Hello everyone!
To begin, we'd like to take a moment to thank everyone who has become invested in this story. Your participation via comments has been one of the most rewarding parts of writing A Tale of Two Dragons. As you may have seen (or even commented), this story has been on a bit of a hiatus. Have no fear, my brother and I (for there are two authors behind this story) are both simply working our way through the Fall semester of our college studies. This has obviously drastically curtailed the amount of time available for writing this story. Have no fear, however, we have no intention of discontinuing it. There is currently a chapter in the works and we hope to make time for additional content as time goes on. Since we have not been posting as frequently as we were over a month ago, I thought it might be fun to have a bit of a chat and update with our readers! Below I will take this opportunity to respond to some comments and to give some shout-outs to fans whose comments have been particularly well-articulated or enjoyable.
To begin: let's address a few comments that I think warrant a reaction from us as authors. Additionally, I thought this might be a good opportunity to explain some recent decisions we made for the story.
A guest reviewer on August 11th commented: i think you made mistake in the text you wrote that maegor ride the smallest dragon while that is addam.
Answer: From the research we've done in preparation for this story (which, admittedly, is quite extensive), we do not believe this is the case. Addam Velaryon rides Seasmoke, the former dragon of Laenor Velaryon. Given that Laenor has been dead for quite some time, and had Seasmoke for a good while whilst he was alive, we estimate Seasmoke to be comparable if not slightly larger than Sunfyre, the dragon of Aegon II, who was a good deal younger than Laenor. Sunfyre in the original timeline was responsible for killing the Grey Ghost. These two facts point us towards the conclusion that Grey Ghost is by far the smallest of the three Black dragons present at the Second Field of Fire (which is what the Second Battle of Tumbleton will come to be known as in our timeline).
A guest reviewer on August 14th: Why take such an insane risk going together to that meeting? Three assassinations and the field would be leveled again
Answer: In short, there are several reasons why we decided this was a believable thing for the three dragonseeds to do after the Second Field of Fire. Firstly, keep in mind that these three seeds have very little diplomatic or negotiating experience. A lot of fanfictions make the decision (or often the mistake) of not allowing OCs to make mistakes. This creates a lack of suspense within the story and quite frankly makes them less interesting as their OCs are simply too skilled or smart. Maegor and Gaemon (the only OCs in this story) are peasants and have spent less than a year off of Dragonstone. We don't see the negotiations through their eyes, but they probably decided to trust the word of the Green commanders. Additionally, their dragons were kept in the vicinity in case something did go awry. Secondly, much like guest-right, the right of parley is a respected and honored tradition in Westeros. Many would consider those who break to be cursed or at the very least totally lacking in honor. The seeds assumed that the men of the Reach (a region that prides itself on its chivalry) wouldn't betray the right of parley. The seeds were lucky to not be killed during these negotiations. They undoubtedly did make a mistake here! But instead of assassinations the Greens opted for diplomatic maneuvering. The seeds may not have died, but they should not have trusted the Greens (or their maesters) and that will have consequences.
Another guest on August 14 commented: Okay so the Greens are basically screwed now. Also, I would like it if Nettles rejoined our boys.
Response: Stay tuned regarding the Greens. We will only say this: the seeds have been diplomatically outmaneuvered, and the Greens still have several players left in the game, including Lord Borros Baratheon, Lord Larys Strong, and obviously King Aegon II and his dragon Sunfyre (albeit wounded from his fight with Princess Rhaenys months before). Additionally, astute readers will have noticed Queen Helaena and Dowager-Queen Alicent Hightower are both still very much alive. As is Aegon II's daughter Jaehaera. Secondly, we too would love it if Nettles rejoined the boys. Nettles is my favorite non-POV to write and I already miss her presence. Fans of Fire and Blood probably have a pretty good idea of what her upcoming arc will look like though.
On August 29th Leonel Blackfyre commented: Great writing as usual. This quickly became one of my favorite fics. It truly feels like asoiaf.
Response: Thanks very much! We put a lot of effort into our writing, and we try to produce as high-quality output as we can that stays true to Martin's work both stylistically and thematically.
On September 2nd a guest reviewer commented: I miss this story. Hope you're ok. Fire and blood baby!
Response: We are indeed okay. This comment is partially what inspired us to write this update! Thanks!
On September 18th TheBrewsk commented: I found this and binged so hard. 24 chapters in less than a day. Can't wait for an update.
Thanks! We are glad to hear we can inspire such single-minded attention. As I said before, an update is in the works! Stay tuned!
This last part of the post is intended as a thank-you to several users who have left repeat comments that have truly been wonderful to read. We'd like to thank Kingjupiter73, CaedmonCousland, and HarwinSnow for all leaving in-depth and analytical comments that truly show a great interest and investment in our work. We look forward to your comments as they are always entertaining, rich, and inspiring!
To conclude: We apologise that this isn't a full fledged update, but one is in the works. Thank you to everyone reading this story. We read every comment and are grateful to know people care about this story. It makes it a great joy to write.
Best,
The authors
Gaemon, Maegor, Baela, Gyles, Veron, and Hobert
(And Nettles! Don't you dare forget me, ya shits!)