King's Landing 298 AC.
Jaime.
He'd been having a meeting with his uncles and aunt when Tommen came rushing in, Jaime, Gerion, and Genna all rushing immediately to the King's Chambers. Once he got there he found it to be almost chaotic, Margaery was clearly distressed, Shiera stood off to one side looking at something in her hand, Arthur and Barristan were both clearly disturbed, and the Grandmaester and Aemon were both at Jae's bedside. After his own arrival, Olenna, Alerie, Tyrion, and Daenerys weren't too far behind and Jaime looked on as Margaery was comforted by her mother and grandmother.
Very quickly the room became far too full and Jaime began to order people to leave, Daenerys and Tyrion both ready to argue with him until they saw the look on his face. When he went to move Shiera though, Margaery moved from her grandmother's side and ran to the woman, grabbing her and shouting into her face.
"What did you do?"
"What did you do?"
Margaery shouted over and over, Jaime, Arthur, and Barristan now all looking to Jae's aunt who stood there with the same expression on her face that she had since he'd arrived. Jaime moved to them both and as gently as he could he moved Margaery away from her, calling for Loras and Walder to escort Shiera to another room.
"She's not to leave, you understand?" he said to them both, Loras nodding while Shiera just said nothing, still looking at something in her hand.
Jaime moved closer to her and opened her hand to see what it was, confused when he saw that it was the pin that Jae had given Margaery as a gift. He looked into her eyes and could see that she knew something, but he needed to know what exactly was wrong with Jae before he could even begin to think about who was responsible and what needed to be done about it. So he let Walder and Loras escort her from the room and called for Jors and Ser Richard to guard the doors outside.
He turned to see that Margaery was now being held by her mother, tears falling from her face that he or no one other than Jae would be able to stop. Moving to the bed he looked down to see Jae seemed to be sleeping peacefully and other than the blood that had dripped from his nose, there was no sign of any injuries whatsoever. Arthur and Barristan looked almost lost and the Grandmaester was completely out of his element, Jaime seeing that Aemon seemed more in charge and in control of things than Gormon was.
"Grandmaester, leave us." he said after a moment.
"Lord Hand? "Gormon said turning to look at him with a confused look on his face.
"Leave us." he said more firmly and after looking to and receiving a nod from Olenna who Jaime knew was acting on Margaery's behalf, the Grandmaester did just that.
Jaime waited until he was sure the man was gone and then he motioned for Barristan to stand at the door before he turned to speak to Margaery and her mother.
"Your grace." he said to no reply "Your grace." he said a second time, this time a little louder when Margaery didn't seem to hear.
"Lord Jaime?" Olenna said almost admonishingly but he shook his head and Olenan held her tongue.
"Your grace, can you tell us what happened?" he said softly when Margaery looked his way.
She proceeded to tell them all though it took her some time to do so. Margaery alternating between sobbing and looking to the bed before she then moved to it and went to take Jae's hand only for Aemon to shake his head.
"He is my husband." Margaery said loudly and angrily.
"Of course your grace, but until I know what's wrong with him, we cannot risk your own health." Aemon said and Jaime watched as Olenna moved to almost pull Margaery towards her.
He himself moved to Aemon and looked down at his king, Jae's breathing was deep and regular and thankfully the bleeding from his nose had now stopped completely.
"Is he warging?" he asked and Aemon shook his head.
"I don't believe so."
"After he used the Glass Candles to see the past, it took something out of him and he needed to rest. The same after the battle at the God's Eye, could this be that?" he asked and again Aemon shook his head.
"This is something else, something magical. I think we need to speak to my aunt, but should I leave I fear the queen may…" Aemon said his voice barely a whisper.
Jaime nodded before moving over to Margaery and her mother and grandmother, telling the queen that he was going to speak to Shiera and to try and get to the bottom of this. Margaery looking to the bed and then to his face before speaking.
"I'm coming with you." she said firmly.
"Your grace, perhaps it's for the best if you stay here." he said as gently as he could.
"I want to know what she did to my husband and how she's going to fix it." Margaery said moving to the door, Jaime looking to Barristan and motioning for him to walk with her.
After a last look to the bed, he walked outside to find that the corridor was even fuller now, Daenerys, Tyrion, Sansa, and Arya Stark, Joy, his aunt and uncles, all were waiting there and as he looked to the end of the corridor he saw Ned Stark and others also now moving hurriedly their way. Seeing Ser Richard and Ser Bonifer he called them both and told them to move everyone to the nearest reception room. Finding that he had to almost order them all to go before he could turn and make his way to the room that Shiera was being held in.
Ser Barristan had distracted the queen enough so that she didn't enter without him, Jaime worrying what she may say or do to Shiera should she be inside with her alone and with no one to stop her. The Kingsguard's job was to protect the king or queen and while Jae had said things were changed and while this was not like Ser Jonathor and himself, things could play out similarly. The queen believed that Shiera had hurt the king and princess or not, none of them would interfere if she attacked her.
Entering the room he saw that Shiera was standing alone in a corner, her expression the same one she'd worn in the other room and her eyes still looking at the pin in her hand. He spoke quickly before the queen could, needing answers and not recriminations or blame. Shiera taking some time to answer, not because she was withholding but because it was clear she was in a state of shock over how events had played out.
"It was Brynden." she said after a while, holding the pin out in her now open hand as if it proved her words true.
"The Blackfish?" Margaery asked confused.
"Bloodraven, Brynden Rivers, he used this." Shiera said
"What? How?" he asked confused.
"Blood, blood is always the key. We used this to speak to each other, to see each other." Shiera said and Jaime saw some recognition at the words in Margaery's look towards the woman.
"It's a blood link, a pathway, a connection. Like the Glass Candles, only this one is singular, more focused on those connected to it by blood. He must have left some of his own within it and when it connected with mine, it…" Shiera said her words trailing off as she looked off in the distance.
"I don't understand." he said stating the obvious he knew, but this was beyond him completely.
"Jae and I, we used it, but we could never get it to work, not truly." Margaery said forcing Jaime's head to turn quickly towards hers.
"Brynden, he…when I saw…he knew, he knew how I'd react, he planned for it." Shiera said falling to the floor "Oh gods what have I done."
Jaime looked to the woman, she was sitting on the floor, shaking as she rocked from side to side, tears falling from her eyes as she sobbed loudly. He looked to Margaery who seemed almost as still as a statue, her own tears falling and he moved towards her offering her whatever comfort his arms would allow her to find there. When he felt her come somewhat back to herself, he looked to see her walk to the door, Ser Barristan following behind her as she headed back down to her rooms and Jae. Jaime moved to the still crying woman on the floor and knelt down to look her in her eye.
"You need to speak to Aemon, both of you need to look and see what you can find on this. We need to find out what it is that Bloodraven wants from this."
"I know what he wants." she said looking him in the eye.
"What?" he asked shakily.
"To be free, to be young once more, to be reborn." she said.
"But that's…" he said shaking his head as she interrupted him.
"What he wants, and what he intends to use Jae to see done." she said.
His mind wouldn't let him believe the words she'd said. Jaime not understanding it at all as he walked back to the King's Chambers. The idea of being able to take another person over was not something he could comprehend, and yet hadn't Jae done something similar. Even if it was but briefly, had he not done so with the Mountain and with the Darkstar? He'd done so with his mind alone, what Shiera suggested was much different, much more powerful, and required more magic, but could it be done? Was it possible? And could Bloodraven have really planned something like this so far in advance? Jaime wasn't sure but as he walked into the room and looked down at the bed, he knew they needed to act as if it was true and that they had to stop it before it became unstoppable.
The Vale 298 AC.
Harrold Hardyng.
He'd been reluctant to leave the army's side when he'd been told to. Harrold feeling that it would paint him in a bad light or even have some think him craven if he didn't fight beside them against the dragon. Given what had happened and how roundly they'd been beaten, it was perhaps for the best and better to be thought a craven then be dead. Despite the odds the Vale had faced he'd not truly thought they could lose, their knights were far better than the northern savages or the men who'd joined up with the bastard pretender, or so Harrold had thought.
Soon though events proved him to so very wrong. Jon Snow was no pretender, he was Rhaegar Targaryen's trueborn son, of that there was now no doubt. Ser Arthur Dayne, Ser Barristan Selmy, both men stood by his side along with Jaime Lannister, and yet it was the dragon he flew and the others at his beck and call that proved him true. Harrold cursing his interactions with the king when he'dd thought him no more than a bastard northern savage and had tried and failed to shame him because of it.
That Lord Jon had paid the price for that, and for many other things if the songs were true, was no great surprise. Harrold now believing his cousin knew the truth of what he was to face from the moment he'd marched. Why he'd done so was now clear to him, it wasn't for the Vale or for King Robert, it was to protect his own head that had forced his hand. Not that it had worked out any better for him and perhaps for the Vale even worse as those who marched with him now had their own judgments to face. Harrold was among them he knew and so his days and nights at the Eyrie were filled with thoughts of what that judgment would be.
Would Jon Snow remember what he did?
Would that be enough to see to his end?
Would he lose his head too?
The questions came and went with no answers to be found, days dragging on to weeks and now a moon or more had passed and still he waited news of what his fate would be. He felt a brief moment of hope, a way to come out of this very much on top when news of Littlefinger and Lady Catelyn had arrived. Harrold hurriedly organizing men to ride to the Fingers and take them both prisoner. He intended to offer them up in lieu of himself and maybe by doing so he'd end up as Warden of the East instead of with his head on the block.
Alas, it was not to be and he almost cried when news came that Littlefinger had escaped and that Lady Catelyn had been captured in Gulltown. The King sending a clear message that not even in the Vale would anyone be safe from his wrath. It took time for the news to reach him about Lord Royce but when it did he'd already almost expected it, knowing it was never going to be him and wondering now what this meant for his own future or did he even have one.
It was Lady Anya who came with the news of what that future may be. Harrold while not shutting himself away after hearing of Lord Royce had done almost the next best thing. Drinking far more than he should and for once keeping away from the maids. An easier thing to do after finding that his member was not willing to rise while he was certain there would soon be a dragon landing and a king arriving to take his head. He had just staggered to his feet when she walked into the room, her disapproving look only made worse by the hard slap she gave to his face.
"Bathe and dress, we need to speak." Lady Anya said angrily and Harrold knew better than to argue with her.
She'd been lenient with him for years, had spoiled him somewhat, and allowed him to be indulged but she'd also shown her displeasure with him more than once, especially when he'd informed her of getting Cissy with child. Though he knew that despite the shame it brought her that her ward had slept with a lowborn woman and gotten her with child, Lady Anya doted on little Alys. Since he'd told her what he'd done though she'd shown her displeasure far more keenly and he'd felt the back of her hand more than once. Each time swearing to himself that she'd not strike him again and he'd not accept it should she try, and each time knowing that he deserved it all the same.
So he did as she had bid, he bathed and dressed in clean clothing, and though his head hurt he decided it best not to turn up to speak to her with wine on his breath.. He made his way to the solar that was ostensibly his but that she'd commandeered. Lady Anya more suited to running a keep than he had ever been and Harrold more than happy to let her see it was managed well. Harrold found her inside sitting at the desk, writing out missive after missive, and though he was curious about their contents he had never asked her about any she sent, trusting she knew better than he.
"Sit." she said and he quickly did as she bid.
"What do you wish to speak to me on?" he asked trying not to sound as petulant as he felt.
"A raven from the Lord Hand." she said handing him the scroll, Harrold taking it and reading it and then reading it once more.
Harrold Hardyng,
You are hereby ordered to come to King's Landing and swear your oath of fealty to His and Her Graces, under pain of death. Once you have done so, your Lordship of the Eyrie will be confirmed and you will be named as Lord Harrold Arryn, Lord of the Eyrie and it's accompanying lands. House Arryn will be placed under certain restrictions of which you'll be informed and pay certain taxes but its punishment under yourself will be left at that.
Lord Jaime Lannister,
Hand of the King.
"I knew it, he means to take my head." he said panicked.
"If the king truly wished it then he can do so anytime he wishes and has no need to suggest such a thing as is written there. Lord Royce sent me a raven also, he too confirming the king's intent." Lady Anya said.
"You want me to go?" he asked incredulously.
"You will go and kneel and swear your oath, if you do not then you will most certainly lose your head." Lady Anya said.
"And if this is a trick?" he said looking at her.
"Then the king will look bad to the entire Vale, he'll lose favor and Lord Royce would suffer from supporting him."
"He should suffer for abandoning Lord Jon." he said bitingly.
"That was the right thing to do, would that I had known the truth of Lord Arryn's actions, then I'd have done likewise." she said catching him by surprise.
"Lady Anya?".
"I foolishly believed in Lord Jon's honor and now House Waynwood has lost men, favor because of it, it's up to you to help us regain both." she said and he looked to her, nodding his head "Good, we make ready to leave in the next day or two, I'll send a raven informing the king."
He knew a dismissal when he heard one and so he got to his feet and made his way back to his room, feeling slightly lighter in spirit as he did so. Lord of the Eyrie, Lord Arryn even though Lord Jon had already named him so, he was to keep his head, be given a seat, and yet though he felt relief, he felt robbed too. It was to be the Vale and not just the Eyrie he was to rule, the Warden of the East was to be him and not Lord Royce. Harrold wondering what else the king was stealing from him and feeling the spite begin to rise.
Pyke 298 AC.
Victarion.
It had all gone wrong so quickly, the crown that should have been his was not one he truly wanted but it was a better fit for his head than the one it now rested upon. He'd won it, the Kingsmoot was his to take and there was no one to stand in his way. Balon's heir was a prisoner, Theon although he'd had support had lost it by being captured and though Asha was well thought of she was a woman. So despite Gylbert Farwynd, Erik Ironmaker, and Dunstan Drumm all standing against him, his words and gifts looked to have won the day.
Then his accursed brother came back from whatever hells the Drowned God saw fit to send him to, Euron matching his offer and then beating it with ease. The sound of that horn still resounding in his ears while the grin on his brother's face was still as crazed as it ever had been. His gold was shinier and more plentiful than his, his gifts clear sign of the treasures he could bring and Victarion could not compete with them. Nor did his words carry the same level of promises that Euron's now did, his brother naming the horn Dragonbinder and saying he would take the king's dragons for his own.
Victarion didn't need to look to see the doom his brother's reign would bring, knowing it would be more so than even Balon's had as he listened when Euron laid out his plans. When he spoke up against them he was called a craven and a fool. Euron speaking of how he'd taken the Stepstones with a handful of ships and how the pirates there now called him king.
"Then go back to the pirates, brother, and lead them to their end and not us." he said loudly.
"You mistake me brother, I have no intent to lead our people to their end, to victory, to glory, to have us reign over the Greenlanders, that's what I'll bring our people. Balon brought them to ruin, you'll bring them nothing, me I'll bring them the world." he said to loud cheers.
So they'd named the Crow's Eye their king and he stood and listened and then had knelt when he was bid, he'd knelt and swore to follow and had hated every word he spoke. This was the man who'd raped his wife, the man who'd caused him to beat her to death in his fury and jealous rage. Who'd whispered in Balon's ears of how they could take the Stag King's crown and was now shouting loudly of how they'd do so to the Dragonking's too.
These other fools may believe him, in the tales he spoke of Valyria and of sailing the smoking sea. Victarion though knew there were others that Euron wished no one to hear. Tales that his brother who felt no shame was shameful about and had taken great pains so that none could speak of it. The Silence living up to its name for that reason alone. He knew how he'd cried during a storm and had lost his mind so much that they'd had to tie him to the mast to stop him from throwing himself overboard. That the madness was still there in Euron's eyes and in his ears also, Victarion also knowing all about the voices his brother claimed to hear.
For as much as it was tales of his going mad while sailing on a ship that had caused him to take his crew's tongues, it was also to try and silence those voices that he had done so. Victarion having heard his brother cry out more than once to beg them to leave him alone and then the very next day to make some leap forward. It was those voices that had led to the rebellion, to attacking Lannisport and to their men taking the old lion down, and he feared it would be those voices which would lead to their people's demise.
"A word." the Reader said as they drank to his brother's crowning in Pyke's Great Hall, Euron sitting the Seastone stair and even the salt wives fearing to cross their new king's path.
"Not here." he said as softly as he could.
"Harlaw, come visit Alannys." The Reader said and Victarion got up from his seat and moved elsewhere, Euron watching him all the while.
Aeron stood by Euron's side and when the Damphair looked fearful then men should take note. Yet none did and Victarion knew then he was in the presence of fools and idiots. His brother soon rose to proclaim the time for feasting to be done and looked at him with that grin that he'd come to hate more than anything else in this world on his face.
"Brother, join me." Euron said bidding him forward.
He walked to where Euron was standing, seeing Aeron almost relieved not to have to listen to whatever he'd had to for the past few hours. The Damphair scurrying away as Euron bid him walk with him from the Great Hall. Victarion looked jealously at the Driftwood Crown on Euron's head knowing that it should be on his own. Not that he'd have kept himself a king for long as despite what Euron may think, the dragons ran the realm and no horn would stop them.
"What did the Reader want?" Euron said as they felt the cold sea air on their faces.
"He begged me to come see Balon's widow, to tell her that I'd see her children returned to her." he lied and saw Euron smile.
"You'll find you're too late for that, Theon has no head to go with his lack of cock, and Asha, well my dear sweet niece is in for a big surprise." Euron said laughing.
"Alannys's time is coming to an end, a sweet lie would bring her far more comfort than a harsh truth would." he said and Euron nodded.
"Go to her brother, tell her your sweet lies and then on your return we'll set sail and bring the fight to the Dragonking and his Rose Queen."
"You truly mean to attack the Reach?" he asked shaking his head.
"I mean to start with the Reach, to pull on the dragon's tail and then to take the white one for my mount." Euron said looking out to sea.
"And if you're wrong?" he asked.
"I've seen it brother, seen the dragon beneath me as I soared over the Iron Fleet, I've seen the flames as I strike down my enemies and saw myself on a throne with a rose by my side." Euron said placing his hands on his shoulder and Victarion finding his two eyes looking into the deep blue of Euron's one.
"A rose?" he said.
"Aye, first I'll take his dragon, then his crown and finally his queen." Euron said and were there any doubts he had that the man was mad, they'd be gone by now.
"Then I had best hurry." he said and Euron laughed loudly once more.
He set sail for Harlaw the next day, The Iron Victory leaving Pyke behind, and he was not too many miles out when he saw the sails of The Sea Song. Victarion ordered his helmsmen to make for the smaller ship and soon enough they caught up with it. As he pulled up alongside he could see The Reader on the deck with a book in his hand and once close enough, he watched as the stone was thrown to his own deck with the paper wrapped around it. Rodrik nodding to him and then the two ships moved away from each other. Grabbing the rock he made his way down to his cabin and poured himself some wine as he took his seat before unwrapping it to read what it said.
Asha has the king's support, he's named her Lady of the Islands and she will soon set sail with the king's fleet by her side. No doubt Euron will strike at her next and should she fall then so will the Iron Islands. You know the truth of your brother, of what he is and what he'll do, what fate he'll see wrought upon our people. The dragons will come and we'll not survive their wrath should it be turned against us. Go, sail south, speak to your niece, to the Dragonking, speak to them before Euron leads us to our doom.
There is no other choice or path open to you, to us, to our people. If Euron is to rule, if the Dragons are brought down upon us then all that avails is flight. We run or we stand against him, for any who stand with him will find the Drowned God awaits them far sooner than they expect.
Victarion looked over the words, the treason that they spoke was clear. If it was against Balon then he'd take Rodrik's head himself. As much a fool as his older brother had been, he was the rightful heir, the rightful leader of their people, Euron was anything but. Swallowing down his wine, he held the note to the flames and watched as it burned before getting up and walking back out onto the deck.
"Captain?" the helmsmen asked when he saw him, Victarion feeling the wind begin to pick up.
"Set sail for King's Landing." he said as he walked to the front of the ship.
King's Landing 298 AC.
Aemon.
For all, he knew of healing and his knowledge was vast, to heal someone afflicted magically was something he had no idea of how to even start. That his nephew was no more harmed than a nose which had stopped bleeding and a sleep he wasn't waking from, only worrying him more. It meant that whatever true damage he was suffering was unknown to him, untreatable and each moment he spent with him made him feel even more useless,.
What Lord Jaime told him about Shiera and the pin and what Margaery had said not helping him any either and he had no idea what it was he was to do, at least not until the dragons roared that was.
"I need to go outside." he said hearing the sound of the dragons, Rhaenix's roars the loudest of all but Lygaron, Ellagon, Rhaegal, and Sandorix weren't silent either.
"Uncle." he heard Dany's voice as she pushed into the room "The Dragons."
He looked at those in the room, the queen, her grandmother and mother, Lord Jaime and Ser's Arthur and Barristan and he could see they both understood and did not at the same time. They wanted him to treat the king and yet knew he had to go to the dragons, the sounds that Rhaenix was making had started to become ever more pained.
"We must go to them, I'll return." he said moving to the door.
Outside Tyrion awaited looking just as worried as he and they asked for and were told here Shiera was, his aunt looking lost but moving with them when she was bid. Leaving the keep he could see the dragons flying overhead, each of them making noises that ranged from roars to what sounded like a sad pained wailing. He reached out to Sandorix and felt his pain and worry in his head, looking to see that each of the others was doing the same to their own dragons. All except for Rhaenix as her own ride was in no position to offer her what she needed
As they mounted up to ride to the Dragonpit, Aemon looked to see the four dragons heading that way, eager to be with their riders, and yet one flew alone and had not yet turned to fly away. Rhaenix keeping almost a vigil over the Red Keep until she too finally flew towards the Dragonpit. They rode as quickly as they could, the Royal guard keeping the way in front of them clear and once they arrived, they dismounted and almost ran inside.
Aemon moved straight to his own dragon, offering him what comfort he could and seeing each of the others doing likewise. Again he was stuck by Rhaenix being alone and he wondered if he should go to her and speak and try and tell her all would be well. He was beaten to it though but not by any of his kin, the white wolf moving far more swiftly than any of them could. Aemon looking on amazed as it rubbed up against the white dragon and almost seemed to disappear against its scales.
"He'll recover and she'll have her rider back once more." he said to Sandorix, the Dragon making its own fears clear to him then and there.
Whether the others felt the same he couldn't be certain but he suspected that all but Rhaenix did. The dragons had felt the pain the white dragon felt as her connection was severed. Yet as worried as the dragons were for Jae and for Rhaenix, it was their own riders and the thoughts of their connections being severed that truly stoked their fears. They spent more than an hour with the dragons, offering them reassurances, touching their scales, and letting them know they'd never allow what happened with Jae happened with them. Thought on that point he was almost sure that it could not, as whatever had happened to his nephew could only have happened to his nephew, or so he believed.
"We'll fly soon, Sandorix, I promise." he said leaning into the dragon and feeling his warmth against his head.
Aemon moved to join the rest of his family and rode back to the Red Keep, the white wolf running far ahead of them and he was unsurprised to see Ghost laying in his nephew's bed when he finally returned to Jae's room. The queen lay on the other side of her husband with her head resting on his bare chest, almost as if she was trying to be sure that his heart beat still. After checking on them both briefly, he made his way to Shiera's room and found there were guards outside and he wondered if these were her protectors or her jailers.
"I'm here to see the Princess Shiera." he said and the guard nodded and let him inside.
She was sitting at the table with her books open and papers scattered around her. Aemon moving towards her not quietly but so absorbed was she in what she was doing that she did not hear him at all. So he coughed loudly and finally, she looked up, her eyes red from where she'd been crying and her expression one of deep regret.
"It's my fault." she said and he shook his head.
"Did you know it would do this? That this was how it worked?"
"No."
"Then how is your fault, any more than it is mine, I gave him the pin after all."
"You didn't know what it could do." she said.
"I still don't, nor do you, but tell me what you think it can." he said taking a seat.
"It creates a bond, between two souls, allows them to speak to each other, to touch each other, to be with each other. Makes it as if you were there in the same room at the same time. At first, it's confusing, past, present, future, the soul knows far more than the heart or head ever will. I saw Brynden and I spoke about events yet to come, felt older and yet younger until finally, we were one." she said and he looked at her even more confused.
"One?"
"Joined, truly, and together. We were in love, Aemon, and love conquers all." she said looking at him.
"I don't understand." he said.
"Think of it as sailing a sea with no map, love is that map, once you have it then it's as if you know where you're going and how to get there, and so the confusion of earlier is replaced with the certainty of love. When we were apart we would speak, feel, touch and it would be as if we were together always."
"According to Lord Jaime, Margaery and Jae couldn't get it to work?" he said.
"They tried too soon, they were in love but they did not love each truly." she said simply.
"And blood is the key?" he asked seeing her nod "Where did you find the pin, come to the knowledge that it was magic?
"Brynden." she said her voice taking on a much sharper tone.
"So if this links with blood and love is the key, how can he use it to affect Jae so?"
"I don't know." she said and he felt useless once more.
He looked through her books, then went to his rooms and looked through some of his own, none of them mentioning anything even close to what Shiera said the pin did. Aemon had no doubts she was right about the link, about it being able to bring two people together in such a way. Shiera had said that she and Brynden used it in such a way and Margaery had suggested that she and Jae had done something similar, that was proof enough for him.
From that to this was a huge leap though and the other thing which he found hard to believe was the idea that Bloodraven had planned to use this in this way. Six and forty years ago he'd left that chest in his care, six and forty years in the knowledge that one day, Jae would come, that he'd take that pin and gift it to a woman he loved and that self-same woman would come into contact with Shiera. That was a level of knowledge of events to come that even Aemon found hard to believe possible. Daenys had seen the doom and some other things, but to see that much into the lives of people, that couldn't be possible, could it?.
'How many eyes does Lord Bloodraven have. A thousand eyes and one.'
Aemon heard the voice in his head and shuddered as he moved to read through the books once more, now seeking answers to questions he never dared think to ask.
The Wall 298 AC.
Val.
How the woman managed to keep warm in one of these dresses was beyond her. Val needing both to sit closer to the fire and to wrap herself in more furs than usual to try and keep from freezing. That she also had to strap her weapons to her bare skin making her uncomfortable too. Although Kinvara had at least agreed to allow her to carry her axes and short sword on her horse. Tormund, Ygritte, and a few others had ended up accompanying them some of the way, even if they were heading out for a hunt more so than to provide them an escort.
When they got to the Milkwater, Val caught their food and they ate fresh fish that night, Kinvara as usually only barely eating and Val finding herself once again trying to understand the woman. She shouldn't be alive, not here, not in the lands beyond the wall, Kinvara quite simply should be dead, Val thought. These were harsh lands, if the cold didn't get you the hunger may, and if not either of those then there were many other dangers you would face. The Red Priestess didn't fear the cold or suffer from hunger and listening to her speak, it was as if there was no danger for her to face here whatsoever.
Each time Val brought it up, Kinvara would simply respond that she walked in her god's good graces and that R'hllor would see to her safety. Val had seen it somewhat the night Jarl died when all around her people fell and yet this woman with no weapon had come through it all unharmed. She'd seen it in their camp, where any woman not with a man and some with one, all had to be wary of being stolen by the wrong one. For a woman as beautiful as Kinvara was she should have feared more than most and yet she strolled around their camp alone at times, and not once did any man dare to try. Oh, Val had heard them speak, Tormund, Orell, Varamyr, and even the Lord of Bones, and yet none dared do more than that.
As they passed Craster's Keep she was almost tempted to bring them inside to stay, despite her own hatred of the man who lived there. Just to see if a man as vile and monstrous as Craster would be able to keep his hands off the woman, to see if her God protected her from the likes of him too. She would not and did not though, the thoughts of being wrong and that filthy beast defiling yet another woman, not ones she would entertain for long. So they rode on, they camped and when they finally reached Whitetree, Val was more than ready to welcome a night sleeping in the warmth of one of the houses in the village.
"You know these people?" Kinvara asked when two men walked their way.
"Aye, Ragugard, and Gorigg,." Val said smiling at the two men when they reached them.
"What brings you our way, Val?" Gorigg asked.
"I travel to the Wall." she said as the two men looked at each other.
"The crows will run you down afore you get there." Ragugard said and Val nodded.
"Maybe. Berya and Halene are well?"
"They are, come we've hot food on the hearth and it's getting dark." Gorigg said as Ragugard looked both at what she was wearing and at the red priestess and her two guards.
All four of them accepted guest right when offered and she was given some broth and fresh bread which she ate eagerly. Val looking on as Kinvara looked into the flames and Gorigg's wife Halene walked her way with one of her babes in her arms.
"Gorigg says you're heading to the Wall?" Halene asked.
"Aye, we mean to cross through." she said looking to Kinvara.
"How?" Halene asked and Val nodded her head in Kinvara's direction.
"We bring a message to the new king south of the wall, Kinvara was sent by him with an offer and Mance seeks a parley." she said looking at the now eager look on Halene's face.
"You think he'll let us cross?" the woman asked hopefully.
"Kinvara does, I think he's a kneeler who cares not about the Free Folk." she said truthfully.
"And yet you travel with me anyway." Kinvara said almost playfully.
"Mayhap to my death." she said in reply.
"You won't be dying anytime soon, Val of the Free Folk." Kinvara said before turning back to look into the flames once more.
She slept comfortably that night and they broke their fast early the next morning, Halene and Berya both speaking to her and wishing her well on her journey. Val telling them if the king proved true that when next she passed this way, she'd see they were brought south too. While the women seemed keen and eager, the men appeared less so, both Ragugard and Gorigg looking at her as if it was the last time they would ever see her. Something that could very well be the truth and the closer they got to Castle Black the more sure she was it would be.
"What do we do once we get there?" she asked Kinvara when she could see the shadow of the Wall appear as they left the tree line.
"We talk to the King's uncle and we sail south when he does." Kinvara said.
"The king's uncle awaits us at the Wall?" she asked surprised.
"He does." Kinvara said cryptically.
The horn rang out twice and Val readied herself for the oncoming attack, seeing the gate opening and a group of crows ride their way, Val took a deep breath when she saw the Direwolf that ran at one of their sides. She almost cried as she recognized some of the men and knew she was certain to die her now. Seeing the Halfhand and Benjen Stark amongst them she knew she'd receive no mercy and yet when she looked to Kinvara she saw the woman and her guards were unafraid. It should have relieved her somewhat and yet it did not, Val now sure the people she rode with had lost their minds.
"What brings you here?" A voice called out, Val looking to see Benjen Stark and the Direwolf now riding close to her, she moved her hand close to her short sword only for the Direwolf to be upon her before she knew it.
Val came damn close to pissing herself and then felt a huge sense of relief when it was a wet tongue and not sharp teeth that she felt on her hands. Benjen Stark looked at her and the wolf curiously before he spoke again and Val almost laughing when she heard the wolf's name.
"Frost to me." Benjen said as the others arrived and the wolf moved to him "Now what brings you here?" he asked again.
"I'm on a mission for your nephew Benjen Stark, we've to accompany you when you travel to King's Landing." Kinvara said.
"You know my nephew?" Benjen asked looking now at Kinvara and the red dress she wore as Val looked at him and Kinvara and warily at the Halfhand and the others.
"Jon Snow, Jaehaerys Targaryen, son of Rhaegar and Lyanna Targaryen, Dragonrider to Rhaenix and nephew to Benjen and Eddard Stark. To Aemon, Daenerys, Shiera, and Tyrion Targaryen to Ashara Stark now Lannister and to Oberyn Martell and Ellaria Sand." Kinvara said and Benjen looked at Kinvara and then at her, the other crows looking to Benjen for guidance.
"Then you arrived just in time, we leave on the morrow." Benjen said and Val saw the small smile on Kinvara's face as they were led to the Wall and then through the gate.
It was the first time she'd ever crossed to the other side without climbing and when she looked at the sheer mass of men that she found in Castle Black, Val shuddered once more. Had it always been this many? She wasn't sure but what she knew was that they'd not be able to take the Wall themselves. They'd never win this fight and the letter that Kinvara carried and the offer she said the king was willing to make them, was truly their only hope.
King's Landing 298 AC.
Wyman Manderly.
Word had spread that something had happened to the king and the fact it was Jaime Lannister taking the meetings and holding the petitions gave it some validity. Whatever it was, the king was unavailable and Wyman like others was incredibly worried by this. So when word came to him that he was to meet with Lord Willas and Ser Richard Lonmouth, he welcomed the distraction it would provide, only to find it was far more than that.
He and his guards made their way to Ser Richard's solar rather than to the small council chamber or some other room, Wyman seeing Lord Willas had arrived a little before he did. After being shown inside and taking a seat beside the Master of Coin, both of them waited while Ser Richard looked over some papers. The man looking both busy and distracted at the same time.
"Forgive me, my lords, some last-minute instructions I need to leave before we depart." Ser Richard said placing the notes in a drawer.
"Depart?" Lord Willas asked and Ser Richard bid him wait while he sent for some refreshments, Wyman pleased to see that the courtesies were still being seen to.
The wine was a good vintage and the fruit, dried meat, and cheese were welcome and while Lord Willas didn't partake, he certainly did. Wyman finding his appetite as usual increased when he was worried and worried he was. In the short time that Jaehaerys had been king, Wyman had already seen the benefits that the North and the Realm itself would reap. The king's plans for the North both interesting and unique and the return of the New Gift as well as the creation of a Royal Seat in Brandon's gift could only be good things for the North he felt.
Should he not recover from whatever it was that ailed him though, the realm and the North would face an uncertain future and he didn't wish to think about what that future would look like. So as he ate, he tried to think where they were to depart to, realizing that if it was he and Willas who were to go then it was related to the crown's finances in some way. Though if Ser Richard was to join them then there was something else afoot as well.
"Depart Ser Richard?" Willas asked once more when the man wasn't forthcoming with any answers.
"On the morrow, you Lord Willas, you Lord Wyman, myself, and a sizable escort are to travel to Braavos to recover quite a large sum of coin." Ser Richard said.
"How large?" he asked curiously.
"Somewhere above three million gold dragons." Ser Richard said.
"From where?" Lord Willas asked.
"The coin is in the Iron Bank, in an account that used to belong to the Golden Company but which it's paymaster had kindly agreed to hand over to the king." Ser Richard said with a smirk before reaching into another drawer and taking out two letters and handing one to each of them.
Wyman read his quickly, the king's words speaking of increasing trade deals and one quite large one with the Iron Bank itself that he was to negotiate. How Jaehaerys knew they controlled that aspect of trade was beyond him but he began to do the calculations in his head and could see the benefits quickly. What Lord Willas's note said he didn't know but he felt it was somewhat similar, though perhaps more so to do with the coin itself.
"Why are you to join us, Ser Richard, I would have thought a Master of Whispers was more needed here than on a trade and coin mission?" Wyman asked.
"I have mine own mission, Lord Wyman" Ser Richard said leaving no room for further questions.
After finalizing the arrangements, Wyman looked to Lord Willas, and together they rose, Ser Richard, doing likewise before he walked with them to the door. He watched Lord Willas hurry away or hurry as much as the cane and his leg would allow him. Wyman himself moved far slower than the younger man as he headed to his rooms to make ready for the moon or so that he would potentially be gone for.
He spoke to Wylis and Wendel, then to his granddaughters as they ate that night. Lord Robb was staying with his family as they had their own worries about the King's health to overcome. Sleep was easy to find and he woke early, breaking his fast and readying to be taken to the Western Wolf and to sail to Braavos. Wyman picking fifty of his guard to come along with him as well as the fifty or so he'd have on the ship itself.
When he arrived he saw Lord Willas had picked a smaller number and that Ser Richard had twenty men with him, the men looking nothing like guards and more like killers to his eye. Not that it mattered, it wasn't him the men had come to kill, and better to have such men on your side then against you. After saying their hello's, they walked up the gangplank, and onto the Western Wolf, the ship setting off before noon had even arrived. Lord Willas took to his cabin and while Wyman wished to do likewise, he saw Ser Richard standing on the deck and so walked his way.
"Ser Richard." he said as the man turned to look at him, seeing he was alone and giving him a fond smile.
"Lord Wyman."
"Now care to tell me why I've got the pleasure of your company for such a simple action?" he asked and Richard smiled.
"I'm going to get a gift for the king." Ser Richard said with a chuckle " A gift he's wished for a long time."
King's Landing 298 AC.
Howland.
For almost three days the king had lain asleep and Howland had waited for the sign, only to find it was not forthcoming. He'd spoken to Ned once more on what he needed to do and why it had to be him to do so and while he'd not understood, he'd agreed that he'd do as he was bid. Howland now just waiting for the old gods to tell him the when of it and cursing that there was no Weirwood in King's Landing to pray to.
He'd almost considered riding to the Whispers and had he thought he'd make it there and back in time to speak to Ned, then he'd have done so but he knew that he'd not. So instead he waited and prayed in the peace of the Red Keep's Godswood but to an oak not a tree of his gods. It felt a poor substitute and the presence of his gods was faint here, almost like a hum rather than the song he felt when he was near a Weirwood tree.
The Starks along with the Targaryens, the Martells, and the Lannisters, all took turns almost sitting vigil outside the King's Chambers. None of the children had been allowed inside and though he disagreed with it, it was not his place to make such decisions. He'd been allowed only in the corridors outside and had seen the queen but briefly, Margaery looking drawn and pale as if she'd not been eating let alone sleeping. Howland wished he had the comfort to offer her, that his words would make her heart be at rest and her worries fade away. But he knew that what he had to say would only make things feel worse for her and that it would be anger and not relief that the queen would show.
To tell her that this was necessary, that this was part of his god's plans, and that what seemed like something terrible was actually something good, no he knew that would not go down very well at all. The queen's worry for her husband would not allow her to see it as anything other than how she wished to and any who tried to tell her different would soon find themselves removed from her presence and perhaps the keep and city itself. It was something that he couldn't risk as he had his own part to play and he only hoped he'd get to play it soon.
King's Landing 298 AC.
Margaery.
She'd barely left his side other than to go to the privy and had only changed her clothing when someone else made her do so. All her plans, all the things she had set out to do once the tourney had ended were soon put on hold so she could stay with him. Grandmaester Gormon had come and gone, Aemon too, the two of them showing her how to feed her husband and to quench his thirst. Aemon suggesting that she get one of the servants to help to clean him but Margaery would allow no one else to touch him other than her.
It was soothing to her, to rub the cloth over his body, to wash him as he lay in their bed. Margaery feeling that he made noises, movements under her hands that proved him to be in there and not lost to her forever. That he didn't make water or anything else was something Gormon and Aemon commented upon, Margaery not understanding until her grandmother explained it to her. Not that she'd have cared if he had or that she'd have allowed anyone else to clean him or see him so. He was her husband and she'd take care of him, no one else.
At night and at times during the day, she'd climb in bed beside him when she was tired and as the days stretched into a week, she'd fallen into a routine. She'd wake, eat some little food, then feed Jae, she'd read to him, speak to him, and together with Ghost cuddle against him. The wolf had not left the room except for when they would hear the sad noises Rhaenix made when she was flying overhead. Once he heard the dragon, Ghost would move to the door and Margaery herself would let him out, Ghost then returning before the sun rose and the day's beginning once more.
That her husband was loved by more than she was clear in those who wished to see him. Margaery allowing the adults to do so while not allowing the children, explaining to them why that was as the Lannisters, Martells, Starks, Targaryens, and her own family all took time to speak to Jae as he slept. It hurt her to keep Joy, Sansa, and Arya away, Tommen, Martyn, Willem too. But she felt he'd not wish them to see him this way and as much as it may hurt them to think him ill, to see him so would be so much worse.
It was on the third day of the second week that Lord Stark came to their room, Margaery listening on as he told some tale that she wasn't sure she understood. Something about Lord Reed and the gods that made very little sense and only the last of it really registering in her troubled mind.
"It's time for him to remember he's a wolf too." Ned Stark said and Margaery listened as the Lord of Winterfell sat down by the bed and began to speak on his sister.
Beyond the Wall 298 AC.
Bloodraven.
He felt it as soon as her blood touched the metal of the pin, the connection fully formed, and had he still the ability to do so, then he would have smiled. Instead, he closed his eyes and began guiding the boy to where he wished him to be, began to show him what it was he wished him to see, and began to prepare to leave the body he now had far behind him. It would take time he knew but time was something he had much of and after the many years he'd waited for this, what was a few more days.
This had always been a backup, a long term plan that had little chance of success. It was a future that required so many variables to come about that it was not the one he'd expected that he would be closest to. It had been the boy, the Stark who was supposed to fall, it had been the one-eyed pirate and so many others that were to give him what he wished. His kinsman was to end his enemy and to then play his own role in his release, but for Bloodraven this would be so much better.
Blood, Love, Magic, it had taken all three and it had taken him many years to see it for the truth it was. He'd looked into the Glass Candles, found the pin, and saw what it could do, and yet by the time he'd come to the Wall he'd only scratched the surface of its power. His magic was strong and his love even stronger but it was not enough, she was not enough, the power required so much more than just they alone.
Once he'd gotten beyond the wall and they'd given him the power to see, then and only then did it all become clear and he saw all the paths that could be opened should events play out against him. He'd gone deep beneath the sea to prepare for it, to create the place he needed to bring him, the vision and truth he needed to see, and the prison he'd trap him in. But even he had not truly believed and so like with everything he did he created alternate plans, alternate routes that he could travel. His voice carrying across the wind and bringing the pirate near just in case he was needed too.
"Will the prince come soon?" Leaf asked taking him from the past and back into the present.
"Soon enough, we are ready?" he asked and she nodded.
"Good, then it's time I spoke with our prince myself." he said closing his eyes once more.
The images quickly came flying to him, his love, and her actions just as he predicted. The words he'd said to her so many years ago, the seed he'd planted in her mind enough to cause her to panic and grab rather than ask for the pin. The blood they both poured into it over time and the blood that his kinsman and his own love had added forging the link and completing the connection. The vision of them speaking together as they were lost in time just as he and Shiera had the first time they used it, was clear. Neither of them knowing at the time that it was their future self's they were seeing and not their present ones.
He saw many paths opening up, the prince coming his way while wearing the pin and Brynden himself reaching out to grab it from him, the connection formed that way just as easily as it had been when Shiera had done it for him. The boy coming to him with the giant and the dark-haired girl and Brynden leaving as the girl dragged her behind him when the children fell. The one-eyed pirate falling to the ground, his blue eye turning red as Brynden took his mind and made it his own. He saw many paths open up and yet it was this one he'd travel, Brynden looking at a prison with no doors and no way out.
He looked on as the prince rose from the bath, the boy's eyes taking in the surroundings and though no smile appeared on his lips in the cave beneath the tree, inside Bloodraven was smiling as truly as he ever had.
"Welcome Prince Jaehaerys, welcome to your new life" he said softly as the prince walked from his room to take his morning meal with his family and Brynden began to burrow ever deeper into his mind.
A/N: Thanks to all who've read and reviewed I'm finally getting free time and so Chapter 131/132 Reviews will be here and next chapters should let me catch up fully, thanks for your patience. Up Next Jae finds a prison of the mind to be a nice place to visit but he isn't sure he wishes to live there.
Chapter 130 Reviews.
Remi: I do get what you mean about the succession and the potential problems it creates but that happens or could happen no matter what. Daemon was at court, which you could argue is a far more likely place where such issues could arise. So even if Jae was to do nothing, then at some point in the future, lords could whisper and issues arise. Here his plan is together they're strong, apart they're weak. A Targ in one kingdom has one kingdom, to move against the king he'd need to bring in the others as they'd have their own base and strength and if that's going to happen then you're screwed either way. But for example, say the Targ in the North rallied the North to his side and wanted to take the crown for themselves, they'd need to do something about the six targs in other kingdoms before they ever got to the one in Kl, they'd be strong, but not strong enough so to speak.
Ned is right to be concerned as having a Targ in the North independent of him goes against his rule, so his concern is justified, he just doesn't get to go against Jae on it. On Valyria, Jae will most certainly be going and will be bringing back some items yes, Blackfyre I have plans for as for Brightroar we'll see.
Kunochi: Thanks so much. With Oberyn it just seemed to me that he'd be the one, Jaime would still be more his father like almost embarrassed to have that talk, Tyrion perhaps would but it just felt that it was Oberyn's wheelhouse and his character to speak that way lol. On the Targ thing, both Ned and Marge's family were quite alright with it when it was other kingdoms, so they're being a bit hypocritical in a way, it is actually a good thing for them, it's just any change is change and people are resistant.
Not sure if there has been a named Lady Paramount, other than Dorne having been led by a woman that is.
Daryl Dixon: I know I've said it often, but it is coming.
Zyrus: I hope the question was answered in the chapters that followed.
Denoltdn: With the Standing Army, like with a lot of things the funding will come from changes Jae is making some we'll see as we move forward and with increased taxes on the losing side. For me I can't see any Targ coming to power post the rebellion and not wanting to have a force loyal to him or his house. Dany kinda has her own anyway as does Faegon in the books. The Harrold thing will be ongoing.
Lady Octarina: It's just so Oberyn to me, him being the one to give the advice lol, you're right about the privacy aspect of things too. You have Jae and Marge trying to get used to what their new world and their evolving relationship is and at the same time almost having no time to do so. With the Bracken/Blackwoods, it's one of those things were there may never be a solution, or it may take something like you suggest here. Marge's solution offers something that neither have ever been offered, the chance for their blood to rule the Riverlands and so it has a chance, we'll see if it works. I will do something about Aurane's hat lol, he was always my choice for Dany but I let the Drogo thing play out in case I felt I wished to go that way, glad you liked Tyrion's protective side. Shireen is just awesome, we'll see Renly in a bit, he's in a bad way but we'll see him when he recovers.
The Sphynx: We're all allowed to have an off day my friend, and you don't have many.
Mrspotterblack: So glad you liked the interaction with the cousins, I wish I could do more with them but I'll try and show something else.
Vfsnake: I think Davos is kinda the only choice for Shireen, I think he can do ok with numbers, the reading and the protocol perhaps not, as for the Greyscale, I hope you liked what I've planned for it.
Jman: Glad you liked it and the Cat/LF plot is coming to a close soon enough.
Celexys: Mel is kinda laying low at the moment, we'll be checking in with her very soon but for now she has something else she's working on as for Tyrion, so glad you're like the direction I've gone with him.
AJGranger: Thank you, I think sometimes we need a little of that aspect of things, to lighten the mood.
Flame: So glad you liked it.
Anarchichmind: That's the issue, it's the line between what he can do which won't cause issue and what he wants to do. With certain houses he has to take a firmer line while he can let others slide more and of course there is his own bias. It's one of the hardest things with Sansa/Willas in that you want to show more but can't given the age, a long betrothal is actually the usual way of things in Westeros funnily enough, Robert was betrothed to Lyanna for years as was Brandon to Cat. We'll be heading to Dorne for that wedding in a few chapters, you're right though him helping rule there is a good thing. Glad you liked the lemon.
Anja: So glad you liked it.
Guest: Glad you liked the lemon and with Jae/Marge that's kinda been one of the key things starting so early with them has allowed. It's now we're at this point that we see just how together they are and Marge standing up to her family doesn't feel ooc. The solution she came up with the Bracken/Blackwood for me was to show she brings her own smarts to the table too. The politics and world building post the war is an important part and something I think we rarely see done, some people find it boring and slower paced though and I get that but I think it's better to know what's going on than not.
Creativo: Tendrán hijos, pero todavía no, pero llenarán con creces la fortaleza jajaja.
Dunk and Egg: Thanks so much, it's the line between too descriptive and too tame which is a hard one and you don't want to write something that's against the tone of the story either. It's my own biggest criticism of some of those scenes, you read them and they feel like they've been inserted rather than as if they flow. The biggest problem with giving them Moat Cailin (other than her Meera and Karstark are getting it) is that Ned would certainly not agree to that, having the Gateway to the North manned by a Targ would cause a rebellion. Also Queenscrown takes nothing away from the North and doesn't allows them to argue just as much. Jae also has knowledge of Beyond the Wall to think of too. On Willas, we'll see good things come his way soon enough. Shireen will stay for a little bit, but she'll be heading to Storm's end in a while and we'll see that too.
AncientOak: I always was under the impression that the only reason Oberyn/Ellaria weren't married was because she was a bastard, that Doran wouldn't allow it, so we'll see.
HKt29: For now he's not thinking of the Iron Islands, he will though. We'll be seeing the small folk's view in the next around the world chapter, whenever that is. Myrcella is engaged and will marry Bran, we'll see her and he meet in a while, as for the bastards, that's the issue, it's all well and good doing so with those he cares about to do it with them all would be a bit much and also diminish the speculates of doing if for those he loves too.
Xand007: Thank you my friend. I think he had to come up with some sort of plan to try and ensure things don't happen as they had, whether it works we'll see. We'll be seeing those others dealt with over the course of the next few chapters. On Mance and the Great War, we'll see moves made there in a bit, Kinvara and others. Stay safe and well my friend.
Irish Hermit: it's funny you say that because I think exactly the same way, the realm and it's rulers are kinda linked in that be it a mad king or a drunken king, it trickles down and the realm suffers or prospers because of it. Jae and Marge loving each other as they do is a complete contrast to Robert and Cersei very much not as is there feeling towards the people. Willas/Sansa is the best match perhaps either of them could make and again the feelings do help a lot. Even if you look at Cat/Ned eventually falling for each other in canon, how many years were wasted while they did not. One of the key things for me is that line with Cat, had she sat back, said nothing and did nothing, then right now she'd be revelling in everything and her family may have kept far more, Bran may be not just getting Riverrun but be LP too along with the weddings etc.
Biohazard: Thanks so much.
Chapter 131 Reviews.
Remi: I wanted with Robb to show just how much he's come on and making it humorous was just a lucky hit lol.
Mrsfaywhitlock: Thanks so very much, really glad you liked it.
ThesSphinx: Love it as always my friend.
DaryDixon: They will, and I promise to make it worth the wait, especially in LF's case.
Supremus: He's a running lol.
Vfsanke: He really will, Jae is growing ever more into the role as we go.
Biohazard: So very glad you liked it.
Jaman: I let LF escape for a reason, as for Cat she is losing her mind and I don't think it's wrong to feel sympathy for her even if she brought it mainly on herself.
Anarchicmind: You may very well get your wish in relation to Jae/Sansa. We will see them soon enough.
Literary Consumer: You know I felt the very same way, thought I'd have so much more time on my hands and then some people at my job got sick and I found I had more work than time lol.
Scarila: Thanks so very much for you kind words and the same to you, stay safe and well in these troubled times.
Guest: On the swearing of the vows, I really wanted that to come across, they're a partnership and are in it together and so having them do things together, or both do the role is important. We'll be seeing more of both Aemon/Shiera's pov but with Shiera it's almost drip feeding the truth before we get the whole lot from her. As for Cat/LF it's a coming.
Irish Hermit: I agree, Willas is supposed to have the keen mind of Olenna and his families looks too, not quite as handsome as Loras perhaps but very handsome all the same and yet it seems that all people see is the crippled leg. It's one of the biggest issues I have with Bran being named king at the end, ok perhaps not one of the biggest but one of the issues I have with it. Westeros is a martial society, your worth is really defined by your ability on the battlefield and your physical prowess far more than you mental one. If you have a defect (in their eyes) such as Willas with his leg, Shireen with her scars or Tyrion being a dwarf, your automatically less respected. Yet somehow no one raises an eyebrow at a boy who's in a wheelchair being named king, really?.
Yes poor Ned is getting some stuff piled on him, it's fun though lol. That's precisely the thing with Bloodraven, he is the master of using whatever means necessary, we know this from his life before the wall and it'll only be more clear later. With Shiera that's one of the things I wanted to come across and am very glad you bring up. She did love him, truly, had he chosen her then both their lives would have been so very different. Glad you like that about Dany, we will see her use it fully, don't worry.
Dunk: I really hate writing the archery parts lol The Shiera/Jae talk will become a factor as we go, but I wanted to have her as you say weigh his character, it's important for her and even us to know what's in his heart in relation to magic especially. Thank so much for saying that with Rhaenix, it's something I've strived for and am really glad it came across that way. We will see Marge in a way over time form her own version of it, Sansa will be staying in KL and others will join too. Jae has a few plans regarding LF/Cat some way in advance.
HKT29: This is something I find so annoying when people say that in fics we have the good guys win and that's unrealistic. The damn story all these fics are based on have the bad guys plans succeed time after time and rarely as you say until right at the end do they falter. Tywin, LF, Roose, Ramsay, Euron, all of them just win and win and win and then whose they lose, but while they win the good guys suffer all the losses completely and always. Now there should be a balance but I'd rather it go the opposite than the books tbh.
Creativo: Un hombre a veces necesita caminar por el infierno para saber realmente qué es el cielo.
Warhammerking: I'll answer what I can. Each house Targ will be a Great House sworn directly to the crown and what their names will be depends on who is to hold that house. So for example a son/daughter of Jon/Marge will be a prince or princess and the house they hold would be House Targ, so House Targ of Harrenhal or Summerhall or Queenscrown. A child of Tyrion's would be a Martell and prince/princes as he's a consort Dornish and a child of Dany's would be perhaps called Targ, perhaps not but would be a lord/lady. All in all there are meant to be houses in each of the seven kingdoms and where they are will be shown as we go.
The Standing Army will take time to build up, initially 5,000 rising to 10 to 20,000.
How many children Jon/Marge will have or what the makeup of them, I can't say just yet.
Lady Octarina: That was my key thing with Robb, to show that even in little ways or here a bigger one, he looks at the politics of the situation far more astutely than Ned does. I couldn't resist that with Aemon, the idea that there are so many of them was just so funny.
With the Ladies council, he'd gotten most of the anger out when he spoke to Olenna in HG so they got a different version of it. Shiera is so complex and there are so many little hints to things that it's almost trying to make it chilling and doing so simply by what's not said. Willas I wanted to do some good things for and LF is as you say it a creep, there's really no other way to describe him. it's been hard with Jae grounded to show him and Rhaenix together and so it was nice to bring it in here, glad you liked the Three Heads change.
Jessicanightmarewof: I think we all try to do that a little, let a few chapters build and then binge lol. Dany/Aurane was the pairing I hit on first in my head for her, but I wanted to do a little something with Drogo too, just in case I decided to go another way. I get why people don't do this aspect of things in fics, they let the politics only be relating to the war aspect and forget that it happens post war too. One of the things which I've wished to see was the effects of the realm building once the war was done, once you win, then what. I can understand that to some it may feel slow, the plot may not move as quickly as they want but to me it's as important as the character points and I try to find a balance to do both. Which is probably why this has swelled into what it is lol.
The Valyrian thing is more complex, it's a thought I had that I couldn't let go and I really think people will be surprised when they see it. On House Targ's expansion, this is one of the things I mean about post war, Jae taking the throne is fine in a vacuum but what comes next. To me any Targ who takes the throne post the rebellion has to look at the rebellion and try and learn the lessons from it, to try and ensure it does not happen again. If you think that way then it allows for little ideas to take root and different concepts to come up, so I'm glad you found it interesting.
Anja: So very glad you liked it.
Denoltdn: It's more complex than simply rebuilding it or using the technologies though it does involve both those things too.
Naruto: So very glad you enjoyed it.
Xan Merrick; Thank you my friend.
Lord of the east: Thanks so very much for you kind words.
Vdwade: For me LF fixated on the Cat he was in love in as a boy and transferred that to Sansa in the books/show and so here we see some of that. Jae has big plans and will be travelling to Valyria in a few chapters time.
Spartan1007: she really is losing it and glad you liked the raven part.
Xand007: Thank you my friend. One of the key things is that with Bloodraven, he's a different type of enemy and the fight a different fight. You're right about needing proof, even though he has perhaps more loyal supporters here than even in some of my other fics, he'll need proof. You too my friend, so far the safe part has been easy, the sane part not so much lol.
Silverglow: That's spot on my friend., Brienne is basically confirmed by GRRM himself and the others are speculated on, there are more that some people think are related, Grenn and Small Paul at the Wall, even the Hound and the Mountain too.
With Robb I really wanted to show the benefits he got from being with Wyman, he sees the things that Ned does not and though he's not got to shine in battle here, yet, here he gets a little moment with Ned.
Jae had to lay down that particular marker, otherwise it would be just like when Robert took the throne and those who knelt were accepted but almost scorned a bit too. I wanted to with Genna show that her reasons were sound but wrong and that she recognised that and Jaime is kinda a conduit for that too. Shiera knows there is a price to pay for using magic and that just like the force there is a dark side to it too, it also gives a little hint to her and Bloodraven's relationship somewhat.
With Olenna she was taken aback as she didn't expect they to have to toe the same line somewhat, she'd thought that only the rebels would have house Targs on their lands, I also wanted to show Marge having her own backbone and to be completely behind Jae even against her family if need be. LF and Cat are coming to the end of the line though there will be twists along the way and I always thought LF was in love with Cat as she was when he was a boy far more than Cat now, Sansa just looks the picture of that Cat in his mind. Yep the Smiling King lol.
Glad you liked it my friend.
