DISCLAIMER
"Chaos Is A Ladder" is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or events is entirely coincidental.
Game Of Thrones, the characters depicted within, and the imagery used are property of their respective owners. This story is a derivative work written under the principles of fair use.
This work contains scenes of graphic violence, some sexually suggestive content and occasional use of explicit language. Readers who find this uncomfortable or are not allowed by law to be exposed to such content should not proceed. Suggested fiction rating is Mature.
The author strongly disapproves of practicing the depicted violence in real life, or any kind of non-consensual violence for that matter.
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Cover image by Robert M. Ball, commissioned by HBO as part of the "Beautiful Death" series
Story by Robin of Langley
2017
Also available in PDF (with pretty formatting and images), EPUB and TXT formats
Download / view on Google Drive: drive/folders/0B8DhVA4eIk1XMW1vS3ZWMzR1bDA?usp=sharing
AUTHOR'S FOREWORD
"Chaos Is A Ladder" is… something with a bit of history to it.
It is an attempt to recreate the events that were mentioned, but not shown on screen, in an episode from Season 3 of Game Of Thrones, namely the unfortunate demise of Ros at the hands of Joffrey. I originally intended to write this right away, way back in 2013 when the episode first aired, but life always seemed to be getting in the way. The story survived two major rewrites, year-long breaks and many hours of editing, and only in 2017, four years after its conception, I consider it finished.
I won't deny that it started as a "torture porn" of sorts. In many ways, it still is, if I am to be honest. However, over time it morphed into something that explores the characters' minds and – hopefully – has a certain mood and atmosphere to it, all while staying true to the source material. The goal was to create a legitimate story that stands on its own but fits in with the canon like a missing puzzle piece… or a "lost episode", if you will.
The latter metaphor might be particularly relevant when it comes to the length of the story. At almost 16 000 words, it takes 1–2 hours to read, depending on the pace. For maximum immersion, I probably recommend trying to read it in one sitting if possible, but for the readers' convenience, the story is split into several "parts". It was written without explicit chapters in mind, but these breaks are placed where it would be most natural to put the story down for a while.
Whoever you are – a Game Of Thrones fan, a lover of violence fiction, or a literature buff passing by – I hope there is something in this story for you.
– Robin of Langley
GAME OF THRONES SEASON 3 – A BRIEF MEMO
The story is set in Seven Kingdoms, a country occupying most of the vast continent of Westeros. The current King is a young 18 year old boy Joffrey Baratheon, a spoiled child who exhibits unnaturally cruel, unreasonable and at times outright sadistic behavior. He is a child of incest between the wife of the previous King – his legal father – and her brother, thus his claim to the Throne is invalid – which is probably the worst kept secret in all Seven Kingdoms, and something that Joffrey himself heartily denies. Children born out of wedlock – called bastards – do not inherit the lands, titles and wealth of their fathers, and are generally despised by society.
The King has a Small Council at his hand, which provides him with advice on various political and social matters. Among other members of the Small Council, the ones relevant to the story are Varys, a eunuch from faraway lands who has a network of spies in his employ and thus acts as the Crown's head of intelligence ("master of whisperers"), and Lord Petyr Baelish, a nobleman coming from a small and powerless dynasty ("house") who has schemed and plotted his way to the top of the food chain. The two have a sort of a rivalry relationship, trying to undermine each other's plans both for personal gains and for the sake of competition.
Petyr Baelish also owns a brothel in King's Landing, the capital of Seven Kingdoms, which provides him with additional income and helps him build connections with various noblemen who visit his establishment.
Ros is a red-haired prostitute in her 20s hailing from the northern region of the country, called simply The North. Initially employed by Baelish as a common whore, she proved to possess useful literacy and management skills and was later chosen by Petyr to be his personal assistant. Recently, seeing that Ros has access to many of his documents, Varys recruited her to spy on Petyr for him and offered his protection.