The Ashes of Defeat (SYOC)
The Ashes of Defeat follows book events with the ending being imagined to be similar, but not the same as what happened in the show. Daenerys Targaryen won the war, claiming victory over Aegon Targaryen and her other enemies, ending with the destruction of large parts of King's Landing by her and her surviving dragons - Drogon and Rhaegal. She took Jon Snow as a prince consort and returned to rule over the ashes in King's Landing. Now, nearly 25 years have passed since Daenerys' own conquest and things haven't settled like she thought they may.
The prologue focuses on three characters of my creation - Lady Ceryse Lannister, Lady Ellyn Baratheon, and Lady Lynara Stark, who were all taken to King's Landing as wards years ago and are now ladies-in-waiting to Daenerys' eldest daughter. High positions of repute, they are usually a show of respect to the houses of their birth. To all, however, they are more akin to hostages taken from the three families that cost Daenerys and her family so much pain.
House Breakdown
House Targaryen - House Targaryen of King's Landing is headed by Queen Daenerys Targaryen I. She has four true blooded children that are available for submission. All four children are between the ages of 18 and 25, and the eldest daughter is the rider of Rhaegal. The eldest son anticipates claiming Drogon upon his mother's death.
House Baratheon - House Baratheon of Storm's End is led by Lord Edric Baratheon (formerly Edric Storm). He and his wife, a lady from the Stormlands, have multiple children that are available for submission. Ellyn Baratheon is his eldest daughter who has served in King's Landing for years. The relationship between the Crown and Storm's End is chilly, but not as disruptive as others, since Edric owes his position to Queen Daenerys.
House Martell - House Martell of Sunspear is led by Princess Arianne Martell and her husband, a second son of a Dornish house. They have a multitude of children, and Arianne has several bastards. Dorne is the closest to the Crown, but many there (including Arianne privately) hunger for independence once again. The house has the closest bond to House Targaryen due to prior marriages.
House Tyrell - House Tyrell of Highgarden is led by Lord Willas Tyrell and his wife. They have three children together and have a stable, but distant relationship with the Targaryens. They focus more on their own region while Daenerys reigns, but may wish to get involved more with her son coming into power.
House Lannister - House Lannister of Casterly Rock is led by a Regent from Lannisport that is submittable in absence of future Lady Paramount Ceryse Lannister who is finishing her service in King's Landing before ascending. Many believe that Daenerys wishes to wed Ceryse to her younger son to keep the Lannisters close and an eye upon them. Ceryse has several male cousins that are submittable and also wish to rule Casterly Rock in a more permanent situation.
House Tully - House Tully of Riverrun is led by Lord Edmure Tully and his wife. Edmure has had four children with his Frey wife and one bastard after her death. The Tullys still have close relations with House Stark of Winterfell due to their bonds in war, and are watched suspiciously from King's Landing for their conduit to Winterfell.
House Arryn - House Arryn of the Eyrie is led by a submittable young man who would have been the son of Harrold Hardyng (Arryn). He has two siblings that are also submittable. House Arryn is powerful and influential, having been spared the worst of the war that hit Westeros. They have also been spared much of the blowback from Daenerys.
House Stark - House Stark of Winterfell is led by a submittable young man who would have been the son of Rickon Stark and his northern wife. He has three additional siblings besides Lynara. There is a lot of anger in the North for their treatment both before and after the war. Many believe that Lord Rickon and Lady Sansa's untimely deaths were orchestrated by King's Landing, which has left them wounded for years. Lady Lynara has been kept in King's Landing as a reminder of their prior transgressions.
Note - House Greyjoy and the Iron Islands will not play large roles in the story and thus aren't as required.
19th Day of the 5th Moon, 335 AC
Prologue - The Doe, the Wolf, and the Lioness
Snow fell lightly upon her face, causing her gloved hands to reach up and touch her pinkish cheeks. Thick furs wove around her like she had always dreamed, white and gray and brown, pelts of all kinds. The castle was behind her, her heavy boots sinking into the fresh coat of snow at her feet. Ahead dawn was breaking over the horizon, casting beams of orange, yellow and pink across the sky. The morning sun in Winterfell was a cold sun. Beside her, a tall young man stood. Her brother. But when she looked over to him, she could see the outline of where his broad frame would be, but she couldn't see his face. Lynara could never see his face.
Sometimes dreams felt as real as memory. For Lynara, it was because they often drew upon the deeper parts of her mind - whether it was actually memory or some drawings in books - she didn't know. But the girl could nearly feel the light snow on her face when she stepped outside of the dreary castle, the dawn breaking over the hills afar. Her brother was always there, but when she woke up she couldn't picture his face. What did she expect? She hadn't seen him since they were children.
Groaning, the lady rolled over, her real surroundings coming into play. A nice set of rooms that she could call her own, by the light streaming in from behind the curtains, she had slept in. It was her day off for the week, the princess had no need of them today. She would be with her mother, the queen. The sun was warm in King's Landing, and summer was beginning to set in for real now. A sheen of perspiration seemed to coat Lynara's body before she had even moved that morning. Her stubbornness to keep her covers on at night seemed to have some consequence after all. The colors of the room were red - the color of her host - the Targaryens.
Lynara had never disliked the princes or princesses, or at least had no opinion on them. Queen Daenerys was different. The thought of her made the hairs on her arms stand up and her skin crawl. With the move of one arm, she threw the covers off of herself and swung her legs over the edge. From what little Lynara had heard of gossip, many expected that the Queen's favored Master of Whisperers - an Essosi from Slaver's Bay - had killed both Lynara's father, the late Lord Rickon, and her aunt, Lady Sansa, years and years ago. She had been young, but she could still remember her father's energetic and warm face. In her mind, her brother's looked like that at times.
The lady pushed herself to her feet and grabbed a cloth, wetting it in the pail she'd had set out the night before. She washed up rather quickly before going to find the dress she had picked out for the day. Lady Ellyn and her had decided the night before that they would do some adventuring in the city together - which usually meant shopping and ogling the more handsome city watchmen that would accompany them. That was more Ellyn's taste than her own, but Lynara never argued.
Soon enough, the light tapping on the door let her know that her friend had indeed arrived.
"Coming!" Lynara called as she finished doing up her gray dress. She couldn't wear furs in the Capital because it was too hot, but she tried to stay true to her house with the colors she wore. She was a Stark of Winterfell, not some southern lady.
The heavy door was pulled open and gave way to the lady waiting on the other side. Lady Ellyn had the same dark hair that Lynara herself did, but her face was narrower and smaller, with a pointier chin and blue eyes. Ellyn wore a plain black dress, something she did often. It was part of her own house's colors, but also ingratiated herself with the royal family as well. A smile was nearly always present on her friend's face, and she usually was the one to get the others to do something fun.
Lynara hardly remembered a time when she didn't know Ellyn Baratheon. The older girl had taken both her and Ceryse in when they were younger. All three were wards of the Queen's at one time and had been reassigned to the princess as ladies-in-waiting when she was old enough to warrant them. The daughter of Lord Edric Baratheon, Ellyn had always been a little more fortunate than her other two friends. Storm's End wasn't very far and she went home nearly once a year or every other year. Her father was still alive, and their family had slowly won their way back into Daenerys' good graces.
"Lynara!" Ellyn grinned as she saw her friend, pulling her into a quick hug. "Are you ready? I haven't talked with Ceryse yet, but we could go check on her."
"I'm ready," Lynara assured her, returning the embrace for a moment before Ellyn was already turning around to go find their third friend.
The distance between all three of their rooms wasn't very far - it was easier for the royal guards to keep them close and accounted for. The girls had known each other since Ellyn was seven, Lynara was five, and Ceryse had been just three when she had arrived in King's Landing. A septa had raised her more than any mother, which had passed in childbirth. Lynara at least had her own mother still. Ceryse had no parents left at all.
Despite her young age, Ceryse had always been the oldest mentally. Lynara still had dreams of travel and adventure, Ellyn had dreams of being swept off her feet by a knight, Ceryse…Lynara didn't know what she dreamt of. She was the prickliest of their trio, quick to anger and vicious in her words. The young lioness could show her claws at anything perceived as a slight. Still, Ceryse was the most accustomed to the world of politics, despite her flashes of passion.
"Ceryse!" Ellyn banged on the door louder than she had on Lynara's. "We're going into the city!"
"Hold on!" The reply was muffled and a string of curses could be heard. After a minute or so of waiting, the door swung open again and Ceryse stepped out. The girl was more conventionally attractive, with thick blonde hair and a heart-shaped face. Her eyes were big and doleful, with the familiar green of House Lannister. She was the shortest of the group as well, having inherited some of it from both her mother and father.
Chatter filled the air as the group of girls made their way out of the castle, a household guard or two following them to ensure their safety. Smiles and laughter were common, each one delighting in the warmth in the air and the breeze on their faces.
While King's Landing wasn't entirely a den of thievery and other assorted crimes, it was by no means entirely secured either. Their two guards were ever on alert, eyes sweeping the busy streets. Ceryse had chosen their destinations wisely, though, and it started with a street that she had known they would all enjoy. Or at least, the Lannister had hoped.
The Street of Flour was a street filled with savory, delicious smells that hung in the air no matter where you were. It was one of the most pleasant-smelling streets in King's Landing. Bakeries lined the street, with local merchants attempting to sell whatever they could to the passers-by. Ellyn had a weakness for anything sweet, so she knew that the modest amount of coin lining her pockets would likely be thinned out quite a bit by the end. Just the thought of tarts, cakes, and little candies nearly could make her stomach growl.
"It looks busy," Ellyn noted as she caught sight of their first choice. A pleasant shop with a line that was clustered inside, it was the princess' favorite. The trio had planned on bringing enough back for a few days to eat at their luncheons. "I'll go in and wait, what do you want?"
"Something with sugar," Lynara answered, not very picky herself.
"Whatever you can find with fruit," Ceryse folded her arms over her chest while Ellyn went inside.
The Stark and Lannister stood outside, watching as people milled about the streets. Not even a quarter of a century ago, the two being friends would have been incomprehensible. The bad blood between their houses had proven a difficulty at the beginning - and still gave Lynara some pause when it came to telling Ceryse everything, but she was a dependable friend nonetheless.
"Will your brother be coming down for the celebration?" Ceryse asked.
"I'm not sure. I haven't gotten a raven from him recently. It's been a few moons. I imagine someone will come," Lynara guessed. A celebration both of the Crown Prince's twenty fifth name day and a celebration of a quarter century of 'peace'. The tourney would be the main show - a joust, the melee, and an archery competition that Lynara hoped to enter herself. "Why, do you hope to introduce yourself?" She joked.
"You'd better ask Ellyn," The girl replied dryly and flashed a quick smile back at her. "No, I was just curious. I know it's been a while since you've been able to see your siblings, so I wondered. The North doesn't always come down for these sorts of things."
"No, but I think they may for this. If the Queen is as intent on it being a success as how much we've had to work on preparation for it, then she will want as many people in attendance as possible."
The trio had been doing everything from seating plans to contacting lords and ladies asking for donations for the winning prizes to meeting with vendors in the city looking for a decent price to sell their food to the crown. Ellyn and Lynara were dreadfully bored, but Ceryse had leapt into it with vigor. The Lannister girl had always felt like the Queen was purposefully not teaching her how to rule and filling her head with what the others were learning - how to manage a household, sewing, and other nonsense, in Ceryse's mind. Lynara couldn't help but be stung by it at times, but she knew Ceryse had different concerns than her own.
"I know I'll end up by the prince no matter what I do," Ceryse said mournfully. "It could be worse. Perhaps someone will ask for your favor, or will crown you Queen of Love and Beauty at the end."
Lynara knew her better than to think Ceryse actually didn't like the prince, but she was wary of him. Daenerys not teaching her combined with openly trying to get her son to court her had made Ceryse think that she wanted her own son to rule the Rock and not her. All three of the girls had some romantic bones in them as well, and Lynara knew her quick-thinking friend didn't want it so openly shoved upon her.
"They'll crown the princess," Lynara scoffed and shook her head. "They'll be too petrified with Daenerys in the crowd to do anything else. One of the princesses, at any rate."
"Keep your voice down," Ceryse whispered to her, gripping onto her hand. "You never know who's listening." The blonde girl snuck a look at their guards - the chief suspects at any rate.
The topics wouldn't resurface with Ellyn coming back outside. The older girl didn't have the same aversion to the Queen and what she represented as the other two girls did. It made sense, in a way. Rickon Stark had almost certainly been assassinated in some manner. Lord Tyrion, Ceryse's father, had been put to death after years of service as Hand, both before Daenerys' ascent to the Iron Throne and after. Her mother had died in childbirth, leaving her alone. Ellyn, meanwhile, had her father and mother. Edric Baratheon owed his position to Daenerys.
Ellyn would never know the tension that the other two girls felt when they stepped back inside the Red Keep. Shoulders drawn, lines running across their back and their hearts encased by something that seemed like armor. For some, the war had never ended. That began and ended with the one sitting on the throne herself.
Author's Note:
Overall, thank you all for reading the story. The story will have no specific update schedule going forward, but I hope I learned from my last story not to rush things. My goal is at least a chapter a month. This chapter set up more personal relationships with the three girls that will affect the coming plotlines (and was on the shorter side for what I want), but isn't the main plot. I hope to set up two main plots - one in Winterfell and one in King's Landing/the South that may bleed into a few different storylines. I will do my best to respond to any inquiries in good time as I'm currently on break from school for the rest of this week. In the meantime, please read the rules and additional info sections that can help you out!
Thank you! I'm happy to be back! I hope you can bear with me as I shake off the cobwebs of writing!
Another general note that isn't necessarily a rule - I won't focus on canon characters. While they have power in some areas, to put it simply, I find it more interesting to write original characters than canon ones, but they may have some roles, but definitely not POVs.
RULES
Rule 1: Please send all submissions through PM. I don't anticipate this will be a problem, but it bears repeating.
Rule 2: Please let me know what character you want to do before you submit a sheet (I won't decline it if you don't, but it's easier and allows me to save people time if we get multiple submissions). Examples: Lord of Winterfell, cousin of Ceryse, heir to Highgarden, etc. - not just son/daughter of _. I am not promising to accept every character - it's first come first serve, but I hope to see that the characters are well thought out and work for the story first and foremost.
Rule 3: You consent to have your character handed to me once it is sent. Your character may die, lose limbs, etc. I can also use them as frequently or infrequently as the story dictates. Along this vein, I need Lord Paramount level houses and above first, small council members, Kingsguard, etc. Minor houses are less necessary, but if you like them, I would encourage Northern ones, Westerland ones, or something like House Velaryon or Hightower (large minor houses that play a role on a grander scale).
Rule 4: You are allowed to submit as many characters as you desire, but I will make this rule - only one character from House Targaryen (if any left) or ruling character of a Lord Paramount House(at the moment Stark/Arryn are the only submittable ones). You can only make two characters from the same house total.
Rule 5: Please fill out the form completely, but please do not go overboard. I want some leeway to work with things in the story. I don't need to know what they did every year of their life, but the most important things will do.
Rule 6: My favorite part of the form is 'Plot Suggestions' because it allows me to have a glimpse at what you see your character's future as. I encourage you to take some risks and fill out some ideas, even if they may not be used. It gives me an idea at least of what you may be going for.
Rule 7: This one is important, please read. As I am above 18, I don't particularly enjoy writing about super young characters. I'd encourage you to keep them above 16 at least, and usually above 18. I know this isn't as true to ASOIAF lore as possible, but it helps my enjoyment.
Rule 8: Have fun! I will be taking characters as I get them and will be putting them on my profile. Take liberties with your characters, branch them out. If you want a connection with any of my characters in the backstory, I encourage you to reach out to me before you begin your profile, just so I can help clarify where I can and help you out!
What Characters do I need most:
- Small Council Members
- Kingsguard
- Lord Paramounts (as well as heirs and daughters)
- Targaryens (if you wish to do one)
- People who reside in King's Landing (ladies-in-waiting, knights, wards, visitors, etc.) who may have ties to other characters
(this may be added with personality types or other things as we go along)
FORM (Here and on the profile)
Basics
Name:
Age:
Gender:
Sexuality:
Title(s):
House:
Religion:
Backstory (Detailed, but not overdone. Three paragraphs or so is probably good):
Appearance
General Appearance:
Clothing Style (Formal wear, sleep wear, battle wear if applicable, general wear):
Weapons (if applicable):
Personality
Personality (Detailed, but again, not overdone. Two paragraphs or more is good):
Strengths (at least 4, balanced with weaknesses):
Weaknesses (at least 4):
What kind of personality would they be drawn toward:
What kind of personality would they avoid:
Other
Skills (be outside of the box, but also be true to your character!):
Romance (okay with a romance? If no, won't focus on it but may still be in marriage alliances/etc. if it goes with the story):
Plot Ideas (at least 3, as many as you want. I heavily encourage you to go out on a limb with these. Take liberties! I won't guarantee doing all of them, or even any, but they help me regardless):
Potential Houses you would be interested in them marrying or having a relationship with or having a friendship with (NOT guaranteed to happen, but people they would be interested in - can be as general or not as you want - similar to plot suggestions, it just helps me with what you may be drawn to):
Optional Opinion Questions
Opinions of any major house (feel free to choose as many or none as you want):
Opinion of Queen Daenerys:
Opinion of Ceryse Lannister:
Opinion of Lynara Stark:
Opinion of Ellyn Baratheon:
Character slots will be shown on my profile as they open and close!