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 Dalton Greyjoy on Sept 4, 2017 16:05:04 GMT
Realization was kicking in and he watched her, as it did. It was only natural for someone as inexperienced as this to get things wrong, of course. Yet, he was not sure whether he should be amused by this or not. After all, it might have caused some actual fear in the young lady. However, even if it had done so, she was doing quite well in masking it. Heck, she even came to the right conclusion there. A raven would be the best course of action. “We do not have ravens on board the ship, of course,” he began, fearing that he might have to actually explain this. Technically, it was possible to hold ravens on a ship for emergency messages, but it was an unlikely thing to do. When did a man have a need to send a raven, but not to also be able to receive one? No, that usually wasn’t the case, at least not on his ship.
However, her sudden surge of wanderlust was infectious, so Dalton got up as well – but he did not head for the door at all. Instead, he went for the cabinet. “But I guess we can stop at a port in the Stormlands on our way, so that you can get a message out. Same for Ashe. I reckon that she would like to do that as well. It will help if a maester sees you two voluntarily leaving and returning to the ship, too. Helps making me not look like your captor.” Once more, a laugh, before he turned back towards the lady again.
Only this time, he had picked something up. It was his, but he did not use it too often, only for very, very formal occasions. The Greyjoy sigil was embroidered on the back of it. “It is getting cold out there, though, and the wind is picking up. Sadly, I have no clothes of your size, so this will have to suffice.” Saying that, he offered to put his coat onto her shoulders, completely oblivious as to what that would mean to a Greenlander. After all, Ironborn customs were ever so slightly different.
Post by SERA BARATHEON on Sept 4, 2017 16:40:26 GMT
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Of course they wouldn't hold a messenger raven on board, and she didn't expect that. Stopping somewhere to preform this action was a more pragmatic option, and the idea of Ashe and herself being seen was even better.
With a nod of her head she smiled and stood, brushing her hands against the soft fabric of her dress, "I'm sure it will work jus--"
She stopped. Her eyes wide as she gazed on Dalton holding out the large thick cloak. It was black, embroidered elegantly, and appeared very formal, such as one that he would wear for a funeral. Or a wedding.
Sera's breath stopped, and her hand clutched against her chest as she stared in surprise at the sudden motion by the young Greyjoy. Surely he wasn't being suggestive at all, and it was all innocent in the end, right?
The mere thought of the two of them crossing her mind was enough for her cheeks to flush in embarrassment and her stomach to twist into knots.
After a beat she stepped forward, hazel eyes watching him closely before turning her back to him.
"Thank you, Dalton," she said softly, waiting for the weight of the fabric to hit her shoulders.
Post by Dalton Greyjoy on Sept 4, 2017 17:02:16 GMT
Huh? That reaction was….odd to say the least. For some reason that he could not fathom, the Baratheon in front of him got flustered. At first, he thought that maybe this was due to him offering her a piece of his clothing. That would naturally be a little embarrassing for a young lady, wouldn’t it? But it seemed to be a bit more than that. Yet, as an Ironborn, he severely lacked context here. Even if he was to use the same customs during a wedding, they were Ironborn. Bringing someone under their protection was the least important reason for marriage to most of them, so they would never focus on that, even when talking about mainlander weddings.
And as such, he just could not fathom at all what was going on. In fact, he was fairly close to asking her straight ahead what was going on. However, she seemed to overcome whatever it was by herself, so he just exhaled in relief and softly, almost gently, put that cloak onto her back. After all, he did not want to make whatever it was worse. “Don’t mention it. It is the least I can do for a guest of mine, even if I am Ironborn. And besides, no one would even dare to cross you up there while wearing a cloak like that, so you will be protected even when I am not around. Not that my men are the worst. But men are sometimes just men, so you might have to put up with some crudeness.”
He shrugged, before overtaking her. Since he was playing this game, he might as well go all the way. And thus, he opened the door for her, so that they might go for some fresh air. Ashe would be fine.
Post by SERA BARATHEON on Sept 4, 2017 17:27:46 GMT
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The instant that the warm fabric rested against her back, Sera felt a comfort that resembled the welcome of her large bed at home. She chuckled quietly as he eagerly led the way for her, opening the door to escort her to the open deck.
She wondered just what crudeness she would have to put up with; name calling? Perhaps the loose insult to her honor? They were nothing more than words from a stranger that didn't know her.
"Such a gentlemen. I feel safer already."
The sound of her shoes clicked against the wood with each step until she found herself looking up at the sky. Decorated with pale and padded clouds, the blue horizon was a sight that instantly lifted her spirits ten times fold.
The smell of salt and moisture lingered in the air, and a cold breeze moved right through her as she slowly walked to the edge, peering down at the waves that split from the ship on its course.
"This is what it is to be an Ironborn? You get to sail like this all the time? To travel where you please..."
A grin decorated her face as she inhaled slowly, turning back to glance at the young captain who so hospitably looked after her. Perhaps her time spent with the Greyjoys won't be so bad afterall, especially if she got to see things that she wouldn't normally see back home.
Post by Dalton Greyjoy on Sept 4, 2017 17:46:59 GMT
For a few moments, Dalton found himself reminded of his half siblings. Those two girls had always been bright and energetic. And before they had become raiders themselves, they had been a lot like Sera right now. Just happy to be outside, to leave stuffy quarters and take a long, deep whiff of the salty ocean air – that had been them. And now, he had found another. Only this lady had managed to retain that disposition into adulthood, while his sisters were enslaving people left and right by now.
He sighed, briefly, then he followed her outside with a smile on his face. Some of the Ironborn watching the scene unfold snickered or worse, but he paid them no mind. As long as they did not start anything bad, they could act as childishly as they wanted. “Well, that is what it means to me, at least,” he replied. His steps briefly took him to the rear end of the ship, from where the pursuers could still be seen. They were fairly small already, but until they could no longer be seen at all, there was no such thing as safety. He had run from way too many larger ships to not know that.
It was not the most fun thing to concentrate on, though, so he instead turned towards the lady clad in his colours now. “To others, maybe too. I can never be sure. The men on my ship think similarly, but a lot of Ironborn are only happy when they can raid, when they can fight, steal and pillage. It has been in our nature ever since the dragons expelled us from the main land.” He chuckled, briefly. “It is funny to have a lady Tully on board. If we had never been forced to leave the Riverlands for them, maybe being Ironborn would mean to get to sail like this all the time….but ifs and whens don’t matter in the end. It is how it is, and I at least try to live such a life as good as I can. Even though one day I will have to find a rock wife and take over as lord reaper.”
Post by SERA BARATHEON on Sept 4, 2017 18:04:53 GMT
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He had said something similar before, but this time it caught her attention and he pondered on it as she looked up at him. She knew that the Ironborn were different in comparison to the customs of other great houses, but the amount of differences started to slowly show themselves.
Sera's small hands grasped at the cloak around her shoulders, bracing against the wind as she walked closer to him. The sight on the young man was rather intimidating as he stood aboard his craft, gazing out at the distance, yet it was also mesmerizing.
Salt wife? Rock wife? What was the difference. In her head, a wife was a wife, and had the honor in helping to carry on the family name; while not glorious like being a Knight or a Lord, it was just as important. If he took up his father's duty, did that mean he would not be able to sail and do the things an Ironborn does?
"You almost sound like you don't want that responsibility.... But who would if the latter meant freedom?"
Her father spent many years serving his house, slaving away at the lines of war, and aiding his people alongside his oldest brother. While her uncle Arkas spent his time exploring the world, --and his wife. She knew that her father resented their brother and father for choosing Arkas over him as heir, and because of that, there was little joy in his life anymore.
Post by Dalton Greyjoy on Sept 4, 2017 18:17:35 GMT
“Maybe I don’t.” He was being fully honest with her there. Dalton was someone who just could not see himself as the lord reaper in a few years. His sisters would be better at that job, in his opinion. If it ever came to that, he would likely just give them most of the responsibilities and continue on with his cruises. His father had done that, too. Heck, Dalton had not even seen Pyke until he was, what? Six years or something like that. Who could really tell?
But on the other hand, maybe his influence was needed. His sisters, well, one was pretty much crazed by this point, the other a narcissist. Someone had to rein them in sometimes, or they would just turn the Iron Isles into yet another nation of slavers. “Maybe I don’t want it, but should have it precisely because of that,” he further mused. Then, he turned around, relaxing his back against the railing, as he continued to converse with her in a relaxed manner. “What about you, though? I can tell that Ashe wants nothing more than to travel and see the world. She’d never agree to that openly, of course. But maybe all of this was just her unknowingly finding her way onto the sea. Are you the same, or do you long for the day when someone will make you his….I guess it is just wife for your people. I mean, that is what is expected of you, isn’t it?” His eyes shortly darted back to where they had exited the bowels of the ship. “Everyone has a choice. You could just go and find a new life in Lys if you wanted to be free.”
Post by SERA BARATHEON on Sept 4, 2017 18:40:40 GMT
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That was a good question; and one that she didn't quite know how to answer. In her short eighteen years of life, she had never contemplated on what it was that she wanted, as the distractions of her day to day living was suffice.
However, since coming to King's Landing and the wake, she was opened up to a world that she had yet to experience, and surely it would be something she would reflect on.
"It's hard to say. I have yet to even taste what freedom is like, --and you don't miss what you never had." she hesitated, biting on her bottom lip as she stared out into the ocean, "I suppose every highborn girl dreams of being loyal to a man, and swearing love before the gods. Though perhaps not many Ironborn... you don't seem to be caught up by fantasies like that."
"Believe it or not, but I desire a life of adventure...trial and hardship... and peace. Even if I have to work for my happiness, it would be far more fulfilling than loneliness."
She was sure that Ashe had her reasons for wanting to leave home, but Sera was not plagued by such a strong wanderlust for her to abandon her family. She created far too many pleasant memories with her family, and hoped to make more in the coming future.
"I think... that if you become the Lord Reaper... you will be surprised... and so will everyone else. Maybe you would be the one to change things, or maybe not. It is impossible to tell what the future has in store."
Post by Dalton Greyjoy on Sept 4, 2017 18:53:18 GMT
“I disagree,” he flatly retorted, whilst sizing her up. The way she looked at the sea, the way she had almost started to shine brightly when she had come out on deck – there was no way that she had not yet tasted freedom. Yet, what he actually disagreed with her was something else. “I have seen slaves, Sera. People born and bred to serve others. People who had never had experienced any freedom in their lives, who might be killed at any moment by their owners. I have seen these men and women. And I have seen them take up arms to kill their masters, too. Freedom is something that every human being misses, even if they do not know it.”
Granted, that was big coming from someone who had a salt wife. One who was a former slave, to boot. But that was how he knew. His wife had escaped slavery, found her own way – and had then decided to become his. Nevermind the freedoms that he still gave her, just by having her make the decision, she had retained her freedom. On the other hand though, it was good to hear her speak with more of a backbone than the Stark-turned-Tully. To want to take her life into her own hands was enough in his mind. Everything else would fall into place eventually.
“The future is uncertain, that much is for sure. But I hope that you can find that happiness you are looking for. Until then, I guess I am offering you the adventure you seek – on accident.” Once more he laughed, his slightly hoarse voice making it sound somewhat raspy. “But you would be surprised. Granted, loyalty may not be a thing to people who have salt wives, but love is something a lot of Ironborn seek. They just can’t truly fathom it, cannot grasp it. So they seek to sleep with women instead, whether they want it or not. The whole culture is disjointed. I might just be able to think differently since I have other blood in me as well.”
Post by SERA BARATHEON on Sept 5, 2017 8:57:07 GMT
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It was common for people to have two different viewpoints, and senseless to argue about it. She was the type of girl that didn't spend hours away dreaming of something she may never had, and instead was one that looked to what she possessed at that time. -- She also had no idea what it was like to be a slave or prisoner.
"It may be an accident, or some amount of it was planned, but this is turning out to be quite the adventure. One that I certainly did need."
Currently, she aimed to see the pleasantries of their little excursion, and to perhaps get to know the Ironborn house. Being surrounded by them after all, she was sure to learn a thing or two about their culture and the Drowned God they referenced. The Greyjoy way of life was fascinating to the girl.
"So have you found that love in your salt wife --or wives?.. I'm not sure how many you have. Perhaps not, since finding love also means being loyal, and as you said yourself.. 'Loyalty is not known to those who have salt wives'."
She chuckled softly, her glance sizing up the young man. Just how old was he? Surely he was of appropriate age to take over as Reaper already. Though Quellon may intend to hold it until death or until Dalton procures his own heir. Arkas didn't become Lord until he was in his twenties after all, and some riverlords were known to have their seat until their sons rotted in the ground.
Post by Dalton Greyjoy on Sept 5, 2017 10:30:29 GMT
An adventure she needed? That was an odd way to word it. Yes, the girl seemed to somewhat enjoy what was going on. But to hear her express a need for it, that was peculiar. Did she just need to get away from some things, or was there a deeper reason? Dalton looked at her, intrigued, but did not dig. Mostly because it was not his place, of course. But also because she switched to the other topic rather swiftly. It was an odd topic to talk about with a highborn lady, but if she wanted to know more about it, he would oblige. After all, he had nothing to hide – even if she most likely would not be able to truly understand.
“It depends on your definition, I guess,” he replied, before averting his gaze briefly and instead gazed upwards, into the grey-hung sky above. Smaller clouds were gathering to bigger ones above, as they came closer to the Stormlands. The weather there was usually evocative of its name – or the other way around. But that was mostly just a distraction, used to procrastinate properly explaining this. “At the moment, I have only one salt wife, though not really. You see, most Ironborn would ship their saltwives to their home and breed them like mares. I hope you don’t mind the language, but that is what they do. But my green lion…I really just leave her be. She makes a living as a trader and is free to do whatever she wants. When we meet, we usually spend time together, but in-between everyone is free.”
Dalton could not help but sigh after saying this. Too often had he imagined just taking that woman with him. But if he did, if he mayhap even had to shackle her, nothing would be gained. Vae was the kind of person who would simply wither in captivity. Just like someone else he’d once known. “She’s nice, she’s fun. But she is not the future lady Greyjoy. She is not the person that I would want to have children with. Though loyalty and love do not go hand in hand in the way you think of right now.” He laughed, briefly. “One can love more than one person without diminishing the love. Maybe I just think so because of my mother, but I truly to believe it.”
Post by SERA BARATHEON on Sept 5, 2017 11:05:27 GMT
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It was interesting to watch him talk about his 'wife'. Her eyes stayed fixed on him as he seemed to dodge her gaze, and with each word, she could sense the awe he had for this strange woman. It may not have been love, but certainly it was admiration and a hungering lust.
Sera appreciated that he personally understood how this mystery girl worked and didn't attempt to force things to be in a particular way. It was like he preferred her to be a free spirit.
"I like the idea of being able to freely hold people in my heart. But I am not the type of woman that would bed two different men, especially if I am bound by wedlock. Not only for fear of losing my head," she stopped and laughed quietly to herself, "but also because it seems quite disrespectful."
With the gathering clouds, the wind held a colder touch, and it carried a damp and wet feeling that she was all too familiar with. They were close to her homeland, and it gave her a sense of nostalgia even though she had not been absent long.
It would be a shame should their time aboard end so quickly.
"Will we be docking soon?" she asked, still new to sailing and how it worked.
Post by Dalton Greyjoy on Sept 5, 2017 11:41:39 GMT
“I certainly would not have you beheaded if you were my wife,” he replied, not really thinking about it. But in a way, he did not really have a problem with the fact that his salt wife had other men in her life. Most of the time at least. Thinking about it truthfully, the Greyjoy could tell that he was not just okay with something like that without any qualifiers. “Though I have to admit, I would want to be the main one – if that makes any sense. I have no problem that my salt wife would see other men, especially since we are separated for much of the year but….I guess I would be a bit pissed if she put someone else before me when we do meet.”
Yeah, that encapsulated it well. Looking down on the other again, he found her chill slightly. Women always reacted more strongly to upcoming cool than men did. He was not exactly sure why, but he had noticed that quite a few times. “Guess it is different for ladies and mothers though. The line of succession requires that a lord’s sons are truly his sons, after all. It is a bit sad that you have a lot less freedom there than we do.” Though, to be frank, he had not thought about that at all until now. But now that he did – yeah, that had to suck quite a bit. Vae really was lucky to have gotten someone such as him as her husband.
However, regardless of that, there was something else that he needed to explain. For that sake, he dislodged himself from the railing and non-chalantly took her hand without asking, leading her all the way to the rear of the ship. Once there, he pointed at the small object in the distance. “Do you see that over there? That is our pursuers. Rule of thumb when running away from another ship: if you can see them, they can see you. So we will go straight ahead until we no longer see them. If we make landfall now, we will have to fight them. And I guess none of us wants that. So we will likely have to clear Dragonstone before we can even think about finding a harbour. We are not going to get too close to that island, though. I think a large part of the royal fleet is anchored there and we can’t certainly afford to run into them.”
Post by SERA BARATHEON on Sept 5, 2017 11:58:53 GMT
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She would not openly admit it, but the small presence of the ship on the horizon had her very uneasy. They could be part of the Royal fleet, or it could belong to House Tully, or someone even more frightening. She couldn't see the colors and was left to guess at just what would happen if they caught up.
"I pray the winds are with us then." she said, subconsciously her had tensing up around his as she gazed out at the pursuing ship. It was a funny feeling, being helpless to do anything, and it was not the first time she felt like this, --like a lamb that watched the wolf stalk.
The nervous girl looked up at the young captain, taking in his features with her eyes and began to recognize parts of him that looked much like his father. Yet other parts did not, and those were traits she could only assume were passed from his mother. With a soft smile on her lips she simply asked him.
"Your father, you said that he killed your mother. Was that because of what she was? Or did she betray him?"
Realizing how insensitive that may have been Sera pulled her hand from his and stepped back, "I'm sorry, it's just that you have spoken about her, and I sensed some amount of admiration... Did you know her at all?"
Post by Dalton Greyjoy on Sept 5, 2017 12:15:16 GMT
“Barely,” he simply replied, eyes still fixated on the ship in the distance. He could feel that seeing it in actuality was making his guest rather nervous. That was good. At least now she understood the situation they were in just a little better. From her talk of adventure, he had already concluded that she was not fully aware of what it meant to be hunted, but now she did. Sure, it was sad that he had to kind of frighten the girl, but he had awlays been a staunch believer in letting people know, instead of allowing them blissful ignorance.
Sadly though, that went both ways. So, he had to elaborate a bit on what had happened in his family. “I have some vague memories of her, but those might just have been what I wanted to see. I don’t know what she looked or sounded like. Quite possible that father had killed her straight after childbirth. That was what he’d done my half-sister’s mother. Why? I have no clue. Some things in this world are just hard to understand. But if I had to guess, I would say that he had no more use for them after they gave him children.” A brief shudder followed.
This really was a horrible way to deal with salt wives in his opinion. A great waste, too, but it had also meant that the two younglings had grown up without a mother at all, just like he had. Maybe that was why they were so messed up? “But you don’t need to apologize. I like talking to you and those are not exactly secrets, weighing heavily on my mind. I just know that I will have to do better than him, in many aspects. Even if it will be a lot of pressure.”
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