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 XERA XHATOS XERXES on Aug 30, 2017 6:03:20 GMT
Xera's tanned digits combed through the budding mane of his hrakkar, Kahto. Golden irises reflected the images of various fountains used to decorate the palace atrium; all adorned with various arrangements of vegetation and statues of ivory and gold. He reclined himself inside the grip of a half-dozen crimson pillows atop a mobile seat, his slaves of various origins curled beneath each handle of the seat. Another seat was but a few feet away, a dear partner of his also offered the opportunity of lavished comfort.
"Just a little longer. I promise some amount of entertainment," Xera reassured Pate, lowering a ripe grape into his mouth, eyes forward on the entrance. He had summoned the warlock, knowing fully that he'd find some amount of amusement from the transpiring events. Words had reached him that a Targaryen boy was petitioning the other members of the Council and judging by the route he was taking, he was to be next.
And with each minute that passed under the hot sun, Xera felt compelled to further illustrate the circumstance to his patient friend, "It was the emerald whore that told me. She begged to allow an audience, promised it would benefit me. I dare not spoil the surprise of who he is," he spoke flatly with an arrogant smile, ignoring his own embellishments to the truth of the story. The emerald whore -- Vaeriya Agyare more plainly put. With the extremities of the naming conventions in Essos, Xera felt it was easier to call her by what she was: a bed slave with green hair.
A slave woman adorned in gold and inked etchings stepped into the light of the atrium, "My king, a guest..." Her eyes dare not look up, finding a pattern on the marble floor to look onto. "Good girl," Xera smiled, recognizing how well this new slave adapted to his rules.
"Send him in." he finished before eyeing Pate one final time.
”Nary do I mind a good wait. Much to the contrary, to be sure.”
His summons had been abrupt. He spent much time with a trained eye upon the flames within this very estate. Even so, Pate Praeus tended to keep himself tucked into some inconceivable cranny that the Pureborn Prince’s slaves were nearly always scrambling to find him.
Blue lips found the rim of an ornately decorated golden chalice filled to the brim with dark indigo. He sipped, swallowed and let out a happy sigh at the warmth the drink brought to him as it slithered down his throat. Pate was always fond of surprises. Xeraphos was keen to supply them as he could.
The exchange was as good as any. Pate was good for many things. This Xera knew.
”A guest of sorts, I do reckon. What have you drug in now, my friend? A Western Wolf from the snow deserts of old? Ah, no. That was long before.”
Pate bore witness to many of Xeraphos’ guests. Always a keen selector of company, the man’s taste yielded many a fine fruit. Kings of old worlds, beauties of Asshai and, of course, the recurring ill-fated Westerosi noble. They were the dullest of them all. Pate did fancy those dragon girls, though. He had even written a song about one that stole his heart. The great white fury that married a stag.
Oh, what a pity.
He sat beside his great friend, his eyes fastened on the woman that entered to announce the arrival of the awaited guest. Pate ogled her fiercely, licking his lips as if he longed to quench some other thirst the slave girl stirred within him.
As the Prince of Dragons and once in direct line to inherit the Iron Throne, Aerys's Targaryen's sudden disappearance from Westeros was a loss that hurt his family in more ways than one. After five years in Essos, the Prince has returned to his homeland with hopes to prevent another civil war.
Post by AERYS TARGARYEN on Aug 31, 2017 4:22:48 GMT
Until now, Vaeryia had accompanied him with every meeting he took to help sell his cause. This time though Aerys would be alone. The gold king wanted to hear what he had to say for himself about his venture into Old Valyria. Others had heard his proposal already. Some out right denied him while others asked for time to consider his offer, but none so far would stake a claim in Aerys's suicide trip. He hoped the gold king would change that.
The estate certainly lived up to its owner's name. Gold here and gold there. It was everywhere. Even the Lannister's would think it excessive, if only to hide their jealousy. A servant girl escorted the Targaryen inside where he spotted not one member of the council but two. Fantastic. That's one less trip for him to make.
“My lords.” Aerys said, bowing his head shortly as he greeted them both. They weren't lords. Not really. The concept seemed to vary from place to place and he had learned by now that these people enjoyed reveling in Westerosi ignorance. Aerys was happy to play the part.
His eyes shifted between the gold king and Pate. The Targaryen prince found them both to be hard reads. A trait to be expected of men as savvy in business as they were. While the gold king may have been a descendant of Qarth’s royal line, money was power in this city and it was his fortune that got him this far. Not his blood.
“My name is Aerys Targaryen. I've come to make you both wealthy.” Aerys so spoke as if they weren't already wealthy by several orders of magnitude. “Wealthier than several councilman combined.” The prince added, his lips widening into a smirk. He knew that's what they wanted. They had money. They needed enough to wrestle more control and influence over their peers and that's what Aerys was going to get them.
Post by XERA XHATOS XERXES on Aug 31, 2017 15:47:50 GMT
He would not respond to Pate's guesses, knowing that any little word would be too much of a clue. Even a glance in his direction in retaliation to a guess would lead the warlock's suspicions in a direction that might spoil the entertainment.
When the pale-haired boy strolled into the courtyard, Xera fixated his gaze upon his posture; it was more slouch than the other Westerosi highborn he dealt with. From the information he could gather, it was the essence of his character. A crude diamond to many, and that showed in the audacity of his speech. When Aerys finished speaking, Xeraphos glanced in the direction of Pate for the first in a long time, hoping to catch eyes and to convey the message through an arrogant sneer that meant, "I told you, entertainment."
The Qarthian darenot shift from his reclined position, instead he pushed another dew-covered grape between his lips, chewing slowly while narrowing his eyes at the boy. It wasn't hard to recognize each half-paced bite between his thin, curled mouth. Once he finished, he licked his lips and waited patiently a few more seconds. There was an interest to see if the boy would shift in his place or not.
Regardless if Aerys decided to speak or not, Xeraphos would interrupt with a smooth and accented tongue, "Aerys Targaryen. Not Aerys II Targaryen. No more the familial successor to Aerys I Targaryen. I am unsure if that be fortuitous or not. He was average at best -- as I hear. Though, maybe that's destiny then, for common blood really ever manages to be average at best in your homeland." The Pureborn bit into another grape, this time only halfway.
"Go on, boy. We are listening." he said, pressuring Aerys to answer.
While Xera would enjoy toying with the man for answers, he always favored Pate's dialogue, knowing how uncomfortable people got when faced with genuine sorcery. Undoubtedly, the warlock would speak up when he felt necessary, otherwise the Gold King would keep the flow of the river moving.
Xeraphos was a man that paralleled Pate in childish scheming. Though on the outside both men seemed light of heart and intention, a far more sinister shade colored their playfulness. When Xeraphos invited men to his hall to drink, the motivations stemmed far deeper than just simple exchange.
The pretty slave girl ushered in a white-haired boy into the company of the Gold Prince and his warlock companion. Pate stifled a snicker. Entertaining indeed.
Though the boy never laid eyes upon the duo sitting before him, Pate knew his face long before he stepped in. Yes. He was a recurring character in the flames Pate so fervently studied.
He would remain silent during the first exchange of conversation between the beggar and the prince. His lips were thin, working hard to keep his exclamations from spilling out of him in a flood. Pate looked to Xera with a wild grin.
He wished to spoil them all with what he'd seen. This could not be. Pate did not wish to end their fun too soon. Xera knew of this boy's blood.
How he loved to toy.
You are a cruel man, prince. Pate thought, turning back to Aerys. Dangling this choice slab of meat before my hungry jaws...
At Xeraphos prodding, Pate would nod in agreement.
"Yes, eager are we to hear of what the half dragon can do for a man who needs not in terms of riches."
Pate laughed aloud.
Last Edit: Sept 10, 2017 15:39:10 GMT by PATE PRAEUS
As the Prince of Dragons and once in direct line to inherit the Iron Throne, Aerys's Targaryen's sudden disappearance from Westeros was a loss that hurt his family in more ways than one. After five years in Essos, the Prince has returned to his homeland with hopes to prevent another civil war.
Post by AERYS TARGARYEN on Sept 4, 2017 2:15:12 GMT
There was no immediate response to what Aerys had said. He could see the two councilman exchange looks that conveyed their thoughts as plain as day. By now he had gotten used to it. The laughs, the comments, it was clear that every member that sat on that council were more similar than they would like to admit. The prince moved from where he had stood to pour himself a cup of wine.
It wasn't until he took his first sip did the Gold King begin speaking. Aerys gave him a forced smile in response. He wanted to laugh, but managed to hold himself back thus far. He was here to ask them to invest in his venture after all. "Average at ruling the Seven Kingdoms, perhaps. Average there doesn't translate so well over to Essos I see, where Kings get unseated by their people and forced into sharing a table with twelve others." Aerys spoke, a slight smirk on his lips as he spoke of how the King's of Qarth's struggled to retain their power.
"Three quarters, actually." Aerys corrected playfully after taking another sip of wine. "Don't worry. Only the stingiest of Targaryen's seem to take that difference into account." He added, a slight chuckle following as his eyes shifted from Pate to Xera.
"I am planning on going to Old Valyria." The prince didn't waste time mincing words. Simply mentioning the place of his destination would draw their attention. "What I seek is not gold or relics of the past, but knowledge. In exchange for the funds necessary to hire men and properly arming them, I will return with whatever fortunes we discover during my time within the ruins." It was an interesting proposal considering Aerys wanted no monetary reward for his success. Many council members that he had met with before expressed their lack of trust in such a statement. As greedy merchants themselves, they could not wrap their minds around the very thought that he was not interested in gold. Yet one look into Aerys's eyes would show that he spoke the truth.
"A small risk for a potentially great reward. You are a very wealthy indeed—but it is an opportunity to increase the gap between you and the members of the council whom you are forced to share power with. They have their eyes on you. Both of you." Aerys said as purple eyes returned to Pate Praeus. Nothing drove men to take action like competition.
Post by XERA XHATOS XERXES on Sept 11, 2017 0:03:23 GMT
Xera shifted in his seat halfway through the Targaryen's pitch, the same bemused smile stubborn to leave his tanned skin. He gave no indication as to if the words held any weight against him, his eyes like finely carved topazes reflecting the light of the atrium into daggers aimed at his target.
Once Aerys stopped, Xera reached over to plop another plump grape between his lips, a bite sending forth a splatter of juices that would be lost in the designs of the tile beneath his portable throne. Three chews before he glanced over at Pate once more, taking the second to gauge the warlock's expression.
Xeraphos looked back, and sat up finally, more erect, though no where near a proper position for any lord of Westeros. His hands moved to cross his arms, golden bangles jingling in the shadow of his movements. "You..." he began, a sharp canine peaking out to chew his bottom lip in thought. "You should educate yourself more in the history of Qarth before you attempt your dance with words and insults," he said with a flat expression, disappointed in the sad attempt to undermine his position as a member of the Thirteen.
"And to the crux of your reasoning here, what you speak of is dangerous. Your serpent-like proceedings are the exact cause of the insistent political turmoil that your Kingdoms constantly face. We do not take treason here lightly in Qarth," he noted dully, though after a few moments a smile returned to his face.
Leaning back just a hair he said, "Pate, what do you wager the man thinks he could find in those ruins that would genuinely interest me? The boy seems to misinterpret the truth of the title of The Gold King." The question was rhetorical in tone, giving way for either or of the guests to answer.
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