The year is 286 AC. King Jaehaerys II has just passed, leaving the throne without a rightful ruler. While his three children fight for the crown, Winter creeps closer, and unimaginable darkness looms.
Not all alliances will be so typical this time. In fact, many people have a crucial effect on the way this story is told. As for the ending, we only hope there are enough people left alive to tell it after its passed.
Events
Join us for our first event, the wake of recently deceased King Jaehaerys II.
Updates
AUG. 19: So we are now officially open to the public. We have a mini-event flashback thread going on, and our main event just began. Feel free to make a second canon if you can keep both of them active enough.
Don't hesitate in pestering staff with questions; it's what we're here for! Let's raise a glass and make a cheer toward a successful launch of Winds of Winter.
Post by LUCERYS TARGARYEN on Aug 27, 2017 19:08:24 GMT
Was it bad that the king, his own flesh and blood had died – and Lucerys was more angry at the old man that sad about it? Yes, most likely. In fact, it was pretty obviously a terrible thing. It was something that was even evident to the man who was now slated to become…what exactly? A king? Obviously not. As the Queen’s husband he could not have a title greater than hers. It was fairly certain that he would be just that. A consort. A friggin consort! Angrily, the man sitting in his chair debating throwing his goblet somewhere. But then again, where would his wine go? It needed to be in his mouth and not on the floor, so that just would not be.
But on the other hand, he needed to do something other than waiting. But then again, what could he do? Only a few people had been allowed to be with the king in his final hours; now he was already being taken care of by silent sisters. The only once that had been allowed in there to begin with had been those of the main branch, not their spouses. Even now, his wife was most likely telling people what to do, organizing this, organizing that. Those were the things that she was good at, after all. Those were the things that she did not need him for. It was one of the reasons as to why he had grown angry with her to begin with. Had she been a weak and emotional person that needed his support, he would have been happier. But no, she had it all, at least in the eyes of others. A woman that needed no man, they had said even in his presence. So why would be needed now?
Certainly not. At least in public. But that was why he was here, sitting and brooding. Lucerys knew his wife. He knew that she would come in here soon enough, with that stoic and composed face. And that was both the part where he would be needed and that he was looking forward to right now. He would be the one who would see her genuine reaction to it all. And he would enjoy it. Another thing that the albino knew to be absolutely wrong and yet could not help at all. And on the other hand, why would he try not to? He did not have to put the realm above his own feelings and desires. He was no king, would never be. He was but a consort.
Alysanne is one of the three Targaryen children who purport they have claim to the throne. The now-dead King decreed Alysanne be Queen, and the unorthodox mother of three plans to become one.
Post by ALYSANNE TARGARYEN on Aug 30, 2017 2:25:40 GMT
King Jaeharys II had only passed but an hour ago, and Alysanne shook inside of her thick, frilly gown. No tears fell, however. She only stared with numbed authority. "Excuse me," she had told Arkas Baratheon. There was nowhere she could go. Cassius was in Winterfell, and she refused to show tears to her children. She had to be strong for them. Strong for the realm.
So she headed for her chambers. Chambers she unfortunately shared with her husband. Her throat tightened, and she could barely swallow. She swung the door open and slammed it shut. The sight of Lucerys inside sent her over the edge. He had to choose now of all times to be idly sitting by inside their bedroom? She had held it in so that she could release her wave of emotion before no one, but he stole her privacy from her.
"Why are you here!" Normally, the yell would have been uttered with harsh hatred. But it was cried out this time, and tears soon followed. They rolled quickly down her neck and soaked her gown. A sob escaped her throat, and she stared at Lucerys with mixed feelings of neglect, hurt, and hate.
Post by LUCERYS TARGARYEN on Aug 31, 2017 1:04:17 GMT
Four words. One question. And they showed precisely why they did not work. There were many possible explanations for this, of course. Many were rational and harmless, likely closer to the truth. Yet, his mind had been conditioned to assume the worst instead. That his haughty wife simply did not see his place here, at least not at this time, and wished him gone. Certainly, there was also truth to that, just as it likely was not true in parts. Yet the middle ground between them had been burnt with dragon fire years ago.
And now, the scorched earth was soaked with the salt of her tears. For a good minute or so, Lucerys simply did not respond at all. He just looked at her. Even though he enjoyed this sight, he did not want to gloat too obviously, to not give her a reason to grow angry. Or rather, angrier. The possible queen was angry a lot of time. But giving her the justification to throw him out? No, he was not going to give her that. This was the game he was good at, after all.
However, even he had to admit that part of the reason for this was simple beauty. Even like this, soiled by her own tears, his wife was still the most beautiful in the realm. Maybe even because of it. This was such a rare sight that the moment felt precious by default. So, he enjoyed it for a little while before ending his farce. The point had been made. Trying times were ahead and their family would need some semblance of unity. “No one else could see without harming the family,” he ultimately spoke, before slowly rising from his chair. Why? He had no clue himself. This was just his way of creating possibility. Maybe, she would slap him. Maybe her emotional side would win over and she would seek warmth. Maybe she would ignore it. At this point, he was mostly interested in seeing her reaction to things.
Well that and doing his part to ensure that their little family would succeed. “And someone has to see, so that maybe you eventually stop being stupid.”
Alysanne is one of the three Targaryen children who purport they have claim to the throne. The now-dead King decreed Alysanne be Queen, and the unorthodox mother of three plans to become one.
Post by ALYSANNE TARGARYEN on Sept 1, 2017 0:19:26 GMT
She supposed it was Lucerys's way of being supportive, although she was sure that was not his intention. Once upon a time, he actually did offer support. But time had embittered him. The focus of attention on Alysanne had embittered him. And Alysanne's complete lack of interest in the man had embittered him. But they were Targaryens of the main line, and no one knew just how dysfunctional they truly were.
"Or no one could see at all. You can't justify remaining here." She began to strip off her clothing. Most of it was stained with tears anyway. Her naked form was something Lucerys was not a foreigner to. They did share the same bed, and they had done so for two decades. She did not stay bare for long, as she quickly put on a nightgown. She untied her hair and let it fall loosely at against her back.
Tears continued to fall even though she talked big. "He was your family too. But I guess it isn't fair to expect emotion from you when even my damned brothers seem unfazed." She sat down on the bed with a flop and stared up at him. "Don't call me stupid."
Post by LUCERYS TARGARYEN on Sept 1, 2017 8:50:26 GMT
Maybe he couldn’t justify it. Maybe he could. Yet he remained all the same. This room was located within the castle, but it was his very own castle in and of itself. It was the place where he could be himself, where they were as equal as they could get. And it was the one place where she had to tolerate him and his whims. Momentarily, he wondered what would happen if he forced himself upon her in this situation, yet discarded the thought. It would have been pointless and even he had limitations. The current situation did not exactly create a mood.
He did follow her to the bed though, still looking down upon her. “Family, yes. I loved him as family and respect what he did for the kingdom. I hate him for having forced us together, but I recognize that it was for the good of the realm as well.” To Lucerys, those two things were not mutually exclusive. The hate he felt was not erased by recognition and vice versa. There was a hint of sadness in his eyes as he spoke, but he had learned to close off some of his emotions, just like she had. Yet, anger was something he had problems completely suppressing. Thus, when he leaned in and sought to grab her by the shoulders, it would have been stronger than it needed to be, almost painful, unless she resisted in the first place. “Your brothers saw it coming. I saw it coming. I made my peace with what was going to happen days ago. It still stings a bit, but there is a future to be concerned about. Our son. Our daughters. Drowning ourselves in tears is not helpful. But I guess it isn’t fair to expect you to heed my advice. You’d rather believe you have them all fooled by only crying your eyes out behind closed doors.
Alysanne is one of the three Targaryen children who purport they have claim to the throne. The now-dead King decreed Alysanne be Queen, and the unorthodox mother of three plans to become one.
Post by ALYSANNE TARGARYEN on Sept 1, 2017 22:29:59 GMT
It was true that Alysanne hated Lucerys. To her, he was a poison that slowly caused her to grow closer to madness. But he was a necessary poison. He kept her grounded. Even though he tormented her and enotionally abused the fuck out of her, he still counseled her. He did what husbands were meant to so: he ensured she did not fall.
"Don't you think I know that?" He had grabbed her by the shoulders. Alysanne did not have a submissive bone in her body, but Lucerys did scare her to some extent. She would not give him the satisfaction of flinching. He had never raised a hand to her and never would. Both of them knew she had to look pristine, void of any bruises and scars. "But them imagining my weakness hurts my image less than them seeing it." The white-haired woman seethed up at him, eyes still wet. "He named me Protector of the Realm. He officially threw me in to the rat race for King that my brothers have been running for years."
She attempted to shove his hands off her shoulders. Though she hated the man, she did lust for him occasionally. He was a shitty husband, but an amazing father. And it made her body respond to him even if she didn't want it to. Skin on skin contact only worsened the matter. "Our son is going to become King. I'll make sure of it."
Post by LUCERYS TARGARYEN on Sept 2, 2017 0:12:54 GMT
His grip made her uncomfortable, albeit on a whole different level than before. He still had it. But for the moment, the scorned dragon did not act on this opportunity and instead let her go, instead sitting down right next to her. It was the next best thing, for it further deprived her of the privacy she sought. Heck, he would even spend the night here, possibly even embracing her. She would hate herself in the morning if she did that, which was just fine for him.
It was interesting to see though that her anger appeared to not only be directed at him. Her brothers, too, once more found themselves under scrutiny. An interesting development all by himself. But before he commented on any of that, he rather got comfortable on the bed, just to create contrast to her tension, incidentally to show her that despite everything, she could relax too. If her well-being was not at least in part in his interest though, he would never do such a thing.
“Good. If nothing else, we owe it to our son,” he finally replied, a bit of pride sneaking into his voice. If there was one thing in his life that he had done right and that people had always thanked him for, it had been putting a male into that fragile belly and ensuring he survived. Granted, it made him little better than a rooster, but he took the victories where he could get them. “But yes, for all the good that your father has done, he truly screwed up the succession. I guess that up until the end he had still hoped that one of his sons would prove himself as worthy as you.”
After all, that man had been willing to plunge the realm into chaos if it meant that the right person ruled afterwards. And that despite detesting chaos. It was likely that he, like everyone else, had foreseen that Alys’ ascension would never go without that. “There are a dozen insults I could throw at you right now and they would all be true in my eyes. Still though, you are better than them at the very least.” He did not look at her as he spoke. Then he did the least appropriate thing to do and laughed lightly, albeit with a very bitter undertone. “And we owe it to ourselves. If you fail, our suffering of decades would have been completely pointless. So I will not let you. If you can rely on nothing else, rely on that.”
It was surprisingly easy to say this – but likely because their interests aligned. Heck, at this point his survival itself was somewhat dependant on them winning. So he was motivated at least. Didn’t mean he would go easy on her, though.
Alysanne is one of the three Targaryen children who purport they have claim to the throne. The now-dead King decreed Alysanne be Queen, and the unorthodox mother of three plans to become one.
Post by ALYSANNE TARGARYEN on Sept 2, 2017 8:11:20 GMT
Lucerys's backhanded compliment was still monumental in Alysanne's eyes. Normally, he berated and insulted her without regard for her feelings. Not that he could hurt them anymore, anyway. But he did believe in her ability to lead. Everyone did. The only thing stopping her from becoming Queen was tradition, not logic. She sought to change that. "I am going to propose that Saera be married to Cassius Stark." Cassius and Alysanne had a history that stretched longer than most friendships in the realm. She had been in love with him since she was but a girl. Whether this motivated her decision or not was unknown to even her.
"Our daughters should be protected. Saera will be safe in the North. As far as Vivaenne is concerned..." Lucerys had sat comfortably on the bed. Alysanne forced herself to relax slightly. She pulled her legs up and folded them in front of her. No noblewoman sat like this, but no one but Lucerys could see her now. He already judged her as a trash human being, so sitting so savagely would be nothing compared to everything else he thought of her. "I want Vivaenne to be somewhere far enough away from here that keeps her safe, but to a Lord in high enough esteem that it helps solidify my claim to the throne." She sighed and rubbed a temple. "And we should start talking about our son's future wife as well. He is nearly past the marrying time of an heir. We need to decide these things now before people start asking questions about it in the days to come." As soon as people realized Alysanne would be thrown in the mix of things, they would scrutinize her son as well. One of the biggest supporting factors in Alysanne's claim lie in the fact she was the only child of the late King Jaehaerys II who bore a trueblood heir.
This meant the boy would have to marry a Targaryen as well.
Post by LUCERYS TARGARYEN on Sept 3, 2017 0:32:27 GMT
So, her first act as fledgling queen was to do the very same thing to their son that had been done to them. Hah. Lucerys turned towards her and gave her a strong glare. It wasn’t that he did not understand. It was the duty of the firstborn and heir to further their line. As such, it was necessary to keep things in the family, keep the blood pure and strong. Those were words that he had heard a thousand times, from his father, from her father, from himself, as a father. But that still was not enough to truly make it right. Was purity worth damning another generation to a loveless marriage such as his own? Their daughters would also be shipped off, yeah, but their marriages were supposed to protect them and to make alliances. There were more options. More possibilities to find the right one.
Yet, for his son, it would be different. There were only so many of them. And future events were going to possibly push other parts of the family further away. He sighed. His wife was right, for once. If they started allowing their son to marry someone from the outside, they would be just as bad as her brothers. “There are too few of us left,” he ultimately noted, clearly referring to purebloods such as themselves. “I should have put more children into you. Aside from his sisters, there are only few options left. Daella’s flock does not even carry the name. Taeil is tainted by commoner blood. That leaves us with my sister, but it would not look well for him to marry his own aunt. Plus we don't even know if she would support us over your siblings. Her bond with me is not too strong.” Letting himself fall backwards onto the bed completely, he instead chose to stare at the ceiling, hands folded on his chest. “Unless you can think of someone else, I guess your plan is not going to work too well. What is more important, political alliances or keeping the blood pure? I know that you want to get your daughters to safety, but that is a mother’s decision, not a queen’s. Your father certainly was not too concerned with your happiness when he matched us. Can you be the same?”
OOC: I hope I did not mess the family tree up in my head
Alysanne is one of the three Targaryen children who purport they have claim to the throne. The now-dead King decreed Alysanne be Queen, and the unorthodox mother of three plans to become one.
Post by ALYSANNE TARGARYEN on Sept 6, 2017 17:34:09 GMT
Alysanne was already mindnumbingly aware that no prospect was there. There was no unmarried, pureblood Targaryen still in the childbearing ages.
Except one.
"Vivaenne." Alysanne did not enjoy the family practice of intermarrying. But she supported it to keep the house strong. "Our eldest will marry our youngest. There can be no other way."
Alysanne stared at Lucerys. A long moment passed. This was likely the longest time they had ever looked at each other. "And you..." She trailed off and grabbed her husband by the face, fingers resting in his cheeks lightly but firmly. "You will teach our son how to treat a wife, even if she is of his blood." Her fingers tightened slightly. It was always a battle of control between them. "Do you understand?"
Post by LUCERYS TARGARYEN on Sept 6, 2017 18:40:38 GMT
As always, she made her decisions swiftly and decisively. From the moment she said it, he knew that he had no chance to convince her otherwise. Unless, of course, he had good arguments for it. Alysanne was not crazy, after all, and she knew what she was doing most of the time. When she wasn’t, he was there, all too eager to call her out for it. But since this was in essence his idea, there really was no objection for him to make.
So, he remained silent. He reciprocated her gaze, unwavering, and allowed her to touch him like this. Her fingers on his face always reminded him of those halcyon days, before they realized their folly. It passed though, she said her piece. And once she did, he said his. “I always did my best to ensure that our history won’t repeat itself. He already loves her, as his sister. That will make it easier, better. They might have found more happiness with others, but they will find it within each other.” His gaze was stern, but his voice gentle. If there was anything in this world that he held dear it was his son and daughters. He had always tried to be a father while their mother was busy being princess, especially towards his son.
But now though, he also had to be a husband, even though he disdained it. There were ways to make it almost enjoyable though. Reaching for her wrists, he would attempt to coax her not just into letting go, but also to bring hers down. Alysanne was not weak, but he was stronger. Unless she actively fought him, he would abuse this, just so he could see the mighty queen just a bit helpless before him, holding her hands in his grasp.
Alysanne is one of the three Targaryen children who purport they have claim to the throne. The now-dead King decreed Alysanne be Queen, and the unorthodox mother of three plans to become one.
Post by ALYSANNE TARGARYEN on Sept 12, 2017 15:54:29 GMT
Never had Lucerys and Alysanne shared a romantic moment. The two both possessed romantic capability, but not with each other. So when he forcibly took her hands into his, it was to taunt her. To show her that even though she may one day be Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, and he merely her husband, he still held some semblance of control. She was unable to poison him. It would be easy, surely so. He gave her the seed to bear three children, and she needed no more. But she just could not. Her children loved Lucerys, and on some level, she supposed she loved him to. In an odd way that could not be explained by words. In a way that others would not call love and merely a warped psychological state. Her hate overrode her love for him tenfold. The only thing her meager love for him was capable of was keeping him alive. That was its extent.
"I fear Daeron will have me imprisoned or killed. I am building allies for us quickly. But should I not build them in enough time, and our children's lives or you are in danger, just flee North. Hide in Winterfell. Cassius will extend you amnesty. From there, I trust your judgment."
Tiring of her hands being restrained, she shifted atop of his lap and pressed his shoulders down in order to pin him over the bed. She hovered over him, her long, white hair, providing a curtain that shielded them from the light. "For what it is worth, I do trust in your ability to lead our family if and when the time comes."
Post by LUCERYS TARGARYEN on Sept 15, 2017 0:02:47 GMT
Ah, so she was able to break out of that rut. A smirk adorned his face when she tried to wrest control from him just a little. It was something, after all, a somewhat strong reaction quite different from moping about. As long as he could make her forget about the death in the family for just a bit, he considered it a victory. Especially since she seemed to be able to work her mind just a little better in this kind of state. Plans were made, contingencies Pl , truths – and yet she neither got up, nor tried to kick him out. That was what he appreciated the most, that she instead went on to straddle him.
It was not a lot of power that he had over her, but he certainly had some. Plus, love or not, she was attractive if nothing else. A man could appreciate that on a very basic level as well. “And I trust in your tenacity. I know that you will only allow yourself to be killed once all your resources are exhausted.” While his wife sometimes seemed dispassionate and listless, he knew of her pride and sense of duty. No, Alysanne would try to not plunge the realm into chaos, but she would not just lie down and allow her brothers to walk over her and reject the will of their father.
That wasn’t her, after all. On the other hand though, just running away was not him, either. Nevertheless, he had to agree, at least for now. After all, securing the family and the lineage was more important than his pride. “Maybe one day you might even trust in my ability to be of use, when it comes to building allies at least. Rest assured though, I will do my best to ensure the safety of myself and our children. However….” He sought her gaze, trying to fixate her light eyes on his. “Can you do it? Can you give the order, or even swing the sword yourself? There is a good chance your brothers may have to be killed, alongside their children. Do you have the stomach for that?”
Alysanne is one of the three Targaryen children who purport they have claim to the throne. The now-dead King decreed Alysanne be Queen, and the unorthodox mother of three plans to become one.
Post by ALYSANNE TARGARYEN on Sept 18, 2017 21:45:01 GMT
Alysanne may have been physically weak and unable to fend for herself in battle. But she was no weakling. Where her body lacked her mind made up. Her resolve was what drove her, and she still did not understand why Lucerys doubted her. "I do trust in your ability. When the council convenes to decide how to handle the heir situation, I will need you to travel out to the Vale and gain the support of the Arryns. Let me handle the Starks and Tyrells."
As he asked about her raw ability to kill people, she blinked. Alysanne pulled away from him but remained seated on his waist, staring down at her husband. "The only way Westeros will prosper is with me on the throne." She stayed silent.
"Meaning."
A sigh. "Meaning anyone who threatens my ability to do so will perish. At my command. At my hand or my supporters' hands." Alysanne did not want to kill anyone, especially not her family. She rested her hands in her lap and remained atop Lucerys. "The only ones safe from my wrath would be my children." Not even her brothers. Not even her husband.
Post by LUCERYS TARGARYEN on Sept 18, 2017 23:11:39 GMT
The nuance in her words was not lost on him. Heck, he would have been utterly surprised had it not been there. When it came to matters like this, they both only knew their children. Just like she had no interest in getting rid of him without good reason, so had he none to do the same to her. Becoming a danger, or even just a liability to their children though, that was the kind of reason that would fly for this. One of the few things that they actually agreed one was the prospect of trying to kill one another. Hah.
But he had to admit, when she showed backbone like this and spoke of regal matters, he could definitely see a queen. The fact that he could probably have said queen moaning beneath him soon if he wanted to did not take away any of that. If anything, it reinforced the notion. “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear,” he ultimately replied, still looking up at her. While part of him would have relished in it had she been weak and in need of his help just to get through the day, the more rational part preferred things this way. Last but not least because he would need her now, simply to survive. That was also why he would not seek to hurt her too much now, simply keeping to the truth where he could. He decided that now would be a good moment to put his hands on her waist. “I will support your vision where I can. But you already know that. After all, that is my duty as your husband and father of our children. But know that I don’t just do so because of that. It might be regrettable, but our children are the last real Targaryens now. Everyone else might as well be strangers.”
WINDS OF WINTER is the original work of AARON, AERIE and WINTER. Any and all content is copyrighted to WINDS OF WINTER.
Copying, altering, or stealing any of the site's content is prohibited.
All of WINDS OF WINTER characters are the original work of their owners may not be replicated or stolen.
All images and graphics belong to their rightful owners and WINDS OF WINTER does not claim to own any of them.
The skin was created by TIMELAPSE OF WICKED WONDERLAND.
