Took me a while to get the time to reply, apologies I am really glad to see Jamison back as a PoV though, he has always been such a joy to read and if this part is any indicator, it seems his journey in Book 2 won't be any less fun, so I am super excited for it! It is also nice to see Lysera back in full, seems she has recovered well from her ordeal in Book 1.
[Duty to family]
So, I see both options as something that'd be very much in character for Jamison, with the man he used to be in Book 1 probably being closer inclined for the other option. However, I would like to believe that two years of being a family man have changed him to the point where he is able to put his family above his kingdom. The thing is, it's no secret that House Dayne and Martell are about to enter quite a hefty war. I fear that a Jamison who sees his duty with his kingdom first and foremost might end up doing something reckless, or even more reckless than he is already prone to do. With the war coming, I do see him as one of the PoV's who are in most danger of dying in Book 2, at least in theory, wether or not that is actually true remains to be seen. And given that Jamison has always been one of my favourites, I want to prevent that. So, my strategy for Jamison here will be to give him a perspective beyond personal glory and a duty to the kingdom. If he sees his family as more important, he might end up not putting himself in harm's way all that much, so that he can live for their sake. It might not even be anything I should be concerned about, it might not be the correct path, but it sounds logical to me, so that's what I'm going to do with my votes for Jamison's Book 2 choices.
[Refuse to answer]
Hey now, what kind of a question is that? I get that Ayron wants to know where Femi stands, but he can't just go and ask her such a thing. She is not one of Nymeria's subjects and the reason she is doing all this is for Ammon's sake, probably more than for Nymeria. If she's really hard pressed, I see her as more likely to pick Ammon's side, to be honest. However, that's not something Ayron must know, aye? Nor do I think he will believe her if she'd tell him she'd side with them over her own family.
Alright, surprise! I actually did manage to get the parts done today, which is good so I don't have to stress about them during this busy we… moreekend Jamison's part is admittedly on the shorter side, but it does its job in starting the storyline. Anyway, here they are:
Jamison
Jamison Dayne laid on a hammock in the captain’s cabin of Starfire, the capital ship of the Dayne fleet. They had been sailing for three days now, and by tomorrow they should arrive to Southpoint. Alester Upton and Rickar Nightfall sat around the table, playing dice and drinking rum.
“Fuck”, Rickar grumbled, which was followed by a jovial laughter from Alester. “I suggest you stop now, Rick, before you lose all your coin”, he said with a wolfish grin behind his bushy red beard.
“Fuck you, I’m not giving up yet”, Rickar responded, and once again Alester laughed. “Can you believe this guy?” He asked, now looking at Jamison, who flashed him a subtle smirk. Jamison… [view original content]
Ah yes, Jamison's first part in Book 2! Both of the conversations in this part were awesome in their own ways with Alester, Rickar, and Garret all shining alongside Jamison. Seeing the confidence of Jamison, Alester, and Rickar compared to the rightful nerves that Garret had was definitely a nice contrast and it definitely showed the differences in their outlooks perfectly. Seeing things from Jamison's PoV is always a treat and that is certainly no different here. Sorry for taking so long to vote, work has kept me quite busy the past couple of days and I haven't been too sure of what to pick for Jamison's choice.
With that said however, I have now decided and I think I am going to vote for Jamison to say that his [Duty to family] takes precedence here. As I said previously, this is a very tough choice with both options being very fitting and pretty much equal in priority in Jamison's eyes I would guess. With that said, Jamison is indeed a family man now and at least as far as Garret's question goes, I do believe that his family and the kingdom are intertwined to where you can't have one without the other at least in regards to the kingdom not the family side obviously. The Kingdom of the Torrentine is House Dayne's and theirs alone with it not being the same if House Dayne is not ruling it. Whether this choice is foreshadowing for something Jamison might face later in the story I am not too sure but I will say that alot will clearly be happening moving forward since once Jamison makes it to Clearhaven, the war will be very much on with it taking up the rest of Jamison's Book 2 most likely. We all know how Jamison is which in turn makes it a pretty big mystery to what he will end up doing since he is very unpredictable but it is a fact that he won't give up his own legacy and his family's legacy easily which will definitely be a factor in what will be a massive war for both sides and hopefully we will be able to get him through it safely. This is definitely a great start to Jamison's storyline and adds to the excitement for what's to come!
[Say you'd side with Ammon]
This choice was alot easier for me to make and as crazy as it sounds, I think this seems like the most fitting one from my perspective at least. I think it is pretty clear that Femi won't just let two people that she doesn't even know take her brother's life which takes that one out and I feel like refusing to answer will pretty much be letting Ayron and Lysera know where she stands anyway so I figure she may as well let them know exactly what she is thinking here. Besides, I think this choice also factors in to how much of a threat Ammon will end up being as well and I don't think he would ever be a threat to Femi so I figure she should let them know that if they are going to capture her brother that it must be done in the right way or she won't stand for it.
Alright, surprise! I actually did manage to get the parts done today, which is good so I don't have to stress about them during this busy we… moreekend Jamison's part is admittedly on the shorter side, but it does its job in starting the storyline. Anyway, here they are:
Jamison
Jamison Dayne laid on a hammock in the captain’s cabin of Starfire, the capital ship of the Dayne fleet. They had been sailing for three days now, and by tomorrow they should arrive to Southpoint. Alester Upton and Rickar Nightfall sat around the table, playing dice and drinking rum.
“Fuck”, Rickar grumbled, which was followed by a jovial laughter from Alester. “I suggest you stop now, Rick, before you lose all your coin”, he said with a wolfish grin behind his bushy red beard.
“Fuck you, I’m not giving up yet”, Rickar responded, and once again Alester laughed. “Can you believe this guy?” He asked, now looking at Jamison, who flashed him a subtle smirk. Jamison… [view original content]
Alright, surprise! I actually did manage to get the parts done today, which is good so I don't have to stress about them during this busy we… moreekend Jamison's part is admittedly on the shorter side, but it does its job in starting the storyline. Anyway, here they are:
Jamison
Jamison Dayne laid on a hammock in the captain’s cabin of Starfire, the capital ship of the Dayne fleet. They had been sailing for three days now, and by tomorrow they should arrive to Southpoint. Alester Upton and Rickar Nightfall sat around the table, playing dice and drinking rum.
“Fuck”, Rickar grumbled, which was followed by a jovial laughter from Alester. “I suggest you stop now, Rick, before you lose all your coin”, he said with a wolfish grin behind his bushy red beard.
“Fuck you, I’m not giving up yet”, Rickar responded, and once again Alester laughed. “Can you believe this guy?” He asked, now looking at Jamison, who flashed him a subtle smirk. Jamison… [view original content]
I would've probably closed it a bit earlier, but I tried to wait if another vote would come, since both of the choices are in a tie Oh well, with Jamison I'll prioritize the vote of the creator, and with Femi I'll just go with the option that got the 3 votes first.
So, Jamison will answer to Garret that duty to family is more important to him. Obviously this is a very character development focused choice, which will mainly just affect the following conversation and Jamison's thoughts going forward.
And Femi will refuse to answer. While this choice also has an element of character building it could have some other implications as well, since Femi's answer (or lack of one in this case) will of course have an effect on how Ayron and Lysera think of her.
Now, the reason I'm closing this voting now instead of continuing to wait for that one vote to break the ties is because I have the next part more or less ready. It's an Arvin PoV, and it just needs some finishing touches and then I'll post it, so within an hour from this post most likely. Arvin's first part took place in Kingsgrave, where he was preparing for a mission to hunt down the outlaws causing unrest in the Manwoody lands. He met briefly with his pregnant wife Sanya, and the scene between them made it clear that their relationship isn't a very warm and loving one. Before leaving for the mission, Arvin decided to go see his father once more. However, he was stopped by Larry, who told him that Albin was with Valerie and they didn't wish to be disturbed. And so, Larry decided to leave for his mission without first seeing Albin. And in today's part that mission will begin.
And finally, two more additions to the Book 2 album, Rickar Nightfall and Lysera:
Prince Arvin rode at the head of his force of hundred soldiers, beside him Larry the Kind. He had heeded the freak’s warning earlier in Kingsgrave and left without seeing Albin. The thought of that witch being constantly around his father bothered Arvin, but he also knew the King wouldn’t approve him questioning his choice of acquaintances.
The Manwoody troops rode through the meadows that were bright green in the spring but now more yellow and brown, clouds of dust rising from the dry ground as the hundreds of hooves drummed against it. The Red Mountains stood tall south of them, as well as further away in every other direction. Hours after leaving Kingsgrave they halted on a small hill, seeing towards the west a fairly large village standing by a small lake. Greenwater it was called, and after over two years of summer its waters were quite low.
“The outlaws would have visited here”, Larry stated calmly, and Arvin turned to look at him. “How so?” He asked nonchalantly, and a confident smirk formed on Larry’s face. “It’s a large village, and they’re looking for recruits. And since the earlier raports came from the lands of houses Purell and Littlemill, they would’ve had to travel through here to make it to House Safyre’s lands. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they left some of their men here.”
“So, we should expect a fight”, Arvin deduced calmly, to which Larry shrugged. “Maybe not”, he replied with a relaxed tone. “Unless they are even bolder than I expect. However, we definitely should keep our eyes and ears open.”
“You think we can get anything useful out of these people?” Arvin asked with a tired sigh, and Larry nodded confidently. “They must know something”, he said quietly, eyeing the village like a beast would eye its prey. Then he turned his eyes to Arvin. “We just have to be… convincing”, he said with a devious smirk forming on his face. Arvin gave Larry a stern look, and his smile faded. “Remember, my prince, this mission is as much about these people as it is about the outlaws that we are hunting. These are the people they seek to turn against us, and to prevent that we must make a harsh example of those who would betray your father.”
“A harsh example, aye?” Arvin asked unenthusiastically, eyeing at the village ahead of them. “I wonder if it isn’t exactly that kind of approach that has led us to this situation in the first place.”
“If you cannot be loved, then you must be feared, my prince”, Larry responded sharply. “And trust me, fear comes much easier than love. Be strong and ruthless, and the weak will bow to you. Such is the nature of men.”
Arvin nodded wordlessly to Larry, and so they began their ride down the hill towards the village. As the troops began to put up the camp by the shore of the lake, Arvin and Larry accompanied by a dozen soldiers approached the village. They rounded up the people, commanding everyone to the central square. In just a few minutes around fifty villagers had gathered there, more than half of them women, children and elderly. Some of the men were scarred or crippled, most likely in war, and there were hardly any that Arvin would’ve called both young and able. The crowd was quiet and tense, nervously eyeing at the Manwoody soldiers.
Finally, Arvin cleared his throat and stepped forward. “I am Prince Arvin Manwoody, son and heir of King Albin, here by his royal command”, he introduced himself sternly. The atmosphere grew even tenser than before, if that was even possible, some of the crowd now whispering to each other. “I am here because news have come to Kingsgrave about a band of outlaws roaming our lands, trying to instigate a conflict amongst our own people”, Arvin continued with a calm and authoritative tone. “The crown cannot tolerate such behavior, and thus I have come to punish these outlaws. You are all under the protection of King Albin, but you’re also obliged to serve him when needed. To lie or withhold information from the crown is to be a traitor, and traitors deserve no more than the noose. So, I ask you, do you have any information about these outlaws that I seek?”
A silence followed Arvin’s words, the villagers avoiding eye contact with him and shaking their heads. “No one knows anything?” Arvin asked loudly, a hint of frustration in his words. “Your highness, I swear no outlaw has visited Greenwater”, an older woman spoke up, which was followed by the other villagers muttering in agreement.
Before Arvin could speak up again, he felt Larry’s hand on his shoulder. “Let me handle this, my prince”, he said with a subtle smirk, stepping closer to the crowd. “You, you, and you”, he chose three men from the crowd. One of them was an old man, probably on his sixties, with bald head and wrinkled face together with short white beard. Second one was perhaps half the first’s age. He had a short black hair and a stubble beard, and he had lost one of his eyes. The third one was a young redheaded boy, no more than sixteen, who had lost his left arm down from elbow.
“Let’s start with you”, Larry said as he approached the old man. “I know nothing, ser”, the old man said nervously, to which Larry chuckled softly. “Not even your own name?” He asked lightheartedly. The old man had a baffled expression on his face, until finally regaining his composure enough to give an answer. “My name is Alliser, ser”, he mumbled with a gulp, and Larry gave him a nod.
“Alliser, huh? It seems you do know something, then”, the freak spoke with a soft and friendly tone, one that Arvin knew very well to be just a façade. “Perhaps you would know the name of these other gentlemen as well?” Larry asked, gesturing towards the one-eyed man and the young invalid.
“Aye, they are Justin and Barth”, Alliser spoke with a slightly more relaxed tone now. “And do you happen to know where Justin and Barth got their injuries?” Larry inquired calmly, and Alliser nodded. “Justin lost his eye two years ago, while raiding the lands of House Fowler. And Barth lost his arm fighting against Carons in the north, less than a year ago.”
“Interesting”, Larry said, scratching his chin as he walked past Justin and Barth. “They’ve given a lot to serve their king, I see. Perhaps they feel bitter about what they have lost. What do you think, Alliser?”
The old man remained quiet for a moment, glancing at Justin and Barth nervously. “It’s been hard for them, coming to terms with what they’ve lost”, he finally managed to say. “I’d imagine so”, Larry replied with a small sigh. Silence lingered on for a moment, until Larry broke it with a quiet chuckle. “Now, let me make one thing clear. I am certain that the outlaws have visited this place”, he said, his tone slightly less friendly now. “Whether they simply passed by or spent a longer time here, I cannot know. However, they were here, and you know it. Am I correct, Alliser?”
“Yes”, Alliser said after hesitating a moment. Muttering and curses could be heard from the crowd, and Justin frowned in anger. “Who are these outlaws? How many of them are there? Who sent them? Who leads them?” Larry barraged the old man with questions. Before speaking up, Alliser turned his gaze down in embarrassment. “They call themselves the Free Ravens”, he said with a nervous gulp. “There were maybe fifty of them when they came here. That’s all I know, ser, I swear.”
Without a word Larry approached Justin, and grabbed him from the collar, then turning his eyes to Alliser again. “Did they recruit anyone from the village?” He asked with a deceiving calmness in his voice. Alliser hesitated for a moment, and Larry punched Justin to the face, sending him to the ground. While three soldiers rushed to pin Justin to the ground, Larry drew out a dagger. “Did you hear my question, Alliser?” He asked with a joyful smirk, and the old man nodded with a horrified expression on his face.
“Yes, ser, they took recruits”, he said with panic in his words. “How many?” Larry asked with a carefree tone as he kneeled down next to Justin, twiddling the dagger in his hands. “Four - no, five”, Alliser answered hastily, and Larry nodded with a satisfied smirk on his face. He moved his dagger just a few inches away from Justin’s one working eye, taking in a deep breath. “Their leader, who is he?” He asked calmly.
“Ser Lucas is his name, he’s a foreign knight”, Alliser explained with a gulp, but since Larry didn’t look pleased with the answer, he quickly continued. “He is a tall and pale young man, with short dark hair and stubble beard. He carries a longsword with a dark blade and a heart-shaped ruby in the pommel.”
Arvin narrowed his eyes, remembering he had heard that description before. Lady Forlorn, the ancestral sword of House Corbray, he realized with some confusion. What could a Corbray have against us?
Larry moved the dagger away from Justin’s face and stood up, signaling for the soldiers to free the man. As Justin got back up on his feet, Larry approached Barth. The young boy was visibly terrified, his one remaining hand shaking uncontrollably. “And could any of you tell me where these Free Ravens are now?” Larry asked, his tone now dead serious, as he moved the dagger to Barth’s neck.
Seeing the many angered and terrified faces among the crowd of villagers, Arvin wondered if it would be best to stop this interrogation before it’d get messy. After all, they had already gained valuable information, and antagonizing these people further than necessary could prove to be counterproductive for their mission.
Arvin
Prince Arvin rode at the head of his force of hundred soldiers, beside him Larry the Kind. He had heeded the freak’s warning earlie… morer in Kingsgrave and left without seeing Albin. The thought of that witch being constantly around his father bothered Arvin, but he also knew the King wouldn’t approve him questioning his choice of acquaintances.
The Manwoody troops rode through the meadows that were bright green in the spring but now more yellow and brown, clouds of dust rising from the dry ground as the hundreds of hooves drummed against it. The Red Mountains stood tall south of them, as well as further away in every other direction. Hours after leaving Kingsgrave they halted on a small hill, seeing towards the west a fairly large village standing by a small lake. Greenwater it was called, and after over two years of summer its waters were quite low.
“The outlaws would have visited here”, Larry stated calmly, and Arvin turned to lo… [view original content]
Arvin
Prince Arvin rode at the head of his force of hundred soldiers, beside him Larry the Kind. He had heeded the freak’s warning earlie… morer in Kingsgrave and left without seeing Albin. The thought of that witch being constantly around his father bothered Arvin, but he also knew the King wouldn’t approve him questioning his choice of acquaintances.
The Manwoody troops rode through the meadows that were bright green in the spring but now more yellow and brown, clouds of dust rising from the dry ground as the hundreds of hooves drummed against it. The Red Mountains stood tall south of them, as well as further away in every other direction. Hours after leaving Kingsgrave they halted on a small hill, seeing towards the west a fairly large village standing by a small lake. Greenwater it was called, and after over two years of summer its waters were quite low.
“The outlaws would have visited here”, Larry stated calmly, and Arvin turned to lo… [view original content]
Arvin
Prince Arvin rode at the head of his force of hundred soldiers, beside him Larry the Kind. He had heeded the freak’s warning earlie… morer in Kingsgrave and left without seeing Albin. The thought of that witch being constantly around his father bothered Arvin, but he also knew the King wouldn’t approve him questioning his choice of acquaintances.
The Manwoody troops rode through the meadows that were bright green in the spring but now more yellow and brown, clouds of dust rising from the dry ground as the hundreds of hooves drummed against it. The Red Mountains stood tall south of them, as well as further away in every other direction. Hours after leaving Kingsgrave they halted on a small hill, seeing towards the west a fairly large village standing by a small lake. Greenwater it was called, and after over two years of summer its waters were quite low.
“The outlaws would have visited here”, Larry stated calmly, and Arvin turned to lo… [view original content]
While Larry has accomplished a lot with his methods here, you can only treat people horribly for so long before they fight back in one way or another. It's clear that this village already supports the Free Ravens and this show that Larry is putting on certainly won't change their minds so Arvin definitely needs to step up and put a stop to this before things take a turn for the worst for them. Along with all of that, this is a good opportunity to show his people that he is at least somewhat better than his father. On a side note though, with Arvin and his men finding out who is behind the attacks on their lands along with the Wyl's already knowing, it looks we could be seeing a fight very soon between them and the Free Ravens which will be epic!
Arvin
Prince Arvin rode at the head of his force of hundred soldiers, beside him Larry the Kind. He had heeded the freak’s warning earlie… morer in Kingsgrave and left without seeing Albin. The thought of that witch being constantly around his father bothered Arvin, but he also knew the King wouldn’t approve him questioning his choice of acquaintances.
The Manwoody troops rode through the meadows that were bright green in the spring but now more yellow and brown, clouds of dust rising from the dry ground as the hundreds of hooves drummed against it. The Red Mountains stood tall south of them, as well as further away in every other direction. Hours after leaving Kingsgrave they halted on a small hill, seeing towards the west a fairly large village standing by a small lake. Greenwater it was called, and after over two years of summer its waters were quite low.
“The outlaws would have visited here”, Larry stated calmly, and Arvin turned to lo… [view original content]
I said it before, I'll say it again, I absolutely love Arvin's viewpoint! This brings a truly exciting perspective to the story, so completely unlike any we had before and likely one that won't be too common even in the future. Of course, this only extends to the viewpoint, Arvin as a character remains deeply unlikeable. That is another thing he's unique at, because at the very least, Tomas has gotten to the point where he is no longer all that much of a jerk. I can see Arvin remaining the most villainous PoV for quite some time. Witness me being catastrophically wrong when you introduce Valerie as a PoV XD But yeah, I don't like Arvin, still don't, likely won't in a very long while or ever. But his parts really intrigue me! I don't know how this chapter will develop and obviously we still have months ahead until it comes to an end, but this might be the first time where one of my favourite storylines belongs to a character I'll include among my least favourites in the end. It's odd, but perhaps fitting. A fascinating storyline populated with a cast full of deeply unpleasant people and I kinda dig it But we'll see how it develops. It really seems like our choices will have an impact on how much better or worse Arvin will get, even if I doubt any of the characters he interacts with will become more or less sympathetic as things continue. As much as I can see ground for redemption in the prince himself, the same does not apply to someone such as Larry.
[Stop the interrogation]
Yeah, I'd very much prefer if Arvin doesn't turn into the sort of fully blown psychopath his father keeps around him. While his reasons would be pragmatic and not intentionally friendly, as his narration made it very clear, I prefer a pragmatic Arvin over a ruthless bastard. Maybe that way, he can see that supporting the fight against Albin is the most pragmatic thing to do. Larry had his fun, now it's time to keep him on a tight leash again.
Arvin
Prince Arvin rode at the head of his force of hundred soldiers, beside him Larry the Kind. He had heeded the freak’s warning earlie… morer in Kingsgrave and left without seeing Albin. The thought of that witch being constantly around his father bothered Arvin, but he also knew the King wouldn’t approve him questioning his choice of acquaintances.
The Manwoody troops rode through the meadows that were bright green in the spring but now more yellow and brown, clouds of dust rising from the dry ground as the hundreds of hooves drummed against it. The Red Mountains stood tall south of them, as well as further away in every other direction. Hours after leaving Kingsgrave they halted on a small hill, seeing towards the west a fairly large village standing by a small lake. Greenwater it was called, and after over two years of summer its waters were quite low.
“The outlaws would have visited here”, Larry stated calmly, and Arvin turned to lo… [view original content]
I said it before, I'll say it again, I absolutely love Arvin's viewpoint! This brings a truly exciting perspective to the story, so completely unlike any we had before and likely one that won't be too common even in the future. Of course, this only extends to the viewpoint, Arvin as a character remains deeply unlikeable. That is another thing he's unique at, because at the very least, Tomas has gotten to the point where he is no longer all that much of a jerk. I can see Arvin remaining the most villainous PoV for quite some time. Witness me being catastrophically wrong when you introduce Valerie as a PoV XD But yeah, I don't like Arvin, still don't, likely won't in a very long while or ever. But his parts really intrigue me! I don't know how this chapter will develop and obviously we still have months ahead until it comes to an end, but this might be the first time where one of my favourite storylines belongs to a character I'll include among my least favourites in the end. It's odd, but perhaps fitting. A fascinating storyline populated with a cast full of deeply unpleasant people and I kinda dig it But we'll see how it develops. It really seems like our choices will have an impact on how much better or worse Arvin will get, even if I doubt any of the characters he interacts with will become more or less sympathetic as things continue. As much as I can see ground for redemption in the prince himself, the same does not apply to someone such as Larry.
Making you interested in the storyline is the best I could've realistically achieved with these first Arvin parts, so I'm really glad to hear you are indeed enjoying it so far! At this point I don't expect anyone to really like Arvin, but like you say he provides an interesting perspective, and there is a lot of room for development one way or the other. And don't worry, I have no plans of making Valerie a PoV (at the very least not a regular), she works way better as a non-PoV
I said it before, I'll say it again, I absolutely love Arvin's viewpoint! This brings a truly exciting perspective to the story, so complete… morely unlike any we had before and likely one that won't be too common even in the future. Of course, this only extends to the viewpoint, Arvin as a character remains deeply unlikeable. That is another thing he's unique at, because at the very least, Tomas has gotten to the point where he is no longer all that much of a jerk. I can see Arvin remaining the most villainous PoV for quite some time. Witness me being catastrophically wrong when you introduce Valerie as a PoV XD But yeah, I don't like Arvin, still don't, likely won't in a very long while or ever. But his parts really intrigue me! I don't know how this chapter will develop and obviously we still have months ahead until it comes to an end, but this might be the first time where one of my favourite storylines belongs to a character I'll include among… [view original content]
Arvin
Prince Arvin rode at the head of his force of hundred soldiers, beside him Larry the Kind. He had heeded the freak’s warning earlie… morer in Kingsgrave and left without seeing Albin. The thought of that witch being constantly around his father bothered Arvin, but he also knew the King wouldn’t approve him questioning his choice of acquaintances.
The Manwoody troops rode through the meadows that were bright green in the spring but now more yellow and brown, clouds of dust rising from the dry ground as the hundreds of hooves drummed against it. The Red Mountains stood tall south of them, as well as further away in every other direction. Hours after leaving Kingsgrave they halted on a small hill, seeing towards the west a fairly large village standing by a small lake. Greenwater it was called, and after over two years of summer its waters were quite low.
“The outlaws would have visited here”, Larry stated calmly, and Arvin turned to lo… [view original content]
I can see some parallels between Arvin and Harrick Hoare from FoT, since both are loyal to their fathers despite knowing their fathers are assholes, and both Arvin & Harrick are more competent in ruling than their fathers.
Edit: lol didnt mean to quote knowyouenemy's post, just meant to make a comment XD
Arvin
Prince Arvin rode at the head of his force of hundred soldiers, beside him Larry the Kind. He had heeded the freak’s warning earlie… morer in Kingsgrave and left without seeing Albin. The thought of that witch being constantly around his father bothered Arvin, but he also knew the King wouldn’t approve him questioning his choice of acquaintances.
The Manwoody troops rode through the meadows that were bright green in the spring but now more yellow and brown, clouds of dust rising from the dry ground as the hundreds of hooves drummed against it. The Red Mountains stood tall south of them, as well as further away in every other direction. Hours after leaving Kingsgrave they halted on a small hill, seeing towards the west a fairly large village standing by a small lake. Greenwater it was called, and after over two years of summer its waters were quite low.
“The outlaws would have visited here”, Larry stated calmly, and Arvin turned to lo… [view original content]
That's a pretty good comparison, one that I hadn't really thought of. I'd say the biggest difference is that Albin is both a worse father and a worse king than Harren, which is quite a questionable achievement. I also see Arvin as less competent than Harrick, but nonetheless there are indeed some notable similarities between the two.
I can see some parallels between Arvin and Harrick Hoare from FoT, since both are loyal to their fathers despite knowing their fathers are a… moressholes, and both Arvin & Harrick are more competent in ruling than their fathers.
Edit: lol didnt mean to quote knowyouenemy's post, just meant to make a comment XD
And Arvin will stop the interrogation. His reasoning here is very pragmatic, he sees that Larry's methods have already bore good results and fears that taking it any further could make the negative consequences overshadow the positives. And of course, playing the good cop in this situation could also improve some of these villagers' opinions on Arvin.
Next up we'll continue with a Nymeria part. In her last part the Princess of Dorne received a royal guest from the Iron Isles, that being King Harmund II Hoare. The two of them conversed about establishing trade between Iron Isles and the Principality of Dorne. Harmund promised to discourage his vassals from raiding Dornish shores in the future, but also proposed sending an Ironborn fleet to Torrentine to aid Nymeria in her war against the Daynes. Nymeria recognized the benefits this would give to her war effort, but also the potential negative long term effects, and decided to decline Harmund's suggestion. And that's where we'll continue with this next part. I've made some progress, but there is still work to be done, and sadly I'll have pretty much zero time for writing tomorrow. That means, unless I manage to finish the part today, you'll have to wait until Monday for this one.
Lastly, another addition to the Book 2 album, King Vorian Dayne:
”I am grateful for the offer, but unfortunately I must decline”, Nymeria responded with a sigh to King Harmund Hoare’s suggestion. “I must defeat King Vorian, that is true, but I must also offer the people of Torrentine my love and protection. I’m sure you understand that unleashing your raiders upon them would not be the best possible first impression.”
“I understand”, Harmund responded calmly. “And I will do my best to aid your cause in other ways. With my backing, and the backing of my friends in Casterly Rock, I assure you will not run out of resources to fight this war. And in turn, your victories will make the trade between us all the more prosperous.”
“For the future”, Nymeria said with a smile, raising her goblet. “For the future”, Harmund repeated smoothly.
After some time of Nymeria and Harmund discussing the specifics of the trade and drinking more of the wine, Maester Olivar returned to the room with their children. Little Prince Harmund immediately rushed to his father, who raised him to his arms with warm laughter. Meanwhile Olivar brought Sarella to Nymeria, and she raised the girl on her lap. Sarella was clearly tired, her eyes blinking slowly. “Ma”, she mumbled quietly as she pressed her head against Nymeria’s chest, which brought a bright smile on the princess’ face.
“Perhaps we’ve discussed enough for today”, Harmund said with a soft chuckle, and Nymeria nodded. “Yes, it’s been a pleasure”, she responded calmly. “Maester Olivar, escort the guests to their quarters.”
As King Harmund and his convoy took their leave, Nymeria and Sarella were left alone with General Varyn, who sat down on the seat that had earlier been occupied by the Ironborn king. “We don’t always see eye to eye, Your Grace, but I wanted to say that you made the right choice today”, he spoke calmly.
“A compliment from Varyn of Chroyane? I suppose miracles do happen every now and then”, Nymeria responded with a tiny smirk. “I admit, for a moment I feared you would agree to the Ironborn king’s suggestion”, the general said with a sigh, which was followed by a moment of tense silence.
“I did consider it”, Nymeria said with a gulp, turning her eyes to look at Sarella who was half-asleep. “It would’ve made things easier.”
“Whatever benefits it would’ve brought, the repercussions would’ve been tenfold”, Varyn said sternly, and Nymeria nodded. “I know”, she said quietly, stroking her daughter’s hair gently. “I’ve sworn to myself to be better than the dragonlords that burned and destroyed our lands, but sometimes it’s hard to stay on the high road. There are two voices in my head, constantly at war with each other. One voice says that the end justifies the means, that whatever has to be done is worth it to win this war and build a new and stronger Dorne. Then there is the other voice, reminding how many lives will be lost to achieve this dream, how many homes destroyed.”
“You should keep your ears open to both of those voices, Your Grace”, Varyn advised calmly. “A conqueror knows that sacrifices must be made to ensure victory, but a ruler knows that some things are not to be compromised – not even for victory. You are not a tyrant, and I hope I never see you become one.”
“If you ever see it happening, please speak up”, Nymeria said with a subtle gulp, looking Varyn to the eyes, and he responded with a firm nod. “You can rely on it, Your Grace”, he responded calmly.
-
Nymeria sat next to Sarella’s crib, having soothed her to sleep. Looking at her daughter sleeping, safe from the world, brought a smile on Nymeria’s face. If only Mors could be here as well. The Prince had insisted on accompanying Albar Ladybright and Desmond Uller on the campaign to the Kingdom of Stone and Sky. Mors had said to Nymeria that as the leaders of this conquest at least one of them should always be on the frontlines, to prove their vassals and troops the dedication they had for winning this war. He was right of course, as Nymeria had to admit, but it still bothered her that every day she had to question whether her husband was still alive or not.
The door of the chambers was knocked on softly, waking Nymeria from her thoughts. Behind the door was Farrah of Ghoyan Drohe, the commander of the royal guard. She greeted the princess with a dutiful bow, and Nymeria welcomed her in with a warm smile. Though Farrah herself would never claim to be anything more than a loyal servant to the Princess, she was still perhaps the closest thing to a friend that Nymeria had.
“Evening, Farrah”, Nymeria said softly as they sat around the table. “Your Grace”, Farrah responded politely. “I came to report about the progress regarding the conspiracy”, she explained. Nymeria would gladly spend time with Farrah anyway, but progress on squashing the conspiracy was always more than welcome. “You met with your sister?” the princess asked calmly, and Farrah nodded.
“Yes, Femi was reluctant as expected, but I managed to convince her to find Ammon”, she spoke with relief in her words. “Lysera and Ayron are going with her… let’s just hope everything goes well.”
“How do you think your brother will react?” Nymeria asked sharply. Farrah took in a deep breath, hesitating a moment before answering. “I honestly don’t know”, she said with a sigh. “If he is as far gone as I fear it won’t be easy for Femi to convince him. However, I’ve tasked Ayron and Lysera to make sure that Ammon is brought to Sandship one way or the other.”
“And you’re sure Femi can be trusted to cooperate if things get ugly?” Nymeria asked with a raised eyebrow, and Farrah immediately shook her head. “She isn’t the most cooperative type, to say the least”, she said with a hint of frustration in her words. “However, we’ll never find Ammon without her, so it’s a risk we have to take.” A moment of silence followed, until Farrah spoke up again, this time a nervous tone on her voice. “Your Grace, I know a servant should not make requests for the Princess…”
“You may speak freely, Farrah”, Nymeria cut her off with a friendly tone, and Farrah nodded tensely. “I just… I wanted to most humbly ask that if Ammon is indeed brought here against his own will, that you would refrain from torture when trying to make him talk. I understand the importance of learning more about the conspirators, but he is my brother, and he was a prince once. I… I believe he deserves better than to be tortured.”
Nymeria nodded wordlessly, an emotionless expression on her face. Once again in her head the two conflicting voices were in battle, and Varyn’s words echoed over them.
[Make no promises]
This isn't to say she will for sure torture him, but we shouldn't make any promises that would rule out the possibility. If the other choice wins, and she ends up having to torture him anyways, that would only damage her relationship with Farrah.
Nymeria
”I am grateful for the offer, but unfortunately I must decline”, Nymeria responded with a sigh to King Harmund Hoare’s suggestion… more. “I must defeat King Vorian, that is true, but I must also offer the people of Torrentine my love and protection. I’m sure you understand that unleashing your raiders upon them would not be the best possible first impression.”
“I understand”, Harmund responded calmly. “And I will do my best to aid your cause in other ways. With my backing, and the backing of my friends in Casterly Rock, I assure you will not run out of resources to fight this war. And in turn, your victories will make the trade between us all the more prosperous.”
“For the future”, Nymeria said with a smile, raising her goblet. “For the future”, Harmund repeated smoothly.
After some time of Nymeria and Harmund discussing the specifics of the trade and drinking more of the wine, Maester Olivar returned to the room with their chil… [view original content]
Nymeria
”I am grateful for the offer, but unfortunately I must decline”, Nymeria responded with a sigh to King Harmund Hoare’s suggestion… more. “I must defeat King Vorian, that is true, but I must also offer the people of Torrentine my love and protection. I’m sure you understand that unleashing your raiders upon them would not be the best possible first impression.”
“I understand”, Harmund responded calmly. “And I will do my best to aid your cause in other ways. With my backing, and the backing of my friends in Casterly Rock, I assure you will not run out of resources to fight this war. And in turn, your victories will make the trade between us all the more prosperous.”
“For the future”, Nymeria said with a smile, raising her goblet. “For the future”, Harmund repeated smoothly.
After some time of Nymeria and Harmund discussing the specifics of the trade and drinking more of the wine, Maester Olivar returned to the room with their chil… [view original content]
Ah, I do love the relationship between Nymeria and Varyn! Ironically, I remember that I originally considered changing his name before submitting him, because it sounded so similar to Varys and now guess what vibes he gave me in this talk, really reminded me of that one scene between Dany and Varys early into Season 7 That is not a bad thing though, I think every ruler needs someone like this by their side. And it seems that he has by now truly made his peace with the idea of Nymeria as the ruler of the Rhoynar. There might always be more duty than any personal fondness when it comes to his reasons for serving her, but he seems way more pleased now that she had her initial success.
[Make no promises]
This is actually a very tough choice. See, I would not want to torture Ammon without actually knowing anything about the guy. What we heard doesn't sound particularly pleasant, but Farrah has been a loyal servant and her thoughts and wishes shouldn't be dismissed so easily. Still, when it comes to the Ammon situation, I'd rather go against her wish than break a promise. If it is up for a choice and if the information we have about him allows it, I won't choose to torture him, but I would not like to be tied down before learning more about him.
Nymeria
”I am grateful for the offer, but unfortunately I must decline”, Nymeria responded with a sigh to King Harmund Hoare’s suggestion… more. “I must defeat King Vorian, that is true, but I must also offer the people of Torrentine my love and protection. I’m sure you understand that unleashing your raiders upon them would not be the best possible first impression.”
“I understand”, Harmund responded calmly. “And I will do my best to aid your cause in other ways. With my backing, and the backing of my friends in Casterly Rock, I assure you will not run out of resources to fight this war. And in turn, your victories will make the trade between us all the more prosperous.”
“For the future”, Nymeria said with a smile, raising her goblet. “For the future”, Harmund repeated smoothly.
After some time of Nymeria and Harmund discussing the specifics of the trade and drinking more of the wine, Maester Olivar returned to the room with their chil… [view original content]
Ah, I do love the relationship between Nymeria and Varyn! Ironically, I remember that I originally considered changing his name before submitting him, because it sounded so similar to Varys and now guess what vibes he gave me in this talk, really reminded me of that one scene between Dany and Varys early into Season 7 That is not a bad thing though, I think every ruler needs someone like this by their side. And it seems that he has by now truly made his peace with the idea of Nymeria as the ruler of the Rhoynar. There might always be more duty than any personal fondness when it comes to his reasons for serving her, but he seems way more pleased now that she had her initial success.
Yeah, I'd say Nymeria's success so far has definitely softened Varyn's attitude towards her, but like he says they still don't always see eye to eye. And yeah, I did have a feeling while writing that this seems kind of familiar, no doubt it was the Dany/Varys scene in the back of my head. I think I even told you back when you were submitting Varyn that he is so different as a character from Varys that no one is going to be confused - well, looks like given the right circumstances the two can act quite similarly That said, had you chose to endorse the Ironborn raid to Torrentine, well, Varyn would've been a lot less agreeable in this scene. Anyway, Nym and Varyn definitely make for an interesting dynamic, and I'm definitely planning to expand on it going forward
Ah, I do love the relationship between Nymeria and Varyn! Ironically, I remember that I originally considered changing his name before submi… moretting him, because it sounded so similar to Varys and now guess what vibes he gave me in this talk, really reminded me of that one scene between Dany and Varys early into Season 7 That is not a bad thing though, I think every ruler needs someone like this by their side. And it seems that he has by now truly made his peace with the idea of Nymeria as the ruler of the Rhoynar. There might always be more duty than any personal fondness when it comes to his reasons for serving her, but he seems way more pleased now that she had her initial success.
[Make no promises]
This is actually a very tough choice. See, I would not want to torture Ammon without actually knowing anything about the guy. What we heard doesn't sound particularly pleasant, but Farrah has been a loyal servant and her thoughts and wishe… [view original content]
I have to agree with the others on this one. While having to torture Ammon wouldn't be ideal, the conspiracy is a very real thing that Nymeria needs to deal with before it gets out of hand. So while Nymeria shouldn't have to torture Ammon, she also shouldn't make any promises she might not be able to keep.
Nymeria
”I am grateful for the offer, but unfortunately I must decline”, Nymeria responded with a sigh to King Harmund Hoare’s suggestion… more. “I must defeat King Vorian, that is true, but I must also offer the people of Torrentine my love and protection. I’m sure you understand that unleashing your raiders upon them would not be the best possible first impression.”
“I understand”, Harmund responded calmly. “And I will do my best to aid your cause in other ways. With my backing, and the backing of my friends in Casterly Rock, I assure you will not run out of resources to fight this war. And in turn, your victories will make the trade between us all the more prosperous.”
“For the future”, Nymeria said with a smile, raising her goblet. “For the future”, Harmund repeated smoothly.
After some time of Nymeria and Harmund discussing the specifics of the trade and drinking more of the wine, Maester Olivar returned to the room with their chil… [view original content]
Nymeria
”I am grateful for the offer, but unfortunately I must decline”, Nymeria responded with a sigh to King Harmund Hoare’s suggestion… more. “I must defeat King Vorian, that is true, but I must also offer the people of Torrentine my love and protection. I’m sure you understand that unleashing your raiders upon them would not be the best possible first impression.”
“I understand”, Harmund responded calmly. “And I will do my best to aid your cause in other ways. With my backing, and the backing of my friends in Casterly Rock, I assure you will not run out of resources to fight this war. And in turn, your victories will make the trade between us all the more prosperous.”
“For the future”, Nymeria said with a smile, raising her goblet. “For the future”, Harmund repeated smoothly.
After some time of Nymeria and Harmund discussing the specifics of the trade and drinking more of the wine, Maester Olivar returned to the room with their chil… [view original content]
Yeah, it seems there are some similarities between them, at least enough for this scene to really play out in a believable way Interestingly, I see one of their core concepts also being one of their core differences and it's loyalty, or more like their understanding of loyalty. Varyn is loyal to the position, he might not believe in Nymeria, he might not agree with her all the time but she is his princess and him being loyal to the Rhoynar ruler is simply a core aspect of his very being. Varys meanwhile is loyal to the people and if he'd ever doubt Dany as much as Varyn doubts Nymeria from time to time, I think he would have served her no better than he served Joffrey. Where Varyn is uncompromisingly loyal to his ruler, Varys is uncompromisingly loyal to the ruler's subjects. What I did just notice though is that there's some very strong similarities between Dany and Nym and I cannot believe it took me until this scene to notice them. They are both young conquerors, but neither was born into this position and they simply took it onto themselves when the ones actually in charge were killed, Garin for Nymeria and Viserys for Dany. Both are idealistic and have a pretty big dream, but Nymeria herself pretty much admitted that she has this potential for a darker side as well, just like how Dany tends to get carried away from time to time. And fittingly, I noticed that the similarities to the Dany/Varys scene here come mostly from Nymeria. Varyn just happened to have the Varys side of the conversation, but the one who actually acted in a similar way was Nymeria, down to the sentence about Varyn talking to her if he ever disagrees with her on something. I feel like that is the stronger comparison and I am downright willing to bet that a Dany/Nymeria comparison will be made at some point in the next to ASOIAF books.
Ah, I do love the relationship between Nymeria and Varyn! Ironically, I remember that I originally considered changing his name before submi… moretting him, because it sounded so similar to Varys and now guess what vibes he gave me in this talk, really reminded me of that one scene between Dany and Varys early into Season 7 That is not a bad thing though, I think every ruler needs someone like this by their side. And it seems that he has by now truly made his peace with the idea of Nymeria as the ruler of the Rhoynar. There might always be more duty than any personal fondness when it comes to his reasons for serving her, but he seems way more pleased now that she had her initial success.
Yeah, I'd say Nymeria's success so far has definitely softened Varyn's attitude towards her, but like he says they still don't always see eye to eye. And yeah, I did have a feeling while writing that this seems kind of familiar, no doubt it was the Dany/Va… [view original content]
Nymeria
”I am grateful for the offer, but unfortunately I must decline”, Nymeria responded with a sigh to King Harmund Hoare’s suggestion… more. “I must defeat King Vorian, that is true, but I must also offer the people of Torrentine my love and protection. I’m sure you understand that unleashing your raiders upon them would not be the best possible first impression.”
“I understand”, Harmund responded calmly. “And I will do my best to aid your cause in other ways. With my backing, and the backing of my friends in Casterly Rock, I assure you will not run out of resources to fight this war. And in turn, your victories will make the trade between us all the more prosperous.”
“For the future”, Nymeria said with a smile, raising her goblet. “For the future”, Harmund repeated smoothly.
After some time of Nymeria and Harmund discussing the specifics of the trade and drinking more of the wine, Maester Olivar returned to the room with their chil… [view original content]
And Nymeria will make no promises regarding how Ammon will be treated if/when he is brought to Sandship. Obviously Farrah would be more pleased with the other option, but like many of you brought up this isn't so much Nymeria saying that Ammon absolutely will be tortured, but rather that she can't make promises about it.
Anyway, it's midsummer holidays this weekend, which means I won't be able to do any writing, at least until late Sunday. The next part(s) will be either Emerson, Nealia or Gwendis, but I'll probably post an update on either Monday or Tuesday and by then I should know which one is coming first.
For now, take this portrait of King Harmund II Hoare:
Alrighty, I'm back to writing now after a brief break! My intention is to post a new part with Nealia and Emerson PoVs within a couple of days. Before that, recaps: Nealia in her first part of Book 2 arrived to Nymerwell, accompanied by Lien, Ying and Gauron Aerarys. Their destination is Starfall, but there is still a long way to go. In Nymerwell was a relatively small force of Uller troops, on their way to Clearhaven. Nealia considered marching with them, but to avoid the risk of the Ullers finding out who she really is, she decided to instead seek for a ship from the harbor that could take them to Clearhaven.
As for Emerson, his first part in Book 2 took place in the Tor, where the Yronwood forces were celebrating their victory at Ghost Hill, and preparing to march to Godsgrace. At the end of the night Emerson confronted Lena whom he had seen getting quite close with Mandon Marcant. Lena teased Emerson about his jealousy, and started to seduce him. However, Emerson decided to reject her this time. The next part will pick up from the morning after...
First of all, sorry for taking so long with these parts. For whatever reason my motivation for writing just took a nosedive this week. I can't even claim to have been busy (well, aside from watching the World Cup matches), I just didn't have any inspiration for writing. I'm still excited for the storylines ahead though, so I'm sure my motivation will bounce back sooner or later, but until then my writing pace might drag a bit Enough rambling, here are the parts I promised Tuesday:
Emerson
Emerson woke up to the door of his chambers being knocked on. With a tired sigh he turned around in the bed that he was lying in alone, before starting to pull on his trousers. As he got up from the bed the door was knocked on again.
“I’m coming!”, he yelled unenthusiastically, his head aching slightly as he walked towards the door. Emerson opened the door, seeing Julia Jordayne standing there in her green dress. Her brown hair was tied to a braid, and in her green eyes was a stern glare. “Morning Emerson”, she said with a sigh, glancing behind him. “To be honest, I expected to find you here with Lena.”
“Mhm”, Emerson muttered tiredly. “Well, she’s not here, sorry.”
“But you are”, Julia spoke calmly. “Just wanted to tell you that King Yorick wants to see you later at his office. He has invited both you and Yoren.”
“Understood”, Emerson said with a yawn, and a tense silence followed his words. He looked at Julia, whose expression had slightly mellowed now. “Was there something else?” Emerson asked with a raised eyebrow, and Julia shook her head. “No, I just wanted to say… you’ve changed, Emerson”, she said with a subtle gulp. “There is hardly anything left of the boy who arrived here two years ago, the one who was kind and friendly. I understand that you’re driven to take your rightful place as lord, but sometimes I fear that drive will turn you into something you’re not supposed to be.”
“I was naïve and soft when I first left Godsgrace”, Emerson replied quietly, looking away from Julia now. He took in a deep breath, before continuing. “War is no place for a boy, so I have to be a man.”
“I understand”, Julia replied with a sigh, turning her eyes down. “I just hope that war won’t end up consuming you.” With these words she turned around and walked away, closing the door behind her and leaving Emerson alone in the silent room.
He ate his breakfast alone and then made his way to the chambers of Lady Vita Allyrion, the words of Julia echoing in his mind the whole time. With a tired sigh he opened the door and walked into the relatively empty room, where Vita was sitting by the table with a servant maid helping with her breakfast. She looked weaker than ever before, frail and broken, a shell of a woman.
“I can continue from here”, Emerson said calmly, and with a dutiful nod the servant hurried out of the room. Emerson sat down next to Vita, taking in a deep breath as he looked into her timid and confused eyes.
“Emerson”, she finally said with a barely audible voice, and Emerson gave her a small nod. “I’ve come to say goodbyes again, as I’ll be marching to another battle”, he spoke with a nonchalant tone, knowing she wouldn’t remember any of this conversation by tomorrow. “In fact, I’ll be going to war against Esperence… your daughter. You don’t remember her, do you?”
“I don’t have a daughter”, the lady insisted, shaking her head frantically. “As I expected”, Emerson muttered with a sigh, speaking more to himself than Lady Vita. “I might have to kill her. Unless she begs for pardon… But even then, I can never trust her again. And her husband I will definitely have to kill.”
“K-kill?” Vita asked with a fearful look in her eyes, and Emerson nodded. “I take no pleasure in it, but it has to be done”, he explained calmly, though the lady still looked frightened. Emerson dropped the subject and continued to help Vita with her breakfast, after which he quietly left the room.
And quietly he made his way through the castle of Tor, walking past the guardsmen and servants without uttering a word, finally approaching the chambers he knew were occupied by the King. Yoren was standing outside the door, leaning on the wall with his hands crossed against his chest. Under his eyes were dark bags, and his blonde hair was unkempt.
“How was your night?” Emerson asked casually, and a satisfied smirk formed on his friend’s face. “Very enjoyable”, he said smoothly, to which Emerson chuckled quietly. “Is Yorick in there?” he asked, nodding towards the door.
“Yeah, he should summon us in soon”, Yoren answered with a sigh. “He’s talking with my father right now.” A brief silence followed, until Yoren spoke up again with a thin smirk forming on his face. “So… Having some difficulties with Lena, aye?” he asked calmly, and Emerson frowned. “What makes you say that?” he asked, keeping his voice nonchalant.
“I saw her this morning, alone”, Yoren replied with a relaxed tone. “After putting your life on the line at Ghost Hill, I would’ve expected you to happily take the opportunity for some fun with her.”
“Well, that’s the problem”, Emerson said sternly. “It seems all she wants with me is… fun.” Yoren chuckled at his words, but then his smile faded and he stepped closer to Emerson. “And you’d want to make her your wife?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. Emerson hesitated for a moment, until shrugging lazily.
“I don’t know”, he muttered embarrassedly, and Yoren shook his head with an amused expression on his face. “Trust me, friend, Lena Wells is not the woman you want to marry”, he said with a chuckle. Emerson nodded, even if he disagreed. Sure, Lena was hard on the surface, but during these last two years Emerson had got a few peeks behind that surface, and he knew her to be a good woman at heart.
Suddenly the door was opened, and out walked Lord Terren. “Ah, you’re here already, good”, he said with a wide grin, gesturing for them to walk in. Emerson and Yoren exchanged a confused glance, neither of them knowing why exactly they had been summoned here today.
The King stood in front of his desk, crown on his head and sword on his hands. In his eyes was a sharp glare, while his lips formed a thin smile. “Step forth, boys”, he said with an uncharacteristically soft tone, and with some confusion Emerson and Yoren walked in front of their king. They bowed for him in unison, to which Yorick responded with a subtle nod.
“You have both sworn your swords to me, and I am proud to say you have upheld your oaths with great honor”, the King began his speech, his proud gaze shifting between Emerson and Yoren. “You’ve shown your willingness to fight and struggle for the glory of this kingdom. Not long ago both of you were just boys, but you’ve grown into men of Yronwood. Now, kneel.”
Emerson and Yoren fell on their knees, and first the King approached Emerson. “Emerson of House Allyrion”, he started with a strong and official tone, lowering the tip of the sword on Emerson’s right shoulder. “Do you swear before the eyes of gods and men to defend those who cannot defend themselves, to protect all women and children, to obey your king, to fight bravely when needed and do such other tasks as are laid upon you, however hard or humble or dangerous they may be?”
“I do”, Emerson answered with calm confidence, looking King Yorick to the eyes. With a satisfied smile Yorick moved the sword to Emerson’s left shoulder and spoke once more. “You may rise, Ser Emerson Allyrion.”
No decision
-
Nealia
Nealia, Lien, Ying and Gauron approached the largest ship on Nymerwell’s harbor. They had already met with one captain, that being a Summer Islander merchant who had told them he would be returning straight to Summer Isles.
“Looks like a Myrish ship”, Gauron observed calmly as they walked on the docks next to the galley with green-and-white sails. A single man stood in guard of the gangplank leading into the ship’s deck. He was a tall and tanned foreign man with short black beard, his arms crossed over his chest and a curved sword hanging from his belt.
“What’s your business?” the man asked calmly, eyeing Nealia and her companions with some suspicion. “We are looking for a voyage to Clearhaven”, Nealia told the man, her tone polite and friendly. “There’s four of us, and we’ll pay well.”
“This ship is heading to east, I’m sorry”, the man said with a professional tone. Nealia exchanged disappointed looks with her companions, and then Lien spoke up. “Please, ser, could you not ask your captain to at least speak with us?” she pleaded, but the man immediately shook his head. “The captain is in hurry to return to Myr”, he explained sternly. “However, perhaps I could give you a suggestion.”
“Go ahead”, Nealia said with a sigh, and the man nodded towards the small cog at the southern edge of the harbor. “I’ve heard that ship is headed to Oldtown”, he said with a thin smirk. “Its captain is not the most pleasant man, but I think he’d be willing to take you to Clearhaven if you pay him well enough.”
“Looks like an old and scuffed ship”, Ying stated cynically as they walked away from the Myrish galley and started approaching the cog. “I’m sure it’s still seaworthy”, Lien replied with a hesitant smirk.
Getting closer to the ship, they saw its small crew at the deck, preparing the sails. However, among the sailors there were two warriors, standing idly by the railing. Nealia whistled at the docks, shifting the attention of the two warriors to them. One of them was a slender young man with long black hair and a mischievous look in his brown eyes. The other one was muscular and notably older than his companion, probably on his early thirties, with short black hair and a stern expression on his angular face.
“Hello there”, the younger one spoke with a flirty tone. “My name is Jason Vermister, my friend here is Volke. And who might you beautiful ladies be?” he asked, completely ignoring Gauron.
“We’re travelers, seeking a way to Clearhaven”, Nealia responded calmly. Jason and Volke exchanged looks, and then the older one spoke up. “We will sail past it, but the captain is planning to avoid it”, he said sternly. “He wants to reach Oldtown as soon as possible.”
“May we speak with your captain?” Nealia asked humbly. “Of course!” Jason immediately yelled with a grin, and Volke gave him a displeased glance. Nonetheless, together they threw a rope net over the railing for Nealia and her companions to climb onboard. “Welcome aboard Melala, the beauty of Lorath”, Jason welcomed them with a theatrical bow.
“Quite an old beauty”, Ying commented dryly, glancing at the cracked and rotten planks of the deck. Jason chuckled dismissively, gesturing for them to follow him towards the captain’s cabin. “Come now, you may discuss the price of the journey with captain Varo”, he said, knocking on the cabin’s door.
“It’s open!”, a resentful voice of an older male shouted behind the door, and with a nervous smirk Jason proceeded to push it open. “Afternoon, captain”, he greeted the fat and bald man sitting behind his desk, his small green eyes fixed on the pages of a slim book, most likely some sort of log. “Are we ready for departure?” He asked without bothering to raise his gaze.
“No, captain, I brought visitors”, Jason responded, and immediately the captain jolted his gaze up, glaring at Nealia, Ying, Lien and Gauron with narrowed eyes. “Who are these?” he asked with a skeptical tone.
“They say they are willing to pay for a journey to Clearhaven”, Jason answered with a relaxed tone, to which the captain chuckled mockingly. “We are not stopping at Clearhaven, and these rats sure as hell don’t have the kind of coin to change my mind”, he said, turning his gaze back on his book. “Take them away.”
“I think you should at least hear our offer, captain…”, Nealia spoke, and the fat man lazily raised his gaze to meet hers. “Varo Ostinar is my name”, he grumbled. “Like I said, I doubt you have the coin to change my mind.”
“Each of us have worked years as sellswords, we have some savings”, Nealia assured confidently. “Two-hundred in silver, would that be enough? We could also work with your crew, help wherever we can until we reach Clearhaven.”
“Silver is always nice”, Varo said quietly, tapping his fingers lightly on the desk as he considered their offer. “However, my resources for this journey are limited as it is, four more people on this ship means less food and water for my crew. That could make them angry, more inclined to… misbehave. No, I don’t think two-hundred silver is worth the risk.”
“Let’s just leave, Nealia”, Ying said with a frustrated tone, already turning towards the door. “Marching with the Ullers is safer than sailing this old wreck of a ship anyway.”
Nealia took in a deep breath, considering her options. They could indeed still choose to march with the Ullers, but she also had an idea of how she could possibly change Varo’s mind. My name. Revealing who she was – here in the middle of House Dayne’s enemies – certainly had its risks, but it should also be enough to convince the captain that returning her home would be well rewarded.
[Leave the ship] If the crew is capable of 'misbehaving', then they should not risk telling them she's related to the king.
So Emerson is now a knight. While many take knighthood lightly, truly earning it is something noble and peasant alike sometimes dream of. I'm sure there are noblemen who are never even knighted cough Tytos Lannister cough.
First of all, sorry for taking so long with these parts. For whatever reason my motivation for writing just took a nosedive this week. I can… more't even claim to have been busy (well, aside from watching the World Cup matches), I just didn't have any inspiration for writing. I'm still excited for the storylines ahead though, so I'm sure my motivation will bounce back sooner or later, but until then my writing pace might drag a bit Enough rambling, here are the parts I promised Tuesday:
Emerson
Emerson woke up to the door of his chambers being knocked on. With a tired sigh he turned around in the bed that he was lying in alone, before starting to pull on his trousers. As he got up from the bed the door was knocked on again.
“I’m coming!”, he yelled unenthusiastically, his head aching slightly as he walked towards the door. Emerson opened the door, seeing Julia Jordayne standing there in her green dress. Her brown hair was tied to a braid,… [view original content]
May I admit something? I have a super hard time not confusing Yoren and Yorick with each other In this part, I was actually super baffled when I thought Yorick just had a casual conversation with Emerson about his complicated relationship with Lena and then I read it again and realized my error. It isn't even written in a confusing way, I just tend to mix these two names up more than I probably should, to hilarious results. On a more serious note, this part gave me a somewhat bad feeling for Emerson. See, I don't want Esperence to succeed, but I have to wonder what sort of a future Emerson has. He is now a knight sworn to Yorick. Can he truly ever become Lord of Godsgrace under Nymeria's rule? And if it's not him, nor Esperence, then who can actually succeed in the end? Really hope it won't be Esperence, but I get a bad feeling for Emerson's future. He has become a darker character than he used to be and Julia pretty much pointed it out here, so I am kinda afraid he could lose himself in this whole situation. It already seems like he's gone too far to turn back and if he actually ends up killing Jaran (which, by the way, has been one of the low-key reasons I was against the marriage between him and Esperence to begin with), then I cannot possibly see him surviving the story, because there's no way Nymeria will leave the death of her brother-in-law unanswered.
[Leave the ship]
Aye, Nealia has a point when she says that bringing her home would be well rewarded. However, delivering her straight to Nymeria to have a hostage against Vorian will be equally well-rewarded, I'd say. And if the captain already hints at his crew potentially "misbehaving", that makes me believe they could be the sort of honourless pricks who'd turn her in to her families enemies for a reward. I think she has offered a rather reasonable price and if he isn't okay with it, this already heavily hints that he is only out for profit, the sort of easy profit he could get from delivering her to her enemies. And we're not just talking about Nym here, who would at least treat Nealia well as her hostage, but there's the Uller's, whom I believe have much less problems with using her in a rather aggressive way against her family. I am still not fully happy with marching with House Uller, because that holds its own brand of problems, but this part has convinced me that it is at least the less risky choice as opposed to flat out trusting this captain.
First of all, sorry for taking so long with these parts. For whatever reason my motivation for writing just took a nosedive this week. I can… more't even claim to have been busy (well, aside from watching the World Cup matches), I just didn't have any inspiration for writing. I'm still excited for the storylines ahead though, so I'm sure my motivation will bounce back sooner or later, but until then my writing pace might drag a bit Enough rambling, here are the parts I promised Tuesday:
Emerson
Emerson woke up to the door of his chambers being knocked on. With a tired sigh he turned around in the bed that he was lying in alone, before starting to pull on his trousers. As he got up from the bed the door was knocked on again.
“I’m coming!”, he yelled unenthusiastically, his head aching slightly as he walked towards the door. Emerson opened the door, seeing Julia Jordayne standing there in her green dress. Her brown hair was tied to a braid,… [view original content]
I'll take a different approach here. I think that the crew might believe the Daynes and the Torrentine are strong enough to defeat Nymeria. I think they might believe that they have a better chance of defeating Nymeria than the Dayne's losing. Therefore, I think they may feel it is in their best interest to bring her home safely.cplus, they wouldn't want to be on Vorian's bad side if he somehow found out that they betrayed his daughter.
First of all, sorry for taking so long with these parts. For whatever reason my motivation for writing just took a nosedive this week. I can… more't even claim to have been busy (well, aside from watching the World Cup matches), I just didn't have any inspiration for writing. I'm still excited for the storylines ahead though, so I'm sure my motivation will bounce back sooner or later, but until then my writing pace might drag a bit Enough rambling, here are the parts I promised Tuesday:
Emerson
Emerson woke up to the door of his chambers being knocked on. With a tired sigh he turned around in the bed that he was lying in alone, before starting to pull on his trousers. As he got up from the bed the door was knocked on again.
“I’m coming!”, he yelled unenthusiastically, his head aching slightly as he walked towards the door. Emerson opened the door, seeing Julia Jordayne standing there in her green dress. Her brown hair was tied to a braid,… [view original content]
Emerson is definitely in the top half of my unofficial ranking of PoV's for many reasons. From his fun interactions with Jamison back in book one to him giving us a neat glimpse to Yorick Yronwood along with seeing how much he has changed as a character and most of those factors are on clear display here. First off, I really enjoyed the brief interaction between Julia and Emerson and it honestly makes me want to ship them in a way Julia's book one portrait is among my favorites when it comes to the more minor characters and she is a favorite among seemingly very minor characters as well since she is quite unique with her being the only one among the Yronwood affiliated cast off the top of my head who doesn't completely worship Yorick as well. She is a good bit older than Emerson if I remember correctly but even still. I do think she would be a good match for him if he doesn't end up completely changing that is. With that said, if Emerson ends up getting with anyone it will most likely be Lena which I am obviously a fan of as well with their history but I think I will stand behind my random and least likely to happen ship of Julison or Emlia not sure which one I like best
Of course, the biggest part however was Emerson officially being knighted! I figured it had to be coming with the role he played in taking Ghost Hill so it was nice to see him get what he deserved here. It was also nice seeing Yorick in a somewhat lighter moment as well with it seeming like he was actually proud of Emerson which was nice to see since Emerson really hasn't had a supporting male figure in his life at any point and it almost seems like Yorick and Terren are that to him to some extent. The part that showed such a highlight for Emerson also could very well be his downfall however since as Liquid said, Emerson is very much committed to House Yronwood now and if it does turn out that that Jaran Martell does die in the battle at Godsgrace to come especially at Emerson's hand then the odds of Emerson getting to keep his lordship would be slim to none and that's even if he's lucky to stay alive. We definitely are going to have to tread lightly when it comes to Emerson's choices moving forward and hopefully Emerson is able to take what is rightfully is without Jaran's death.
[Reveal your identity].
This is a choice where I really feel that neither choice is any safer than the other and that a big risk will be taken either way but I am going to go out on a limb and go with this choice. We know for a fact that if the Uller's especially whoever is leading this army finds out about Nealia's true identity, she is pretty much guaranteed to be a hostage at the best while at least with the crew on the ship their loyalty is determined by what can be paid for rather than by oaths to any certain house or principality in this case. Along with this, Nealia won't have to keep up with a lie like she would if she marched with the Uller's. I am not entirely sure she could keep up the facade that she is a Valyrian all the way to Clearhaven and if she can't do that then I feel someone might be able to put two and two together that she is somehow related to the Dayne's considering how unique their look is to the rest of Dorne and Westeros in general. Tales brought up a good point as well in that Vorian Dayne's name seems to command some serious respect far more than Lucifer Dryland's ever did so Vorian could very well be someone that they would not consider angering along with the fact that they would most likely have a better chance of being paid well for her safe return than they would by the Uller's. The biggest thing for me though is that if Nealia is able to get a ship to Clearhaven, she would have a better chance of getting there before the battle starts so she could see the situation first hand before the fighting begins and plan her moves from there.
First of all, sorry for taking so long with these parts. For whatever reason my motivation for writing just took a nosedive this week. I can… more't even claim to have been busy (well, aside from watching the World Cup matches), I just didn't have any inspiration for writing. I'm still excited for the storylines ahead though, so I'm sure my motivation will bounce back sooner or later, but until then my writing pace might drag a bit Enough rambling, here are the parts I promised Tuesday:
Emerson
Emerson woke up to the door of his chambers being knocked on. With a tired sigh he turned around in the bed that he was lying in alone, before starting to pull on his trousers. As he got up from the bed the door was knocked on again.
“I’m coming!”, he yelled unenthusiastically, his head aching slightly as he walked towards the door. Emerson opened the door, seeing Julia Jordayne standing there in her green dress. Her brown hair was tied to a braid,… [view original content]
And Nealia will leave the ship, returning to the original plan of marching with the Ullers. I won't lie, I would've probably enjoyed more writing the ship route, but going with the Ullers will probably be quite interesting as well
So, next up will be a Gwendis part. I really hope to get this part done today, because I'll be busy throughout the weekend with little to no time for writing, and I'd hate to keep you waiting. Anyway, in her first part we found Gwendis in Volantis together with her roommate Laela, who also happens to be the apprentice of the High Priestess herself. Gwen was thinking about this weird dream she had about Benedict begging her to come back home (which we know from the interlude was achieved by using Noctis' glass candle), but she was also summoned to a meeting by the High Priestess, and Desirea later revealed this meeting would have something to do with Dorne, and that she was still waiting for another guest. At the end of the part Gwendis decided to tell Desi about the dream she had, instead of going straight to the High Priestess' chambers, and that is where we will pick up. Like I said, I'm really trying to get this part out today, fingers crossed!
Oh, and I do have another portrait for you as well, that being Nealia Sand:
”There was this… strange dream that I had last night”, Gwendis told Desirea, who reacted by raising her eyebrow. “It wasn’t one of those nightmares”, Gwendis quickly clarified, taking in a deep breath. “But it wasn’t a normal dream either. I saw my father, heard him speaking to me, begging me to come back home. The memory is still crystal clear in my mind, like it actually happened.”
“I suspected that her father may have used a glass candle to reach out for her”, Laela was quick to weigh in, and Desirea nodded in agreement. “That sounds plausible”, she admitted calmly. “And don’t worry, Gwen, I promise you will get back home and see your father again.”
“I… I just wanted to tell you about it, in case it’d have any affect on whatever our mission at Dorne is”, Gwendis spoke with a hesitant tone. Desirea nodded, and was about to say something, but then her attention shifted towards the entrance of the temple. Gwendis, Laela and Belan turned to look that way as well, and what they saw was a lean and tall silver-haired man approaching them with an entourage of six guards clad in steel and armed with halberds. The man himself was wearing a fancy attire of black silk robes, paired with a purple sash across his chest, as well as dark silken gloves covering his hands. On his narrow and gruesomely scarred face was an expression of cold arrogance and pride.
“Our guest from Asshai”, Desirea spoke quietly as the man got closer. “Myraalduin, welcome once again to the Temple of the Lord of Light, the High Priestess is already waiting for you”, she welcomed the man with a polite tone, and he responded with a respectful nod. “I am ready, take me to Sirai”, he spoke with an emotionless tone.
“Please, follow”, Desirea said, and begun to lead the way. She took them through the courtyard at the center of the palace, and finally to the central tower where the High Priestess resided. They climbed the stairs in silence, only the clanking from the armors of Myraalduin’s guards echoing in the stairway. Finally they arrived to the large doors of the High Priestess’ chambers, which were guarded by eight guards of the Fiery Hand. Without questions the guards opened the doors for them. Myraalduin commanded his guards to wait outside, and so the five of them walked in.
Sirai’s chambers were massive, including a bedroom, small library, a room dedicated for praying and burning fires for R’hllor. At the center of it all was a large round room with four fireplaces and a round council table in the middle, twelve seats around it. The High Priestess herself was already sitting by the table, while another red priest was standing by one of the fireplaces. He was Janus, a warrior priest whom Gwendis had only met a couple times before, and those times had been enough to make her consider him as a particularly unpleasant man. Janus was ill-favored when it came to his looks, having a particularly obtrusive disfigurement on the left side of his head, where in place of an ear was instead a lifeless and eyeless face. On top of this he was heavily scarred. However, this was not the reason why Gwendis had found the man unpleasant, but rather his constantly hostile attitude.
“Take your seats, please”, Sirai spoke with a calm and authoritative tone, a sharp look in her grey eyes. Sirai was an elegant and charismatic woman in her mid-thirties, having been the High Priestess for almost a decade now. She was dressed in a carmine red silk dress with high collar and long sleeves that complimented her slim figure, and her dyed red hair was tied to braid.
Laela took the seat right next to the High Priestess, and Gwendis in turn sat next to her. Desirea and Belan took the seats on the other side of Sirai, while Myraalduin took the seat on the opposite side of the table. Janus was the last to sit down, taking a seat between Myraalduin and Belan with a displeased expression on his face.
“You have all been summoned here, because I have seen that your destinies are aligned”, Sirai spoke up, a thin smile forming on her face. “Desirea has seen in the flames that darkness rising again in Dorne, and with the help of her allies in Vaith she will lead another mission to purge our enemies. Janus comes from Dorne, he knows the land better than most, and together with my son Belan he will give his sword to saving it from the claws of these sinners.”
“Dorne deserves no saving”, Janus commented bitterly. “It is a land forsaken by R’hllor, which is why this darkness festers there in the first place. However, I will give my sword for this mission if you so command.”
Responding to Janus’ words merely with a small nod, Sirai turned her gaze to Myraalduin. “And you, Myraalduin. Perhaps you could tell yourself why you are here”, she suggested calmly.
“I am here because of my master’s orders”, he answered with a frustrated tone on his coarse voice. “He has seen in the flames that the Rhoynar princess has to win her war in Dorne, otherwise this darkness will keep growing and spreading. He also saw that the servants of Great Other will attempt to take her life, and my mission is to make sure they will not succeed”, Myraalduin spoke the last sentence with an almost disgusted tone. “Helping the Rhoynar is the last thing I would want to do, but my master saved my life, and thus I’m honor bound to follow his orders”, he said, turning his eyes to Desirea. “I will sail with you to Dorne.”
“Well, this is all very interesting, but may I ask what is my role in this?” Laela asked with a bored tone, and with a subtle smirk Sirai shifted her eyes to Laela and Gwendis. “You will aid Princess Gwendis, my apprentice”, she said smoothly. “Aid her in what?” Laela asked with some confusion. Instead of responding to her, Sirai now looked at Gwendis. “Princess Gwendis, you are a valuable ally to us”, she began with a soft and polite tone. “Great darkness threatens all of Dorne, and I fear it may threaten your family as well. However, you have seen the light of R’hllor, and you could guide your father to see it as well.”
“You… want me to convert my father?” Gwendis asked quietly. Sirai considered her words for a moment before answering. “If you can, yes, but even keeping him away from the influence of Great Other would help”, she said with a small sigh. “The only question is, which is the best way to do this? You could make your way back to Blackmont and reunite with your family, but if Myraalduin and his master are correct, the only way to make sure the darkness will truly be driven from Dorne is to aid Princess Nymeria win her war. However, I fear our Valyrian friend here might have trouble winning the Princess’ trust, something you as a fellow Dornish noblewoman could perhaps help with. Ultimately, I leave the choice to you.”
[Return to Blackmont] [Join Myraalduin in helping Nymeria]
[Join Myraalduin in helping Nymeria] While keeping them separated is a harsh thing to do, she can give some important insight to Nymeria in order to take Blackmont.
Myraalduin must be a Valyrian if he dislikes Rhoynar that way.
[Return to Blackmont] I just see no way in which Gwen would be alright with giving up "her" Kingdom to Nymeria, especially now that she does know what she almost lost. Besides, imagine the reaction of her family when they find out that after she goes missing for two years, she then comes back to Dorne only to help the enemy seize the lands that always belonged to her House? Nah, if Nymeria wants Blackmont she'll have to bleed for it. Also, I feel like after everything she's been through it is high time Gwen went back to her family, maybe even go back to her old life in due time if she's lucky.
Gwendis
”There was this… strange dream that I had last night”, Gwendis told Desirea, who reacted by raising her eyebrow. “It wasn’t one o… moref those nightmares”, Gwendis quickly clarified, taking in a deep breath. “But it wasn’t a normal dream either. I saw my father, heard him speaking to me, begging me to come back home. The memory is still crystal clear in my mind, like it actually happened.”
“I suspected that her father may have used a glass candle to reach out for her”, Laela was quick to weigh in, and Desirea nodded in agreement. “That sounds plausible”, she admitted calmly. “And don’t worry, Gwen, I promise you will get back home and see your father again.”
“I… I just wanted to tell you about it, in case it’d have any affect on whatever our mission at Dorne is”, Gwendis spoke with a hesitant tone. Desirea nodded, and was about to say something, but then her attention shifted towards the entrance of the temple. Gwendis, Laela and B… [view original content]
Both of these choices are pretty interesting. However, I think I'm going to pick [Return to Blackmont]. We can see Myraalduin in Nymeria's future parts. Also, I think it would be interesting to see Gwendis reunite with her family, after all this time. I'm sure they would be very happy to see that she is alive. Also, it will be interesting to see the Blackmont court's reaction to her new friends and her new beliefs. I'm sure this may create tension with Noctis and the other sorcerers. They may feel threatened by her, but they wouldn't dare harm her or her friends. Also, Sirai seemed to be leading her to try her best to warn her father against the great other forces and possibly convert him, and that may be hard to do later if they find out she was aiding Nymeria. Speaking of which, I think Nymeria would not be so trustworthy of Gwendis. Especially considering, she would be offering to help her defeat her own family. I'm sure Nymeria would always wonder where her true loyalties lie.
Gwendis
”There was this… strange dream that I had last night”, Gwendis told Desirea, who reacted by raising her eyebrow. “It wasn’t one o… moref those nightmares”, Gwendis quickly clarified, taking in a deep breath. “But it wasn’t a normal dream either. I saw my father, heard him speaking to me, begging me to come back home. The memory is still crystal clear in my mind, like it actually happened.”
“I suspected that her father may have used a glass candle to reach out for her”, Laela was quick to weigh in, and Desirea nodded in agreement. “That sounds plausible”, she admitted calmly. “And don’t worry, Gwen, I promise you will get back home and see your father again.”
“I… I just wanted to tell you about it, in case it’d have any affect on whatever our mission at Dorne is”, Gwendis spoke with a hesitant tone. Desirea nodded, and was about to say something, but then her attention shifted towards the entrance of the temple. Gwendis, Laela and B… [view original content]
[Return to Blackmont] Javier and Tales described my reasoning behind this choice perfectly. Ruling over Blackmont is something that Gwendis was very passionate about at one point and I have a feeling she would be again if she ever were do it again. Regardless of Nymeria's intentions of uniting Dorne to keep it safer from outside attacks or the fact that she gives women the opportunity to rule, the fact still remains that to pretty much all of Dorne, Nymeria is a foreign invader trying to rob them of their culture and their legacy. Because of that, Gwendis choosing to help Nymeria would definitely seem like absolute betrayal to Benedict and Naemon whenever they were able to find out about it and it would pretty much be betrayal to some extent as well. Along with all of this, I imagine that if we choose for Gwendis to help Nymeria that there is a pretty good chance that Gwendis won't be going home for a long while, maybe not until after Nymeria conquers Blackmont so I want to take advantage of this opportunity for Gwendis to go home and get into a position where she can succeed for herself.
Edit: After thinking about this choice a little more along with hearing Liquid's thoughts, I have decided to change my vote to have Gwendis [Join Myraalduin in helping Nymeria] While I definitely wanted to get Gwendis home as soon as possible, I do believe that keeping Gwendis far out of reach of Valerie is the best option for her right now and it will give Gwendis a chance to befriend Nymeria and maybe lead to having Blackmont eventually bend the knee to Nymeria without going into a war which would potentially cost them everything with it being a war that the Blackmont's have no chance of even harming Nymeria's armies unless they are able to secure an alliance with the Yronwood's that is but that is a debate for another day
Gwendis
”There was this… strange dream that I had last night”, Gwendis told Desirea, who reacted by raising her eyebrow. “It wasn’t one o… moref those nightmares”, Gwendis quickly clarified, taking in a deep breath. “But it wasn’t a normal dream either. I saw my father, heard him speaking to me, begging me to come back home. The memory is still crystal clear in my mind, like it actually happened.”
“I suspected that her father may have used a glass candle to reach out for her”, Laela was quick to weigh in, and Desirea nodded in agreement. “That sounds plausible”, she admitted calmly. “And don’t worry, Gwen, I promise you will get back home and see your father again.”
“I… I just wanted to tell you about it, in case it’d have any affect on whatever our mission at Dorne is”, Gwendis spoke with a hesitant tone. Desirea nodded, and was about to say something, but then her attention shifted towards the entrance of the temple. Gwendis, Laela and B… [view original content]
Argh, I am late for the vote and now it seems most of the others have already made up their mind Hopefully I can convince some of you to change their votes, because I truthfully believe that this will be the better choice for Gwen in the long run. Hear me out on this one. So, I don't really know what to think of this Myraalduin guy, he seems creepy and got a weird name, but I suppose that he is well-intentioned. But more importantly, while you all know how much I want for Gwen to return home, I think this is too early. I want a return, but I think towards the end of Book 2 would be a better time. After all, just joining Myraalduin does not mean Gwen has to stay by Nym's side for years, I fully believe she will return home before Book 3. But think of the opportunity this offers in the long run! If Gwendis manages to win Nymeria's trust here, she manages to befriend the future ruler of all Dorne. This could very well be her only chance to actually succeed her father as the ruler of Blackmont, even if she'll be a lady and not a queen. I think this choice will offer an opportunity for Gwen to help Nymeria, which in turn could mean that Nym will be more lenient when later dealing with Blackmont. It could even be that through this, Gwendis could later on manage to prevent a fully blown war between the Blackmont and Martell forces from happening, by negotiating between her father and Nymeria. Her own influence with both could end up invaluable in the future, maybe it will even be the best way for her to become the Lady of Blackmont eventually. Might not be the only one, but I believe it will be one possible outcome of this, on top of bringing other benefits. But none of this will be possible if she doesn't go with Myraalduin here. After all, she will only help Nym against the Great Other forces, I doubt she will still be by her side by the time Nym makes her move against Blackmont and I absolutely don't think this choice will mean that Gwen betrays her family or anything like that. Instead, maybe her support can make things harder for Valerie. After all, if Gwen manages to befriend Nym, she might be able to convince her how urgent it is to make a move against Kingsgrave. On top of that, having the support of the future ruler of all Dorne could mean a sort of protection from Valerie's wrath that she simply cannot have in Blackmont. She would also be seen as no threat by Nym herself and we know that those who are a threat to her occasionally do receive a visit by Forovos, which is something I'd highly like to prevent. So, I believe at Nym's court, Gwen can win her trust and maybe her friendship, support her against the Great Other threat and maybe open her eyes for the greater stakes in Dorne beyond the simple conquest. After that, she can still return to Blackmont, as I fully believe there will be a chance for a return at a slightly later date, probably towards the end of Book 2. This sounds like a much more fitting time for me. On top of that, if Gwen manages to get some influence with Nymeria, she will become much more important and powerful as well, quite possibly enough for Benedict to not consider marrying her off again. Just imagine how terrible it would be if she returns to Blackmont only for Benedict to marry her off again. That would honestly suck, but I think it'll be off the table should Gwen return to Blackmont with Nymeria's favour. And well, beyond that, I really, really want Gwen to interact with the characters at Nym's court and I'd hate to miss out on that So, with that being said, hopefully I can convince some of you to change their vote, because trust me, I am absolutely convinced that this will be for the best in the long run, at the very least for Gwendis but potentially even for the Kingdom of Blackmont. Please rethink, let us not miss out on the chance this offers.
Gwendis
”There was this… strange dream that I had last night”, Gwendis told Desirea, who reacted by raising her eyebrow. “It wasn’t one o… moref those nightmares”, Gwendis quickly clarified, taking in a deep breath. “But it wasn’t a normal dream either. I saw my father, heard him speaking to me, begging me to come back home. The memory is still crystal clear in my mind, like it actually happened.”
“I suspected that her father may have used a glass candle to reach out for her”, Laela was quick to weigh in, and Desirea nodded in agreement. “That sounds plausible”, she admitted calmly. “And don’t worry, Gwen, I promise you will get back home and see your father again.”
“I… I just wanted to tell you about it, in case it’d have any affect on whatever our mission at Dorne is”, Gwendis spoke with a hesitant tone. Desirea nodded, and was about to say something, but then her attention shifted towards the entrance of the temple. Gwendis, Laela and B… [view original content]
Comments
Took me a while to get the time to reply, apologies
I am really glad to see Jamison back as a PoV though, he has always been such a joy to read and if this part is any indicator, it seems his journey in Book 2 won't be any less fun, so I am super excited for it! It is also nice to see Lysera back in full, seems she has recovered well from her ordeal in Book 1.
[Duty to family]
So, I see both options as something that'd be very much in character for Jamison, with the man he used to be in Book 1 probably being closer inclined for the other option. However, I would like to believe that two years of being a family man have changed him to the point where he is able to put his family above his kingdom. The thing is, it's no secret that House Dayne and Martell are about to enter quite a hefty war. I fear that a Jamison who sees his duty with his kingdom first and foremost might end up doing something reckless, or even more reckless than he is already prone to do. With the war coming, I do see him as one of the PoV's who are in most danger of dying in Book 2, at least in theory, wether or not that is actually true remains to be seen. And given that Jamison has always been one of my favourites, I want to prevent that. So, my strategy for Jamison here will be to give him a perspective beyond personal glory and a duty to the kingdom. If he sees his family as more important, he might end up not putting himself in harm's way all that much, so that he can live for their sake. It might not even be anything I should be concerned about, it might not be the correct path, but it sounds logical to me, so that's what I'm going to do with my votes for Jamison's Book 2 choices.
[Refuse to answer]
Hey now, what kind of a question is that? I get that Ayron wants to know where Femi stands, but he can't just go and ask her such a thing. She is not one of Nymeria's subjects and the reason she is doing all this is for Ammon's sake, probably more than for Nymeria. If she's really hard pressed, I see her as more likely to pick Ammon's side, to be honest. However, that's not something Ayron must know, aye? Nor do I think he will believe her if she'd tell him she'd side with them over her own family.
Ah yes, Jamison's first part in Book 2! Both of the conversations in this part were awesome in their own ways with Alester, Rickar, and Garret all shining alongside Jamison. Seeing the confidence of Jamison, Alester, and Rickar compared to the rightful nerves that Garret had was definitely a nice contrast and it definitely showed the differences in their outlooks perfectly. Seeing things from Jamison's PoV is always a treat and that is certainly no different here. Sorry for taking so long to vote, work has kept me quite busy the past couple of days and I haven't been too sure of what to pick for Jamison's choice.
With that said however, I have now decided and I think I am going to vote for Jamison to say that his [Duty to family] takes precedence here. As I said previously, this is a very tough choice with both options being very fitting and pretty much equal in priority in Jamison's eyes I would guess. With that said, Jamison is indeed a family man now and at least as far as Garret's question goes, I do believe that his family and the kingdom are intertwined to where you can't have one without the other at least in regards to the kingdom not the family side obviously. The Kingdom of the Torrentine is House Dayne's and theirs alone with it not being the same if House Dayne is not ruling it. Whether this choice is foreshadowing for something Jamison might face later in the story I am not too sure but I will say that alot will clearly be happening moving forward since once Jamison makes it to Clearhaven, the war will be very much on with it taking up the rest of Jamison's Book 2 most likely. We all know how Jamison is which in turn makes it a pretty big mystery to what he will end up doing since he is very unpredictable but it is a fact that he won't give up his own legacy and his family's legacy easily which will definitely be a factor in what will be a massive war for both sides and hopefully we will be able to get him through it safely. This is definitely a great start to Jamison's storyline and adds to the excitement for what's to come!
[Say you'd side with Ammon]
This choice was alot easier for me to make and as crazy as it sounds, I think this seems like the most fitting one from my perspective at least. I think it is pretty clear that Femi won't just let two people that she doesn't even know take her brother's life which takes that one out and I feel like refusing to answer will pretty much be letting Ayron and Lysera know where she stands anyway so I figure she may as well let them know exactly what she is thinking here. Besides, I think this choice also factors in to how much of a threat Ammon will end up being as well and I don't think he would ever be a threat to Femi so I figure she should let them know that if they are going to capture her brother that it must be done in the right way or she won't stand for it.
[Duty to kingdom]
[Say you'd side with Ammon]
Voting is closed!
I would've probably closed it a bit earlier, but I tried to wait if another vote would come, since both of the choices are in a tie
Oh well, with Jamison I'll prioritize the vote of the creator, and with Femi I'll just go with the option that got the 3 votes first.
So, Jamison will answer to Garret that duty to family is more important to him. Obviously this is a very character development focused choice, which will mainly just affect the following conversation and Jamison's thoughts going forward.
And Femi will refuse to answer. While this choice also has an element of character building it could have some other implications as well, since Femi's answer (or lack of one in this case) will of course have an effect on how Ayron and Lysera think of her.
Now, the reason I'm closing this voting now instead of continuing to wait for that one vote to break the ties is because I have the next part more or less ready. It's an Arvin PoV, and it just needs some finishing touches and then I'll post it, so within an hour from this post most likely. Arvin's first part took place in Kingsgrave, where he was preparing for a mission to hunt down the outlaws causing unrest in the Manwoody lands. He met briefly with his pregnant wife Sanya, and the scene between them made it clear that their relationship isn't a very warm and loving one. Before leaving for the mission, Arvin decided to go see his father once more. However, he was stopped by Larry, who told him that Albin was with Valerie and they didn't wish to be disturbed. And so, Larry decided to leave for his mission without first seeing Albin. And in today's part that mission will begin.
And finally, two more additions to the Book 2 album, Rickar Nightfall and Lysera:
Arvin
Prince Arvin rode at the head of his force of hundred soldiers, beside him Larry the Kind. He had heeded the freak’s warning earlier in Kingsgrave and left without seeing Albin. The thought of that witch being constantly around his father bothered Arvin, but he also knew the King wouldn’t approve him questioning his choice of acquaintances.
The Manwoody troops rode through the meadows that were bright green in the spring but now more yellow and brown, clouds of dust rising from the dry ground as the hundreds of hooves drummed against it. The Red Mountains stood tall south of them, as well as further away in every other direction. Hours after leaving Kingsgrave they halted on a small hill, seeing towards the west a fairly large village standing by a small lake. Greenwater it was called, and after over two years of summer its waters were quite low.
“The outlaws would have visited here”, Larry stated calmly, and Arvin turned to look at him. “How so?” He asked nonchalantly, and a confident smirk formed on Larry’s face. “It’s a large village, and they’re looking for recruits. And since the earlier raports came from the lands of houses Purell and Littlemill, they would’ve had to travel through here to make it to House Safyre’s lands. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they left some of their men here.”
“So, we should expect a fight”, Arvin deduced calmly, to which Larry shrugged. “Maybe not”, he replied with a relaxed tone. “Unless they are even bolder than I expect. However, we definitely should keep our eyes and ears open.”
“You think we can get anything useful out of these people?” Arvin asked with a tired sigh, and Larry nodded confidently. “They must know something”, he said quietly, eyeing the village like a beast would eye its prey. Then he turned his eyes to Arvin. “We just have to be… convincing”, he said with a devious smirk forming on his face. Arvin gave Larry a stern look, and his smile faded. “Remember, my prince, this mission is as much about these people as it is about the outlaws that we are hunting. These are the people they seek to turn against us, and to prevent that we must make a harsh example of those who would betray your father.”
“A harsh example, aye?” Arvin asked unenthusiastically, eyeing at the village ahead of them. “I wonder if it isn’t exactly that kind of approach that has led us to this situation in the first place.”
“If you cannot be loved, then you must be feared, my prince”, Larry responded sharply. “And trust me, fear comes much easier than love. Be strong and ruthless, and the weak will bow to you. Such is the nature of men.”
Arvin nodded wordlessly to Larry, and so they began their ride down the hill towards the village. As the troops began to put up the camp by the shore of the lake, Arvin and Larry accompanied by a dozen soldiers approached the village. They rounded up the people, commanding everyone to the central square. In just a few minutes around fifty villagers had gathered there, more than half of them women, children and elderly. Some of the men were scarred or crippled, most likely in war, and there were hardly any that Arvin would’ve called both young and able. The crowd was quiet and tense, nervously eyeing at the Manwoody soldiers.
Finally, Arvin cleared his throat and stepped forward. “I am Prince Arvin Manwoody, son and heir of King Albin, here by his royal command”, he introduced himself sternly. The atmosphere grew even tenser than before, if that was even possible, some of the crowd now whispering to each other. “I am here because news have come to Kingsgrave about a band of outlaws roaming our lands, trying to instigate a conflict amongst our own people”, Arvin continued with a calm and authoritative tone. “The crown cannot tolerate such behavior, and thus I have come to punish these outlaws. You are all under the protection of King Albin, but you’re also obliged to serve him when needed. To lie or withhold information from the crown is to be a traitor, and traitors deserve no more than the noose. So, I ask you, do you have any information about these outlaws that I seek?”
A silence followed Arvin’s words, the villagers avoiding eye contact with him and shaking their heads. “No one knows anything?” Arvin asked loudly, a hint of frustration in his words. “Your highness, I swear no outlaw has visited Greenwater”, an older woman spoke up, which was followed by the other villagers muttering in agreement.
Before Arvin could speak up again, he felt Larry’s hand on his shoulder. “Let me handle this, my prince”, he said with a subtle smirk, stepping closer to the crowd. “You, you, and you”, he chose three men from the crowd. One of them was an old man, probably on his sixties, with bald head and wrinkled face together with short white beard. Second one was perhaps half the first’s age. He had a short black hair and a stubble beard, and he had lost one of his eyes. The third one was a young redheaded boy, no more than sixteen, who had lost his left arm down from elbow.
“Let’s start with you”, Larry said as he approached the old man. “I know nothing, ser”, the old man said nervously, to which Larry chuckled softly. “Not even your own name?” He asked lightheartedly. The old man had a baffled expression on his face, until finally regaining his composure enough to give an answer. “My name is Alliser, ser”, he mumbled with a gulp, and Larry gave him a nod.
“Alliser, huh? It seems you do know something, then”, the freak spoke with a soft and friendly tone, one that Arvin knew very well to be just a façade. “Perhaps you would know the name of these other gentlemen as well?” Larry asked, gesturing towards the one-eyed man and the young invalid.
“Aye, they are Justin and Barth”, Alliser spoke with a slightly more relaxed tone now. “And do you happen to know where Justin and Barth got their injuries?” Larry inquired calmly, and Alliser nodded. “Justin lost his eye two years ago, while raiding the lands of House Fowler. And Barth lost his arm fighting against Carons in the north, less than a year ago.”
“Interesting”, Larry said, scratching his chin as he walked past Justin and Barth. “They’ve given a lot to serve their king, I see. Perhaps they feel bitter about what they have lost. What do you think, Alliser?”
The old man remained quiet for a moment, glancing at Justin and Barth nervously. “It’s been hard for them, coming to terms with what they’ve lost”, he finally managed to say. “I’d imagine so”, Larry replied with a small sigh. Silence lingered on for a moment, until Larry broke it with a quiet chuckle. “Now, let me make one thing clear. I am certain that the outlaws have visited this place”, he said, his tone slightly less friendly now. “Whether they simply passed by or spent a longer time here, I cannot know. However, they were here, and you know it. Am I correct, Alliser?”
“Yes”, Alliser said after hesitating a moment. Muttering and curses could be heard from the crowd, and Justin frowned in anger. “Who are these outlaws? How many of them are there? Who sent them? Who leads them?” Larry barraged the old man with questions. Before speaking up, Alliser turned his gaze down in embarrassment. “They call themselves the Free Ravens”, he said with a nervous gulp. “There were maybe fifty of them when they came here. That’s all I know, ser, I swear.”
Without a word Larry approached Justin, and grabbed him from the collar, then turning his eyes to Alliser again. “Did they recruit anyone from the village?” He asked with a deceiving calmness in his voice. Alliser hesitated for a moment, and Larry punched Justin to the face, sending him to the ground. While three soldiers rushed to pin Justin to the ground, Larry drew out a dagger. “Did you hear my question, Alliser?” He asked with a joyful smirk, and the old man nodded with a horrified expression on his face.
“Yes, ser, they took recruits”, he said with panic in his words. “How many?” Larry asked with a carefree tone as he kneeled down next to Justin, twiddling the dagger in his hands. “Four - no, five”, Alliser answered hastily, and Larry nodded with a satisfied smirk on his face. He moved his dagger just a few inches away from Justin’s one working eye, taking in a deep breath. “Their leader, who is he?” He asked calmly.
“Ser Lucas is his name, he’s a foreign knight”, Alliser explained with a gulp, but since Larry didn’t look pleased with the answer, he quickly continued. “He is a tall and pale young man, with short dark hair and stubble beard. He carries a longsword with a dark blade and a heart-shaped ruby in the pommel.”
Arvin narrowed his eyes, remembering he had heard that description before. Lady Forlorn, the ancestral sword of House Corbray, he realized with some confusion. What could a Corbray have against us?
Larry moved the dagger away from Justin’s face and stood up, signaling for the soldiers to free the man. As Justin got back up on his feet, Larry approached Barth. The young boy was visibly terrified, his one remaining hand shaking uncontrollably. “And could any of you tell me where these Free Ravens are now?” Larry asked, his tone now dead serious, as he moved the dagger to Barth’s neck.
Seeing the many angered and terrified faces among the crowd of villagers, Arvin wondered if it would be best to stop this interrogation before it’d get messy. After all, they had already gained valuable information, and antagonizing these people further than necessary could prove to be counterproductive for their mission.
[Stop the interrogation] [Let Larry continue]
[Let Larry continue]
[Stop the interrogation] I doubt they know exactly where they went, but if he stops him now, he'll look better in the eyes of the people.
While is true what Larry said about being feared is easier than loved, if you're hated there's nothing that can stop them from rising against you.
[Stop the interrogation]
I agree with Edinosaur's reasoning.
[Stop the interrogation]
While Larry has accomplished a lot with his methods here, you can only treat people horribly for so long before they fight back in one way or another. It's clear that this village already supports the Free Ravens and this show that Larry is putting on certainly won't change their minds so Arvin definitely needs to step up and put a stop to this before things take a turn for the worst for them. Along with all of that, this is a good opportunity to show his people that he is at least somewhat better than his father. On a side note though, with Arvin and his men finding out who is behind the attacks on their lands along with the Wyl's already knowing, it looks we could be seeing a fight very soon between them and the Free Ravens which will be epic!
I said it before, I'll say it again, I absolutely love Arvin's viewpoint! This brings a truly exciting perspective to the story, so completely unlike any we had before and likely one that won't be too common even in the future. Of course, this only extends to the viewpoint, Arvin as a character remains deeply unlikeable. That is another thing he's unique at, because at the very least, Tomas has gotten to the point where he is no longer all that much of a jerk. I can see Arvin remaining the most villainous PoV for quite some time. Witness me being catastrophically wrong when you introduce Valerie as a PoV XD But yeah, I don't like Arvin, still don't, likely won't in a very long while or ever. But his parts really intrigue me! I don't know how this chapter will develop and obviously we still have months ahead until it comes to an end, but this might be the first time where one of my favourite storylines belongs to a character I'll include among my least favourites in the end. It's odd, but perhaps fitting. A fascinating storyline populated with a cast full of deeply unpleasant people and I kinda dig it
But we'll see how it develops. It really seems like our choices will have an impact on how much better or worse Arvin will get, even if I doubt any of the characters he interacts with will become more or less sympathetic as things continue. As much as I can see ground for redemption in the prince himself, the same does not apply to someone such as Larry.
[Stop the interrogation]
Yeah, I'd very much prefer if Arvin doesn't turn into the sort of fully blown psychopath his father keeps around him. While his reasons would be pragmatic and not intentionally friendly, as his narration made it very clear, I prefer a pragmatic Arvin over a ruthless bastard. Maybe that way, he can see that supporting the fight against Albin is the most pragmatic thing to do. Larry had his fun, now it's time to keep him on a tight leash again.
Making you interested in the storyline is the best I could've realistically achieved with these first Arvin parts, so I'm really glad to hear you are indeed enjoying it so far! At this point I don't expect anyone to really like Arvin, but like you say he provides an interesting perspective, and there is a lot of room for development one way or the other. And don't worry, I have no plans of making Valerie a PoV (at the very least not a regular), she works way better as a non-PoV
[Let Larry continue]
I can see some parallels between Arvin and Harrick Hoare from FoT, since both are loyal to their fathers despite knowing their fathers are assholes, and both Arvin & Harrick are more competent in ruling than their fathers.
Edit: lol didnt mean to quote knowyouenemy's post, just meant to make a comment XD
[Stop the interrogation]
That's a pretty good comparison, one that I hadn't really thought of. I'd say the biggest difference is that Albin is both a worse father and a worse king than Harren, which is quite a questionable achievement. I also see Arvin as less competent than Harrick, but nonetheless there are indeed some notable similarities between the two.
Voting is closed!
And Arvin will stop the interrogation. His reasoning here is very pragmatic, he sees that Larry's methods have already bore good results and fears that taking it any further could make the negative consequences overshadow the positives. And of course, playing the good cop in this situation could also improve some of these villagers' opinions on Arvin.
Next up we'll continue with a Nymeria part. In her last part the Princess of Dorne received a royal guest from the Iron Isles, that being King Harmund II Hoare. The two of them conversed about establishing trade between Iron Isles and the Principality of Dorne. Harmund promised to discourage his vassals from raiding Dornish shores in the future, but also proposed sending an Ironborn fleet to Torrentine to aid Nymeria in her war against the Daynes. Nymeria recognized the benefits this would give to her war effort, but also the potential negative long term effects, and decided to decline Harmund's suggestion. And that's where we'll continue with this next part. I've made some progress, but there is still work to be done, and sadly I'll have pretty much zero time for writing tomorrow. That means, unless I manage to finish the part today, you'll have to wait until Monday for this one.
Lastly, another addition to the Book 2 album, King Vorian Dayne:
Nymeria
”I am grateful for the offer, but unfortunately I must decline”, Nymeria responded with a sigh to King Harmund Hoare’s suggestion. “I must defeat King Vorian, that is true, but I must also offer the people of Torrentine my love and protection. I’m sure you understand that unleashing your raiders upon them would not be the best possible first impression.”
“I understand”, Harmund responded calmly. “And I will do my best to aid your cause in other ways. With my backing, and the backing of my friends in Casterly Rock, I assure you will not run out of resources to fight this war. And in turn, your victories will make the trade between us all the more prosperous.”
“For the future”, Nymeria said with a smile, raising her goblet. “For the future”, Harmund repeated smoothly.
After some time of Nymeria and Harmund discussing the specifics of the trade and drinking more of the wine, Maester Olivar returned to the room with their children. Little Prince Harmund immediately rushed to his father, who raised him to his arms with warm laughter. Meanwhile Olivar brought Sarella to Nymeria, and she raised the girl on her lap. Sarella was clearly tired, her eyes blinking slowly. “Ma”, she mumbled quietly as she pressed her head against Nymeria’s chest, which brought a bright smile on the princess’ face.
“Perhaps we’ve discussed enough for today”, Harmund said with a soft chuckle, and Nymeria nodded. “Yes, it’s been a pleasure”, she responded calmly. “Maester Olivar, escort the guests to their quarters.”
As King Harmund and his convoy took their leave, Nymeria and Sarella were left alone with General Varyn, who sat down on the seat that had earlier been occupied by the Ironborn king. “We don’t always see eye to eye, Your Grace, but I wanted to say that you made the right choice today”, he spoke calmly.
“A compliment from Varyn of Chroyane? I suppose miracles do happen every now and then”, Nymeria responded with a tiny smirk. “I admit, for a moment I feared you would agree to the Ironborn king’s suggestion”, the general said with a sigh, which was followed by a moment of tense silence.
“I did consider it”, Nymeria said with a gulp, turning her eyes to look at Sarella who was half-asleep. “It would’ve made things easier.”
“Whatever benefits it would’ve brought, the repercussions would’ve been tenfold”, Varyn said sternly, and Nymeria nodded. “I know”, she said quietly, stroking her daughter’s hair gently. “I’ve sworn to myself to be better than the dragonlords that burned and destroyed our lands, but sometimes it’s hard to stay on the high road. There are two voices in my head, constantly at war with each other. One voice says that the end justifies the means, that whatever has to be done is worth it to win this war and build a new and stronger Dorne. Then there is the other voice, reminding how many lives will be lost to achieve this dream, how many homes destroyed.”
“You should keep your ears open to both of those voices, Your Grace”, Varyn advised calmly. “A conqueror knows that sacrifices must be made to ensure victory, but a ruler knows that some things are not to be compromised – not even for victory. You are not a tyrant, and I hope I never see you become one.”
“If you ever see it happening, please speak up”, Nymeria said with a subtle gulp, looking Varyn to the eyes, and he responded with a firm nod. “You can rely on it, Your Grace”, he responded calmly.
-
Nymeria sat next to Sarella’s crib, having soothed her to sleep. Looking at her daughter sleeping, safe from the world, brought a smile on Nymeria’s face. If only Mors could be here as well. The Prince had insisted on accompanying Albar Ladybright and Desmond Uller on the campaign to the Kingdom of Stone and Sky. Mors had said to Nymeria that as the leaders of this conquest at least one of them should always be on the frontlines, to prove their vassals and troops the dedication they had for winning this war. He was right of course, as Nymeria had to admit, but it still bothered her that every day she had to question whether her husband was still alive or not.
The door of the chambers was knocked on softly, waking Nymeria from her thoughts. Behind the door was Farrah of Ghoyan Drohe, the commander of the royal guard. She greeted the princess with a dutiful bow, and Nymeria welcomed her in with a warm smile. Though Farrah herself would never claim to be anything more than a loyal servant to the Princess, she was still perhaps the closest thing to a friend that Nymeria had.
“Evening, Farrah”, Nymeria said softly as they sat around the table. “Your Grace”, Farrah responded politely. “I came to report about the progress regarding the conspiracy”, she explained. Nymeria would gladly spend time with Farrah anyway, but progress on squashing the conspiracy was always more than welcome. “You met with your sister?” the princess asked calmly, and Farrah nodded.
“Yes, Femi was reluctant as expected, but I managed to convince her to find Ammon”, she spoke with relief in her words. “Lysera and Ayron are going with her… let’s just hope everything goes well.”
“How do you think your brother will react?” Nymeria asked sharply. Farrah took in a deep breath, hesitating a moment before answering. “I honestly don’t know”, she said with a sigh. “If he is as far gone as I fear it won’t be easy for Femi to convince him. However, I’ve tasked Ayron and Lysera to make sure that Ammon is brought to Sandship one way or the other.”
“And you’re sure Femi can be trusted to cooperate if things get ugly?” Nymeria asked with a raised eyebrow, and Farrah immediately shook her head. “She isn’t the most cooperative type, to say the least”, she said with a hint of frustration in her words. “However, we’ll never find Ammon without her, so it’s a risk we have to take.” A moment of silence followed, until Farrah spoke up again, this time a nervous tone on her voice. “Your Grace, I know a servant should not make requests for the Princess…”
“You may speak freely, Farrah”, Nymeria cut her off with a friendly tone, and Farrah nodded tensely. “I just… I wanted to most humbly ask that if Ammon is indeed brought here against his own will, that you would refrain from torture when trying to make him talk. I understand the importance of learning more about the conspirators, but he is my brother, and he was a prince once. I… I believe he deserves better than to be tortured.”
Nymeria nodded wordlessly, an emotionless expression on her face. Once again in her head the two conflicting voices were in battle, and Varyn’s words echoed over them.
[Promise not to torture Ammon] [Make no promises]
[Make no promises]
This isn't to say she will for sure torture him, but we shouldn't make any promises that would rule out the possibility. If the other choice wins, and she ends up having to torture him anyways, that would only damage her relationship with Farrah.
[Make no promises]
Ah, I do love the relationship between Nymeria and Varyn! Ironically, I remember that I originally considered changing his name before submitting him, because it sounded so similar to Varys and now guess what vibes he gave me in this talk, really reminded me of that one scene between Dany and Varys early into Season 7
That is not a bad thing though, I think every ruler needs someone like this by their side. And it seems that he has by now truly made his peace with the idea of Nymeria as the ruler of the Rhoynar. There might always be more duty than any personal fondness when it comes to his reasons for serving her, but he seems way more pleased now that she had her initial success.
[Make no promises]
This is actually a very tough choice. See, I would not want to torture Ammon without actually knowing anything about the guy. What we heard doesn't sound particularly pleasant, but Farrah has been a loyal servant and her thoughts and wishes shouldn't be dismissed so easily. Still, when it comes to the Ammon situation, I'd rather go against her wish than break a promise. If it is up for a choice and if the information we have about him allows it, I won't choose to torture him, but I would not like to be tied down before learning more about him.
Yeah, I'd say Nymeria's success so far has definitely softened Varyn's attitude towards her, but like he says they still don't always see eye to eye. And yeah, I did have a feeling while writing that this seems kind of familiar, no doubt it was the Dany/Varys scene in the back of my head. I think I even told you back when you were submitting Varyn that he is so different as a character from Varys that no one is going to be confused - well, looks like given the right circumstances the two can act quite similarly
That said, had you chose to endorse the Ironborn raid to Torrentine, well, Varyn would've been a lot less agreeable in this scene. Anyway, Nym and Varyn definitely make for an interesting dynamic, and I'm definitely planning to expand on it going forward 
[Make no promises]
I have to agree with the others on this one. While having to torture Ammon wouldn't be ideal, the conspiracy is a very real thing that Nymeria needs to deal with before it gets out of hand. So while Nymeria shouldn't have to torture Ammon, she also shouldn't make any promises she might not be able to keep.
[Promise not to torture Ammon]
Yeah, it seems there are some similarities between them, at least enough for this scene to really play out in a believable way
Interestingly, I see one of their core concepts also being one of their core differences and it's loyalty, or more like their understanding of loyalty. Varyn is loyal to the position, he might not believe in Nymeria, he might not agree with her all the time but she is his princess and him being loyal to the Rhoynar ruler is simply a core aspect of his very being. Varys meanwhile is loyal to the people and if he'd ever doubt Dany as much as Varyn doubts Nymeria from time to time, I think he would have served her no better than he served Joffrey. Where Varyn is uncompromisingly loyal to his ruler, Varys is uncompromisingly loyal to the ruler's subjects. What I did just notice though is that there's some very strong similarities between Dany and Nym and I cannot believe it took me until this scene to notice them. They are both young conquerors, but neither was born into this position and they simply took it onto themselves when the ones actually in charge were killed, Garin for Nymeria and Viserys for Dany. Both are idealistic and have a pretty big dream, but Nymeria herself pretty much admitted that she has this potential for a darker side as well, just like how Dany tends to get carried away from time to time. And fittingly, I noticed that the similarities to the Dany/Varys scene here come mostly from Nymeria. Varyn just happened to have the Varys side of the conversation, but the one who actually acted in a similar way was Nymeria, down to the sentence about Varyn talking to her if he ever disagrees with her on something. I feel like that is the stronger comparison and I am downright willing to bet that a Dany/Nymeria comparison will be made at some point in the next to ASOIAF books.
[Promise not to torture Ammon]
Voting is closed!
And Nymeria will make no promises regarding how Ammon will be treated if/when he is brought to Sandship. Obviously Farrah would be more pleased with the other option, but like many of you brought up this isn't so much Nymeria saying that Ammon absolutely will be tortured, but rather that she can't make promises about it.
Anyway, it's midsummer holidays this weekend, which means I won't be able to do any writing, at least until late Sunday. The next part(s) will be either Emerson, Nealia or Gwendis, but I'll probably post an update on either Monday or Tuesday and by then I should know which one is coming first.
For now, take this portrait of King Harmund II Hoare:
Alrighty, I'm back to writing now after a brief break! My intention is to post a new part with Nealia and Emerson PoVs within a couple of days. Before that, recaps: Nealia in her first part of Book 2 arrived to Nymerwell, accompanied by Lien, Ying and Gauron Aerarys. Their destination is Starfall, but there is still a long way to go. In Nymerwell was a relatively small force of Uller troops, on their way to Clearhaven. Nealia considered marching with them, but to avoid the risk of the Ullers finding out who she really is, she decided to instead seek for a ship from the harbor that could take them to Clearhaven.
As for Emerson, his first part in Book 2 took place in the Tor, where the Yronwood forces were celebrating their victory at Ghost Hill, and preparing to march to Godsgrace. At the end of the night Emerson confronted Lena whom he had seen getting quite close with Mandon Marcant. Lena teased Emerson about his jealousy, and started to seduce him. However, Emerson decided to reject her this time. The next part will pick up from the morning after...
First of all, sorry for taking so long with these parts. For whatever reason my motivation for writing just took a nosedive this week. I can't even claim to have been busy (well, aside from watching the World Cup matches), I just didn't have any inspiration for writing. I'm still excited for the storylines ahead though, so I'm sure my motivation will bounce back sooner or later, but until then my writing pace might drag a bit
Enough rambling, here are the parts I promised Tuesday:
Emerson
Emerson woke up to the door of his chambers being knocked on. With a tired sigh he turned around in the bed that he was lying in alone, before starting to pull on his trousers. As he got up from the bed the door was knocked on again.
“I’m coming!”, he yelled unenthusiastically, his head aching slightly as he walked towards the door. Emerson opened the door, seeing Julia Jordayne standing there in her green dress. Her brown hair was tied to a braid, and in her green eyes was a stern glare. “Morning Emerson”, she said with a sigh, glancing behind him. “To be honest, I expected to find you here with Lena.”
“Mhm”, Emerson muttered tiredly. “Well, she’s not here, sorry.”
“But you are”, Julia spoke calmly. “Just wanted to tell you that King Yorick wants to see you later at his office. He has invited both you and Yoren.”
“Understood”, Emerson said with a yawn, and a tense silence followed his words. He looked at Julia, whose expression had slightly mellowed now. “Was there something else?” Emerson asked with a raised eyebrow, and Julia shook her head. “No, I just wanted to say… you’ve changed, Emerson”, she said with a subtle gulp. “There is hardly anything left of the boy who arrived here two years ago, the one who was kind and friendly. I understand that you’re driven to take your rightful place as lord, but sometimes I fear that drive will turn you into something you’re not supposed to be.”
“I was naïve and soft when I first left Godsgrace”, Emerson replied quietly, looking away from Julia now. He took in a deep breath, before continuing. “War is no place for a boy, so I have to be a man.”
“I understand”, Julia replied with a sigh, turning her eyes down. “I just hope that war won’t end up consuming you.” With these words she turned around and walked away, closing the door behind her and leaving Emerson alone in the silent room.
He ate his breakfast alone and then made his way to the chambers of Lady Vita Allyrion, the words of Julia echoing in his mind the whole time. With a tired sigh he opened the door and walked into the relatively empty room, where Vita was sitting by the table with a servant maid helping with her breakfast. She looked weaker than ever before, frail and broken, a shell of a woman.
“I can continue from here”, Emerson said calmly, and with a dutiful nod the servant hurried out of the room. Emerson sat down next to Vita, taking in a deep breath as he looked into her timid and confused eyes.
“Emerson”, she finally said with a barely audible voice, and Emerson gave her a small nod. “I’ve come to say goodbyes again, as I’ll be marching to another battle”, he spoke with a nonchalant tone, knowing she wouldn’t remember any of this conversation by tomorrow. “In fact, I’ll be going to war against Esperence… your daughter. You don’t remember her, do you?”
“I don’t have a daughter”, the lady insisted, shaking her head frantically. “As I expected”, Emerson muttered with a sigh, speaking more to himself than Lady Vita. “I might have to kill her. Unless she begs for pardon… But even then, I can never trust her again. And her husband I will definitely have to kill.”
“K-kill?” Vita asked with a fearful look in her eyes, and Emerson nodded. “I take no pleasure in it, but it has to be done”, he explained calmly, though the lady still looked frightened. Emerson dropped the subject and continued to help Vita with her breakfast, after which he quietly left the room.
And quietly he made his way through the castle of Tor, walking past the guardsmen and servants without uttering a word, finally approaching the chambers he knew were occupied by the King. Yoren was standing outside the door, leaning on the wall with his hands crossed against his chest. Under his eyes were dark bags, and his blonde hair was unkempt.
“How was your night?” Emerson asked casually, and a satisfied smirk formed on his friend’s face. “Very enjoyable”, he said smoothly, to which Emerson chuckled quietly. “Is Yorick in there?” he asked, nodding towards the door.
“Yeah, he should summon us in soon”, Yoren answered with a sigh. “He’s talking with my father right now.” A brief silence followed, until Yoren spoke up again with a thin smirk forming on his face. “So… Having some difficulties with Lena, aye?” he asked calmly, and Emerson frowned. “What makes you say that?” he asked, keeping his voice nonchalant.
“I saw her this morning, alone”, Yoren replied with a relaxed tone. “After putting your life on the line at Ghost Hill, I would’ve expected you to happily take the opportunity for some fun with her.”
“Well, that’s the problem”, Emerson said sternly. “It seems all she wants with me is… fun.” Yoren chuckled at his words, but then his smile faded and he stepped closer to Emerson. “And you’d want to make her your wife?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. Emerson hesitated for a moment, until shrugging lazily.
“I don’t know”, he muttered embarrassedly, and Yoren shook his head with an amused expression on his face. “Trust me, friend, Lena Wells is not the woman you want to marry”, he said with a chuckle. Emerson nodded, even if he disagreed. Sure, Lena was hard on the surface, but during these last two years Emerson had got a few peeks behind that surface, and he knew her to be a good woman at heart.
Suddenly the door was opened, and out walked Lord Terren. “Ah, you’re here already, good”, he said with a wide grin, gesturing for them to walk in. Emerson and Yoren exchanged a confused glance, neither of them knowing why exactly they had been summoned here today.
The King stood in front of his desk, crown on his head and sword on his hands. In his eyes was a sharp glare, while his lips formed a thin smile. “Step forth, boys”, he said with an uncharacteristically soft tone, and with some confusion Emerson and Yoren walked in front of their king. They bowed for him in unison, to which Yorick responded with a subtle nod.
“You have both sworn your swords to me, and I am proud to say you have upheld your oaths with great honor”, the King began his speech, his proud gaze shifting between Emerson and Yoren. “You’ve shown your willingness to fight and struggle for the glory of this kingdom. Not long ago both of you were just boys, but you’ve grown into men of Yronwood. Now, kneel.”
Emerson and Yoren fell on their knees, and first the King approached Emerson. “Emerson of House Allyrion”, he started with a strong and official tone, lowering the tip of the sword on Emerson’s right shoulder. “Do you swear before the eyes of gods and men to defend those who cannot defend themselves, to protect all women and children, to obey your king, to fight bravely when needed and do such other tasks as are laid upon you, however hard or humble or dangerous they may be?”
“I do”, Emerson answered with calm confidence, looking King Yorick to the eyes. With a satisfied smile Yorick moved the sword to Emerson’s left shoulder and spoke once more. “You may rise, Ser Emerson Allyrion.”
No decision
-
Nealia
Nealia, Lien, Ying and Gauron approached the largest ship on Nymerwell’s harbor. They had already met with one captain, that being a Summer Islander merchant who had told them he would be returning straight to Summer Isles.
“Looks like a Myrish ship”, Gauron observed calmly as they walked on the docks next to the galley with green-and-white sails. A single man stood in guard of the gangplank leading into the ship’s deck. He was a tall and tanned foreign man with short black beard, his arms crossed over his chest and a curved sword hanging from his belt.
“What’s your business?” the man asked calmly, eyeing Nealia and her companions with some suspicion. “We are looking for a voyage to Clearhaven”, Nealia told the man, her tone polite and friendly. “There’s four of us, and we’ll pay well.”
“This ship is heading to east, I’m sorry”, the man said with a professional tone. Nealia exchanged disappointed looks with her companions, and then Lien spoke up. “Please, ser, could you not ask your captain to at least speak with us?” she pleaded, but the man immediately shook his head. “The captain is in hurry to return to Myr”, he explained sternly. “However, perhaps I could give you a suggestion.”
“Go ahead”, Nealia said with a sigh, and the man nodded towards the small cog at the southern edge of the harbor. “I’ve heard that ship is headed to Oldtown”, he said with a thin smirk. “Its captain is not the most pleasant man, but I think he’d be willing to take you to Clearhaven if you pay him well enough.”
“Looks like an old and scuffed ship”, Ying stated cynically as they walked away from the Myrish galley and started approaching the cog. “I’m sure it’s still seaworthy”, Lien replied with a hesitant smirk.
Getting closer to the ship, they saw its small crew at the deck, preparing the sails. However, among the sailors there were two warriors, standing idly by the railing. Nealia whistled at the docks, shifting the attention of the two warriors to them. One of them was a slender young man with long black hair and a mischievous look in his brown eyes. The other one was muscular and notably older than his companion, probably on his early thirties, with short black hair and a stern expression on his angular face.
“Hello there”, the younger one spoke with a flirty tone. “My name is Jason Vermister, my friend here is Volke. And who might you beautiful ladies be?” he asked, completely ignoring Gauron.
“We’re travelers, seeking a way to Clearhaven”, Nealia responded calmly. Jason and Volke exchanged looks, and then the older one spoke up. “We will sail past it, but the captain is planning to avoid it”, he said sternly. “He wants to reach Oldtown as soon as possible.”
“May we speak with your captain?” Nealia asked humbly. “Of course!” Jason immediately yelled with a grin, and Volke gave him a displeased glance. Nonetheless, together they threw a rope net over the railing for Nealia and her companions to climb onboard. “Welcome aboard Melala, the beauty of Lorath”, Jason welcomed them with a theatrical bow.
“Quite an old beauty”, Ying commented dryly, glancing at the cracked and rotten planks of the deck. Jason chuckled dismissively, gesturing for them to follow him towards the captain’s cabin. “Come now, you may discuss the price of the journey with captain Varo”, he said, knocking on the cabin’s door.
“It’s open!”, a resentful voice of an older male shouted behind the door, and with a nervous smirk Jason proceeded to push it open. “Afternoon, captain”, he greeted the fat and bald man sitting behind his desk, his small green eyes fixed on the pages of a slim book, most likely some sort of log. “Are we ready for departure?” He asked without bothering to raise his gaze.
“No, captain, I brought visitors”, Jason responded, and immediately the captain jolted his gaze up, glaring at Nealia, Ying, Lien and Gauron with narrowed eyes. “Who are these?” he asked with a skeptical tone.
“They say they are willing to pay for a journey to Clearhaven”, Jason answered with a relaxed tone, to which the captain chuckled mockingly. “We are not stopping at Clearhaven, and these rats sure as hell don’t have the kind of coin to change my mind”, he said, turning his gaze back on his book. “Take them away.”
“I think you should at least hear our offer, captain…”, Nealia spoke, and the fat man lazily raised his gaze to meet hers. “Varo Ostinar is my name”, he grumbled. “Like I said, I doubt you have the coin to change my mind.”
“Each of us have worked years as sellswords, we have some savings”, Nealia assured confidently. “Two-hundred in silver, would that be enough? We could also work with your crew, help wherever we can until we reach Clearhaven.”
“Silver is always nice”, Varo said quietly, tapping his fingers lightly on the desk as he considered their offer. “However, my resources for this journey are limited as it is, four more people on this ship means less food and water for my crew. That could make them angry, more inclined to… misbehave. No, I don’t think two-hundred silver is worth the risk.”
“Let’s just leave, Nealia”, Ying said with a frustrated tone, already turning towards the door. “Marching with the Ullers is safer than sailing this old wreck of a ship anyway.”
Nealia took in a deep breath, considering her options. They could indeed still choose to march with the Ullers, but she also had an idea of how she could possibly change Varo’s mind. My name. Revealing who she was – here in the middle of House Dayne’s enemies – certainly had its risks, but it should also be enough to convince the captain that returning her home would be well rewarded.
[Reveal your identity] [Leave the ship]
[Leave the ship]
[Leave the ship] If the crew is capable of 'misbehaving', then they should not risk telling them she's related to the king.
So Emerson is now a knight. While many take knighthood lightly, truly earning it is something noble and peasant alike sometimes dream of. I'm sure there are noblemen who are never even knighted cough Tytos Lannister cough.
May I admit something? I have a super hard time not confusing Yoren and Yorick with each other
In this part, I was actually super baffled when I thought Yorick just had a casual conversation with Emerson about his complicated relationship with Lena and then I read it again and realized my error. It isn't even written in a confusing way, I just tend to mix these two names up more than I probably should, to hilarious results. On a more serious note, this part gave me a somewhat bad feeling for Emerson. See, I don't want Esperence to succeed, but I have to wonder what sort of a future Emerson has. He is now a knight sworn to Yorick. Can he truly ever become Lord of Godsgrace under Nymeria's rule? And if it's not him, nor Esperence, then who can actually succeed in the end? Really hope it won't be Esperence, but I get a bad feeling for Emerson's future. He has become a darker character than he used to be and Julia pretty much pointed it out here, so I am kinda afraid he could lose himself in this whole situation. It already seems like he's gone too far to turn back and if he actually ends up killing Jaran (which, by the way, has been one of the low-key reasons I was against the marriage between him and Esperence to begin with), then I cannot possibly see him surviving the story, because there's no way Nymeria will leave the death of her brother-in-law unanswered.
[Leave the ship]
Aye, Nealia has a point when she says that bringing her home would be well rewarded. However, delivering her straight to Nymeria to have a hostage against Vorian will be equally well-rewarded, I'd say. And if the captain already hints at his crew potentially "misbehaving", that makes me believe they could be the sort of honourless pricks who'd turn her in to her families enemies for a reward. I think she has offered a rather reasonable price and if he isn't okay with it, this already heavily hints that he is only out for profit, the sort of easy profit he could get from delivering her to her enemies. And we're not just talking about Nym here, who would at least treat Nealia well as her hostage, but there's the Uller's, whom I believe have much less problems with using her in a rather aggressive way against her family. I am still not fully happy with marching with House Uller, because that holds its own brand of problems, but this part has convinced me that it is at least the less risky choice as opposed to flat out trusting this captain.
[Reveal your identity]
I'll take a different approach here. I think that the crew might believe the Daynes and the Torrentine are strong enough to defeat Nymeria. I think they might believe that they have a better chance of defeating Nymeria than the Dayne's losing. Therefore, I think they may feel it is in their best interest to bring her home safely.cplus, they wouldn't want to be on Vorian's bad side if he somehow found out that they betrayed his daughter.
Emerson is definitely in the top half of my unofficial ranking of PoV's for many reasons. From his fun interactions with Jamison back in book one to him giving us a neat glimpse to Yorick Yronwood along with seeing how much he has changed as a character and most of those factors are on clear display here. First off, I really enjoyed the brief interaction between Julia and Emerson and it honestly makes me want to ship them in a way
Julia's book one portrait is among my favorites when it comes to the more minor characters and she is a favorite among seemingly very minor characters as well since she is quite unique with her being the only one among the Yronwood affiliated cast off the top of my head who doesn't completely worship Yorick as well. She is a good bit older than Emerson if I remember correctly but even still. I do think she would be a good match for him if he doesn't end up completely changing that is. With that said, if Emerson ends up getting with anyone it will most likely be Lena which I am obviously a fan of as well with their history but I think I will stand behind my random and least likely to happen ship of Julison or Emlia not sure which one I like best 
Of course, the biggest part however was Emerson officially being knighted! I figured it had to be coming with the role he played in taking Ghost Hill so it was nice to see him get what he deserved here. It was also nice seeing Yorick in a somewhat lighter moment as well with it seeming like he was actually proud of Emerson which was nice to see since Emerson really hasn't had a supporting male figure in his life at any point and it almost seems like Yorick and Terren are that to him to some extent. The part that showed such a highlight for Emerson also could very well be his downfall however since as Liquid said, Emerson is very much committed to House Yronwood now and if it does turn out that that Jaran Martell does die in the battle at Godsgrace to come especially at Emerson's hand then the odds of Emerson getting to keep his lordship would be slim to none and that's even if he's lucky to stay alive. We definitely are going to have to tread lightly when it comes to Emerson's choices moving forward and hopefully Emerson is able to take what is rightfully is without Jaran's death.
[Reveal your identity].
This is a choice where I really feel that neither choice is any safer than the other and that a big risk will be taken either way but I am going to go out on a limb and go with this choice. We know for a fact that if the Uller's especially whoever is leading this army finds out about Nealia's true identity, she is pretty much guaranteed to be a hostage at the best while at least with the crew on the ship their loyalty is determined by what can be paid for rather than by oaths to any certain house or principality in this case. Along with this, Nealia won't have to keep up with a lie like she would if she marched with the Uller's. I am not entirely sure she could keep up the facade that she is a Valyrian all the way to Clearhaven and if she can't do that then I feel someone might be able to put two and two together that she is somehow related to the Dayne's considering how unique their look is to the rest of Dorne and Westeros in general. Tales brought up a good point as well in that Vorian Dayne's name seems to command some serious respect far more than Lucifer Dryland's ever did so Vorian could very well be someone that they would not consider angering along with the fact that they would most likely have a better chance of being paid well for her safe return than they would by the Uller's. The biggest thing for me though is that if Nealia is able to get a ship to Clearhaven, she would have a better chance of getting there before the battle starts so she could see the situation first hand before the fighting begins and plan her moves from there.
Voting is closed!
And Nealia will leave the ship, returning to the original plan of marching with the Ullers. I won't lie, I would've probably enjoyed more writing the ship route, but going with the Ullers will probably be quite interesting as well
So, next up will be a Gwendis part. I really hope to get this part done today, because I'll be busy throughout the weekend with little to no time for writing, and I'd hate to keep you waiting. Anyway, in her first part we found Gwendis in Volantis together with her roommate Laela, who also happens to be the apprentice of the High Priestess herself. Gwen was thinking about this weird dream she had about Benedict begging her to come back home (which we know from the interlude was achieved by using Noctis' glass candle), but she was also summoned to a meeting by the High Priestess, and Desirea later revealed this meeting would have something to do with Dorne, and that she was still waiting for another guest. At the end of the part Gwendis decided to tell Desi about the dream she had, instead of going straight to the High Priestess' chambers, and that is where we will pick up. Like I said, I'm really trying to get this part out today, fingers crossed!
Oh, and I do have another portrait for you as well, that being Nealia Sand:
Gwendis
”There was this… strange dream that I had last night”, Gwendis told Desirea, who reacted by raising her eyebrow. “It wasn’t one of those nightmares”, Gwendis quickly clarified, taking in a deep breath. “But it wasn’t a normal dream either. I saw my father, heard him speaking to me, begging me to come back home. The memory is still crystal clear in my mind, like it actually happened.”
“I suspected that her father may have used a glass candle to reach out for her”, Laela was quick to weigh in, and Desirea nodded in agreement. “That sounds plausible”, she admitted calmly. “And don’t worry, Gwen, I promise you will get back home and see your father again.”
“I… I just wanted to tell you about it, in case it’d have any affect on whatever our mission at Dorne is”, Gwendis spoke with a hesitant tone. Desirea nodded, and was about to say something, but then her attention shifted towards the entrance of the temple. Gwendis, Laela and Belan turned to look that way as well, and what they saw was a lean and tall silver-haired man approaching them with an entourage of six guards clad in steel and armed with halberds. The man himself was wearing a fancy attire of black silk robes, paired with a purple sash across his chest, as well as dark silken gloves covering his hands. On his narrow and gruesomely scarred face was an expression of cold arrogance and pride.
“Our guest from Asshai”, Desirea spoke quietly as the man got closer. “Myraalduin, welcome once again to the Temple of the Lord of Light, the High Priestess is already waiting for you”, she welcomed the man with a polite tone, and he responded with a respectful nod. “I am ready, take me to Sirai”, he spoke with an emotionless tone.
“Please, follow”, Desirea said, and begun to lead the way. She took them through the courtyard at the center of the palace, and finally to the central tower where the High Priestess resided. They climbed the stairs in silence, only the clanking from the armors of Myraalduin’s guards echoing in the stairway. Finally they arrived to the large doors of the High Priestess’ chambers, which were guarded by eight guards of the Fiery Hand. Without questions the guards opened the doors for them. Myraalduin commanded his guards to wait outside, and so the five of them walked in.
Sirai’s chambers were massive, including a bedroom, small library, a room dedicated for praying and burning fires for R’hllor. At the center of it all was a large round room with four fireplaces and a round council table in the middle, twelve seats around it. The High Priestess herself was already sitting by the table, while another red priest was standing by one of the fireplaces. He was Janus, a warrior priest whom Gwendis had only met a couple times before, and those times had been enough to make her consider him as a particularly unpleasant man. Janus was ill-favored when it came to his looks, having a particularly obtrusive disfigurement on the left side of his head, where in place of an ear was instead a lifeless and eyeless face. On top of this he was heavily scarred. However, this was not the reason why Gwendis had found the man unpleasant, but rather his constantly hostile attitude.
“Take your seats, please”, Sirai spoke with a calm and authoritative tone, a sharp look in her grey eyes. Sirai was an elegant and charismatic woman in her mid-thirties, having been the High Priestess for almost a decade now. She was dressed in a carmine red silk dress with high collar and long sleeves that complimented her slim figure, and her dyed red hair was tied to braid.
Laela took the seat right next to the High Priestess, and Gwendis in turn sat next to her. Desirea and Belan took the seats on the other side of Sirai, while Myraalduin took the seat on the opposite side of the table. Janus was the last to sit down, taking a seat between Myraalduin and Belan with a displeased expression on his face.
“You have all been summoned here, because I have seen that your destinies are aligned”, Sirai spoke up, a thin smile forming on her face. “Desirea has seen in the flames that darkness rising again in Dorne, and with the help of her allies in Vaith she will lead another mission to purge our enemies. Janus comes from Dorne, he knows the land better than most, and together with my son Belan he will give his sword to saving it from the claws of these sinners.”
“Dorne deserves no saving”, Janus commented bitterly. “It is a land forsaken by R’hllor, which is why this darkness festers there in the first place. However, I will give my sword for this mission if you so command.”
Responding to Janus’ words merely with a small nod, Sirai turned her gaze to Myraalduin. “And you, Myraalduin. Perhaps you could tell yourself why you are here”, she suggested calmly.
“I am here because of my master’s orders”, he answered with a frustrated tone on his coarse voice. “He has seen in the flames that the Rhoynar princess has to win her war in Dorne, otherwise this darkness will keep growing and spreading. He also saw that the servants of Great Other will attempt to take her life, and my mission is to make sure they will not succeed”, Myraalduin spoke the last sentence with an almost disgusted tone. “Helping the Rhoynar is the last thing I would want to do, but my master saved my life, and thus I’m honor bound to follow his orders”, he said, turning his eyes to Desirea. “I will sail with you to Dorne.”
“Well, this is all very interesting, but may I ask what is my role in this?” Laela asked with a bored tone, and with a subtle smirk Sirai shifted her eyes to Laela and Gwendis. “You will aid Princess Gwendis, my apprentice”, she said smoothly. “Aid her in what?” Laela asked with some confusion. Instead of responding to her, Sirai now looked at Gwendis. “Princess Gwendis, you are a valuable ally to us”, she began with a soft and polite tone. “Great darkness threatens all of Dorne, and I fear it may threaten your family as well. However, you have seen the light of R’hllor, and you could guide your father to see it as well.”
“You… want me to convert my father?” Gwendis asked quietly. Sirai considered her words for a moment before answering. “If you can, yes, but even keeping him away from the influence of Great Other would help”, she said with a small sigh. “The only question is, which is the best way to do this? You could make your way back to Blackmont and reunite with your family, but if Myraalduin and his master are correct, the only way to make sure the darkness will truly be driven from Dorne is to aid Princess Nymeria win her war. However, I fear our Valyrian friend here might have trouble winning the Princess’ trust, something you as a fellow Dornish noblewoman could perhaps help with. Ultimately, I leave the choice to you.”
[Return to Blackmont] [Join Myraalduin in helping Nymeria]
[Join Myraalduin in helping Nymeria] While keeping them separated is a harsh thing to do, she can give some important insight to Nymeria in order to take Blackmont.
Myraalduin must be a Valyrian if he dislikes Rhoynar that way.
[Return to Blackmont] I just see no way in which Gwen would be alright with giving up "her" Kingdom to Nymeria, especially now that she does know what she almost lost. Besides, imagine the reaction of her family when they find out that after she goes missing for two years, she then comes back to Dorne only to help the enemy seize the lands that always belonged to her House? Nah, if Nymeria wants Blackmont she'll have to bleed for it. Also, I feel like after everything she's been through it is high time Gwen went back to her family, maybe even go back to her old life in due time if she's lucky.
Both of these choices are pretty interesting. However, I think I'm going to pick [Return to Blackmont]. We can see Myraalduin in Nymeria's future parts. Also, I think it would be interesting to see Gwendis reunite with her family, after all this time. I'm sure they would be very happy to see that she is alive. Also, it will be interesting to see the Blackmont court's reaction to her new friends and her new beliefs. I'm sure this may create tension with Noctis and the other sorcerers. They may feel threatened by her, but they wouldn't dare harm her or her friends. Also, Sirai seemed to be leading her to try her best to warn her father against the great other forces and possibly convert him, and that may be hard to do later if they find out she was aiding Nymeria. Speaking of which, I think Nymeria would not be so trustworthy of Gwendis. Especially considering, she would be offering to help her defeat her own family. I'm sure Nymeria would always wonder where her true loyalties lie.
[Return to Blackmont] Javier and Tales described my reasoning behind this choice perfectly. Ruling over Blackmont is something that Gwendis was very passionate about at one point and I have a feeling she would be again if she ever were do it again. Regardless of Nymeria's intentions of uniting Dorne to keep it safer from outside attacks or the fact that she gives women the opportunity to rule, the fact still remains that to pretty much all of Dorne, Nymeria is a foreign invader trying to rob them of their culture and their legacy. Because of that, Gwendis choosing to help Nymeria would definitely seem like absolute betrayal to Benedict and Naemon whenever they were able to find out about it and it would pretty much be betrayal to some extent as well. Along with all of this, I imagine that if we choose for Gwendis to help Nymeria that there is a pretty good chance that Gwendis won't be going home for a long while, maybe not until after Nymeria conquers Blackmont so I want to take advantage of this opportunity for Gwendis to go home and get into a position where she can succeed for herself.
Edit: After thinking about this choice a little more along with hearing Liquid's thoughts, I have decided to change my vote to have Gwendis [Join Myraalduin in helping Nymeria] While I definitely wanted to get Gwendis home as soon as possible, I do believe that keeping Gwendis far out of reach of Valerie is the best option for her right now and it will give Gwendis a chance to befriend Nymeria and maybe lead to having Blackmont eventually bend the knee to Nymeria without going into a war which would potentially cost them everything with it being a war that the Blackmont's have no chance of even harming Nymeria's armies unless they are able to secure an alliance with the Yronwood's that is but that is a debate for another day
[Join Myraalduin in helping Nymeria]
Argh, I am late for the vote and now it seems most of the others have already made up their mind
Hopefully I can convince some of you to change their votes, because I truthfully believe that this will be the better choice for Gwen in the long run. Hear me out on this one. So, I don't really know what to think of this Myraalduin guy, he seems creepy and got a weird name, but I suppose that he is well-intentioned. But more importantly, while you all know how much I want for Gwen to return home, I think this is too early. I want a return, but I think towards the end of Book 2 would be a better time. After all, just joining Myraalduin does not mean Gwen has to stay by Nym's side for years, I fully believe she will return home before Book 3. But think of the opportunity this offers in the long run! If Gwendis manages to win Nymeria's trust here, she manages to befriend the future ruler of all Dorne. This could very well be her only chance to actually succeed her father as the ruler of Blackmont, even if she'll be a lady and not a queen. I think this choice will offer an opportunity for Gwen to help Nymeria, which in turn could mean that Nym will be more lenient when later dealing with Blackmont. It could even be that through this, Gwendis could later on manage to prevent a fully blown war between the Blackmont and Martell forces from happening, by negotiating between her father and Nymeria. Her own influence with both could end up invaluable in the future, maybe it will even be the best way for her to become the Lady of Blackmont eventually. Might not be the only one, but I believe it will be one possible outcome of this, on top of bringing other benefits. But none of this will be possible if she doesn't go with Myraalduin here. After all, she will only help Nym against the Great Other forces, I doubt she will still be by her side by the time Nym makes her move against Blackmont and I absolutely don't think this choice will mean that Gwen betrays her family or anything like that. Instead, maybe her support can make things harder for Valerie. After all, if Gwen manages to befriend Nym, she might be able to convince her how urgent it is to make a move against Kingsgrave. On top of that, having the support of the future ruler of all Dorne could mean a sort of protection from Valerie's wrath that she simply cannot have in Blackmont. She would also be seen as no threat by Nym herself and we know that those who are a threat to her occasionally do receive a visit by Forovos, which is something I'd highly like to prevent. So, I believe at Nym's court, Gwen can win her trust and maybe her friendship, support her against the Great Other threat and maybe open her eyes for the greater stakes in Dorne beyond the simple conquest. After that, she can still return to Blackmont, as I fully believe there will be a chance for a return at a slightly later date, probably towards the end of Book 2. This sounds like a much more fitting time for me. On top of that, if Gwen manages to get some influence with Nymeria, she will become much more important and powerful as well, quite possibly enough for Benedict to not consider marrying her off again. Just imagine how terrible it would be if she returns to Blackmont only for Benedict to marry her off again. That would honestly suck, but I think it'll be off the table should Gwen return to Blackmont with Nymeria's favour. And well, beyond that, I really, really want Gwen to interact with the characters at Nym's court and I'd hate to miss out on that 
So, with that being said, hopefully I can convince some of you to change their vote, because trust me, I am absolutely convinced that this will be for the best in the long run, at the very least for Gwendis but potentially even for the Kingdom of Blackmont. Please rethink, let us not miss out on the chance this offers.