Chapter 13: Evil? (1/3)
Jon Arryn:
A very depressed sigh escaped his old lips after he was done reading a certain letter that was handed to him by the Prince. If it wasn't enough that he had to endure the overwhelming sight of Lord Grafton suffering beyond words due to the illness that he contracted as a result of his greed. He was forced to endure even more bad news.
Dear Lord Arryn.
It pains my heart to write this letter, but I feel that I need to do this as a sign of my gratitude for your support over all of this.
As you can probably already guess by the previous words, I wasn't able to reach Wickenden in time.
I would rather not share the details but my Robar was already dead when we arrived and the culprits were able to escape.
Apologies for keeping this letter brief, but I am certain that you can understand my reasons.
Your faithful servant,
The Lord of Runestone,
Yohn Royce.
Poor Yohn... Jon thought in deep sadness as he placed the letter down.
"I was actually hoping that they would find him alive." Raziel, who was sitting on a chair near Jon, said sadly. Strangely, he had a crossbow in his hands and seemed to be aiming at something.
"Me too..." In truth, despite his hopes, Jon was already expecting him to be dead. But that didn't make him feel any less worse with the situation.
Raziel continued to hold the crossbow like he was going to shoot it, making Jon look at the spot that he was aiming at, which happened to be just an open door that leads to a different room. "So what exactly are you going to do with Lord Grafton?" The Prince asked him in curiosity.
"Nothing." And Jon responded bluntly as he sat down on another chair. "Lord Grafton is already suffering from a fate worse than anything I can possibly imagine, so I don't think there is much of a point in doing anything to him." Honestly, Jon would probably have nightmares that night because the sight of Lord Grafton in that state horrified him in a way he didn't think was possible anymore.
"You could just kill him." It was Raziel's suggestion, something that made Jon give the boy a look since it really disturbed Jon how casually he could say that. "I mean, this illness already did too much damage so killing him would probably be an act of mercy at this point." He added without even looking at Jon.
Jon sighed, because that sadly made sense, but he wouldn't do such a thing. As he continued to stare at Raziel, Jon finally decided to ask. "What exactly are you doing?"
Raziel simply lifted his index finger up to Jon, signalling him to wait a bit. Jon was confused and decided to move his head back to the door to see if he could find a clue of what exactly was the boy doing. At first, it seemed like he was just aiming a crossbow at the open door, but on the other side of it there was a plain looking wall located at the end of the room. After staring at it for a few seconds, he was able to see something moving on the wall. Wait, is he gonna- Before Jon could finish that thought, he was startled by the fact that Raziel did indeedshoot the crossbow and the bolt landed all the way into the wall located in the other room. With the bolt landing perfectly on whatever it was moving on it.
"Yes!" Raziel happily cheered since he actually managed to hit it. Before standing up from his seat and running towards the other room to check. Jon, who was still quite confused, decided to follow him to understand what just happened.
As he passed through the door, Jon saw Raziel kneeling down on the floor and grabbing the crossbow bolt. Once he lifted it up, he saw that what was moving on the wall was just a rat. A rat that was killed due to the bolt piercing through it's body. Jon then looked back and saw the chair that Raziel was sitting on, which was located next to the wall at the end of the other room. By the seven, I knew that he was a gifted archer but this... The Defender of the Vale was actually impressed by what the Prince just did because the distance between the two walls was quite considerable..
"I saw it entering the mansion while I was outside waiting for your arrival." Raziel explained while holding the bolt that the rat was impaled on it. "So I grabbed some cheese and a crossbow to make a trap for it." Which turned out to have worked perfectly.
But there was something that actually confused Jon. "When exactly did you learn to use a crossbow?" Raziel has been practicing with a bow for as long as he could hold one, but he is quite certain that he has never actually seen him use a crossbow before.
"Oh, Lady Arryn taught me." Raziel answered his question with a smile. Jon knew that he was referring to Lyro's wife. "This is actually her crossbow." Taking a good look, he realized that the crossbow was actually a work of art. Hardwood tiller veneered with ebony, the upper and lower surfaces veneered with stag horn plaques finely engraved with scrollwork, and an eagle. The sides inlaid with winged beasts and the upper and lower borders engraved with scenes of the chase and townscapes. The nut is retained by a gilded bronze band chiseled with an eagle's head.
Jon then realized something. "Speaking of which, where is Lyro and Bau?" He hasn't actually seen his cousin nor his wife since he returned from Lord Grafton's keep.
"Lord Arryn apparently went to buy himself a new horse because his previous one passed away yesterday." Jon actually remembered now, Lyro was quite upset because he had that horse for years. "Lady Arryn went with some servants to buy something." Raziel seemed to have forgotten what it was that she was planning to buy though. "I asked the servants to stay away from the room because it could scare off the rat." Which explained why that room was empty.
Jon just watched as Raziel observed the dead rat with an odd look on his face. That odd look was something that Jon has seen him do several times and after a few seconds, the Prince giggled at the dead animal. The memory of a tourney that occurred a few years ago passed through Jon's mind. The Tourney was very forgettable, but there was one moment that actually stood out. During the Melee, one of the Knight's was hit on the back of the head with a mace and the impact was enough to cause one of his eyeballs to pop out of it's socket. A disturbing injury that was enough to cause even a grown man to turn his face in deep repulsion. However, Jon wasn't actually disturbed by that, what actually disturbed him in that moment was Raziel. When it happened, he didn't react at all to it and just gave that same odd look to the man in response and then he began to giggle when the Knight's eyeball was hanging out of his eye socket.
The boy was only five at the time and that giggle still disturbs Jon more than anything he ever saw to that day. Especially since he only seems to do it when he sees something brutal.
"Jon?" Suddenly, Raziel's sweet voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Is there something wrong?" He asked him in concern as he approached one of the windows and opened, then he whistled loudly and placed the bolt with the dead rat on the window ledge.
"Ummm... No... Not exactly..." Jon just looked at the little boy standing in front of him, wondering if he should finally bring up a subject that has been bothering him since he left the Eyrie. With the boy's big blue eyes staring at him in a slight confusion. Causing him to sigh and finally say it. "Do you mind if I ask you a question?"
"Not at all." Raziel spoke as he looked at the window again, only to see Artys showing up. "There you go." He said to his pet as he watched the eagle eat the rat.
"Ummmm..." The Hand of the King genuinely didn't even know how to start with that subject. "Why did you kill that boy back when I was teaching you hawking?" That was the best way that he could start this.
"Because I wanted to." Raziel bluntly responded while looking Jon straight in the eye, and he spoke in such a casual tone that really disturbed Jon since this was coming from a boy that wasn't even ten yet.
"Raziel... You do understand that killing someone like that is wrong, right?" In all honesty, Jon was very afraid of the boy's answer.
"So is hitting someone in the face, insulting them multiple times and shoving their face into the dirt, when he was trying to offer you compensation for the sheep that his pet killed." Raziel was quick to rebuff Jon's question. "I am perfectly aware that killing someone is wrong," Before he made that part abundantly clear. "However, that boy was already going to be killed for attacking me anyway, so I simply took on the task of executing him myself while simultaneously taking some payback for the humiliation that he put me through." Which was something that visibly infuriated the Prince. "So forgive me, if I don't demonstrate remorse for killing that boy who's name I don't even know or care about."
A sigh escaped the old man's lips after hearing his answer. Raziel wasn't wrong, the boy was going to be executed for attacking the Crown Prince, but the level of enjoyment that Raziel demonstrated when he sliced that boy's throat was still incredibly disturbing. "It's not that I expect you to demonstrate remorse, it's..." The right words to use to describe it was the thing that he could not find. "You seem to have enjoyed killing that boy."
"Quite a lot, actually." Raziel admitted without shame. "And I understand the implication of it, but I am not some kind of bloodthirsty monster that enjoys murdering people." But then he clarified that part to Jon. "I just enjoy... Murdering certain people."
"C-certain people?" Jon was actually afraid of what he was going to say next.
"How do I describe it..." Raziel placed his index finger on his chin and looked down, clearly trying to think of a way to describe the meaning of his words. "People like the Moon Brothers back at that cave." He ended up using the mountain clan. "I deeply enjoyed killing them because they proved that they were nothing more than a clan of repulsively dirty savages that accomplish nothing but death and destruction."
Of that point, I can't exactly disagree, but still... Jon agrees that the Vale mountain clans were mostly nothing more than a population composed of filthy, unintelligent and violent savages that the Vale would be more than happy to be rid of. Which was the main reason why the stories about the Prince rescuing Bronze Yohn from the Moon Brothers has become so popular in such a short time.
Raziel sighed a bit and continued. "If my actions in regards to that boy have brought you any kind of distraught, then I deeply apologize for that, but I don't regret killing him." Then he extended his hand and started petting Artys.
"It..." Jon didn't know how to say it. "It isn't about regretting..." It really wasn't. "It's simply shocking how casually you acted throughout all of that.." Because taking someone's life shouldn't be something that someone, especially a child, could do with so much ease.
"Father is constantly boasting and telling stories about how many people he killed during the war, people that did nothing to him other than doing their respective duty to their Lord and King." Raziel was quick to rebuff with that fact. "Those would be people that I would actually feel bad for killing because they didn't actually do anything wrong other than being dragged into a conflict that had nothing to do with them against their will."
Another thing that genuinely scared Jon at times, was how good the Prince was with words. Because that was a painful fact that genuinely made that entire conversation seem pointless. As his conversation with Lord Grafton came to his mind with him telling the sad story of how Robert slaughtered his father while acting like he was having the time of his life. The truth is, hearing Raziel say that actually put him at ease since the little boy understood that kind of awful situation better than his grown adult father. "You are correct." So Jon decided to just agree with him.
"No offense but..." Raziel rested the crossbow in his shoulder. "Could we end this conversation or at least leave it for another time?"
"Of course, I don't have anything else to say about that subject." In truth, Jon just wanted to put that event behind him.
"Great," Raziel placed the crossbow on top of one of the table and proceeded to move towards the exit. "See you later, Jon."
The Hand of the King opened his lips to ask where he was going but the Prince rushed out of the room before he actually could.
Raziel Baratheon:
"Hmmm..." As soon as left the Mansion, Raziel made his way to the port because he wanted to search for something. Alright..., maybe a pair of riding boots or even a new jerkin... The "something" was a gift to Mya, he wanted to present her with something before giving her the news that they are brother and sister. It doesn't really change anything for me, and I hope she feels the same way. Though, he was partially expecting her to react with negativity to it since this kind of behavior between a brother and sister is highly frowned upon, unless you are a Targaryen. I mean, I don't... really see the problem. Especially if you compare it to what he and his mother do.
Raziel walked around the port while being accompanied by a guard that insisted on accompanying him. It wasn't something that particularly bothered him, but him being accompanied by a guard attracted too much attention.
Something that came at full display wherever he passed by, as the inhabitants of Gulltown were constantly eyeing him ever since he landed there.
To say that Raziel's stay in the port city has been a little complicated, would be an understatement. Because not only does he have to deal with the countless different versions of the tale of how he rescued Bronze Yohn from the Moon Brothers that had spread around the Vale like wildfire. He now has to deal with the fact that he unintentionally added more to it since everyone in Gulltown has been talking and spreading the story of how Raziel descended from the sky and landed in the center of Gulltown. Made it much worse because somehow, the fact that he actually jumped down from the Moon Door and literally flew all the way there from the Eyrie was also revealed somehow. I mean, I knew that it was a matter of time since Robyn and the others saw me jumping out of the Moon Door, but I wasn't expecting for it to spread so quickly. If Raziel had to theorize, it was probably either the servants or the guards that overheard his conversation with Jon and spread it around.
The Prince decided to just ignore the looks for now and simply focus on the task of finding a gift for his sister. As he slowly took step by step, ignoring the curious eyes that were upon him. Finding something to buy was proving to be quite difficult though, as there were very few merchants around that day for some reason.
Walking around slowly and keeping his eyes open for anything interesting that he could buy, he realized the inhabitants of Gulltown seemed a little odd. Like there was something wrong with them. Eventually, he turned around a corner and saw something odd. "Huh?" It was the sight of a shirtless man standing near a building, washing himself. But the oddity was due to the fact that he was actually washing some strange kind of injury in his torso. Pouring water into strange looking spots that looked like pieces of missing skin. Disgusted by the sight, Raziel turned away and moved to the opposite direction.
"Forgive me for saying this, but if you come looking to buy something, you will have a considerable amount of trouble." Suddenly, Raziel heard a voice coming from his right, moving his blue eyes to see who it was, he saw a familiar face. "Prince Raziel." Who bowed respectfully once his eyes were on him.
"Lord Baelish." Raziel greeted the Lord of House Baelish, who he had met briefly when he visited Jon. "Could kindly explain why?" Since he was now curious because he could tell that he knew something that he did not.
"You see, several merchants have been extra careful with what they are selling." Lord Baelish approached Raziel with his hands behind his back. "As several of their products have been acquired through quite unlawful practices."
"You mean smuggling?" Of course, Raziel was actually aware that Jon was actually investigating a strange scheme of smuggling that had been occuring in Gulltown, that Lord Grafton was apparently involved in. He discovered it after eavesdropping on a conversation between Jon and Lyro. The Prince wasn't exactly aware of all the details because he didn't really care about it that much. "They do realize that by abruptly closing off their trade it actually indicates that they have something to hide, right?"
"Sadly no, most would allow the fear of being discovered interfere with their line of thinking. " Lord Baelish stated while he proceeded to look around the quiet area.
Raziel was annoyed by that. How am I supposed to buy a gift for Mya now? Jon and Raziel will be returning to the Eyrie in a few days, and Raziel definitely won't be able to find anything on the way. "You wouldn't happen to know a place where I could buy a new pair of boots, would you?" He decided to ask Lord Baelish since he knew Gulltown better than he did.
"As a matter of fact, I do, my Prince." Luckily, Lord Baelish did know.
Jon Arryn:
After his conversation with Raziel, Jon decided to sit down and write a letter addressed to Bronze Yohn. There was nothing really remarkable about it, it was simply Jon giving him his condolences over the loss of his other son. Although Jon was never blessed with a child of his own, he has lost enough people to know the kind pain that this kind of loss can inflict.
All of this was caused by greed. Jon lamented the fact that this kind of tragedy occurred because of Lord Grafton and Waymar Royce's own greed. This was possibly the worst end for this mess. Nearly everyone involved is dead or dying and it revealed yet another problem that needs to be resolved.
Suddenly, a servant approved his table with a jug of wine in her hands. "Bring me some water instead, please." The Hand of the King requested. He genuinely needs to cut back on the wine as he has been making use of it to alleviate his stress quite often these last few days.
A sigh escaped his lips as he continued to write. Ironically, a part of me was hoping to get some rest after returning to the Vale. His original plan was to basically spend some time with Raziel, teaching him about all of the principles of diplomacy and other important skills that he would need once he became King. Instead, he discovered that there is a complex smuggling scheme going around several of the major ports of the Seven Kingdoms.
All of this is happening right under our noses. Would anyone even be able to uncover it hadn't I stumbled upon it due to a mere coincidence? I genuinely don't think so. Though Jon was actually relieved, despite not exactly knowing how long this has been going on, he can be grateful that they have uncovered it before it could grow out of proportion. We actually have the advantage since the people involved don't really know that we know it yet. He can only hope that the Master of Whispers spies can actually uncover some information.
As the servant returned with Jon's water. He wasted no time in gulping down a cup of water to refresh himself. I will use the next few days to rest and then return to my duties once we make our return to the Eyrie. Despite the pleasant stay in his cousin's home, Jon was actually looking forward to returning to his own home.
Once he finished writing the letter. Jon sealed it and stood up from his seat. After sending it, he will return to his chambers and try to get some sleep as that day was proving to be quite unpleasant.
Raziel Baratheon:
"So... You own this place?" Raziel asked the short man in curiosity.
"I own the building, but I decided to allow a kind merchant to sell his products here in exchange for a small part of the profits." Lord Baelish explained to the Prince.
After a considerable walk, Petyr Baelsih led the Prince to a strange looking shop that apparently belonged to him or at least a part of it. The shop was located near the keep that belonged to House Grafton, it was considerably decorated with quite elaborate looking tapestry and strange looking paintings that were very interesting looking in his opinion. The shop had a lot of objects in fine looking displays, some he never actually saw before.
"What is this?" Raziel asked in curiosity as he saw a strange looking object on display, which he couldn't actually tell what it was.
It was some kind of ancient jar, with a corroded iron rod protruding from the mouth.
"I'm not entirely certain myself." Lord Baelish confessed. "I was only told that it originated from the Bone Mountains ."
"Really?" The Bone Mountains, commonly called the Bones, are a colossal mountain range in central Essos. The tallest mountains in the known world, they are a natural land barrier between the western part of Essos known to Westeros and the exotic, mysterious Further East of the continent. "What exactly does this shop sell anyway?"
"You see, my Prince." Lord Baelish signalled Raziel to follow him. "The last few weeks where I helped Lord Arryn in his investigation regarding the unlawful sale of smuggling products in Gulltown." The short man highlighted some products on display. "It gave me the idea to actually provide more... lawful means to acquire the kind of products that have been sold by the smugglers."
"This is a shop that sells smuggled products?" That was the impression that Raziel got from that explanation.
"This is a shop that sells products that could only be acquired through smuggling, not exactly the same as smuggled products but similar." Lord Baelish corrected him.
"And how exactly did you get your hands on such products, if I may ask?" Raziel already had an idea, but he would like to hear his explanation.
"It is quite a long story that it would take quite a while to tell." Lord Baelish told him with a smile that seemed quite insincere. "But if I have to make it short, an old friend of my late father granted me the means of acquiring such products."
Raziel is almost certain that this old friend is some kind of smuggler and the products are nothing more than smuggled goods that he is selling under the pretense of a proper shop. "It doesn't matter anyway, just show me the most interesting things that you have for sale." Smuggled goods or not, Raziel wasn't going to pass up the opportunity of acquiring some exotic things from Essos.
Lord Baelish simply gave him the same insincere smile and signalled him to accompany him.
Jon Arryn:
"Jon?" A gentle voice called him. "Jon..."
Opening his blue eyes, Jon woke up from his nap and came across his cousin standing next to the bed. "Lyro?" With a bit of confusion coming into him as his cousin seemed to be distraught about something. "What happened?"
Lyro looked at Jon with a very serious expression. "Lord Grafton passed away an hour ago."
Hearing that made Jon sigh. His death was to be expected considering the state he was in when Jon last saw him and it was honestly for the best because that man was clearly in agony. "I think the gods had mercy on him and released him from his torment." Despite his crimes, that wasn't a fate that he would wish for his worst enemy.
Lyro continued to stare at him with the same serious expression as Jon sat up on the bed. "There is more." The tone of his voice scared Jon.
"What is it?" Jon asked in worry.
"A messenger from House Grafton is standing outside of the mansion right now." Lyro revealed to him. "Jon... According to him..." He was visibly having difficulty saying it.
"Oh no..." Jon immediately understood what it was and stood up from his bed in a hurry. Not bothering to change his outfit, as he was only wearing sleeping clothes. He simply put on a pair of shoes and proceeded to rush towards the exit.
Passing by several rooms and servants, before he reached the main room where Raziel was showing something to Lyro's wife.
"You think she will like it?" He asked her.
"I think she will find it lovely, where did you find it?" She answered in curiosity.
"In a shop rig-" Raziel was about to answer, but then he noticed that Jon was walking towards the door wearing nothing but sleepwear. "Huh?" With the boy following behind him right away. "Jon, what happened?"
"Something horrible." That was the only answer that he could give the boy as he rushed outside. Once he stepped outside of the mansion, he realized that the sun was already night, meaning that he had slept for a while. The Messenger was just a boy, a few years older than Raziel, wearing a simplistic outfit with a hat. He was sweaty and panting heavily, indicating that he ran there as quickly as he could. "Lord Arry-." The Messenger bowed to the the Warden of the East before he began to cough. The moment Jon took a good look at the boy's face, he could tell that something terrible had happened, alongside the fact that he was keeping a considerable distance from him.
"Ahh..." Suddenly, Raziel also stepped outside and grunted before covering his nose. "What is this awful stench?" The boy asked in deep disgust as he looked at the Messenger. "Is that blood?" Jon moved his eyes to look at the Prince, where he saw him pointing at the boy's leg, with Jon looking at it right away and realizing that there was indeed blood on the boy's left thigh.
"Don't come any closer, please." The Messenger requested. "My presence here should have been avoided, but the Maester insisted that you should be informed."
"Informed of what?" Jon could tell that this wasn't just about the fact that Lord Grafton succumbed to his illness.
"One of the handmaids of Lady Grafton, a stableboy, two guards and a scribe began to lose patches of their skin in the exact same manner as Lord Grafton." To Jon's misfortune, he was basically what he was suspecting.
"By the seven," Jon already expected that to be the case as he didn't know how long Lord Grafton had been suffering from the disease before it got to the point of him losing pieces of his skin. Which means that he might have infected other people that he came into contact with without even realising. "Wasn't the Maester taking the necessary steps to check if there was anyone else afflicted?" He asked calmly because it was very strange that this was only being discovered after Lord Grafton passed away.
"Lady Grafton ordered the Maester to do whatever it took to keep Lord Grafton alive, so the Maester had no time to actually check if anyone else was afflicted by the illness." The messenger informed Jon, clearly distraught by that fact.
Jon knew that he was telling the truth, since he saw the state of Lady Grafton and the efforts of the Maester to keep that poor agonizing man alive. "What exactly is happening in the Keep?"
"The Maester wishes to isolate the Keep, keeping everyone from leaving or entering in order to avoid anyone else getting infected with this disease that killed Lord Grafton." The messenger explained to the Hand of the King. "But Lady Grafton won't allow it."
"What do you mean?" Raziel asked him in deep confusion. "If there is a disease that can be spread, the entire keep needs to be isolated to stop further infections."
"That is what the Maester said, but she won't listen." The messenger added.
Jon sighed as the situation somehow got worse.
"Return to the Keep and inform everyone that both the Hand of the King and the Crown Prince ordered that the entire place is to be completely locked down with no one entering or exiting." That order came from Raziel.
"Inform the Maester that I want to speak with him and also inform that any order from Lady Grafton is to be completely disregarded as the woman is clearly not thinking clearly." Jon decided to add on the order.
"Right away, M'lord." The Messenger immediately turned his back at them and rushed back to where he came from as fast as he could.
"I heard that Lord Grafton contracted an illness from Ulthos." Raziel spoke up as soon as the Messenger was out of sight.
"An illness that just killed him and might have infected several other people." Jon was obviously disturbed as the last sight of Lord Grafton that he had was enough to give anyone nightmares. "I need to get to the Keep." The Hand of the King returned to the mansion in order to get dressed.
"You better have Lord Grafton's body burned, and everyone that has been demonstrating signs of the illness locked up. " Raziel told him as he followed him into the mansion.
Once they stepped inside, Lyro and Bau were standing there with looks of concern in their faces. "Jon..." With Lyro seemingly frightened over something.
"What is it?" Jon asked him in deep concern.
Lyro looked at his wife, who had the same frightened expression in her face. He nodded at her and she stepped forward. "I was searching around the city to buy some new decorations for the room upstairs and..." The Myrish woman was clearly trying to find the right words to use. "I saw... A man that had a patch of skin missing from his face." She pointed at her left cheek, indicating that it was where the patch of skin was missing.
"In the city?!" Jon was hoping that he heard wrong.
"I also... Saw a Stablehand with spots of skin missing in his left hand when I was buying a horse." To Jon's shock, Lyro also saw it. "They were small, but very visible." The look of concern in Lyro's face was evident, since Jon actually shared the details about his encounter with Gerold with his cousin.
"When I was searching for a gift to present to my sister, I saw a man washing strange looking spots in his torso that seemed to be pieces of missing skin." To everyone's surprise, Raziel was the next one to speak about it. With everyone looking at him in visible worry.
"What... What does it mean?" Lyro asked Jon in apparent fear.
The Defender of the Vale touched his old and wrinkled face as the headache returned with full force after hearing those pieces of information.
"It means that the disease has already spread around Gulltown." Only for Raziel to sadly respond to Lyro's question.
Q AND A:
Hope you give us a new chapter soon and I can't wait to get to the time that the books take place and Raziel is done with his tour of westros/fosterings.
Me too, buddy, me too....
Hope in the future Raziel gets Dany in some of the scantly clad outfits she has in artwork for the books.
Hope he gets a valyrian steel sword soon to.
Count on it.
Not so soon I'm afraid.
Hope this is updated fairly soon.
Looking forward to when Raziel is older his teens and so on.
Looking forward to when Dany is surly afforded more freedoms thanks to Raziel as while she's confined to the maiden vault wasn't it could see Raziel in the future arranging for her to have free movement of the castle and that she moves into his quarters so they share.
Here we go
Me too...
Expect that to happen as soon as he hits his teens.
Hope you give us the next chapter for this soon definitely one of the best GoT stories on here
I am extremely happy to hear that.
Forgot one last thing if Edric Dayne is lucky enough to get a one time fuck with Arianne to learn what to do when he gets with Teora while Arianne would rate his skills as a lover well as I said second to Raziel to clarify some more that's just when it comes to men when rating just men Arianne would list Edric Dayne second to Raziel when it comes to counting men and women Raziel is of course still number one but Edric Dayne is no longer second the Sand Snakes she's slept with, the Fowler Twins Sylva and when she starts sleeping with other girls from Raziel's harem them to rank above Edric Dayne haha
But overall Arianne's two top rated lovers are Raziel and Tyene haha
Not exactly.
Haha...
Clarifying something with Edric Dayne beating Daemon Sand in a spar near the end of Raziel's year in Dorne I meant to add he does so because Raziel had been would have been training with Edric over that year well more accurately beating Edric so much in sparring the young Dayne got better than most others haha
So much like how I wondered who filled in the gap Jaime left in the Kingsguard in this the gap filled by the guy who died fighting off that lion Robert and Raziel killed so still wondering who got his spot in the guard anyway with Petyr not rising to the highs of his canon self I'm curious who is the current master of coin for Roberts small council is it someone like old Ardrian Celtigar
Regardless imagine the master of coin has a much easier time of things in this even with Roberts spending habits without Littlefinger taking a sledgehammer to the realms coffers and setting up the mess of loans and debts when Raziel inherits the throne instead of being in debt to the likes of the Iron Bank and so on he should have a overflowing treasury
Actually thanks to the crown having more money than it knows what to do with can Cersei start a project that sees the reconstruction of Summerhall that sees it built to her specifications as for why Cersei would do this well as a gift for her dear Raziel of course oh and speaking of gifts to each other remember you saying one of Raziel's numerous talents will be painting so hope one of if not his first master piece is a portrait of Cersei that captures all her stunning beauty haha
For a scenario I hope you like the idea of when travelling back from Winterfell to Kingslanding at some point can the royal party stop off at Maidenpool where Raziel despite the no man rule is able to sweet talk his way into the famous Jonquil's pool where he bathes with all the girls that are in his harem and are going to join it
Speaking of bathes hope Raziel is able to take a bath in the hot springs at Winterfell and during said bathes is where Sansa and Arya could see him naked for the first time
On a note with Arya I hope not long after meeting her Raziel actually gifts her the Valyrian steel dagger
Also back to Cersei since this isn't canon Cersei while she doesn't have to like every girl Raziel takes to bed I hope we get to see Cersei actually take a shine to some of the girls with Raziel Cersei could confess that she does have a soft spot for the likes of Myrcella, Dany and Alayne
With Alayne to figured it could be fun if she's actually already running a spy ring when Raziel meets her in the Riverlands say she initially built it with help from Shella Whent and being able to build a spy ring as a child would show just what a great mistress of whispers she'd be in the future
But yeah say she built it initially with then plan of trying to impress her grandfather and uncle but quickly realised it be wasted on them but she built it just for the hell of it something to give her something to do it's apon meeting Raziel and falling head over heels for him that gives her focus and direction with her spy network
Now I remember back along it was mentioned in a preview Raziel would lose a joust to Loras in Highgarden don't suppose that could be changed to where Raziel won the tourney of Highgarden Raziel could confess that at the time Loras was better with a Lance than him but what won Raziel the joust was his horse mainly and his skill as a rider like the horse moved in such a way at the last second that it shifted Raziel's Lance to strike that bit more better so while Raziel does enjoy winning the tourney he thanks his win to his horse haha
When Raziel wins the tourney of Kingslanding ie the tourney of the hand that's the one where Raziel beats Loras not just because he's a better rider but because he's worked on his skill with his Lance a bit more
Actually been thinking to with Jon Arryn in this not on course to die as he did in canon figured out how we'd get a case of Eddard coming to Kingslanding around the time he became hand in the books and what I guessed you could do is after Raziel is done fostering with the Starks this is what gets Robert wanting to see his best friend again and have him around
So Robert promptly tells Renly he's being replaced as master of law and that they are travelling North to offer Eddard the role of Master of Law so for a time Robert gets to enjoy having his father figure Jon Arryn and his brother by choice Eddard on his council and they can stay on the council until the likely event Cersei kills Robert and before questions can start being asked Raziel starts politely dismissing his fathers small council and appoints his own choices to the roles
But yeah almost immediately Raziel thanks Jon Arryn and Eddard for the service essentially he's able to dismiss them without insult and let's the two return to their respective beloved homes
Going back to Raziel's Horse been meaning to offer up name suggestions for his Bucephalus
Serwyn
Blackgale
Ebonbolt
Hyrkoon ( personal favourite suggestion haha )
In relation to the Reach when it comes to the numerous children of Garth Greenhand and their stories can Raziel for some trivia mention he's most found of the tale of Florys the Fox he just comments it's a shame none of the three houses descended from her can claim even a quarter of her wit but yeah aside from her Raziel could claim some fondness for her various sisters tales to
With Leaf if you have her give more info on the White Walkers might I suggest when she talks about them you have her say that they White Walkers just appeared in the world one day much like how the Children and Giants did and that at first the Others kept to themselves until they crowned the Night King who decided he wanted to use the Others to conquer all other life
So essentially Leaf says it's not the White Walkers as a whole that want to kill all life she could say they generally don't much care about the other races of the world they are just doing what their king tells them to do in reality they'd be content slumbering in the far north where no one can bother them it's the Night King who's the problem if someone was able to kill him they could command the Others to undo all their necromancy and go home
Might as well bring this up to thanks to Melisandres converting people to Rhllor and Leafs presence next to Raziel and Raziel's own popularity he has a very easy time commanding the armies of Westros to march North to fight the Long Night despite the fighting that's already occurred with the faith and Aegon
Oh yeah revised suggestions for the Dragons and their names that Raziel and Dany hatch
Canon Drogon is changed to Nightfyre second coming of the Black Dread
Canon Rhaegal is changed to Terrax the Green
Canon Viserion is changed to Urrax
As for what I hope will be the three eggs Raziel hatches
The largest of all the new Dragons and the one he rides with shining gold and black scales and black horns called Morghul or Neferion King of the Dragons, The Golden, The Glorious etc
A she Dragon with either Pink or Purple scales called Cynder the Queen of Ash and the Sky Terror
A dragon with orange and red scales called Sundancer or Neferion the dragon Rhaenys could claim
Side note I can't help but think of Cynder being the dragon that Raziel and Dany's eventual daughter and heir will go on to claim another side note I picture Raziel and Danys daughter being the one that goes and forms her own harem of women consisting of her friends and even a lot of her own sisters and and having friendly competition with Raziel and Alaynes daughter over which of them loves their father the most haha
Not near the end unfortunately, but it will happen.
Those two questions will be answered as soon as he returns to Kingslanding.
Not exactly.
That's an interesting idea, I'll actually consider.
Actually, Raziel will bath there for reasons that nobody can complain about it.
Unfortunately, that will happen when Catelyn goes to confront him about something.
Not gonna happen, Raziel is very possesive with his belongins.
This is Cersei that we are talking about man, if there is a shine, is mostly for manipuation purposes.
Partially, but is a little more simple than that.
Not exactly, she does try to impress her grandfather and uncle ,but in a different way.
Unfortunately, no, Raziel losing the Jousting is one of the things that will moivate him to train horse riding and cavalry combat.
Not quite, it's because he actually trained.
That's a spoiler actually.
Honestly, Robert would be more than happy to replace Renly with Ned and that's a fact.
Not quite...
I'll certainly consider those suggestions.
That's an excellent idea.
It will be a little more complex than that, but kind of.
That's kind of a spoiler.
Ehhh...
No comment.
Obrigado pelo capítulo incrível, Autor-San. Feliz Natal e Ano Novo para você também e, eu desejo muita prosperidade para sua vida!
De nada meu amigo.
How would Cersei handle the news that her son throughout his globetrotting around the seven kingdoms getting a woman pregnant ? Like you said she's using Danny as substitute for her "dream" and the idea that her son might be like his father, it could send her to another mental episode ?
She will literally tell herself that her son is simply claiming his "rights" as the future King and all this woman are beneath him anyway.
Hello !
I discovered this story back in 2020 when I had online classes. I used to read fanfictions a lot those days particularly asoiaf ones and then I discovered yours and really loved it. I remember I even sent you an ask to which was about who would play Raziel in the show. I used to keep up with your updates and read every chapter as soon as it came out but then I got very busy with life matters and forgot about this site as a whole.
Today I opened this website again to clean the spider webs around my account and I re-discovered your story and I gotta say that I'm really happy you're still continuing this story and I'm also really happy that your story is getting the recognition it deserves and I do hope that you continue writing this story. Your story was really one of the things that made my day back in 2020 and 2021 so I'm really grateful that you are still writing it.
Happy new year !
Thank you, hearing things like that really motivates me to keep going.
Genial!
Genius!
Firstly a happy new year to you and hope you to have a good one
For Jon's thoughts about the smuggling ring around the kingdoms feel like he was pretty spot on with his assessments only thing I would have thrown in is the Tully's don't have to real deal with anything significant due to the Riverlands lack of a major port and that Ned will have an even easier time thanks to Wyman being his lord of White Harbour anyway nice old man moment for Jon in only just remembering Petyr history with the Tully's
Anyway nice to see that alongside figuring out how to glide Raziel has already figured out next time he uses the winged knights relic how to land properly also aside from the Moonlander names he will get for this will be the Winged Prince and the Moon Prince also yes I was laughing over the fact Raziel just glossed over the whole he literally flew across the Vale and the first person to fly since the Dragons died and just asked about Mya and I also laughed that at the end of his talk with Jon he was essentially just like oh yeah best send a message to tell everyone I'm fine
Haha yeah Roberts reaction to what Raziel has been up to was on point as for Cersei after thinking it over some more think she would just see Raziel's actions as him doing as he pleases after all as far as she's concerned the whole world is just here to serve at his pleasure and whims and while Cersei regrets not dealing with Mya again by the time she turns up in Kingslanding with Raziel I honestly think Cersei would accept it in the context of she sees it as Raziel keeping a pet
Nice seeing Raziel charm Bau a bit and having fun talking about Myr
As for Cersei forcing Raziel to do something for her due to the year she's had without his direct loving to honest Raziel is a smart lad he knows the birds and bees and he knows he and Cersei don't have a standard mother son relationship so really think it's more likely it be a case where Cersei tells Raziel what she wants him to do and Raziel would just be like yeah sure thing Cersei can still try the manipulation aspect but the forcing aspect I don't see that being needed and imagine how happy Cersei would be when she doesn't even have to really manipulate Raziel
With Edric Dayne then I do hope then that like how Jon Snow will be Raziel's true brother Edric Dayne will be his true younger brother like you say he can still treat Gendry and Edric Storm better than his father treats his uncles and like I said his two bastard half brothers shouldn't have a thought in their head that Raziel didn't give them but when it comes down to it Jon is his brother of a similar age and Edric Dayne is the younger brother Raziel spoils but yeah Gendry and Edric Storm stick with the men Raziel has made them squire for while Jon and Edric Dayne are the brothers that follow Raziel around
As for Raziel having to see Gerold and Arianne have their fling here's the first thing I thought when I saw you wrote that Gerold because he's a cunt will try to show off that he is Arianne lover to try and make Raziel jealous why because Gerold is just a prick like that Raziel meanwhile won't feel jealous at all because he blandly will point out how superior he is to Gerold in every way as a fighter, in terms of looks, in terms of cock size and in terms of position in the world Gerold is a landed knight Raziel will one day rule the whole of Westros ie Raziel completely annihilates the Edgey Stars more than likely fragile ego because the Darkstar dared to try and come across as his better it's someone with a fragile ego going against someone that's secure in themselves completely but yeah nothing misfortunate about it for Raziel as well frankly Arianne would soon break off things with Darkstar after Raziel arrives
Then he'd just take in the view some more of a naked Arianne and say she needs to refine her tastes some more if she's willing to bed a twat like Gerold haha
Thank you for confirming in terms of gun powder it will just be arrows and bombs and Raziel will be the sole owner of a fire arm in the world the Cesare proto pistol
I'm so glad Raziel and Leaf will hit it off and happy to hear Raziel will love spending time with the Giants and Mammoths and that Leaf will be able to show joy over Raziel making space in the world for her people and the old species of Westros honestly could see a case where thanks to the Children a lot of animals from beyond the wall make their way south to and spreading out amongst the Kingdoms
Oh yeah with Leaf and the children like in most things hope you go with the book description of them being short deer like people plus even though by that point I can see people talking about Raziel like he truely is like one of the legends from the age of heroes him having a child of the forest lover in Leaf which I of course hope is the case really ramps up his almost mythical like aspect
Haha hope Nymeria then develops a friendly rivalry with Alaynes Shadowcat for Raziel's head pats and scratches as two of the animals that aren't his technically but are bonded to one of his lovers and yeah if Robb and Raziel do get into a heated argument and Brey Wolf is sharing in his masters anger Symeon has none of that shit and immediately overpowers Grey Wind while any other the other stark wolves for one reason or another do nothing
Oh yeah with Edric Dayne hope in this he is 11 or 12 when Raziel arrives in Dorne and back along I suggested not long after he arrives in Dorne Raziel easily defeats Daemon Sand in a spar near the end of Raziel's time in Dorne Edric has a spar with Daemon where he beats him handily and takes his role as the best young sword in Dorne
That plus deserving a reward for being Raziel's helper in Dorne could lead to a scene where Edric Dayne walks in on Raziel fucking Arianne, Rhaenys and the sand snakes and with Raziel occupied by the others Arianne walks up to Edric and because Raziel is currently got his hands full and Arianne being herself offers to let him fuck her as a reward with Raziel calling out it's a one time offer before going back to Rhaenys and the others haha so good natured Edric Dayne gets to go henceforth go holding his head up high that Arianne considers him the second best fuck she's ever had Raziel being the first but certainly the best Dayne lover she's had even from that like I said one time deal haha
But regardless Arianne like I said gets the sense to have Edric be the Dayne who she calls friend and in the same way Raziel encourages Jon and Ygritte and Sam and Gilly to get together he encourages Edric to pursue Teora Toland hell Raziel could get to two together before they leave Dorne
Likewise, my friend.
Two excellent points that I wish I actually remembered when I was writing it.
Imagine the heart attack that they must have had when they saw him jumping? It was obligatory of him to sent them a letter.
Raziel's relationship with Robert is a very good one because Raziel is the son that Robert wanted and the two have a ton of shared interest like fighting and hunting (Later wine and whores.). Cersei's case, she just doesn't seem her precious son risking his life over a bastard to be worth it, but she will put up with Mya as long as she "Knows her place" in her own words.
Raziel is a lover of different cultures, he adores things from Essos.
It's actually going to be a little more... Forceful than that on her part, but yeah...
Edric Dayne will actually play a major role in the Dorne storyline, helping Raziel in his journey throughout the desert.
Raziel and Gerold will despise each other for a very specific reason that will actually be a main factor in the Dorne storyline.
That will actually happen.
Raziel will develop an habit of head shooting people with it.
Well...
Haha...
I was literally planning for that kind of dynamic between the animals.
Yes, yes, and no...
Don't count on it because Raziel isn't the kind of guy that shares in that aspect at least.
He literally plans on doing just that since he noticed that Edric likes Teora .
I've been meaning to ask, what's Melisandre's role in this story? Is she part of the harem too?
Raziel is an atheist, but he is also ficinated by magic and those two contrast will play a role in his relationship with her. Yes and no, it will make sense when she appears.
Happy New Year! Thank you so much for this end of the year gift. Keep being an awesome storyteller.
Thank you, it means a lot.