Hackor smiled as she knelt down next to him. “Such a good girl”, he whispered. He extended his hand and she grabbed it, tensing up as she no… moreticed how weak his grip was. Behind him, the masses of smallfolk grew increasingly more panicked, as the doors to the Great Hall, the only protection they had left, weren't opening, as they begged to be let in, cursed those inside and screamed at the gods for mercy. It was almost baffling for Jenna how calm she was in comparison to them.
“I tried”, she whispered and Hackor gave her a nod. “You and me both, Harking, you and me both” Being mentioned by her last name was something highly unusual for Jenna and she neede a moment to pull herself together. “I am sorry commander”, she said. “I should have tried more”
And in that moment, the Ironborn had reached the shield wall. They clashed into it with all their rage and even though half a dozen of them died in an instant when they got pushed into the spe… [view original content]
[Take Aditha with you] I'd love to try and save Hackor and I'm into giving up on people, but if it's between him and Aditha, then I've got to pick Aditha.
You know I've been thinking about Tallian. He can be a prick , but more often than not he's right about most things. He's clearly smart and a good strategist. From here on out I think I'm going to try to listen to him more often.
This part was fantastic! Really epic, but it also had this feeling of dread. It's too bad about Federico.
Hackor smiled as she knelt down next to him. “Such a good girl”, he whispered. He extended his hand and she grabbed it, tensing up as she no… moreticed how weak his grip was. Behind him, the masses of smallfolk grew increasingly more panicked, as the doors to the Great Hall, the only protection they had left, weren't opening, as they begged to be let in, cursed those inside and screamed at the gods for mercy. It was almost baffling for Jenna how calm she was in comparison to them.
“I tried”, she whispered and Hackor gave her a nod. “You and me both, Harking, you and me both” Being mentioned by her last name was something highly unusual for Jenna and she neede a moment to pull herself together. “I am sorry commander”, she said. “I should have tried more”
And in that moment, the Ironborn had reached the shield wall. They clashed into it with all their rage and even though half a dozen of them died in an instant when they got pushed into the spe… [view original content]
She'll be fine. It's a shame that Jenna, being so stupid, just stayed and did nothing while she could have already brought at least one of the people inside. Now let us have Arthur hate her. Yes, good.
Also RIP Federico you will be missed. Drent is to blame.
Hackor smiled as she knelt down next to him. “Such a good girl”, he whispered. He extended his hand and she grabbed it, tensing up as she no… moreticed how weak his grip was. Behind him, the masses of smallfolk grew increasingly more panicked, as the doors to the Great Hall, the only protection they had left, weren't opening, as they begged to be let in, cursed those inside and screamed at the gods for mercy. It was almost baffling for Jenna how calm she was in comparison to them.
“I tried”, she whispered and Hackor gave her a nod. “You and me both, Harking, you and me both” Being mentioned by her last name was something highly unusual for Jenna and she neede a moment to pull herself together. “I am sorry commander”, she said. “I should have tried more”
And in that moment, the Ironborn had reached the shield wall. They clashed into it with all their rage and even though half a dozen of them died in an instant when they got pushed into the spe… [view original content]
And if he doesn't Arthur gets all sorts of development.
I believe at this point, Arthur will get tons of development even if Hackor survives, just in a highly different direction. Same goes for whatever happens to Aditha, as her fate will affect him just as much, potentially even more, in one direction or the other.
There was so much emotion in this part. I'm so glad how tragic of a character Hackor is has been shown. I've always waited for this moment and it all I could've ever hope for.
Ah, this is a relief. Considering how heavily this choice involves your characters, I was curious about your reaction, but I am glad you enjoyed it. Hackor and Aditha are wonderful characters to work with and I am glad I managed to show this depth in Hackor's personality here. Safe to say, no matter what option will win, it will also hold some interesting development for Arthur.
Fedeccini went out like a boss. He is a model guard and Federation finally got his chance to shine.
Indeed he did! I felt a bit bad for always sidelining Fenerbahçe so much, to the point where I even forget his name. But I think after such a death scene, I can finally remember his name, which is Feraligatr Snow. May he rest in peace.
Nora will now gotta live this guilt, which is gonna be interesting.
This should indeed be interesting. Technically, she did what she could and she was ready to die here, but Fajita basically saved her life with his decision to order her brought to the Great Hall. That means, she shouldn't feel guilty, but the loss of so many guards under her command and her failure to realize that the gate has been sabotaged earlier, this will heavily weigh on her mind.
[Take Hackor with you] this is quite an easy choice. This way if Hackor survives, which probably won't because of how wounded he is and the … morechoice we made as to letting Mathea leave. And if he doesn't Arthur gets all sorts of development. And I don't think Aditya is gonna die, but probably get snatched as a salt wife. There was so much emotion in this part. I'm so glad how tragic of a character Hackor is has been shown. I've always waited for this moment and it all I could've ever hope for. Fedeccini went out like a boss. He is a model guard and Federation finally got his chance to shine. Nora will now gotta live this guilt, which is gonna be interesting. Dresfel was definitely a sight for sore eyes. All and all, such a great part Liquid.
You know I've been thinking about Tallian. He can be a prick , but more often than not he's right about most things. He's clearly smart and a good strategist. From here on out I think I'm going to try to listen to him more often.
An interesting thought. Tallian's indeed a smart man and he worked hard to earn his position (especially since he isn't high nobility, such as most other military leaders), so his advice usually has a point. Most importantly, he's a very rational man, which of course makes most of his advice come off as rather cold and blunt, but that doesn't mean he's without a point. His main flaw is probably that he can get too cautious at times, whereas his counterpart at Willfred's side, Roger, can get too hot-headed. But as you've seen in this part, things like his advice to leave the Rock soldiers at the castle have been absolutely necessary.
This part was fantastic! Really epic, but it also had this feeling of dread. It's too bad about Federico.
It is so good to hear this from you and the others. Since this part included the first big fighting scene that was not from the perspective of a fighter, I was a bit concerned how it would be received, but I am glad to see my worries were, once again, unfounded. And it's indeed too bad. I would have liked to do more with him, but saw no way for him to logically survive this attack.
[Take Aditha with you] I'd love to try and save Hackor and I'm into giving up on people, but if it's between him and Aditha, then I've got t… moreo pick Aditha.
You know I've been thinking about Tallian. He can be a prick , but more often than not he's right about most things. He's clearly smart and a good strategist. From here on out I think I'm going to try to listen to him more often.
This part was fantastic! Really epic, but it also had this feeling of dread. It's too bad about Federico.
She'll be fine. It's a shame that Jenna, being so stupid, just stayed and did nothing while she could have already brought at least one of the people inside. Now let us have Arthur hate her. Yes, good.
Hm, it's unlikely that Arthur will hate her, but Jenna herself is really going to feel terrible over this. She indeed kind of froze here and was terribly indecisive in whom she wanted to save, mostly because she has no experience in making such hard choices. With all of her other hard choices, she always had someone else to rely on (like Saerya), but here, she had to make the conscious choice to leave someone and you're probably going to be happy to hear that this is going to affect her heavily. That said, there might be something good coming out of this development.
Also RIP Federico you will be missed. Drent is to blame.
Actually, yes, in a certain way you are right. If Drent wouldn't have talked Federico out of his plans on chasing after Saerya, he would have survived this chapter. It was very much a 50/50 chance for him to die here and unfortunately, the choices that were less beneficial for him were picked. However, depending on one other choice in this chapter, having Federico leave the castle could have ended up with Nora taking his place as the one to die here.
[Take Hackor with you]
She'll be fine. It's a shame that Jenna, being so stupid, just stayed and did nothing while she could have already… more brought at least one of the people inside. Now let us have Arthur hate her. Yes, good.
Also RIP Federico you will be missed. Drent is to blame.
Wow what can I even say! I absolutely loved this part and was probably one of my favourite moments so far in this chapter aside from the lighthouse scene.
Poor Federico Snow though. Since he's gone, can you say anything about his background or did he have an interesting backstory?
Hackor smiled as she knelt down next to him. “Such a good girl”, he whispered. He extended his hand and she grabbed it, tensing up as she no… moreticed how weak his grip was. Behind him, the masses of smallfolk grew increasingly more panicked, as the doors to the Great Hall, the only protection they had left, weren't opening, as they begged to be let in, cursed those inside and screamed at the gods for mercy. It was almost baffling for Jenna how calm she was in comparison to them.
“I tried”, she whispered and Hackor gave her a nod. “You and me both, Harking, you and me both” Being mentioned by her last name was something highly unusual for Jenna and she neede a moment to pull herself together. “I am sorry commander”, she said. “I should have tried more”
And in that moment, the Ironborn had reached the shield wall. They clashed into it with all their rage and even though half a dozen of them died in an instant when they got pushed into the spe… [view original content]
Hackor smiled as she knelt down next to him. “Such a good girl”, he whispered. He extended his hand and she grabbed it, tensing up as she no… moreticed how weak his grip was. Behind him, the masses of smallfolk grew increasingly more panicked, as the doors to the Great Hall, the only protection they had left, weren't opening, as they begged to be let in, cursed those inside and screamed at the gods for mercy. It was almost baffling for Jenna how calm she was in comparison to them.
“I tried”, she whispered and Hackor gave her a nod. “You and me both, Harking, you and me both” Being mentioned by her last name was something highly unusual for Jenna and she neede a moment to pull herself together. “I am sorry commander”, she said. “I should have tried more”
And in that moment, the Ironborn had reached the shield wall. They clashed into it with all their rage and even though half a dozen of them died in an instant when they got pushed into the spe… [view original content]
What an awesome part! That might be my favorite part of the chapter. Very thrilling indeed. And of course, other reasons so epic!
[Take Aditha with you]
This is just the better choice in my opinion. Poor Hackor though, he did not deserve this. Same can be said for Federico. Just, what a crazy part. Great job Liquid.
Hackor smiled as she knelt down next to him. “Such a good girl”, he whispered. He extended his hand and she grabbed it, tensing up as she no… moreticed how weak his grip was. Behind him, the masses of smallfolk grew increasingly more panicked, as the doors to the Great Hall, the only protection they had left, weren't opening, as they begged to be let in, cursed those inside and screamed at the gods for mercy. It was almost baffling for Jenna how calm she was in comparison to them.
“I tried”, she whispered and Hackor gave her a nod. “You and me both, Harking, you and me both” Being mentioned by her last name was something highly unusual for Jenna and she neede a moment to pull herself together. “I am sorry commander”, she said. “I should have tried more”
And in that moment, the Ironborn had reached the shield wall. They clashed into it with all their rage and even though half a dozen of them died in an instant when they got pushed into the spe… [view original content]
Poor Federico Snow though. Since he's gone, can you say anything about his background or did he have an interesting backstory?
Actually, he had. Federico is an interesting case, because I've been really torn about him here. First of all, he was a very detailed character and I am afraid I barely got to show anything about him. In another version of the story, he could have easily carried a storyline of his own. The problem here is that literally everything about his backstory depended on one character whom his submitter wanted to submit but never did. Since his submitter hasn't been online in almost two years on top of that, I am afraid I'll never get this character. Problem is, most of the details in Federico's backstory simply don't work without this other character to complete him. Now, in retrospect I could have just filled this character and the blanks myself, but at least back when I made these plans, I haven't been confident enough in my ability to make him a good character on my own. I liked Federico, I think the character had a lot of potential, but he unfortunately hasn't been finished.
As for your question on his backstory, there is a lot. It's a pretty detailed tale about the exiled bastard son of a northern lord, who meets the love of his life (said never submitted character) during an epic stay in Braavos, where he makes friends, gets betrayed and all the like, before moving back to Westeros, where he hears about the plight of House Raylan and the fact that they are seeking good men to work for them. I could have done a lot more with Federico, but ultimately, I decided not to, for a number of reasons. The fact that he is not a finished character (despite the detail), was only one of them.
[Take Hackor with you]
Wow what can I even say! I absolutely loved this part and was probably one of my favourite moments so far in this … morechapter aside from the lighthouse scene.
Poor Federico Snow though. Since he's gone, can you say anything about his background or did he have an interesting backstory?
Well, to be fair, Geralt cheated in that video, he cheated quite heavily. Witcher magic, potions, literally superhuman physical powers, it's clear that he'd win against Jaime. Since Vaasrand is not quite a witcher (which actually makes his badass feats all the more notable), he wouldn't quite wipe the floor with Jaime in such a way.
I believe at this point, Arthur will get tons of development even if Hackor survives, just in a highly different direction. Same goes for whatever happens to Aditha, as her fate will affect him just as much, potentially even more, in one direction or the other.
But it would certainly be interesting to see how Arthur would handle being all alone. Even though it now seems unlikely, having a lone Arthur could make for some interesting story of him doing whatever it takes to defend the city. That or he becomes a pitiful mess and will some how have to redeem himself. Though now I guess he will have to reconcile Aditha about good ol Hackor.
Ah, this is a relief. Considering how heavily this choice involves your characters, I was curious about your reaction, but I am glad you enjoyed it. Hackor and Aditha are wonderful characters to work with and I am glad I managed to show this depth in Hackor's personality here. Safe to say, no matter what option will win, it will also hold some interesting development for Arthur.
You have done such a great justice to him. This would be a great way to for Hackor to meet his end. But there is certainly much more for him to do, I guess that will have to fall upon Leonard, Stratford, and Nora as the last leaders of the city. All of them so young, it will definitely be interesting how they take with so much responsibility, assuming they make it through the raid and survive. I'm all okay with character death. It is a great way of adding depth to characters and story. But that doesn't mean I want them to die, I would have certainly preferred if we had sent Arthur after Hackor, and had have Jenna helped the actual important person instead of some snot nosed kid. But this way we get to see Arthur take his chance to finally put down Wolfius, and Jenna can now live with even more guilt about how she could have possibly prevented Hackor from dying. It is still likely that Hackor would have still died as Mathea isn't at the castle, but there was always that chance that gave me some hope. I can't wait till we can see the results of helping out Carma instead of Aditha are.
Indeed he did! I felt a bit bad for always sidelining Fenerbahçe so much, to the point where I even forget his name. But I think after such a death scene, I can finally remember his name, which is Feraligatr Snow. May he rest in peace.
Fungus Snow will have an important place in Nora's memories I think, seeing how he saved her life. And he had such a great death scene. Went out like a champ. Hopefully Hightower will bring some more men like Freaky Fresh. I wonder how much remorse Saerya will have over his death. He was a tool for her, but she seems like a nice enough person to feel bad for him. Rest in Peace, Female Snow.
And if he doesn't Arthur gets all sorts of development.
I believe at this point, Arthur will get tons of development even if Hackor … moresurvives, just in a highly different direction. Same goes for whatever happens to Aditha, as her fate will affect him just as much, potentially even more, in one direction or the other.
There was so much emotion in this part. I'm so glad how tragic of a character Hackor is has been shown. I've always waited for this moment and it all I could've ever hope for.
Ah, this is a relief. Considering how heavily this choice involves your characters, I was curious about your reaction, but I am glad you enjoyed it. Hackor and Aditha are wonderful characters to work with and I am glad I managed to show this depth in Hackor's personality here. Safe to say, no matter what option will win, it will also hold some interesting development for Arthur.
Fedeccini went out like a boss. He is a model guard … [view original content]
Well, to be fair, Geralt cheated in that video, he cheated quite heavily. Witcher magic, potions, literally superhuman physical powers, it's… more clear that he'd win against Jaime. Since Vaasrand is not quite a witcher (which actually makes his badass feats all the more notable), he wouldn't quite wipe the floor with Jaime in such a way.
Well, at the very least he thinks that he won't survive, but there's the chance that he is just feeling light-headed and no longer rational after losing so much blood. He is dangerously wounded, that much is for sure. However, all I can say is that this choice will be more important than just that and that some things will change quite heavily depending on the outcome you choose.
If Mathea was inside the castle my own decision would have been much harder but since she is not there (thanks to a community choice) I make this decision
PS:now that I think about it if Mathea survive the chapter she probably will feel a lot of guilt! (You know,not only almost all the people she want to save die but leaving her position make people with serious wounds like Hackor die)
Federico however deserves true credit here, because he doesn't even have that and he is one of the newest guardsmen in Raylansfair, meaning he literally died to protect strangers simply because it is the good thing to do. That guy surely deserved more credit than I was able to gave him over the course of the story.
I agree,the scene where he take the command of the city guards was for sure one of the best moment of the part!It was a mix of despair to fight such a strong enemy and hope to protect all the people behind him
PS:now that I think about it is the moment that Tallian decide to retreat that seal Federico's fate!
PS2:now that Federico is death I can reveal,for who don't know this, that his name is "Frederick" in italian!
We know that Hackor won't survive,let's do the right thing and save his daughter to make him at least know that his death won't be useless
… more
Well, at the very least he thinks that he won't survive, but there's the chance that he is just feeling light-headed and no longer rational after losing so much blood. He is dangerously wounded, that much is for sure. However, all I can say is that this choice will be more important than just that and that some things will change quite heavily depending on the outcome you choose.
Such an epic part Liquid!I really FEEL the tention!Like in the moment that the cityguards save our heroes at the beginning of this part!Or the moment the people discover that the gate will remain open!
I am happy to hear this! I have hoped for such an effect, though I wasn't sure if I'd achieve it. After all, this was something new for me as well, the first time we had a big fight without the PoV being involv… [view original content]
10 | Raenna Minsworth. Raenna has proven herself to be a very capable fighter, she seems best at taking on mooks, luckily for Raenna that is really all she has fought against.
9 | Orys Baratheon. Orys is said to be one of the best fighters for the Targaryens, and he destroyed Rodrik Stone so easily it's not even funny, he didn't even need a sword, that act alone shows his reputation may be an understatement.
8 | The Moggy. His god-like strength certainly helps a great deal, plus his incredible toughness, unfortunately he's probably the dumbest person in FoT, or at least one of them, still he could definitely take most people in FoT.
7 | Vaasrand of Lys. Vaasrand is a masterful swordsman and overall fighter, after all he is trained to fight beasts, much tougher, faster and stronger than normal humans, so he must be pretty great at planning and fighting, with prep time he could probably take anyone on this list, he doesn't really have any visible weakness, from the looks of it ambushing him is the best bet, but that is not always guaranteed to work, especially if he's alone.
6 | Samuel Harrington. He has proved that he is one of the best swordsman of his time, with many people agreeing and fearing him, he was fast enough to save Harpy (I think it was her) from an arrow, and defeated Leonard in combat, along with destroying dozens of mooks.
5 | The Tom. The Tom defeated Jaron and killed Martin, with little effort, both capable swordsmen, and he only received a little cut. That speaks for his skill.
4 | Emphyrus Dresful. Dresful took down a dozen ironborn raiders all alone, with only his sword and armor as allies, and his lust for blood makes him a tougher opponent, not many could cross him and walk away with their head intact.
3 | Daghan Oxus. Daghan's large frame and shield make him even tougher, and his skill with a blade seems to be unmatched, he would be a very tough opponent to fight, and most would rather avoid him.
2 | Ryder Harrington. Supposedly, Samuel said the last time he saw him, Ryder was twice as good as him, taking in regard Samuel is one of the best swordsman in the story, that's a big compliment, Ryder very well could be the best swordsman in FoT, or it could be a bluff we will only know once we see him fight. For that reason he stays at number 2.
1 | Wolfius Woodbark. He can warg into anything, even dragons (probably), if his opponent is unaware of this, they are doomed, it really is as simple as that.
Tell me if you agree with the list, or what you'd change.
I wasn't too sure what you would choose here, though I was slightly expecting Aditha here, given that she's far less badly wounded and has a generally better chance of survival. This was a really important choice with lots of consequences, probably one of these that will remain important for several chapters to come. For now, it will mean that Aditha likely survives, whereas things obviously look even more grim for Hackor. We'll learn about his fate in a later part in this chapter, but it won't be from Jenna's PoV, as this just was her last part for this chapter.
The next part should be out today, or early tomorrow at latest. It'll feature a PoV from Janae, as well as one from Drent. However, I am not sure how long Janae's PoV will be and there might be enough space for me to include a small part for Maya as well. Anyways, the last time we saw Drent, he and the other Stormlanders moved to the southern gate, to support Leonard and the remaining defenders down there. Drent, Montclair, Torrence and a couple of others were sent to protect the alleyways around the gate, so that none of the Ironborn will be able to flank the bulk of the Stormlander host. During this, Drent was attacked by two Ironborn, but he got help from Ian Shortwood. Shortwood offered a temporary alliance between them, if Drent would help him in defending a few people that Shortwood was trying to keep safe in a nearby house. However, Drent decided against this, instead he remained on his post. Meanwhile, Janae, our newest PoV, just had a part relatively recently, but believe me, there is a very good reason to give her this second part right now, as it will introduce an important detail that will play a role for another part that I wish to write soon. The last time we saw her, she protected a street against a group of Ironborn and their new Second Son allies. However, she eventually ran out of arrows, so she had to move out to collect those she already shot at her enemies. Behara, who assisted her, asked to be taken along, but Janae instead decided to keep her at their position on the upper floor of an abandoned house, as she deemed this as more safe for her. You'll see if this was truly the better choice. And well, if I manage to put in a Maya PoV as well, here's a very small recap for her: The last time we saw her, she and her group escorted Rodrik to the castle. As you know, this went terribly wrong, when Rodrik's men ambushed them. One of them, Morgrem, even managed to kill Aldrik's direwolf Knightfang. Maya herself was nearly killed and received a broken ankle for her troubles, but she was ultimately saved by Irving, who decided to join up with her once more. In the end, she was faced with Aldrik wanting to avenge his wolf, by running after the man who killed him and with Keat, who decided to leave their group after correctly stating that he did not sign up for a fight. Maya decided to stop Aldrik, which means that Keat gets a chance to leave. As I said, I don't know if I will be able to put this PoV into the next part, but it will eventually happen at one point in the few remaining parts of this chapter, which is rapidly nearing its completion.
Hm, a hard question. I would however give Jaime an advantage in skill, while Vaasrand is more cunning and cautious. With time to prepare, Vaasrand would win, but in a sudden one-on-one duel, I believe it would be Jaime who'd come out on top. Vaasrand's strength is very much his intelligence, as he would definitely only pick a fight with someone like Jaime in a location that gives him the biggest advantage, while also making sure that he would prepare additional things to tip the scales in his favour.
That certainly is an interesting list. I am inclined to agree with most of these. Wolfius kind of surprised me, as he still is not a really physically threatening person, but his warg powers are a good argument. Warging into a dragon, oh man, that would be equal parts awesome and terrifying. With Ryder however, keep in mind that Samuel last saw him years ago, when he was only in his teens. They are probably way more evenly matched these days and I'd put both behind Emphryus and Daghan, at about the same level as the Tom. Other than that, I am mostly agreeing with this list. Out of the currently living and introduced characters, these ten are definitely strong contenders when it comes to the best fighters in the story. Maybe Raenna is the only one I'd put up for debate here, as her opponents so far have either been vastly inferior to her (such as the common street thug), or far better, such as Alysanne. That said, I am not exactly sure whom else I'd include in this list instead of her.
Thought I'd do my top ten best living fighters.
10 | Raenna Minsworth. Raenna has proven herself to be a very capable fighter, she seems … morebest at taking on mooks, luckily for Raenna that is really all she has fought against.
9 | Orys Baratheon. Orys is said to be one of the best fighters for the Targaryens, and he destroyed Rodrik Stone so easily it's not even funny, he didn't even need a sword, that act alone shows his reputation may be an understatement.
8 | The Moggy. His god-like strength certainly helps a great deal, plus his incredible toughness, unfortunately he's probably the dumbest person in FoT, or at least one of them, still he could definitely take most people in FoT.
7 | Vaasrand of Lys. Vaasrand is a masterful swordsman and overall fighter, after all he is trained to fight beasts, much tougher, faster and stronger than normal humans, so he must be pretty great at planning and fighting, with prep time he could probab… [view original content]
That is a good question. Thing is, even a masochist has to have a breaking point. There has to be some pain no one can stand and the Sphynx will try his utmost to find this sort of pain. If there isn't, if this masochist truly loves all sorts of pain, including the really nasty stuff, then the Sphynx would likely just kill them, since they are already broken beyond repair.
That is a good question. Thing is, even a masochist has to have a breaking point. There has to be some pain no one can stand and the Sphynx … morewill try his utmost to find this sort of pain. If there isn't, if this masochist truly loves all sorts of pain, including the really nasty stuff, then the Sphynx would likely just kill them, since they are already broken beyond repair.
Oh yes, certainly. Reaching his absolute breaking point is probably quite hard to do, but he is far too pragmatic to remain steadfast if being tortured, so he'd give in relatively easy, he'd swallow his pride and say and do whatever the person torturing him wants him to. That said, we'll learn a lot more about the Sphynx in Book 2 and there are other things than physical pain that could probably break him more easily.
I am afraid this part won't include a Drent PoV. I noticed that I absolutely have to give him a full part's length for his next PoV, so I instead decided to start Ellena's storyline already, especially as no recap will be needed for it. That also means Drent will be back next time
Janae
Decidedly, Janae shook her head. “No”, she said and she saw Behara's face dropping. “You're going to stay up here. I won't risk it” Behara clenched her fists as she sent her a glare. “Sooner or later you have to”, she replied and the frustration oozed from her voice. “You can't treat me like a child forever”
Janae sighed as she stepped past the girl. She had a good point. Gods be damned, she was right. “I'm not treating you like a child”, she stated as she handed her bow to the surprised Behara. “I'm keeping you up here so that you can cover me” She glanced at the arrows. “You only got two of them left, so make every shot count”, she told her. “Though pray that it won't come to that”
Behara's eyes widened, as she looked from Janae to the bow in her hands. “I...”, she started, before she interrupted herself. She straightened her back. “I will not fail you”, she said strongly and Janae smirked. “I know you won't”, she said. “Else I wouldn't have given you that bow” She gave her a pat on the back, before she rushed out of the door.
In a hurry, she ran down the stairs. She knew, it was only a matter of time until the next wave would hit her position. Perhaps the last one? Janae wasn't afraid of death, it was was one of the many things that had been beaten out of her as a child. At the same time, as easy as it would have been, she did not welcome it either. And now, she had Behara to worry about.
With a hand on the hilt of her sword, Janae stepped out of the door and onto the street. Only the dead were down here with her, but the distant, faint screams told her that she was anything but alone right now. She had to hurry. Quickly, she bent down to remove the arrow from the man she had killed last, putting it back into the small quiver she was carrying with her.
The next arrow was broken from the impact and Janae muttered a curse, as she travelled further down the street, removing another arrow from another corpse. One of the men was still alive when she reached him, but only barely and she ended his suffering with a swift strike, before retrieving her arrow from his dead body.
“Janae”, Behara hissed and she looked up. Down the street, a single man was walking, his tabard identifying him as a member of the Second Sons. She raised a hand. “I got him”, she growled, as she drew her sword. The man was looking around at the fallen, his expression growing from shocked to sorrowful.
“You did this?”, he snarled and she gave him a wordless nod. His eyes narrowed. “These were my comrades. My brothers-in-arms!” She only shrugged in return. “Find yourself some new brothers then”, she replied coldly. “Now fuck off or you'll share their fate” The man spat as he drew his sword. “You're going to pay for this!”, he barked, as he attacked.
An arrow cut through the air, missing him by several inches and barely making him flinch. “I got him!”, Janae yelled loudly, as she readied her blade to parry his attack. It came with the force of a truly angry man and it cost her a great deal of strength to hold against it.
Quickly and without hesitating, she made her move, as she struck her sword at him. He deflected the blade and it only hit thin air next to his head. On the positive side, her sword was just inches away from his throat now, as he pressed his blade against hers. Slowly, she began to push him back, towards the wall.
With a desperate growl, the sellsword managed to break free, pushing her back with all his strength. His swing was aimed at her head and it was easy to dodge. Even better, it put her into the position where she was able to end the fight. The same movement she used to dodge was used to thrust her sword forwards and against his belly, slicing across it deeply. The man sank to the ground, groaning in pain, as Janae brought the sword down onto his head, ending his life instantly.
“I said I got him!”, Janae barked, as she looked up to the window. Behara was looking through it, the bow in one hand and the arrow in the other. She gave her an apologizing look. “I... I was just worried”, she said and Janae sighed. “Just make the next one count”, she replied sharply, before she turned to the next corpse, to remove another arrow.
It was there that a new sound reached her ears. Someone came closer and she also heard the sound of clashing steel. “Get ready”, she hissed. “But only fire at my command!” With her sword pointed at the corner in the distance, she started to approach it, as the sound of fighting came closer.
“Stop fooling around, Bakr!”, a man yelled and just a second later, one of the Ironborn stumbled into her field of view, pressing a hand onto the deep cut at his throat. A man followed, a dark-skinned Ghiscari, wearing light leather, with a short beard and a shaved head. He had an arakh in each hand, twirling it around as he readied himself for his next enemy, a large sellsword wielding a greatsword.
Janae narrowed her eyes, not having expected another Ghiscari here in the city. She only needed a moment to decide to help this man. After all, someone who fought against the Second Sons had to be an ally. As the Ghiscari parried a strike of the greatsword, she started to charge at them.
The sellsword didn't see her coming, as he was too busy fighting against the Ghiscari, who elegantly blocked each of his strikes. It was then that she reached them, instantly impaling the sellsword through the side of the chest. The man gurgled as he fell to the ground.
Through her right, Janae was able to see another man, similarly a Ghiscari, but larger, with more muscles and more fat. He had shove his left hand into the face of an Ironborn, whom he threw against a wall with brutal force, while simultaneously bringing the single blade of his barbed axe down on another opponent, breaking through block and skull with one strike.
The Ghiscari with the arakhs gave her a nod. “Thank you, mylady”, he said, his Westerosi being nearly flawless. “You're welcome”, she replied in Ghiscari and he raised an eyebrow. “I was not expecting a fair maiden of Ghis!”, he said and it was then that Janae noticed something. Her friendly expression faded, replaced by a horrified one.
The face beneath the beard... his hair was shorter, but no, there was no doubt... As he saw her expression, his turned to mild confusion, as she saw the realization growing inside of him. “Abbas...”, she gasped and now, his eyes narrowed, every trace of warmth gone in an instant. “Janae”, he replied, in a low growl, as she carefully took a few steps away from him.
He followed. “It's been a while”, she said and for the first time in many years, she was genuinely nervous. “Not long enough”, he hissed. “Or maybe too long” He took another few steps towards her and behind him, the large brute entered the streets. His head was shaved bald, save for the thick unibrow and the long, bushy beard. A curious look appeared in his eyes. “Abbas, what's wrong?”, he asked.
“Janae”, Abbas replied. “This is Janae. The other man raised an eyebrow. “This... oooh”, he said as he understood. Abbas slowly put away his swords, which wasn't quite enough for her to relax. “I have thought you died years ago. I hoped for it”, he growled. “And yet here you are. We meet again at the other end of the world”
“What are the chances?”, Janae said, as her heart started to beat faster. He gave her a nod. “Yes indeed”, he agreed and his hand moved to the whip on his belt. “You surely thought you'd never have to pay for what you did, murderer of my father”
Now, Janae felt a distant anger rising inside of her. “It wasn't murder”, she disagreed decisively. “I would have just left, but he stood in the way of me and my freedom” Abbas unfurled the whip. “Your freedom was not worth his life!”, he barked, as he took a strike at her.
Janae jumped back, half out of instinct, as the whip cracked through the air. Her attempt at attacking him was cut short when he attacked as well. The whip hit her at the wrist, painfully, as it wrapped around her arm. With a quick movement, he pulled her forwards and off her feet. As she fell, he knocked the sword away from her.
Heavily, he brought the whip down on her, as all Janae was able to do was to protect her face. The weapon left painful bruises on her palms and forearms. “Murderer!”, he spat. “Runaway! You dirty slave bitch! I'm gonna...!” He was cut short as he gasped. Janae removed her hands from her face and noticed that an arrow had almost hit him. Behara had missed again, but she had given him quite the scare.
“What the fuck!”, he barked, as he glared to the window. “Bakr, there's an archer!” The other man gave him a nod, as he readied his axe. “I'm on it!”, he replied, as he rushed to the house. Instead of hitting her again, Abbas pulled out a small knife and knelt down next to her, one knee on her chest. “You up there! If you try anything, I will kill your friend!”, he yelled.
“Hara, get out of there!”, Janae screamed, as Bakr had reached the door. He kicked it in and moved through the doorframe, as Abbas glared down on her. “The gods are mocking me”, he spat. “Sending you down my path again, after all these years, alive and well”
“Abbas, we can talk about it”, Janae managed to say, despite the pain. “I had no choice, but you have now” He gave her a nod. “I do”, he confirmed. “And I choose vengeance. I will not kill you. Not now. But slave, you belong to my family. You will always do”
From upstairs, Janae heard a quick commotion and just a moment later, Bakr walked out through the door again. Behara was lying over his shoulder, not moving. “She struggled a bit, but I left her alive”, he said. “A pretty girl. What shall we do with her? We can't just leave her”
Abbas shook his head. “We can't”, he replied and a devious smile formed on his lips. “Quite pretty indeed. Quite valuable” Janae's eyes widened. “Abbas, don't do that!”, she hissed. “Take me if you must, but the girl is innocent!” Now, Abbas shook his head once again. “She tried to kill me”, he said. “Shot an arrow at me. That's hardly innocent”
Bakr gulped and unlike his companion, he looked uncomfortable. “Abbas, what are you doing?”, he asked and the other slaver grinned. “Vengeance will be mine”, he said. “I have enough of this shithole of a continent. I have enough of being belittled and mocked” He glared at Janae, as he clenched his fist. “You have been the final straw”, he told her. “Now we will return to Oldtown. Collecting our final payment... And then... then, slave, we'll go home!” Before Janae could react, his fist, hard as steel, hit her right in the face and her world turned black.
No choices for this part
Ellena
“Stay close!”, Brandon yelled, coughing through the smoke. The fire had spread over the last few minutes and Ellena was sure that the entire city had to burn by now. The Ironborn didn't just want to raid, they wanted to burn. And soon, Brandon and Ando had to realize that their small hideout was no longer safe, threatened to be consumed by fire. Late, almost too late in Ellena's opinion, did they decide to flee, when the flames had already reached the building next to them.
“We have to get out!”, Ando yelled back, his hand wrapped around Ellena's. Under other circumstances, she would have protested, but right now, she needed some warmth. It was not only the growing panic of being trapped in a burning city, but the deep feeling of loss that still lingered. She hadn't known Terroma for long. There were so many things she didn't know about him, so many she would never know. And still, she missed him terribly. It was a familiar sort of of pain.
Right now, there was nothing she would have loved more than to lay down and mourn, but what kept her going was the increasing smell of the nearing fire, the painful smoke in her eyes, the sore throat it caused her and the growing fear of burning alive. And Ando of course, who pulled her with him whenever she was in danger of slowing down.
The heat was probably even worse. Ellena had never liked fire, but this was worse than a mere fire. It felt as if she was inside an oven, as every breath of air burned inside her lungs. The thought of the fire spreading and threatening to consume her, it wasn't helping in any way.
Brandon himself was carrying Briar on his shoulders and he was running ahead. Their goal was to reach the gate, in the hopes of getting out of the city somewhere around there. They would catch up with Raenna and Kersea later on, once this was over. For now, their own lives were in danger.
The smoke only got stronger as they rushed past buildings that were already engulfed in flames. Thick black clouds moved through the streets, making it hard to see anything, save for Ando who remained closed to her. He was coughing heavily, covering his lower face with his forearm, as he dragged her with him, sternly, but not without softness.
“Brandon, slow down a little bit!”, he yelled, as the other man vanished in the smoke that completely covered the street by now. “Ser!” They stumbled forwards, almost blind, as Ellena gasped for air. She gagged as she only breathed in smoke, smoke that was increasingly getting thicker, making it harder for her to breathe.
“Ando, hurry!”, Brandon's voice sounded through the smoke. The two ran towards it and for a few precious moments, the smoke slightly cleared, allowing Ellena an almost clean breath of air. Still, it was barely enough to end the terrible feeling of suffocating. She felt like drowning, while being cooked alive.
They saw Brandon standing at the other end of a small alleyway. The house next to him was already burning brightly and from somewhere inside, Ellena noticed the horrible stench of charred flesh. She resisted the urge to throw up, as she saw Brandon waving to them. Behind him, Briar had buried her head in his back.
“This way!”, he yelled, pointing down the street he was standing on. “I can see the gates!” As fast as they could, Ellena and Ando rushed towards him. It was there that she noticed something. It was a cracking sound, coming from the burning house to her right. Narrowly, she managed to reach for Ando's hand, as she pulled him back to their side of the street. Just a second later, the roof came down, causing the building to collapse and covering the entire alleyway in fire.
“Ser!”, Ando screamed, as fire flared up highly. For a moment, Ellena paused, her sore eyes widened with horror, before Brandon's voice sounded from the street beyond the burning alleyway. “I'm fine!”, he yelled. “We're fine!”
A sigh of relief left Ando's throat. “We're cut off. Ser, stay where you are, we'll find another way to get through to you!”, he replied. Through the fire, his voice was barely audible. “Negative, soldier”, Brandon's reply came. “It's getting too dangerous here. I have to get Briar to safety. We'll meet up outside of the city”
Ando paused for a second, as he regained his thin breath, looking at his leader through the flames. “Understood, Ser”, he said. “If... If I don't make it, please, get the girl somewhere safe” Brandon hesitated to answer and waited even longer. Finally, his words came, though they where but a whisper in the increasingly louder inferno. “I will, Ando”, he said. “May the gods be with you”
With a sigh, Ando turned away from the burning alleyway that cut them off from Brandon and Briar. “Come on”, he managed to say in a friendly tone, even though he had to be affected by smoke and heat just as much as Ellena, who stumbled next to him nearly blinded. “We'll find another way around”
The two made their way through the inferno again, which was slowly starting to consume the buildings on both sides of the street. At the very end of it though, through layers of smoke, Ellena was able to see undamaged houses. The fire hadn't spread that far. They could still make it. She and Ando exchanged a nod. Then, they started to run.
The next moments were a blur, as Ellena left the smoke earlier than Ando. She instantly fell onto her knees as she was able to breath fresh air. Her coughs grew harder, until she fell onto her side, desperately trying to regain her breath. Ando stumbled out of the smoke a second afterwards. He remained standing, though the relief on his face was just as much as hers.
He looked up, enjoyed the cold breeze on his face, as he smiled at her. She smiled back and for the moment, she was just happy that she has survived. “Come on”, he said as he lowered his hand to help her up. “Let's go find Brandon” Just as he helped her up, he narrowed his eyes, looking at something behind her.
“What the...”, he mumbled and suddenly, a smile formed on his face. “Hey, it's Abbas!” He waved at the Ghiscari who had just walked around a corner. While he was obviously happy to see the man, Ellena tensed up. She noticed the expression on his face. It was exactly the look she had seen in him before, the reason she never liked him.
“Abbas, where have you been?”, Ando asked, as he approached the Ghiscari. Ellena remained behind. Abbas gave him a dark look. “I took care of... business”, he mumbled. In this moment, Bakr walked around the corner an Ellena took a deep breath as she noticed that he was carrying two unconscious, dark-haired women over his shoulders.
Ando's eyes widened. “What is that about?”, he asked. “Abbas, who are these women?” Abbas sighed. “Ando, just turn around and go”, he growled. “Find your wolf again, leave this city. But don't get in my way. This does not concern you”
“I believe it does”, Ando replied sternly. “Tell me what this is about” He clenched his fists as Abbas glanced at his partner and the women he had capture. Enslaved. The word flashed through Ellena's mind. He was a slaver. It's what he did. She had always expected his nature to shine through eventually and it seemed the day had come at last.
“Ando, step away from him”, she hissed an Abbas glared past the young Northerner. “The girl is with you”, he said calmly. “She has always been a smart one. A loudmouth, but smart” He paused. “Valuable”, he added. “Last chance, Ando. Both of you, get out of my way. This doesn't concern you. And nobody will stop me today”
Instead of answering, Ando's hand moved to the hilt of his sword. This was all the reason Abbas needed. Ellena had expected it, but Ando clearly didn't, as he didn't even manage to draw his sword before Abbas put a knife straight through his throat. “You should have minded your own business”, Abbas hissed.
Ellena did not wait for him to make his move. She knew what would come next. She turned around to the street behind her, just as Abbas removed the blade from Ando's open throat. “Abbas, what are you doing?”, Bakr asked in surprise, as the Ghiscari started to move. “Stay where you are, Bakr!”, Abbas yelled. “I'll find us a little something to compensate for our losses here!”
And so, Ellena started to run, as he dashed after her. In one moment, she noticed three options to escape. Farther down the street maybe, past the burning buildings and hopefully into some safe alleyway. If he wasn't faster than her, of course. Or maybe, as much as she hated it, the smoke-filled street she had come from would be the better idea. He wouldn't see her. It would be as dangerous for him as it was for her. Or maybe, just maybe, the most daring option of them all. Turning around, dashing past him in a move he wouldn't expect. He wouldn't expect it, right?
[Continue running down the street][Run back into the smoke-filled street][Turn around and run past Abbas]
[Run back into the smoke-filled street] It seems to me the only option where Abbas will for sure stop to follow Ellena (I doubt that the slaver will risk his life expecially now that he can have his revenge against Janae) while in the other choices Abbas will probably capture Ellena (expecially in the third one,I already see Abbas smiling face when Ellena try run past a man that is at least the double of her size)
PS:I add that the main reason because I don't want Ellena to be captured is because we already had an entire chapter with her as a prisoner and I would like something different for that character
RT:
I really don't expect that Abbas and Bakr backstory was connected with Janae's past!
And today we see the slavers doing their job but let's see things from the good side! Essos is coming!
Ando was too good for the GOT world
Now I'm curious to know what will happen to Brandon and Briar!
I am afraid this part won't include a Drent PoV. I noticed that I absolutely have to give him a full part's length for his next PoV, so I in… morestead decided to start Ellena's storyline already, especially as no recap will be needed for it. That also means Drent will be back next time
Janae
Decidedly, Janae shook her head. “No”, she said and she saw Behara's face dropping. “You're going to stay up here. I won't risk it” Behara clenched her fists as she sent her a glare. “Sooner or later you have to”, she replied and the frustration oozed from her voice. “You can't treat me like a child forever”
Janae sighed as she stepped past the girl. She had a good point. Gods be damned, she was right. “I'm not treating you like a child”, she stated as she handed her bow to the surprised Behara. “I'm keeping you up here so that you can cover me” She glanced at the arrows. “You only got two of them left, so make every shot count”, she told her. “Tho… [view original content]
I really don't expect that Abbas and Bakr backstory was connected with Janae's past!
Hehe, that was something I have planned almost from the very beginning of the story, that a detail in Abbas' backstory (the death of his father), is going to be connected to a detail in Janae's backstory (escaped slave) and that I will reveal it towards the end of Book 1. It just fit too perfectly to miss the opportunity. And I am glad that it came as such a surprise. After all, neither character really had their backstory explored so far.
And today we see the slavers doing their job but let's see things from the good side! Essos is coming!
Indeed. I tried to build Abbas and Bakr up as more or less well-meaning or at least harmless, to make it a stronger contrast when Abbas just seriously snaps and starts to act like the slaver he is. He might be relatively affable. He might be willing to do good things for coin. But at heart he is a guy who enslaves people and it takes a very particular type of person for that. Bakr is a little bit different there, but more about that in Book 2. And you are right, Essos will receive some heavy focus in Book 2 and this storyline holds some potential there.
Ando was too good for the GOT world
No arguing there, he was A genuinely kind and heroic guy, with little to no bad sides and loyal to the end. However, the problem with him was that he lacked an agenda, which kind of limited his potential for character growth, so I decided to ultimately kill him there, to show that Abbas really means business. I already expanded on him a bit more, compared to his more or less short character submission, so I am all in all happy that he became at least a character the readers recognized.
Now I'm curious to know what will happen to Brandon and Briar!
Well, I can promise that we will see more of them. For now, they have escaped the city and Brandon is very much going to stay true to his word and make sure that nothing will happen to Briar. However, it will take me a few weeks until I can show them again, in a part I consider to be really important. Stay tuned there, you definitely haven't seen the last of them!
Well,this is a development that I don't expect!
About the choice:
[Run back into the smoke-filled street] It seems to me the only opti… moreon where Abbas will for sure stop to follow Ellena (I doubt that the slaver will risk his life expecially now that he can have his revenge against Janae) while in the other choices Abbas will probably capture Ellena (expecially in the third one,I already see Abbas smiling face when Ellena try run past a man that is at least the double of her size)
PS:I add that the main reason because I don't want Ellena to be captured is because we already had an entire chapter with her as a prisoner and I would like something different for that character
RT:
* I really don't expect that Abbas and Bakr backstory was connected with Janae's past!
* And today we see the slavers doing their job but let's see things from the good side! Essos is coming!
* Ando was too good for the GOT world
* Now I'm curious to know what will happen to Brandon and Briar!
[Turn around and run past Abbas] I actually want to get Ellena captured. It would certainly be interesting to see some more POVs in Essos. I can't say I am all too upset about Abbas and Bakr. They were always slavers, but besides that they are likable guys. Shame what happened to Ando though. Some times being the good guy isn't always a good thing. I really liked how you connected Janae and Abbas' backstories. And I was right as for the fact that Janae was going to get separated from John, though it was neither becoming a salt wife or Second Son prisoner. But I have to say that I like this way much better. I am very excited to see what the overarching story arch in Essos turns out to be. As for Brandon, to say that I am excited to see what's next with him would be a severe understatement.
I am afraid this part won't include a Drent PoV. I noticed that I absolutely have to give him a full part's length for his next PoV, so I in… morestead decided to start Ellena's storyline already, especially as no recap will be needed for it. That also means Drent will be back next time
Janae
Decidedly, Janae shook her head. “No”, she said and she saw Behara's face dropping. “You're going to stay up here. I won't risk it” Behara clenched her fists as she sent her a glare. “Sooner or later you have to”, she replied and the frustration oozed from her voice. “You can't treat me like a child forever”
Janae sighed as she stepped past the girl. She had a good point. Gods be damned, she was right. “I'm not treating you like a child”, she stated as she handed her bow to the surprised Behara. “I'm keeping you up here so that you can cover me” She glanced at the arrows. “You only got two of them left, so make every shot count”, she told her. “Tho… [view original content]
I actually want to get Ellena captured. It would certainly be interesting to see some more POVs in Essos.
I can at least reveal that your wish about more PoV's in Essos is going to be fulfilled pretty heavily. Wether or not Ellena will be one of them remains to be seen. But regardless, I have several PoV's planned for the different regions of Essos. The major focus will still be on Westeros, but several key locations of Essos will play a major role in Book 2 and Book 3 as well.
I can't say I am all too upset about Abbas and Bakr. They were always slavers, but besides that they are likable guys.
Well, I indeed tried to make them more or less likable in the past chapters, which wasn't too hard, especially with Bakr, so that it would come as a bigger contrast once Abbas actually decides to do something unambiguously villainous. At the end of the day, Abbas is very good at being affable, which often makes people forget that this guy ruins lives for a living.
Shame what happened to Ando though. Some times being the good guy isn't always a good thing.
Indeed, that's the thing. Sometimes, being the good guy even causes problems, like in this part. Abbas gave Ando the chance to leave, but of course Ando wasn't going to do that, not when Abbas was obviously about to enslave two women. At the same time, him being such a good guy prevented him from attacking first. They both hesitated a bit, but Abbas hesitated far less, which gave him an easy victory.
And I was right as for the fact that Janae was going to get separated from John, though it was neither becoming a salt wife or Second Son prisoner. But I have to say that I like this way much better. I am very excited to see what the overarching story arch in Essos turns out to be.
You were indeed right with this! I hope this explains how she can get a storyline of her own without the need for John to die. This upcoming storyline for her will be very personal, way more than her becoming a salt wife or a Second Son prisoner and I am really excited to write it down. She is very much going to be a central character in the upcoming Essos storyline.
As for Brandon, to say that I am excited to see what's next with him would be a severe understatement.
Haha, I am happy to hear this! I believe you will be quite satisfied with what's in store for him
[Turn around and run past Abbas] I actually want to get Ellena captured. It would certainly be interesting to see some more POVs in Essos. I… more can't say I am all too upset about Abbas and Bakr. They were always slavers, but besides that they are likable guys. Shame what happened to Ando though. Some times being the good guy isn't always a good thing. I really liked how you connected Janae and Abbas' backstories. And I was right as for the fact that Janae was going to get separated from John, though it was neither becoming a salt wife or Second Son prisoner. But I have to say that I like this way much better. I am very excited to see what the overarching story arch in Essos turns out to be. As for Brandon, to say that I am excited to see what's next with him would be a severe understatement.
I am afraid this part won't include a Drent PoV. I noticed that I absolutely have to give him a full part's length for his next PoV, so I in… morestead decided to start Ellena's storyline already, especially as no recap will be needed for it. That also means Drent will be back next time
Janae
Decidedly, Janae shook her head. “No”, she said and she saw Behara's face dropping. “You're going to stay up here. I won't risk it” Behara clenched her fists as she sent her a glare. “Sooner or later you have to”, she replied and the frustration oozed from her voice. “You can't treat me like a child forever”
Janae sighed as she stepped past the girl. She had a good point. Gods be damned, she was right. “I'm not treating you like a child”, she stated as she handed her bow to the surprised Behara. “I'm keeping you up here so that you can cover me” She glanced at the arrows. “You only got two of them left, so make every shot count”, she told her. “Tho… [view original content]
I can at least reveal that your wish about more PoV's in Essos is going to be fulfilled pretty heavily. Wether or not Ellena will be one of them remains to be seen. But regardless, I have several PoV's planned for the different regions of Essos. The major focus will still be on Westeros, but several key locations of Essos will play a major role in Book 2 and Book 3 as well.
I wonder where these regions will be. I think it is safe to assume that we'll be seeing the Slaver's Bay, and Braavos is another safe guess. It would be pretty cool to go to Qarth or some of the less talked about free cities like Lys and Tyrosh.
Well, I indeed tried to make them more or less likable in the past chapters, which wasn't too hard, especially with Bakr, so that it would come as a bigger contrast once Abbas actually decides to do something unambiguously villainous. At the end of the day, Abbas is very good at being affable, which often makes people forget that this guy ruins lives for a living.
I cannot really be upset. They were raised in a society that molded them into this. Sure in Westeros culture, what they do is villanious, but in Essos, it is just an grey aspect of life.
Indeed, that's the thing. Sometimes, being the good guy even causes problems, like in this part. Abbas gave Ando the chance to leave, but of course Ando wasn't going to do that, not when Abbas was obviously about to enslave two women. At the same time, him being such a good guy prevented him from attacking first. They both hesitated a bit, but Abbas hesitated far less, which gave him an easy victory.
It is definitely difficult to kill someone you've grown used too. I'm just trying to imagine Brandon's realization that he is the last one of his soldiers. If Kersea and Briar decide there done with the adventurer's life, then Brandon will be left on his lonesome to do whatever his mission down in the south was. And Abbas and Bakr are going to have a ruough time getting out the city I believe. Unless there are some smaller exits that they can go through, they will have to go pass either Leonard or the raiders holding the gate.
You were indeed right with this! I hope this explains how she can get a storyline of her own without the need for John to die. This upcoming storyline for her will be very personal, way more than her becoming a salt wife or a Second Son prisoner and I am really excited to write it down. She is very much going to be a central character in the upcoming Essos storyline.
I like this version much better. We get to see all sorts of tension between Janae and Abbas. Plus we get to go hang out in Essos. Much more character development than just being some prisoner. Now we get to go back to her roots in Essos.
I actually want to get Ellena captured. It would certainly be interesting to see some more POVs in Essos.
I can at least reveal that… more your wish about more PoV's in Essos is going to be fulfilled pretty heavily. Wether or not Ellena will be one of them remains to be seen. But regardless, I have several PoV's planned for the different regions of Essos. The major focus will still be on Westeros, but several key locations of Essos will play a major role in Book 2 and Book 3 as well.
I can't say I am all too upset about Abbas and Bakr. They were always slavers, but besides that they are likable guys.
Well, I indeed tried to make them more or less likable in the past chapters, which wasn't too hard, especially with Bakr, so that it would come as a bigger contrast once Abbas actually decides to do something unambiguously villainous. At the end of the day, Abbas is very good at being affable, which often makes people forget that … [view original content]
I wonder where these regions will be. I think it is safe to assume that we'll be seeing the Slaver's Bay, and Braavos is another safe guess. It would be pretty cool to go to Qarth or some of the less talked about free cities like Lys and Tyrosh.
I have actually announced them some time ago. Slaver's Bay is a safe bet indeed, but probably surprisingly, I have no intention of showing Braavos. Instead, the story will focus on at least one of the lesser featured Free Cities (Lys, to be precise) as well as Volantis. I have also planned something for Qarth. Anything else that might happen is still up for planning, but I can confirm these four locations for Book 2, with the possibility that they won't remain the only ones.
I cannot really be upset. They were raised in a society that molded them into this. Sure in Westeros culture, what they do is villanious, but in Essos, it is just an grey aspect of life.
Well, sure, from that perspective you've got a point. And as far as slavers go, Abbas and Bakr are indeed relatively civil. I mean, compare them to that guy that captured Tyrion and Jorah in Season 5, or to some of the more cruel masters. It's safe to say that we'll see some of these individuals in Book 2 as well. However, from the perspective of many characters in Book 2, most importantly Janae of course, Abbas is still going to be an antagonist. Since she genuinely did something to justify his anger (killing his father, even if it was a mixture of self-defense and her trying to gain her freedom), I have plans for this storyline to hold some pretty ambiguous moments.
It is definitely difficult to kill someone you've grown used too. I'm just trying to imagine Brandon's realization that he is the last one of his soldiers. If Kersea and Briar decide there done with the adventurer's life, then Brandon will be left on his lonesome to do whatever his mission down in the south was. And Abbas and Bakr are going to have a ruough time getting out the city I believe. Unless there are some smaller exits that they can go through, they will have to go pass either Leonard or the raiders holding the gate.
Indeed, things will be rough on Brandon. His sellsword group was always relatively small, but now they are all gone and he has to start all over again. It remains to be seen what he's going to do, although Chapter 9 should give you a good idea on this. As for Abbas and Bakr, I'm sure they'll have a way to leave the city. Actually, the eastern gate, the one Torvin and his men took, is currently not controlled by anyone. After all, the Second Sons are in the city, there's no reason to control that thing anymore, as the city guard has to retreat to hold at least some key parts of Raylansfair. Brandon and Briar can walk right through it, so the same will likely apply to Abbas and Bakr.
I like this version much better. We get to see all sorts of tension between Janae and Abbas. Plus we get to go hang out in Essos. Much more character development than just being some prisoner. Now we get to go back to her roots in Essos.
Good to hear it! I believe it should be a very interesting story, especially in the very complicated relationship between Janae and Abbas. We'll learn a lot more on their backstories in the coming chapters and so far, it's basically just all been build-up for the things to come in Book 2.
I can at least reveal that your wish about more PoV's in Essos is going to be fulfilled pretty heavily. Wether or not Ellena will be one of … morethem remains to be seen. But regardless, I have several PoV's planned for the different regions of Essos. The major focus will still be on Westeros, but several key locations of Essos will play a major role in Book 2 and Book 3 as well.
I wonder where these regions will be. I think it is safe to assume that we'll be seeing the Slaver's Bay, and Braavos is another safe guess. It would be pretty cool to go to Qarth or some of the less talked about free cities like Lys and Tyrosh.
Well, I indeed tried to make them more or less likable in the past chapters, which wasn't too hard, especially with Bakr, so that it would come as a bigger contrast once Abbas actually decides to do something unambiguously villainous. At the end of the day, Abbas is very good at being affable, which often makes peopl… [view original content]
Well, well, this is certainly an interesting twist. These parts were a very effective reminder that, despite temporarily working with the protagonists, Abbas and Bakr are still slavers - and at least Abbas also a very relentless one at that. I'm quite hyped to see the story spread to Essos though, and it seems Janae will have a very interesting storyline ahead of her.
[Run back into the smoke-filled street] However, I'd rather not have Ellena enslaved, and I think this is the most likely option for her to get away from Abbas' dirty hands. Also rip Ando
Oh, I also assume that this new storyline of Janae will finally show that third slaver that was submitted ages ago... Ai'sha al-Meereeni?
I am afraid this part won't include a Drent PoV. I noticed that I absolutely have to give him a full part's length for his next PoV, so I in… morestead decided to start Ellena's storyline already, especially as no recap will be needed for it. That also means Drent will be back next time
Janae
Decidedly, Janae shook her head. “No”, she said and she saw Behara's face dropping. “You're going to stay up here. I won't risk it” Behara clenched her fists as she sent her a glare. “Sooner or later you have to”, she replied and the frustration oozed from her voice. “You can't treat me like a child forever”
Janae sighed as she stepped past the girl. She had a good point. Gods be damned, she was right. “I'm not treating you like a child”, she stated as she handed her bow to the surprised Behara. “I'm keeping you up here so that you can cover me” She glanced at the arrows. “You only got two of them left, so make every shot count”, she told her. “Tho… [view original content]
Ah, then you've indeed been right, good job! Janae will be the link to Essos and a very central character in the plot I have planned there. However, there is the good possibility that she won't be the first PoV we're going to see in Essos, due to the way I have planned that storyline to play out. As a result of the relatively large number of characters I have received for Essos, I will need more PoV's there to give all of them a proper role, so I have planned to include more storylines than simply Janae's and not everyone of them will be related to her.
[Run back into the smoke-filled street]
As soon as you made Janae a POV, I wondered if she might be our link to Essos. Turns out I was correct. And poor Ando, he was way too nice.
Well, well, this is certainly an interesting twist. These parts were a very effective reminder that, despite temporarily working with the protagonists, Abbas and Bakr are still slavers - and at least Abbas also a very relentless one at that. I'm quite hyped to see the story spread to Essos though, and it seems Janae will have a very interesting storyline ahead of her.
It's true and this is an important observation. The other characters never quite trusted them and this part showed that they were justified with their mistrust towards them. They can be friendly and are capable of helping the good guys, either for money or to repay earlier debts, but they are still primarily slavers and Book 2 should show a lot more about them in this role. I can confirm that Janae's storyline should be a very interesting one, one of several I look forward for in Book 2. Come to think of it, a lot of storylines should really step up in Book 2.
Oh, I also assume that this new storyline of Janae will finally show that third slaver that was submitted ages ago... Ai'sha al-Meereeni?
Indeed, Ai'sha is going to be featured in that storyline. The guy who submitted her is the same who submitted Abbas and Bakr, but I have already introduced and established them before he submitted her, so I have decided that she remained in Slaver's Bay while her business partners have travelled to Westeros for their deal with the Burned Man. Once the story actually reaches Slaver's Bay, she is going to appear for sure.
Well, well, this is certainly an interesting twist. These parts were a very effective reminder that, despite temporarily working with the pr… moreotagonists, Abbas and Bakr are still slavers - and at least Abbas also a very relentless one at that. I'm quite hyped to see the story spread to Essos though, and it seems Janae will have a very interesting storyline ahead of her.
[Run back into the smoke-filled street] However, I'd rather not have Ellena enslaved, and I think this is the most likely option for her to get away from Abbas' dirty hands. Also rip Ando
Oh, I also assume that this new storyline of Janae will finally show that third slaver that was submitted ages ago... Ai'sha al-Meereeni?
I am afraid this part won't include a Drent PoV. I noticed that I absolutely have to give him a full part's length for his next PoV, so I in… morestead decided to start Ellena's storyline already, especially as no recap will be needed for it. That also means Drent will be back next time
Janae
Decidedly, Janae shook her head. “No”, she said and she saw Behara's face dropping. “You're going to stay up here. I won't risk it” Behara clenched her fists as she sent her a glare. “Sooner or later you have to”, she replied and the frustration oozed from her voice. “You can't treat me like a child forever”
Janae sighed as she stepped past the girl. She had a good point. Gods be damned, she was right. “I'm not treating you like a child”, she stated as she handed her bow to the surprised Behara. “I'm keeping you up here so that you can cover me” She glanced at the arrows. “You only got two of them left, so make every shot count”, she told her. “Tho… [view original content]
I am afraid this part won't include a Drent PoV. I noticed that I absolutely have to give him a full part's length for his next PoV, so I in… morestead decided to start Ellena's storyline already, especially as no recap will be needed for it. That also means Drent will be back next time
Janae
Decidedly, Janae shook her head. “No”, she said and she saw Behara's face dropping. “You're going to stay up here. I won't risk it” Behara clenched her fists as she sent her a glare. “Sooner or later you have to”, she replied and the frustration oozed from her voice. “You can't treat me like a child forever”
Janae sighed as she stepped past the girl. She had a good point. Gods be damned, she was right. “I'm not treating you like a child”, she stated as she handed her bow to the surprised Behara. “I'm keeping you up here so that you can cover me” She glanced at the arrows. “You only got two of them left, so make every shot count”, she told her. “Tho… [view original content]
Ando too? ARGH!!!! And now Janae is in serious danger. This story's gonna end up killing me. Next Edrick's group will probably be nuked
I'm sorry! It really seems like I kill off/endanger an unproportionally high part of your favourite characters in this chapter and it was something I haven't planned at all. Perhaps to counterbalance this, I should clarify that it is highly unlikely I am going to literally nuke Edrick's group. There'll be danger, there'll be loss, but no one intends to drop a nuke on them And since I don't want to kill you, I can also confirm that it is very unlikely that I am going to end up killing all of your favourites. Considering how much I dislike killing off characters in general, many of them should be able to survive. It's really unfortunate with Ando, though I feel like I did what I could with a relatively limited character.
Ando too? ARGH!!!! And now Janae is in serious danger. This story's gonna end up killing me. Next Edrick's group will probably be nuked.
… more[Run back into the smoke-filled street] Let's hope Ellena isn't captured again! This is risky, but it's her best chance.
Comments
Really damn awesome. Almost lost my breath while reading. Poor Hackor, I never thought I cared so much for him.
but
[Take Aditha with you]
[Take Hackor with you]
Well, let's give him a chance. On the other hand I wonder if he won't simply die inside, since there is no healer around now to help him.
[Take Aditha with you] I'd love to try and save Hackor and I'm into giving up on people, but if it's between him and Aditha, then I've got to pick Aditha.
You know I've been thinking about Tallian. He can be a prick , but more often than not he's right about most things. He's clearly smart and a good strategist. From here on out I think I'm going to try to listen to him more often.
This part was fantastic! Really epic, but it also had this feeling of dread. It's too bad about Federico.
[Take Hackor with you]
She'll be fine. It's a shame that Jenna, being so stupid, just stayed and did nothing while she could have already brought at least one of the people inside. Now let us have Arthur hate her. Yes, good.
Also RIP Federico you will be missed. Drent is to blame.
I believe at this point, Arthur will get tons of development even if Hackor survives, just in a highly different direction. Same goes for whatever happens to Aditha, as her fate will affect him just as much, potentially even more, in one direction or the other.
Ah, this is a relief. Considering how heavily this choice involves your characters, I was curious about your reaction, but I am glad you enjoyed it. Hackor and Aditha are wonderful characters to work with and I am glad I managed to show this depth in Hackor's personality here. Safe to say, no matter what option will win, it will also hold some interesting development for Arthur.
Indeed he did! I felt a bit bad for always sidelining Fenerbahçe so much, to the point where I even forget his name. But I think after such a death scene, I can finally remember his name, which is Feraligatr Snow. May he rest in peace.
This should indeed be interesting. Technically, she did what she could and she was ready to die here, but Fajita basically saved her life with his decision to order her brought to the Great Hall. That means, she shouldn't feel guilty, but the loss of so many guards under her command and her failure to realize that the gate has been sabotaged earlier, this will heavily weigh on her mind.
An interesting thought. Tallian's indeed a smart man and he worked hard to earn his position (especially since he isn't high nobility, such as most other military leaders), so his advice usually has a point. Most importantly, he's a very rational man, which of course makes most of his advice come off as rather cold and blunt, but that doesn't mean he's without a point. His main flaw is probably that he can get too cautious at times, whereas his counterpart at Willfred's side, Roger, can get too hot-headed. But as you've seen in this part, things like his advice to leave the Rock soldiers at the castle have been absolutely necessary.
It is so good to hear this from you and the others. Since this part included the first big fighting scene that was not from the perspective of a fighter, I was a bit concerned how it would be received, but I am glad to see my worries were, once again, unfounded. And it's indeed too bad. I would have liked to do more with him, but saw no way for him to logically survive this attack.
Hm, it's unlikely that Arthur will hate her, but Jenna herself is really going to feel terrible over this. She indeed kind of froze here and was terribly indecisive in whom she wanted to save, mostly because she has no experience in making such hard choices. With all of her other hard choices, she always had someone else to rely on (like Saerya), but here, she had to make the conscious choice to leave someone and you're probably going to be happy to hear that this is going to affect her heavily. That said, there might be something good coming out of this development.
Actually, yes, in a certain way you are right. If Drent wouldn't have talked Federico out of his plans on chasing after Saerya, he would have survived this chapter. It was very much a 50/50 chance for him to die here and unfortunately, the choices that were less beneficial for him were picked. However, depending on one other choice in this chapter, having Federico leave the castle could have ended up with Nora taking his place as the one to die here.
[Take Hackor with you]
Wow what can I even say! I absolutely loved this part and was probably one of my favourite moments so far in this chapter aside from the lighthouse scene.
Poor Federico Snow though. Since he's gone, can you say anything about his background or did he have an interesting backstory?
[Take Aditha with you]
Always save the lass.
Vaasrand vs Jaime
What an awesome part! That might be my favorite part of the chapter. Very thrilling indeed. And of course, other reasons
so epic!
[Take Aditha with you]
This is just the better choice in my opinion. Poor Hackor though, he did not deserve this. Same can be said for Federico. Just, what a crazy part. Great job Liquid.
Actually, he had. Federico is an interesting case, because I've been really torn about him here. First of all, he was a very detailed character and I am afraid I barely got to show anything about him. In another version of the story, he could have easily carried a storyline of his own. The problem here is that literally everything about his backstory depended on one character whom his submitter wanted to submit but never did. Since his submitter hasn't been online in almost two years on top of that, I am afraid I'll never get this character. Problem is, most of the details in Federico's backstory simply don't work without this other character to complete him. Now, in retrospect I could have just filled this character and the blanks myself, but at least back when I made these plans, I haven't been confident enough in my ability to make him a good character on my own. I liked Federico, I think the character had a lot of potential, but he unfortunately hasn't been finished.
As for your question on his backstory, there is a lot. It's a pretty detailed tale about the exiled bastard son of a northern lord, who meets the love of his life (said never submitted character) during an epic stay in Braavos, where he makes friends, gets betrayed and all the like, before moving back to Westeros, where he hears about the plight of House Raylan and the fact that they are seeking good men to work for them. I could have done a lot more with Federico, but ultimately, I decided not to, for a number of reasons. The fact that he is not a finished character (despite the detail), was only one of them.
Well, to be fair, Geralt cheated in that video, he cheated quite heavily. Witcher magic, potions, literally superhuman physical powers, it's clear that he'd win against Jaime. Since Vaasrand is not quite a witcher (which actually makes his badass feats all the more notable), he wouldn't quite wipe the floor with Jaime in such a way.
But it would certainly be interesting to see how Arthur would handle being all alone. Even though it now seems unlikely, having a lone Arthur could make for some interesting story of him doing whatever it takes to defend the city. That or he becomes a pitiful mess and will some how have to redeem himself. Though now I guess he will have to reconcile Aditha about good ol Hackor.
You have done such a great justice to him. This would be a great way to for Hackor to meet his end. But there is certainly much more for him to do, I guess that will have to fall upon Leonard, Stratford, and Nora as the last leaders of the city. All of them so young, it will definitely be interesting how they take with so much responsibility, assuming they make it through the raid and survive. I'm all okay with character death. It is a great way of adding depth to characters and story. But that doesn't mean I want them to die, I would have certainly preferred if we had sent Arthur after Hackor, and had have Jenna helped the actual important person instead of some snot nosed kid. But this way we get to see Arthur take his chance to finally put down Wolfius, and Jenna can now live with even more guilt about how she could have possibly prevented Hackor from dying. It is still likely that Hackor would have still died as Mathea isn't at the castle, but there was always that chance that gave me some hope. I can't wait till we can see the results of helping out Carma instead of Aditha are.
Fungus Snow will have an important place in Nora's memories I think, seeing how he saved her life. And he had such a great death scene. Went out like a champ. Hopefully Hightower will bring some more men like Freaky Fresh. I wonder how much remorse Saerya will have over his death. He was a tool for her, but she seems like a nice enough person to feel bad for him. Rest in Peace, Female Snow.
How do you think it would really go if Vaasrand fought Jaime?
If Mathea was inside the castle my own decision would have been much harder but since she is not there (thanks to a community choice) I make this decision
PS:now that I think about it if Mathea survive the chapter she probably will feel a lot of guilt! (You know,not only almost all the people she want to save die but leaving her position make people with serious wounds like Hackor die)
I agree,the scene where he take the command of the city guards was for sure one of the best moment of the part!It was a mix of despair to fight such a strong enemy and hope to protect all the people behind him
PS:now that I think about it is the moment that Tallian decide to retreat that seal Federico's fate!
PS2:now that Federico is death I can reveal,for who don't know this, that his name is "Frederick" in italian!
Thought I'd do my top ten best living fighters.
10 | Raenna Minsworth. Raenna has proven herself to be a very capable fighter, she seems best at taking on mooks, luckily for Raenna that is really all she has fought against.
9 | Orys Baratheon. Orys is said to be one of the best fighters for the Targaryens, and he destroyed Rodrik Stone so easily it's not even funny, he didn't even need a sword, that act alone shows his reputation may be an understatement.
8 | The Moggy. His god-like strength certainly helps a great deal, plus his incredible toughness, unfortunately he's probably the dumbest person in FoT, or at least one of them, still he could definitely take most people in FoT.
7 | Vaasrand of Lys. Vaasrand is a masterful swordsman and overall fighter, after all he is trained to fight beasts, much tougher, faster and stronger than normal humans, so he must be pretty great at planning and fighting, with prep time he could probably take anyone on this list, he doesn't really have any visible weakness, from the looks of it ambushing him is the best bet, but that is not always guaranteed to work, especially if he's alone.
6 | Samuel Harrington. He has proved that he is one of the best swordsman of his time, with many people agreeing and fearing him, he was fast enough to save Harpy (I think it was her) from an arrow, and defeated Leonard in combat, along with destroying dozens of mooks.
5 | The Tom. The Tom defeated Jaron and killed Martin, with little effort, both capable swordsmen, and he only received a little cut. That speaks for his skill.
4 | Emphyrus Dresful. Dresful took down a dozen ironborn raiders all alone, with only his sword and armor as allies, and his lust for blood makes him a tougher opponent, not many could cross him and walk away with their head intact.
3 | Daghan Oxus. Daghan's large frame and shield make him even tougher, and his skill with a blade seems to be unmatched, he would be a very tough opponent to fight, and most would rather avoid him.
2 | Ryder Harrington. Supposedly, Samuel said the last time he saw him, Ryder was twice as good as him, taking in regard Samuel is one of the best swordsman in the story, that's a big compliment, Ryder very well could be the best swordsman in FoT, or it could be a bluff we will only know once we see him fight. For that reason he stays at number 2.
1 | Wolfius Woodbark. He can warg into anything, even dragons (probably), if his opponent is unaware of this, they are doomed, it really is as simple as that.
Tell me if you agree with the list, or what you'd change.
The Voting is closed!
Jenna is going to take Aditha with her
I wasn't too sure what you would choose here, though I was slightly expecting Aditha here, given that she's far less badly wounded and has a generally better chance of survival. This was a really important choice with lots of consequences, probably one of these that will remain important for several chapters to come. For now, it will mean that Aditha likely survives, whereas things obviously look even more grim for Hackor. We'll learn about his fate in a later part in this chapter, but it won't be from Jenna's PoV, as this just was her last part for this chapter.
The next part should be out today, or early tomorrow at latest. It'll feature a PoV from Janae, as well as one from Drent. However, I am not sure how long Janae's PoV will be and there might be enough space for me to include a small part for Maya as well. Anyways, the last time we saw Drent, he and the other Stormlanders moved to the southern gate, to support Leonard and the remaining defenders down there. Drent, Montclair, Torrence and a couple of others were sent to protect the alleyways around the gate, so that none of the Ironborn will be able to flank the bulk of the Stormlander host. During this, Drent was attacked by two Ironborn, but he got help from Ian Shortwood. Shortwood offered a temporary alliance between them, if Drent would help him in defending a few people that Shortwood was trying to keep safe in a nearby house. However, Drent decided against this, instead he remained on his post. Meanwhile, Janae, our newest PoV, just had a part relatively recently, but believe me, there is a very good reason to give her this second part right now, as it will introduce an important detail that will play a role for another part that I wish to write soon. The last time we saw her, she protected a street against a group of Ironborn and their new Second Son allies. However, she eventually ran out of arrows, so she had to move out to collect those she already shot at her enemies. Behara, who assisted her, asked to be taken along, but Janae instead decided to keep her at their position on the upper floor of an abandoned house, as she deemed this as more safe for her. You'll see if this was truly the better choice. And well, if I manage to put in a Maya PoV as well, here's a very small recap for her: The last time we saw her, she and her group escorted Rodrik to the castle. As you know, this went terribly wrong, when Rodrik's men ambushed them. One of them, Morgrem, even managed to kill Aldrik's direwolf Knightfang. Maya herself was nearly killed and received a broken ankle for her troubles, but she was ultimately saved by Irving, who decided to join up with her once more. In the end, she was faced with Aldrik wanting to avenge his wolf, by running after the man who killed him and with Keat, who decided to leave their group after correctly stating that he did not sign up for a fight. Maya decided to stop Aldrik, which means that Keat gets a chance to leave. As I said, I don't know if I will be able to put this PoV into the next part, but it will eventually happen at one point in the few remaining parts of this chapter, which is rapidly nearing its completion.
Hm, a hard question. I would however give Jaime an advantage in skill, while Vaasrand is more cunning and cautious. With time to prepare, Vaasrand would win, but in a sudden one-on-one duel, I believe it would be Jaime who'd come out on top. Vaasrand's strength is very much his intelligence, as he would definitely only pick a fight with someone like Jaime in a location that gives him the biggest advantage, while also making sure that he would prepare additional things to tip the scales in his favour.
That certainly is an interesting list. I am inclined to agree with most of these. Wolfius kind of surprised me, as he still is not a really physically threatening person, but his warg powers are a good argument. Warging into a dragon, oh man, that would be equal parts awesome and terrifying. With Ryder however, keep in mind that Samuel last saw him years ago, when he was only in his teens. They are probably way more evenly matched these days and I'd put both behind Emphryus and Daghan, at about the same level as the Tom. Other than that, I am mostly agreeing with this list. Out of the currently living and introduced characters, these ten are definitely strong contenders when it comes to the best fighters in the story. Maybe Raenna is the only one I'd put up for debate here, as her opponents so far have either been vastly inferior to her (such as the common street thug), or far better, such as Alysanne. That said, I am not exactly sure whom else I'd include in this list instead of her.
Liquid, what would the Sphynx do if he had to torture a masochist. How would he break them?
That is a good question. Thing is, even a masochist has to have a breaking point. There has to be some pain no one can stand and the Sphynx will try his utmost to find this sort of pain. If there isn't, if this masochist truly loves all sorts of pain, including the really nasty stuff, then the Sphynx would likely just kill them, since they are already broken beyond repair.
Do yuou think there's anyone that could break the Sphynx himself?
Oh yes, certainly. Reaching his absolute breaking point is probably quite hard to do, but he is far too pragmatic to remain steadfast if being tortured, so he'd give in relatively easy, he'd swallow his pride and say and do whatever the person torturing him wants him to. That said, we'll learn a lot more about the Sphynx in Book 2 and there are other things than physical pain that could probably break him more easily.
I am afraid this part won't include a Drent PoV. I noticed that I absolutely have to give him a full part's length for his next PoV, so I instead decided to start Ellena's storyline already, especially as no recap will be needed for it. That also means Drent will be back next time
Janae
Decidedly, Janae shook her head. “No”, she said and she saw Behara's face dropping. “You're going to stay up here. I won't risk it” Behara clenched her fists as she sent her a glare. “Sooner or later you have to”, she replied and the frustration oozed from her voice. “You can't treat me like a child forever”
Janae sighed as she stepped past the girl. She had a good point. Gods be damned, she was right. “I'm not treating you like a child”, she stated as she handed her bow to the surprised Behara. “I'm keeping you up here so that you can cover me” She glanced at the arrows. “You only got two of them left, so make every shot count”, she told her. “Though pray that it won't come to that”
Behara's eyes widened, as she looked from Janae to the bow in her hands. “I...”, she started, before she interrupted herself. She straightened her back. “I will not fail you”, she said strongly and Janae smirked. “I know you won't”, she said. “Else I wouldn't have given you that bow” She gave her a pat on the back, before she rushed out of the door.
In a hurry, she ran down the stairs. She knew, it was only a matter of time until the next wave would hit her position. Perhaps the last one? Janae wasn't afraid of death, it was was one of the many things that had been beaten out of her as a child. At the same time, as easy as it would have been, she did not welcome it either. And now, she had Behara to worry about.
With a hand on the hilt of her sword, Janae stepped out of the door and onto the street. Only the dead were down here with her, but the distant, faint screams told her that she was anything but alone right now. She had to hurry. Quickly, she bent down to remove the arrow from the man she had killed last, putting it back into the small quiver she was carrying with her.
The next arrow was broken from the impact and Janae muttered a curse, as she travelled further down the street, removing another arrow from another corpse. One of the men was still alive when she reached him, but only barely and she ended his suffering with a swift strike, before retrieving her arrow from his dead body.
“Janae”, Behara hissed and she looked up. Down the street, a single man was walking, his tabard identifying him as a member of the Second Sons. She raised a hand. “I got him”, she growled, as she drew her sword. The man was looking around at the fallen, his expression growing from shocked to sorrowful.
“You did this?”, he snarled and she gave him a wordless nod. His eyes narrowed. “These were my comrades. My brothers-in-arms!” She only shrugged in return. “Find yourself some new brothers then”, she replied coldly. “Now fuck off or you'll share their fate” The man spat as he drew his sword. “You're going to pay for this!”, he barked, as he attacked.
An arrow cut through the air, missing him by several inches and barely making him flinch. “I got him!”, Janae yelled loudly, as she readied her blade to parry his attack. It came with the force of a truly angry man and it cost her a great deal of strength to hold against it.
Quickly and without hesitating, she made her move, as she struck her sword at him. He deflected the blade and it only hit thin air next to his head. On the positive side, her sword was just inches away from his throat now, as he pressed his blade against hers. Slowly, she began to push him back, towards the wall.
With a desperate growl, the sellsword managed to break free, pushing her back with all his strength. His swing was aimed at her head and it was easy to dodge. Even better, it put her into the position where she was able to end the fight. The same movement she used to dodge was used to thrust her sword forwards and against his belly, slicing across it deeply. The man sank to the ground, groaning in pain, as Janae brought the sword down onto his head, ending his life instantly.
“I said I got him!”, Janae barked, as she looked up to the window. Behara was looking through it, the bow in one hand and the arrow in the other. She gave her an apologizing look. “I... I was just worried”, she said and Janae sighed. “Just make the next one count”, she replied sharply, before she turned to the next corpse, to remove another arrow.
It was there that a new sound reached her ears. Someone came closer and she also heard the sound of clashing steel. “Get ready”, she hissed. “But only fire at my command!” With her sword pointed at the corner in the distance, she started to approach it, as the sound of fighting came closer.
“Stop fooling around, Bakr!”, a man yelled and just a second later, one of the Ironborn stumbled into her field of view, pressing a hand onto the deep cut at his throat. A man followed, a dark-skinned Ghiscari, wearing light leather, with a short beard and a shaved head. He had an arakh in each hand, twirling it around as he readied himself for his next enemy, a large sellsword wielding a greatsword.
Janae narrowed her eyes, not having expected another Ghiscari here in the city. She only needed a moment to decide to help this man. After all, someone who fought against the Second Sons had to be an ally. As the Ghiscari parried a strike of the greatsword, she started to charge at them.
The sellsword didn't see her coming, as he was too busy fighting against the Ghiscari, who elegantly blocked each of his strikes. It was then that she reached them, instantly impaling the sellsword through the side of the chest. The man gurgled as he fell to the ground.
Through her right, Janae was able to see another man, similarly a Ghiscari, but larger, with more muscles and more fat. He had shove his left hand into the face of an Ironborn, whom he threw against a wall with brutal force, while simultaneously bringing the single blade of his barbed axe down on another opponent, breaking through block and skull with one strike.
The Ghiscari with the arakhs gave her a nod. “Thank you, mylady”, he said, his Westerosi being nearly flawless. “You're welcome”, she replied in Ghiscari and he raised an eyebrow. “I was not expecting a fair maiden of Ghis!”, he said and it was then that Janae noticed something. Her friendly expression faded, replaced by a horrified one.
The face beneath the beard... his hair was shorter, but no, there was no doubt... As he saw her expression, his turned to mild confusion, as she saw the realization growing inside of him. “Abbas...”, she gasped and now, his eyes narrowed, every trace of warmth gone in an instant. “Janae”, he replied, in a low growl, as she carefully took a few steps away from him.
He followed. “It's been a while”, she said and for the first time in many years, she was genuinely nervous. “Not long enough”, he hissed. “Or maybe too long” He took another few steps towards her and behind him, the large brute entered the streets. His head was shaved bald, save for the thick unibrow and the long, bushy beard. A curious look appeared in his eyes. “Abbas, what's wrong?”, he asked.
“Janae”, Abbas replied. “This is Janae. The other man raised an eyebrow. “This... oooh”, he said as he understood. Abbas slowly put away his swords, which wasn't quite enough for her to relax. “I have thought you died years ago. I hoped for it”, he growled. “And yet here you are. We meet again at the other end of the world”
“What are the chances?”, Janae said, as her heart started to beat faster. He gave her a nod. “Yes indeed”, he agreed and his hand moved to the whip on his belt. “You surely thought you'd never have to pay for what you did, murderer of my father”
Now, Janae felt a distant anger rising inside of her. “It wasn't murder”, she disagreed decisively. “I would have just left, but he stood in the way of me and my freedom” Abbas unfurled the whip. “Your freedom was not worth his life!”, he barked, as he took a strike at her.
Janae jumped back, half out of instinct, as the whip cracked through the air. Her attempt at attacking him was cut short when he attacked as well. The whip hit her at the wrist, painfully, as it wrapped around her arm. With a quick movement, he pulled her forwards and off her feet. As she fell, he knocked the sword away from her.
Heavily, he brought the whip down on her, as all Janae was able to do was to protect her face. The weapon left painful bruises on her palms and forearms. “Murderer!”, he spat. “Runaway! You dirty slave bitch! I'm gonna...!” He was cut short as he gasped. Janae removed her hands from her face and noticed that an arrow had almost hit him. Behara had missed again, but she had given him quite the scare.
“What the fuck!”, he barked, as he glared to the window. “Bakr, there's an archer!” The other man gave him a nod, as he readied his axe. “I'm on it!”, he replied, as he rushed to the house. Instead of hitting her again, Abbas pulled out a small knife and knelt down next to her, one knee on her chest. “You up there! If you try anything, I will kill your friend!”, he yelled.
“Hara, get out of there!”, Janae screamed, as Bakr had reached the door. He kicked it in and moved through the doorframe, as Abbas glared down on her. “The gods are mocking me”, he spat. “Sending you down my path again, after all these years, alive and well”
“Abbas, we can talk about it”, Janae managed to say, despite the pain. “I had no choice, but you have now” He gave her a nod. “I do”, he confirmed. “And I choose vengeance. I will not kill you. Not now. But slave, you belong to my family. You will always do”
From upstairs, Janae heard a quick commotion and just a moment later, Bakr walked out through the door again. Behara was lying over his shoulder, not moving. “She struggled a bit, but I left her alive”, he said. “A pretty girl. What shall we do with her? We can't just leave her”
Abbas shook his head. “We can't”, he replied and a devious smile formed on his lips. “Quite pretty indeed. Quite valuable” Janae's eyes widened. “Abbas, don't do that!”, she hissed. “Take me if you must, but the girl is innocent!” Now, Abbas shook his head once again. “She tried to kill me”, he said. “Shot an arrow at me. That's hardly innocent”
Bakr gulped and unlike his companion, he looked uncomfortable. “Abbas, what are you doing?”, he asked and the other slaver grinned. “Vengeance will be mine”, he said. “I have enough of this shithole of a continent. I have enough of being belittled and mocked” He glared at Janae, as he clenched his fist. “You have been the final straw”, he told her. “Now we will return to Oldtown. Collecting our final payment... And then... then, slave, we'll go home!” Before Janae could react, his fist, hard as steel, hit her right in the face and her world turned black.
No choices for this part
Ellena
“Stay close!”, Brandon yelled, coughing through the smoke. The fire had spread over the last few minutes and Ellena was sure that the entire city had to burn by now. The Ironborn didn't just want to raid, they wanted to burn. And soon, Brandon and Ando had to realize that their small hideout was no longer safe, threatened to be consumed by fire. Late, almost too late in Ellena's opinion, did they decide to flee, when the flames had already reached the building next to them.
“We have to get out!”, Ando yelled back, his hand wrapped around Ellena's. Under other circumstances, she would have protested, but right now, she needed some warmth. It was not only the growing panic of being trapped in a burning city, but the deep feeling of loss that still lingered. She hadn't known Terroma for long. There were so many things she didn't know about him, so many she would never know. And still, she missed him terribly. It was a familiar sort of of pain.
Right now, there was nothing she would have loved more than to lay down and mourn, but what kept her going was the increasing smell of the nearing fire, the painful smoke in her eyes, the sore throat it caused her and the growing fear of burning alive. And Ando of course, who pulled her with him whenever she was in danger of slowing down.
The heat was probably even worse. Ellena had never liked fire, but this was worse than a mere fire. It felt as if she was inside an oven, as every breath of air burned inside her lungs. The thought of the fire spreading and threatening to consume her, it wasn't helping in any way.
Brandon himself was carrying Briar on his shoulders and he was running ahead. Their goal was to reach the gate, in the hopes of getting out of the city somewhere around there. They would catch up with Raenna and Kersea later on, once this was over. For now, their own lives were in danger.
The smoke only got stronger as they rushed past buildings that were already engulfed in flames. Thick black clouds moved through the streets, making it hard to see anything, save for Ando who remained closed to her. He was coughing heavily, covering his lower face with his forearm, as he dragged her with him, sternly, but not without softness.
“Brandon, slow down a little bit!”, he yelled, as the other man vanished in the smoke that completely covered the street by now. “Ser!” They stumbled forwards, almost blind, as Ellena gasped for air. She gagged as she only breathed in smoke, smoke that was increasingly getting thicker, making it harder for her to breathe.
“Ando, hurry!”, Brandon's voice sounded through the smoke. The two ran towards it and for a few precious moments, the smoke slightly cleared, allowing Ellena an almost clean breath of air. Still, it was barely enough to end the terrible feeling of suffocating. She felt like drowning, while being cooked alive.
They saw Brandon standing at the other end of a small alleyway. The house next to him was already burning brightly and from somewhere inside, Ellena noticed the horrible stench of charred flesh. She resisted the urge to throw up, as she saw Brandon waving to them. Behind him, Briar had buried her head in his back.
“This way!”, he yelled, pointing down the street he was standing on. “I can see the gates!” As fast as they could, Ellena and Ando rushed towards him. It was there that she noticed something. It was a cracking sound, coming from the burning house to her right. Narrowly, she managed to reach for Ando's hand, as she pulled him back to their side of the street. Just a second later, the roof came down, causing the building to collapse and covering the entire alleyway in fire.
“Ser!”, Ando screamed, as fire flared up highly. For a moment, Ellena paused, her sore eyes widened with horror, before Brandon's voice sounded from the street beyond the burning alleyway. “I'm fine!”, he yelled. “We're fine!”
A sigh of relief left Ando's throat. “We're cut off. Ser, stay where you are, we'll find another way to get through to you!”, he replied. Through the fire, his voice was barely audible. “Negative, soldier”, Brandon's reply came. “It's getting too dangerous here. I have to get Briar to safety. We'll meet up outside of the city”
Ando paused for a second, as he regained his thin breath, looking at his leader through the flames. “Understood, Ser”, he said. “If... If I don't make it, please, get the girl somewhere safe” Brandon hesitated to answer and waited even longer. Finally, his words came, though they where but a whisper in the increasingly louder inferno. “I will, Ando”, he said. “May the gods be with you”
With a sigh, Ando turned away from the burning alleyway that cut them off from Brandon and Briar. “Come on”, he managed to say in a friendly tone, even though he had to be affected by smoke and heat just as much as Ellena, who stumbled next to him nearly blinded. “We'll find another way around”
The two made their way through the inferno again, which was slowly starting to consume the buildings on both sides of the street. At the very end of it though, through layers of smoke, Ellena was able to see undamaged houses. The fire hadn't spread that far. They could still make it. She and Ando exchanged a nod. Then, they started to run.
The next moments were a blur, as Ellena left the smoke earlier than Ando. She instantly fell onto her knees as she was able to breath fresh air. Her coughs grew harder, until she fell onto her side, desperately trying to regain her breath. Ando stumbled out of the smoke a second afterwards. He remained standing, though the relief on his face was just as much as hers.
He looked up, enjoyed the cold breeze on his face, as he smiled at her. She smiled back and for the moment, she was just happy that she has survived. “Come on”, he said as he lowered his hand to help her up. “Let's go find Brandon” Just as he helped her up, he narrowed his eyes, looking at something behind her.
“What the...”, he mumbled and suddenly, a smile formed on his face. “Hey, it's Abbas!” He waved at the Ghiscari who had just walked around a corner. While he was obviously happy to see the man, Ellena tensed up. She noticed the expression on his face. It was exactly the look she had seen in him before, the reason she never liked him.
“Abbas, where have you been?”, Ando asked, as he approached the Ghiscari. Ellena remained behind. Abbas gave him a dark look. “I took care of... business”, he mumbled. In this moment, Bakr walked around the corner an Ellena took a deep breath as she noticed that he was carrying two unconscious, dark-haired women over his shoulders.
Ando's eyes widened. “What is that about?”, he asked. “Abbas, who are these women?” Abbas sighed. “Ando, just turn around and go”, he growled. “Find your wolf again, leave this city. But don't get in my way. This does not concern you”
“I believe it does”, Ando replied sternly. “Tell me what this is about” He clenched his fists as Abbas glanced at his partner and the women he had capture. Enslaved. The word flashed through Ellena's mind. He was a slaver. It's what he did. She had always expected his nature to shine through eventually and it seemed the day had come at last.
“Ando, step away from him”, she hissed an Abbas glared past the young Northerner. “The girl is with you”, he said calmly. “She has always been a smart one. A loudmouth, but smart” He paused. “Valuable”, he added. “Last chance, Ando. Both of you, get out of my way. This doesn't concern you. And nobody will stop me today”
Instead of answering, Ando's hand moved to the hilt of his sword. This was all the reason Abbas needed. Ellena had expected it, but Ando clearly didn't, as he didn't even manage to draw his sword before Abbas put a knife straight through his throat. “You should have minded your own business”, Abbas hissed.
Ellena did not wait for him to make his move. She knew what would come next. She turned around to the street behind her, just as Abbas removed the blade from Ando's open throat. “Abbas, what are you doing?”, Bakr asked in surprise, as the Ghiscari started to move. “Stay where you are, Bakr!”, Abbas yelled. “I'll find us a little something to compensate for our losses here!”
And so, Ellena started to run, as he dashed after her. In one moment, she noticed three options to escape. Farther down the street maybe, past the burning buildings and hopefully into some safe alleyway. If he wasn't faster than her, of course. Or maybe, as much as she hated it, the smoke-filled street she had come from would be the better idea. He wouldn't see her. It would be as dangerous for him as it was for her. Or maybe, just maybe, the most daring option of them all. Turning around, dashing past him in a move he wouldn't expect. He wouldn't expect it, right?
[Continue running down the street] [Run back into the smoke-filled street] [Turn around and run past Abbas]
Well,this is a development that I don't expect!
About the choice:
[Run back into the smoke-filled street] It seems to me the only option where Abbas will for sure stop to follow Ellena (I doubt that the slaver will risk his life expecially now that he can have his revenge against Janae) while in the other choices Abbas will probably capture Ellena (expecially in the third one,I already see Abbas smiling face when Ellena try run past a man that is at least the double of her size)
PS:I add that the main reason because I don't want Ellena to be captured is because we already had an entire chapter with her as a prisoner and I would like something different for that character
RT:
Hehe, that was something I have planned almost from the very beginning of the story, that a detail in Abbas' backstory (the death of his father), is going to be connected to a detail in Janae's backstory (escaped slave) and that I will reveal it towards the end of Book 1. It just fit too perfectly to miss the opportunity. And I am glad that it came as such a surprise. After all, neither character really had their backstory explored so far.
Indeed. I tried to build Abbas and Bakr up as more or less well-meaning or at least harmless, to make it a stronger contrast when Abbas just seriously snaps and starts to act like the slaver he is. He might be relatively affable. He might be willing to do good things for coin. But at heart he is a guy who enslaves people and it takes a very particular type of person for that. Bakr is a little bit different there, but more about that in Book 2. And you are right, Essos will receive some heavy focus in Book 2 and this storyline holds some potential there.
No arguing there, he was
A genuinely kind and heroic guy, with little to no bad sides and loyal to the end. However, the problem with him was that he lacked an agenda, which kind of limited his potential for character growth, so I decided to ultimately kill him there, to show that Abbas really means business. I already expanded on him a bit more, compared to his more or less short character submission, so I am all in all happy that he became at least a character the readers recognized.
Well, I can promise that we will see more of them. For now, they have escaped the city and Brandon is very much going to stay true to his word and make sure that nothing will happen to Briar. However, it will take me a few weeks until I can show them again, in a part I consider to be really important. Stay tuned there, you definitely haven't seen the last of them!
[Turn around and run past Abbas] I actually want to get Ellena captured. It would certainly be interesting to see some more POVs in Essos. I can't say I am all too upset about Abbas and Bakr. They were always slavers, but besides that they are likable guys. Shame what happened to Ando though. Some times being the good guy isn't always a good thing. I really liked how you connected Janae and Abbas' backstories. And I was right as for the fact that Janae was going to get separated from John, though it was neither becoming a salt wife or Second Son prisoner. But I have to say that I like this way much better. I am very excited to see what the overarching story arch in Essos turns out to be. As for Brandon, to say that I am excited to see what's next with him would be a severe understatement.
I can at least reveal that your wish about more PoV's in Essos is going to be fulfilled pretty heavily. Wether or not Ellena will be one of them remains to be seen. But regardless, I have several PoV's planned for the different regions of Essos. The major focus will still be on Westeros, but several key locations of Essos will play a major role in Book 2 and Book 3 as well.
Well, I indeed tried to make them more or less likable in the past chapters, which wasn't too hard, especially with Bakr, so that it would come as a bigger contrast once Abbas actually decides to do something unambiguously villainous. At the end of the day, Abbas is very good at being affable, which often makes people forget that this guy ruins lives for a living.
Indeed, that's the thing. Sometimes, being the good guy even causes problems, like in this part. Abbas gave Ando the chance to leave, but of course Ando wasn't going to do that, not when Abbas was obviously about to enslave two women. At the same time, him being such a good guy prevented him from attacking first. They both hesitated a bit, but Abbas hesitated far less, which gave him an easy victory.
You were indeed right with this! I hope this explains how she can get a storyline of her own without the need for John to die. This upcoming storyline for her will be very personal, way more than her becoming a salt wife or a Second Son prisoner and I am really excited to write it down. She is very much going to be a central character in the upcoming Essos storyline.
Haha, I am happy to hear this! I believe you will be quite satisfied with what's in store for him
[Run back into the smoke-filled street]
As soon as you made Janae a POV, I wondered if she might be our link to Essos. Turns out I was correct.
And poor Ando, he was way too nice.
[Turn around and run past Abbas]
I wonder where these regions will be. I think it is safe to assume that we'll be seeing the Slaver's Bay, and Braavos is another safe guess. It would be pretty cool to go to Qarth or some of the less talked about free cities like Lys and Tyrosh.
I cannot really be upset. They were raised in a society that molded them into this. Sure in Westeros culture, what they do is villanious, but in Essos, it is just an grey aspect of life.
It is definitely difficult to kill someone you've grown used too. I'm just trying to imagine Brandon's realization that he is the last one of his soldiers. If Kersea and Briar decide there done with the adventurer's life, then Brandon will be left on his lonesome to do whatever his mission down in the south was. And Abbas and Bakr are going to have a ruough time getting out the city I believe. Unless there are some smaller exits that they can go through, they will have to go pass either Leonard or the raiders holding the gate.
I like this version much better. We get to see all sorts of tension between Janae and Abbas. Plus we get to go hang out in Essos. Much more character development than just being some prisoner. Now we get to go back to her roots in Essos.
I have actually announced them some time ago. Slaver's Bay is a safe bet indeed, but probably surprisingly, I have no intention of showing Braavos. Instead, the story will focus on at least one of the lesser featured Free Cities (Lys, to be precise) as well as Volantis. I have also planned something for Qarth. Anything else that might happen is still up for planning, but I can confirm these four locations for Book 2, with the possibility that they won't remain the only ones.
Well, sure, from that perspective you've got a point. And as far as slavers go, Abbas and Bakr are indeed relatively civil. I mean, compare them to that guy that captured Tyrion and Jorah in Season 5, or to some of the more cruel masters. It's safe to say that we'll see some of these individuals in Book 2 as well. However, from the perspective of many characters in Book 2, most importantly Janae of course, Abbas is still going to be an antagonist. Since she genuinely did something to justify his anger (killing his father, even if it was a mixture of self-defense and her trying to gain her freedom), I have plans for this storyline to hold some pretty ambiguous moments.
Indeed, things will be rough on Brandon. His sellsword group was always relatively small, but now they are all gone and he has to start all over again. It remains to be seen what he's going to do, although Chapter 9 should give you a good idea on this. As for Abbas and Bakr, I'm sure they'll have a way to leave the city. Actually, the eastern gate, the one Torvin and his men took, is currently not controlled by anyone. After all, the Second Sons are in the city, there's no reason to control that thing anymore, as the city guard has to retreat to hold at least some key parts of Raylansfair. Brandon and Briar can walk right through it, so the same will likely apply to Abbas and Bakr.
Good to hear it! I believe it should be a very interesting story, especially in the very complicated relationship between Janae and Abbas. We'll learn a lot more on their backstories in the coming chapters and so far, it's basically just all been build-up for the things to come in Book 2.
Well, well, this is certainly an interesting twist. These parts were a very effective reminder that, despite temporarily working with the protagonists, Abbas and Bakr are still slavers - and at least Abbas also a very relentless one at that. I'm quite hyped to see the story spread to Essos though, and it seems Janae will have a very interesting storyline ahead of her.
[Run back into the smoke-filled street] However, I'd rather not have Ellena enslaved, and I think this is the most likely option for her to get away from Abbas' dirty hands. Also rip Ando
Oh, I also assume that this new storyline of Janae will finally show that third slaver that was submitted ages ago... Ai'sha al-Meereeni?
Ah, then you've indeed been right, good job! Janae will be the link to Essos and a very central character in the plot I have planned there. However, there is the good possibility that she won't be the first PoV we're going to see in Essos, due to the way I have planned that storyline to play out. As a result of the relatively large number of characters I have received for Essos, I will need more PoV's there to give all of them a proper role, so I have planned to include more storylines than simply Janae's and not everyone of them will be related to her.
It's true and this is an important observation. The other characters never quite trusted them and this part showed that they were justified with their mistrust towards them. They can be friendly and are capable of helping the good guys, either for money or to repay earlier debts, but they are still primarily slavers and Book 2 should show a lot more about them in this role. I can confirm that Janae's storyline should be a very interesting one, one of several I look forward for in Book 2. Come to think of it, a lot of storylines should really step up in Book 2.
Indeed, Ai'sha is going to be featured in that storyline. The guy who submitted her is the same who submitted Abbas and Bakr, but I have already introduced and established them before he submitted her, so I have decided that she remained in Slaver's Bay while her business partners have travelled to Westeros for their deal with the Burned Man. Once the story actually reaches Slaver's Bay, she is going to appear for sure.
[Run back into the smoke-filled street]
Ando too? ARGH!!!! And now Janae is in serious danger. This story's gonna end up killing me. Next Edrick's group will probably be nuked.
[Run back into the smoke-filled street] Let's hope Ellena isn't captured again! This is risky, but it's her best chance.
I'm sorry! It really seems like I kill off/endanger an unproportionally high part of your favourite characters in this chapter and it was something I haven't planned at all. Perhaps to counterbalance this, I should clarify that it is highly unlikely I am going to literally nuke Edrick's group. There'll be danger, there'll be loss, but no one intends to drop a nuke on them
And since I don't want to kill you, I can also confirm that it is very unlikely that I am going to end up killing all of your favourites. Considering how much I dislike killing off characters in general, many of them should be able to survive. It's really unfortunate with Ando, though I feel like I did what I could with a relatively limited character.
[Run back into the smoke-filled street]