as beautiful as an angel. She offered her hand for Nealia. "Stay or go. It is your choice, my sweet daughter", she spoke with faint words that echoed in the air. Tears ran down Nealia's cheeks. I've heard these words before. The sun behind her mother shined brighter and brighter, slowly blin… [view original content]
[Go to see Lien] After everything that has happened, I feel like Nealia and Lien need to see one another. With so much happening to the both of them, this might help them both feel at least a little bit better
[Send troops to Ghost Hill] If Nymeria expects the Toland's to be loyal to her, she needs to prove she's worth that loyalty.
Nealia
The water of Torrentine glimmered brightly under the summer sun, and Nealia tipped her toes carefully into the water. It was cold,… more but she rushed in nonetheless, diving under the surface with a splash. Sinking down, she let the current drift her away, feeling free and at peace. As she finally emerged on the surface again, the sun made her squint her eyes. Turning to look towards the shore, she saw a familiar figure.
"Mother", Nealia said quietly, tears suddenly welling up in her eyes. She waded towards the shore with haste, the water splashing as she fell on her knees to the sand. Her mother stood in front of her, dressed in white and looking as beautiful as an angel. She offered her hand for Nealia. "Stay or go. It is your choice, my sweet daughter", she spoke with faint words that echoed in the air. Tears ran down Nealia's cheeks. I've heard these words before. The sun behind her mother shined brighter and brighter, slowly blin… [view original content]
Yeah, would've been narratively a pretty unsatisfying place to kill her Not that every character death necessarily needs to be satisfying, but killing Nealia here would've definitely been a waste of potential. Same with Lien really, even if to a somewhat smaller degree. And you bring up a good point here about this potentially making it more likely for the Yu sisters to join Nealia and come to Starfall. We'll see, Nealia's next part might already give some answers regarding this. And you are absolutely right about Manda, she was the MVP here, and the reason Nealia survived. And going back to your earlier point, Manda is very likely to stay with the Rose Company, since she got through the battle without any major injuries. So, whatever Nealia decides to do here, she will have to leave at least some of her friends behind.
I agree with this so much. I mean, a Nealia/Jamison reunion is something I really look forward for, especially with how much they have changed by then. Nealia will have changed for sure, she already had some decent character development in Book 1 and who knows how this will go until Book 2 and especially when compared to how she used to be back when she has been at Starfall. Jamison meanwhile will be a married man when they meet (I guess in Book 2) and if there is anyone in the entire world who could change him, it is Isabella. It'll be interesting, I just realized he might not be entirely the same man after the timeskip. And yeah, I don't doubt that Manda will remain by Tryden's side, probably becoming his second-in-command if Nealia doesn't get the post or if Nealia later defects to the Dayne side of the conflict, but while I really like her, she'd be the only reason to stay with the Rose Company as it is right now and if Lien and Ying both leave with Nealia, the family wins for me.
Well Mizro and Khazor did survive, but the Wild Suns as a whole certainly took a lot of losses, and Khazor is now leading a mere fraction of what the company used to be. In fact, he has more than likely already renamed the company as the Bloodfangs, which used to be the name of his own company. As for leading the troops away from Dorne, he'll have to return to Brimstone Well where they left their ships, and well, let's just say he is not the only one heading that way And yeah, Jorvian's death definitely complicates things when it comes to the leadership of House Gargalen. Nymeria isn't really familiar with Jorvian's family yet, but she will be once Valor brings them to Godsgrace, which should be quite soon.
So, in a way it's actually Mizro who still leads the last remnant of the Wild Suns company under their actual name, could that be right? I should have seen this coming, only Dalia can keep these two together, but there's no way I wouldn't have chosen for her to go with Desi And well, there still is some material left in Book 1, I presume... what if Lucifer manages to convince Khazor to keep working for him? Could mean Khazor becomes an enemy to Nym once more and this time probably even an outright antagonist without the more calming influence of Mizro to keep him in line. But if that is the case, I guess we haven't seen the last of him before the chapter ends. By the way, speaking of Jorvian, I actually got a little bit confused after checking the deceased list, it seems you accidentally put Jeremie there instead of Jorvian and for a moment, I really thought I read something catastrophically wrong in Nym's latest part XD
Aha, I knew Nealia would be alive What I am more relieved about is that Lien survived as well. Sure, she's got a busted leg now, but it cou… moreld have been way worse. I mean, she could have lost her leg entirely, or could have lost her ability to walk at all if those horses would have damaged her spine. She might need years to recover, might keep a bit of a limp and at worst, her fighting days are over, but she's alive and can probably go back to a normal life. If anything, this might make it easier for her and Ying to go with Nealia instead of staying with the Rose Company when the time comes, because with Lien definitely not being able to fight in the coming Martell-Dayne war, there is little reason to stay with a sellsword company and I guess Ying would ultimately be more happy to keep an eye on her sister than to continue her sellsword life. Also, let me just say that Manda has been the MVP in this battle. I mean, carrying Nealia immediately… [view original content]
So, in a way it's actually Mizro who still leads the last remnant of the Wild Suns company under their actual name, could that be right? I should have seen this coming, only Dalia can keep these two together, but there's no way I wouldn't have chosen for her to go with Desi And well, there still is some material left in Book 1, I presume... what if Lucifer manages to convince Khazor to keep working for him? Could mean Khazor becomes an enemy to Nym once more and this time probably even an outright antagonist without the more calming influence of Mizro to keep him in line. But if that is the case, I guess we haven't seen the last of him before the chapter ends. By the way, speaking of Jorvian, I actually got a little bit confused after checking the deceased list, it seems you accidentally put Jeremie there instead of Jorvian and for a moment, I really thought I read something catastrophically wrong in Nym's latest part XD
Well yeah, technically you're right, though the amount of troops still with Mizro is much smaller than the amount that retreated with Khazor. Khazor has at least a hundred troops still with him, could be even closer to two-hundred, whereas in Godsgrace there are like a couple dozen soldiers of the Wild Suns still alive, all of them captured and many probably injured. Very few of them feel any loyalty towards Mizro at this point though, most being completely willing to sell their swords directly for Nymeria now, or perhaps joining the Rose Company. And ah, the Jeremie thing was just an honest mistake on my part, it's fixed now
Yeah, would've been narratively a pretty unsatisfying place to kill her Not that every character death necessarily needs to be satisfying, … morebut killing Nealia here would've definitely been a waste of potential. Same with Lien really, even if to a somewhat smaller degree. And you bring up a good point here about this potentially making it more likely for the Yu sisters to join Nealia and come to Starfall. We'll see, Nealia's next part might already give some answers regarding this. And you are absolutely right about Manda, she was the MVP here, and the reason Nealia survived. And going back to your earlier point, Manda is very likely to stay with the Rose Company, since she got through the battle without any major injuries. So, whatever Nealia decides to do here, she will have to leave at least some of her friends behind.
I agree with this so much. I mean, a Nealia/Jamison reunion is something I really look forward for, especially with… [view original content]
Well yeah, technically you're right, though the amount of troops still with Mizro is much smaller than the amount that retreated with Khazor. Khazor has at least a hundred troops still with him, could be even closer to two-hundred, whereas in Godsgrace there are like a couple dozen soldiers of the Wild Suns still alive, all of them captured and many probably injured. Very few of them feel any loyalty towards Mizro at this point though, most being completely willing to sell their swords directly for Nymeria now, or perhaps joining the Rose Company.
That is good for the Rose Company then! We know they suffered heavy losses of their own, maybe with survivors from the Wild Suns they could end up remaining a force to be reckoned with. I'm willing to bet that Tryden will find a way to profit from this. I wonder if Mizro would be willing to take this step. He is used to no longer being in charge, maybe he finds it comfortable to be just a high-ranking officer instead of a leader. Or maybe he pledges directly to Nymeria, in which case he probably won't command any troops of his own anytime soon either. I guess only Dalia could have kept these companies together. Oh man, if she manages to return, I bet she'd be so pissed XD Though I gotta say, I am somewhat glad Mizro survived. Since Dalia's death is definitely up on the table in the coming confrontation (together with pretty much every other character taking part in it), I am glad for Desi that at least her father is save and sound. If she makes it back but Dalia doesn't, she probably needs the support. Mizro could also serve as a connection to Nymeria and I have this theory that Team R'hllor is eventually going to cross paths with her.
And ah, the Jeremie thing was just an honest mistake on my part, it's fixed now
Ah, here I was thinking I had uncovered Jorvian's secret master plan, namely him swapping places with his infant son, faking his own death and donning the disguise of a young child for the next couple of years, waiting for the right moment to take control over House Gargalen once more, for, uh, reasons
So, in a way it's actually Mizro who still leads the last remnant of the Wild Suns company under their actual name, could that be right? I s… morehould have seen this coming, only Dalia can keep these two together, but there's no way I wouldn't have chosen for her to go with Desi And well, there still is some material left in Book 1, I presume... what if Lucifer manages to convince Khazor to keep working for him? Could mean Khazor becomes an enemy to Nym once more and this time probably even an outright antagonist without the more calming influence of Mizro to keep him in line. But if that is the case, I guess we haven't seen the last of him before the chapter ends. By the way, speaking of Jorvian, I actually got a little bit confused after checking the deceased list, it seems you accidentally put Jeremie there instead of Jorvian and for a moment, I really thought I read something catastrophically wrong in Nym's latest part XD
Well yeah, t… [view original content]
So, Nealia will go to see Lien. Yeah, while she'd have the excuse of not being in a very good condition herself at the moment, it definitely would've been a bit of a dick move from Nealia to just avoid Lien. It won't exactly be a happy moment when she goes to see her, but it's definitely a good quality for Nealia to be there for her friends even in their lowest moments, and it should also deepen the bond between them.
And Nymeria will send troops to Ghost Hill. Yeah, this was to be expected, and it's definitely a smart move to show Levor that as a vassal of House Martell, he and his home will be protected by House Martell.
Next up, we'll have a Verro part and an Emerson part. Last time we saw Verro he was traveling west along the Greenblood with Nesila and Zaltha, and they came across Dallin Dalt. Dallin offered them a chance to join his army to take back Lemonwood, but they all declined, and now we'll see their journey continue. As for Emerson, he left the Wells in his last part, continuing his journey to Yronwood with Lord Terren and Yoren Jordayne, now also accompanied by Lena Wells. And speaking of Lena, she surprised Emerson by coming to his tent and starting to kiss him and strip him. Emerson was excited about this but also wondered if it was a mistake. Nonehteless, he decided to keep kissing Lena, and that's where we'll continue.
The parts should be ready tomorrow!
-
Oh, almost forgot, I have another portrait! This time Harbert Uller, the heir of Hellholt:
One morning on their journey towards west, Verro, Nesila and Zaltha noticed bodies floating down the Greenblood.
"Looks like we are heading towards a war", Nesila stated nonchalantly as she watched the corpses drift by, and they continued forward. They traveled throughout the day, and every few minutes a body, shield, helmet or a severed limb could be seen in the water. It was already twilight when they finally arrived to Godsgrace, walked over the bridge where the battle had clearly taken place, and entered the city.
Usually the streets of any town would be relatively quiet and empty this time of the day, but Godsgrace was filled with soldiers drinking and celebrating their victory, and of course whores to keep them company. That said, Verro also noticed many Rhoynar women warriors among the soldiers.
Making their way up the main street, they came across two bruised warriors, singing drunkenly as they walked side by side with their arms around each other's shoulders. They were both middle-aged, one with a slicked back brown hair, and the other with a bald head and a sharp goatee.
"Now there's a pretty one, Tryden", the bald one spoke loudly, pointing at Nesila. The other man, apparently named Tryden, shifted his gaze to Nesila and narrowed his eyes. Then he separated from the bald man and approached her. "You... I recognize you", Tryden spoke with a drunken slur. "You were in Lemonwood, working for Efran."
"As were you, Tryden Flowers", Nesila responded sharply, and now the bald man arrived next to Tryden. "Who is she?" He asked with a confused and amused tone, to which Tryden shrugged.
"My name is Nesila", Nesila said with an indifferent tone, and now the bald man offered his hand. "Fenn", he introduced himself with a wide grin on his face, but Nesila didn't grab his hand. The grin faded away, replaced by sudden anger. "Impolite bitch", he cursed, and would've rushed to punch Nesila, if Tryden wouldn't have stepped in his way. "Easy, Fenn", he said as he held back his friend, and Nesila, Verro and Zaltha took the opportunity to walk past them. However, Tryden quickly yelled after them. "Hey, wait! What happened in Lemonwood after I left?"
"Efran still rules it, but Ser Dallin Dalt plans to take it back", Nesila answered nonchalantly, and Tryden nodded. "By the way, are you looking for a new company to join?" He then asked, but they turned away and continued onward without giving him an answer.
The orange sun-and-spear banners had been hung all over the city, and the same sigil could be seen in the tabards of many of the celebrating soldiers. After walking around for a while they found their way into one of the taverns, and the keeper said they had one room available. Satisfied with that, Nesila, Verro and Zaltha found a free table and sat down with their ales and bowls of soup.
"It seems Princess Nymeria has been successful in her war so far", Nesila said with a nonchalant tone, glancing around the tavern. "Makes me even more convinced that Efran's rule over Lemonwood won't last much longer."
"I have a feeling this land will be in war for many years to come", Zaltha stated sternly, taking a gulp of his ale. "Then perhaps it's good we are leaving", Nesila responded dryly.
"Where exactly do you think we'll end up?" Verro asked curiously. His knowledge of Westeros was minimal, though he had seen maps of it years ago, and he knew that Dorne was separated from the rest of the continent by mountains.
"First, we'll go to a place called Nightsong", Nesila answered calmly. "It's where my brother would've headed first in his search for a new life."
"So, since our mission is to find your brother, why wouldn't you tell me a bit more about him?" Verro asked, to which Nesila raised an eyebrow. "I suppose I could", she said with a small sigh, taking a sip of the ale before continuing. "Well, first of all his name is Norano. He's a brave and honorable man, with charming personality and a good sense of humor."
"Sounds like a perfect human", Verro commented with a smirk, to which Nesila chuckled. "He is not perfect, but he most certainly is a good man", she said with a wistful sigh. "If anything, he tends to be a bit impatient and reckless. That was exactly why he couldn't wait for another day when he had decided that he was done with the sellsword's way of life. He asked me to come with him, but I wasn't ready to make such a rash decision so quickly."
"And now you miss him", Zaltha concluded with a sympathetic tone, and Nesila nodded with a subtle gulp. "I believe now that he was right... I can't live my whole life going from one battle to the next, I must find something sustainable."
"Perhaps your brother has already found it for you", Verro said with a smile, and Nesila reciprocated it. "So I hope, though I'm mostly concerned to just know that he is doing well for himself", she said quietly.
"Admittedly I didn't know Norano for very long, but he struck me as a man capable of taking care of himself", Zaltha said confidently, and Nesila nodded. "Aye, but he also has a habit of charging into danger, head first."
"If he is in danger, then we'll save him", Verro said with an encouraging tone, and Nesila smiled. "I don't think I ever thanked you properly", she said with an uncharacteristic softness in her words. "For coming with me, I mean."
"Don't mention it", Zaltha responded with a relaxed tone, gulping down the rest of his ale. "It's not like I had anything better to do."
"And I just want to start a new life in this strange land", Verro said calmly. "What better way to do it than helping out a friend, aye?"
"Still, I'll owe you one for this", Nesila said with a small sigh, and for a while they all stayed quiet. Finally, Zaltha cleared his throat and stood up. "I need to go for a leak", he said, and walked away from the table.
After a moment of tense silence, Nesila decided to speak up. "You've told me a couple times now that you want to start a new life", she said calmly, and Verro nodded. "What exactly would that life entail?"
"I don't know", Verro answered honestly. "All I know is that for most of my life so far, my destiny hasn't been in my own hands. The gods, or fate, or whatever it is that determines these things, has thrown me around the world, always shackled in one way or the other. I've had some good friends, and some good times over the years, but now for the first time in a long time it feels like I have my freedom. And quite frankly, I'm not sure what to do with it."
"Well tell me, would you prefer a life full of excitement and adventures, or a peaceful and quiet life, away from all the dangers?" Nesila asked with a genuinely curious tone. Verro took in a deep breath, considering his answer carefully.
[Adventurous life] [Peaceful life]
-
Emerson
Despite his doubts, Emerson couldn't resist it, and kept kissing Lena. Then she separated from him, a playful smirk on her face, as she proceeded to remove Emerson's trousers. Emerson closed his eyes for a moment, his heart beating fast, all kinds of thoughts running through his mind, as Lena pushed him down on the fur blanket, and proceeded to undress herself.
With catlike steps she approached him, and slowly made her way down, teasing Emerson before finally mounting him. "Oh my", Emerson said with a gasp, and Lena slapped him lightly on the cheek. As she rode Emerson, moving her slender body in a passionate dance of love and moaning with pleasure, he could only last a few minutes.
Lena laid down next to him with a small giggle, breathing heavily as sweat was dripping on both of their skins. Emerson gulped, taking in a couple of breaths before speaking up. "So... did you like it?" He asked awkwardly, and Lena let out another giggle, raising to a sitting position and looking at Emerson with a sweet smile on her face. "It wasn't that bad", she said softly, stroking his chest gently as she spoke.
Suddenly a rush of regret came over Emerson, and he turned his eyes away from Lena. "What if... what if you are with my child now?" He asked, hardly even able to bring himself to say it. However, to his surprise Lena just smiled in a carefree manner. "Don't worry, I have moon tea", she said nonchalantly, already starting to get her clothes on. "Oh", Emerson mumbled quietly, feeling at the same time relieved and somehow regretful. Don't be ridiculous, he told himself quickly. If by chance Lena would have his child it would be a bastard, so it was only a mercy to make sure that wouldn't come to be.
"Emerson", Lena said, and Emerson shifted his attention back to her, seeing that she had already dressed up and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "What?" He asked.
"You look... concerned, is everything alright?" She asked, and Emerson immediately nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine", he quickly said, forcing a smile on his face. "I was just wondering... do you think we might do this again some time?" He asked with a nervous chuckle, and Lena rolled her eyes. "Be nice, and maybe we will", she answered teasingly, before making her way out of the tent. Letting out a small laugh, Emerson laid down and closed his eyes.
-
A couple hours after noon they saw the mighty castle of Yronwood, guarding the end of the Stone Way, and began to approach its southern gates. Riding into the courtyard, they saw servants of House Yronwood cleaning up what looked to be blood from the pavement, while others were taking apart a wooden platform next to them.
While they gave their horses for the stable boys to take care of, a tall and lean man dressed in green approached them. The man was approximately on his early fourties, with short dark hair, moustache and a goatee. "Quentyn", Terren greeted the man with a friendly tone.
"Brother!" The man responded with a wide grin, and embraced Terren in a brief hug. "Welcome to Yronwood", Quentyn said warmly, before turning to Yoren. "And you as well, Yoren", he said as he grabbed the young man's hand.
"Nice to see you, uncle", Yoren said calmly, and Quentyn tapped him on the shoulder before turning towards Lena. "Always a pleasure to see you as well, Lady Lena", he said with a nod, which Lena reciprocated.
Finally, Quentyn turned to Emerson, a sharp look in his eyes as he offered his hand. "You must be Emerson Allyrion", he said calmly, as Emerson grabbed his hand. "I am Quentyn Jordayne, younger brother of Lord Terren."
"Pleasure to meet you, Lord Quentyn", Emerson said politely, to which Quentyn chuckled warmly. "The pleasure is all mine. Now, let me take you to meet the King."
"I'll find a room for myself", Lena said quickly, glancing at Emerson as she spoke. "I imagine the King has no need to meet me?" She added, looking at Quentyn now, who nodded in agreement.
And so, Quentyn led Terren, Yoren and Emerson through the hallways of the grand castle, finally arriving to the office of the King, which was guarded by four soldiers. They let them pass, and they walked into the large room, where King Yorick Yronwood was already waiting for them. He sat behind his desk, oozing confidence and power, even in doing something as mundane as reading a piece of parchment that was on his desk. The King raised his gaze to look at them, his calm and stern expression not revealing his thoughts. They all bowed to him, and a small smile formed on his face as he looked at Lord Terren.
"Long time no see, Terren", he said with a voice that could be considered friendly. "How are things back in the Tor?"
"Perfectly well, Your Grace. Nothing out of the ordinary", Terren answered with a relaxed tone. "Though there are few things I should discuss with you, but that can wait for now. I have brought with me my second son Yoren, as well as Emerson Allyrion, the rightful heir to Godsgrace."
Yorick silently gazed at Emerson for a moment, before turning his eyes to Yoren. "Yoren Jordayne", he said calmly. "For what reason have you come here?"
"Your Grace, I have come to offer my sword to your service", Yoren answered with a humble tone, kneeling as he spoke. "I have brought him here so he can prove his worth, and perhaps earn his rank as a knight", Terren clarified with a subtle smirk on his face, to which Yorick nodded. "You can stand up", the King said smoothly, and Yoren quickly got back up on his feet. "I accept your service, and expect you to serve me loyally, and fight by my side in the wars to come", Yorick said with an authoritative tone, and Yoren bowed to his words.
Then the King turned his gaze to Emerson. For a brief moment tense silence lingered in the air, until Yorick spoke up again. "Emerson Allyrion, I have heard of the unfortunate fate of your ancestral home", he said with an emotionless tone. "Betrayed by your own family, who then proceeded to give up the city for a foreign invader. I can only imagine the anger that dwells inside you."
"It is true, I am angry towards those who robbed me of my rightful place as the Lord of Godsgrace", Emerson responded calmly, to which the King smirked subtly. "Even a child can be angry, but it takes a man to win wars and take what is rightfully yours. Are you a man, Emerson Allyrion?"
"I believe so, yes", Emerson answered, trying to sound as convincing as he could. Yorick raised his chin slightly, eyeing at Emerson with narrowed eyes. "I do not, not yet", he said coldly. "However, I will give you a chance to prove yourself."
"And how should I prove myself?" Emerson asked quietly.
"You will serve me, and fight for me", Yorick started strictly. "You will also have to prove your honour and loyalty, as well as your determination and skill. And when I am convinced that you are indeed worthy of my support, I will help you take your rightful place as the Lord of Godsgrace."
"Understood", Emerson said sternly, to which Yorick nodded, his lips forming a subtle smile. "One more thing, Emerson", he said smoothly. "I want you to kneel, and recognize me as your king."
Emerson gulped, turning his gaze down. Of course he had seen this coming, but he was still uncertain what to do. Kneeling to Yorick would make it a thousand times easier to win his support, but it would also mean giving up on the independence that the Allyrion's had prided themselves on for generations.
Oh man, well it looks like Neslia is indeed Norano's sister and safe to say that she is going to be very disappointed once she finds out what happened if she is able to get the exact details of it. Verro's storyline is a pretty intriguing one since unlike most of the other PoV's, he doesn't really have ties to anyone or anywhere in Dorne so he will be very much forging a new life for himself and with it looking to be that Verro will actually be leaving Dorne at least temporarily, I am curious to see where his travels will take him.
[Peaceful life]
I could be interpreting Verro's character in the wrong way but this definitely seems to fit with how I have seen his character so far. Ever since he's arrived in Dorne and before that even, he has always been forced or pretty much forced to do things that he hasn't wanted to do. The life of a sellsword has never looked to be one he has really enjoyed all that much and he has pretty much only fought because it was his only option rather than something he actually enjoyed to do. With that said, I still do believe being a guard or something along those lines is fitting for his skills and considering how he enjoyed the routine that came with working for Efran after he became lord, I do think a more peaceful life that has a routine would be fitting for him.
For Emerson's part, I definitely enjoyed it as well with Emerson growing up and coming closer to he is meant to be with every part. The meeting between Emerson and Yorick definitely did not disappoint and it was pretty neat seeing the contrast between the two of them with Yorick showing the qualities that make him as powerful and respected as he is and Emerson as a young hopeful lord who is way over his head in this situation. This decision was definitely coming for Emerson and while it is a tough one for him, I definitely feel like there is only one option is Emerson wants any chance at succeeding at his goal here.
[Kneel]
While Emerson obviously wants to keep House Allyrion's independence, with the way things are changing in Dorne, keeping their independence is pretty much not an option now with House Allyrion's power or lack there of compared to the main Kings of Dorne and Nymeria. While Nymeria is going to win in the end, the way I see Emerson having to view this is that with war clearly coming, Emerson is going to have to pick sides again if he wants to take back what's rightfully is. Also, with Yorick being arguably the most powerful man in Dorne at this point, he definitely does seem to be the best option with Nymeria pretty much not even being an option for him at this point so he needs to accept the help that is being offered to him even if it's not ideal. The one negative to this is that it could pretty much seal that Emerson will never regain Godsgrace but alot can obviously change as the story goes on and quite honestly if Emerson doesn't kneel to Yorick here, I feel like his quest to take his rightful lordship is over before it can even begin.
Verro
One morning on their journey towards west, Verro, Nesila and Zaltha noticed bodies floating down the Greenblood.
"Looks like we … moreare heading towards a war", Nesila stated nonchalantly as she watched the corpses drift by, and they continued forward. They traveled throughout the day, and every few minutes a body, shield, helmet or a severed limb could be seen in the water. It was already twilight when they finally arrived to Godsgrace, walked over the bridge where the battle had clearly taken place, and entered the city.
Usually the streets of any town would be relatively quiet and empty this time of the day, but Godsgrace was filled with soldiers drinking and celebrating their victory, and of course whores to keep them company. That said, Verro also noticed many Rhoynar women warriors among the soldiers.
Making their way up the main street, they came across two bruised warriors, singing drunkenly as they walked side by side wi… [view original content]
[Peaceful Life] His life so far has been not in his hands, and while I doubt getting it is as easy as it sounds, he can obtain it. [Kneel] Emerson will have to prove his loyalty, and he doesn't want to start with the wrong foot. Now we have 2 POV at Yronwood and 3 at Godsgrace, many interesting parts can come.
Verro
One morning on their journey towards west, Verro, Nesila and Zaltha noticed bodies floating down the Greenblood.
"Looks like we … moreare heading towards a war", Nesila stated nonchalantly as she watched the corpses drift by, and they continued forward. They traveled throughout the day, and every few minutes a body, shield, helmet or a severed limb could be seen in the water. It was already twilight when they finally arrived to Godsgrace, walked over the bridge where the battle had clearly taken place, and entered the city.
Usually the streets of any town would be relatively quiet and empty this time of the day, but Godsgrace was filled with soldiers drinking and celebrating their victory, and of course whores to keep them company. That said, Verro also noticed many Rhoynar women warriors among the soldiers.
Making their way up the main street, they came across two bruised warriors, singing drunkenly as they walked side by side wi… [view original content]
Verro
One morning on their journey towards west, Verro, Nesila and Zaltha noticed bodies floating down the Greenblood.
"Looks like we … moreare heading towards a war", Nesila stated nonchalantly as she watched the corpses drift by, and they continued forward. They traveled throughout the day, and every few minutes a body, shield, helmet or a severed limb could be seen in the water. It was already twilight when they finally arrived to Godsgrace, walked over the bridge where the battle had clearly taken place, and entered the city.
Usually the streets of any town would be relatively quiet and empty this time of the day, but Godsgrace was filled with soldiers drinking and celebrating their victory, and of course whores to keep them company. That said, Verro also noticed many Rhoynar women warriors among the soldiers.
Making their way up the main street, they came across two bruised warriors, singing drunkenly as they walked side by side wi… [view original content]
"I suppose I could", she said with a small sigh, taking a sip of the ale before continuing. "Well, first of all his name is Norano. He's a brave and honorable man, with charming personality and a good sense of humor."
Aha, I knew it The hints have been there, so I am definitely not surprised by this. I think I already speculated about where this'll lead Verro and Nesila to in the future, but Iguess that at Nightsong, they'll learn about the Manwoody involvement in Norano's disappearance, even if his death is not confirmed to any character in the story yet, save for Kortney of course. If Myke ends up freeing her after all, they might have returned to Nightsong already by the time Verro and Nesila arrive there and in that case, I could see them getting involved in an open war against House Manwoody. I cannot reasonably see how House Caron (and potentially even House Durrandon, in which case shit really hits the fan for Albin) could let this ever go unpunished and Nesila naturally should have a desire to get involved in this. Sure, Albin has the support of House Yronwood now and that makes things more complicated, but when push comes to shove, Yorick might end up striking a deal with the Stormlanders. Albin is the one they should feel vengeful towards, not Yorick, not the entirety of House Manwoody. Albin is really the problem here, for Yorick as well, so it would be a smart move to get rid of him, install Arvin as the new head of the house and Yorick's vassal and deliver Albin to his enemies to appease them and be free to focus on Nymeria. Of course, Yorick doesn't yet know about just how badly Albin fucked things up and just how severe the consequences for his own plans could be, but once he realizes the true depths of this situation, I highly doubt he'll be pleased. Potentially, he'll even lose any semblance of patience he still has towards the mad king.
[Peaceful life]
See, I originally was going to pick the other option, because that is what Verro had been doing all his life. He was a fighter, he is a fighter and at least for the foreseeable future, it seems he will remain a fighter. So, in a way I believe this is something he enjoys, if only in a subconscious level, or else he would have gotten out of it long ago. However, CM3434 brings up a very good argument here, it's not as if Verro had a choice in many of the battles he fought. He also just decided against fighting someone else's war yet again and this has to be worth something. If it truly all works out for him, maybe it would be an interesting twist for Verro to just settle down somewhere.
[Kneel]
I am still a bit conflicted about Emerson siding with House Yronwood. I like him and cannot see siding with the side that will ultimately lose be a good move. However, he has previously made choices that led to this meeting, so he is definitely open for it. And the main argument in favour of not kneeling from an in-story perspective is the desire to keep the independence of House Allyrion. Here's the thing, Esperence already threw this away to secure her own claim over Emmett's. House Allyrion is not independent anymore, he has no chances of regaining his rightful title on his own and if he requires help to win back his city, he will lose his independence by default. The entire house has been caught between Yronwood and Martell and neither him nor Esperence had any real choice in this. Kneeling is the natural consequence for him and probably his best bet. We know Yorick has a certain arrogant streak, so refusing to kneel could be very unwise. In the end, he needs Yorick to regain control of Godsgrace, but Yorick definitely doesn't need him, he needs someone in charge of Godsgrace who follows his orders. Since Emerson has a rightful claim, he is a better choice than most, but the important thing here is loyalty to House Yronwood and if he doesn't prove this much, Yorick could just as well decide to grant Godsgrace to one of his vassals after potentially capturing it.
Verro
One morning on their journey towards west, Verro, Nesila and Zaltha noticed bodies floating down the Greenblood.
"Looks like we … moreare heading towards a war", Nesila stated nonchalantly as she watched the corpses drift by, and they continued forward. They traveled throughout the day, and every few minutes a body, shield, helmet or a severed limb could be seen in the water. It was already twilight when they finally arrived to Godsgrace, walked over the bridge where the battle had clearly taken place, and entered the city.
Usually the streets of any town would be relatively quiet and empty this time of the day, but Godsgrace was filled with soldiers drinking and celebrating their victory, and of course whores to keep them company. That said, Verro also noticed many Rhoynar women warriors among the soldiers.
Making their way up the main street, they came across two bruised warriors, singing drunkenly as they walked side by side wi… [view original content]
[Peaceful life]
It is true that his life has not been completely in his control for a while. He most likely wants to be able to make his own decisions to find a peaceful existence for a little while. However, I think his life is going to be adventurous, for quite a while. [Kneel]
It's the smart thing to do.
Verro
One morning on their journey towards west, Verro, Nesila and Zaltha noticed bodies floating down the Greenblood.
"Looks like we … moreare heading towards a war", Nesila stated nonchalantly as she watched the corpses drift by, and they continued forward. They traveled throughout the day, and every few minutes a body, shield, helmet or a severed limb could be seen in the water. It was already twilight when they finally arrived to Godsgrace, walked over the bridge where the battle had clearly taken place, and entered the city.
Usually the streets of any town would be relatively quiet and empty this time of the day, but Godsgrace was filled with soldiers drinking and celebrating their victory, and of course whores to keep them company. That said, Verro also noticed many Rhoynar women warriors among the soldiers.
Making their way up the main street, they came across two bruised warriors, singing drunkenly as they walked side by side wi… [view original content]
Verro
One morning on their journey towards west, Verro, Nesila and Zaltha noticed bodies floating down the Greenblood.
"Looks like we … moreare heading towards a war", Nesila stated nonchalantly as she watched the corpses drift by, and they continued forward. They traveled throughout the day, and every few minutes a body, shield, helmet or a severed limb could be seen in the water. It was already twilight when they finally arrived to Godsgrace, walked over the bridge where the battle had clearly taken place, and entered the city.
Usually the streets of any town would be relatively quiet and empty this time of the day, but Godsgrace was filled with soldiers drinking and celebrating their victory, and of course whores to keep them company. That said, Verro also noticed many Rhoynar women warriors among the soldiers.
Making their way up the main street, they came across two bruised warriors, singing drunkenly as they walked side by side wi… [view original content]
Oh man, well it looks like Neslia is indeed Norano's sister and safe to say that she is going to be very disappointed once she finds out what happened if she is able to get the exact details of it. Verro's storyline is a pretty intriguing one since unlike most of the other PoV's, he doesn't really have ties to anyone or anywhere in Dorne so he will be very much forging a new life for himself and with it looking to be that Verro will actually be leaving Dorne at least temporarily, I am curious to see where his travels will take him.
Indeed, Nightsong is the first place they'll be heading, and it's most likely where they'll learn what happened to Norano. Perhaps not the details, but at least the fact that he's gone missing. And yeah, forging a new life in a strange and foreign land is exactly what Verro's story is about. That said, by Book 2 he'll be a lot more familiar with Westeros, perhaps even having settled down somewhere. And while it's clear Verro is right now going to Nightsong, I can reveal that his story will continue to concentrate on Dorne in the future, because otherwise it'd make little sense to keep him in the story that is all about Dorne
For Emerson's part, I definitely enjoyed it as well with Emerson growing up and coming closer to he is meant to be with every part. The meeting between Emerson and Yorick definitely did not disappoint and it was pretty neat seeing the contrast between the two of them with Yorick showing the qualities that make him as powerful and respected as he is and Emerson as a young hopeful lord who is way over his head in this situation. This decision was definitely coming for Emerson and while it is a tough one for him, I definitely feel like there is only one option is Emerson wants any chance at succeeding at his goal here.
Aye, Emerson is definitely one of the characters that will go through a lot of growth as a character during the timeskip between Books 1 and 2. The Emerson we see here is indeed way over his head, and Yorick recognizes this as well. However, once we catch up with him in Book 2 he'll have two years of serving the Yronwood's behind him, which is bound to change him a bit.
Oh man, well it looks like Neslia is indeed Norano's sister and safe to say that she is going to be very disappointed once she finds out wha… moret happened if she is able to get the exact details of it. Verro's storyline is a pretty intriguing one since unlike most of the other PoV's, he doesn't really have ties to anyone or anywhere in Dorne so he will be very much forging a new life for himself and with it looking to be that Verro will actually be leaving Dorne at least temporarily, I am curious to see where his travels will take him.
[Peaceful life]
I could be interpreting Verro's character in the wrong way but this definitely seems to fit with how I have seen his character so far. Ever since he's arrived in Dorne and before that even, he has always been forced or pretty much forced to do things that he hasn't wanted to do. The life of a sellsword has never looked to be one he has really enjoyed all that much and he has pretty much only f… [view original content]
Aha, I knew it The hints have been there, so I am definitely not surprised by this. I think I already speculated about where this'll lead Verro and Nesila to in the future, but Iguess that at Nightsong, they'll learn about the Manwoody involvement in Norano's disappearance, even if his death is not confirmed to any character in the story yet, save for Kortney of course. If Myke ends up freeing her after all, they might have returned to Nightsong already by the time Verro and Nesila arrive there and in that case, I could see them getting involved in an open war against House Manwoody. I cannot reasonably see how House Caron (and potentially even House Durrandon, in which case shit really hits the fan for Albin) could let this ever go unpunished and Nesila naturally should have a desire to get involved in this. Sure, Albin has the support of House Yronwood now and that makes things more complicated, but when push comes to shove, Yorick might end up striking a deal with the Stormlanders. Albin is the one they should feel vengeful towards, not Yorick, not the entirety of House Manwoody. Albin is really the problem here, for Yorick as well, so it would be a smart move to get rid of him, install Arvin as the new head of the house and Yorick's vassal and deliver Albin to his enemies to appease them and be free to focus on Nymeria. Of course, Yorick doesn't yet know about just how badly Albin fucked things up and just how severe the consequences for his own plans could be, but once he realizes the true depths of this situation, I highly doubt he'll be pleased. Potentially, he'll even lose any semblance of patience he still has towards the mad king.
Yeah, you caught this quite a while ago Indeed, Verro, Nesila and Zaltha will be heading to Nightsong, and depending on the situation there Nesila will either want to start searching for Norano, or she'll want to avenge him, if Kortney has made it there before her. Either way, it seems Verro & co's storyline will be tied to the Caron's. And you're right, if Caron's learn about what Albin did, they wont just let it slide. And it's also true that Arvin would be way easier to control than his father, and perhaps Yorick will also come to that conclusion sooner or later. We'll just have to wait and see.
"I suppose I could", she said with a small sigh, taking a sip of the ale before continuing. "Well, first of all his name is Norano. He's a b… morerave and honorable man, with charming personality and a good sense of humor."
Aha, I knew it The hints have been there, so I am definitely not surprised by this. I think I already speculated about where this'll lead Verro and Nesila to in the future, but Iguess that at Nightsong, they'll learn about the Manwoody involvement in Norano's disappearance, even if his death is not confirmed to any character in the story yet, save for Kortney of course. If Myke ends up freeing her after all, they might have returned to Nightsong already by the time Verro and Nesila arrive there and in that case, I could see them getting involved in an open war against House Manwoody. I cannot reasonably see how House Caron (and potentially even House Durrandon, in which case shit really hits the fan for Albin) could let… [view original content]
Alright, so Verro will say that he'd prefer a peaceful life, over a more adventurous one. This is first and foremost a character building choice, affecting Verro's mindset going forward.
And Emerson will kneel to Yorick Yronwood. Probably the smart thing to do here, in order to keep Emerson's hopes of ever ruling Godsgrace alive.
And next up we will return to the Kingsgrave storyline, with a Myke part. Last time in Kingsgrave, Jared Lonmouth suggested a plan to free Kortney, where she'd be hidden in a cart fetching crops from a nearby farm. Myke, Joran and Raina would be guarding the cart along with three Wyl soldiers chosen by Jared. Joran and Myke agreed to the plan, as did Kortney, and now we'll see if it works out. I'll try my best to get the part out today!
Myke walked next to the cart, keeping his eyes constantly on Kortney, who was sitting atop the wool blanket she had earlier hid under. They had gotten through the gates of Kingsgrave without problems, which was arguably the most important part, and had been on the road for almost an hour after that.
"Still a long way to that farm?" Joran asked impatiently, as they made their way up a small hill.
"Fuck if I know, these are not my lands", answered Brenn, one of the three Wyl soldiers that Jared Lonmouth had chosen to go with them. "Just another mile or two", said the old man riding the carthorse.
"So, what's the deal with this girl anyway?" Asked Ethan, another one of the Wyl soldiers. Where Brenn seemed to be just another grunt doing his job, Myke had noticed that the young Ethan had a curious mind. "It's none of your business", Joran was quick to bark. "Just do the job Jared asked you to do."
"You are doing good by helping us", Raina quickly added with a friendlier tone. "Good, huh?" The third soldier spoke up, a chubby middle-aged man named Will. "Hopefully not the kind of good that we'll hang for."
"If they are going to hang us for this, then I'll bloody well tell them that these were Jared's orders", Brenn hissed angrily.
"Exactly", Myke now interjected with a serious tone. "You are simply following orders of your commander, no questions asked, no consequences warranted."
"Well, you don't have to answer, I have my theory anyway", Ethan now said with a pretentious tone, a satisfied smirk on his face. "I think this girl was the King's plaything, and you are saving her because she is some kind of nobility. And considering that Jared is originally from the Stormlands, I'd wager the girl is a Stormlander as well. Am I correct?"
"You are", Kortney spoke up with a frustrated tone, glaring at Ethan with a murderous look in her eyes. "And that's all you need to know", she added coldly, turning her eyes away.
They continued their trip through the rocky terrain of the Red Mountains in silence, and arrived to a small valley after another hour of walking. Down on the valley was a small estate, wheat fields and an orange tree grove surrounding it. As they arrived to the yard of the estate, Myke and Raina let Joran and the Wyl soldiers deal with the owner of the farm, while they helped Kortney down from the cart.
They sat down by the stable, and Myke offered his flask of water for Kortney, who took it without questions. "How are you feeling?" Myke asked gently while Kortney drank, and she responded with a shrug, an empty look in her eyes. "It's hard to believe I'm out of Kingsgrave", she said with a hollow tone, and Myke nodded. "There's still a long journey to make, but you are free now", he said calmly. "And soon you'll be with your family again. Trevas, Prestan and Ronard have all missed you dearly."
"I've missed them too", Kortney said quietly, gulping subtly as she paused. "But I'm no longer the Kortney they remember."
"It doesn't matter, my dear", Myke said with a small sigh, stroking Kortney's hair softly. "You are still their daughter and sister, and they will love you no matter what."
"I know, I'm just not sure if I deserve that love", Kortney replied with a sullen tone. For a moment Myke remained silent, wondering what kind of horrible things Kortney had had to endure in Kingsgrave. "We'll talk this through once we reach Nightsong, alright?" He finally said, and Kortney nodded wordlessly.
"If we reach Nightsong", she added after being quiet for a moment, and Myke narrowed his eyes. "What could stop us now?" He asked calmly, to which Kortney shrugged. "Perhaps Jared isn't to be trusted after all, or these men that he chose", she suggested grimly. "Or perhaps someone back in Kingsgrave has already noticed my absence and is on our trail. I've learned to expect the worst during my stay in Kingsgrave."
Myke put his hand on Kortney's shoulder and looked her into the eyes. "No one will hurt you again, understand?" He said determinedly, and Kortney turned her gaze down. "I'll protect you, even if they send all the demons of the seven hells after us."
Myke and Joran helped the Wyl soldiers load the cart full of grains and oranges. After that the Wyl soldiers started their journey back to Kingsgrave, whereas Myke, Joran, Raina and Kortney continued towards west, their destination the Wide Way.
After just few minutes of traveling, Myke heard horses galloping towards them from behind, and instinctively drew his sword, as did Joran and Raina. However, as the riders came closer, Myke recognized the Caron tabards they were wearing. There were seven of them, and they were led by Prestan Caron and Ser Steffon Toyne.
Seeing Kortney beside Myke, Prestan immediately dismounted his horse, and rushed to hug his sister. Kortney was clearly surprised, and it took a moment before she truly embraced the hug. As Prestan separated from the hug, he looked at Kortney with tears in his eyes, and wide grin on his face. "Sister, I am so happy to see you again", he said with a gasp, and Kortney nodded with a gulp.
"It's good to see you as well, brother", she responded weakly, and for a moment they just looked at each other in silence, until Prestan turned towards Myke. For a brief moment Myke could see a flash of anger in his eyes, but it was gone in as quickly as it came. "Thank you, Myke, for saving her", Prestan said with a genuinely grateful tone, and Myke nodded.
"I didn't do it alone", he replied, nodding towards Raina and Joran. "And I'm sorry for... knocking you out earlier", he added awkwardly.
"I must say I was quite angry when I woke up", Prestan responded with a sigh. "However, since you did what you set out to do... I cannot blame you. So, all is forgiven."
"Good to hear", Myke said with a relaxed tone. "Because we have a long way to Nightsong ahead of us."
One of the Caron soldiers gave his horse to Kortney, and without any further interruptions they continued west for the rest of the day. As the sun finally began to set they made a camp to the woods, away from the road. It was a calm and quiet evening, and while Prestan and Raina kept company for Kortney by the fire, Myke and Joran stood further away in guard.
"I had my doubts, but we made it", Joran said with a small chuckle, and Myke smiled. "Lord Trevas ought to give us a warm welcome back to Nightsong", he replied calmly.
"Aye, one fitting of heroes", Joran said confidently, to which Myke raised an eyebrow. "What?" Joran asked with an amused tone. "If saving a lady from the clutches of a mad king doesn't make you a hero, then I don't bloody know what does."
"I guess you've got a point", Myke admitted, and Joran nudged him with his left elbow. "Hells yeah I've got a point!" He growled with a wide grin on his face. "Ah, Myke, it's good to see you smile again, you old bastard."
"We've done good so far, but we are still in the enemy territory", Myke reminded with a bit more serious tone now, and Joran nodded with a sigh. "True. Do you think those Wyl soldiers can be trusted to keep their mouths shut?" He asked calmly.
"I'm not even sure if your pal Jared can be trusted to do that", Myke answered sternly. "I mean, with a nickname like 'Ser Looselips'..."
"Oh, that's just because he can't stay quiet for a moment, not because he'd be a snitch or anything like that", Joran assured with a smirk. "Add to that the sigil of House Lonmouth, and of course some bastard will come up with a nickname like that. Besides, if he wanted to turn on us, why wait this long?"
"I hope you're right", Myke said, turning to look back towards the camp, seeing Prestan laughing and even Kortney smiling shyly. "They look happy", he said quietly, and Joran turned as well.
"Aye, they do", he agreed with a warm tone on his voice. "And we can all thank you for that."
-
Myke was the first to wake up the next morning. After grabbing a piece of dried meat from the bag and taking a gulp of water, he walked to the woods for a leak. As he stood there, he heard distant noises among the silence. Dogs barking, men speaking. They are still far, but there's no time to waste.
Myke rushed back to the camp, and woke up everyone. "Shh", he said to keep them quiet. "Take Kortney, ride as fast as you can, and do not stop until you are out of this wretched kingdom", he said to Prestan, who raised his eyebrow. "There are men coming, I heard them, they'll be here in just a few minutes."
"But... there's not enough horses for everyone", Prestan said tiredly, and Myke nodded. "Aye, some of us have to stay behind, buy time. I will stay", he said decisively.
"I will too", Joran said, and Myke nodded. Ser Steffon stepped forward as well. "I'm with you", he said sternly.
"I can't leave you behind", Prestan insisted, but Myke grabbed him from the shoulder and looked him into the eyes. "You have a duty to get your sister safely back to Nightsong, understand? Now go, there's no time to waste." After saying this, Myke turned to Raina. "And you, Raina, take Ser Steffon's horse", he commanded, to which Raina frowned and shook her head.
"I've been with you through all of this, I can't..."
"You will!" Myke cut her off angrily, which surprised Raina. "Go, now", Myke said hastily, and Raina nodded. They all mounted their horses, and Myke looked Kortney once more, and she nodded with a grateful look in her eyes. And so, Prestan, Kortney, Raina and the rest of the soldiers galloped away, leaving behind Myke, Joran and Steffon.
They stood silently there in the forest for a couple minutes, the sounds of the Manwoody soldiers and their dogs coming closer all the time. Finally, they appeared from the woods, looking at the three of them with great interest. There were fourteen of them, most on horseback, as well as four large hounds, and they were led by King Albin's servant known as Larry the Kind. He dismounted his horse.
"What do we have here?" Larry asked as he approached them, eyeing the camp with a smirk on his face. "Three armed men camping in middle of the forest... odd. You don't happen to have seen a girl named Missy, a redhead, skinny, has a couple scars."
"No idea whom you speak of", Myke responded boldly, to which Larry raised an eyebrow. "That’s interesting, because her scent led us here", he said with a sly tone, patting one of the dogs softly. "And this camp of yours... I've never seen three men leave this much trails. Not to mention the fresh hoofprints we saw on the way. So, what are you doing here anyway?"
"None of your business", Joran spat angrily, drawing his sword. Larry chuckled, and gave a signal for the Manwoody soldiers to draw their weapons as well. "Awfully reckless of you, ser. Lay down your weapons now, and tell us what you know, and we may spare you", he threatened with a chilling calmness in his words.
"Not going to happen", Myke growled and unsheathed his sword, Steffon following his example.
"We'll have it your way then", Larry said and walked back to his men. "Andrey, Josh, Landar, keep riding towards west, they can't be far ahead", he commanded, and three of his men proceeded to ride past Myke, Joran and Steffon. However, Myke quickly pulled out his dagger, and threw it to the throat of the one riding closest to him. The soldier fell from his horse, gurgling and bleeding to death on the ground. The two others continued forward without hesitation.
Looking at Larry, Myke saw anger in his eyes, anger that hadn't been there before. "Ride them down!" He yelled, and the remaining six riders proceeded to charge towards them.
Myke managed to dodge the first rider charging towards him, simply clashing sword with him. However, the second rider tackled him to the ground, but luckily he didn't get trampled. Steffon had been less lucky, having been trampled by both of the riders that had charged towards him, leaving him lying on the ground with agony. The dogs were set up on him to take care of the rest.
Joran on the other hand had managed to take down one of the riders, and dodged the other. They both turned to face the riders from the other direction now. However, before the riders even charged, Myke and Joran were shot from behind. Feeling the worst pain he had ever felt, Myke saw an arrow sticking through from his chest, and he fell on his knees. Turning to look right, he saw Joran already lying dead on the ground, several arrows on him.
Myke turned around, clenching his teeth to fight the pain, and what he saw was Larry the Kind approaching him. Mustering all the strength and anger he had left, Myke stood up and charged towards Larry with a roar. However, another arrow landed on his leg before he could reach him, and so he stumbled to the ground, and let go of his sword. His face was resting on the dirt, but Larry quickly turned him on his back, and looked at him with a vicious grin on his face. "You're lucky that I have no time for fun and games, old man", he said, before moving his knife to slit open Myke's throat. Knowing his death was coming, the last thing Myke thought was Kortney, and he prayed to all the gods that he had bought her enough time. And then it was over.
Oh, oh no, we finally reached it, the point where Point-of-Views die. I had the strong suspicion either Myke or Kortney would not make it out of there and must say, as heartbreaking as this one is, it would have been even worse if Kortney would have been the one to die. Myke's entire goal and, from his perspective, purpose in these final months of his life, has been to free Kortney, whereas her goal has been to escape Kingsgrave. In a way, both succeeded at that and there is some bit of comfort in it. He did what he came for, he saved the girl he cares for like a daughter and he ultimately seems to have died somewhat accepting his fate.
Don't get me wrong though, Myke's death, as much as I was prepared for either him or Kortney to die during their escape, hits extremely hard. It even manages to overshadow Trentan's death for me in terms of how tragic the story can be and this is undeniably the saddest moment in the story so far. Fucking Larry though, I was hoping Myke would at least manage to take him down as well. This guy is easily taking fourth place among my least favourite characters and only because it isn't possible for him to reach the levels of Aisha, Valerie and Wesley. To think I considered him to be the harmless one, I guess I really should stop underestimating certain characters.
However, I guess Kortney will have another part as well and her reaction to this is going to be just heartbreaking :'(We didn't saw much of her reaction here, which makes me believe you're saving it for her own PoV, which is kinda more fitting as well, to be honest. I also kinda fear she might not be as safe as Myke hoped in his final moments. Larry is still out there, three of his riders are in direct pursuit. At worst, there could be a confrontation between Kortney and Larry. Maybe that could be for the better as well though, if she ends up killing him, because otherwise, that piece of shit will make it to Book 2. Myke shall be avenged!
And man, oh man, this definitely set the stage for the final parts of Book 1. Myke was perhaps the only PoV who could have died while still somewhat succeeding at his goals and so, his death manages to be triumphant and heartbreaking at the same time. I fear if there are more PoV deaths to come (and you know I fear for death in the Team R'hllor vs Team Awful confrontation, with no less than three PoV's at risk) they won't be as triumphant, but instead only heartbreaking. Given how I already have a very hard reaction to Myke's death, I must say that now I am legitimately nervous for what the remaining parts will hold. Kortney, Gwen, Dalia, Kris, there's going to be another death among these four before Book 1 is over, I just know it and I don't like the chances here.
Myke
Myke walked next to the cart, keeping his eyes constantly on Kortney, who was sitting atop the wool blanket she had earlier hid unde… morer. They had gotten through the gates of Kingsgrave without problems, which was arguably the most important part, and had been on the road for almost an hour after that.
"Still a long way to that farm?" Joran asked impatiently, as they made their way up a small hill.
"Fuck if I know, these are not my lands", answered Brenn, one of the three Wyl soldiers that Jared Lonmouth had chosen to go with them. "Just another mile or two", said the old man riding the carthorse.
"So, what's the deal with this girl anyway?" Asked Ethan, another one of the Wyl soldiers. Where Brenn seemed to be just another grunt doing his job, Myke had noticed that the young Ethan had a curious mind. "It's none of your business", Joran was quick to bark. "Just do the job Jared asked you to do."
"You are doing good by helping… [view original content]
Man Wildling, you are sure making the end of this book tough on us aren't you? But really though, this is another sad death and the first full time PoV one as well so of course this was definitely going to be a hard one to handle. Like Liquid, I kind of figured either Myke wouldn't make it out of this considering that once they are back in Nightsong and out of Kingsgrave, along with him having no other ties to Dorne but I had the hope that maybe Myke would stay on as a PoV going back to Kingsgrave with the backing of a Caron army this time but it wasn't meant to be. I have to ask though, was there any way for us to keep Myke alive or was his death going to happen no matter what? With all of this said though, I will say again that this one tugged on the heartstrings for sure especially when his last thought was if he gave Kortney enough time. Good work man and now we just have to hope that Kortney and the rest are able to make it back to Nightsong!
As for Kortney, I actually feel relatively alright about her chances since Myke, Joran and Steffon did buy them quite a bit of time plus the head start they already had but Kortney, Prestan and Raina are far from out of this so i suppose I will just have to wait and see on this one. I am also really intrigued to find out how Albin found out and if Jared or one of his men ratted them out which I don't think happened but I suppose you never know. Also though, man Albin never seizes to amaze me Even with all that has happened with him recently, he is actually going through all of this trouble just to find Kortney which shows how mad he is and maybe he actually realizes how bad things will be if the Caron's find out about this but man, Albin sure does a great job at making enemies either way Overall though, this was a great part and even though Myke died, he was able to accomplish his goal now we just have to hope that Prestan and the rest of his men will be able to complete this mission.
Myke
Myke walked next to the cart, keeping his eyes constantly on Kortney, who was sitting atop the wool blanket she had earlier hid unde… morer. They had gotten through the gates of Kingsgrave without problems, which was arguably the most important part, and had been on the road for almost an hour after that.
"Still a long way to that farm?" Joran asked impatiently, as they made their way up a small hill.
"Fuck if I know, these are not my lands", answered Brenn, one of the three Wyl soldiers that Jared Lonmouth had chosen to go with them. "Just another mile or two", said the old man riding the carthorse.
"So, what's the deal with this girl anyway?" Asked Ethan, another one of the Wyl soldiers. Where Brenn seemed to be just another grunt doing his job, Myke had noticed that the young Ethan had a curious mind. "It's none of your business", Joran was quick to bark. "Just do the job Jared asked you to do."
"You are doing good by helping… [view original content]
Oh, oh no, we finally reached it, the point where Point-of-Views die. I had the strong suspicion either Myke or Kortney would not make it out of there and must say, as heartbreaking as this one is, it would have been even worse if Kortney would have been the one to die. Myke's entire goal and, from his perspective, purpose in these final months of his life, has been to free Kortney, whereas her goal has been to escape Kingsgrave. In a way, both succeeded at that and there is some bit of comfort in it. He did what he came for, he saved the girl he cares for like a daughter and he ultimately seems to have died somewhat accepting his fate.
And so we have indeed. Yeah, I figured Myke wouldn't exactly be the most surprising death, especially now with his mission more or less completed. Like you say, he did what he set out to do, fulfilled his purpose, and died a hero.
Don't get me wrong though, Myke's death, as much as I was prepared for either him or Kortney to die during their escape, hits extremely hard. It even manages to overshadow Trentan's death for me in terms of how tragic the story can be and this is undeniably the saddest moment in the story so far. Fucking Larry though, I was hoping Myke would at least manage to take him down as well. This guy is easily taking fourth place among my least favourite characters and only because it isn't possible for him to reach the levels of Aisha, Valerie and Wesley. To think I considered him to be the harmless one, I guess I really should stop underestimating certain characters.
Ah, I'm actually a bit surprised that you consider this more tragic than Trentan's death Not because it isn't meant to be tragic, it definitely is, but because clearly Gwen's storyline is the one you've always been the most attached to. Anyway, I'm glad I managed to make Myke's death impactful enough for you to consider it the saddest moment in the story so far. And yeah, Larry isn't quite as in-your-face with his obnoxiousness as the likes of Tom the Animal, or Valerie and Mordekhai for that matter, but he can still be one cruel son of a bitch when he wants to.
However, I guess Kortney will have another part as well and her reaction to this is going to be just heartbreaking :'(We didn't saw much of her reaction here, which makes me believe you're saving it for her own PoV, which is kinda more fitting as well, to be honest. I also kinda fear she might not be as safe as Myke hoped in his final moments. Larry is still out there, three of his riders are in direct pursuit. At worst, there could be a confrontation between Kortney and Larry. Maybe that could be for the better as well though, if she ends up killing him, because otherwise, that piece of shit will make it to Book 2. Myke shall be avenged!
Yeah, I can confirm that we'll have at least one more Kortney part in Book 1, which should show a bit of a reaction to what happened in this part. I mean, Kortney wasn't there to witness the death, so it'll more likely be a slow realization that Myke is dead. Still, it won't be easy for her. And Larry's riders are indeed in pursuit, but there are also Prestan and six others to protect Kortney. And if they took Myke's advice to heart, they won't stop until they are out of the Manwoody lands.
Oh, oh no, we finally reached it, the point where Point-of-Views die. I had the strong suspicion either Myke or Kortney would not make it ou… moret of there and must say, as heartbreaking as this one is, it would have been even worse if Kortney would have been the one to die. Myke's entire goal and, from his perspective, purpose in these final months of his life, has been to free Kortney, whereas her goal has been to escape Kingsgrave. In a way, both succeeded at that and there is some bit of comfort in it. He did what he came for, he saved the girl he cares for like a daughter and he ultimately seems to have died somewhat accepting his fate.
Don't get me wrong though, Myke's death, as much as I was prepared for either him or Kortney to die during their escape, hits extremely hard. It even manages to overshadow Trentan's death for me in terms of how tragic the story can be and this is undeniably the saddest moment in the story so far. Fucking La… [view original content]
And so we have indeed. Yeah, I figured Myke wouldn't exactly be the most surprising death, especially now with his mission more or less completed. Like you say, he did what he set out to do, fulfilled his purpose, and died a hero.
Well, to be absolutely fair, after the amount of thought I have put into which PoV could potentially die, the only one that would surprise me by now would be Nymeria. Well, perhaps not only her, but there's a great many PoV deaths who would not necessarily surprise me at this specific point. Once we reach Book 2, my guesses are probably going to be way less broad, as well as way less accurate With Myke, it definitely made sense after he fulfilled his goal in the entire story so far, which is saving Kortney. At the same time, I could have seen Kortney dying instead, as her main goal, freeing herself from Albin, was also equally close to being achieved and her death would have given Myke a new purpose, revenge. So, I was about 70% sure that Myke would die here, but I wasn't entirely certain.
Ah, I'm actually a bit surprised that you consider this more tragic than Trentan's death Not because it isn't meant to be tragic, it definitely is, but because clearly Gwen's storyline is the one you've always been the most attached to. Anyway, I'm glad I managed to make Myke's death impactful enough for you to consider it the saddest moment in the story so far. And yeah, Larry isn't quite as in-your-face with his obnoxiousness as the likes of Tom the Animal, or Valerie and Mordekhai for that matter, but he can still be one cruel son of a bitch when he wants to.
Well, as much as I expected it, this didn't made it any less tragic. With Trentan's death, it was definitely the most shocking moment in the story, especially as I haven't seen his death at this particular point coming at all. However, his death was mostly a bit of a horror element and it also felt really surreal with the imagery it brought up in my head (which fits to Gwen's utterly horrified reaction), whereas Myke's death was a lot more sober and it had more build up than Trentan's shockingly fast demise, so the realization what was about to happen had a lot longer to sink in. While I am super attached to Gwen's storyline, the most out of them all, I feel like in terms of sheer attachement to the characters and me wishing for them to succeed, Kortney's and Myke's storyline has always been a close second. It's their struggle that makes me sympathize with these three storylines the most, as opposed to characters whom I might like more (I would, for example, put Isabella higher on the list of my favourites than Kortney) but who had it comparatively easy so far and therefore don't give me the same passion to see them succeed through their hardships. I believe this sympathy is why Myke's death hit me so hard, even harder than Trentan, despite me liking and missing Trentan a lot more as a character. So, what you're saying is, Larry is kinda the Aisha of Kortney's storyline, eh? The evil monster whom we all know is the worst, but who manages to be somehow more affable if it serves his goals, lure the characters and readers into a false sense of security, only to completely drop this mask whenever he actually gets the chance to do it. I underestimated Larry in the same way, I start to believe I should just expect the worst from a new character by default But well, in any way, I fear if he doesn't pursue Kortney personally right here, he'll make it into Book 2. I heavily suspect that his storyline will be tied to Kortney's though, he seems almost as obsessed with her as Albin and unlike the mad king, he is physically capable to hunt her and without the personal restrictions and responsibilities that Albin is basically forced to uphold at least to a basic degree.
Yeah, I can confirm that we'll have at least one more Kortney part in Book 1, which should show a bit of a reaction to what happened in this part. I mean, Kortney wasn't there to witness the death, so it'll more likely be a slow realization that Myke is dead. Still, it won't be easy for her. And Larry's riders are indeed in pursuit, but there are also Prestan and six others to protect Kortney. And if they took Myke's advice to heart, they won't stop until they are out of the Manwoody lands.
I guessed that much, depending on what you plan for her I could even see her having two parts left in this chapter. This could easily top Myke's death even as the saddest moment, because as said, his death had a somewhat triumphant and satisfying element to it as well, as he willingly gave up on his life to buy Kortney time and probably even succeeded with that. However, I heavily doubt Kortney will feel that way and that is what is going to make it so heartbreaking. At the same time, she is no longer the naive and sort of weak girl that ran away from Nightsong, she is a super hardened survivor, so where others might break down with grief, I could see her becoming really angry and I bet if she ever gets the chance, that won't end kindly for Larry
Oh, oh no, we finally reached it, the point where Point-of-Views die. I had the strong suspicion either Myke or Kortney would not make it ou… moret of there and must say, as heartbreaking as this one is, it would have been even worse if Kortney would have been the one to die. Myke's entire goal and, from his perspective, purpose in these final months of his life, has been to free Kortney, whereas her goal has been to escape Kingsgrave. In a way, both succeeded at that and there is some bit of comfort in it. He did what he came for, he saved the girl he cares for like a daughter and he ultimately seems to have died somewhat accepting his fate.
And so we have indeed. Yeah, I figured Myke wouldn't exactly be the most surprising death, especially now with his mission more or less completed. Like you say, he did what he set out to do, fulfilled his purpose, and died a hero.
Don't get me wrong though, Myke's death, as much as I was prepared… [view original content]
Man Wildling, you are sure making the end of this book tough on us aren't you? But really though, this is another sad death and the first full time PoV one as well so of course this was definitely going to be a hard one to handle. Like Liquid, I kind of figured either Myke wouldn't make it out of this considering that once they are back in Nightsong and out of Kingsgrave, along with him having no other ties to Dorne but I had the hope that maybe Myke would stay on as a PoV going back to Kingsgrave with the backing of a Caron army this time but it wasn't meant to be. I have to ask though, was there any way for us to keep Myke alive or was his death going to happen no matter what? With all of this said though, I will say again that this one tugged on the heartstrings for sure especially when his last thought was if he gave Kortney enough time. Good work man and now we just have to hope that Kortney and the rest are able to make it back to Nightsong!
Hehe, a PoV death had to happen sooner or later And it could be that this wasn't the last one in Book 1 either But yeah, I'd guess Myke was on top of many people's list when it comes to predicting which PoV will be the first to die. As for your question, yes, I've always planned for Myke to die in Book 1, though this was not the only way for it to happen. Oh, and there was actually one exception that would've led me to keep Myke alive, and that was if Kortney would've chosen to kill herself and Albin in that choice a while ago. In that case Myke, Joran and Raina would've sneaked out of Kingsgrave by themselves, and returned to Nightsong with the bad news.
As for Kortney, I actually feel relatively alright about her chances since Myke, Joran and Steffon did buy them quite a bit of time plus the head start they already had but Kortney, Prestan and Raina are far from out of this so i suppose I will just have to wait and see on this one. I am also really intrigued to find out how Albin found out and if Jared or one of his men ratted them out which I don't think happened but I suppose you never know. Also though, man Albin never seizes to amaze me Even with all that has happened with him recently, he is actually going through all of this trouble just to find Kortney which shows how mad he is and maybe he actually realizes how bad things will be if the Caron's find out about this but man, Albin sure does a great job at making enemies either way Overall though, this was a great part and even though Myke died, he was able to accomplish his goal now we just have to hope that Prestan and the rest of his men will be able to complete this mission.
Well, I won't reveal anything of course, but it would be pretty darn depressing if Myke's sacrifice would amount to nothing and Kortney would be caught anyway. And as for how Larry knew to go after Kortney, the most likely scenario is just that he noticed her missing (the creepy stalker that he is), and decided to investigate the situation further. Also, the cart returning from the farm with three soldiers guarding it instead of six might've tipped him off. As for Albin, his role in this probably was merely to give the order after Larry told him his suspicions, so it's not like he had to trouble himself that much Still, letting Kortney escape was one of the worst mistakes he could've made in his current situation, making yet another enemy.
Man Wildling, you are sure making the end of this book tough on us aren't you? But really though, this is another sad death and the first f… moreull time PoV one as well so of course this was definitely going to be a hard one to handle. Like Liquid, I kind of figured either Myke wouldn't make it out of this considering that once they are back in Nightsong and out of Kingsgrave, along with him having no other ties to Dorne but I had the hope that maybe Myke would stay on as a PoV going back to Kingsgrave with the backing of a Caron army this time but it wasn't meant to be. I have to ask though, was there any way for us to keep Myke alive or was his death going to happen no matter what? With all of this said though, I will say again that this one tugged on the heartstrings for sure especially when his last thought was if he gave Kortney enough time. Good work man and now we just have to hope that Kortney and the rest are able to make it back to Nigh… [view original content]
So the first pov death has arrived. I wasn't surprised that it was Myke. He basically did accomplish the goal he set out to do, in rescuing Kortney. However, it was still sad nonetheless.
Myke
Myke walked next to the cart, keeping his eyes constantly on Kortney, who was sitting atop the wool blanket she had earlier hid unde… morer. They had gotten through the gates of Kingsgrave without problems, which was arguably the most important part, and had been on the road for almost an hour after that.
"Still a long way to that farm?" Joran asked impatiently, as they made their way up a small hill.
"Fuck if I know, these are not my lands", answered Brenn, one of the three Wyl soldiers that Jared Lonmouth had chosen to go with them. "Just another mile or two", said the old man riding the carthorse.
"So, what's the deal with this girl anyway?" Asked Ethan, another one of the Wyl soldiers. Where Brenn seemed to be just another grunt doing his job, Myke had noticed that the young Ethan had a curious mind. "It's none of your business", Joran was quick to bark. "Just do the job Jared asked you to do."
"You are doing good by helping… [view original content]
So, there is no voting to close this time, but I just wanted to inform you that the next part is under work, and will be done either later today or tomorrow. I do have some other things I need to work on as well, but the part is already over halfway done, so I'm sure I'll find enough time to finish it before the weekend is over And that part will be a Valor PoV. Last we saw him he was about to leave the Salt Shore, summoned to Godsgrace by Nymeria. Before leaving, he decided to take Lady Delena, Jeremie, Gabby and Bridget with him as hostages, leaving Eli Sand in charge of the city. Now we'll see them arrive to Godsgrace.
Oh, and I've also made a new portrait, this time Larry the Kind:
Whoa, Larry looks absolutely nothing like I imagined him! Probably because I haven't remembered his actual description in the story, I always imagined him to look older, uglier and well, generally more creepy-looking. Though in a way, that makes him super unsettling, because he actually looks like a perfectly normal person.
I'm also really excited for Valor's part. Though my favourites have a headstart on him in terms of development, I could see him easily joining them at some time in Book 2, because you're doing a really nice job fleshing him out in comparably little time
So, there is no voting to close this time, but I just wanted to inform you that the next part is under work, and will be done either later t… moreoday or tomorrow. I do have some other things I need to work on as well, but the part is already over halfway done, so I'm sure I'll find enough time to finish it before the weekend is over And that part will be a Valor PoV. Last we saw him he was about to leave the Salt Shore, summoned to Godsgrace by Nymeria. Before leaving, he decided to take Lady Delena, Jeremie, Gabby and Bridget with him as hostages, leaving Eli Sand in charge of the city. Now we'll see them arrive to Godsgrace.
Oh, and I've also made a new portrait, this time Larry the Kind:
Oh wow, I can't say I was expecting Larry to look like this either! Really all I could remember about Larry was that he dresses and talks like a nobleman but actually seeing how he doesn't look like someone who would be one of Albin's freaks after all makes me even more intrigued about him. He actually looks like he would be around Kortney's age and if we didn't already know otherwise, it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for him to be guessed as a Lord's son or something based off how well dressed and clean cut he looks. I am probably wrong but I am guessing he is Albin's secret bastard son or something along those lines
Also as far as the Valor part goes, I am very excited for this one since I would say this will be where Valor and Nymeria meet for the first time in person!
So, there is no voting to close this time, but I just wanted to inform you that the next part is under work, and will be done either later t… moreoday or tomorrow. I do have some other things I need to work on as well, but the part is already over halfway done, so I'm sure I'll find enough time to finish it before the weekend is over And that part will be a Valor PoV. Last we saw him he was about to leave the Salt Shore, summoned to Godsgrace by Nymeria. Before leaving, he decided to take Lady Delena, Jeremie, Gabby and Bridget with him as hostages, leaving Eli Sand in charge of the city. Now we'll see them arrive to Godsgrace.
Oh, and I've also made a new portrait, this time Larry the Kind:
The Fallen Dragons had followed the trading route from Salt Shore to Godsgrace for four days now, unsure what would wait them once they'd reach the city. Another sundown came, and they had to once again set up their camp on the desert. The heat had made the troops march slower than usually, and Valor couldn't blame them for it. Hopefully we'll reach Godsgrace tomorrow.
Valor made his way through the camp, Maran following close behind him. He could see that many of the soldiers were exhausted by the harsh conditions, which didn’t bode well for the possible battle they'd had to face at the end of this journey.
Nonetheless, Valor made his way to the tent where the hostages were being held, to see that they were all in good health. Entering the tent, he saw Gabby Gargalen lying on the ground, absolutely exhausted from the travel, so much that she didn't even pay attention to him, instead just taking deep breaths and staring at the ceiling of the tent with an empty look in her eyes. Lady Delena on the other hand was comforting her son, who also seemed quite exhausted and tired. Out of all of them, Bridget looked the least worn out, though even she couldn't completely hide the fact that she had been traveling through the hot desert the last few days.
"Just wanted to make sure you're doing alright", Valor said calmly. Gabby still didn't pay attention to him, whereas Delena just shot him a cold glare and kept comforting little Jeremie. "We're fine", Bridget answered with a calm and friendly tone. "Just a bit tired."
"Hopefully we'll reach our destination tomorrow", Valor said with an encouraging tone, to which Bridget nodded with a subtle smile. Valor turned his gaze to Gabby now, and threw his flask of water next to her. "Drink", he said nonchalantly. "It'll help." With these words he turned around and walked out of the tent.
"Shouldn’t they be in chains, so they can't escape?" Maran asked as they walked away from the tent, to which Valor chuckled. "There is nowhere for them to escape", he answered with a small sigh. "We are in the desert. If they were to run away, they'd die. Slowly too, as they'd run out of water and the burning hot sun would make them lose their minds and will to live. Or if they'd be lucky, a pack of hyenas would give them a quick death."
"This is a dangerous land", Maran stated with a gulp, and Valor nodded. "Aye, but at least there are no dragons", he said with a smirk.
"Are you trying to frighten the boy again?" Asked the voice of Firanisa behind them, and Valor turned to face the Rhoynar captain, who flashed him a small smirk. "No, just educating him", Valor responded, to which Firanisa raised an eyebrow.
"Dorne has its dangers and discomforts, as any land does, but it will still make a good home for the Rhoynar", she said confidently, looking at both Valor and Maran as she spoke. "And like you said, at least there are no dragons."
"Not yet anyway", Valor replied quietly, which made Firanisa frown. "Should we expect some in the future?" She asked sharply, and Valor shrugged. "It's hard to know where the Freehold will decide to expand their rule next", he said dryly, letting out a small sigh. "Then again, I doubt Dorne is first in their mind."
"And what about you, Valor Veltaris?" Firanisa asked sternly. "Where will you go once you've done your job for Nymeria?"
"I expect this job to last quite a long time", he answered calmly, but Firanisa didn't look satisfied. "But when it is done", she insisted. "Where will the Fallen Dragons go then?" Valor stayed quiet for a moment, looking Firanisa to the eyes as he considered his answer.
"Truth be told, I expect this to be my last war", he finally said. He had never said it out loud before, but it was a thought that had been brewing in his mind for a while. "Either I'll die fighting for your princess, or I'll use the coin I earn to find myself a peaceful life somewhere. After this war, I will no longer lead the Fallen Dragons, so it won't be my concern where they go."
Firanisa looked surprised by his answer, and it took her a moment to find words. "Then perhaps you could swear allegiance to Nymeria, and live in peace under her protection once the war is over", she finally suggested, and Valor chuckled softly. "I haven't met your princess yet, but if she is anything like I imagine, she'll always find a new war to fight", he said, but now Firanisa shook her head.
"You don't know Nymeria", she argued strictly. "She is no warmonger, the only reason she is fighting this war is to provide a peaceful future for her people, and the people of Dorne."
"I suppose I'll be able to make my own judgement about her soon enough", Valor replied calmly, nodding to Firanisa, before walking away from her and making his way to his tent.
-
Next day, shortly after noon, they finally reached Godsgrace. The battle had clearly already been fought, and it seemed Nymeria had indeed been victorious. The Fallen Dragons crossed the bridge and approached the gates of the city, where the guards stopped them. Together with Firanisa, Maran and Olyvar Forrester, Valor approached them.
"You must be the sellswords that Princess Nymeria hired", one of the guards said, and Valor nodded. "Aye, the Fallen Dragons", he confirmed calmly. "I'm the commander of this company, Valor Veltaris."
"You may enter, but there is no room for your company in the city", the guard said nonchalantly. "They must camp outside the walls."
With a sigh Valor nodded. "So be it", he agreed begrudgingly, and turned back to command his troops to make camp. He also fetched the Gargalen hostages, before entering the city. Godsgrace was beautiful, there was no denying that, but right now it stunk of piss and shit, no doubt because of the large number of soldiers dwelling there.
Nonetheless, Valor made his way through the crowded city to the castle, where they were welcomed by yet another set of guards. These were women warriors of Rhoyne, so Firanisa handled speaking with them. And without problems they were let through, and into the courtyard of the castle, which was crowded with knights and their squires. Some were sparring, while others were at the smithy repairing their arms and armors, or just having a chat with their brothers in arms.
They were led into the castle, and to the large doors of the audience chamber. There they waited for many long minutes, before finally being summoned in by an old man in black robes, presumably the maester of the castle.
A dozen armed guards were in the room, and behind the high table sat four people. In the middle had to be Princess Nymeria and Prince Mors. Nymeria was a beautiful and regal sight, dressed in a dark red dress with golden embroidery, her long dark hair tied to a braid, and a golden circlet with a ruby resting on her head. Mors on the other hand gave Valor an impression of being a humble man, dressed in a relatively simple orange tunic, and sporting a friendly smile on his unassuming face.
On the ruling couple's left sat a modestly dressed man with a bushy brown beard, who didn't look at all like a nobleman. And on their right sat an older Rhoynar man, built like a warrior, a stern expression on his long face.
"Captain Firanisa, Olyvar Forrester, it's a pleasure to see you again", Nymeria started calmly, and both Firanisa and Olyvar bowed to her words. Then the princess' gaze shifted to Valor, and he couldn't help but notice a hint of resentment in her eyes. "I take it you are Valor Veltaris", she said nonchalantly, and now Valor bowed.
"Your Grace, I have come as you called", he said politely, to which Nymeria nodded. "I see you've also brought the hostages", she stated with a small sigh, eyeing at the Gargalens. With a nod, Valor turned towards them. "Lady Delena, and her son Jeremie, the heir to Salt Shore", he introduced first, before moving on to the sisters. "Gabby and Bridget Gargalen, the trueborn daughters of Lord Jorvian Gargalen."
"Lord Jorvian fell in the battle two days ago", Nymeria informed quietly, her tone genuinely sympathetic. Lady Delena put her arm around Jeremie, a shocked and mournful expression on her face. Gabby simply frowned and clenched her fists silently, anger oozing from her eyes as she glared at Nymeria. Bridget's reaction was subtler, though Valor was sure he could spot the hint of grief in her eyes.
"My condolences", Nymeria said, taking in a deep breath. "Maester Fabian, could you please take them to the body of Lord Jorvian, so they can give their farewells."
The maester bowed deeply, before leading the Gargalens out of the room. As the door closed, a tense silence lingered in the room for a moment. Finally, the older Rhoynar man cleared his throat and spoke up. "A pity you couldn't be here to help us in the battle, Veltaris", he said with a humorless tone. "After all, I know you to be a capable commander."
"And you are?" Valor asked calmly, and the man's lips formed a thin smirk. "General Varyn of Chroyane", he answered nonchalantly. Valor raised an eyebrow, recalling to have heard the name before. "You were one of Prince Garin's commanders", he deduced smoothly.
"Indeed, and you were a commander of the Valyrians", Varyn replied sharply, and Valor nodded. "I was", he confirmed unapologetically. "I went into that war fully believing in the glory of the Valyrian Freehold, seeing all its enemies as barbarians who would seek to destroy true civilization and culture, just as I had been told ever since I was a child. I had been taught to defend the honor of the Freehold, and spread its glory and wisdom to the lands of the lesser civilizations of the world. However, it came clear to me during those months that we marched up the Rhoyne, that we weren't there to defend anything, and all we were spreading was death and misery. We were there to destroy something ancient and beautiful. I may not have started the fire that burned down your people and their homes, but I played my part in spreading it. For that, I am sorry."
"I am glad to hear you acknowledge that", Nymeria said calmly, eyeing Valor with an intrigued gaze. "But the flames of past have burned my ancestral home to ashes, and what has been destroyed cannot be brought back. So instead of looking back, my goal is to build something new here in Dorne, something that can perhaps last long enough to one day be as beautiful and ancient as the Rhoyne once was. And you... you are here to help me achieve that goal."
"That is correct, Your Grace", Valor responded with a friendly smirk, though the princess did not reciprocate it. "You arrive at a good time, Valor Veltaris", she stated with a relaxed tone, leaning back on her chair. "I have lost a lot of troops in the first battle against the Dryland armies, and many of those who survived aren't in condition to keep marching for a while."
"I assume your next goal is to take Vaith", Valor guessed, and Nymeria nodded. "Yes", she said confidently. "And I have reason to believe that the city will yield without much resistance."
"And what then?" Valor asked curiously. "Then we can turn our gaze towards Brimstone", Nymeria responded calmly. "But before that, I believe we have an issue to deal with the Gargalens." Saying this, the princess turned her gaze to her husband. Prince Mors cleared his throat and spoke up.
"Now that Lord Jorvian is dead, we must decide who will take his place as the Lord, or Lady, of Salt Shore", he said calmly, taking in a deep breath. "By the Rhoynish law of inheritance, which is to be followed in the Principality of Dorne, the eldest child inherits the lordship. I believe in Jorvian's case this would be Lady Gabby. However, we understand that Jeremie has been Jorvian's heir so far, and his mother is not the mother of Jorvian's daughters. Taking away Jeremie's right to Salt Shore could potentially make a rift on the family, which could lead into future conflicts. That said, to avoid that we could perhaps take young Jeremie as a ward to Sandship, and offer him a good life there."
"Sounds reasonable", Valor commented calmly. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because we want your opinion", Mors said with a sigh. "You've spent more time with the Gargalen's than we have... do you think it would be wise to make Gabby the Lady of Salt Shore, or should we wait until Jeremie comes of age before making our decision?"
"You would have me decide?" Valor asked with a chuckle, which made Nymeria frown. "No. We are simply asking for your opinion", she clarified coldly.
Valor nodded, and turned his gaze down to consider his answer for a moment. He didn't really see Gabby as a good ruler, but waiting for Jeremie to grow older might only give more time for the tensions to rise. In truth, Valor thought Bridget would be the best choice, but perhaps such a suggestion would be out of the question for Nymeria and Mors.
[Suggest waiting for Jeremie to grow up] [Suggest Gabby] [Suggest Bridget]
Ah, I really enjoyed this part. Valor talking about settling down somewhere gives me hope he'll actually succeed at that. His final war, that's a word. I mean, we know the war will go on for longer than he thinks it will and a lot can happen until then, but with a bit of luck, he'll manage to achieve this goal. Definitely quite a humble thing to hope for, I'd say it is reasonable. What I particularly liked was his conversation with Varyn though. I never thought about it before, but it is very likely they actually fought against each other once. It was only implied here, but was Valor present at Chroyane?
[Suggest waiting for Jeremie to grow up]
Here's the thing, Bridget is my favourite Gargalen, but there's two arguments speaking against suggesting her. First, Nymeria brought up Gabby, the rightful heiress by Rhoynar law, and Jeremie as the two options and coming from her, the fact that there are options where the Rhoynar law would be clear is already quite something to even consider Jeremie, which she seems quite willing to do. Second, I really don't consider Bridget to be a good candidate, sympathy aside. She's no Gwen, she's no Esperence. She's lacking the backbone of a leader. While I think she is the perfect example of a second child and fulfills that role perfectly, I fear she will utterly fail as a leader, particularly caught between a likely resentful Gabby and Delena, who I doubt will be thrilled about Jeremie getting his inheritance taken away. I also fear that by suggesting Bridget, an option that is unlikely to be even up for debate, Valor will lose his chance to actually influence the future of House Gargalen.
So, that leaves Gabby and Jeremie. My opinion on Gabby is quite negative. I consider her to be a failure, talentless, rash and by no means loyal to House Martell. All of these aspects clearly speak against her. Sure, she might be angry that she is denied what many other firstborn daughters will receive when Nymeria takes over all Dorne, but what is she going to do? It is a fact that she hasn't been a threat so far, so she might try to overthrow her family, but I really doubt she is ever going to be a legitimate danger. Obviously, Jeremie isn't a danger either, but there is Delena. She just lost her husband and if her son is going to lose his birthright as well, this might drive her into the arms of Nymeria's enemies. On the opposite, maybe the fact that Nymeria is willing to respect her family by keeping things as Lord Jorvian wanted them to be, with Jeremie as his heir, will be enough to make her loyal and supportive of Nymeria's reign. I really consider her to be the most dangerous of the Gargalen's, she seems capable and if she uses her skills and influence against Nymeria, she could be a thorn in her side, way more than Gabby ever could. So, supporting Jeremie's claim means supporting her and unlike Bridget, Nymeria seems to be willing to consider this. And while neither Gabby nor Bridget give me the impression of a particularly skilled leader (albeit, to be absolutely fair, there might be hidden talents inside Bridget), Jeremie is a child and he can very well grow up to be a brilliant leader and strategist, especially with Delena supporting him, a chance I think we should grant him.
Valor
The Fallen Dragons had followed the trading route from Salt Shore to Godsgrace for four days now, unsure what would wait them once … morethey'd reach the city. Another sundown came, and they had to once again set up their camp on the desert. The heat had made the troops march slower than usually, and Valor couldn't blame them for it. Hopefully we'll reach Godsgrace tomorrow.
Valor made his way through the camp, Maran following close behind him. He could see that many of the soldiers were exhausted by the harsh conditions, which didn’t bode well for the possible battle they'd had to face at the end of this journey.
Nonetheless, Valor made his way to the tent where the hostages were being held, to see that they were all in good health. Entering the tent, he saw Gabby Gargalen lying on the ground, absolutely exhausted from the travel, so much that she didn't even pay attention to him, instead just taking deep breaths and staring at the … [view original content]
Valor
The Fallen Dragons had followed the trading route from Salt Shore to Godsgrace for four days now, unsure what would wait them once … morethey'd reach the city. Another sundown came, and they had to once again set up their camp on the desert. The heat had made the troops march slower than usually, and Valor couldn't blame them for it. Hopefully we'll reach Godsgrace tomorrow.
Valor made his way through the camp, Maran following close behind him. He could see that many of the soldiers were exhausted by the harsh conditions, which didn’t bode well for the possible battle they'd had to face at the end of this journey.
Nonetheless, Valor made his way to the tent where the hostages were being held, to see that they were all in good health. Entering the tent, he saw Gabby Gargalen lying on the ground, absolutely exhausted from the travel, so much that she didn't even pay attention to him, instead just taking deep breaths and staring at the … [view original content]
[Suggest waiting for Jeremie to grow up] I agree with Liquid too, respecting Jorvian's last wish could help sway Delena's opinion in Nymeria's favor. Besides, suggesting Bridget will only bring conflict to the family, she's neither male nor the eldest child, as such, no precedent besides personal opinion could help her.
Valor
The Fallen Dragons had followed the trading route from Salt Shore to Godsgrace for four days now, unsure what would wait them once … morethey'd reach the city. Another sundown came, and they had to once again set up their camp on the desert. The heat had made the troops march slower than usually, and Valor couldn't blame them for it. Hopefully we'll reach Godsgrace tomorrow.
Valor made his way through the camp, Maran following close behind him. He could see that many of the soldiers were exhausted by the harsh conditions, which didn’t bode well for the possible battle they'd had to face at the end of this journey.
Nonetheless, Valor made his way to the tent where the hostages were being held, to see that they were all in good health. Entering the tent, he saw Gabby Gargalen lying on the ground, absolutely exhausted from the travel, so much that she didn't even pay attention to him, instead just taking deep breaths and staring at the … [view original content]
Ah, I really enjoyed this part. Valor talking about settling down somewhere gives me hope he'll actually succeed at that. His final war, that's a word. I mean, we know the war will go on for longer than he thinks it will and a lot can happen until then, but with a bit of luck, he'll manage to achieve this goal. Definitely quite a humble thing to hope for, I'd say it is reasonable. What I particularly liked was his conversation with Varyn though. I never thought about it before, but it is very likely they actually fought against each other once. It was only implied here, but was Valor present at Chroyane?
Yeah, considering the backstory of Valor, I figured wanting to eventually settle down and stop fighting would be a very understandable goal for him. He left the Valyrian army because he was sickened by their actions, so it makes sense that he isn't exactly thrilled about the prospect of fighting wars for the rest of his life. And yes, Valor and Varyn have indeed been in opposite sides of a battle before. It has been revealed before that Valor was among the Volantene/Valyrian forces in Volon Therys when Garin's army defeated them. Valor however managed to retreat to Volantis, and later returned when the Valyrian's sent their 300 dragons, which obviously was the turning point of the war. I'd say he was still with them when the Valyrians destroyed Sar Mell and re-conquered Valysar and Selhorys, but somewhere between Selhorys and Chroyane Valor abandoned the army. So no, he wasn't present at Chroyane when it flooded.
Ah, I really enjoyed this part. Valor talking about settling down somewhere gives me hope he'll actually succeed at that. His final war, tha… moret's a word. I mean, we know the war will go on for longer than he thinks it will and a lot can happen until then, but with a bit of luck, he'll manage to achieve this goal. Definitely quite a humble thing to hope for, I'd say it is reasonable. What I particularly liked was his conversation with Varyn though. I never thought about it before, but it is very likely they actually fought against each other once. It was only implied here, but was Valor present at Chroyane?
[Suggest waiting for Jeremie to grow up]
Here's the thing, Bridget is my favourite Gargalen, but there's two arguments speaking against suggesting her. First, Nymeria brought up Gabby, the rightful heiress by Rhoynar law, and Jeremie as the two options and coming from her, the fact that there are options where the Rhoynar law would be c… [view original content]
Liquid brings up excellent points for this choice and I agree that Jeremie is the ideal choice for several reasons. The main reason being that he is simply the safest choice to secure House Gargalen's loyalty for the Martell's in the long run. Gabby has already proved that she is very incompetent and unable to do her job to a satisfactory standard plus she has in my mind showed that she can't be trusted. She no doubt holds Nymeria responsible for her father's death and I don't think even making Gabby the lady of Salt Shore would stop her from trying to betray Nymeria in the long run. As far as Bridget goes, there is very little reason for Nymeria and Mors to even entertain the idea since she does not have the best claim to Salt Shore from either perspective regardless of Valor's opinion. Along with all of this, probably the biggest thing that helps Jeramie is the fact that he is still young and Nymeria can have him groomed if she chooses to take him as a ward into the Lord that they want him to be and even if they don't do that, I feel he will still be groomed into what Nymeria wants since I do think Delena might be a useful ally if Nymeria chooses to let Jeremie keep his birthright.
On a side note though, I definitely enjoyed Valor's first meeting with Nymeria with there definitely being some tension on Nymeria's end which is to be expected of course I can already tell that they will have some great interactions moving forward and it will be interesting to see how long or even if Nymeria will be able to accept Valor moving forward but I'd say if Valor keeps fulfilling his end of the deal, Nymeria will come around in time.
Valor
The Fallen Dragons had followed the trading route from Salt Shore to Godsgrace for four days now, unsure what would wait them once … morethey'd reach the city. Another sundown came, and they had to once again set up their camp on the desert. The heat had made the troops march slower than usually, and Valor couldn't blame them for it. Hopefully we'll reach Godsgrace tomorrow.
Valor made his way through the camp, Maran following close behind him. He could see that many of the soldiers were exhausted by the harsh conditions, which didn’t bode well for the possible battle they'd had to face at the end of this journey.
Nonetheless, Valor made his way to the tent where the hostages were being held, to see that they were all in good health. Entering the tent, he saw Gabby Gargalen lying on the ground, absolutely exhausted from the travel, so much that she didn't even pay attention to him, instead just taking deep breaths and staring at the … [view original content]
Valor
The Fallen Dragons had followed the trading route from Salt Shore to Godsgrace for four days now, unsure what would wait them once … morethey'd reach the city. Another sundown came, and they had to once again set up their camp on the desert. The heat had made the troops march slower than usually, and Valor couldn't blame them for it. Hopefully we'll reach Godsgrace tomorrow.
Valor made his way through the camp, Maran following close behind him. He could see that many of the soldiers were exhausted by the harsh conditions, which didn’t bode well for the possible battle they'd had to face at the end of this journey.
Nonetheless, Valor made his way to the tent where the hostages were being held, to see that they were all in good health. Entering the tent, he saw Gabby Gargalen lying on the ground, absolutely exhausted from the travel, so much that she didn't even pay attention to him, instead just taking deep breaths and staring at the … [view original content]
And Valor will suggest Nym to wait for Jeremie to grow up before deciding who shall inherit the lordship of Salt Shore. Seems like a reasonable suggestion, and most likely Nymeria will take it to heart.
Next up, we'll be having an Isabella part, and possibly also a Naemon part, if it doesn't take me too long to get that one done. My writing has been slightly slower this week, due to some other projects I've had to work on, but worry not, I should have something ready by tomorrow Last time we saw Isabella, she was in Oasis Castle, where she and her brother Desmor had just received the news about Ferris' death. Isabella managed to calm her brother down, and convinced him to keep escorting her to the Starfall, instead of running back to Skyreach to avenge Ferris. At the end of the part they were leaving Oasis Castle, and now I'll be showing them arriving to Starfall. As for Naemon, he defeated Karsan Taller's rebellion on the lands of House Oakswood, and killed the man himself. After celebrating this victory, news of the defeat in Kingsgrave arrived to Oakswood, including tragic news of Lord Raymun Oakswood having been killed in the battle. After these news Naemon decided to ride straight back to Blackmont, leaving the situation in Gravesend for Alester and Malcolm to take care of. So, we'll be seeing Naemon back in Blackmont in this part.
Comments
[Go to see Lien]
Aha, I knew Nealia would be alive
What I am more relieved about is that Lien survived as well. Sure, she's got a busted leg now, but it could have been way worse. I mean, she could have lost her leg entirely, or could have lost her ability to walk at all if those horses would have damaged her spine. She might need years to recover, might keep a bit of a limp and at worst, her fighting days are over, but she's alive and can probably go back to a normal life. If anything, this might make it easier for her and Ying to go with Nealia instead of staying with the Rose Company when the time comes, because with Lien definitely not being able to fight in the coming Martell-Dayne war, there is little reason to stay with a sellsword company and I guess Ying would ultimately be more happy to keep an eye on her sister than to continue her sellsword life. Also, let me just say that Manda has been the MVP in this battle. I mean, carrying Nealia immediately to a healer was quite probably what saved her life. What made me a bit worried for Nealia is that it seemed like she was alone, with only Nymeria's men approaching and those don't know her and have no reason to check up on her if she's still alive, they'd probably consider her as good as dead already, but Manda, well, she obviously had good reason to see if she's still breathing.
[Send troops to Ghost Hill]
And here, well, Nymeria wanted this alliance with House Toland, it seems only fitting that she gives them the same treatment she'd give any vassal of hers. If she wants people to join her, she must make sure that she can keep them protected from threats such as Yorick Yronwood. It'd also mean the first genuine clash between Martell and Yronwood troops, if things really go that badly. I mean, I'm really not too keen on Tomas, with Dalia probably having redeemed herself in my eyes he is definitely my least favourite PoV at this time, if not even close to being my least favourite character. But yeah, she wants their support and if Tomas doesn't receive it, he probably will have no choice but to submit to Yorick after all.
And well, it seems the battle was a bit lighter on deaths than I thought after all. I was pretty sure the Wild Suns would take some losses, but it seems I was wrong, even if the company might effectively disband after all, with Khazor probably leading the survivors away from Dorne. Whom I did not see coming was Jovian Gargalen. His death will definitely cause trouble, because by Rhoynar law, Gabby is now head of House Gargalen and we know, she is neither capable, nor trustworthy and with her father dead, she might do something stupid, such as trying to take revenge on Nymeria. I'd much rather have Bridget as the Lady of Salt Shore, but really, given that she is not as popular as other Gargalen's and doesn't seem to hold particular leadership abilities either, I guess the state of House Gargalen can only lead to further disaster down the line, given that Jorvian's wife might have an interest in making sure that her son will become Lord Gargalen as she assumed up until Nymeria happened. If I have to make a guess, I'd say, Valor is probably going to be the PoV involved with any potential Gargalen troubles in Book 2.
[Go to eat and drink]
This will help her regain a little strength.
[Send troops to Ghost Hill]
Yeah, would've been narratively a pretty unsatisfying place to kill her
Not that every character death necessarily needs to be satisfying, but killing Nealia here would've definitely been a waste of potential. Same with Lien really, even if to a somewhat smaller degree. And you bring up a good point here about this potentially making it more likely for the Yu sisters to join Nealia and come to Starfall. We'll see, Nealia's next part might already give some answers regarding this. And you are absolutely right about Manda, she was the MVP here, and the reason Nealia survived. And going back to your earlier point, Manda is very likely to stay with the Rose Company, since she got through the battle without any major injuries. So, whatever Nealia decides to do here, she will have to leave at least some of her friends behind.
Well Mizro and Khazor did survive, but the Wild Suns as a whole certainly took a lot of losses, and Khazor is now leading a mere fraction of what the company used to be. In fact, he has more than likely already renamed the company as the Bloodfangs, which used to be the name of his own company. As for leading the troops away from Dorne, he'll have to return to Brimstone Well where they left their ships, and well, let's just say he is not the only one heading that way
And yeah, Jorvian's death definitely complicates things when it comes to the leadership of House Gargalen. Nymeria isn't really familiar with Jorvian's family yet, but she will be once Valor brings them to Godsgrace, which should be quite soon.
[Go to eat and drink]
[Send troops to Ghost Hill]
[Go to see Lien]
[Send troops to Ghost Hill]
[Go to see Lien] After everything that has happened, I feel like Nealia and Lien need to see one another. With so much happening to the both of them, this might help them both feel at least a little bit better
[Send troops to Ghost Hill] If Nymeria expects the Toland's to be loyal to her, she needs to prove she's worth that loyalty.
I agree with this so much. I mean, a Nealia/Jamison reunion is something I really look forward for, especially with how much they have changed by then. Nealia will have changed for sure, she already had some decent character development in Book 1 and who knows how this will go until Book 2 and especially when compared to how she used to be back when she has been at Starfall. Jamison meanwhile will be a married man when they meet (I guess in Book 2) and if there is anyone in the entire world who could change him, it is Isabella. It'll be interesting, I just realized he might not be entirely the same man after the timeskip. And yeah, I don't doubt that Manda will remain by Tryden's side, probably becoming his second-in-command if Nealia doesn't get the post or if Nealia later defects to the Dayne side of the conflict, but while I really like her, she'd be the only reason to stay with the Rose Company as it is right now and if Lien and Ying both leave with Nealia, the family wins for me.
So, in a way it's actually Mizro who still leads the last remnant of the Wild Suns company under their actual name, could that be right? I should have seen this coming, only Dalia can keep these two together, but there's no way I wouldn't have chosen for her to go with Desi
And well, there still is some material left in Book 1, I presume... what if Lucifer manages to convince Khazor to keep working for him? Could mean Khazor becomes an enemy to Nym once more and this time probably even an outright antagonist without the more calming influence of Mizro to keep him in line. But if that is the case, I guess we haven't seen the last of him before the chapter ends. By the way, speaking of Jorvian, I actually got a little bit confused after checking the deceased list, it seems you accidentally put Jeremie there instead of Jorvian and for a moment, I really thought I read something catastrophically wrong in Nym's latest part XD
Well yeah, technically you're right, though the amount of troops still with Mizro is much smaller than the amount that retreated with Khazor. Khazor has at least a hundred troops still with him, could be even closer to two-hundred, whereas in Godsgrace there are like a couple dozen soldiers of the Wild Suns still alive, all of them captured and many probably injured. Very few of them feel any loyalty towards Mizro at this point though, most being completely willing to sell their swords directly for Nymeria now, or perhaps joining the Rose Company. And ah, the Jeremie thing was just an honest mistake on my part, it's fixed now
That is good for the Rose Company then! We know they suffered heavy losses of their own, maybe with survivors from the Wild Suns they could end up remaining a force to be reckoned with. I'm willing to bet that Tryden will find a way to profit from this. I wonder if Mizro would be willing to take this step. He is used to no longer being in charge, maybe he finds it comfortable to be just a high-ranking officer instead of a leader. Or maybe he pledges directly to Nymeria, in which case he probably won't command any troops of his own anytime soon either. I guess only Dalia could have kept these companies together. Oh man, if she manages to return, I bet she'd be so pissed XD Though I gotta say, I am somewhat glad Mizro survived. Since Dalia's death is definitely up on the table in the coming confrontation (together with pretty much every other character taking part in it), I am glad for Desi that at least her father is save and sound. If she makes it back but Dalia doesn't, she probably needs the support. Mizro could also serve as a connection to Nymeria and I have this theory that Team R'hllor is eventually going to cross paths with her.
Ah, here I was thinking I had uncovered Jorvian's secret master plan, namely him swapping places with his infant son, faking his own death and donning the disguise of a young child for the next couple of years, waiting for the right moment to take control over House Gargalen once more, for, uh, reasons
Voting is closed!
So, Nealia will go to see Lien. Yeah, while she'd have the excuse of not being in a very good condition herself at the moment, it definitely would've been a bit of a dick move from Nealia to just avoid Lien. It won't exactly be a happy moment when she goes to see her, but it's definitely a good quality for Nealia to be there for her friends even in their lowest moments, and it should also deepen the bond between them.
And Nymeria will send troops to Ghost Hill. Yeah, this was to be expected, and it's definitely a smart move to show Levor that as a vassal of House Martell, he and his home will be protected by House Martell.
Next up, we'll have a Verro part and an Emerson part. Last time we saw Verro he was traveling west along the Greenblood with Nesila and Zaltha, and they came across Dallin Dalt. Dallin offered them a chance to join his army to take back Lemonwood, but they all declined, and now we'll see their journey continue. As for Emerson, he left the Wells in his last part, continuing his journey to Yronwood with Lord Terren and Yoren Jordayne, now also accompanied by Lena Wells. And speaking of Lena, she surprised Emerson by coming to his tent and starting to kiss him and strip him. Emerson was excited about this but also wondered if it was a mistake. Nonehteless, he decided to keep kissing Lena, and that's where we'll continue.
The parts should be ready tomorrow!
-
Oh, almost forgot, I have another portrait! This time Harbert Uller, the heir of Hellholt:
Verro
One morning on their journey towards west, Verro, Nesila and Zaltha noticed bodies floating down the Greenblood.
"Looks like we are heading towards a war", Nesila stated nonchalantly as she watched the corpses drift by, and they continued forward. They traveled throughout the day, and every few minutes a body, shield, helmet or a severed limb could be seen in the water. It was already twilight when they finally arrived to Godsgrace, walked over the bridge where the battle had clearly taken place, and entered the city.
Usually the streets of any town would be relatively quiet and empty this time of the day, but Godsgrace was filled with soldiers drinking and celebrating their victory, and of course whores to keep them company. That said, Verro also noticed many Rhoynar women warriors among the soldiers.
Making their way up the main street, they came across two bruised warriors, singing drunkenly as they walked side by side with their arms around each other's shoulders. They were both middle-aged, one with a slicked back brown hair, and the other with a bald head and a sharp goatee.
"Now there's a pretty one, Tryden", the bald one spoke loudly, pointing at Nesila. The other man, apparently named Tryden, shifted his gaze to Nesila and narrowed his eyes. Then he separated from the bald man and approached her. "You... I recognize you", Tryden spoke with a drunken slur. "You were in Lemonwood, working for Efran."
"As were you, Tryden Flowers", Nesila responded sharply, and now the bald man arrived next to Tryden. "Who is she?" He asked with a confused and amused tone, to which Tryden shrugged.
"My name is Nesila", Nesila said with an indifferent tone, and now the bald man offered his hand. "Fenn", he introduced himself with a wide grin on his face, but Nesila didn't grab his hand. The grin faded away, replaced by sudden anger. "Impolite bitch", he cursed, and would've rushed to punch Nesila, if Tryden wouldn't have stepped in his way. "Easy, Fenn", he said as he held back his friend, and Nesila, Verro and Zaltha took the opportunity to walk past them. However, Tryden quickly yelled after them. "Hey, wait! What happened in Lemonwood after I left?"
"Efran still rules it, but Ser Dallin Dalt plans to take it back", Nesila answered nonchalantly, and Tryden nodded. "By the way, are you looking for a new company to join?" He then asked, but they turned away and continued onward without giving him an answer.
The orange sun-and-spear banners had been hung all over the city, and the same sigil could be seen in the tabards of many of the celebrating soldiers. After walking around for a while they found their way into one of the taverns, and the keeper said they had one room available. Satisfied with that, Nesila, Verro and Zaltha found a free table and sat down with their ales and bowls of soup.
"It seems Princess Nymeria has been successful in her war so far", Nesila said with a nonchalant tone, glancing around the tavern. "Makes me even more convinced that Efran's rule over Lemonwood won't last much longer."
"I have a feeling this land will be in war for many years to come", Zaltha stated sternly, taking a gulp of his ale. "Then perhaps it's good we are leaving", Nesila responded dryly.
"Where exactly do you think we'll end up?" Verro asked curiously. His knowledge of Westeros was minimal, though he had seen maps of it years ago, and he knew that Dorne was separated from the rest of the continent by mountains.
"First, we'll go to a place called Nightsong", Nesila answered calmly. "It's where my brother would've headed first in his search for a new life."
"So, since our mission is to find your brother, why wouldn't you tell me a bit more about him?" Verro asked, to which Nesila raised an eyebrow. "I suppose I could", she said with a small sigh, taking a sip of the ale before continuing. "Well, first of all his name is Norano. He's a brave and honorable man, with charming personality and a good sense of humor."
"Sounds like a perfect human", Verro commented with a smirk, to which Nesila chuckled. "He is not perfect, but he most certainly is a good man", she said with a wistful sigh. "If anything, he tends to be a bit impatient and reckless. That was exactly why he couldn't wait for another day when he had decided that he was done with the sellsword's way of life. He asked me to come with him, but I wasn't ready to make such a rash decision so quickly."
"And now you miss him", Zaltha concluded with a sympathetic tone, and Nesila nodded with a subtle gulp. "I believe now that he was right... I can't live my whole life going from one battle to the next, I must find something sustainable."
"Perhaps your brother has already found it for you", Verro said with a smile, and Nesila reciprocated it. "So I hope, though I'm mostly concerned to just know that he is doing well for himself", she said quietly.
"Admittedly I didn't know Norano for very long, but he struck me as a man capable of taking care of himself", Zaltha said confidently, and Nesila nodded. "Aye, but he also has a habit of charging into danger, head first."
"If he is in danger, then we'll save him", Verro said with an encouraging tone, and Nesila smiled. "I don't think I ever thanked you properly", she said with an uncharacteristic softness in her words. "For coming with me, I mean."
"Don't mention it", Zaltha responded with a relaxed tone, gulping down the rest of his ale. "It's not like I had anything better to do."
"And I just want to start a new life in this strange land", Verro said calmly. "What better way to do it than helping out a friend, aye?"
"Still, I'll owe you one for this", Nesila said with a small sigh, and for a while they all stayed quiet. Finally, Zaltha cleared his throat and stood up. "I need to go for a leak", he said, and walked away from the table.
After a moment of tense silence, Nesila decided to speak up. "You've told me a couple times now that you want to start a new life", she said calmly, and Verro nodded. "What exactly would that life entail?"
"I don't know", Verro answered honestly. "All I know is that for most of my life so far, my destiny hasn't been in my own hands. The gods, or fate, or whatever it is that determines these things, has thrown me around the world, always shackled in one way or the other. I've had some good friends, and some good times over the years, but now for the first time in a long time it feels like I have my freedom. And quite frankly, I'm not sure what to do with it."
"Well tell me, would you prefer a life full of excitement and adventures, or a peaceful and quiet life, away from all the dangers?" Nesila asked with a genuinely curious tone. Verro took in a deep breath, considering his answer carefully.
[Adventurous life] [Peaceful life]
-
Emerson
Despite his doubts, Emerson couldn't resist it, and kept kissing Lena. Then she separated from him, a playful smirk on her face, as she proceeded to remove Emerson's trousers. Emerson closed his eyes for a moment, his heart beating fast, all kinds of thoughts running through his mind, as Lena pushed him down on the fur blanket, and proceeded to undress herself.
With catlike steps she approached him, and slowly made her way down, teasing Emerson before finally mounting him. "Oh my", Emerson said with a gasp, and Lena slapped him lightly on the cheek. As she rode Emerson, moving her slender body in a passionate dance of love and moaning with pleasure, he could only last a few minutes.
Lena laid down next to him with a small giggle, breathing heavily as sweat was dripping on both of their skins. Emerson gulped, taking in a couple of breaths before speaking up. "So... did you like it?" He asked awkwardly, and Lena let out another giggle, raising to a sitting position and looking at Emerson with a sweet smile on her face. "It wasn't that bad", she said softly, stroking his chest gently as she spoke.
Suddenly a rush of regret came over Emerson, and he turned his eyes away from Lena. "What if... what if you are with my child now?" He asked, hardly even able to bring himself to say it. However, to his surprise Lena just smiled in a carefree manner. "Don't worry, I have moon tea", she said nonchalantly, already starting to get her clothes on. "Oh", Emerson mumbled quietly, feeling at the same time relieved and somehow regretful. Don't be ridiculous, he told himself quickly. If by chance Lena would have his child it would be a bastard, so it was only a mercy to make sure that wouldn't come to be.
"Emerson", Lena said, and Emerson shifted his attention back to her, seeing that she had already dressed up and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "What?" He asked.
"You look... concerned, is everything alright?" She asked, and Emerson immediately nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine", he quickly said, forcing a smile on his face. "I was just wondering... do you think we might do this again some time?" He asked with a nervous chuckle, and Lena rolled her eyes. "Be nice, and maybe we will", she answered teasingly, before making her way out of the tent. Letting out a small laugh, Emerson laid down and closed his eyes.
-
A couple hours after noon they saw the mighty castle of Yronwood, guarding the end of the Stone Way, and began to approach its southern gates. Riding into the courtyard, they saw servants of House Yronwood cleaning up what looked to be blood from the pavement, while others were taking apart a wooden platform next to them.
While they gave their horses for the stable boys to take care of, a tall and lean man dressed in green approached them. The man was approximately on his early fourties, with short dark hair, moustache and a goatee. "Quentyn", Terren greeted the man with a friendly tone.
"Brother!" The man responded with a wide grin, and embraced Terren in a brief hug. "Welcome to Yronwood", Quentyn said warmly, before turning to Yoren. "And you as well, Yoren", he said as he grabbed the young man's hand.
"Nice to see you, uncle", Yoren said calmly, and Quentyn tapped him on the shoulder before turning towards Lena. "Always a pleasure to see you as well, Lady Lena", he said with a nod, which Lena reciprocated.
Finally, Quentyn turned to Emerson, a sharp look in his eyes as he offered his hand. "You must be Emerson Allyrion", he said calmly, as Emerson grabbed his hand. "I am Quentyn Jordayne, younger brother of Lord Terren."
"Pleasure to meet you, Lord Quentyn", Emerson said politely, to which Quentyn chuckled warmly. "The pleasure is all mine. Now, let me take you to meet the King."
"I'll find a room for myself", Lena said quickly, glancing at Emerson as she spoke. "I imagine the King has no need to meet me?" She added, looking at Quentyn now, who nodded in agreement.
And so, Quentyn led Terren, Yoren and Emerson through the hallways of the grand castle, finally arriving to the office of the King, which was guarded by four soldiers. They let them pass, and they walked into the large room, where King Yorick Yronwood was already waiting for them. He sat behind his desk, oozing confidence and power, even in doing something as mundane as reading a piece of parchment that was on his desk. The King raised his gaze to look at them, his calm and stern expression not revealing his thoughts. They all bowed to him, and a small smile formed on his face as he looked at Lord Terren.
"Long time no see, Terren", he said with a voice that could be considered friendly. "How are things back in the Tor?"
"Perfectly well, Your Grace. Nothing out of the ordinary", Terren answered with a relaxed tone. "Though there are few things I should discuss with you, but that can wait for now. I have brought with me my second son Yoren, as well as Emerson Allyrion, the rightful heir to Godsgrace."
Yorick silently gazed at Emerson for a moment, before turning his eyes to Yoren. "Yoren Jordayne", he said calmly. "For what reason have you come here?"
"Your Grace, I have come to offer my sword to your service", Yoren answered with a humble tone, kneeling as he spoke. "I have brought him here so he can prove his worth, and perhaps earn his rank as a knight", Terren clarified with a subtle smirk on his face, to which Yorick nodded. "You can stand up", the King said smoothly, and Yoren quickly got back up on his feet. "I accept your service, and expect you to serve me loyally, and fight by my side in the wars to come", Yorick said with an authoritative tone, and Yoren bowed to his words.
Then the King turned his gaze to Emerson. For a brief moment tense silence lingered in the air, until Yorick spoke up again. "Emerson Allyrion, I have heard of the unfortunate fate of your ancestral home", he said with an emotionless tone. "Betrayed by your own family, who then proceeded to give up the city for a foreign invader. I can only imagine the anger that dwells inside you."
"It is true, I am angry towards those who robbed me of my rightful place as the Lord of Godsgrace", Emerson responded calmly, to which the King smirked subtly. "Even a child can be angry, but it takes a man to win wars and take what is rightfully yours. Are you a man, Emerson Allyrion?"
"I believe so, yes", Emerson answered, trying to sound as convincing as he could. Yorick raised his chin slightly, eyeing at Emerson with narrowed eyes. "I do not, not yet", he said coldly. "However, I will give you a chance to prove yourself."
"And how should I prove myself?" Emerson asked quietly.
"You will serve me, and fight for me", Yorick started strictly. "You will also have to prove your honour and loyalty, as well as your determination and skill. And when I am convinced that you are indeed worthy of my support, I will help you take your rightful place as the Lord of Godsgrace."
"Understood", Emerson said sternly, to which Yorick nodded, his lips forming a subtle smile. "One more thing, Emerson", he said smoothly. "I want you to kneel, and recognize me as your king."
Emerson gulped, turning his gaze down. Of course he had seen this coming, but he was still uncertain what to do. Kneeling to Yorick would make it a thousand times easier to win his support, but it would also mean giving up on the independence that the Allyrion's had prided themselves on for generations.
[Kneel] [Don't kneel]
Oh man, well it looks like Neslia is indeed Norano's sister and safe to say that she is going to be very disappointed once she finds out what happened if she is able to get the exact details of it. Verro's storyline is a pretty intriguing one since unlike most of the other PoV's, he doesn't really have ties to anyone or anywhere in Dorne so he will be very much forging a new life for himself and with it looking to be that Verro will actually be leaving Dorne at least temporarily, I am curious to see where his travels will take him.
[Peaceful life]
I could be interpreting Verro's character in the wrong way but this definitely seems to fit with how I have seen his character so far. Ever since he's arrived in Dorne and before that even, he has always been forced or pretty much forced to do things that he hasn't wanted to do. The life of a sellsword has never looked to be one he has really enjoyed all that much and he has pretty much only fought because it was his only option rather than something he actually enjoyed to do. With that said, I still do believe being a guard or something along those lines is fitting for his skills and considering how he enjoyed the routine that came with working for Efran after he became lord, I do think a more peaceful life that has a routine would be fitting for him.
For Emerson's part, I definitely enjoyed it as well with Emerson growing up and coming closer to he is meant to be with every part. The meeting between Emerson and Yorick definitely did not disappoint and it was pretty neat seeing the contrast between the two of them with Yorick showing the qualities that make him as powerful and respected as he is and Emerson as a young hopeful lord who is way over his head in this situation. This decision was definitely coming for Emerson and while it is a tough one for him, I definitely feel like there is only one option is Emerson wants any chance at succeeding at his goal here.
[Kneel]
While Emerson obviously wants to keep House Allyrion's independence, with the way things are changing in Dorne, keeping their independence is pretty much not an option now with House Allyrion's power or lack there of compared to the main Kings of Dorne and Nymeria. While Nymeria is going to win in the end, the way I see Emerson having to view this is that with war clearly coming, Emerson is going to have to pick sides again if he wants to take back what's rightfully is. Also, with Yorick being arguably the most powerful man in Dorne at this point, he definitely does seem to be the best option with Nymeria pretty much not even being an option for him at this point so he needs to accept the help that is being offered to him even if it's not ideal. The one negative to this is that it could pretty much seal that Emerson will never regain Godsgrace but alot can obviously change as the story goes on and quite honestly if Emerson doesn't kneel to Yorick here, I feel like his quest to take his rightful lordship is over before it can even begin.
[Peaceful Life] His life so far has been not in his hands, and while I doubt getting it is as easy as it sounds, he can obtain it.
[Kneel] Emerson will have to prove his loyalty, and he doesn't want to start with the wrong foot. Now we have 2 POV at Yronwood and 3 at Godsgrace, many interesting parts can come.
[Peaceful life]
[Kneel]
[Peaceful life]
[Kneel]
Aha, I knew it
The hints have been there, so I am definitely not surprised by this. I think I already speculated about where this'll lead Verro and Nesila to in the future, but Iguess that at Nightsong, they'll learn about the Manwoody involvement in Norano's disappearance, even if his death is not confirmed to any character in the story yet, save for Kortney of course. If Myke ends up freeing her after all, they might have returned to Nightsong already by the time Verro and Nesila arrive there and in that case, I could see them getting involved in an open war against House Manwoody. I cannot reasonably see how House Caron (and potentially even House Durrandon, in which case shit really hits the fan for Albin) could let this ever go unpunished and Nesila naturally should have a desire to get involved in this. Sure, Albin has the support of House Yronwood now and that makes things more complicated, but when push comes to shove, Yorick might end up striking a deal with the Stormlanders. Albin is the one they should feel vengeful towards, not Yorick, not the entirety of House Manwoody. Albin is really the problem here, for Yorick as well, so it would be a smart move to get rid of him, install Arvin as the new head of the house and Yorick's vassal and deliver Albin to his enemies to appease them and be free to focus on Nymeria. Of course, Yorick doesn't yet know about just how badly Albin fucked things up and just how severe the consequences for his own plans could be, but once he realizes the true depths of this situation, I highly doubt he'll be pleased. Potentially, he'll even lose any semblance of patience he still has towards the mad king.
[Peaceful life]
See, I originally was going to pick the other option, because that is what Verro had been doing all his life. He was a fighter, he is a fighter and at least for the foreseeable future, it seems he will remain a fighter. So, in a way I believe this is something he enjoys, if only in a subconscious level, or else he would have gotten out of it long ago. However, CM3434 brings up a very good argument here, it's not as if Verro had a choice in many of the battles he fought. He also just decided against fighting someone else's war yet again and this has to be worth something. If it truly all works out for him, maybe it would be an interesting twist for Verro to just settle down somewhere.
[Kneel]
I am still a bit conflicted about Emerson siding with House Yronwood. I like him and cannot see siding with the side that will ultimately lose be a good move. However, he has previously made choices that led to this meeting, so he is definitely open for it. And the main argument in favour of not kneeling from an in-story perspective is the desire to keep the independence of House Allyrion. Here's the thing, Esperence already threw this away to secure her own claim over Emmett's. House Allyrion is not independent anymore, he has no chances of regaining his rightful title on his own and if he requires help to win back his city, he will lose his independence by default. The entire house has been caught between Yronwood and Martell and neither him nor Esperence had any real choice in this. Kneeling is the natural consequence for him and probably his best bet. We know Yorick has a certain arrogant streak, so refusing to kneel could be very unwise. In the end, he needs Yorick to regain control of Godsgrace, but Yorick definitely doesn't need him, he needs someone in charge of Godsgrace who follows his orders. Since Emerson has a rightful claim, he is a better choice than most, but the important thing here is loyalty to House Yronwood and if he doesn't prove this much, Yorick could just as well decide to grant Godsgrace to one of his vassals after potentially capturing it.
[Peaceful life]
It is true that his life has not been completely in his control for a while. He most likely wants to be able to make his own decisions to find a peaceful existence for a little while. However, I think his life is going to be adventurous, for quite a while.
[Kneel]
It's the smart thing to do.
[Peaceful life]
[Kneel]
Indeed, Nightsong is the first place they'll be heading, and it's most likely where they'll learn what happened to Norano. Perhaps not the details, but at least the fact that he's gone missing. And yeah, forging a new life in a strange and foreign land is exactly what Verro's story is about. That said, by Book 2 he'll be a lot more familiar with Westeros, perhaps even having settled down somewhere. And while it's clear Verro is right now going to Nightsong, I can reveal that his story will continue to concentrate on Dorne in the future, because otherwise it'd make little sense to keep him in the story that is all about Dorne
Aye, Emerson is definitely one of the characters that will go through a lot of growth as a character during the timeskip between Books 1 and 2. The Emerson we see here is indeed way over his head, and Yorick recognizes this as well. However, once we catch up with him in Book 2 he'll have two years of serving the Yronwood's behind him, which is bound to change him a bit.
Yeah, you caught this quite a while ago
Indeed, Verro, Nesila and Zaltha will be heading to Nightsong, and depending on the situation there Nesila will either want to start searching for Norano, or she'll want to avenge him, if Kortney has made it there before her. Either way, it seems Verro & co's storyline will be tied to the Caron's. And you're right, if Caron's learn about what Albin did, they wont just let it slide. And it's also true that Arvin would be way easier to control than his father, and perhaps Yorick will also come to that conclusion sooner or later. We'll just have to wait and see.
Voting is closed!
Alright, so Verro will say that he'd prefer a peaceful life, over a more adventurous one. This is first and foremost a character building choice, affecting Verro's mindset going forward.
And Emerson will kneel to Yorick Yronwood. Probably the smart thing to do here, in order to keep Emerson's hopes of ever ruling Godsgrace alive.
And next up we will return to the Kingsgrave storyline, with a Myke part. Last time in Kingsgrave, Jared Lonmouth suggested a plan to free Kortney, where she'd be hidden in a cart fetching crops from a nearby farm. Myke, Joran and Raina would be guarding the cart along with three Wyl soldiers chosen by Jared. Joran and Myke agreed to the plan, as did Kortney, and now we'll see if it works out. I'll try my best to get the part out today!
Myke
Myke walked next to the cart, keeping his eyes constantly on Kortney, who was sitting atop the wool blanket she had earlier hid under. They had gotten through the gates of Kingsgrave without problems, which was arguably the most important part, and had been on the road for almost an hour after that.
"Still a long way to that farm?" Joran asked impatiently, as they made their way up a small hill.
"Fuck if I know, these are not my lands", answered Brenn, one of the three Wyl soldiers that Jared Lonmouth had chosen to go with them. "Just another mile or two", said the old man riding the carthorse.
"So, what's the deal with this girl anyway?" Asked Ethan, another one of the Wyl soldiers. Where Brenn seemed to be just another grunt doing his job, Myke had noticed that the young Ethan had a curious mind. "It's none of your business", Joran was quick to bark. "Just do the job Jared asked you to do."
"You are doing good by helping us", Raina quickly added with a friendlier tone. "Good, huh?" The third soldier spoke up, a chubby middle-aged man named Will. "Hopefully not the kind of good that we'll hang for."
"If they are going to hang us for this, then I'll bloody well tell them that these were Jared's orders", Brenn hissed angrily.
"Exactly", Myke now interjected with a serious tone. "You are simply following orders of your commander, no questions asked, no consequences warranted."
"Well, you don't have to answer, I have my theory anyway", Ethan now said with a pretentious tone, a satisfied smirk on his face. "I think this girl was the King's plaything, and you are saving her because she is some kind of nobility. And considering that Jared is originally from the Stormlands, I'd wager the girl is a Stormlander as well. Am I correct?"
"You are", Kortney spoke up with a frustrated tone, glaring at Ethan with a murderous look in her eyes. "And that's all you need to know", she added coldly, turning her eyes away.
They continued their trip through the rocky terrain of the Red Mountains in silence, and arrived to a small valley after another hour of walking. Down on the valley was a small estate, wheat fields and an orange tree grove surrounding it. As they arrived to the yard of the estate, Myke and Raina let Joran and the Wyl soldiers deal with the owner of the farm, while they helped Kortney down from the cart.
They sat down by the stable, and Myke offered his flask of water for Kortney, who took it without questions. "How are you feeling?" Myke asked gently while Kortney drank, and she responded with a shrug, an empty look in her eyes. "It's hard to believe I'm out of Kingsgrave", she said with a hollow tone, and Myke nodded. "There's still a long journey to make, but you are free now", he said calmly. "And soon you'll be with your family again. Trevas, Prestan and Ronard have all missed you dearly."
"I've missed them too", Kortney said quietly, gulping subtly as she paused. "But I'm no longer the Kortney they remember."
"It doesn't matter, my dear", Myke said with a small sigh, stroking Kortney's hair softly. "You are still their daughter and sister, and they will love you no matter what."
"I know, I'm just not sure if I deserve that love", Kortney replied with a sullen tone. For a moment Myke remained silent, wondering what kind of horrible things Kortney had had to endure in Kingsgrave. "We'll talk this through once we reach Nightsong, alright?" He finally said, and Kortney nodded wordlessly.
"If we reach Nightsong", she added after being quiet for a moment, and Myke narrowed his eyes. "What could stop us now?" He asked calmly, to which Kortney shrugged. "Perhaps Jared isn't to be trusted after all, or these men that he chose", she suggested grimly. "Or perhaps someone back in Kingsgrave has already noticed my absence and is on our trail. I've learned to expect the worst during my stay in Kingsgrave."
Myke put his hand on Kortney's shoulder and looked her into the eyes. "No one will hurt you again, understand?" He said determinedly, and Kortney turned her gaze down. "I'll protect you, even if they send all the demons of the seven hells after us."
Myke and Joran helped the Wyl soldiers load the cart full of grains and oranges. After that the Wyl soldiers started their journey back to Kingsgrave, whereas Myke, Joran, Raina and Kortney continued towards west, their destination the Wide Way.
After just few minutes of traveling, Myke heard horses galloping towards them from behind, and instinctively drew his sword, as did Joran and Raina. However, as the riders came closer, Myke recognized the Caron tabards they were wearing. There were seven of them, and they were led by Prestan Caron and Ser Steffon Toyne.
Seeing Kortney beside Myke, Prestan immediately dismounted his horse, and rushed to hug his sister. Kortney was clearly surprised, and it took a moment before she truly embraced the hug. As Prestan separated from the hug, he looked at Kortney with tears in his eyes, and wide grin on his face. "Sister, I am so happy to see you again", he said with a gasp, and Kortney nodded with a gulp.
"It's good to see you as well, brother", she responded weakly, and for a moment they just looked at each other in silence, until Prestan turned towards Myke. For a brief moment Myke could see a flash of anger in his eyes, but it was gone in as quickly as it came. "Thank you, Myke, for saving her", Prestan said with a genuinely grateful tone, and Myke nodded.
"I didn't do it alone", he replied, nodding towards Raina and Joran. "And I'm sorry for... knocking you out earlier", he added awkwardly.
"I must say I was quite angry when I woke up", Prestan responded with a sigh. "However, since you did what you set out to do... I cannot blame you. So, all is forgiven."
"Good to hear", Myke said with a relaxed tone. "Because we have a long way to Nightsong ahead of us."
One of the Caron soldiers gave his horse to Kortney, and without any further interruptions they continued west for the rest of the day. As the sun finally began to set they made a camp to the woods, away from the road. It was a calm and quiet evening, and while Prestan and Raina kept company for Kortney by the fire, Myke and Joran stood further away in guard.
"I had my doubts, but we made it", Joran said with a small chuckle, and Myke smiled. "Lord Trevas ought to give us a warm welcome back to Nightsong", he replied calmly.
"Aye, one fitting of heroes", Joran said confidently, to which Myke raised an eyebrow. "What?" Joran asked with an amused tone. "If saving a lady from the clutches of a mad king doesn't make you a hero, then I don't bloody know what does."
"I guess you've got a point", Myke admitted, and Joran nudged him with his left elbow. "Hells yeah I've got a point!" He growled with a wide grin on his face. "Ah, Myke, it's good to see you smile again, you old bastard."
"We've done good so far, but we are still in the enemy territory", Myke reminded with a bit more serious tone now, and Joran nodded with a sigh. "True. Do you think those Wyl soldiers can be trusted to keep their mouths shut?" He asked calmly.
"I'm not even sure if your pal Jared can be trusted to do that", Myke answered sternly. "I mean, with a nickname like 'Ser Looselips'..."
"Oh, that's just because he can't stay quiet for a moment, not because he'd be a snitch or anything like that", Joran assured with a smirk. "Add to that the sigil of House Lonmouth, and of course some bastard will come up with a nickname like that. Besides, if he wanted to turn on us, why wait this long?"
"I hope you're right", Myke said, turning to look back towards the camp, seeing Prestan laughing and even Kortney smiling shyly. "They look happy", he said quietly, and Joran turned as well.
"Aye, they do", he agreed with a warm tone on his voice. "And we can all thank you for that."
-
Myke was the first to wake up the next morning. After grabbing a piece of dried meat from the bag and taking a gulp of water, he walked to the woods for a leak. As he stood there, he heard distant noises among the silence. Dogs barking, men speaking. They are still far, but there's no time to waste.
Myke rushed back to the camp, and woke up everyone. "Shh", he said to keep them quiet. "Take Kortney, ride as fast as you can, and do not stop until you are out of this wretched kingdom", he said to Prestan, who raised his eyebrow. "There are men coming, I heard them, they'll be here in just a few minutes."
"But... there's not enough horses for everyone", Prestan said tiredly, and Myke nodded. "Aye, some of us have to stay behind, buy time. I will stay", he said decisively.
"I will too", Joran said, and Myke nodded. Ser Steffon stepped forward as well. "I'm with you", he said sternly.
"I can't leave you behind", Prestan insisted, but Myke grabbed him from the shoulder and looked him into the eyes. "You have a duty to get your sister safely back to Nightsong, understand? Now go, there's no time to waste." After saying this, Myke turned to Raina. "And you, Raina, take Ser Steffon's horse", he commanded, to which Raina frowned and shook her head.
"I've been with you through all of this, I can't..."
"You will!" Myke cut her off angrily, which surprised Raina. "Go, now", Myke said hastily, and Raina nodded. They all mounted their horses, and Myke looked Kortney once more, and she nodded with a grateful look in her eyes. And so, Prestan, Kortney, Raina and the rest of the soldiers galloped away, leaving behind Myke, Joran and Steffon.
They stood silently there in the forest for a couple minutes, the sounds of the Manwoody soldiers and their dogs coming closer all the time. Finally, they appeared from the woods, looking at the three of them with great interest. There were fourteen of them, most on horseback, as well as four large hounds, and they were led by King Albin's servant known as Larry the Kind. He dismounted his horse.
"What do we have here?" Larry asked as he approached them, eyeing the camp with a smirk on his face. "Three armed men camping in middle of the forest... odd. You don't happen to have seen a girl named Missy, a redhead, skinny, has a couple scars."
"No idea whom you speak of", Myke responded boldly, to which Larry raised an eyebrow. "That’s interesting, because her scent led us here", he said with a sly tone, patting one of the dogs softly. "And this camp of yours... I've never seen three men leave this much trails. Not to mention the fresh hoofprints we saw on the way. So, what are you doing here anyway?"
"None of your business", Joran spat angrily, drawing his sword. Larry chuckled, and gave a signal for the Manwoody soldiers to draw their weapons as well. "Awfully reckless of you, ser. Lay down your weapons now, and tell us what you know, and we may spare you", he threatened with a chilling calmness in his words.
"Not going to happen", Myke growled and unsheathed his sword, Steffon following his example.
"We'll have it your way then", Larry said and walked back to his men. "Andrey, Josh, Landar, keep riding towards west, they can't be far ahead", he commanded, and three of his men proceeded to ride past Myke, Joran and Steffon. However, Myke quickly pulled out his dagger, and threw it to the throat of the one riding closest to him. The soldier fell from his horse, gurgling and bleeding to death on the ground. The two others continued forward without hesitation.
Looking at Larry, Myke saw anger in his eyes, anger that hadn't been there before. "Ride them down!" He yelled, and the remaining six riders proceeded to charge towards them.
Myke managed to dodge the first rider charging towards him, simply clashing sword with him. However, the second rider tackled him to the ground, but luckily he didn't get trampled. Steffon had been less lucky, having been trampled by both of the riders that had charged towards him, leaving him lying on the ground with agony. The dogs were set up on him to take care of the rest.
Joran on the other hand had managed to take down one of the riders, and dodged the other. They both turned to face the riders from the other direction now. However, before the riders even charged, Myke and Joran were shot from behind. Feeling the worst pain he had ever felt, Myke saw an arrow sticking through from his chest, and he fell on his knees. Turning to look right, he saw Joran already lying dead on the ground, several arrows on him.
Myke turned around, clenching his teeth to fight the pain, and what he saw was Larry the Kind approaching him. Mustering all the strength and anger he had left, Myke stood up and charged towards Larry with a roar. However, another arrow landed on his leg before he could reach him, and so he stumbled to the ground, and let go of his sword. His face was resting on the dirt, but Larry quickly turned him on his back, and looked at him with a vicious grin on his face. "You're lucky that I have no time for fun and games, old man", he said, before moving his knife to slit open Myke's throat. Knowing his death was coming, the last thing Myke thought was Kortney, and he prayed to all the gods that he had bought her enough time. And then it was over.
No decision.
Oh, oh no, we finally reached it, the point where Point-of-Views die. I had the strong suspicion either Myke or Kortney would not make it out of there and must say, as heartbreaking as this one is, it would have been even worse if Kortney would have been the one to die. Myke's entire goal and, from his perspective, purpose in these final months of his life, has been to free Kortney, whereas her goal has been to escape Kingsgrave. In a way, both succeeded at that and there is some bit of comfort in it. He did what he came for, he saved the girl he cares for like a daughter and he ultimately seems to have died somewhat accepting his fate.
Don't get me wrong though, Myke's death, as much as I was prepared for either him or Kortney to die during their escape, hits extremely hard. It even manages to overshadow Trentan's death for me in terms of how tragic the story can be and this is undeniably the saddest moment in the story so far. Fucking Larry though, I was hoping Myke would at least manage to take him down as well. This guy is easily taking fourth place among my least favourite characters and only because it isn't possible for him to reach the levels of Aisha, Valerie and Wesley. To think I considered him to be the harmless one, I guess I really should stop underestimating certain characters.
However, I guess Kortney will have another part as well and her reaction to this is going to be just heartbreaking :'(We didn't saw much of her reaction here, which makes me believe you're saving it for her own PoV, which is kinda more fitting as well, to be honest. I also kinda fear she might not be as safe as Myke hoped in his final moments. Larry is still out there, three of his riders are in direct pursuit. At worst, there could be a confrontation between Kortney and Larry. Maybe that could be for the better as well though, if she ends up killing him, because otherwise, that piece of shit will make it to Book 2. Myke shall be avenged!
And man, oh man, this definitely set the stage for the final parts of Book 1. Myke was perhaps the only PoV who could have died while still somewhat succeeding at his goals and so, his death manages to be triumphant and heartbreaking at the same time. I fear if there are more PoV deaths to come (and you know I fear for death in the Team R'hllor vs Team Awful confrontation, with no less than three PoV's at risk) they won't be as triumphant, but instead only heartbreaking. Given how I already have a very hard reaction to Myke's death, I must say that now I am legitimately nervous for what the remaining parts will hold. Kortney, Gwen, Dalia, Kris, there's going to be another death among these four before Book 1 is over, I just know it and I don't like the chances here.
Man Wildling, you are sure making the end of this book tough on us aren't you?
But really though, this is another sad death and the first full time PoV one as well so of course this was definitely going to be a hard one to handle. Like Liquid, I kind of figured either Myke wouldn't make it out of this considering that once they are back in Nightsong and out of Kingsgrave, along with him having no other ties to Dorne but I had the hope that maybe Myke would stay on as a PoV going back to Kingsgrave with the backing of a Caron army this time but it wasn't meant to be. I have to ask though, was there any way for us to keep Myke alive or was his death going to happen no matter what? With all of this said though, I will say again that this one tugged on the heartstrings for sure especially when his last thought was if he gave Kortney enough time. Good work man and now we just have to hope that Kortney and the rest are able to make it back to Nightsong!
As for Kortney, I actually feel relatively alright about her chances since Myke, Joran and Steffon did buy them quite a bit of time plus the head start they already had but Kortney, Prestan and Raina are far from out of this so i suppose I will just have to wait and see on this one. I am also really intrigued to find out how Albin found out and if Jared or one of his men ratted them out which I don't think happened but I suppose you never know. Also though, man Albin never seizes to amaze me
Even with all that has happened with him recently, he is actually going through all of this trouble just to find Kortney which shows how mad he is and maybe he actually realizes how bad things will be if the Caron's find out about this but man, Albin sure does a great job at making enemies either way 
Overall though, this was a great part and even though Myke died, he was able to accomplish his goal now we just have to hope that Prestan and the rest of his men will be able to complete this mission.
And so we have indeed. Yeah, I figured Myke wouldn't exactly be the most surprising death, especially now with his mission more or less completed. Like you say, he did what he set out to do, fulfilled his purpose, and died a hero.
Ah, I'm actually a bit surprised that you consider this more tragic than Trentan's death
Not because it isn't meant to be tragic, it definitely is, but because clearly Gwen's storyline is the one you've always been the most attached to. Anyway, I'm glad I managed to make Myke's death impactful enough for you to consider it the saddest moment in the story so far. And yeah, Larry isn't quite as in-your-face with his obnoxiousness as the likes of Tom the Animal, or Valerie and Mordekhai for that matter, but he can still be one cruel son of a bitch when he wants to.
Yeah, I can confirm that we'll have at least one more Kortney part in Book 1, which should show a bit of a reaction to what happened in this part. I mean, Kortney wasn't there to witness the death, so it'll more likely be a slow realization that Myke is dead. Still, it won't be easy for her. And Larry's riders are indeed in pursuit, but there are also Prestan and six others to protect Kortney. And if they took Myke's advice to heart, they won't stop until they are out of the Manwoody lands.
Well, to be absolutely fair, after the amount of thought I have put into which PoV could potentially die, the only one that would surprise me by now would be Nymeria. Well, perhaps not only her, but there's a great many PoV deaths who would not necessarily surprise me at this specific point. Once we reach Book 2, my guesses are probably going to be way less broad, as well as way less accurate
With Myke, it definitely made sense after he fulfilled his goal in the entire story so far, which is saving Kortney. At the same time, I could have seen Kortney dying instead, as her main goal, freeing herself from Albin, was also equally close to being achieved and her death would have given Myke a new purpose, revenge. So, I was about 70% sure that Myke would die here, but I wasn't entirely certain.
Well, as much as I expected it, this didn't made it any less tragic. With Trentan's death, it was definitely the most shocking moment in the story, especially as I haven't seen his death at this particular point coming at all. However, his death was mostly a bit of a horror element and it also felt really surreal with the imagery it brought up in my head (which fits to Gwen's utterly horrified reaction), whereas Myke's death was a lot more sober and it had more build up than Trentan's shockingly fast demise, so the realization what was about to happen had a lot longer to sink in. While I am super attached to Gwen's storyline, the most out of them all, I feel like in terms of sheer attachement to the characters and me wishing for them to succeed, Kortney's and Myke's storyline has always been a close second. It's their struggle that makes me sympathize with these three storylines the most, as opposed to characters whom I might like more (I would, for example, put Isabella higher on the list of my favourites than Kortney) but who had it comparatively easy so far and therefore don't give me the same passion to see them succeed through their hardships. I believe this sympathy is why Myke's death hit me so hard, even harder than Trentan, despite me liking and missing Trentan a lot more as a character. So, what you're saying is, Larry is kinda the Aisha of Kortney's storyline, eh? The evil monster whom we all know is the worst, but who manages to be somehow more affable if it serves his goals, lure the characters and readers into a false sense of security, only to completely drop this mask whenever he actually gets the chance to do it. I underestimated Larry in the same way, I start to believe I should just expect the worst from a new character by default
But well, in any way, I fear if he doesn't pursue Kortney personally right here, he'll make it into Book 2. I heavily suspect that his storyline will be tied to Kortney's though, he seems almost as obsessed with her as Albin and unlike the mad king, he is physically capable to hunt her and without the personal restrictions and responsibilities that Albin is basically forced to uphold at least to a basic degree.
I guessed that much, depending on what you plan for her I could even see her having two parts left in this chapter. This could easily top Myke's death even as the saddest moment, because as said, his death had a somewhat triumphant and satisfying element to it as well, as he willingly gave up on his life to buy Kortney time and probably even succeeded with that. However, I heavily doubt Kortney will feel that way and that is what is going to make it so heartbreaking. At the same time, she is no longer the naive and sort of weak girl that ran away from Nightsong, she is a super hardened survivor, so where others might break down with grief, I could see her becoming really angry and I bet if she ever gets the chance, that won't end kindly for Larry
Hehe, a PoV death had to happen sooner or later
And it could be that this wasn't the last one in Book 1 either 
But yeah, I'd guess Myke was on top of many people's list when it comes to predicting which PoV will be the first to die. As for your question, yes, I've always planned for Myke to die in Book 1, though this was not the only way for it to happen. Oh, and there was actually one exception that would've led me to keep Myke alive, and that was if Kortney would've chosen to kill herself and Albin in that choice a while ago. In that case Myke, Joran and Raina would've sneaked out of Kingsgrave by themselves, and returned to Nightsong with the bad news.
Well, I won't reveal anything of course, but it would be pretty darn depressing if Myke's sacrifice would amount to nothing and Kortney would be caught anyway. And as for how Larry knew to go after Kortney, the most likely scenario is just that he noticed her missing (the creepy stalker that he is), and decided to investigate the situation further. Also, the cart returning from the farm with three soldiers guarding it instead of six might've tipped him off. As for Albin, his role in this probably was merely to give the order after Larry told him his suspicions, so it's not like he had to trouble himself that much
Still, letting Kortney escape was one of the worst mistakes he could've made in his current situation, making yet another enemy.
So the first pov death has arrived. I wasn't surprised that it was Myke. He basically did accomplish the goal he set out to do, in rescuing Kortney. However, it was still sad nonetheless.
How sad for Myke, but at least he succeeded in getting Kourtney out of Kingsgrave, now it all depends if they can fight them off, or lose them.
So, there is no voting to close this time, but I just wanted to inform you that the next part is under work, and will be done either later today or tomorrow. I do have some other things I need to work on as well, but the part is already over halfway done, so I'm sure I'll find enough time to finish it before the weekend is over
And that part will be a Valor PoV. Last we saw him he was about to leave the Salt Shore, summoned to Godsgrace by Nymeria. Before leaving, he decided to take Lady Delena, Jeremie, Gabby and Bridget with him as hostages, leaving Eli Sand in charge of the city. Now we'll see them arrive to Godsgrace.
Oh, and I've also made a new portrait, this time Larry the Kind:
Whoa, Larry looks absolutely nothing like I imagined him! Probably because I haven't remembered his actual description in the story, I always imagined him to look older, uglier and well, generally more creepy-looking. Though in a way, that makes him super unsettling, because he actually looks like a perfectly normal person.
I'm also really excited for Valor's part. Though my favourites have a headstart on him in terms of development, I could see him easily joining them at some time in Book 2, because you're doing a really nice job fleshing him out in comparably little time
Oh wow, I can't say I was expecting Larry to look like this either! Really all I could remember about Larry was that he dresses and talks like a nobleman but actually seeing how he doesn't look like someone who would be one of Albin's freaks after all makes me even more intrigued about him. He actually looks like he would be around Kortney's age and if we didn't already know otherwise, it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for him to be guessed as a Lord's son or something based off how well dressed and clean cut he looks. I am probably wrong but I am guessing he is Albin's secret bastard son or something along those lines
Also as far as the Valor part goes, I am very excited for this one since I would say this will be where Valor and Nymeria meet for the first time in person!
Valor
The Fallen Dragons had followed the trading route from Salt Shore to Godsgrace for four days now, unsure what would wait them once they'd reach the city. Another sundown came, and they had to once again set up their camp on the desert. The heat had made the troops march slower than usually, and Valor couldn't blame them for it. Hopefully we'll reach Godsgrace tomorrow.
Valor made his way through the camp, Maran following close behind him. He could see that many of the soldiers were exhausted by the harsh conditions, which didn’t bode well for the possible battle they'd had to face at the end of this journey.
Nonetheless, Valor made his way to the tent where the hostages were being held, to see that they were all in good health. Entering the tent, he saw Gabby Gargalen lying on the ground, absolutely exhausted from the travel, so much that she didn't even pay attention to him, instead just taking deep breaths and staring at the ceiling of the tent with an empty look in her eyes. Lady Delena on the other hand was comforting her son, who also seemed quite exhausted and tired. Out of all of them, Bridget looked the least worn out, though even she couldn't completely hide the fact that she had been traveling through the hot desert the last few days.
"Just wanted to make sure you're doing alright", Valor said calmly. Gabby still didn't pay attention to him, whereas Delena just shot him a cold glare and kept comforting little Jeremie. "We're fine", Bridget answered with a calm and friendly tone. "Just a bit tired."
"Hopefully we'll reach our destination tomorrow", Valor said with an encouraging tone, to which Bridget nodded with a subtle smile. Valor turned his gaze to Gabby now, and threw his flask of water next to her. "Drink", he said nonchalantly. "It'll help." With these words he turned around and walked out of the tent.
"Shouldn’t they be in chains, so they can't escape?" Maran asked as they walked away from the tent, to which Valor chuckled. "There is nowhere for them to escape", he answered with a small sigh. "We are in the desert. If they were to run away, they'd die. Slowly too, as they'd run out of water and the burning hot sun would make them lose their minds and will to live. Or if they'd be lucky, a pack of hyenas would give them a quick death."
"This is a dangerous land", Maran stated with a gulp, and Valor nodded. "Aye, but at least there are no dragons", he said with a smirk.
"Are you trying to frighten the boy again?" Asked the voice of Firanisa behind them, and Valor turned to face the Rhoynar captain, who flashed him a small smirk. "No, just educating him", Valor responded, to which Firanisa raised an eyebrow.
"Dorne has its dangers and discomforts, as any land does, but it will still make a good home for the Rhoynar", she said confidently, looking at both Valor and Maran as she spoke. "And like you said, at least there are no dragons."
"Not yet anyway", Valor replied quietly, which made Firanisa frown. "Should we expect some in the future?" She asked sharply, and Valor shrugged. "It's hard to know where the Freehold will decide to expand their rule next", he said dryly, letting out a small sigh. "Then again, I doubt Dorne is first in their mind."
"And what about you, Valor Veltaris?" Firanisa asked sternly. "Where will you go once you've done your job for Nymeria?"
"I expect this job to last quite a long time", he answered calmly, but Firanisa didn't look satisfied. "But when it is done", she insisted. "Where will the Fallen Dragons go then?" Valor stayed quiet for a moment, looking Firanisa to the eyes as he considered his answer.
"Truth be told, I expect this to be my last war", he finally said. He had never said it out loud before, but it was a thought that had been brewing in his mind for a while. "Either I'll die fighting for your princess, or I'll use the coin I earn to find myself a peaceful life somewhere. After this war, I will no longer lead the Fallen Dragons, so it won't be my concern where they go."
Firanisa looked surprised by his answer, and it took her a moment to find words. "Then perhaps you could swear allegiance to Nymeria, and live in peace under her protection once the war is over", she finally suggested, and Valor chuckled softly. "I haven't met your princess yet, but if she is anything like I imagine, she'll always find a new war to fight", he said, but now Firanisa shook her head.
"You don't know Nymeria", she argued strictly. "She is no warmonger, the only reason she is fighting this war is to provide a peaceful future for her people, and the people of Dorne."
"I suppose I'll be able to make my own judgement about her soon enough", Valor replied calmly, nodding to Firanisa, before walking away from her and making his way to his tent.
-
Next day, shortly after noon, they finally reached Godsgrace. The battle had clearly already been fought, and it seemed Nymeria had indeed been victorious. The Fallen Dragons crossed the bridge and approached the gates of the city, where the guards stopped them. Together with Firanisa, Maran and Olyvar Forrester, Valor approached them.
"You must be the sellswords that Princess Nymeria hired", one of the guards said, and Valor nodded. "Aye, the Fallen Dragons", he confirmed calmly. "I'm the commander of this company, Valor Veltaris."
"You may enter, but there is no room for your company in the city", the guard said nonchalantly. "They must camp outside the walls."
With a sigh Valor nodded. "So be it", he agreed begrudgingly, and turned back to command his troops to make camp. He also fetched the Gargalen hostages, before entering the city. Godsgrace was beautiful, there was no denying that, but right now it stunk of piss and shit, no doubt because of the large number of soldiers dwelling there.
Nonetheless, Valor made his way through the crowded city to the castle, where they were welcomed by yet another set of guards. These were women warriors of Rhoyne, so Firanisa handled speaking with them. And without problems they were let through, and into the courtyard of the castle, which was crowded with knights and their squires. Some were sparring, while others were at the smithy repairing their arms and armors, or just having a chat with their brothers in arms.
They were led into the castle, and to the large doors of the audience chamber. There they waited for many long minutes, before finally being summoned in by an old man in black robes, presumably the maester of the castle.
A dozen armed guards were in the room, and behind the high table sat four people. In the middle had to be Princess Nymeria and Prince Mors. Nymeria was a beautiful and regal sight, dressed in a dark red dress with golden embroidery, her long dark hair tied to a braid, and a golden circlet with a ruby resting on her head. Mors on the other hand gave Valor an impression of being a humble man, dressed in a relatively simple orange tunic, and sporting a friendly smile on his unassuming face.
On the ruling couple's left sat a modestly dressed man with a bushy brown beard, who didn't look at all like a nobleman. And on their right sat an older Rhoynar man, built like a warrior, a stern expression on his long face.
"Captain Firanisa, Olyvar Forrester, it's a pleasure to see you again", Nymeria started calmly, and both Firanisa and Olyvar bowed to her words. Then the princess' gaze shifted to Valor, and he couldn't help but notice a hint of resentment in her eyes. "I take it you are Valor Veltaris", she said nonchalantly, and now Valor bowed.
"Your Grace, I have come as you called", he said politely, to which Nymeria nodded. "I see you've also brought the hostages", she stated with a small sigh, eyeing at the Gargalens. With a nod, Valor turned towards them. "Lady Delena, and her son Jeremie, the heir to Salt Shore", he introduced first, before moving on to the sisters. "Gabby and Bridget Gargalen, the trueborn daughters of Lord Jorvian Gargalen."
"Lord Jorvian fell in the battle two days ago", Nymeria informed quietly, her tone genuinely sympathetic. Lady Delena put her arm around Jeremie, a shocked and mournful expression on her face. Gabby simply frowned and clenched her fists silently, anger oozing from her eyes as she glared at Nymeria. Bridget's reaction was subtler, though Valor was sure he could spot the hint of grief in her eyes.
"My condolences", Nymeria said, taking in a deep breath. "Maester Fabian, could you please take them to the body of Lord Jorvian, so they can give their farewells."
The maester bowed deeply, before leading the Gargalens out of the room. As the door closed, a tense silence lingered in the room for a moment. Finally, the older Rhoynar man cleared his throat and spoke up. "A pity you couldn't be here to help us in the battle, Veltaris", he said with a humorless tone. "After all, I know you to be a capable commander."
"And you are?" Valor asked calmly, and the man's lips formed a thin smirk. "General Varyn of Chroyane", he answered nonchalantly. Valor raised an eyebrow, recalling to have heard the name before. "You were one of Prince Garin's commanders", he deduced smoothly.
"Indeed, and you were a commander of the Valyrians", Varyn replied sharply, and Valor nodded. "I was", he confirmed unapologetically. "I went into that war fully believing in the glory of the Valyrian Freehold, seeing all its enemies as barbarians who would seek to destroy true civilization and culture, just as I had been told ever since I was a child. I had been taught to defend the honor of the Freehold, and spread its glory and wisdom to the lands of the lesser civilizations of the world. However, it came clear to me during those months that we marched up the Rhoyne, that we weren't there to defend anything, and all we were spreading was death and misery. We were there to destroy something ancient and beautiful. I may not have started the fire that burned down your people and their homes, but I played my part in spreading it. For that, I am sorry."
"I am glad to hear you acknowledge that", Nymeria said calmly, eyeing Valor with an intrigued gaze. "But the flames of past have burned my ancestral home to ashes, and what has been destroyed cannot be brought back. So instead of looking back, my goal is to build something new here in Dorne, something that can perhaps last long enough to one day be as beautiful and ancient as the Rhoyne once was. And you... you are here to help me achieve that goal."
"That is correct, Your Grace", Valor responded with a friendly smirk, though the princess did not reciprocate it. "You arrive at a good time, Valor Veltaris", she stated with a relaxed tone, leaning back on her chair. "I have lost a lot of troops in the first battle against the Dryland armies, and many of those who survived aren't in condition to keep marching for a while."
"I assume your next goal is to take Vaith", Valor guessed, and Nymeria nodded. "Yes", she said confidently. "And I have reason to believe that the city will yield without much resistance."
"And what then?" Valor asked curiously. "Then we can turn our gaze towards Brimstone", Nymeria responded calmly. "But before that, I believe we have an issue to deal with the Gargalens." Saying this, the princess turned her gaze to her husband. Prince Mors cleared his throat and spoke up.
"Now that Lord Jorvian is dead, we must decide who will take his place as the Lord, or Lady, of Salt Shore", he said calmly, taking in a deep breath. "By the Rhoynish law of inheritance, which is to be followed in the Principality of Dorne, the eldest child inherits the lordship. I believe in Jorvian's case this would be Lady Gabby. However, we understand that Jeremie has been Jorvian's heir so far, and his mother is not the mother of Jorvian's daughters. Taking away Jeremie's right to Salt Shore could potentially make a rift on the family, which could lead into future conflicts. That said, to avoid that we could perhaps take young Jeremie as a ward to Sandship, and offer him a good life there."
"Sounds reasonable", Valor commented calmly. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because we want your opinion", Mors said with a sigh. "You've spent more time with the Gargalen's than we have... do you think it would be wise to make Gabby the Lady of Salt Shore, or should we wait until Jeremie comes of age before making our decision?"
"You would have me decide?" Valor asked with a chuckle, which made Nymeria frown. "No. We are simply asking for your opinion", she clarified coldly.
Valor nodded, and turned his gaze down to consider his answer for a moment. He didn't really see Gabby as a good ruler, but waiting for Jeremie to grow older might only give more time for the tensions to rise. In truth, Valor thought Bridget would be the best choice, but perhaps such a suggestion would be out of the question for Nymeria and Mors.
[Suggest waiting for Jeremie to grow up] [Suggest Gabby] [Suggest Bridget]
Ah, I really enjoyed this part. Valor talking about settling down somewhere gives me hope he'll actually succeed at that. His final war, that's a word. I mean, we know the war will go on for longer than he thinks it will and a lot can happen until then, but with a bit of luck, he'll manage to achieve this goal. Definitely quite a humble thing to hope for, I'd say it is reasonable. What I particularly liked was his conversation with Varyn though. I never thought about it before, but it is very likely they actually fought against each other once. It was only implied here, but was Valor present at Chroyane?
[Suggest waiting for Jeremie to grow up]
Here's the thing, Bridget is my favourite Gargalen, but there's two arguments speaking against suggesting her. First, Nymeria brought up Gabby, the rightful heiress by Rhoynar law, and Jeremie as the two options and coming from her, the fact that there are options where the Rhoynar law would be clear is already quite something to even consider Jeremie, which she seems quite willing to do. Second, I really don't consider Bridget to be a good candidate, sympathy aside. She's no Gwen, she's no Esperence. She's lacking the backbone of a leader. While I think she is the perfect example of a second child and fulfills that role perfectly, I fear she will utterly fail as a leader, particularly caught between a likely resentful Gabby and Delena, who I doubt will be thrilled about Jeremie getting his inheritance taken away. I also fear that by suggesting Bridget, an option that is unlikely to be even up for debate, Valor will lose his chance to actually influence the future of House Gargalen.
So, that leaves Gabby and Jeremie. My opinion on Gabby is quite negative. I consider her to be a failure, talentless, rash and by no means loyal to House Martell. All of these aspects clearly speak against her. Sure, she might be angry that she is denied what many other firstborn daughters will receive when Nymeria takes over all Dorne, but what is she going to do? It is a fact that she hasn't been a threat so far, so she might try to overthrow her family, but I really doubt she is ever going to be a legitimate danger. Obviously, Jeremie isn't a danger either, but there is Delena. She just lost her husband and if her son is going to lose his birthright as well, this might drive her into the arms of Nymeria's enemies. On the opposite, maybe the fact that Nymeria is willing to respect her family by keeping things as Lord Jorvian wanted them to be, with Jeremie as his heir, will be enough to make her loyal and supportive of Nymeria's reign. I really consider her to be the most dangerous of the Gargalen's, she seems capable and if she uses her skills and influence against Nymeria, she could be a thorn in her side, way more than Gabby ever could. So, supporting Jeremie's claim means supporting her and unlike Bridget, Nymeria seems to be willing to consider this. And while neither Gabby nor Bridget give me the impression of a particularly skilled leader (albeit, to be absolutely fair, there might be hidden talents inside Bridget), Jeremie is a child and he can very well grow up to be a brilliant leader and strategist, especially with Delena supporting him, a chance I think we should grant him.
[Suggest waiting for Jeremie to grow up]
I agree with Liquid's points here.
[Suggest waiting for Jeremie to grow up] I agree with Liquid too, respecting Jorvian's last wish could help sway Delena's opinion in Nymeria's favor. Besides, suggesting Bridget will only bring conflict to the family, she's neither male nor the eldest child, as such, no precedent besides personal opinion could help her.
Yeah, considering the backstory of Valor, I figured wanting to eventually settle down and stop fighting would be a very understandable goal for him. He left the Valyrian army because he was sickened by their actions, so it makes sense that he isn't exactly thrilled about the prospect of fighting wars for the rest of his life. And yes, Valor and Varyn have indeed been in opposite sides of a battle before. It has been revealed before that Valor was among the Volantene/Valyrian forces in Volon Therys when Garin's army defeated them. Valor however managed to retreat to Volantis, and later returned when the Valyrian's sent their 300 dragons, which obviously was the turning point of the war. I'd say he was still with them when the Valyrians destroyed Sar Mell and re-conquered Valysar and Selhorys, but somewhere between Selhorys and Chroyane Valor abandoned the army. So no, he wasn't present at Chroyane when it flooded.
[Suggest waiting for Jeremie to grow up]
Liquid brings up excellent points for this choice and I agree that Jeremie is the ideal choice for several reasons. The main reason being that he is simply the safest choice to secure House Gargalen's loyalty for the Martell's in the long run. Gabby has already proved that she is very incompetent and unable to do her job to a satisfactory standard plus she has in my mind showed that she can't be trusted. She no doubt holds Nymeria responsible for her father's death and I don't think even making Gabby the lady of Salt Shore would stop her from trying to betray Nymeria in the long run. As far as Bridget goes, there is very little reason for Nymeria and Mors to even entertain the idea since she does not have the best claim to Salt Shore from either perspective regardless of Valor's opinion. Along with all of this, probably the biggest thing that helps Jeramie is the fact that he is still young and Nymeria can have him groomed if she chooses to take him as a ward into the Lord that they want him to be and even if they don't do that, I feel he will still be groomed into what Nymeria wants since I do think Delena might be a useful ally if Nymeria chooses to let Jeremie keep his birthright.
On a side note though, I definitely enjoyed Valor's first meeting with Nymeria with there definitely being some tension on Nymeria's end which is to be expected of course
I can already tell that they will have some great interactions moving forward and it will be interesting to see how long or even if Nymeria will be able to accept Valor moving forward but I'd say if Valor keeps fulfilling his end of the deal, Nymeria will come around in time.
[Suggest waiting for Jeremie to grow up]
Voting is closed!
And Valor will suggest Nym to wait for Jeremie to grow up before deciding who shall inherit the lordship of Salt Shore. Seems like a reasonable suggestion, and most likely Nymeria will take it to heart.
Next up, we'll be having an Isabella part, and possibly also a Naemon part, if it doesn't take me too long to get that one done. My writing has been slightly slower this week, due to some other projects I've had to work on, but worry not, I should have something ready by tomorrow
Last time we saw Isabella, she was in Oasis Castle, where she and her brother Desmor had just received the news about Ferris' death. Isabella managed to calm her brother down, and convinced him to keep escorting her to the Starfall, instead of running back to Skyreach to avenge Ferris. At the end of the part they were leaving Oasis Castle, and now I'll be showing them arriving to Starfall. As for Naemon, he defeated Karsan Taller's rebellion on the lands of House Oakswood, and killed the man himself. After celebrating this victory, news of the defeat in Kingsgrave arrived to Oakswood, including tragic news of Lord Raymun Oakswood having been killed in the battle. After these news Naemon decided to ride straight back to Blackmont, leaving the situation in Gravesend for Alester and Malcolm to take care of. So, we'll be seeing Naemon back in Blackmont in this part.