King's Landing 299 AC.
Loras.
It was Margaery and not Jae that told him that he was to head north once more. He, Arthur, and Walder along with the king all traveling to the Wall and beyond and he found that he welcomed it, needed it. The distraction it provided was something he'd been seeking for so long and hadn't been able to find in his usual daily activities, as there was only so much that training and sparring took your mind from he'd found.
He loved being a Kingsguard he truly did and yet at times, he was disappointed in being one also. The life he had thought he was to live had turned out to be something completely different and despite having his brothers and his family nearby, he was alone. Jae and he rarely got to spend the same amount of time together that they once had and their relationship had changed over the years. No longer were they best friends who shared their thoughts, hopes, and dreams as they once had. Instead, they were Kingsguard and King and while Jae was still his best friend, a sort of distance had formed between them because of it.
At first, Loras had not truly felt it forming, true he knew Jae was busier, and between his time being a king, the work he was doing to prepare the realm for the war to come, and his time with Margaery, there was less time for him to be the Jae he once was. Yet it was something else that only since Satin had left had Loras truly noticed. Jae confided in others now more than he, in Arthur and his uncles, and in Margaery which Loras took no issue with. But he was no longer who his friend sought out and over time it had come to bother him.
It made him question if he was right to be here and whether or not he should have taken the chance to go to Dorne with Satin when it was offered. He'd wondered if he'd given up on his love for a true reason or for a version of that truth. Had he just been scared to make the move? Afraid to take the chance that Satin's heart was as true as his own? Or was it that the thoughts of the life he believed he had here had been false ones and had influenced him to make the wrong decision? He was frustrated and felt angry more often than not but at the back of it all, he was lonely.
Sighing, he got up from his bed and began to pack his things and once he'd done so he walked out of his room to break his fast. He nodded to Walder and Arthur who were both sitting at the table, Loras taking a seat to join them both. Looking to his brothers he could see that neither of them seemed conflicted or were questioning their lives and he wondered if that was because both had lived to their oaths more truly than he had. Was it true what he'd heard Aemon say, was love really the death of duty?
"You've been Beyond the Wall, is it really colder than the North?" he asked as he ate, Walder chuckling as he looked at him.
"It's like comparing here to the North, Loras, There are some furs in my things for you to wear, you're going to need them." Walder said.
"And the people they're like Val?" he asked only to see Arthur shake his head.
"Val's a different sort, they're rougher around the edges and they'll say things that may seem disrespectful but only if they make a move are we to act." Arthur said.
"They'll insult the king?" he asked angrily.
"There he's not the king." Walder said and Arthur smirked as Loras frowned at them both.
"His words Loras, not ours." Arthur said and he nodded.
After they'd finished eating he went to say his goodbyes, they'd not be leaving until the morrow but all three of them had been given the day to do as they wished. Walder wished to spend it with his squire, the large man saying there was something he needed to do before he left, while Arthur was an enigma as always. Never in his life had he seen a man more dutiful than he, not even Ser Barristan, and at times it made him question whether it was just age, experience, and the number of years in the order that had made Jae name the Bold as their Lord Commander. To him, Arthur was what a Kingsguard was supposed to be and though he doubted the choices he made and the life he now lived, he didn't doubt that it was the Sword of the Morning that he most wished to emulate.
He said goodbye to his brothers and made his way to the Red Keep. His mind wasn't made up on which of his family members he was going to first, his mother and father, his grandmother, or his brother. In the end, fate chose for him as he saw Willas speaking to Sansa and then saying his goodbyes before heading his way. His brother smiled when he saw him and Loras did his very best to smile back.
"Come to say goodbye, brother?" Willas asked when he reached him.
"Aye, I didn't want to do it tonight at dinner." he said.
"Walk with me." Willas said and he nodded.
He was glad when they didn't walk for long, Willas leading him out through one of the sets of double doors and then inviting him to take a seat. Despite the long walks, his brother went on with Sansa Stark, Loras knew they pained his leg something awful and so he had no wish to be the cause of such discomfort. Far better they sit and speak and Willas saved his leg for the walk he'd take with Sansa later on. Loras soon finding himself smiling at the growing relationship between them both and though it reminded him of his own lack of one, he begrudged Willas nothing.
"You're truly going Beyond the Wall?" Willas asked.
"Margaery asked me to go, she wishes me to be by Jae's side." he said and again his small irritation that it was his sister rather than his friend who wished it, rose up a little.
"Loras?" Willas asked and Loras realized that his expression and tone showed far more than he had intended and that irritation had risen much higher than it should have.
"It's nothing." he said trying to wave his brother's concerns off but to no avail.
"It's not nothing, there's something on your mind, speak to me brother." Willas said.
He hadn't meant for it all to come out, yet as he began to speak it soon became a flood. The words just flowing and unable to be stopped as he laid out all his frustration, his worries, and concerns. Loras spoke of things that he'd not to anyone in the longest time. How he felt about his relationship with Jae, how much he truly missed Satin, the questions he had about the life he led, all of it, and when he was done he felt embarrassed that he'd spoken so freely.
Seeing the concern in Willas's eyes both further fuelled that embarrassment and made him feel a sense of warmth that he'd not felt in a long time. He knew his family cared for him and loved him and yet he'd not thought about sharing his thoughts and feelings with them, he now felt a fool for not doing so sooner. Margaery may be his queen but she was his sister and she'd always been someone that he could share things with. Garlan and Willas were among the first to know who he truly was and both his brothers had thought no less of him because of it. His mother, his grandmother even his father had at times been able to make him see things in a different light and he'd shut all of them out. He wondered why that was? What his reason for doing so could have been? Was it shame? Was he afraid to admit his loneliness to anyone? Or was it that some things he'd simply thought too personal to share?
"I don't have all the answers brother, I've few if I'm being honest but there is one I can give you." Willas said.
"What is it?" he asked seeking anything that would make him feel somewhat better.
"The reason why Jae leaves you behind when he goes places, why he takes Arthur instead of you." Willas said and Loras looked at him intently.
"Is what?" he asked though he knew it was because of who Arthur was, why settle for Loras Tyrell to guard your back when you could have the Sword of the Morning.
"Our sister. He trusts no man to guard Margaery more diligently than you, Loras, there's no one he trusts her with more. Not Ser Barristan, nor Ser Arthur or Ser Walder, you, and it's not that you're a better knight or that you're her brother. It's because of you brother." Willas said and Loras looked at him seeking the lie in his words.
"Because he knows me." Loras said and Willas nodded.
"Speak to him, ask him would he have taken you with him if Margaery hadn't insisted, I wager he'll say no. He and Margaery are very much alike in their own way, both of them trust you to protect what they hold most dear to their hearts, you brother, no one else." Willas said.
It didn't fix things, didn't soothe his wounded heart, or make his loneliness something that went away but it did make him feel better. At dinner that night he laughed and japed with his cousins and listened to the advice his grandmother gave him. He welcomed his mother and father's concerns and told them he'd return safely and even though when he went to his bed he felt once again alone, it was with a less heavy heart than it had been recently.
King's Landing 299 AC.
Oberyn.
Listening to Jae speak about the gods and Azor Ahai, of tests and of forging Lightbringer because he passed those tests, Oberyn was relieved he was in the room to see it. Had it been something relayed to him later by others then he'd have feared for his nephew's mind. Jae wasn't mad though and he'd seen Lightbringer itself, had even held the sword, and watched as no light shone while it was in his or anyone else's hands. Only when his nephew held it did the sword light up and even then not to its full power according to Jae.
He hadn't been sure what Jae had meant about Margaery and Jaime taking over the running of the realm, not then, but now he knew and he didn't know how he felt about that. Not that he had any questions regarding the Queen or the Hand but more how could Jae not be a part of things. Why did he need others to deal with the realm while he dealt with preparations for a war that was to come he knew not when? It was only long after the meeting had ended when he was told the reasoning and it had led him to make a choice.
"You can't spend all your time concentrating on a war that's not yet begun, Jae?" he said as they sat at his nephew's desk.
"I must, uncle. I need to make ready, to get things ready. The Dragonglass, the armies that need to be ready to march when called, but mainly the Free Folk, I need them settled on my lands." Jae said.
"You've sent the ships have you not?" he asked.
"I have, but I need to go to them too. I can't leave it to chance, I need to be there and so after I speak to my uncle Ned and fly to Queenscrown to ready the lands, I intend to fly to Hardhome." Jae said and he looked at him with intrigue.
"You're going to see their camp?" he asked.
"I'm going to oversee their evacuation, uncle, Rhaenix, and I will offer them a dragon's protection and we'll make sure they all leave on the ships."
"I wish to join you." he said firmly.
"Uncle. I..Ellaria…."
"Will understand that I'm protecting my nephew and my niece." he said to a smirk from Jae.
"I doubt my sister needs either of us to protect her." Jae said making him chuckle.
"No but I'll be there with you both just in case." he said looking at Jae.
"I don't know how long we'll be gone for uncle, there are over 100,000 people at Hardhome, it may be moons until we return."
"Then moons it shall be, now if you'll forgive me, your grace, I must go and speak to your aunt." Oberyn said smiling as he rose to his feet.
"I wish you good fortune, uncle." Jae said and Oberyn laughed loudly, he would need it.
He very much did as it turned out, Ellaria was not best pleased and neither were his girls and it took his wife some time to accept that she could not change his mind on this. His words that it wasn't dangerous and that Rhaenix would be there should she be needed had the opposite effect that he had intended. Oberyn too late in realizing that the one contradicted the other and not for the first time he found himself outsmarted by his love.
Eventually, though she came around, even if it was nothing to do with him and something instead to do with a meeting she had with the queen. His girls took longer and he was glad that they too found some reason to keep themselves occupied while he was gone. Princess Daenerys had asked them to join her on Dragonstone and his girls seemed more than eager to see the island for themselves. He wondered if his nephew had anything to do with the sudden invitation, but he found out to his surprise it had been Margaery and not Jae who'd spoken to Daenerys. Tyene had taken to most parts of being a lady in waiting well, but she still didn't understand that you weren't supposed to share the queen's secrets, even if it was with family.
"But I could never keep something from you papa." Tyene said after he'd chided her.
"Some things you must child, you've been given a position that most ladies in the realm would be jealous of you for having, don't give them a reason to spread tales of you any more than they already would." Ellaria said and Oberyn smiled at his wife as he looked at the contemplative look on Tyene's face.
When Sarella came in to join in with their family dinner she was late, as usual, his daughter no doubt had gotten wrapped up in a book or treatise of something or other and lost the track of time. She was nervous too and it took her some time to explain why that was. Both he and Ellaria giving her as much encouragement as she needed to carry through with her plans. He would even give some coin to see it through once she'd spoken to Jae and Margaery and gotten the go-ahead.
"Do you really think they'll agree, father?" she asked nervously as they were saying their goodnights to each other.
"I think if you speak it as truly as you did to Ellaria and me then they would not be able to refuse you." he said.
"And you, you think it a good idea?" she asked, looking far younger than she was as she sought his approval.
"I am so very proud of you, my sweet clever child, only you could come up with such a thing and I find the idea to be wondrous.." he said making her smile beamingly at him as he kissed her cheek.
There would be those in the realm who balked at such an idea and that it was coming from a girl who though legitimized and the daughter of a prince, was still seen as a bastard by most, would only make that more true. Yet he knew his nephew and his goodniece would embrace it and it was precisely what the realm needed. That it was his daughter who had come up with it made him feel as only how a father could. Sarella Martell was about to write her own chapter in the books that she loved so much and it would be one that women in the realm would read their own daughters one day.
"Come to bed, my love, I shall not see you for some time and so you had best leave me with many memories to get me through those nights I spend alone." Ellaria said and he followed her into the room, she wasn't the only one who wished for memories to warm their nights apart.
Waking the next morning he broke his fast alone with Ellaria, there was but a few hours until they'd be leaving and he would spend them with his wife and with her alone. He'd said his goodbyes to his children and as always they had been hard on his heart, his goodbye to Ellaria would be harder he knew.
King's Landing 299 AC.
Sarella Martell.
Life was a funny thing, her own was proof enough of that. It had turned out so unlike the life that she had expected it to be and she found herself thanking the gods that it had. At one point she'd considered sneaking into the Citadel and pretending to be a boy so she could forge her links. She'd even thought up a name for herself, Alleras, and had imagined people calling her The Sphinx as they tried to figure out her own riddles.
While in Dorne, she'd go to sleep with a smile on her face as she thought of the mummery and had even wagered with her father that when she did go she'd be able to forge more links than he had. Then things had changed and it was to Casterly Rock and not to Oldtown she found herself traveling to and the things she learned there put anything she could learn at the Citadel to shame. Dragons and Magic, true magic and not the mummeries or falsehoods that she knew some used in pretense.
She'd flown on a dragon's back, charted its growth and though she had never managed to learn to speak to Rhaenix as her cousin had, she could understand her somewhat. When Marwyn had arrived and they'd spoken she'd found out that even a man such as he who had studied all the known texts on dragons, knew far less about them for true than she did. It made her question things and spending time with Tyrion Lannister and the Mage, reading the books in Casterly Rock and seeing the things her cousin could do, turned out to be far more rewarding than forging any links.
"You're the only person who's forged a link in dragons, cousin." Jae said when he gifted her the necklace for her nameday.
Sarella had helped to research the Long Night and when Loamara arrived she'd found another man who knew things that she did not. So she'd learned from him, from Marwyn, from Tyrion, and from Rhaenix and Jae. She'd learned from Lygaron when he was born and from Lady Kinvara and Lady Melisandre briefly when they came to stay at Casterly Rock. The two women were more learned than most men she knew and listening to them speak about Essos and their own lives had been fascinating to her.
"So your acolytes don't just study R'hllor's teaching?" she asked as they ate together one night.
"Each of them decides what it is they wish to specialize in Lady Sarella. Some choose to heal as there are always those who seek to be healed, others choose to study other subjects, some even choose to learn how to defend themselves and teach that to the children and women that come to seek guidance." Kinvara said.
"And you Lady Melisandre?" she asked.
"I learned things that should not be thought, magic's that should be forgotten." Lady Melisandre said.
Shadow binding, something that the woman wouldn't teach her no matter how much she asked but both women told her they'd teach her other things upon their returns. Her cousin was perhaps her greatest teacher in those early days, his own magic's were something that he allowed her to study even if they could never be replicated. Warging, Dragon and Green Dreams, how important blood was in the use of magic, not just to power it physically but in the control of magic itself and how strong someone was in it.
"I have magic in my blood on both sides of my line, Sarella, Ice from the Stark side, and Fire from the Targaryen. I'm the first and only to ever bring them together, The Song of Ice and Fire my father called me, what that truly means I know not, yet, but I will."
Over time he found out and he showed her what could be done with magic. She'd seen him warg a flock of birds at the same time and watched him use the Glass Candles to speak across vast distances and show events in other parts of the realm. He told her that he'd seen the past and the future and though he'd not shown either to her, she knew it to be true. Sarella diligently chronicling things and though she knew that simply reading them wouldn't make them be able to be done, knowledge was its own power.
By the time she'd left Casterly Rock and visited her father she reckoned she'd forged as many links as he even though she had none. With Tyrion, she'd learned economics, with Marwyn she'd learned ravenry and astronomy, with Loamara she'd learned to heal, and from her father and her cousin she'd learned warcraft though of a much different sort than the type taught in the Citadel. War was very different with dragons to call upon and when it finally came to the realm it was over almost as soon as it had begun.
Its timing couldn't be better she felt as she'd run out of books to read or lessons to learn and so she had welcomed the move to King's Landing and there her studying took on an even more strenuous schedule. She had found new sources of information and though she spent her time reading the books in the Grandmaester's library it was the time she spent with those new sources that truly showed her the path she must take.
Aemon Targaryen, Shiera Seastar, Lady Kinvara, Lady Melisandre, and surprising most of all a young girl named Missandei. Sarella had thought she'd met the smartest people in the known world, be it men like Prince Tyrion and Prince Aemon or even her cousin the king, or women like Kinvara, Melisandre, and Olenna Tyrell. A young girl of a little over ten namedays old though was perhaps the smartest of them all.
"Who are you?" she asked as she walked into the Grandmaester's room and saw the young girl reading one of her books.
"Missandei." the girl said softly.
"Why are you here?" she asked changing her tone as she realized that she'd sounded far angrier and more accusatory than she had meant.
"I like to read." Missandei said and Sarella looked at the book the girl was reading and almost shook her head.
"That's in old Ghiscari, I've not been able to read it myself." she said and Missandei smiled, the girl looking down on the page and reading it aloud.
"You speak Old Ghiscari?" she asked excitedly.
"It's one of the languages I have learned." Missandei said simply, the girl not bragging as perhaps Sarella herself would.
"How many languages do you speak? She asked curiously.
"Nine and ten." Missandei said shocking her completely.
"For true?" she asked and the girl looked at her with a frown.
"This one does not lie." Missandei said and Sarella moved to sit beside her.
"I was not suggesting you were, forgive me if you thought I was."
It was her time with Missandei that had made her realize what it was she was to do with her life and it wasn't to spend her time in the Citadel. After she had spoken to her father and he'd given her his blessing she arranged to meet with Jae and Margaery the next morning. She felt bad for intruding on them but she knew she couldn't wait until her cousin came back and she wanted his approval and not just the queen's. Sarella felt herself grow more nervous as she made her way to their chambers and she barely even smiled at Ser Barristan and Ser Richard Horpe when they let her into the room. Instead, her eyes were focussed on Jae and on Margaery and she dry swallowed as she readied to speak.
"You wished to speak to me, cousin?" Jae asked as he bid her sit.
"I did, your grace." she said to a raised eyebrow from her cousin "Jae" she said and received a smile.
"I take it it's important if it has you this nervous?" he said and she nodded.
"I wish to open up a center of learning, Jae, for girls." she said as she stared at him and saw his brow furrow a little.
"Just for girls?" Margaery asked curiously.
"The Citadel is just for boys is it not." she said almost defensively and then she heard Jae laugh.
"Indeed it is, is it the Citadel you will model it on, cousin. Do you intend to teach girls the things that boys learn there?" Jae asked.
"It is. We are not allowed to study there, Jae, girls are not thought capable of thinking complex thoughts but boys are." she said and she smirked when she heard both Jae and Margaery snort at that.
"Anyone who thinks that is a fool and has not spent their time around some of the women of the Realm, perhaps I should gather them all so they can spend time with my wife and my cousin, then they'd soon realize how wrong they were." Jae said and her smirk turned into a fuller smile.
"Who would you have teach these girls?" Margaery asked.
"I would do some, I've also spoken to Lady Kinvara and Lady Melisandre and they say that they and some of their more capable priests and priestesses would help, and should there be Maesters who are willing." she said.
"You'll need coin and a building to start with." Margaery said.
"You can have the old barracks building that Ser Alliser and Ser Jaremy were using and any lady that has the means can pay the same as if they were at the Citadel." Jae said before smiling "Any girl that wishes to go but doesn't have the coin will have their room and board paid for by the crown. We'll give an amount of coin each year to help cover the costs."
"For true?" she asked almost breathlessly.
"Aye, it'll give the girls the same opportunities that boys have, though in time I'd seek that boys have their own place too." Jae said.
"The Citadel, Jae?" Margaery said.
"Can change or fall, I care not which." Jae said.
"I'll begin the preparations." she said rising.
"This is a good thing you're doing cousin, a very good thing." Jae said.
"Speak to me about whatever you need, Sarella, I'm sure once you get started there will be ladies in the realm most keen to help." Margaery said.
She found herself most pleased when she left and later that day after Jae and her father had left, she made her way to the building that would serve as the start for her project. It was large and soon would be full of girls learning things that men thought they should not and Sarella reached into her shirt to touch the necklace that lay beneath. There were no links on it but it was something that she wore just as proudly as if there were. Perhaps she'd see about getting more made that were similar for the girls who'd pass through these halls in time.
King's Landing 299 AC.
Margaery.
Their coupling had been passionate, frantic, and more than once, both of them almost getting in as much time together as they could before Jae left for the North. He'd spent a little time making the preparations and some time saying his goodbyes before once again he was spending most of his time with her. When they'd were both worn out, he'd not slept even though she had, instead when she woke it was to find Jae looking at her, a soft smile on her husband's face as he did so.
After breaking their fast they'd listened to what Sarella had come to speak to them about, both of them equally excited about the idea. A place of learning for girls, both those with means and those without, it was something she'd not thought about but something she was eager to see in operation. Within the orphanages, she knew that girls were being taught skills that would see them able to earn coin in the future but these skills were what most in the realm would deem skills that ladies or girls should know. Embroidery, cooking, learning sums, and most weren't even being taught to read.
What Sarella had proposed was radical and there would be those who were completely against it. Lords, the Faith, The Citadel, and yet just like Jae, the more she thought about it, the more she cared not. It gave her some ideas of her own and given it was to her and to Jaime to see to the Realm's running while Jae dealt with the war to come, it was the perfect time to put some of those ideas into practice. She turned to Jae and was about to ask his own thoughts on things when she noticed the look on his face and that his eyes were focused on her stomach.
"Jae?"
"When do you think it'll begin to show?" he asked.
"Gormon said I was three moons along, I'd thought it would show by now, I feel it, not the babe but that I'm with child." she said taking his hand and placing it on her stomach.
"I want to be here, you know that don't you?" he asked looking at her.
"I know, which is why I know you'll not stay away longer than needed." she said and he nodded.
"I wish I could see every change, wake up each morning, and see the small differences as the time passed. I fear missing so much, that I'll be away from you and when I come back I'll have missed so much." he said and she saw the way his mouth moved as he swallowed, her husband trying his best not to sound sad.
"We have the Glass Candles and we shall speak to each other, every other morning or every other night. I want to wake up and speak to you Jae and some nights I wish to go to sleep only after hearing your voice, you'll take two with you?" she asked and he nodded, Margaery was not willing to share their own one with anyone else.
"I will return as soon as I can, on that you can be certain." he said and she smiled as she kissed his lips, the kiss soft and far briefer than she wished.
When the time came to say goodbye, she was surprised to see all three of the wolves there. Had it been only a few days earlier it would be four she knew but Bran and his granduncle had already departed for the Riverlands and it was now just Fang, Ghost, and Frost. She watched as the white wolf and the grey one looked at the dark one and almost seemed to say their goodbyes to it. Margaery looking on when it walked to Jae's side and it was clear that it would be leaving along with her husband.
While Jae said his goodbyes to Sansa and then to Joy, she said her own to Loras, her brother promising her that he'd protect Jae, and Margaery telling him to make sure he protected himself just as much. She looked to see Oberyn saying his own goodbyes to Ellaria and his children and she felt a measure of relief that he was going with Jae too. Her husband would be surrounded by capable men and though she would still worry about him, it would be lessened knowing he had Obeyrn's spear guarding his back also.
Jae spoke to Jaime for a long time and then to Aemon, Shiera, and Dany, Margaery knowing that he wasn't the only one that was leaving King's Landing for some time, as his aunt was due to depart not long after he did. When the time came for them to say their own goodbyes she willed her tears not to fall and she could see the wetness in Jae's eyes as he looked deeply into her own. They spoke few words, shared a kiss that she was pleased went on for some time, and then he whispered in her ear.
"I love you, always." he said softly.
"And I, you, come back to me, my love, that's all I ask, come back to me as soon as you can."
"I will." he said and then in the blink of an eye he and they were gone.
She stood looking to the sky for a few moments, Rhaenix was long out of sight and had Ellaria and her grandmother not moved to her then she may have stayed there for some time. Walking back into the Red Keep she wanted to throw herself straight into work and yet she did not also. Settling, in the end, to hold the petitions and to speak to the members of the Small Council but briefly. Later that night she ate with her family and though she was quiet, she found that she enjoyed having them all there. What was less enjoyable was laying alone in her and Jae's bed and not even Ghost's presence could make her feel any less lonely than she did.
The next morning though found her filled with resolve and so after breaking her fast with Sansa, Joy Tyene, and Elinor, she sent each of the girls to fetch those she wished to see and had the room arranged to her liking. Unsurprisingly it was her grandmother and mother that arrived first, followed by Ellaria and then Dacey. Sarella arrived not long after and Margaery smirked at the little put-out look on the girl's face. Her own glance to her soon removing it as she bid her sit and then told Sansa, Joy, Tyene, and Elinor to stay. Shiera was the last to arrive along with Lady Kinvara, the former having said her goodbyes to Dany and the latter having the furthest to travel. Once everyone was sitting she began to speak.
"With Jae busy elsewhere it falls upon me and Lord Jaime to see to the realm. Lord Jaime is more than capable of seeing to the day-to-day things and he and I will speak regularly on the more longer-term plans that need to be put into motion. Yesterday, Jae and I spoke to Sarella where one of those plans was decided upon, Sarella if you will?" she said looking to the girl.
"Their graces have given me leave to open a place of study for girls, both ladies, and smallfolk." Sarella said proudly as Ellaria smiled.
"Open to all or just girls?" her mother asked curiously.
"Just girls." Sarella said.
"You mean to compete with the Citadel?" her grandmother asked smirking.
"Most of us know Jae's feelings about the Citadel and for good reason and were this just that then I believe my husband would have agreed but this is about the girl's being given the opportunity to learn. Those with means will pay towards their stay as happens with the Citadel and those without will be paid for from the treasury." Margaery said.
"House Tyrell will also provide coin or supplies, your grace." her mother said.
"As will House Lannister." Dacey said.
"I'll speak to papa, he'll wish us to help too." Joy said surprising her.
"I thank you all but that's only partly why I've asked you here. Some of you are more experienced than I and some less, but all of us here share one thing that even Jae or Jaime or Oberyn." she said before looking to Joy "or your papa, don't understand. We're all women and there are things that we may see or think or even feel about the realm that men would not. I've asked you all here to start to offer suggestions on things." she said looking to her grandmother and mother who both were smiling.
"Even us?" Sansa asked excitedly.
"One day you'll be the Lady of Highgarden Sansa, Joy will be the Lady of Castamere, Elinor will be married to a great lord as will Tyene if that's what she wishes. I intend for us to take counsel from those who've more experience than we and one day in the future we'll be able to offer others the benefits of that council, but I don't simply wish us to speak on things, I want us to change things, for the better." she said determinedly.
There weren't many ideas shared that day, it was more an introduction to the notion that they would be in a position to offer them up, to speak on them, and to discard some and implement others. In the future, she would have meetings like this weekly if she could and there would be other ladies invited, Lady Genna, Lady Ashara, Princess Arianne should she visit, and Dany too. When she traveled she'd speak to ladies of great houses and ask their opinions also. She knew that not everything they wished for would be feasible but they would have a say, the realm that she and Jae were building would encourage them to do so.
Isle of Faces 299 AC.
The Three-Eyed Raven.
She had felt the power of the place as soon as they had landed and though she feared that the king's anger may cause him to do something he should not, she had found that instead, he had done what he must. Not that she'd seen most of it, at the time at least, instead she'd been frozen in time just like the others there and the last thing she'd seen was Jae moving towards a shadow. Now as she reached out to touch the Weirwood she could see it all, the swords clashing, the words being spoken and the face of a dying god.
The king held the sword and it shined far more brightly than anything she had ever believed could. Its light illuminating the Isle of Faces and the lands for miles around and Malora watching it all from some distance away through the three eyes of a raven. The entire God's Eye's shined, the water reflecting the light, and the further she moved away the more she saw just how bright it truly was. Harrenhal, High Heart, even from the walls of Riverrun the light could be seen shining in the night's sky.
She was shown this, allowed to experience this, and then almost in the blink of one of the raven's three eyes she was back on the Isle of Faces. The king was rising to his feet, Leaf had helped to heal his wounds and yet it wasn't her or the king that Malora found her eyes drawn to. Instead, it was the figure that lay on the ground, his eyes closing and his horns broken. The blood from the wound pooling on the ground and Malora looked on as the ground seemed to welcome it, almost drinking it down hungrily.
"Come child, there is much you must see." the figure, the god, said to her and she moved towards it, him, her.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"I am the one who was chosen." the god said.
"Chosen?" she asked.
"To help the prince Bring the Dawn, to help the sword be forged, blood and magic, both were needed and I gave up mine own willingly."
"You knew you would die?" she asked shocked.
"I hoped I would." the god said and she swore she heard happiness in its voice.
"What is it you wish of me?" she asked.
"The sword is not all that needs blood and magic, it's time for the Lady in the Tower to be who she was meant to be, you must drink." the god said and she looked to his hand to see a small cup in it.
"Drink what?" she asked nervously.
"Me." he said and she looked at him as he held the cup to the wound and pressed down, the blood flowing even more and the sound of the cup filling reverberating around the empty field.
"I cannot?" she said appalled when he offered the cup to her.
"You must."
She took the cup from his hand and brought it to her mouth, the smell of copper strong and as he looked at her she swallowed it all down, surprised to find there was no taste.
"You have done well Lady of the Tower, would that we'd picked you earlier." the god said, and then his eyes closed.
Malora looked on as the ground began to shake, as what seemed to be branches moved to the fallen god, and then as one, they cut into him. It was a horrific sight, the branches practically tore the body apart and piece by piece was carried off by them until only a large bloody imprint of a body was left behind. Even that was not to remain for long as the ground began to drink the blood down, deep into the roots of the island itself, she felt rather than saw.
She fell to her knees and felt her body begin to shake, the power of the magic coursing through her veins and traveling to each and every inch of her body. Even the tips of her toes seemed to be affected and then there was darkness before the visions began.
A dark-haired man knelt in front of a silver-haired one, the wolf on his sigil making him out as a Stark and she didn't need to look any closer at either of them to know who they were. The same dark-haired man then spoke to a man who bore a striking resemblance to him. The king that knelt and his bastard brother and though she couldn't hear the words, she could see there was no anger, no malice, and no disappointment in either man's eyes.
When next she saw them they were arguing publicly and yet she could see the truth in their eyes, the mummery that was being performed and she wondered why they deemed it necessary to do so. She was not to find out this day as soon she was watching as dragons fought dragons and both man and beast fell. She watched as a woman was fed to a dragon and though she wished to turn her head away she found to her horror that she could not.
She saw arrows fired from atop a hill and swore she heard a god weep and yet she saw that same god offer a cup to the man who had ordered those arrows be fired. Malora looked on as the man with one eye drank it down and she heard the sighs of disappointment all around her. The words were soon spoken aloud in more than one voice.
"We believed his kinsman was the right man to guide him."
"We hoped they would fight together."
"Even gods make mistakes."
Soon she found herself walking through a dance of some sort, a young dark-haired man dancing with a very pretty women both of them so wrapped up in each other that the world around them seemed not to exist. She heard the roar of the dragon and then she was outside as green flames burned and a woman lay on the ground as cried out in pain. Malora swore she saw a shadow near the woman and for the briefest moment she was certain she was looking at the king and then she looked to see the figures that knelt around the woman, their horns marking them out as who they truly were.
"We almost lost him"
"Without the dragon, we would have."
"Love always finds a way."
Malora stood at a tower and watched men fight and heard a woman scream, she walked by a river and saw rubies fly in the air and a body fall into the water, she even heard a single word that went unheard on a dying man's lips. She saw a blonde-haired green-eyed man be attacked in a tent and another green-eyed man though one she recognized standing in front of a dark-haired boy who was swinging a wooden sword. She followed as the dark-haired boy walked to a room and lay down on his bed, his tears soon coming as he sobbed before sleeping.
Next, she was in an orchard and she looked on as a brown-eyed girl played with boys who must have been her brothers, her laughter almost infectious, and even Malora felt she was wearing a smile as she listened to it. She saw the girl dancing, her smile beaming as the young boy moved nervously with her and though they were much younger she couldn't help but see the earlier couple dancing in her eye. The girl and boy looking so much like the young man and woman that she'd seen before the green flames had taken them away.
"All our hopes."
"All our Dreams."
"Love finds a way."
She woke up to the children looking at her worriedly, Leaf almost panicking as she shook her and then smiling when her eyes opened. It took her some time to rise to her feet and as she did she felt the difference. It was a hard thing to comprehend, physically she was as she had always been and yet not but it was how she saw her surroundings that truly made her understand. The trees, the children, the animals, they all possessed it, be it a small spark as in the case of a sparrow on a nearby branch or a shining light that emanated from the Weirwoods. When she looked at her hands she could see they sparkled even more brightly and she once again found Leaf looking at her with concern.
"All is well?" Leaf asked.
"All is well, come we should eat." she said and Leaf nodded
Malora knew she'd need her strength as there was much to be done and the prince would need her help to Bring the Dawn.
Winterfell/Queenscrown 299 AC.
Jaehaerys Targaryen.
He had been eager and yet reluctant to leave King's Landing. On one hand, his mind was telling him that the sooner he left the sooner he would return and on the other, he was sure he'd be gone for some time. The work he was setting off to do would take him longer than he planned, somehow he just knew it would and the thoughts of not seeing Margaery for a long amount of time were ones he wished he could clear his mind of.
Were this just a normal time then it would be hard enough but she was carrying their babe and he was leaving her alone to face all that meant. He wouldn't be there to ease her pain or discomfort as he knew Jaime and his uncle Ned had, as he knew Oberyn had with Ellaria. Should she worry or lay in bed and rest, he wouldn't be there to soothe those worries or to manage the realm so that she need not. True he knew that Jaime would take as much off her shoulders as he could but he knew his wife too and Margaery would force herself to do more than she should.
Jae should be there with her and yet he knew he could not be and it angered, worried, and upset him all at once. It was why he'd been so quiet on this flight, not even speaking when they landed in the Riverlands to set up camp. That none of them tried to get him to open up and speak what was on his mind was something he was most grateful for as was his sister's calming words. Now as they flew into the North itself, he at least felt they were doing something and though Margaery wasn't ever going to be far from his mind, he welcomed the distraction as they flew over Castle Cerwyn.
Flying over Wintertown he cursed himself for flying so low but he knew she had wished to show off and so he had allowed her to. When he saw the Grey Walls come into view he felt some excitement rise and then he felt some worry too. Up until now what he had planned to do with the Free Folk was an idea to most, that idea was about to become real and soon his uncle would have more than a hundred thousand wilding savages, as the Free Folk were seen, on his doorstep. True they'd be on Jae's lands but that wouldn't stop the worries their presence would bring. He shook this thought from his mind as best he could and then Rhaenix landed some distance from Winterfell's gates.
"Go eat and rest, we'll fly the day after the morrow." he said to her after he and each of his companions had dismounted, Jae smiling when he saw Frost run off in the direction of Winterfell faster than any of them could follow.
He turned to Oberyn and the others, his uncle the only one who'd not been to Winterfell or the North before, and he wondered what he was making of it. Judging by the expression on his face he seemed to be enjoying it for the most part, other than the way he pulled his furs even more tightly against himself.
"Cold enough for you, uncle?" he asked with a smirk.
"How can you people live like this." Oberyn said to a chuckle from Loras.
"It's warm inside the keep, my prince." Loras said and Jae saw that Oberyn was now even keener to enter the gates.
His uncle and cousin both rode to him with their guards and spare horses which Oberyn was more than pleased to see and after greeting them both they were soon riding into Winterfell itself. Jae tried to wave off his uncle's adherence to protocol but to no avail and so after being told that Winterfell was his and after those in the courtyard who he'd assumed had been lined up by Elle were bid to rise, they walked in through the main doors and he heard Oberyn's laugh.
"I told you." he heard Loras say and Jae shook his head and hid his smile.
He knew that he wasn't alone in welcoming the warm bowl of broth that was given to them, Oberyn eating two bowls as he finally felt himself begin to warm Then after Robb had said he'd see to the organizing of rooms and Jae had spoken to both Elle and Wynafred, he asked his uncle if they could speak and he and Arthur walked to his uncle's solar. Robb arrived not long after he'd taken his seat and Jae smiled while looking at his brother. Married life seemed to be treating him well and he wondered if like him, Robb would be a father soon.
"We got your raven, your grace, congratulations." his uncle said.
"I'm most happy uncle, as is Margaery and though it's not a concern of mine truly, I know it secures the crown even more." he said and his uncle nodded
"It seems I have some catching up to do then, Jae." Robb said and Jae looked at him and laughed.
"Indeed brother, a cousin would be most welcome." he said to a nod.
"I'd not expected a visit, your grace?" his uncle said and Jae sighed, even though he had long since stopped even attempting to get him to call him by his name.
"I'm here about the Free Folk, uncle, it's time." he said as his uncle looked to his brother.
"You truly mean to bring them all through the Wall?" Robb asked.
"I've sent ships to transport them and when I leave here I'll be stopping off to ready Queenscrown and I'll be looking to the lands of the Gift. Have you decided who to place in charge of the lands of the New Gift, uncle?" he asked his uncle.
"In time I'd name Rickon but for now I intend to ask Jory Cassel to serve as Castellan as we build a new keep and then once Rickon comes of age I'll gift Jory his own keep and lands and have him serve as his bannerman." his uncle said and Jae looked at him curiously "Elle's idea." his uncle said and Jae chuckled.
"Jory's a good man and he's level-headed, I'll see he speaks with Mance Raydar and between them, I think we can keep the peace." he said.
"You truly think the wildings will keep the peace, Jae?" Robb asked.
"They know best what's coming for them, brother and by the time I'm done they'll know what they face from me if they break it."
"You look tired, your grace, why don't you get some rest and we'll speak more later, when do you leave?" his uncle asked.
"The day after the morrow, I'll rest later, I wish to go and pay my respects if that's alright?" he asked.
"Of course, you wish company?"
"No uncle, I'd prefer to be alone." he said rising to his feet.
He and Arthur walked first to the glass gardens and then to the crypts, Arthur standing at the door while Jae walked in alone. Seeing her brought up all the feelings that it always did and yet it was different too. At first, Jae wasn't sure why that was and then it struck him when he looked down at the sword.
"I've done it mother, I've forged Lightbringer, I'm closer now than ever to bringing you all back but I'm scared too, for the first time in my life I'm truly scared. Margaery is with child, a little prince or princess, your grandchild, and I'm scared for my child. Did you feel this way? Did father? " he asked as he placed the winter rose in her hand and moved to sit by the wall facing her.
He closed his eyes and felt the wind brush against his face almost as if it was a hand touching his cheek. An image of his mother playing in his mind's eye as he pictured her holding a babe in her arms protectively. Opening his eyes he wiped the tears that had fallen and rose to his feet, moving to the stature and looking into its face.
"I am afraid, but I am brave, mother, just as you were, as father was. I see it now, the truth of those words, a man can only ever truly be brave when he is afraid. Thank you, for what you both gave me, for who I am because of you, thank you for making me brave." he said as he closed his eyes once more.
Jae enjoyed the dinner that night and was glad it was not a feast, he spoke to Elle and to Wynafred, teased his brother, and watched as Oberyn ingratiated himself to the Northmen in the Great Hall. After a good night's sleep and breaking his fast he went and prayed in the godswood and was about to take Dark Sister out to clean her when he saw the light of the sword grow even brighter.
"I thought I'd find you here." he heard his uncle's voice and he looked to see his uncle walk his way.
"I planted one in the gardens of the Red Keep." Jae said taking out the Weirwood seed he carried with him.
"Will it grow there?" his uncle asked taking his seat across from him, Ice in his hand and he watched as his uncle reached for the cloth to clean the blade.
"It will, these seeds come directly from the Children of the Forest." he said.
"You've truly seen them?" his uncle asked.
"Aye, they're real uncle, as are the gods." he said and his uncle nodded, Jae almost about to tell him about the one he fought that had sacrificed himself and thinking the better of it, instead he took out the sword and showed it to him.
"How?" his uncle asked.
"It's Lightbringer, forged truly this time." he said and his uncle didn't contradict him.
"The wildings, you're sure of this?"
"I am, uncle, what's coming for us all will take us all to beat them and we will need their help, it'll need the realm, the dragons and men, uncle, all men." he said looking at him.
"Then I'll make sure they're welcomed as best I can."
"Thank you." he said to a nod.
He spent the day sparring with his brother and the Kingsguard and with Oberyn. Then took some time to see his youngest brother and perhaps spent far more time than he would have with Rickon if it were not for Margaery's own condition. A part of him wished to fly to Bear Island to see Arya and to Sea Dragon Point to see Cregan, something he knew that Arthur wished to do also but he knew he could not, for now at least.
Dinner that night was a more solemn affair, on his part mainly. Jae knew that when he left on the morrow there was no telling when he'd see his family again. When next he saw his uncle and brother may very well be in the upcoming war itself as he didn't really see himself traveling much once he did return to King's Landing. It led him to take an early night and he was glad of the glass candle and being able to speak to Margaery. After a fitful night's sleep he woke early and he and Loras walked the grounds of Winterfell as morning broke, almost as if he was taking a look to keep it in his memory. As if he wished to remember it as it was now, in peace and with everyone happy, rather than in war with everyone worried for their loved ones.
His mood stuck with him for most of the day, through saying his farewells to his uncle and brothers and their wives and through the flight on Rhaenix's back. It only let up when they neared Queenscrown and they flew over it. Jae looking down at the damaged tower and the abandoned village that had long fallen to ruin. He had Rhaenix do another circle of the lands and he looked down to see the buildings had been made more out of stone than wood, the damaged pieces laying nearby and he was happy to see them there.
They landed and he walked the grounds of the keep and the village, seeing it even more clearly. The village was a large one by northern standards, with a large inn, some houses, and a few large buildings. It would take some work to their roofs to make them habitable and they were far more damaged than he had hoped. As for the tower, it had fallen completely into ruin, yet all the stones remained and he found himself imagining what it and the village had once looked like.
"Why are we here nephew?" Oberyn asked after Jae had been sitting quietly for perhaps an hour or so.
"One day one of my children or grandchildren will call this keep their home uncle. House Targaryen of Queenscrown. Until that day, this and the lands around it as well as those in the Gift will be where the Free Folk are housed, I intend to ask my uncle Benjen to stay here as my castellan."
"It's a ruin, Jae, it'll take moons, years even, before anyone could stay here." Loras said.
"Normally aye," he said as he walked to where Rhaenix was resting and reached up to take the bag containing the jars from her.
After telling her to fly some way away, Jae not sure if what he was about to do would affect her and not willing to take the risk, he walked back and opened the bag.
"Is that blood?" Oberyn asked.
"Mine own, this is going to seem strange uncle, to all of you. What we did on Dragonstone Arthur, that was merely a test, this is what can truly be done but it requires a lot of effort, I may not be myself for some time afterward so be not alarmed." he said and Arthur nodded while the others looked at him in confusion.
He moved to the edge of the water, the stone path that led them to the Tower Keep in front of him. Taking the jar he poured more than half the contents onto his head, feeling the blood drip down his hair and onto his face. Once he was almost completely covered he placed the jar on the ground and wiped his hands in his hair and onto his face, smearing the blood even more, and then for a reason not known to him he felt a need to take out his sword.
"I'd ask you to shield your eyes when it begins to shine." he said and he saw them nod.
Unsheathing Dark Sister he immediately saw that he had been right in warning them, the light that shone from the sword was far brighter than it had been in some time. Holding by the hilt he drove it into the ground in front of him and he began to sing. There were no true words to the song, more sounds, and yet he thought it to be one of the most beautiful things he had ever heard and he wondered if those around him thought so too. He sang for some time, until he felt his throat ache and then he stopped and almost collapsed to the ground.
It took some time for the light to dim and when it did he rose to his feet and removed Dark Sister from the ground and put it back into its scabbard. Looking ahead of him he could see what he'd done and turning around he could see both the looks on the faces of those with him and the village looking far more like it had when he'd pictured it. There was still work to be done, the roofs needed fixing and the insides would need to be made ready but the buildings themselves were more than sound. As for the Queenscrown, the Tower was once more intact and he doubted it had looked this good in more than two centuries. Not since Good Queen Alysanne had stayed here herself had it been as strong and foreboding as it looked now and he smiled as he looked upon it.
"What did you do, Jae?" Oberyn asked, looking from the village to the tower.
"I sang a song, uncle, a song of stone." he said.
Flying over the tower and the village later he felt Rhaenix's happiness, their blood would rule here one day and both of them felt it was now a worthy place for a dragon to name its home.
A/N: Thanks to all who've read and reviewed. I spent the last week in bed with a bad dose of the flu and so had to postpone all updates, thankfully all is well and I feel much better now and so normal service has resumed. It did give me a chance to start rewriting the earlier chapters and I've finished the first two which I'll be updating later today. Up Next Jae, Loras, and the others arrive and meet with the Free Folk and we begin the evacuation at Hardhome.
Daryl Dixon: So very glad you liked it.
Biohazard: Really glad you liked it.
Hkt29: I think so yes, the Lannister's really are or have become his true family in a lot of ways. Harry is so entitled that it was only a matter of time until Anya cut ties and Olenna played it very well and set it in motion. It's one of the oddest things I see in fics, you take a character like Quentyn and say make him a bit of a fool and perhaps even antagonistic, but people never go that they also may have a limit. So I wanted to do that, have him be a bit of a dick but not a total dick. Aurane just needed that push, but there will still be some who don't accept it. I hadn't thought of the reversal with Stannis literally until I'd finished writing it, but yes he's pretty much Jon in this.
Celexys: We're entering ominous territory and so yep not all will make it out of it.
Supremus: The balance between it is what I found interesting. You take Aemon's line about duty and love and you flip it, and you come to the conclusion that duty while important is lesser than love in all ways. You can also argue that at the end of the show Jon Snow did his duty when had he shown love it would not have been needed.
VFSnake: I think there are five types of lords, there's the Mace type who's a bumbling fool, the Tywin/Roose type who are ambitious and ruthless, the Maege (I know lady) Howland type who are loyal to a fault, the Ned type who try to do their best but circumstances don't allow it and the Harry type who are arrogant, spoiled and not suited to be a lord.
Remi: We'll be seeing the NW's reaction soon. On Harry that's the problem he's an idiot, his one saving grace is Jae is busy elsewhere it means he'll keep the Eyrie for a little longer. I had thought of having them redeem themselves and had they a better heir than Harry then perhaps but I think it's funny when you look at just how screwed up the great houses end up. Lannister basically gone, Starks basically gone, Baratheon's gone but for bastards and Targ's pretty much done for. Tyrell's screwed, Martell's screwed, Greyjoy's screwed, pretty much apart for the Tully's by the end of the show every great house is screwed.
I have plans for Loras, it's been hard to fit him in and so here we see him once again, but I do have plans for him. On the Valyrian Steel, we'll see.
Guest: It's the biggest difference with Jon and anyone with Dany, other than perhaps Val, there always has to be this departure and split when the adventures begin, hopefully, though I've enough to keep Marge busy with. Aemon was in a way screwed over by the gods but he also had his part to play in things, he was needed to push Jae that way, to anger him almost, the gods have been playing a game for longer than any of the players. We will over the next few chapters see that in truth, Malora's pov hints at it.
Jman: It was the choice, I always wondered why if Azor Ahai beat them they come back, so I wanted to give Jae the choice and have him refuse it.
Scarila: No worries my friend, I don't mind answering so feel free to take up my time. We'll see on Quentyn, initially, it's simply that while he may be a bad guy he doesn't have to be a complete bad guy, there can be limits, so we'll see. As for Harry, he's one step away from being ended, who would end him, we'll see.
Jessicanightmarewolf: Oh some people will disagree, both out of the outrage they feel and the jealousy over the loss of a Targaryen princess. The name does kinda work, it's funny because in the lore they have it done at times, a bastard marrying a lady so she can keep her house name. It's both their own exclusion and seeing the red faith so close that is going to anger the faith. Harry is consistently an ass lol.
Dunk: I thought it was an interesting idea, to have it that Azor Ahai did the wrong thing but it was enough to stop the Great Other temporarily, plus to play off the whole duty vs. love and love being the most powerful thing is something that's been a theme all trough things. At the core of the story is Jae/Marge and so I really wanted that to play into the lore somehow too. We'll see with Quentyn when it comes to redemption but yes he's going to Hardhome. Harry is a fuck up waiting to happen in a way so we'll see.
MalSer: Thanks so very much, I get what you mean about incomplete stories, it's one of the things I promised myself when starting this, it can be so frustrating when you spend your time to read and invest and then it just doesn't finish leaving you feeling as if you wasted that time. So don't worry, this and all my other stories will finish, or I'll die trying to finish them lol.
Oonighteyes: Thanks so very much, glad you liked it.
Keb: You're more than welcome.
Anja: So very glad you enjoyed it.
Anarchichmind: I hate the shock value of deaths, there should be a reason and for all GRRM does it, he only ever truly does it with the good characters, the horrible ones get to live and don't face the same rules which kinda ruins the use of it IMO. For me a death should be important, it should mean something and it should be in some way logical. Jae has been very lucky so far in that he was facing enemies that were far lesser to him. In the actual battles in the WOTFK, very few of the main characters actually die, it's in plots, hell Stannis sails through a sea of Wfire, is attacked by behind by an army three times his size, and doesn't even get a scratch on him. For Jae he was ahead of the curve plot-wise and so losing people becomes illogical. From here on in that's not the case but the Marge thing would have been a step too far. I also dislike the idea of others being sacrificed, too many stories do that and I wanted to do something different that I think made sense.
I will say though, from here on in we may be entering more GRRM territory.
Whitedragonwarrior: I think he can be a bad guy but not a complete dick. If someone like the Hound can be redeemable then Quentyn can, will he be? We'll see.
Lady Octarina: I know right, Stannis is like the George Washington of ASOIAF, we'll see with Quentyn, he's on his way to Hardhome so he may run into an uncle. Olenna knew exactly what she was doing with Anya, she basically set this in motion. Lol, it really isn't is it, I came to discuss a matter of ships, laws, or something else, what's that you say, a shiny sword, yeah, I'm out. I hadn't thought of it that way with Tyrion/Dany, hmmm we'll see.
Silverglow: It's not so much for the better more that there were lines he wouldn't cross. Anya is a bit of a schemer yes, I have her even more so in another story of mine but I think this is one of the things we missed out on when they limited the world as much as they did in the show. By the end of it, Westeros's fate is being decided by two people who really wouldn't be allowed to, Bran/Sansa. They make it out as if the game that everyone's been playing all their lives would suddenly end.
It's why the ending post-Jon/Dany's ending is so freaking terrible. Sansa named queen and Bran King is the end of the Seven Kingdoms. Add in Bronn as lord of HG and it's even dumber. Beneath the great houses, there are many other houses all vying to rise high and so you would have someone like Anya who's been plotting/scheming for years to get more and just because we don't really see her, doesn't mean she's not or others are not.
Harry has been outmaneuvered because others are playing and he's a moron. Thanks for your concern my friend, I feel much better and so normalcy has returned.
Creativo: Más se sacrificó.
Irish Hermit: He perhaps should, one of the luckiest things he has going for him is that Jae is focused elsewhere, however, there are people on Jae's side who have eyes on him. It was yes, Aemon was pretty much used by the Old Gods here, they're playing a game themselves. We'll be seeing the Giants next, earlier when I had Jae meet with Mance I wanted it to be a brief thing so that I could give the true meeting the time and effort it really requires. Jae is about to meet all the known Free Folk and that includes Wun Wun.
Zeon07: That's what I was going for and what really caused the anger at Aemon, it was the going from so very very high with news of the babe to then being brought low. Jaime is pretty much Jae's father at this point and so seeing his son in pain he lashed out, we'll see him and Aemon speak in a little bit. With Quentyn my thoughts were that while he was a bad guy who did dumb things, it doesn't mean he's a completely horrible person, he has limits and so no way was he going along with the rapists.
I really wanted to do something different with the Azor Ahai thing, and the god's death is well more of it will be explained, the gods have their own game running, they're on Jae's side but they've been playing far longer than he, we'll see a lot of that in the next few chapters. As for Harry, for now, he'll be fine, for now.
Ceelee: I think it works better, it also can be flipped around for the only death pays for life thing, in that here it's the reverse, only life pays for death. Azor Ahai killed Nissa Nissa and so was unable to kill the NK, Jae won't kill Marge and so will be able to kill the NK.
Xand007: Thanks, my friend. Basically yes, Azor Ahai was a Muppet (mental image of him as Gonzo has me laughing btw). That would be a fun way to kill him wouldn't it, Harry Hardyng sleeps with the fishes lol. You too my friend, stay safe and well.
King of Warhammer: No worries my friend, With Robb and here in this fic especially there is less of an issue simply because it's become a thing. So we have Jorah/Lynesse who've done so, Jon/Marge, and now Robb/Wynafred. They all married in both faiths and so it's not the same as with Ned/Cat who only married in the one. Wynafred is a northerner and a follower of the Seven, this is known as one of Dany's Dothraki ladies would say. So again he's fulfilled the biggest part of things, he's married a Northerner, that's more important than the faith thing. Also, the North itself is changing, there is a Sept in Wintertown, an influx of people from the South, so Robb as Lord of the North has to straddle both the Old Gods and the New.
On advice for fics the best I can give is that before you start you should ask yourself some questions. I'll use Jon as my example because it's who I write but you can insert anyone you want in here.
1. The pairing, is important and not just simply because of a romance arc but because it will define a lot of what you do. Logically for me Jon going South early to take his throne, (Jon fostering in the south, being a squire etc) then Marge makes the most sense. Jon/Dany on the other hand, for me, that works best either if you stick closer to canon, so Dany coming to Westeros when she does or you have Jon go to Essos.
2. Write out a couple of the key plot points you want to hit, you could write it as almost a brief synopsis of the story itself but it kinda works better IMO if you write it as a set of plot points something like this.
(A) Jon learns the truth early.
(B) Jon gets dragons.
C) Arthur Dayne lives.
Little things like that.
3. When you get stuck and you will get stuck, move past the part you're stuck on and write something else, you'll find that it allows you to go back and move through the part you couldn't write.
So for example, you're writing a Jon scene or a Dany scene and it's not working, maybe it's a dramatic scene and it's becoming a chore. Stop, take a break and instead write a later scene in the same story, write an action scene that you have in your mind that may not be getting used for another four or five chapters or a funny scene, or a scene you've always wanted to write. As I said you'll end up once you're done writing it, then being able to write what gave you trouble and the added bonus is you've written something that you can use a little later so you've not wasted time.
(D) don't be afraid to ask for advice from people reading it and don't let the negative reviews get you down, no matter how great you think you've done, or have done, some people will troll you regardless but I've found that most will offer helpful advice if you ask.
