Jaron
Jaron closed his eyes as he contemplated about his decision. He had to agree with the Burned Man. It was the only way for Harpy and… more perhaps for him as well to get out of this city and out of this life. At the same time, Jaron knew that it would break her heart. He sighed regretfully, before he opened his eyes again, glaring at the Burned Man. “I agree”, he said. “I'm doing it”
A thankful smile formed on the Burned Man's face, but before he could answer anything, Jaron grabbed his shoulder and narrowed his eyes. “But let this be clear”, he growled. “This will be a point of no return. Once I brought her out of this city, you will never contact us again. If you go through with this, we're done with you, you hear me?”
The Burned Man's smile faded as quickly as it came, replaced by a stern look. He seemed slightly angered, but at the same time, he looked reluctant, regretful, almost ashamed. “I hear you and I agree”, he confirmed. “… [view original content]
Jaron
Jaron closed his eyes as he contemplated about his decision. He had to agree with the Burned Man. It was the only way for Harpy and… more perhaps for him as well to get out of this city and out of this life. At the same time, Jaron knew that it would break her heart. He sighed regretfully, before he opened his eyes again, glaring at the Burned Man. “I agree”, he said. “I'm doing it”
A thankful smile formed on the Burned Man's face, but before he could answer anything, Jaron grabbed his shoulder and narrowed his eyes. “But let this be clear”, he growled. “This will be a point of no return. Once I brought her out of this city, you will never contact us again. If you go through with this, we're done with you, you hear me?”
The Burned Man's smile faded as quickly as it came, replaced by a stern look. He seemed slightly angered, but at the same time, he looked reluctant, regretful, almost ashamed. “I hear you and I agree”, he confirmed. “… [view original content]
Jaron
Jaron closed his eyes as he contemplated about his decision. He had to agree with the Burned Man. It was the only way for Harpy and… more perhaps for him as well to get out of this city and out of this life. At the same time, Jaron knew that it would break her heart. He sighed regretfully, before he opened his eyes again, glaring at the Burned Man. “I agree”, he said. “I'm doing it”
A thankful smile formed on the Burned Man's face, but before he could answer anything, Jaron grabbed his shoulder and narrowed his eyes. “But let this be clear”, he growled. “This will be a point of no return. Once I brought her out of this city, you will never contact us again. If you go through with this, we're done with you, you hear me?”
The Burned Man's smile faded as quickly as it came, replaced by a stern look. He seemed slightly angered, but at the same time, he looked reluctant, regretful, almost ashamed. “I hear you and I agree”, he confirmed. “… [view original content]
Man, this is going to be exciting. And I'm pretty sure in the end it wont be an "evening for the living".
[Keep an eye on Jarek and Lord Hightower] I think it's gonna take a while before anything radical happens, and I'm very interested in Lord Hightower since we know basically nothing about him at this point.
Jaron
Jaron closed his eyes as he contemplated about his decision. He had to agree with the Burned Man. It was the only way for Harpy and… more perhaps for him as well to get out of this city and out of this life. At the same time, Jaron knew that it would break her heart. He sighed regretfully, before he opened his eyes again, glaring at the Burned Man. “I agree”, he said. “I'm doing it”
A thankful smile formed on the Burned Man's face, but before he could answer anything, Jaron grabbed his shoulder and narrowed his eyes. “But let this be clear”, he growled. “This will be a point of no return. Once I brought her out of this city, you will never contact us again. If you go through with this, we're done with you, you hear me?”
The Burned Man's smile faded as quickly as it came, replaced by a stern look. He seemed slightly angered, but at the same time, he looked reluctant, regretful, almost ashamed. “I hear you and I agree”, he confirmed. “… [view original content]
Jaron
Jaron closed his eyes as he contemplated about his decision. He had to agree with the Burned Man. It was the only way for Harpy and… more perhaps for him as well to get out of this city and out of this life. At the same time, Jaron knew that it would break her heart. He sighed regretfully, before he opened his eyes again, glaring at the Burned Man. “I agree”, he said. “I'm doing it”
A thankful smile formed on the Burned Man's face, but before he could answer anything, Jaron grabbed his shoulder and narrowed his eyes. “But let this be clear”, he growled. “This will be a point of no return. Once I brought her out of this city, you will never contact us again. If you go through with this, we're done with you, you hear me?”
The Burned Man's smile faded as quickly as it came, replaced by a stern look. He seemed slightly angered, but at the same time, he looked reluctant, regretful, almost ashamed. “I hear you and I agree”, he confirmed. “… [view original content]
Jaron
Jaron closed his eyes as he contemplated about his decision. He had to agree with the Burned Man. It was the only way for Harpy and… more perhaps for him as well to get out of this city and out of this life. At the same time, Jaron knew that it would break her heart. He sighed regretfully, before he opened his eyes again, glaring at the Burned Man. “I agree”, he said. “I'm doing it”
A thankful smile formed on the Burned Man's face, but before he could answer anything, Jaron grabbed his shoulder and narrowed his eyes. “But let this be clear”, he growled. “This will be a point of no return. Once I brought her out of this city, you will never contact us again. If you go through with this, we're done with you, you hear me?”
The Burned Man's smile faded as quickly as it came, replaced by a stern look. He seemed slightly angered, but at the same time, he looked reluctant, regretful, almost ashamed. “I hear you and I agree”, he confirmed. “… [view original content]
Jaron is going to keep an eye on Jarek and Lord Hightower
I don't know if all of you had the time to read the part yet, but I think the voting has been open long enough, especially as we're almost having a vote tie. The writing of the next part makes good progress and I don't want to keep you waiting longer than necessary. Personally, not taking into consideration that I know which choice would have been the best here, I would have probably chosen to keep an eye on Ayden and the High Septon. Hightower has a bodyguard after all, something the High Septon seems to be lacking. However, I'm gladly going to take the opportunity to develop the character of Jarek a bit more. I can confirm that there will be future opportunities to change whom Jaron is guarding, so there will be more chances for me to develop Ayden a bit better. Thinking about it, Jaron's storyline is probably going to be really long in this chapter, comparable to Samantha's from Chapter 5, so there will be many more opportunities for each character to shine.
The next part is making good progress and I am pretty sure that I'm going to finish it today. It will feature PoV's from Alys and Edrick. Now, there already was an Edrick part not long ago, but I think it thematically fits well with Alys' part, considering the connection between their storylines. The last time we saw Alys was in Chapter 5 and some things have changed for her. For starters, she is no longer in Harrenhal. Edward's situation has also changed, because he obviously won Harren's favour after saving his life at the end of the last chapter. As for Edrick, so far we haven't seen much of him. Maybe you remember, he is a hedge knight who has been called to the seat of House Boleyn, Alys' family. Together with his guide, a young man named Leo York, he travelled there, before realizing that Leo was apparently hiding something, about Alys, her family and her betrothed, Dante Karstark, who is also present at the Boleyn's keep. He decided to question Leo about this, which is where Edrick's next part is going to start. It'll introduce two characters whom I have been waiting to introduce for a while. I also guess I'm not the only one who has been waiting for them.
And finally, I got a bonus question for you! It's more of a rethorical question and you don't need to answer it if you don't want to. However, I have to ask, do you still remember Lucas' backstory, which he has told in Chapter 4? I don't blame you if you don't, because that has been a very long time ago. Actually, I highly doubt anyone still remembers this detail, which has so far been entirely minor and forgettable. Also, do not worry if you don't, Liquid is here to help, just click on this link and it will magically teleport you all the way back to page 46, if you want to read it yourself. The information I am hinting at can be found at the beginning of the second half of the Lucas part on page 46. I hope you don't see this as a spoiler, because technically it is stuff that has already been directly mentioned. Normally I wouldn't hint on it so strongly, but I guess this knowledge could be important for future Jaron parts in this chapter, because combined with the information I gave you in this part, it should massively change the way you see a certain character. I'm also doing this little reminder so that it looks like less of an ass-pull the next time I reveal this information in the story
The Voting is closed!
Jaron is going to keep an eye on Jarek and Lord Hightower
I don't know if all of you had the time to read the pa… morert yet, but I think the voting has been open long enough, especially as we're almost having a vote tie. The writing of the next part makes good progress and I don't want to keep you waiting longer than necessary. Personally, not taking into consideration that I know which choice would have been the best here, I would have probably chosen to keep an eye on Ayden and the High Septon. Hightower has a bodyguard after all, something the High Septon seems to be lacking. However, I'm gladly going to take the opportunity to develop the character of Jarek a bit more. I can confirm that there will be future opportunities to change whom Jaron is guarding, so there will be more chances for me to develop Ayden a bit better. Thinking about it, Jaron's storyline is probably going to be really long in this chapter, compa… [view original content]
Wow, I actually remembered vaguely the backstory of Lucas, but I had totally forgotten the names - including the family name. And you certainly are right, that does massively change the way I see Petyr.
The Voting is closed!
Jaron is going to keep an eye on Jarek and Lord Hightower
I don't know if all of you had the time to read the pa… morert yet, but I think the voting has been open long enough, especially as we're almost having a vote tie. The writing of the next part makes good progress and I don't want to keep you waiting longer than necessary. Personally, not taking into consideration that I know which choice would have been the best here, I would have probably chosen to keep an eye on Ayden and the High Septon. Hightower has a bodyguard after all, something the High Septon seems to be lacking. However, I'm gladly going to take the opportunity to develop the character of Jarek a bit more. I can confirm that there will be future opportunities to change whom Jaron is guarding, so there will be more chances for me to develop Ayden a bit better. Thinking about it, Jaron's storyline is probably going to be really long in this chapter, compa… [view original content]
Not gonna lie, I've been hoping to see the words "The next part will feature an Edrick POV" ever since his first part just to see Dante and Darreth. :$
The Voting is closed!
Jaron is going to keep an eye on Jarek and Lord Hightower
I don't know if all of you had the time to read the pa… morert yet, but I think the voting has been open long enough, especially as we're almost having a vote tie. The writing of the next part makes good progress and I don't want to keep you waiting longer than necessary. Personally, not taking into consideration that I know which choice would have been the best here, I would have probably chosen to keep an eye on Ayden and the High Septon. Hightower has a bodyguard after all, something the High Septon seems to be lacking. However, I'm gladly going to take the opportunity to develop the character of Jarek a bit more. I can confirm that there will be future opportunities to change whom Jaron is guarding, so there will be more chances for me to develop Ayden a bit better. Thinking about it, Jaron's storyline is probably going to be really long in this chapter, compa… [view original content]
Until today, Alys had always considered herself to be a good rider. Back home, she had spent hours riding several of her fathers horses, through wind and snow and she had always been complimented on her skill. But never before had she been riding a stubborn nag for days, through blinding rain, on a painfully bumpy road, not even knowing the destination. She only knew, they were constantly riding southwest, closer to the borders of Reach. Perhaps they had even crossed them by now, a thought that gave Alys an uneasy feeling, considering how many armed men rode with them.
Still, Alys wasn't regretting her request to accompany Edward. After all, he would have taken Alisa and Carvin with him, which would have meant that she would have been all alone in Harrenhal. While Prince Harrick had been charming enough to offer her protection and while his brother Harlan had nearly been killed during the assassination attempt on King Harren's live, there were Harndon the madman, and even worse, the oldest brother, the monster. No, staying in Harrenhal hadn't been an option for her.
By now, she was almost sure that her journey was about to come to an end. The Ironborn soldiers, an honour guard personally picked by King Harren as a reward for Edward's role in his survival, were riding in a wide formation now, some of them even chatting casually despite the torrential rain.
Alys herself was riding next to Edward and the leader of the guards. It had been surprising for her that someone like Harren was allowing a woman to have such a high position, but Captain Alynne Hollard had proven to be every bit as hard as the men under her command and even though her name immediately clued Alys in on her highborn Riverlands heritage, Alynne was a true Ironborn in her eyes. She had a certain beauty, short, brown hair, a stern, but pretty face and piercing eyes. She wasn't the most talkative among her men, this dubious honour would go to a soldier who introduced himself as Wilbur on the first day of the journey and made a plump, rude and obviously unsuccessful attempt at flirting with Alys. While Alynne was mostly silent, her behaviour expressed a calm respect that most of her men were lacking.
Right now, Carvin and Alisa were riding behind her. Carvin surprised her by acting gallant, offering his warm coat to Alisa at first and after her stern refusal, to Alys. Even she was soaked to the bone by now, so she could only imagine how much worse it must be for him by now. Yet the only complaint she heard of him during their journey was about his crossbow, about how the rain would ruin the weapon.
“Captain Alynne!”, a familiar voice sounded from ahead and just a second later, a hooded figure came into her field of view. The man pulled back his hood and Alys recognized Wilbur, the cocky soldier whom she had an encounter with earlier this week. Even though he had claimed to be slightly older than her, he wasn't looking the part. He was short and lean, with shaggy black hair and the first attempts of a patchy beard that started to cover his face. A small scar, which at least according to him was a hardly earned battle scar, was visible above his right eyebrow. Not exactly a hideous man in appearance, Wilbur's personality had repulsed her from their very first meeting. He was cocky, a loudmouth and with his direct, somewhat rude attitude, he immediately left a bad impression on her.
“Captain”, he exclaimed again and stopped his horse in front of Alynne. The woman looked up, narrowing her eyes because of the rain. Her lips were being pressed together as she started to speak. “Scout Wilbur”, she said in a low tone, but the wind was easily carrying the words to Alys' ears. “Report”
“The camp is two miles ahead. They had their own scouts and obviously saw me”, Wilbur explained and a grin that craved for attention formed on his face as he glanced at Alys. “They nearly started a fight, but I was able to convince them otherwise. Their leader, this Bear, is waiting for you”
Bear... it was the second time she had heard this name. A few days ago, she had overheard Carvin talking to a few of the men and even though she hadn't understood much of what he said, she recognized the odd hint of caution in his voice when he mentioned this person. Someone even Carvin was afraid of was not exactly the kind of person she would like to meet.
“Ser?”, Alynne asked and glanced at Edward. He looked over his shoulder, his gaze falling upon Alys for a moment, long enough to make her blush, before he looked at the soldiers and back at Wilbur. “Have you seen how many men he has?”
Wilbur gave him a nod. “Of course, Ser”, he confirmed, before his confident grin faded under Edward's stern glare. “I... I mean... I got a pretty good impression. Five dozen at least, likely more, but no more than a hundred”
“A hundred...”, Edward muttered and a smirk appeared on his face. “Captain Hollard, your men are trained killers, am I right?” Alynne nodded quickly and Alys knew that she wasn't the only one who glanced at Wilbur. She had always imagined trained killers to look a bit different. “Good enough to take on a host twice their size?”, Edward continued to ask. This time, Alynne had to think about it for a moment, before giving him a nod. “Especially if they are bandits, Ser. I doubt you can call them a 'host'”
“Then we'll meet them head on. Demonstrate strength and confidence”, Edward decided. “I'll show Bear that I am not afraid of him. After all, he is going to work for me and for that, I need his respect”
By now, Alys had slowed down her horse enough to allow Alisa and Carvin to catch up with her. “Bear?”, she whispered. “Bandit leader”, Alisa explained. “Not the kind of person you'd wanna meet”
“And still we're going to meet him?”, Alys asked. This time, Alisa shook her head, removing a wet strand of dark brown hair from her face. “Only Anturion”, she explained. “I doubt he's going to include us in the talks”
“One of you”, Anturion said and Alisa looked up, her eyes widening in surprise as she realized that Anturion had listened to their talks. “One of you will accompany me as my bodyguard. Captain Hollard will accompany me as well” He looked at Alys and his expression got darker as he glanced at the men. “The other will stay with Lady Alys”
In his voice, Alys believed to hear a hint of worry, which was enough for her to consider his wishes. Yet, at the same time a question remained. “But... why exactly are you going to meet this man either way? Do you seriously want a bandit to work for you?”
“Out of necessity, yes”, Edward answered. “He brings reinforcements for my plan, of a ruthless sort. Not the kind of man I'd want to meet my family” An amused smirk appeared on his face. “Then again, my brother Nain would probably love him. My sister, not so much...” His smirk faded after he said these words and he glanced from Alisa to Carvin.
“I'd like to guard Lady Alys”, Carvin offered, to Alys' surprise. He caught her glance and raised his eyebrows. “What? Alisa should be good enough to guard Anturion. But you? Surrounded by these... people, you need the best”
“You mean to say, you are afraid to meet Bear”, Alisa interjected and Carvin gave her an alarmed stare that clued Alys in on the fact that Alisa's words weren't too far away from the truth. “I'm not afraid”, he protested, but she cut him off by shaking her head. “There is no shame in admitting to be afraid of this man. As a matter of fact, I've heard enough to be afraid”, she explained and looked at Alys. “Which is why I'd like to request to stay back, to guard Lady Alys”
Anturion shook his head. “Not both of you. I need someone I can trust in there, in case things go south. I doubt Bear tries to double cross me, but he has a reputation to be unpredictable”, he explained and looked at Alys. “Mylady, I leave it up to you. Would you like to have Alisa guard over you, or would you feel saver with Carvin at your side?”
“Do I... Do I even need a guard at all?”, Alys asked “This Bear sounds like a person you should meet with as many loyal guards as possible. You can take Alisa and Carvin with you. I can look after myself” This comment caused an amused chuckle from Captain Hollard, who subtly shook her head, a gesture that only enraged Alys. “What? You don't believe me?”, she growled.
Before Alynne could answer, Edward raised his hands. “Now... easy, Captain Hollard. Lady Alys is more capable than you think”, he tried to calm her down. “Mylady, no one doubts your courage. But it would be unwise to stay all by yourself. I can't take you with me when I meet Bear and I wouldn't feel well with the knowledge that you'd be on your own. Of course I won't force you to accept this offer. I just urge you to consider it”
[Let Alisa guard you][Let Carvin guard you][Let no one guard you]
Edrick
“Leo”, Edrick growled and narrowed his eyes, while he took a step closer. He didn't want to intimidate the younger man, but he knew that he usually had this effect on people. Leo had the expected reaction, a mixture of surprise, uneasiness and the hint of fear. “Leo, you are hiding something from me”
Leo closed his eyes and let out a sigh. “Very well... No need to get aggressive”, he mumbled and opened his eyes again. “It is really not your business... Ser” He glanced towards the castle, clenching his fists in the process. “But if you must know it, Lady Alys and I are close”
“Close?”, Edrick asked and raised an eyebrow. He had heard about this, of course. Young, adventurous noblewomen sometimes had a fling with local boys. That was how scandals were born and quite a number of bastards as well. Sure, it was more common for noblemen, but all things considered, not impossible to think of.
Leo quickly shook his head. “No, not like this”, he clarified. “On her side at least, it is nothing romantic, or anything else that would be deemed as inappropriate” He paused for a moment, a rather regretful look on his face. “But we are acquainted with each other. She trusts me, shared a few secrets”
He cut himself off as he noticed Edrick's curious glance. “I won't reveal them to you, Ser Edrick. By all means, Alys Boleyn is a lady and I won't betray her trust, I'm sorry”, he said in a low, slightly angered tone. “And that is all you will hear of me about this”
“Fine”, Edrick said and took a step away from Leo. He still had the feeling as if he was lied at, but there was little he was willing to do at the moment. Intimidating a guy was one thing. Actually following through with the intimidation was something else. Not that Edrick would have had a problem with it, but Leo almost certainly did not deserve this level of mistrust. “I guess that's it then. Will you wait here?”
“As promised”, Leo agreed. As Edrick turned towards the castle, about to leave, the young man cleared his throat. “Ser Edrick, wait!”, he called. “I believe, there is one thing you should know” Edrick immediately turned around, trying not to reveal any emotion on his face. “It is nothing Lady Alys told me. Not directly at least”, Leo quickly explained. “You know this unwanted marriage was part of her reason to run away, right?”
“I have thought so, yes”, Edrick confirmed. Honestly, he wasn't sure what to think of Alys' reasons, but then again, he found it hard to emphasize with a noblewoman. “The thing is, I believe she had a reason beyond the fact that she wanted to keep her freedom”, Leo continued. “What do you know about Dante Karstark?”
Edrick raised an eyebrow in slight confusion, as he thought about this unexpected question. “Nothing, I guess. Truth be told, I haven't even heard his name until now”, he answered. “Not that unusual. I'm from White Harbour. Never spent much time on Karstark lands” This time, Leo gave him a nod. “Indeed. I on the other hand live on Karstark lands. House Boleyn is sworn to them. There has been a lot of death in House Karstark. There was Alisa the Kinslayer and the shame she brought upon her house when she killed her younger brother. Both of Lord Karstarks brothers, Dante's uncle and father, are dead”, he explained. “The family is a lot smaller than it used to be. By all means, we here should have heard about Dante. Instead, we know nothing but his name. The silence is suspicious”
This time, Edrick slightly shrugged. Leo had an interesting argument. At the same time, he sounded a bit too paranoid, as if he wanted to distrust Dante. Considering the way he talked when he mentioned Alys, Edrick was sure he knew the reason. He himself wasn't willing to distrust a man before he even met him. Still, it didn't hurt to be polite about this matter, especially since he was afraid that he managed to upset the young man.
“Thank you for your warning, Leo”, Edrick answered. “I will consider what you said. Now, I don't want to keep Lord Boleyn waiting longer than I have to” Leo gave him a nod, ending their talk, as the knight turned towards the castle. For a moment, he considered climbing on his horse, but he decided against it. There was no need for a pompous entrance. He left these for the fancy noblemen.
He walked up to the small castle and soon, the guards spotted him. “Hold it right there!”, a voice sounded. “Who goes there?” Edrick stopped, raising his hands to show them that he wasn't a threat. “Ser Edrick of the Wolfswood!”, he announced himself. “I have business with Lord Barroth Boleyn. He is waiting for me”
For one moment, there was no reaction. Then, the gate was opened, slowly and concerningly creaking. The resulting gap was barely enough for Edrick to lead his horse through and into the Keep's courtyard.
As expected, the courtyard was in a sorry state. Dust and debris made it look more like a ruin than a real castle. There were no servants to greet him and the walls themselves were only manned by a handful of guards. Edrick shook his head, as he realized that two dozen men could effortlessly take the keep. In one corner of the courtyard, a young man was training with a sword, hitting a wooden dummy, but other than that, it was empty.
“Ser Edrick”, a voice sounded and an old man walked into Edrick's field of view, clean shaven and with white hair, but balding and slightly limping. He was wearing the same uniform as all guards in the castle, a green and white tabard, depicting a brown goat, but something about the way he looked around clued Edrick in that he had more authority than the rest.
The man extended his hand and Edrick shook it, positively surprised at his strong grip. “Norren Snow, master-at-arms and captain of the guard”, the old man introduced himself. “It is a pleasure to have you here, Ser Edrick”
“The pleasure is all mine”, Edrick answered and thankfully gave the man the reins of his horse, welcoming the opportunity to relax his hand. “So, is Lord Boleyn already awaiting me?” Norren shook his head. “Lord Boleyn would be ready to talk to you, but he has made it clear that he leaves it up to you if you want to meet him immediately, or if you want to relax from the exertions of your journey first”, he answered and glanced at the horse. The animal was tired, which only set it into a slightly agitated state that obviously worried Norren. “Allow me to bring your horse to our stables. Then, we can talk about your wishes”, he offered, before pointing across the courtyard, at the man who was training with his sword. “We already have guests here. Perhaps you'd like to introduce yourself to them while I am away”
Edrick answered with a firm nod to this suggestion. Norren in turn looked slightly uneasy as he started to move the horse to the stables. For a moment, Edrick watched him, before he started to approach the training man. He was tall, about as tall as Edrick, with the muscular build of a warrior. He had dark brown hair, tied into a short ponytail, as well as a short beard. While Edrick was hardly the best person to evaluate such a thing, the man appeared to be handsome. And he was obviously a Karstark, wearing their easily recognizable black and white tabards.
The man noticed Edrick as he was approaching and immediately, he lowered his dulled blade. A friendly smile formed on his face as he gave him a nod. “Greetings! My name is Ser Edrick of the Wolfswood”, Edrick introduced himself. “Ser Dante Karstark, I presume?”
This time, a chuckle came out of the mans throat, as he shook his head. “Close, but not quite”, he answered. “I'm his squire, Darreth Kailen. Nonetheless, I am glad that you're here, Ser Edrick. We have heard that Lord Boleyn has sent for you” He gave Edrick a warm and firm handshake.
“Feels good to be here, Darreth”, Edrick greeted him and glanced admiringly at the wooden dummy. “That was some fancy swordplay. Has Ser Dante trained you?” Darreth shook his head. “Dante finds little joy in these things. But there is more to knighthood, isn't it? But excuse me, I suppose he'd like to talk to you himself” He glanced at the small tower they were standing next to. “Dante! Hey, Dante!”, he yelled. “Our guest has arrived”
Edrick didn't have to wait for long. Only seconds after Darreth had called, the small, heavy door of the tower was opened. A young man walked out of it. Compared to his squire, Dante Karstark was more average looking, slightly smaller and more skinny. His hair was black, he had a short stubble and warm, brown eyes. While by no means a handsome man, he wasn't ugly either and definitely not the sort of man that would send a girl running away just by his looks alone. In his left hand, he was holding a small book with a red cover.
“And who do you think already saw him coming miles ago?”, he said towards Darreth, while he approached Edrick, to give him a handshake. “Ser Edrick, my name is Dante Karstark. I am pleased to meet you” While he shook his hand, Edrick managed to take a glance at the book. 'The History of Joghwin, Far Mossovy and the Kingdom of Sarnor' from Maester Lorwyn... not quite the literature he would have expected from a Karstark. Then again, he hadn't really expected any kind of literature at all from a Karstark. They had a reputation for being fearsome warriors. This rather harmless looking man was not what he had expected.
“The pleasure is all mine, Ser Dante”, Edrick answered. Although the look in Dante's eyes was warm, honest and trustworthy, he couldn't help but to feel the hint of distrust, as a result of Leo's words. In his experience, the seemingly harmless ones often had the most terrible secrets to hide. “After that journey, I am glad to finally be here”
“And I'm afraid your troubles aren't over yet”, Darreth interjected and pointed at the walls of the tower. “As you may noticed, the keep is not quite Karhold or Winterfell. Don't expect much comfort, if that's what you're hoping for” A grin appeared on his face as he glanced at Dante. “Just yesterday, Dante has nearly been killed by fallen debris.
“You're being overly dramatic, Darreth”, Dante answered. “This is a very old keep. Things like that happen. Besides, it was only a very small rock. My skills in close combat have been enough to thwart its attempt at my life”
Edrick chuckled at the joke, but before he was able to answer, he noticed the limping figure of Norren Snow approaching. The master-at-arms took a deep bow in front of his guests, especially in front of Dante, who seemed to be slightly and strangely uncomfortable at the display of respect.
“Ah, I see you have met Ser Dante and his squire”, Norren muttered. “I'm sure you will get along well. Now, have you made up your mind about your wishes? Lord Boleyn is ready to talk to you anytime. Though, perhaps you'd like to move to your quarters first” He deeply and audibly took a breath. “Perhaps you'd like to change your clothes before meeting with the lord”
Alys
Until today, Alys had always considered herself to be a good rider. Back home, she had spent hours riding several of her fathers hor… moreses, through wind and snow and she had always been complimented on her skill. But never before had she been riding a stubborn nag for days, through blinding rain, on a painfully bumpy road, not even knowing the destination. She only knew, they were constantly riding southwest, closer to the borders of Reach. Perhaps they had even crossed them by now, a thought that gave Alys an uneasy feeling, considering how many armed men rode with them.
Still, Alys wasn't regretting her request to accompany Edward. After all, he would have taken Alisa and Carvin with him, which would have meant that she would have been all alone in Harrenhal. While Prince Harrick had been charming enough to offer her protection and while his brother Harlan had nearly been killed during the assassination attempt on King Harren's live… [view original content]
Alys
Until today, Alys had always considered herself to be a good rider. Back home, she had spent hours riding several of her fathers hor… moreses, through wind and snow and she had always been complimented on her skill. But never before had she been riding a stubborn nag for days, through blinding rain, on a painfully bumpy road, not even knowing the destination. She only knew, they were constantly riding southwest, closer to the borders of Reach. Perhaps they had even crossed them by now, a thought that gave Alys an uneasy feeling, considering how many armed men rode with them.
Still, Alys wasn't regretting her request to accompany Edward. After all, he would have taken Alisa and Carvin with him, which would have meant that she would have been all alone in Harrenhal. While Prince Harrick had been charming enough to offer her protection and while his brother Harlan had nearly been killed during the assassination attempt on King Harren's live… [view original content]
"You can take Alisa and Carvin with you. I can look after myself” This comment caused an amused chuckle from Captain Hollard" that's completetly inrelevant!
[Let no one guard you] give me both or none, I don't want to kill her but it may be better for her toughest look, not like Bear will star something bad maybe just a "roar"
[Move to your quarters]
Btw... I don't want to complain but the story is progress slowly at the rate of a turtle without a leg, some of the characters are getting more attention than is necessary which seems is a good part, maybe... Isn't like I am scare that you will may not introduce some of them, maybe just become just merely a plot tools and it isn't a complain about being as the main but I'm curious when my character it will presented.... I know you will say when you'll need it without a doubt but they are already too many characters and I am scare you will be unable to hold all of them, you should consider when the time is come to introduce some of them, in particularly it should not need focus of them but rather you'll need to mention some of them maybe introduce them and use them later. Any thoughts?
"She look upon the desk were her creator hold his pen then she gently watch him touch the paper upon holding her grudge to be emerge, the paper full of worlds feel empty. " - Arialex, the chapter where she may be finally introduce.
Alys
Until today, Alys had always considered herself to be a good rider. Back home, she had spent hours riding several of her fathers hor… moreses, through wind and snow and she had always been complimented on her skill. But never before had she been riding a stubborn nag for days, through blinding rain, on a painfully bumpy road, not even knowing the destination. She only knew, they were constantly riding southwest, closer to the borders of Reach. Perhaps they had even crossed them by now, a thought that gave Alys an uneasy feeling, considering how many armed men rode with them.
Still, Alys wasn't regretting her request to accompany Edward. After all, he would have taken Alisa and Carvin with him, which would have meant that she would have been all alone in Harrenhal. While Prince Harrick had been charming enough to offer her protection and while his brother Harlan had nearly been killed during the assassination attempt on King Harren's live… [view original content]
Alys
Until today, Alys had always considered herself to be a good rider. Back home, she had spent hours riding several of her fathers hor… moreses, through wind and snow and she had always been complimented on her skill. But never before had she been riding a stubborn nag for days, through blinding rain, on a painfully bumpy road, not even knowing the destination. She only knew, they were constantly riding southwest, closer to the borders of Reach. Perhaps they had even crossed them by now, a thought that gave Alys an uneasy feeling, considering how many armed men rode with them.
Still, Alys wasn't regretting her request to accompany Edward. After all, he would have taken Alisa and Carvin with him, which would have meant that she would have been all alone in Harrenhal. While Prince Harrick had been charming enough to offer her protection and while his brother Harlan had nearly been killed during the assassination attempt on King Harren's live… [view original content]
"You can take Alisa and Carvin with you. I can look after myself” This comment caused an amused chuckle from Captain Hollard" that's complet… moreetly inrelevant!
[Let no one guard you] give me both or none, I don't want to kill her but it may be better for her toughest look, not like Bear will star something bad maybe just a "roar"
[Move to your quarters]
Btw... I don't want to complain but the story is progress slowly at the rate of a turtle without a leg, some of the characters are getting more attention than is necessary which seems is a good part, maybe... Isn't like I am scare that you will may not introduce some of them, maybe just become just merely a plot tools and it isn't a complain about being as the main but I'm curious when my character it will presented.... I know you will say when you'll need it without a doubt but they are already too many characters and I am scare you will be unable to hold all of them, you should conside… [view original content]
First of all, thank you for your comment. Criticism is always appreciated and the things you mentioned are very understandable problems, so I'll do my best to answer them. I'm sure you are not the only reader who feels that way.
that's completely irrelevant!
Could you please explain what you mean with that? Personally, I don't see this particular line as irrelevant. In fact, there are a couple of reasons why I wrote it. The first part, Alys' sentence, showed that Alys is both, a brave young woman, as well as a slightly naive girl who maybe doesn't have the best grasp on how dangerous some situations truly are. It also showed that she is concerned for her friends, in this case, for Edward's safety and that she is willing to put her friends safety above her own. The second part of this line, Alynne's reaction, was meant to show a bit of Alynne's character, who only had a small role in the last Chapter. In contrast to Alys' hint of juvenile naivety, Alynne is a realist who immediately understood that Alys most likely can't look after herself in this situation. It also shows that she doesn't really care and is in fact rather amused by it, instead of being concerned. In general, this line was meant to show a bit more of these two characters. While I am sure that I have written completely irrelevant lines on more than one occasion, I don't think this particular one is a prime example for it, even though it certainly isn't among the most important ones as well.
Now to your concerns:
Btw... I don't want to complain but the story is progress slowly at the rate of a turtle without a leg, some of the characters are getting more attention than is necessary which seems is a good part, maybe...
I fully understand your concern and I know that the story progresses very slowly, even though I consider myself to be a fast and active writer. There is simply nothing I can do about it. It got a lot bigger than I ever planned it to be, although I kinda like it that way. It's going to keep me busy for a long time. The heavy downside is that some readers, even some of the most active ones, have to wait a long time for their characters to appear. Agent for example submitted his characters Dante and Darreth back in May and while Dante was mentioned a few times, it took me until yesterday to finally introduce him. Other readers, like Loki522 or husmusen, have their main characters, Lachlan and the Hawk, planned to first appear in the very early parts of Book 2, which is conincidentally also where I have planned your characters, Arialex and Rias, to appear. Meanwhile, other characters fit into the story way earlier, like DiverseGnu's Wilbur, who has been submitted at the end of Chapter 5, just a few weeks ago. Sadly, there is little I can do about it, because I think it would be detrimental to the story and ultimately to the characters themselves if I would start to force them into the story at all costs, maybe even earlier than their role would make sense. Since Dante is a recent example for a character who has been introduced after a long wait, I'll use him again: The way the story was planned, I was simply unable to introduce him earlier, since that would have required Edrick's storyline to start earlier. If I would have started Edrick's storyline earlier in order to introduce Dante earlier, some developments in other storylines, who are going to be important for Edrick, would have had to happen earlier as well. This would have caused a chain reaction and in the end, some storylines would have felt rushed and unsatisfying for me and the readers.
Isn't like I am scare that you will may not introduce some of them, maybe just become just merely a plot tools and it isn't a complain about being as the main but I'm curious when my character it will presented.... I know you will say when you'll need it without a doubt but they are already too many characters and I am scare you will be unable to hold all of them
While I can understand your concerns, I can also reassure you that you shouldn't be worried. As I said before, it might take me a lot of time to introduce some characters and I am sorry for this, but I can also assure you that most, maybe even all of the characters on the list will be introduced. This is actually the benefit of the story moving so slowly. It gives me plenty of opportunities to introduce and develop a large cast of characters. I plan to avoid making a character a mere plot tool, or to kill them off for simple shock effect without giving them any characterisation at all. Because of this, I can assure you that while it will take me some time to introduce your characters, they will get development. As for when your characters are going to be introduced in particular: Don't take my word for granted, but Arialex is going to appear either in Chapter 1 or Chapter 2 of Book 2, depending on when a certain new Book 2 storyline is going to start. Rias will appear slightly later, but also around this time.
in particularly it should not need focus of them but rather you'll need to mention some of them maybe introduce them and use them later.
With some characters, it is possible to have them mentioned way before they got introduced. Since he indeed is a perfect example allow me to use Dante again. He has an important connection to the characters of Alys and Alisa, so it only made sense to have him mentioned several times before he got introduced. I could have skipped these early hints of him, but I think by now the reader is familiar with him even though he only first appeared at the end of this part. He is also not the only character who has been mentioned way before they got introduced. With other characters, this would either be impossible, or would require a lot of my plans to change, sometimes for the worse. As much as it pains me not to be able to introduce or even mention some characters earlier, it would require too many of my plans to change. Again, I am sorry that I have to give you this rather unsatisfying answer, but I can promise you, your characters will appear in the story, they will get development and they will be more than mere plot tools. The same applies to any other character as well. Hopefully, you'll bear with me. I know how disappointing that feels and it is one of my deepest wishes when writing this story that none of my readers ever feels that way or is otherwise dissatisfied about their characters.
"You can take Alisa and Carvin with you. I can look after myself” This comment caused an amused chuckle from Captain Hollard" that's complet… moreetly inrelevant!
[Let no one guard you] give me both or none, I don't want to kill her but it may be better for her toughest look, not like Bear will star something bad maybe just a "roar"
[Move to your quarters]
Btw... I don't want to complain but the story is progress slowly at the rate of a turtle without a leg, some of the characters are getting more attention than is necessary which seems is a good part, maybe... Isn't like I am scare that you will may not introduce some of them, maybe just become just merely a plot tools and it isn't a complain about being as the main but I'm curious when my character it will presented.... I know you will say when you'll need it without a doubt but they are already too many characters and I am scare you will be unable to hold all of them, you should conside… [view original content]
"You can take Alisa and Carvin with you. I can look after myself” This comment caused an amused chuckle from Captain Hollard" that's complet… moreetly inrelevant!
[Let no one guard you] give me both or none, I don't want to kill her but it may be better for her toughest look, not like Bear will star something bad maybe just a "roar"
[Move to your quarters]
Btw... I don't want to complain but the story is progress slowly at the rate of a turtle without a leg, some of the characters are getting more attention than is necessary which seems is a good part, maybe... Isn't like I am scare that you will may not introduce some of them, maybe just become just merely a plot tools and it isn't a complain about being as the main but I'm curious when my character it will presented.... I know you will say when you'll need it without a doubt but they are already too many characters and I am scare you will be unable to hold all of them, you should conside… [view original content]
Alys
Until today, Alys had always considered herself to be a good rider. Back home, she had spent hours riding several of her fathers hor… moreses, through wind and snow and she had always been complimented on her skill. But never before had she been riding a stubborn nag for days, through blinding rain, on a painfully bumpy road, not even knowing the destination. She only knew, they were constantly riding southwest, closer to the borders of Reach. Perhaps they had even crossed them by now, a thought that gave Alys an uneasy feeling, considering how many armed men rode with them.
Still, Alys wasn't regretting her request to accompany Edward. After all, he would have taken Alisa and Carvin with him, which would have meant that she would have been all alone in Harrenhal. While Prince Harrick had been charming enough to offer her protection and while his brother Harlan had nearly been killed during the assassination attempt on King Harren's live… [view original content]
Alys
Until today, Alys had always considered herself to be a good rider. Back home, she had spent hours riding several of her fathers hor… moreses, through wind and snow and she had always been complimented on her skill. But never before had she been riding a stubborn nag for days, through blinding rain, on a painfully bumpy road, not even knowing the destination. She only knew, they were constantly riding southwest, closer to the borders of Reach. Perhaps they had even crossed them by now, a thought that gave Alys an uneasy feeling, considering how many armed men rode with them.
Still, Alys wasn't regretting her request to accompany Edward. After all, he would have taken Alisa and Carvin with him, which would have meant that she would have been all alone in Harrenhal. While Prince Harrick had been charming enough to offer her protection and while his brother Harlan had nearly been killed during the assassination attempt on King Harren's live… [view original content]
Alys
Until today, Alys had always considered herself to be a good rider. Back home, she had spent hours riding several of her fathers hor… moreses, through wind and snow and she had always been complimented on her skill. But never before had she been riding a stubborn nag for days, through blinding rain, on a painfully bumpy road, not even knowing the destination. She only knew, they were constantly riding southwest, closer to the borders of Reach. Perhaps they had even crossed them by now, a thought that gave Alys an uneasy feeling, considering how many armed men rode with them.
Still, Alys wasn't regretting her request to accompany Edward. After all, he would have taken Alisa and Carvin with him, which would have meant that she would have been all alone in Harrenhal. While Prince Harrick had been charming enough to offer her protection and while his brother Harlan had nearly been killed during the assassination attempt on King Harren's live… [view original content]
Alys
Until today, Alys had always considered herself to be a good rider. Back home, she had spent hours riding several of her fathers hor… moreses, through wind and snow and she had always been complimented on her skill. But never before had she been riding a stubborn nag for days, through blinding rain, on a painfully bumpy road, not even knowing the destination. She only knew, they were constantly riding southwest, closer to the borders of Reach. Perhaps they had even crossed them by now, a thought that gave Alys an uneasy feeling, considering how many armed men rode with them.
Still, Alys wasn't regretting her request to accompany Edward. After all, he would have taken Alisa and Carvin with him, which would have meant that she would have been all alone in Harrenhal. While Prince Harrick had been charming enough to offer her protection and while his brother Harlan had nearly been killed during the assassination attempt on King Harren's live… [view original content]
He said this because Edrick pressed him to be honest. If he would have left Leo alone, their interaction in this part would have been a lot shorter and they wouldn't have talked about Dante. In turn, this would have meant that Edrick's initial opinion on Dante wouldn't have been slightly biased thanks to Leo's warning.
Alys
Until today, Alys had always considered herself to be a good rider. Back home, she had spent hours riding several of her fathers hor… moreses, through wind and snow and she had always been complimented on her skill. But never before had she been riding a stubborn nag for days, through blinding rain, on a painfully bumpy road, not even knowing the destination. She only knew, they were constantly riding southwest, closer to the borders of Reach. Perhaps they had even crossed them by now, a thought that gave Alys an uneasy feeling, considering how many armed men rode with them.
Still, Alys wasn't regretting her request to accompany Edward. After all, he would have taken Alisa and Carvin with him, which would have meant that she would have been all alone in Harrenhal. While Prince Harrick had been charming enough to offer her protection and while his brother Harlan had nearly been killed during the assassination attempt on King Harren's live… [view original content]
First of all, thank you for your comment. Criticism is always appreciated and the things you mentioned are very understandable problems, so … moreI'll do my best to answer them. I'm sure you are not the only reader who feels that way.
that's completely irrelevant!
Could you please explain what you mean with that? Personally, I don't see this particular line as irrelevant. In fact, there are a couple of reasons why I wrote it. The first part, Alys' sentence, showed that Alys is both, a brave young woman, as well as a slightly naive girl who maybe doesn't have the best grasp on how dangerous some situations truly are. It also showed that she is concerned for her friends, in this case, for Edward's safety and that she is willing to put her friends safety above her own. The second part of this line, Alynne's reaction, was meant to show a bit of Alynne's character, who only had a small role in the last Chapter. In contrast to Alys' hint of… [view original content]
Alys
Until today, Alys had always considered herself to be a good rider. Back home, she had spent hours riding several of her fathers hor… moreses, through wind and snow and she had always been complimented on her skill. But never before had she been riding a stubborn nag for days, through blinding rain, on a painfully bumpy road, not even knowing the destination. She only knew, they were constantly riding southwest, closer to the borders of Reach. Perhaps they had even crossed them by now, a thought that gave Alys an uneasy feeling, considering how many armed men rode with them.
Still, Alys wasn't regretting her request to accompany Edward. After all, he would have taken Alisa and Carvin with him, which would have meant that she would have been all alone in Harrenhal. While Prince Harrick had been charming enough to offer her protection and while his brother Harlan had nearly been killed during the assassination attempt on King Harren's live… [view original content]
Dante will be present at the meeting for sure, since this is concerning him as well. I am actually still a bit undecided if I should include Darreth in the meeting as well, considering that he, as Dante's squire, shouldn't have anything to say in this matter. I guess I'll decide this one spontaneously when I write the next Edrick part. Dante will be present for sure though.
Alys
Until today, Alys had always considered herself to be a good rider. Back home, she had spent hours riding several of her fathers hor… moreses, through wind and snow and she had always been complimented on her skill. But never before had she been riding a stubborn nag for days, through blinding rain, on a painfully bumpy road, not even knowing the destination. She only knew, they were constantly riding southwest, closer to the borders of Reach. Perhaps they had even crossed them by now, a thought that gave Alys an uneasy feeling, considering how many armed men rode with them.
Still, Alys wasn't regretting her request to accompany Edward. After all, he would have taken Alisa and Carvin with him, which would have meant that she would have been all alone in Harrenhal. While Prince Harrick had been charming enough to offer her protection and while his brother Harlan had nearly been killed during the assassination attempt on King Harren's live… [view original content]
Alys
Until today, Alys had always considered herself to be a good rider. Back home, she had spent hours riding several of her fathers hor… moreses, through wind and snow and she had always been complimented on her skill. But never before had she been riding a stubborn nag for days, through blinding rain, on a painfully bumpy road, not even knowing the destination. She only knew, they were constantly riding southwest, closer to the borders of Reach. Perhaps they had even crossed them by now, a thought that gave Alys an uneasy feeling, considering how many armed men rode with them.
Still, Alys wasn't regretting her request to accompany Edward. After all, he would have taken Alisa and Carvin with him, which would have meant that she would have been all alone in Harrenhal. While Prince Harrick had been charming enough to offer her protection and while his brother Harlan had nearly been killed during the assassination attempt on King Harren's live… [view original content]
And,after a long read, I succeed to reach the last Pov until now of this fanfic..I'm happy and sad at the same time! I still want to deliver my thanks to Liquid for create such an interesting story and all the people who create such interesting and/or original characters!
Well..and now there is only a thing that I can do..write my choice!
[Let Carvin guard you] because,you know,I don't think that a small little girl should go around alone inside a nest of bandits
[Meet the Lord] because Edrick is not like some weird northener that waste their time read the devilry things called books and he will encounter NOW the lord (btw I consider Dante an interesting character)
Alys' choice was a wise one. Keep in mind, she is surrounded by dozens of Ironborn, who are a group of people not exactly known for their gentlemanly manners. On top of that, there are Bear's men, who might even be worse. In any way, having someone to watch after her is indeed not a bad idea. Both, Carvin and Alisa are equally capable fighters, so it will remain to be seen if Carvin turns out to be the better choice here. Edrick's choice is most likely going to be less important in terms of character safety, but it will make it easier for me to write the next part. This meeting between Edrick, Dante and Lord Boleyn is hopefully going to make for an interesting read.
The next part will be out later today. It will feature PoV's from Jenna and John. Both of them already had their first part in this chapter, unlike Richard, Lyria, Ilish, Drent and Torvin, but for me, it makes sense to put their next part at this point of the chapter. In fact, Richard, Lyria, Ilish and Torvin all won't have a long storyline in this chapter, although some of them will have more to do in the next. Drent on the other hand simply has to wait until the second half of the chapter, where he will have a number of parts. Now for some recaps: The last time we saw Jenna, she had a very uncomfortable meeting with a slightly drunken Harris and his new "advisor" Sherryl. During this meeting, Harris tasked Jenna with finding a mysterious person who is responsible for sending and receiving ravens, even though the ravenry should be closed. Jenna decided to sneak into the ravenry. Meanwhile, John had a briefing with most of his men, including Janae, Temari, Jaro and I'lian, where he explained the events of the past week, after he found out that Daghan is a knight sworn to House Targaryen. It turned out, Daghan is actually a pretty important Targaryen knight who has a mysterious agenda in Raylansfair. Facing the decision to support either Daghan in his schemes, or to support Harris against him, John decided to pick a third option and to simply stay out of this conflict. It remains to be seen if he actually managed to go through with it.
And,after a long read, I succeed to reach the last Pov until now of this fanfic..I'm happy and sad at the same time! I still want to deliver… more my thanks to Liquid for create such an interesting story and all the people who create such interesting and/or original characters!
Well..and now there is only a thing that I can do..write my choice!
[Let Carvin guard you] because,you know,I don't think that a small little girl should go around alone inside a nest of bandits
[Meet the Lord] because Edrick is not like some weird northener that waste their time read the devilry things called books and he will encounter NOW the lord (btw I consider Dante an interesting character)
Little sad that we wont get a moment between Alys and Alisa, but I can see the reasoning for people to choose Carvin, he has been more friendly with Alys so far.
Anywhooo, I'm excited for especially Jenna's part, even if I suspect that what Sherryl said about someone secretly sending ravens is bullshit.
The Voting is closed!
Alys is going to let Carvin guard her
Edrick is going to meet Lord Boleyn immediately
Alys' choice was a wise… more one. Keep in mind, she is surrounded by dozens of Ironborn, who are a group of people not exactly known for their gentlemanly manners. On top of that, there are Bear's men, who might even be worse. In any way, having someone to watch after her is indeed not a bad idea. Both, Carvin and Alisa are equally capable fighters, so it will remain to be seen if Carvin turns out to be the better choice here. Edrick's choice is most likely going to be less important in terms of character safety, but it will make it easier for me to write the next part. This meeting between Edrick, Dante and Lord Boleyn is hopefully going to make for an interesting read.
The next part will be out later today. It will feature PoV's from Jenna and John. Both of them already had their first part in this chapter, unlike Richard, Lyri… [view original content]
I don't know,since we know that Sherryl is a Stormland spy it seems weird to me if she want to create troubles at Jenna..I'm more positive to think that a certain assassin use the ravens to communicate with a certain butterfly
Little sad that we wont get a moment between Alys and Alisa, but I can see the reasoning for people to choose Carvin, he has been more frien… moredly with Alys so far.
Anywhooo, I'm excited for especially Jenna's part, even if I suspect that what Sherryl said about someone secretly sending ravens is bullshit.
Well you know, I actually trust your gut feeling about this because you have the whole story very fresh in your mind And, yeah, it actually makes sense - even if I still wouldn't put it past Sherryl to create troubles for Jenna.
I don't know,since we know that Sherryl is a Stormland spy it seems weird to me if she want to create troubles at Jenna..I'm more positive to think that a certain assassin use the ravens to communicate with a certain butterfly
Well you know, I actually trust your gut feeling about this because you have the whole story very fresh in your mind And, yeah, it actually makes sense - even if I still wouldn't put it past Sherryl to create troubles for Jenna.
Comments
[Keep an eye on Ayden and the High Septon]
[Keep an eye on Ayden and the High Septon]
[Keep an eye on Jarek and Lord Hightower]
I'm thinking that Vyrwel will be the target. Unless I've totally forgotten about some other part where it said something else.
[Keep an eye on Ayden and the High Septon]
Man, this is going to be exciting. And I'm pretty sure in the end it wont be an "evening for the living".
[Keep an eye on Jarek and Lord Hightower] I think it's gonna take a while before anything radical happens, and I'm very interested in Lord Hightower since we know basically nothing about him at this point.
[Keep an eye on Jarek and Lord Hightower]
[Keep an eye on Jarek and Lord Hightower]
The Voting is closed!
Jaron is going to keep an eye on Jarek and Lord Hightower
I don't know if all of you had the time to read the part yet, but I think the voting has been open long enough, especially as we're almost having a vote tie. The writing of the next part makes good progress and I don't want to keep you waiting longer than necessary. Personally, not taking into consideration that I know which choice would have been the best here, I would have probably chosen to keep an eye on Ayden and the High Septon. Hightower has a bodyguard after all, something the High Septon seems to be lacking. However, I'm gladly going to take the opportunity to develop the character of Jarek a bit more. I can confirm that there will be future opportunities to change whom Jaron is guarding, so there will be more chances for me to develop Ayden a bit better. Thinking about it, Jaron's storyline is probably going to be really long in this chapter, comparable to Samantha's from Chapter 5, so there will be many more opportunities for each character to shine.
The next part is making good progress and I am pretty sure that I'm going to finish it today. It will feature PoV's from Alys and Edrick. Now, there already was an Edrick part not long ago, but I think it thematically fits well with Alys' part, considering the connection between their storylines. The last time we saw Alys was in Chapter 5 and some things have changed for her. For starters, she is no longer in Harrenhal. Edward's situation has also changed, because he obviously won Harren's favour after saving his life at the end of the last chapter. As for Edrick, so far we haven't seen much of him. Maybe you remember, he is a hedge knight who has been called to the seat of House Boleyn, Alys' family. Together with his guide, a young man named Leo York, he travelled there, before realizing that Leo was apparently hiding something, about Alys, her family and her betrothed, Dante Karstark, who is also present at the Boleyn's keep. He decided to question Leo about this, which is where Edrick's next part is going to start. It'll introduce two characters whom I have been waiting to introduce for a while. I also guess I'm not the only one who has been waiting for them.
And finally, I got a bonus question for you! It's more of a rethorical question and you don't need to answer it if you don't want to. However, I have to ask, do you still remember Lucas' backstory, which he has told in Chapter 4? I don't blame you if you don't, because that has been a very long time ago. Actually, I highly doubt anyone still remembers this detail, which has so far been entirely minor and forgettable. Also, do not worry if you don't, Liquid is here to help, just click on this link and it will magically teleport you all the way back to page 46, if you want to read it yourself. The information I am hinting at can be found at the beginning of the second half of the Lucas part on page 46. I hope you don't see this as a spoiler, because technically it is stuff that has already been directly mentioned. Normally I wouldn't hint on it so strongly, but I guess this knowledge could be important for future Jaron parts in this chapter, because combined with the information I gave you in this part, it should massively change the way you see a certain character. I'm also doing this little reminder so that it looks like less of an ass-pull the next time I reveal this information in the story
Petyr Vyrwel managed to kill his father at least
Wow, I actually remembered vaguely the backstory of Lucas, but I had totally forgotten the names - including the family name. And you certainly are right, that does massively change the way I see Petyr.
Not gonna lie, I've been hoping to see the words "The next part will feature an Edrick POV" ever since his first part just to see Dante and Darreth. :$
TeamKarstark
(Never gets old
)
Alys
Until today, Alys had always considered herself to be a good rider. Back home, she had spent hours riding several of her fathers horses, through wind and snow and she had always been complimented on her skill. But never before had she been riding a stubborn nag for days, through blinding rain, on a painfully bumpy road, not even knowing the destination. She only knew, they were constantly riding southwest, closer to the borders of Reach. Perhaps they had even crossed them by now, a thought that gave Alys an uneasy feeling, considering how many armed men rode with them.
Still, Alys wasn't regretting her request to accompany Edward. After all, he would have taken Alisa and Carvin with him, which would have meant that she would have been all alone in Harrenhal. While Prince Harrick had been charming enough to offer her protection and while his brother Harlan had nearly been killed during the assassination attempt on King Harren's live, there were Harndon the madman, and even worse, the oldest brother, the monster. No, staying in Harrenhal hadn't been an option for her.
By now, she was almost sure that her journey was about to come to an end. The Ironborn soldiers, an honour guard personally picked by King Harren as a reward for Edward's role in his survival, were riding in a wide formation now, some of them even chatting casually despite the torrential rain.
Alys herself was riding next to Edward and the leader of the guards. It had been surprising for her that someone like Harren was allowing a woman to have such a high position, but Captain Alynne Hollard had proven to be every bit as hard as the men under her command and even though her name immediately clued Alys in on her highborn Riverlands heritage, Alynne was a true Ironborn in her eyes. She had a certain beauty, short, brown hair, a stern, but pretty face and piercing eyes. She wasn't the most talkative among her men, this dubious honour would go to a soldier who introduced himself as Wilbur on the first day of the journey and made a plump, rude and obviously unsuccessful attempt at flirting with Alys. While Alynne was mostly silent, her behaviour expressed a calm respect that most of her men were lacking.
Right now, Carvin and Alisa were riding behind her. Carvin surprised her by acting gallant, offering his warm coat to Alisa at first and after her stern refusal, to Alys. Even she was soaked to the bone by now, so she could only imagine how much worse it must be for him by now. Yet the only complaint she heard of him during their journey was about his crossbow, about how the rain would ruin the weapon.
“Captain Alynne!”, a familiar voice sounded from ahead and just a second later, a hooded figure came into her field of view. The man pulled back his hood and Alys recognized Wilbur, the cocky soldier whom she had an encounter with earlier this week. Even though he had claimed to be slightly older than her, he wasn't looking the part. He was short and lean, with shaggy black hair and the first attempts of a patchy beard that started to cover his face. A small scar, which at least according to him was a hardly earned battle scar, was visible above his right eyebrow. Not exactly a hideous man in appearance, Wilbur's personality had repulsed her from their very first meeting. He was cocky, a loudmouth and with his direct, somewhat rude attitude, he immediately left a bad impression on her.
“Captain”, he exclaimed again and stopped his horse in front of Alynne. The woman looked up, narrowing her eyes because of the rain. Her lips were being pressed together as she started to speak. “Scout Wilbur”, she said in a low tone, but the wind was easily carrying the words to Alys' ears. “Report”
“The camp is two miles ahead. They had their own scouts and obviously saw me”, Wilbur explained and a grin that craved for attention formed on his face as he glanced at Alys. “They nearly started a fight, but I was able to convince them otherwise. Their leader, this Bear, is waiting for you”
Bear... it was the second time she had heard this name. A few days ago, she had overheard Carvin talking to a few of the men and even though she hadn't understood much of what he said, she recognized the odd hint of caution in his voice when he mentioned this person. Someone even Carvin was afraid of was not exactly the kind of person she would like to meet.
“Ser?”, Alynne asked and glanced at Edward. He looked over his shoulder, his gaze falling upon Alys for a moment, long enough to make her blush, before he looked at the soldiers and back at Wilbur. “Have you seen how many men he has?”
Wilbur gave him a nod. “Of course, Ser”, he confirmed, before his confident grin faded under Edward's stern glare. “I... I mean... I got a pretty good impression. Five dozen at least, likely more, but no more than a hundred”
“A hundred...”, Edward muttered and a smirk appeared on his face. “Captain Hollard, your men are trained killers, am I right?” Alynne nodded quickly and Alys knew that she wasn't the only one who glanced at Wilbur. She had always imagined trained killers to look a bit different. “Good enough to take on a host twice their size?”, Edward continued to ask. This time, Alynne had to think about it for a moment, before giving him a nod. “Especially if they are bandits, Ser. I doubt you can call them a 'host'”
“Then we'll meet them head on. Demonstrate strength and confidence”, Edward decided. “I'll show Bear that I am not afraid of him. After all, he is going to work for me and for that, I need his respect”
By now, Alys had slowed down her horse enough to allow Alisa and Carvin to catch up with her. “Bear?”, she whispered. “Bandit leader”, Alisa explained. “Not the kind of person you'd wanna meet”
“And still we're going to meet him?”, Alys asked. This time, Alisa shook her head, removing a wet strand of dark brown hair from her face. “Only Anturion”, she explained. “I doubt he's going to include us in the talks”
“One of you”, Anturion said and Alisa looked up, her eyes widening in surprise as she realized that Anturion had listened to their talks. “One of you will accompany me as my bodyguard. Captain Hollard will accompany me as well” He looked at Alys and his expression got darker as he glanced at the men. “The other will stay with Lady Alys”
In his voice, Alys believed to hear a hint of worry, which was enough for her to consider his wishes. Yet, at the same time a question remained. “But... why exactly are you going to meet this man either way? Do you seriously want a bandit to work for you?”
“Out of necessity, yes”, Edward answered. “He brings reinforcements for my plan, of a ruthless sort. Not the kind of man I'd want to meet my family” An amused smirk appeared on his face. “Then again, my brother Nain would probably love him. My sister, not so much...” His smirk faded after he said these words and he glanced from Alisa to Carvin.
“I'd like to guard Lady Alys”, Carvin offered, to Alys' surprise. He caught her glance and raised his eyebrows. “What? Alisa should be good enough to guard Anturion. But you? Surrounded by these... people, you need the best”
“You mean to say, you are afraid to meet Bear”, Alisa interjected and Carvin gave her an alarmed stare that clued Alys in on the fact that Alisa's words weren't too far away from the truth. “I'm not afraid”, he protested, but she cut him off by shaking her head. “There is no shame in admitting to be afraid of this man. As a matter of fact, I've heard enough to be afraid”, she explained and looked at Alys. “Which is why I'd like to request to stay back, to guard Lady Alys”
Anturion shook his head. “Not both of you. I need someone I can trust in there, in case things go south. I doubt Bear tries to double cross me, but he has a reputation to be unpredictable”, he explained and looked at Alys. “Mylady, I leave it up to you. Would you like to have Alisa guard over you, or would you feel saver with Carvin at your side?”
“Do I... Do I even need a guard at all?”, Alys asked “This Bear sounds like a person you should meet with as many loyal guards as possible. You can take Alisa and Carvin with you. I can look after myself” This comment caused an amused chuckle from Captain Hollard, who subtly shook her head, a gesture that only enraged Alys. “What? You don't believe me?”, she growled.
Before Alynne could answer, Edward raised his hands. “Now... easy, Captain Hollard. Lady Alys is more capable than you think”, he tried to calm her down. “Mylady, no one doubts your courage. But it would be unwise to stay all by yourself. I can't take you with me when I meet Bear and I wouldn't feel well with the knowledge that you'd be on your own. Of course I won't force you to accept this offer. I just urge you to consider it”
[Let Alisa guard you] [Let Carvin guard you] [Let no one guard you]
Edrick
“Leo”, Edrick growled and narrowed his eyes, while he took a step closer. He didn't want to intimidate the younger man, but he knew that he usually had this effect on people. Leo had the expected reaction, a mixture of surprise, uneasiness and the hint of fear. “Leo, you are hiding something from me”
Leo closed his eyes and let out a sigh. “Very well... No need to get aggressive”, he mumbled and opened his eyes again. “It is really not your business... Ser” He glanced towards the castle, clenching his fists in the process. “But if you must know it, Lady Alys and I are close”
“Close?”, Edrick asked and raised an eyebrow. He had heard about this, of course. Young, adventurous noblewomen sometimes had a fling with local boys. That was how scandals were born and quite a number of bastards as well. Sure, it was more common for noblemen, but all things considered, not impossible to think of.
Leo quickly shook his head. “No, not like this”, he clarified. “On her side at least, it is nothing romantic, or anything else that would be deemed as inappropriate” He paused for a moment, a rather regretful look on his face. “But we are acquainted with each other. She trusts me, shared a few secrets”
He cut himself off as he noticed Edrick's curious glance. “I won't reveal them to you, Ser Edrick. By all means, Alys Boleyn is a lady and I won't betray her trust, I'm sorry”, he said in a low, slightly angered tone. “And that is all you will hear of me about this”
“Fine”, Edrick said and took a step away from Leo. He still had the feeling as if he was lied at, but there was little he was willing to do at the moment. Intimidating a guy was one thing. Actually following through with the intimidation was something else. Not that Edrick would have had a problem with it, but Leo almost certainly did not deserve this level of mistrust. “I guess that's it then. Will you wait here?”
“As promised”, Leo agreed. As Edrick turned towards the castle, about to leave, the young man cleared his throat. “Ser Edrick, wait!”, he called. “I believe, there is one thing you should know” Edrick immediately turned around, trying not to reveal any emotion on his face. “It is nothing Lady Alys told me. Not directly at least”, Leo quickly explained. “You know this unwanted marriage was part of her reason to run away, right?”
“I have thought so, yes”, Edrick confirmed. Honestly, he wasn't sure what to think of Alys' reasons, but then again, he found it hard to emphasize with a noblewoman. “The thing is, I believe she had a reason beyond the fact that she wanted to keep her freedom”, Leo continued. “What do you know about Dante Karstark?”
Edrick raised an eyebrow in slight confusion, as he thought about this unexpected question. “Nothing, I guess. Truth be told, I haven't even heard his name until now”, he answered. “Not that unusual. I'm from White Harbour. Never spent much time on Karstark lands” This time, Leo gave him a nod. “Indeed. I on the other hand live on Karstark lands. House Boleyn is sworn to them. There has been a lot of death in House Karstark. There was Alisa the Kinslayer and the shame she brought upon her house when she killed her younger brother. Both of Lord Karstarks brothers, Dante's uncle and father, are dead”, he explained. “The family is a lot smaller than it used to be. By all means, we here should have heard about Dante. Instead, we know nothing but his name. The silence is suspicious”
This time, Edrick slightly shrugged. Leo had an interesting argument. At the same time, he sounded a bit too paranoid, as if he wanted to distrust Dante. Considering the way he talked when he mentioned Alys, Edrick was sure he knew the reason. He himself wasn't willing to distrust a man before he even met him. Still, it didn't hurt to be polite about this matter, especially since he was afraid that he managed to upset the young man.
“Thank you for your warning, Leo”, Edrick answered. “I will consider what you said. Now, I don't want to keep Lord Boleyn waiting longer than I have to” Leo gave him a nod, ending their talk, as the knight turned towards the castle. For a moment, he considered climbing on his horse, but he decided against it. There was no need for a pompous entrance. He left these for the fancy noblemen.
He walked up to the small castle and soon, the guards spotted him. “Hold it right there!”, a voice sounded. “Who goes there?” Edrick stopped, raising his hands to show them that he wasn't a threat. “Ser Edrick of the Wolfswood!”, he announced himself. “I have business with Lord Barroth Boleyn. He is waiting for me”
For one moment, there was no reaction. Then, the gate was opened, slowly and concerningly creaking. The resulting gap was barely enough for Edrick to lead his horse through and into the Keep's courtyard.
As expected, the courtyard was in a sorry state. Dust and debris made it look more like a ruin than a real castle. There were no servants to greet him and the walls themselves were only manned by a handful of guards. Edrick shook his head, as he realized that two dozen men could effortlessly take the keep. In one corner of the courtyard, a young man was training with a sword, hitting a wooden dummy, but other than that, it was empty.
“Ser Edrick”, a voice sounded and an old man walked into Edrick's field of view, clean shaven and with white hair, but balding and slightly limping. He was wearing the same uniform as all guards in the castle, a green and white tabard, depicting a brown goat, but something about the way he looked around clued Edrick in that he had more authority than the rest.
The man extended his hand and Edrick shook it, positively surprised at his strong grip. “Norren Snow, master-at-arms and captain of the guard”, the old man introduced himself. “It is a pleasure to have you here, Ser Edrick”
“The pleasure is all mine”, Edrick answered and thankfully gave the man the reins of his horse, welcoming the opportunity to relax his hand. “So, is Lord Boleyn already awaiting me?” Norren shook his head. “Lord Boleyn would be ready to talk to you, but he has made it clear that he leaves it up to you if you want to meet him immediately, or if you want to relax from the exertions of your journey first”, he answered and glanced at the horse. The animal was tired, which only set it into a slightly agitated state that obviously worried Norren. “Allow me to bring your horse to our stables. Then, we can talk about your wishes”, he offered, before pointing across the courtyard, at the man who was training with his sword. “We already have guests here. Perhaps you'd like to introduce yourself to them while I am away”
Edrick answered with a firm nod to this suggestion. Norren in turn looked slightly uneasy as he started to move the horse to the stables. For a moment, Edrick watched him, before he started to approach the training man. He was tall, about as tall as Edrick, with the muscular build of a warrior. He had dark brown hair, tied into a short ponytail, as well as a short beard. While Edrick was hardly the best person to evaluate such a thing, the man appeared to be handsome. And he was obviously a Karstark, wearing their easily recognizable black and white tabards.
The man noticed Edrick as he was approaching and immediately, he lowered his dulled blade. A friendly smile formed on his face as he gave him a nod. “Greetings! My name is Ser Edrick of the Wolfswood”, Edrick introduced himself. “Ser Dante Karstark, I presume?”
This time, a chuckle came out of the mans throat, as he shook his head. “Close, but not quite”, he answered. “I'm his squire, Darreth Kailen. Nonetheless, I am glad that you're here, Ser Edrick. We have heard that Lord Boleyn has sent for you” He gave Edrick a warm and firm handshake.
“Feels good to be here, Darreth”, Edrick greeted him and glanced admiringly at the wooden dummy. “That was some fancy swordplay. Has Ser Dante trained you?” Darreth shook his head. “Dante finds little joy in these things. But there is more to knighthood, isn't it? But excuse me, I suppose he'd like to talk to you himself” He glanced at the small tower they were standing next to. “Dante! Hey, Dante!”, he yelled. “Our guest has arrived”
Edrick didn't have to wait for long. Only seconds after Darreth had called, the small, heavy door of the tower was opened. A young man walked out of it. Compared to his squire, Dante Karstark was more average looking, slightly smaller and more skinny. His hair was black, he had a short stubble and warm, brown eyes. While by no means a handsome man, he wasn't ugly either and definitely not the sort of man that would send a girl running away just by his looks alone. In his left hand, he was holding a small book with a red cover.
“And who do you think already saw him coming miles ago?”, he said towards Darreth, while he approached Edrick, to give him a handshake. “Ser Edrick, my name is Dante Karstark. I am pleased to meet you” While he shook his hand, Edrick managed to take a glance at the book. 'The History of Joghwin, Far Mossovy and the Kingdom of Sarnor' from Maester Lorwyn... not quite the literature he would have expected from a Karstark. Then again, he hadn't really expected any kind of literature at all from a Karstark. They had a reputation for being fearsome warriors. This rather harmless looking man was not what he had expected.
“The pleasure is all mine, Ser Dante”, Edrick answered. Although the look in Dante's eyes was warm, honest and trustworthy, he couldn't help but to feel the hint of distrust, as a result of Leo's words. In his experience, the seemingly harmless ones often had the most terrible secrets to hide. “After that journey, I am glad to finally be here”
“And I'm afraid your troubles aren't over yet”, Darreth interjected and pointed at the walls of the tower. “As you may noticed, the keep is not quite Karhold or Winterfell. Don't expect much comfort, if that's what you're hoping for” A grin appeared on his face as he glanced at Dante. “Just yesterday, Dante has nearly been killed by fallen debris.
“You're being overly dramatic, Darreth”, Dante answered. “This is a very old keep. Things like that happen. Besides, it was only a very small rock. My skills in close combat have been enough to thwart its attempt at my life”
Edrick chuckled at the joke, but before he was able to answer, he noticed the limping figure of Norren Snow approaching. The master-at-arms took a deep bow in front of his guests, especially in front of Dante, who seemed to be slightly and strangely uncomfortable at the display of respect.
“Ah, I see you have met Ser Dante and his squire”, Norren muttered. “I'm sure you will get along well. Now, have you made up your mind about your wishes? Lord Boleyn is ready to talk to you anytime. Though, perhaps you'd like to move to your quarters first” He deeply and audibly took a breath. “Perhaps you'd like to change your clothes before meeting with the lord”
[Move to your quarters] [Meet with Lord Boleyn]
[Let no one guard you] We good. We good.
[Move to your quarters] Let's crash.
You sure.......all those guards..........even Alynne suspects 'something bad' could happen...........You know what i mean.
[Let Carvin Guard you] It just seems like the best option.
[Meet the Lord] No rest for the wicked. It will impress
"You can take Alisa and Carvin with you. I can look after myself” This comment caused an amused chuckle from Captain Hollard" that's completetly inrelevant!
[Let no one guard you] give me both or none, I don't want to kill her but it may be better for her toughest look, not like Bear will star something bad maybe just a "roar"
[Move to your quarters]
Btw... I don't want to complain but the story is progress slowly at the rate of a turtle without a leg, some of the characters are getting more attention than is necessary which seems is a good part, maybe... Isn't like I am scare that you will may not introduce some of them, maybe just become just merely a plot tools and it isn't a complain about being as the main but I'm curious when my character it will presented.... I know you will say when you'll need it without a doubt but they are already too many characters and I am scare you will be unable to hold all of them, you should consider when the time is come to introduce some of them, in particularly it should not need focus of them but rather you'll need to mention some of them maybe introduce them and use them later. Any thoughts?
"She look upon the desk were her creator hold his pen then she gently watch him touch the paper upon holding her grudge to be emerge, the paper full of worlds feel empty. " - Arialex, the chapter where she may be finally introduce.
[Let Alisa guard you] He needs someone to meet bear with him, plus I like the interaction between Alisa and Alys.
[Meet with Lord Boleyn] Let's just get straight to business, no need to keep the Lord waiting.
DANTE!!!! I'm so happy! XD
It seems a great many Karstarks are dead, but the remaining ones are incredibly awesome, so all is well.
TeamKarstark
[Let no one guard you]
[Meet the Lord]
[Let Carvin guard you]
[Meet with Lord Boleyn]
First of all, thank you for your comment. Criticism is always appreciated and the things you mentioned are very understandable problems, so I'll do my best to answer them. I'm sure you are not the only reader who feels that way.
Could you please explain what you mean with that? Personally, I don't see this particular line as irrelevant. In fact, there are a couple of reasons why I wrote it. The first part, Alys' sentence, showed that Alys is both, a brave young woman, as well as a slightly naive girl who maybe doesn't have the best grasp on how dangerous some situations truly are. It also showed that she is concerned for her friends, in this case, for Edward's safety and that she is willing to put her friends safety above her own. The second part of this line, Alynne's reaction, was meant to show a bit of Alynne's character, who only had a small role in the last Chapter. In contrast to Alys' hint of juvenile naivety, Alynne is a realist who immediately understood that Alys most likely can't look after herself in this situation. It also shows that she doesn't really care and is in fact rather amused by it, instead of being concerned. In general, this line was meant to show a bit more of these two characters. While I am sure that I have written completely irrelevant lines on more than one occasion, I don't think this particular one is a prime example for it, even though it certainly isn't among the most important ones as well.
Now to your concerns:
I fully understand your concern and I know that the story progresses very slowly, even though I consider myself to be a fast and active writer. There is simply nothing I can do about it. It got a lot bigger than I ever planned it to be, although I kinda like it that way. It's going to keep me busy for a long time. The heavy downside is that some readers, even some of the most active ones, have to wait a long time for their characters to appear. Agent for example submitted his characters Dante and Darreth back in May and while Dante was mentioned a few times, it took me until yesterday to finally introduce him. Other readers, like Loki522 or husmusen, have their main characters, Lachlan and the Hawk, planned to first appear in the very early parts of Book 2, which is conincidentally also where I have planned your characters, Arialex and Rias, to appear. Meanwhile, other characters fit into the story way earlier, like DiverseGnu's Wilbur, who has been submitted at the end of Chapter 5, just a few weeks ago. Sadly, there is little I can do about it, because I think it would be detrimental to the story and ultimately to the characters themselves if I would start to force them into the story at all costs, maybe even earlier than their role would make sense. Since Dante is a recent example for a character who has been introduced after a long wait, I'll use him again: The way the story was planned, I was simply unable to introduce him earlier, since that would have required Edrick's storyline to start earlier. If I would have started Edrick's storyline earlier in order to introduce Dante earlier, some developments in other storylines, who are going to be important for Edrick, would have had to happen earlier as well. This would have caused a chain reaction and in the end, some storylines would have felt rushed and unsatisfying for me and the readers.
While I can understand your concerns, I can also reassure you that you shouldn't be worried. As I said before, it might take me a lot of time to introduce some characters and I am sorry for this, but I can also assure you that most, maybe even all of the characters on the list will be introduced. This is actually the benefit of the story moving so slowly. It gives me plenty of opportunities to introduce and develop a large cast of characters. I plan to avoid making a character a mere plot tool, or to kill them off for simple shock effect without giving them any characterisation at all. Because of this, I can assure you that while it will take me some time to introduce your characters, they will get development. As for when your characters are going to be introduced in particular: Don't take my word for granted, but Arialex is going to appear either in Chapter 1 or Chapter 2 of Book 2, depending on when a certain new Book 2 storyline is going to start. Rias will appear slightly later, but also around this time.
With some characters, it is possible to have them mentioned way before they got introduced. Since he indeed is a perfect example allow me to use Dante again. He has an important connection to the characters of Alys and Alisa, so it only made sense to have him mentioned several times before he got introduced. I could have skipped these early hints of him, but I think by now the reader is familiar with him even though he only first appeared at the end of this part. He is also not the only character who has been mentioned way before they got introduced. With other characters, this would either be impossible, or would require a lot of my plans to change, sometimes for the worse. As much as it pains me not to be able to introduce or even mention some characters earlier, it would require too many of my plans to change. Again, I am sorry that I have to give you this rather unsatisfying answer, but I can promise you, your characters will appear in the story, they will get development and they will be more than mere plot tools. The same applies to any other character as well. Hopefully, you'll bear with me. I know how disappointing that feels and it is one of my deepest wishes when writing this story that none of my readers ever feels that way or is otherwise dissatisfied about their characters.
(Let Carvin guard you)
(Meet with Lord Boleyn)
[Let Carvin Guard you]
[Meet with Lord Boleyn]
[Let Alisa guard you] I'm not even going to start to rationalize my choice since I'm so obviously biased
[Meet with Lord Boleyn] I just want to meet him already! XD
Anyway, Dante seems interesting and Ser Edrick is a great PoV. Good day for #TeamKarstark
[Let Carvin guard you] I dont think, something bad will happen. But going together is always better
[Move on your quarters]
Does Leo always say what he says about Dante? Or is it because Edrick pressed him to be honest?
He said this because Edrick pressed him to be honest. If he would have left Leo alone, their interaction in this part would have been a lot shorter and they wouldn't have talked about Dante. In turn, this would have meant that Edrick's initial opinion on Dante wouldn't have been slightly biased thanks to Leo's warning.
[Let Carvin guard you]
[Meet with Lord Boleyn]
Will Dante and Darreth be present in the meeting with Lord Boelyn? Or is it just Edrick?
[Let no one guard you]
[Move to your quarters]
Great part!
Dante will be present at the meeting for sure, since this is concerning him as well. I am actually still a bit undecided if I should include Darreth in the meeting as well, considering that he, as Dante's squire, shouldn't have anything to say in this matter. I guess I'll decide this one spontaneously when I write the next Edrick part. Dante will be present for sure though.
[Let no one guard you]
[Meet the Lord]
[Let Carvin guard you]
[Meet with Lord Boleyn]
[Let no one guard you] [Meet with Lord Boleyn]
And,after a long read, I succeed to reach the last Pov until now of this fanfic..I'm happy and sad at the same time! I still want to deliver my thanks to Liquid for create such an interesting story and all the people who create such interesting and/or original characters!
Well..and now there is only a thing that I can do..write my choice!
[Let Carvin guard you] because,you know,I don't think that a small little girl should go around alone inside a nest of bandits
[Meet the Lord] because Edrick is not like some weird northener that waste their time read the devilry things called books and he will encounter NOW the lord (btw I consider Dante an interesting character)
The Voting is closed!
Alys is going to let Carvin guard her
Edrick is going to meet Lord Boleyn immediately
Alys' choice was a wise one. Keep in mind, she is surrounded by dozens of Ironborn, who are a group of people not exactly known for their gentlemanly manners. On top of that, there are Bear's men, who might even be worse. In any way, having someone to watch after her is indeed not a bad idea. Both, Carvin and Alisa are equally capable fighters, so it will remain to be seen if Carvin turns out to be the better choice here. Edrick's choice is most likely going to be less important in terms of character safety, but it will make it easier for me to write the next part. This meeting between Edrick, Dante and Lord Boleyn is hopefully going to make for an interesting read.
The next part will be out later today. It will feature PoV's from Jenna and John. Both of them already had their first part in this chapter, unlike Richard, Lyria, Ilish, Drent and Torvin, but for me, it makes sense to put their next part at this point of the chapter. In fact, Richard, Lyria, Ilish and Torvin all won't have a long storyline in this chapter, although some of them will have more to do in the next. Drent on the other hand simply has to wait until the second half of the chapter, where he will have a number of parts. Now for some recaps: The last time we saw Jenna, she had a very uncomfortable meeting with a slightly drunken Harris and his new "advisor" Sherryl. During this meeting, Harris tasked Jenna with finding a mysterious person who is responsible for sending and receiving ravens, even though the ravenry should be closed. Jenna decided to sneak into the ravenry. Meanwhile, John had a briefing with most of his men, including Janae, Temari, Jaro and I'lian, where he explained the events of the past week, after he found out that Daghan is a knight sworn to House Targaryen. It turned out, Daghan is actually a pretty important Targaryen knight who has a mysterious agenda in Raylansfair. Facing the decision to support either Daghan in his schemes, or to support Harris against him, John decided to pick a third option and to simply stay out of this conflict. It remains to be seen if he actually managed to go through with it.
This is awesome! It is great that you have caught up with the story and I'm glad to have you on board
Little sad that we wont get a moment between Alys and Alisa, but I can see the reasoning for people to choose Carvin, he has been more friendly with Alys so far.
Anywhooo, I'm excited for especially Jenna's part, even if I suspect that what Sherryl said about someone secretly sending ravens is bullshit.
I don't know,since we know that Sherryl is a Stormland spy it seems weird to me if she want to create troubles at Jenna..I'm more positive to think that a certain assassin use the ravens to communicate with a certain butterfly
Well you know, I actually trust your gut feeling about this because you have the whole story very fresh in your mind
And, yeah, it actually makes sense - even if I still wouldn't put it past Sherryl to create troubles for Jenna.
"Lady" Sherryl is the new "Lady" Halla XD