Well damn, you do bring up a lot of good points. I'll also feel bad if I didn't change my vote at this point considering how much you just t… moreyped to me in order to change my opinion. I must say, regardless of that, I think I'll change it. I still think Leonard's plan has a good chance of being successful and as I stated before, I'm starting to like Jenna a lot and if you are correct, this may even shape her into even higher on my favorites list. I'm still somewhat neutral on who should be on Team Targ, etc. So I'll reward you with a successful argument
Oh man I am so grateful you let me show you my argument. Do you vote in any other stories because I can help you get an extra vote? And if you have one of your own just tell me where to look and you got yourself a reader .
Edit: Wait I just checked your profile and you do have a story Walking Dead A New Life Right? Definitely joining as a reader, ill even make a character if you want .
Well damn, you do bring up a lot of good points. I'll also feel bad if I didn't change my vote at this point considering how much you just t… moreyped to me in order to change my opinion. I must say, regardless of that, I think I'll change it. I still think Leonard's plan has a good chance of being successful and as I stated before, I'm starting to like Jenna a lot and if you are correct, this may even shape her into even higher on my favorites list. I'm still somewhat neutral on who should be on Team Targ, etc. So I'll reward you with a successful argument
Sorry bouden but from what you write I understand that, for you, Jenna should be now a faithful follower of the Targaryen just because she help Saerya?You write like Saerya = an entire nation (when she is "just" a spy).
Obviously I don't want to tell you that she should be loyal to her kingdom (she is just a servant,not a knight or a lord) but I doubt that Jenna could be a loyal follower of a kingdom that she barely knows expecially when the King of it have in mind to conquer her homeland (where lives all her friends and her father) and if there is the chance even destroy the army of the Reach (and her own brothers since they are part of it)
What exactly has the Reach done for Jenna? Send her brothers off to a war where they may never return? Fail to capture the serial killer who… more tried to kill her and her father?Make her witness more death than a girl her age should ever see? And who has been the single good influence on her life so far, save for the last words of Ilhan? Yeah, Saerya is the one that has made her more comfortable with herself. Gave her a sense of courage that she never had. Helped her survive the Ironborn raid. With everything Team Targ has given her, is it really a bad thing if she helps them in their endeavors? Out of every other faction who is trying to conquer Westeros, Team Targ seems like one of the better choices.
Also, good to see jerk Leonard back, I missed yah baby.
Aye, that was something I was glad to show in this part, this distrustful, slightly jerkish side of Leonard. He and Lucas have grown beyond that with their bond, but he and Jenna don't have such a bond and it felt natural to have him distrust her intentions, especially as he finds it so hard to believe that she really does this out of a simple desire to help, something he surely has a hard time understanding. I can promise that you'll see him at his absolute jerkiest in the near future and not even without reason. It'll be fun
[Support Leonard]
I will support Leonard's plan just because it's Leonard's plan, and well, it makes sense. As much as I don't want his b… moreeauty to be tarnished by hideous corpses. Also, good to see jerk Leonard back, I missed yah baby. Also Jenna, that lying liar, good thing fooling the idiotic Ser Hugo Farnham.
Hugo was the first to see, her while Leonard glanced over his shoulder. He recognized her and a frown formed on his face.
His annoying Jenna meter went off the charts.
Well, that is not entirely unlikely. Kersea is at Richard's right now and she, Richard and Jenna are all targets of Wolfius. However, Wolfius is very much the problem here. Lyria managed to heavily wound him, it has basically been merely a day since she broke his skull and he will need a long time to recover from that. Sure, his beast might roam in the meantime, but there might be other things he has to put his attention onto. Arthur meanwhile, well, he has a lot more to do right now, whereas Ryler... would surely be in the realms of possible.
Uh, double post, so here's a thought:
If Lenny manages to escape yet again to the farm and meets the iffy Kerocean (see what I did there?… more ) with Richie chilling, ol Wolfy Woody is going to pay a visit and it ain't going to be pretty. Maybe Artie and Rylie are going to show up and it's going to be a real party.
Oh man I am so grateful you let me show you my argument. Do you vote in any other stories because I can help you get an extra vote? And if y… moreou have one of your own just tell me where to look and you got yourself a reader .
Edit: Wait I just checked your profile and you do have a story Walking Dead A New Life Right? Definitely joining as a reader, ill even make a character if you want .
Yeah Jenna really has changed and I'm pretty sure she might change more depending on choices. Who knows she might become overconfident and highly skilled when this all ends. Though I would argue that Alysanne went through a bigger change. I mean she is dead now............I'm very sorry.
Jenna being overconfident? Oh, that would take years. Trust me, with how many years her confidence has been utterly pushed down and ruined, it would take her years to get there. She is just starting to get some confidence at all and it's not even clear if the damage she suffered can be fully reversed, given that she spent the most important years of her development as a meek pushover. But it's getting better, slowly.
Hmm so Team Targ just has to reveal itself as openly as possible without alerting Harren, the Anturions or anyone who wants to remain independent? That seems like it would be very, very hard.
Yeah, to do that, they basically have to launch a continent-wide war in which they start as underdogs, but quickly gain in power due to the massive threat their dragons pose, considering those things can literally destroy whole armies. Hmmm, I am sure this will be very hard, as well as highly unlikely. I mean, who'd actually do that?
So Searya is willing to basically throw out all her self worth, values and overall personality for victory? Those Targaryens really do know how to pick them. And even after everything she's done I can at least respect the fact that Sheryll isn't willing to truly become something she loathes for power, even though if she did everyone would probably be better of.
I... I don't even... I feel like you either completely missed my point, or you want to miss it I just said that Saerya is not willing to do whatever it takes to ensure victory, at least as long as the stakes aren't as high as the complete and guaranteed Targaryen victory. Raylansfair for example is merely a tiny battleground in this war, insignificant in the larger sense of things. She has the potential to be like Sherryl, but only if she feels it is worth it, whereas Sherryl is, well, always like Sherryl. I am curious though why you respect Sherryl, because what I meant to say with this was that this thing she loathes is the fact that Saerya still has some morals that limit her. Sherryl might fake these morals, quite convincingly so, if it helps her, but she cannot truly have them, whereas Saerya has shown even selfless behaviour in the past, or regret for things like her having to manipulate Federico. Trust me, there is nothing to respect about Sherryl's attitude. What I'm aiming for with them is a bit of a Littlefinger/Varys thing, with Saerya being Varys and Sherryl being Littlefinger. Both have similarities, both are far from heroic, but one of them is at least not without principles.
You know I'm really interested to see how these changes affect her relationship with her loved ones back home. I mean she will probably view them the same as she always has but her new outlook might change how she begins to act and what she's willing to accept in court.
Oh yes, Argella noticed one important thing here. This mission to Raylansfair was authorized by her father and he was most likely aware of Tariel's and Sherryl's manipulation, though he thought it would be in his favour. Men of the Stormlands died and Argella is seriously disappointed in Argilac for putting them at risk for a lie.
I think we all feel that way. Its sad to see those guys go, but they will always be there for us to re-read and enjoy again. And also we still have like 4-5 more years filled with new characters to love, hate and feel conflicted about. So overall I'm sad their gone but I'm sure others will fill that place in your chapters soon enough. In fact I'm convinced that some already do.
Yeah, that is something I hope for. Then again, these deaths hurt so much after 1-2 years of writing about them. Some of the current characters will make it all the way to the end of Book 2, others will die in Book 3, meaning that it will be way harder to write about some future deaths, because there are some I am already growing seriously attached to. Ah, I might even have to reconsider some of them.
So basically we just saw a massive massacre take place. Jeez, by those numbers Raylandsfair might become a ghost town soon.
Well, this raid was surely devastating. About a fifth of the whole population was massacred, almost everyone has lost friends or loved ones in this battle. At the same time, Mullendore and Petyr have brought four hundred soldiers who will be stationed there if everything goes according to their plan, meaning that Raylansfair will be repopulated and it will be stronger than ever with their army to guard it.
Yeah the sto.....I mean the Sadie......I mean Sadie lost the most. I'm pretty sure a life of pain is worst than death.
Ah, I am not sure about this in general. In Sadie's case for example, I am willing to believe that this doesn't necessarily have to be true. Sure enough, she is going to think that way for a serious while, but it doesn't have to stay that way. Of course, how much she actually manages to recover will probably be affected by your choices.
Mine are "Wow we actually got here. I'm really proud of you Liquid ". I'll treat that as a prophecy. 'The best is yet to come, in more than one way' The excitement Is real!!!
Well, I never doubted I'd reach the end of Book 1 and with it being so close now, it makes me seriously excited. I just never thought it would take me so long. But, be assured that things will only get better from here. More massive in general, more epic and I am so incredibly hyped for the things to come. I can, with conviction, promise that Book 2 will surpass Book 1 in every aspect. Book 3, I don't know, it's still far, but I hope to make it no worse than what comes before.
Yeah Jenna really has changed and I'm pretty sure she might change more depending on choices. Who knows she might become overconfident and h… moreighly skilled when this all ends. Though I would argue that Alysanne went through a bigger change. I mean she is dead now............I'm very sorry.
Hmm so Team Targ just has to reveal itself as openly as possible without alerting Harren, the Anturions or anyone who wants to remain independent? That seems like it would be very, very hard.
So Searya is willing to basically throw out all her self worth, values and overall personality for victory? Those Targaryens really do know how to pick them. And even after everything she's done I can at least respect the fact that Sheryll isn't willing to truly become something she loathes for power, even though if she did everyone would probably be better of.
You know I'm really interested to see how these changes affect her relationship with her loved ones ba… [view original content]
I run another story called Multivese Prime. You can definitely join the readership if you want and I would be very greatful, but if you want to make a character PM me first since the rules for making them have changed.
Sorry for not responding until now, I fell asleep last night but no problem! You did give a great argument.
I vote on a few others, I've… more been wanting to join another story in particular but I haven't gotten the time to create a character yet.
Yes, I do write that feel free to submit a character! Thanks for joining, do you write any stories?
Yeah very, very crazy. It would be delusional for anyone to even consider that as a plausible scenario.
Ok, yeah I might have going a bit anti Sheryll here because of my theory that she is slowly trying to brainwash Jenna by manipulating her insecurities. I still think she's a good person, just one that is willing to justify herself. And please don't misunderstand me at all dislike Sheryll as a person completely, evil, manipulative, power obsessed and using people as objects she can just discard at any moment. But what I is that I respect the fact that regardless of whether her back against the wall she would still keep being herself. Of course that implies that she's egotistical, prideful and by definition irredeemable but..............I don't know I guess that I was trying to paint Saerya as the worst here but my argument ended up being, 'Yes Saerya is evil because there is a scenario in which she would be willing to lose her moral. This worse than Sheryll who under no circumstance would ever become a better person'..................So yeah very clearly having a biased against Saerya here. I'm happy I realize this and disagree with my very week argument here. If I hadn't this would have been one of my theories cores and that would have seriously killed it. Also I knew there was an order chaos thing here. Great job with that, Its the main reason I called them polar opposites. So to summarize Sheryl is not respectable at all and infact your confirmation makes her irredeemable which makes her worse. Saerya is a good person, I still stick to my thoughts on what she's doing with Jenna, but I feel like my subconscious attempt to vilanize her here was a very incorrect one.
Oh dear, this and the Orys thing. She might start to question her father on everything. And since he's not really the most moral guy....this is going to be bad.
Still jeez the battle killed an enormous amount of people. It will be hard to recover. Also: At the same time, Mullendore and Petyr have brought four hundred soldiers who will be stationed there if everything goes according to their plan, meaning that Raylansfair will be repopulated and it will be stronger than ever with their army to guard it. You know the first though that crossed my mind is Mullendore giving a speech to the soldiers about reproducing with the Raylandsfarians. "Men I know several of you have wives back home, but when a man loves his general and is willing to give anything for the cause...."
I still have hope for Sadie too, but it will be hard for her to build herself back up.
Hype! Serously you can't be serious. Booke 2 better than Book 1. I expected them to be equal but for the next one to....no impossible. There is no way it can get better......but i want to believe it can!!!!!! So excited for it to arrive !!!!!
Yeah Jenna really has changed and I'm pretty sure she might change more depending on choices. Who knows she might become overconfident and h… moreighly skilled when this all ends. Though I would argue that Alysanne went through a bigger change. I mean she is dead now............I'm very sorry.
Jenna being overconfident? Oh, that would take years. Trust me, with how many years her confidence has been utterly pushed down and ruined, it would take her years to get there. She is just starting to get some confidence at all and it's not even clear if the damage she suffered can be fully reversed, given that she spent the most important years of her development as a meek pushover. But it's getting better, slowly.
Hmm so Team Targ just has to reveal itself as openly as possible without alerting Harren, the Anturions or anyone who wants to remain independent? That seems like it would be very, very hard.
Yeah, to do that, they basically… [view original content]
Yeah Jenna really has changed and I'm pretty sure she might change more depending on choices. Who knows she might become overconfident and h… moreighly skilled when this all ends. Though I would argue that Alysanne went through a bigger change. I mean she is dead now............I'm very sorry.
Jenna being overconfident? Oh, that would take years. Trust me, with how many years her confidence has been utterly pushed down and ruined, it would take her years to get there. She is just starting to get some confidence at all and it's not even clear if the damage she suffered can be fully reversed, given that she spent the most important years of her development as a meek pushover. But it's getting better, slowly.
Hmm so Team Targ just has to reveal itself as openly as possible without alerting Harren, the Anturions or anyone who wants to remain independent? That seems like it would be very, very hard.
Yeah, to do that, they basically… [view original content]
Yes thank you, thank you.
I run another story called Multivese Prime. You can definitely join the readership if you want and I would be very greatful, but if you want to make a character PM me first since the rules for making them have changed.
Federico Snow..... that guard she has sex with for fun and because it gives her an inside man?..............Poor Federico. Nobody cares enough to remember him.
Federico Snow..... that guard she has sex with for fun and because it gives her an inside man?..............Poor Federico. Nobody cares enough to remember him.
Lol. Really? I though it was just his very role that made him forgettable to people. I can at least get that but his name is actually pretty unique. Very few characters name end with 'co' which should make him easy to differentiate. If anything its letter 'Aly' characters that I think people would confuse the most Alyssa, Alyssane, Alys... I'm sure someone has by this point.
Lol. Really? I though it was just his very role that made him forgettable to people. I can at least get that but his name is actually pretty… more unique. Very few characters name end with 'co' which should make him easy to differentiate. If anything its letter 'Aly' characters that I think people would confuse the most Alyssa, Alyssane, Alys... I'm sure someone has by this point.
You can if you try. Just insist Federico is worse or agree and start bashing the confusion I pointed out. "Don't even get me started on Alysanta or whatever"
Haha I jest, but the joke about Flavorous Snow is that no one actually can remember what exactly Fergalicous' name is, so people kinda have to just guess what Fozzie's name is. Usually it's close enough for the point to be understood.
You can if you try. Just insist Federico is worse or agree and start bashing the confusion I pointed out. "Don't even get me started on Alysanta or whatever"
Haha I jest, but the joke about Flavorous Snow is that no one actually can remember what exactly Fergalicous' name is, so people kinda have to just guess what Fozzie's name is. Usually it's close enough for the point to be understood.
Saerya is a good person, I still stick to my thoughts on what she's doing with Jenna, but I feel like my subconscious attempt to vilanize her here was a very incorrect one.
Well, I wouldn't quite call her a good person. Saerya has her flaws and some things she isn't even too bothered by which mark her as anything but a truly good person. However, neither is she all that horrible. I believe show-Varys is indeed a good comparison, a pleasant, well-intentioned and for the most part benign person who just happens to have an important goal they find themselves forced to value over conventional morals at times. So, this means while you might have been a bit too harsh on her, there is certainly stuff you can see as reason to mistrust her in certain occasions and questions. The one thing that is sure about her is that she is absolutely loyal to House Targaryen, for the better or the worse.
Oh dear, this and the Orys thing. She might start to question her father on everything. And since he's not really the most moral guy....this is going to be bad.
Well, the thing is that Argella has absolutely nothing to fear from her father and she knows it. As his only living child, she can be certain of his love. She never truly questioned him before, but she is certainly terribly disappointed in him now, which is more a problem for Argilac than it is a problem for her. Morality or not, the man loves his daughter more than anything and this situation as it is will be hard for both of them, especially as it is so clearly his fault.
You know the first though that crossed my mind is Mullendore giving a speech to the soldiers about reproducing with the Raylandsfarians. "Men I know several of you have wives back home, but when a man loves his general and is willing to give anything for the cause...."
Hehe, this is an idea Mullendore himself is actually rather opposed to. His goals are certainly larger than Raylansfair and I doubt he will be pleased if his men start to care for the city and its inhabitants a bit too much
I still have hope for Sadie too, but it will be hard for her to build herself back up.
Well, take Jaime Lannister as someone who suffered a similar wound and lost arguably even more through it. He recovered just fine. The problem there is really Sadie's mental well-being and that is going to be affected by your choices. Depending on them, she can potentially turn into a much different character into either direction.
Hype! Serously you can't be serious. Booke 2 better than Book 1. I expected them to be equal but for the next one to....no impossible. There is no way it can get better......but i want to believe it can!!!!!! So excited for it to arrive !!!!!
Trust me, I am absolutely serious. Book 2 is, at least in the way I have planned it to be, going to be better than Book 1. I don't doubt that there will be some lesser exciting scenes as well, but the highlights will be more numerous and exciting than most of the stuff in Book 1. Consider Book 1 the build-up book compared to the things to come and you're having an idea what I am aiming at.
Oh, one can hope and dream at least.
Yeah very, very crazy. It would be delusional for anyone to even consider that as a plausible scenar… moreio.
Ok, yeah I might have going a bit anti Sheryll here because of my theory that she is slowly trying to brainwash Jenna by manipulating her insecurities. I still think she's a good person, just one that is willing to justify herself. And please don't misunderstand me at all dislike Sheryll as a person completely, evil, manipulative, power obsessed and using people as objects she can just discard at any moment. But what I is that I respect the fact that regardless of whether her back against the wall she would still keep being herself. Of course that implies that she's egotistical, prideful and by definition irredeemable but..............I don't know I guess that I was trying to paint Saerya as the worst here but my argument ended up being, 'Yes Saerya is evil because there is a scenario in which she … [view original content]
Ah, apologies, my mistake. It never happened before that I wrote his name wrong, so I really cannot explain why I made such a stark mistake. Of course I mean Fishandchips Snow, the guard, one of the most central characters in Book 1 and the most heartbreaking death of the raid.
I agree mostly on Saerya I went into the rest of my thoughts in the pm I sent you.
What I meant is that she might start questioning everything her father does and has done now. Now that her perfect father was wrong he can always be wrong. Maybe those stories she was told about his servant girls were true. Maybe he is too brutal. She will just keep questioning and questioning, and this will not end well for her or him. I imagine her being very disappointed and probably disgusted in the end.
So then its Petyr who will order his men to have tons of extramarital sense.
So she might go crazy? Or are you saying its between becoming evil or deciding to try to be herself again.
The I am so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Saerya is a good person, I still stick to my thoughts on what she's doing with Jenna, but I feel like my subconscious attempt to vilanize he… morer here was a very incorrect one.
Well, I wouldn't quite call her a good person. Saerya has her flaws and some things she isn't even too bothered by which mark her as anything but a truly good person. However, neither is she all that horrible. I believe show-Varys is indeed a good comparison, a pleasant, well-intentioned and for the most part benign person who just happens to have an important goal they find themselves forced to value over conventional morals at times. So, this means while you might have been a bit too harsh on her, there is certainly stuff you can see as reason to mistrust her in certain occasions and questions. The one thing that is sure about her is that she is absolutely loyal to House Targaryen, for the better or the worse.
Oh dear, this and the Orys thing. She might sta… [view original content]
What I meant is that she might start questioning everything her father does and has done now. Now that her perfect father was wrong he can always be wrong. Maybe those stories she was told about his servant girls were true. Maybe he is too brutal. She will just keep questioning and questioning, and this will not end well for her or him. I imagine her being very disappointed and probably disgusted in the end.
Ah, yeah. Yeah, she is already doing that a bit. It occurs to her that she has put her father onto a pedestal and this is truly the first time she is ever angry and disappointed at him. At the same time, what Argilac did might have been wrong, but she even understands his reasons. She is his daughter after all and her character has been heavily shaped by him, meaning that their views on a number of topics align nicely. But yeah, this is a new situation she finds herself in, with the trust in her father's infallibility being heavily damaged.
So then its Petyr who will order his men to have tons of extramarital sense.
Well, Petyr is most likely involved in every scheme of Mullendore, so he is not likely to have a different opinion there. At the same time, he is a very different character compared to Mullendore, so his views could, in theory, differ.
So she might go crazy? Or are you saying its between becoming evil or deciding to try to be herself again.
Nah, probably not evil or anything like that, losing a hand won't do that to her, but she could very much change her general outlook on things, become bitter or depressed and generally a much darker character without actually turning to evil. See Lucas in Chapter 6 for example. It is natural that she will change, but how much and into which direction will largely be up to you, but there are some developments that are unlikely even in her situation.
I agree mostly on Saerya I went into the rest of my thoughts in the pm I sent you.
What I meant is that she might start questioning every… morething her father does and has done now. Now that her perfect father was wrong he can always be wrong. Maybe those stories she was told about his servant girls were true. Maybe he is too brutal. She will just keep questioning and questioning, and this will not end well for her or him. I imagine her being very disappointed and probably disgusted in the end.
So then its Petyr who will order his men to have tons of extramarital sense.
So she might go crazy? Or are you saying its between becoming evil or deciding to try to be herself again.
The I am so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, I was not aware this would be such a divisive voting But hey, I like that. You all brought up good arguments for either choice and it really could go either way here, so I can see how you have been so nearly evenly divided into two groups. Personally, and without taking my knowledge on how the situation will unfold into account, I would have had a hard time choosing, though I would have probably settled for Saerya. At the same time, Leonard brought up justified concerns about her plan, meaning that there is certainly a reason for supporting him as well from Jenna's perspective. Her voice might not be the most important in the room, but it might just be heard.
The next part should be out later today. It will be a Lucas part, the third for him in the chapter. We haven't seen him in a long while, but that's what happens when I write his second part so quickly after the first one. The last time we saw him was in a brief part, where you haven't even been given a choice. As you remember, he is in a bad situation, being imprisoned by Mullendore and his own brother and exhausted to the point where he hallucinates quite heavily. At the moment, his situation is serious, albeit I cannot say more without spoiling anything. Prepare for his next part, likely to be out in a couple of hours
The Voting is closed!
Jenna is going to support Leonard's plan
Well, I was not aware this would be such a divisive voting But hey, I … morelike that. You all brought up good arguments for either choice and it really could go either way here, so I can see how you have been so nearly evenly divided into two groups. Personally, and without taking my knowledge on how the situation will unfold into account, I would have had a hard time choosing, though I would have probably settled for Saerya. At the same time, Leonard brought up justified concerns about her plan, meaning that there is certainly a reason for supporting him as well from Jenna's perspective. Her voice might not be the most important in the room, but it might just be heard.
The next part should be out later today. It will be a Lucas part, the third for him in the chapter. We haven't seen him in a long while, but that's what happens when I write his second part so quickly after th… [view original content]
I obviously don't complain with the result (since I vote for Leonard plan) and I agree that it's still too soon (and for now unrealistic) speak of Jenna as a mindless Targaryen follower but I don't understand why some of us view this choice as "be a Targaryen ally or not" when it's more "Choose how try to save Leonard ass"
I think that is mostly my fault, which is why I'm apologizing. Basically my theory of Saerya as an evil manipulating brainwasher flipped the perception of the vote from "How to save Leonards ass" to "Jenna accepts or refuses manipulation" mostly as a reaction to Bounden's excitement at the prospect of making Jenna trust Saerya more and eventually become a loyalist spy for the Targs.
I obviously don't complain with the result (since I vote for Leonard plan) and I agree that it's still too soon (and for now unrealistic) … morespeak of Jenna as a mindless Targaryen follower but I don't understand why some of us view this choice as "be a Targaryen ally or not" when it's more "Choose how try to save Leonard ass"
That is actually true. I mean, I can more than understand the reasons to choose Leonard's plan over Saerya's, but at the core, the choice was about which strategy Jenna would prefer when it comes to pursuing that task. That is at least the initial goal. Surely though, this has the potential to affect things beyond that, such as whom she is loyal to. We'll see about it, even if such a small decision is likely going to weigh very small when it comes to the greater picture of Jenna's loyalties. She herself isn't even seeing things that way right now, she really wishes to pick the option that gives her more chance at success and due to the decision, she is going to consider Leonard's approach to be this option. It might have a slightly stronger change in how Saerya and Leonard are going to see her though, respectively. Clearly, Saerya will be a bit bummed, because she genuinely considers Leonard's approach as a high risk, whereas Leonard thinks the same of her offer.
I obviously don't complain with the result (since I vote for Leonard plan) and I agree that it's still too soon (and for now unrealistic) … morespeak of Jenna as a mindless Targaryen follower but I don't understand why some of us view this choice as "be a Targaryen ally or not" when it's more "Choose how try to save Leonard ass"
Apologies for the longer wait. I encountered some problems with this part, which required more intense revising of it, meaning I had to wait until later today to post it, as parts of it have underwent a longer rewrite. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless, despite the longer wait! Also, a little heads up, I will try to close the next voting a bit quicker this time, because I wish to put out two more parts in this week.
Lucas
Lucas wasn't sure how long it was since Mullendore had left. Hours? A day maybe. It was dark, with the only source of light being the tiny window behind him. It was cold and damp and his limbs were aching from being chained to the wall and from the general climate. By now, his whole body felt sore, hurting with every move he made. He was hungry, but even worse was the thirst. They had given him nothing and the way things looked right now, he wasn't even sure if he'd be able to make it to whatever fate his brother and Mullendore has planned for him. Or maybe this was what they wanted. Maybe they had left him to rot.
He would die here. In the brief phases where he drifted off to near sleep, it was the last thing on his mind and the first he had to think of when he snapped back into a state of full consciousness. It wasn't as much a horrifying fear as it was a palpable reality. And though it was still very much something to be afraid of, Lucas found himself oddly far away from a panic.
This was different from Mullendore's dungeons. Even there, in the deepest pit, he had the fleeting hope that someone would come and safe him. But here? How big were the chances of anyone surviving something like this twice? Then again, how big were the chances of this happening to the same guy two times?
At least the shadows left him alone. They were still there, lingering at the corners of his mind, fragments of what once has been, but they remained quiet for now and blissful silence filled the room, only interrupted by brief grunts of discomfort whenever Lucas saw himself forced to change his position. No matter what, the chains did not allow for much room.
There were guards, up in the room atop the stairs. Two, as he had noticed, their distant chatter occasionally reaching his ears. A murmur, rough laughter. Lucas gulped and instantly frowned at how dry his throat felt. He'd die of thirst before they could even put a single blade at him. Might not be the worst thing.
Still, Lucas' general feeling was grim. There was a tiny part of him that refused to just surrender and die in here, a tiny part that was livid with anger. His brother, his own brother had taken everything from him. He conspired with a monster. He murdered their father. And he was about to get away with it.
But what could Lucas do to stop him? He was chained to a wall, with no option but to wait for his death and only dead memories as company. Out of the corner of the one eye Mullendore had left him with, he spotted Harris, silently staring at him. He was not sure if the shadow of the acting lord was looking at him with pity or mockery.
His vision flickered as he yawned and Harris faded, replaced by Argella. The look on her face was disappointment and true enough, why shouldn't she be disappointed? What had he done to stay true to his oath. What honour had he brought her? Now he would die, so closely after he even took this oath. He would fail her, just like he had always failed himself. Argella was only the latest addition to a long list of people he had disappointed. His father, his entire family even, Leonard, Samantha, Argella... Lunett...
Momentarily, anger flared up in Argella's eyes, just as Lucas felt his own anger rising. It felt familiar. He had hoped to have gotten through this, but it felt just like the first few days after he had been freed from Mullendore's dungeon. His life taken away from him and he was powerless to stop those responsible for it. And here he was, seething with anger.
“You might be my only hope”, he mumbled towards the vision of Argella. It was a fleeting hope, that this princess he barely knew would somehow save him. Not something he should trust in. Samantha surely wouldn't risk her life for him again. And Leonard... he would try, but Lucas hoped with all his heart that his friend would not waste his life as well. If he was still alive even...
Then, a new noise sounded from above. The door to the courtyard got opened and Lucas looked up. Argella faded and the shadows flickered to the corners of his view, as he blinked. Someone was talking. One of his guards, as he realized. A man growled something in a low tone and from the quick way he was speaking, it was clear that he was agitated. “... can't...”, the guard said, slightly louder.
What followed was a loud, thumping sound. Steel was drawn, though another thump, followed by yet another echoed down the stairs and Lucas tensed up whatever was happening up there, it was not as he expected. This newcomer might not be whom he had thought would appear.
The door down to the cells got opened and Lucas heard heavy breathing, followed by a deep sigh. Then, someone heavily dragged themselves down the stairs. It didn't take long until Lucas saw a figure. He sighed as he recognized the man. “Aylard”, he said. “Aylard Kawl”
The innkeeper wasn't looking good. He clearly hadn't gotten much sleep in the past few days and Lucas could sympathize on that with him. His beard had gotten more unkempt and though his face was hidden beneath a hood, he could feel those green eyes burning at him with an intensity that caused him to shiver even despite the bars that separated them. He was holding a hammer, not his big warhammer, but a smaller one, one that can be concealed under his wide sleeves.
“Bastard”, he greeted him in return, the glare in his eyes flaring up as he leant against the cell behind him. Lucas' eyes fell upon the bloodstains on the hammer. Aylard noticed his glance and raised an eyebrow. “They will live”, he said. “But they will sleep for a while. Or maybe they'll die, it's not as if I care. They wanted to stop me from seeing you. We had a disagreement over this”
This was it. Lucas thought he would say more, so he stayed silent for longer, while Aylard remained the same. Both men were just staring at each other for what felt like an excruciating minute, although it couldn't have been more than a couple of seconds as Lucas opened his mouth to speak again. “How are things out there?”, he asked. It was such a simple question, yet given what had happened between them, it was anything but normal.
To his surprise, Aylard even answered. “Things are bad”, he admitted calmly. “Those men occupy the city now. There's no one left to stop them. So many died and those that remain had no choice but to submit” His glare grew more tired for a moment, causing him to look a decade older than he truly was. “ I believe you are friends with John and his sellswords. There is something you should know”
Lucas' heart began to beat faster. The way Aylard spoke... if anything had happened to John and the Gutters... “I'lian is dead”, Aylard replied and Lucas tensed up. He had never truly gotten along with I'lian. The dornishman had been too flashy, too lighthearted, too carefree. But he had been a companion, brave and loyal. Lucas felt a mixture of grief, as well as heartfelt pity to Jaro. He had lost a brother too once, though it had been different. His lost brother was still alive. His lost brother had ruined his life.
“And Janae and Behara...”, Aylard said and this time, Lucas heart skipped a beat. No... not them, not them too. His breath started to become more rapidly, as his one eye opened widely. Aylard waited for an excruciating moment before he answered. “They are missing”, he answered and Lucas gulped. “Missing”, he repeated. “Not dead?”
Aylard's glare intensified. “Are you disappointed?”, he barked, though Lucas did not react to the provocation. “What happened to them?”, he growled in return and though his voice had grown more agitated, it also contained a plea. He had to know. Aylard sighed and the momentary viciousness fell off him. “They are missing, as I said”, he answered. “Nobody knows what happened to them, but we haven't found corpses. John and Temari follow a lead. It is important to them. More important than seeing you one last time”
This hurt more than anything Aylard could have said otherwise and more than most things he could have done. John was his friend. Tem was his friend. The revelation that neither of them cared enough to even just visit him... It was almost understandable at the same time, given their situations. Lucas never had a friend as close as John and Janae and though he had two sisters, neither was as close to him as Behara was to Temari.
Of course they wouldn't come. What was there to see either way? A lost knight, a broken knight, a man without a future. He couldn't hold it against them. Weakly, he raised his head again to look at the man he had hurt more than any other living being. “And Leonard?”, he asked. “What happened to him?”
Aylard shrugged. “I don't know”, he revealed. “No one knows. He better prays that I won't stumble upon him. This time, an odd sense of relief flashed through Lucas. “So, he is not captured?”, he asked and Aylard shook his head. “You see anyone but me and you down here?”, he growled. “No, you and I, we're the only ones here. And we will have a talk”
Lucas nodded in a tired, weak way. “You know that the man who occupies the city is the one who murdered Lunett, right?”, he asked. This time, helpless rage flared up Aylard's eyes. “I saw him”, he revealed. “A one-eyed bastard, just like you, but unlike you, he's free and he's parading around the city, with that smug, self-righteous smile of his”
“My brother is with him”, Lucas said and this time, Aylard raised an eyebrow. “And I should care why exactly?”, he asked. Lucas bit down onto his lower lip. “He might be involved in all of this, he answered and Aylar narrowed his eyes. “Was he involved in my daughter's murder?”
Lucas shook his head. “Not as far as I know”, he answered. After hearing this, Aylard's stance calmed down. “Then he is of no concern to me”, he replied. “He is certainly not what I wish to talk about” Lucas gulped, as the innkeeper's glare grew more intense. “So I take it you haven't come just to tell me about the current situation”, he deduced. “Means you came for a reason. For something. What is it you want here?”
Aylard sighed. “That is something I had to ask myself on the way here”, he growled in reply. “Truth be told, I don't know. A part of me wanted to come to gloat at you, at the bastard that took my daughter” There was so much bitterness in his words that Lucas couldn't stand to look him in the eyes for a moment. Lunett... this was something he would regret for the rest of his life, no matter how short it would be.
“Well, gloat then”, he stated in a low, defeated tone. “If it gives you peace” Aylard raised his head and beneath the hood, Lucas saw the hint of tears inside of his eyes. “It won't”, the former innkeeper answered. “Your position gives me neither joy, nor satisfaction, not even gree” He clenched his fists, one around the hammer. “I have thought I might, but now that it has come to this, I realize that I don't. Nothing about your current situation makes me feel a thing”
“Then why?”, Lucas demanded to know. “If you haven't come to gloat, then what is it? Do you wish to make peace with me?” Aylard bit down onto his lower lip, heavily, before he shook his head. “I will never make peace with you, boy”, he said. “No matter what, you had a hand in the events that happened in Oldtown. You took my daughter from me, the most precious thing I ever had in life” Decisively, he shook his head again. “This cannot be forgiven”
Lucas lowered his head, staring at the floor, as he tried to blend out Lunett's screams in his mind, how she suffered in her final moments. All because of him. Because he had been too stupid, too reckless, because he took her with him and failed to protect her. This was his burden, the guilt he felt. And though he felt her absence more terribly than ever now, he knew this was nothing compared to the pain Aylard must feel. The man's voice reflected this. It was hollow and tear-stained, quiet, cold and broken. “A part of me wanted nothing more than to kill you”, he admitted.
“If it is vengeance you seek for, strike me down”, Lucas replied. “Or leave me. Whatever you deem more cruel. If it gives you peace, I will not resist” Aylard looked down at the hammer in his hand and at the bars that separated them. He walked closer, until he almost pressed his body against the bars.
“Vengeance won't change anything”, he said. “That is what my father used to tell me. I grew up believing in his words, but now that I have come to this point, I see that he was wrong. Deep down, I have always known it” An angry glare appeared in his eyes. “Lose a daughter, have her murdered and tell me that vengeance truly does not matter. Tell me it won't change damn thing”, he spat and with a sigh, his glare faded. “It won't bring me back what I have lost, that much is true. No matter what I could do to you, my Lunett remains gone”
Lucas felt tears felling up in his eyes, the good one and the ruined one, the latter of which caused him to frown, as the salt stung in the half-healed wound. Aylard was crying as well, silently weeping, though it didn't distract from the solid anger he was oozing with every word he said and all of his movements, with every glare he shot into Lucas' direction and the grim coldness between them.
“And yet, no matter if it changes something or not, vengeance is all I can think of”, he continued. “I know it won't achieve much. It won't change how I feel, it won't help with my grief. It won't give me back my daughter and all it will do is to cause more pain, more suffering” He shook his head. “But here I am, unable to get this thought out of my head, what I would do to the monster that murdered my daughter” He looked up and his glare grew stronger. “What I will do to him”
“You are going to kill Mullendore?”, Lucas asked. “You are going to try at least?” His voice sounded at least a tiny bit hopeful as he spoke. He had no hope for himself, no, but maybe there still was something for the others, for his friends and for his city. Maybe Maron Mullendore would pay in the very end.
“I am going to take what he loves the most”, Aylard answered. “If this is his life, then yes, I will kill him. He is a dead man. Maybe not today, not tomorrow, but one day he will be weak, one day he will be careless. And then I will be there and I will make him pay”
Lucas gave the man a grim nod. “Good”, he said. “Make him pay for all the lives he stole” Aylard replied with a similar gesture. There was no friendship between the men, but in this moment Lucas felt a deep understanding and he realized that more than any man living, Aylard shared his fate. They both had suffered at the hands of Mullendore, had lost something they would never get back. If anyone could truly understand him, it was Aylard Kawl, as strange as this thought was.
Finally, the innkeeper sighed. “For all of them”, he agreed. “Yours included” He looked at his free hand, opening and closing it. “You had a role in my daughter's death, but seeing you like this, I realize you have paid for it a thousandfold. I do not forgive you, but even you deserved better. I do not seek to do anything to you, not after what he has already done”
“What are you going to do to him?”, Lucas asked and Aylard visibly tensed up. “What he did to you”, he answered. “In the beginning. Then what he did to my little girl” He sighed bitterly. “Which brings me to something I never wanted to ask, something I cannot be quiet about...” He looked up and tears began to well up in his eyes. “What did he do to her? How did she die?”
Lunett's screams still echoed in his ears, as Lucas avoided to look the man in the eyes. For a moment, he was too horrified to even think of an answer, as the memories flooded his mind. Lunett on the ground, Mullendore's knife only inches away from her eyeball. The twisted grin on the false knight's face, her screams growing louder, more panicked, until they culminated in shrieks of agony.
“You don't want to know”, he said tonelessly, which caused Aylard to glare at him. “I wouldn't ask otherwise. I have to”, he answered and Lucas sighed. “Why do you wish to torment yourself with this?”, he asked and for a moment, he got a glimpse of the broken man behind Aylard's anger. “I have to”, he repeated with a hollow voice. “I should have kept an eye on her. I couldn't protect her, not from the world, not from the likes of you. I failed her”
“So, this is your punishment?”, Lucas said and to his surprise, Aylard gave him a defeated nod. “You got what you deserved. More even”, he said. “But I am just as guilty as you are for not protecting her” He looked away, avoiding to look the captured knight in the eyes. “And even beyond that, I won't get a calm minute as long as I don't know how she died”
“Knowing how she died won't change how you feel”, Lucas lied, knowing fully well that it would make the man only feel worse. Aylard sighed and his glare faded. “You are dying here”, he said, without any glee, simply stating a fact. “Whom else could I ask? This knowledge will die with you”
“Perhaps it is for the better”, Lucas answered. “Not everything is meant to be known” This time, Aylard shook his head. “I cannot sleep. It's been days since I got a full night. Ever since you returned and my daughter never did”, he revealed. “I lie awake and all that's running through my mind is how she died. What she felt. If this... monster made her suffer. It is all I can think of when I try to sleep and most of what I think of when I am awake. My daughter has been murdered. You know how she died and I want to hear it. I must”
Lucas sighed, as he contemplated his options. Lunett was there, in the corners of his blurry vision, where thoughts collided with reality. Blood was running down her cheeks, as if she was crying, though she remained silent, staring at him, as if she was expecting his decision. “Are you sure you know what this means?”, Lucas asked.
“The full truth, bastard. Now, no more lies!”, Aylard growled. “I don't need your pity. You didn't have it when you took my daughter, abducted her, and now it is too late for that, you fucking coward. Spare me your fake concern. Just spit it out already!” He started to shiver with anger, with pain. “You think some hurt feelings will be worse than what you already put my family through?”
Still, Lucas hesitated. With other men, he would have given in to their demands, but this was Lunett's father. He wasn't sure if he could do this to him, after all he did already to cause him pain. Perhaps a lie would be in order here, just a partial one, just to spare him some of the details. Or maybe he shouldn't answer at all. Lucas wasn't sure if this would be kinder or outright cruel. He did not wish to put Aylard through further torment, but he was afraid that either option would lead to nothing but tragedy. And who knew how the innkeeper would react to the truth? If anything, his temper had gotten only more volatile in the past days, a development Lucas not only understood, but also shared.
“Tell me!”, Aylard growled, though in this moment, his anger faded, like a wave crashing against rocks, as his free hand grabbed the bars of the cells. His eyes were widely opened and he looked at Lucas with the grief of a father in mourning. “Please”, he just said quietly, almost tonelessly.
[Tell Aylard the full truth][Spare him the details][Refuse to answer]
Apologies for the longer wait. I encountered some problems with this part, which required more intense revising of it, meaning I had to wait… more until later today to post it, as parts of it have underwent a longer rewrite. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless, despite the longer wait! Also, a little heads up, I will try to close the next voting a bit quicker this time, because I wish to put out two more parts in this week.
Lucas
Lucas wasn't sure how long it was since Mullendore had left. Hours? A day maybe. It was dark, with the only source of light being the tiny window behind him. It was cold and damp and his limbs were aching from being chained to the wall and from the general climate. By now, his whole body felt sore, hurting with every move he made. He was hungry, but even worse was the thirst. They had given him nothing and the way things looked right now, he wasn't even sure if he'd be able to make it to whatever fate his brother and M… [view original content]
I appreciate it, though I am not going to close the voting that quickly You'll likely have until late Friday to vote and I hope this is enough time for everyone. Reason behind that is that I might be going on a small semi-spontaneous semi-vacation next week (the actual details are not as pleasant as they sound, but I'll get to that once it is certain if it comes up next week or not) and I wish to leave you with two parts in this week on Friday and Sunday instead of just one more on Saturday.
(I read the bottom part first because you said you need to close the vote quickly)
[Tell Aylard the full truth]
Its better for him to … moreknow. He'll know if Lucas is lying.
Edit: Holy shit this part was sad. I still feel good with my vote. There is no point in lying Lucas.
Don't worry Liquid,take yourself all the time you need to write good parts
[Tell Aylard the full truth] I'm aware that the consequence of this choice won't be a good one for Aylard but I'm really interested to read his reaction
RT:
Well,the list of Lucas illusions has grow after his last part
I really like this conversation between Lucas and Aylard expecially because there is a high chance this will be the last one that they will have with each other
I'm curious to read of all the members of Lucas family (in this part you mention his sisters)
While I can understand Aylard anger and will to avenge his own daughter I'm the only one that feel he forget of his last son?
Now that I think about the choice,I'm the only one that feel some sort of deja vu?
Apologies for the longer wait. I encountered some problems with this part, which required more intense revising of it, meaning I had to wait… more until later today to post it, as parts of it have underwent a longer rewrite. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless, despite the longer wait! Also, a little heads up, I will try to close the next voting a bit quicker this time, because I wish to put out two more parts in this week.
Lucas
Lucas wasn't sure how long it was since Mullendore had left. Hours? A day maybe. It was dark, with the only source of light being the tiny window behind him. It was cold and damp and his limbs were aching from being chained to the wall and from the general climate. By now, his whole body felt sore, hurting with every move he made. He was hungry, but even worse was the thirst. They had given him nothing and the way things looked right now, he wasn't even sure if he'd be able to make it to whatever fate his brother and M… [view original content]
Don't worry Liquid,take yourself all the time you need to write good parts
Heh, I always do. I just hope that the extra wait is indeed going to lead to extra quality, but sometimes that's not it. Sometimes I am struggling with a part because I am not happy with the way it goes and it does not meet the standards I am setting for myself. Those times are especially upsetting for me. I know none of you mind an extra day to wait, but I still want to push the parts out as quick as possible. Hell, I'd love to release a part every day, but that would be a nightmare of writing and I doubt all of you have the time to read a daily part of that length. So, 2-3 days it is, but I don't like to keep you waiting for longer
Well,the list of Lucas illusions has grow after his last part
He's ready to catch them all, like a pokemon master. Of illusions. But well, there is a reason this is getting worse and it is his declining health. It was hinted at in this part, he hasn't drunken anything in a while, he is completely exhausted and his chances of dying from exhaustion or thirst are actually real. As a result, he is clearly hallucinating at this point and it is reaching pretty critical levels.
I really like this conversation between Lucas and Aylard expecially because there is a high chance this will be the last one that they will have with each other
This chance is indeed there, for it to be their last talk! I am very glad you liked it. I wasn't sure if a talk between Aylard and Lucas can truly carry an entire part of its own, but have been surprisingly happy with the outcome. These two have a very interesting dynamic for me to write and it is nice to give Aylard's perspective on things, as he is among the few characters that more or less oppose Lucas without being actively a villain in the story.
I'm curious to read of all the members of Lucas family (in this part you mention his sisters)
Ah, since it is not spoilery at all, I can reveal this information already, Lucas has four half-siblings, two sisters, two brothers, one of them being Petyr. The youngest sister is in his age, the other siblings are all two to six years older, with Petyr being the eldest. Next comes Otho, who is roughly two years younger than Petyr and who is currently the heir to Darkdell, followed by Shiera, the older of two sisters, and Meria, the younger and only child that is slightly younger than Lucas. In time, I hope to introduce all of the Vyrwel siblings in the story. I can also tease that I will be able to introduce another member of the Vyrwel family in Lucas' next part
While I can understand Aylard anger and will to avenge his own daughter I'm the only one that feel he forget of his last son?
Indeed, at this moment he isn't really thinking about Sawyer. He is not thinking much at all. The thing is, Lunett has not only been his eldest child, but also his favourite by far. His wife and six of their children died during an illness and ever since, he has particularly depended on Lunett. Losing her has taken a terrible toll on him and while he loves his remaining child, his despair and will to avenge Lunett are greater than his rational thinking at this point. And at least in this early stages of grief, his rage at Mullendore and grief over losing Lunett are basically cancelling out any feelings of having to care for his son. He still very much loves him and once he had time to calm down, if he even gets this time, he will surely become even more protective towards him than ever before. This is actually going to be quite the problem for him, as he probably has to decide between providing for his son and avenging Lunett's death.
Now that I think about the choice,I'm the only one that feel some sort of deja vu?
I think Samantha had a similar one. She told him roughly what happened, which was enough to send him into the downright murderous rage you have seen him in during the late Chapter 6. However, she hasn't witnessed Lunett's death and she was only able to tell second-hand what happened. She also told him a more tone down version, without any of the details, mostly because she herself couldn't stomach to tell him the state of Lunett's corpse as she found her. What he wants to know is the entire messy story, mostly to get some clarity what happened, as opposed to having to guess for the rest of his life.
Don't worry Liquid,take yourself all the time you need to write good parts
[Tell Aylard the full truth] I'm aware that the consequence of… more this choice won't be a good one for Aylard but I'm really interested to read his reaction
RT:
* Well,the list of Lucas illusions has grow after his last part
* I really like this conversation between Lucas and Aylard expecially because there is a high chance this will be the last one that they will have with each other
* I'm curious to read of all the members of Lucas family (in this part you mention his sisters)
* While I can understand Aylard anger and will to avenge his own daughter I'm the only one that feel he forget of his last son?
* Now that I think about the choice,I'm the only one that feel some sort of deja vu?
[Tell Aylard the full truth] If he truly wants to know the truth, then he deserves to get it. If this results in his anger growing towards Mullendore, then good - the more enemies that bastard has the better.
Apologies for the longer wait. I encountered some problems with this part, which required more intense revising of it, meaning I had to wait… more until later today to post it, as parts of it have underwent a longer rewrite. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless, despite the longer wait! Also, a little heads up, I will try to close the next voting a bit quicker this time, because I wish to put out two more parts in this week.
Lucas
Lucas wasn't sure how long it was since Mullendore had left. Hours? A day maybe. It was dark, with the only source of light being the tiny window behind him. It was cold and damp and his limbs were aching from being chained to the wall and from the general climate. By now, his whole body felt sore, hurting with every move he made. He was hungry, but even worse was the thirst. They had given him nothing and the way things looked right now, he wasn't even sure if he'd be able to make it to whatever fate his brother and M… [view original content]
Apologies for the longer wait. I encountered some problems with this part, which required more intense revising of it, meaning I had to wait… more until later today to post it, as parts of it have underwent a longer rewrite. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless, despite the longer wait! Also, a little heads up, I will try to close the next voting a bit quicker this time, because I wish to put out two more parts in this week.
Lucas
Lucas wasn't sure how long it was since Mullendore had left. Hours? A day maybe. It was dark, with the only source of light being the tiny window behind him. It was cold and damp and his limbs were aching from being chained to the wall and from the general climate. By now, his whole body felt sore, hurting with every move he made. He was hungry, but even worse was the thirst. They had given him nothing and the way things looked right now, he wasn't even sure if he'd be able to make it to whatever fate his brother and M… [view original content]
[Tell Aylard the full truth] He deserves to know. I'm regretting when I voted for John to not accompany Alyard. He definitely would have saved him. But none the less, what's done is done, and hopefully Lucas can get out of this. He might go mad if he doesn't get out.
Apologies for the longer wait. I encountered some problems with this part, which required more intense revising of it, meaning I had to wait… more until later today to post it, as parts of it have underwent a longer rewrite. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless, despite the longer wait! Also, a little heads up, I will try to close the next voting a bit quicker this time, because I wish to put out two more parts in this week.
Lucas
Lucas wasn't sure how long it was since Mullendore had left. Hours? A day maybe. It was dark, with the only source of light being the tiny window behind him. It was cold and damp and his limbs were aching from being chained to the wall and from the general climate. By now, his whole body felt sore, hurting with every move he made. He was hungry, but even worse was the thirst. They had given him nothing and the way things looked right now, he wasn't even sure if he'd be able to make it to whatever fate his brother and M… [view original content]
Aylard is in too much of a mess to deal with hearing about his daughter. He has to think for his son right now, and he can't do that while searching for revenge. He can't just throw his life away in a bid of revenge, and if we tell him he will surely blow off the handle in a rage to kill Mullendore. His entrance was pretty badass, literally just knocking out the guardsmen nonchalantly. This kinda shows how unstable he is right now, so let's not do anything to make him more rash.
Apologies for the longer wait. I encountered some problems with this part, which required more intense revising of it, meaning I had to wait… more until later today to post it, as parts of it have underwent a longer rewrite. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless, despite the longer wait! Also, a little heads up, I will try to close the next voting a bit quicker this time, because I wish to put out two more parts in this week.
Lucas
Lucas wasn't sure how long it was since Mullendore had left. Hours? A day maybe. It was dark, with the only source of light being the tiny window behind him. It was cold and damp and his limbs were aching from being chained to the wall and from the general climate. By now, his whole body felt sore, hurting with every move he made. He was hungry, but even worse was the thirst. They had given him nothing and the way things looked right now, he wasn't even sure if he'd be able to make it to whatever fate his brother and M… [view original content]
Apologies for the longer wait. I encountered some problems with this part, which required more intense revising of it, meaning I had to wait… more until later today to post it, as parts of it have underwent a longer rewrite. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless, despite the longer wait! Also, a little heads up, I will try to close the next voting a bit quicker this time, because I wish to put out two more parts in this week.
Lucas
Lucas wasn't sure how long it was since Mullendore had left. Hours? A day maybe. It was dark, with the only source of light being the tiny window behind him. It was cold and damp and his limbs were aching from being chained to the wall and from the general climate. By now, his whole body felt sore, hurting with every move he made. He was hungry, but even worse was the thirst. They had given him nothing and the way things looked right now, he wasn't even sure if he'd be able to make it to whatever fate his brother and M… [view original content]
[Tell Aylard the full truth] As others have stated, he deserves to know it. Really good part.
One minor thing, Firstly, I get why it is that way, and fully understand Lucas' honour and trying to keep the details from Aylard. But it felt a bit dragged out to me. Lucas asking Aylard if he's sure he want to hear in 5-6 different ways went on a bit to long in my opinion. It might just be me, because I have a friend IRL who does it like that (not for as important things of course), asking if I am sure many times, before I get to know what I want. But overall, a really good part indeed!
Apologies for the longer wait. I encountered some problems with this part, which required more intense revising of it, meaning I had to wait… more until later today to post it, as parts of it have underwent a longer rewrite. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless, despite the longer wait! Also, a little heads up, I will try to close the next voting a bit quicker this time, because I wish to put out two more parts in this week.
Lucas
Lucas wasn't sure how long it was since Mullendore had left. Hours? A day maybe. It was dark, with the only source of light being the tiny window behind him. It was cold and damp and his limbs were aching from being chained to the wall and from the general climate. By now, his whole body felt sore, hurting with every move he made. He was hungry, but even worse was the thirst. They had given him nothing and the way things looked right now, he wasn't even sure if he'd be able to make it to whatever fate his brother and M… [view original content]
Comments
Thank you. And thank you for listening to my argument. I'm glad I could convince you
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Oh man I am so grateful you let me show you my argument. Do you vote in any other stories because I can help you get an extra vote? And if you have one of your own just tell me where to look and you got yourself a reader
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Edit: Wait I just checked your profile and you do have a story Walking Dead A New Life Right? Definitely joining as a reader, ill even make a character if you want
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Sorry bouden but from what you write I understand that, for you, Jenna should be now a faithful follower of the Targaryen just because she help Saerya?You write like Saerya = an entire nation (when she is "just" a spy).
Obviously I don't want to tell you that she should be loyal to her kingdom (she is just a servant,not a knight or a lord) but I doubt that Jenna could be a loyal follower of a kingdom that she barely knows expecially when the King of it have in mind to conquer her homeland (where lives all her friends and her father) and if there is the chance even destroy the army of the Reach (and her own brothers since they are part of it)
Aye, that was something I was glad to show in this part, this distrustful, slightly jerkish side of Leonard. He and Lucas have grown beyond that with their bond, but he and Jenna don't have such a bond and it felt natural to have him distrust her intentions, especially as he finds it so hard to believe that she really does this out of a simple desire to help, something he surely has a hard time understanding. I can promise that you'll see him at his absolute jerkiest in the near future and not even without reason. It'll be fun
Well, that is not entirely unlikely. Kersea is at Richard's right now and she, Richard and Jenna are all targets of Wolfius. However, Wolfius is very much the problem here. Lyria managed to heavily wound him, it has basically been merely a day since she broke his skull and he will need a long time to recover from that. Sure, his beast might roam in the meantime, but there might be other things he has to put his attention onto. Arthur meanwhile, well, he has a lot more to do right now, whereas Ryler... would surely be in the realms of possible.
Sorry for not responding until now, I fell asleep last night
but no problem! You did give a great argument.
I vote on a few others, I've been wanting to join another story in particular but I haven't gotten the time to create a character yet.
Yes, I do write that
feel free to submit a character! Thanks for joining, do you write any stories?
Jenna being overconfident? Oh, that would take years. Trust me, with how many years her confidence has been utterly pushed down and ruined, it would take her years to get there. She is just starting to get some confidence at all and it's not even clear if the damage she suffered can be fully reversed, given that she spent the most important years of her development as a meek pushover. But it's getting better, slowly.
Yeah, to do that, they basically have to launch a continent-wide war in which they start as underdogs, but quickly gain in power due to the massive threat their dragons pose, considering those things can literally destroy whole armies. Hmmm, I am sure this will be very hard, as well as highly unlikely. I mean, who'd actually do that?
I... I don't even... I feel like you either completely missed my point, or you want to miss it
I just said that Saerya is not willing to do whatever it takes to ensure victory, at least as long as the stakes aren't as high as the complete and guaranteed Targaryen victory. Raylansfair for example is merely a tiny battleground in this war, insignificant in the larger sense of things. She has the potential to be like Sherryl, but only if she feels it is worth it, whereas Sherryl is, well, always like Sherryl. I am curious though why you respect Sherryl, because what I meant to say with this was that this thing she loathes is the fact that Saerya still has some morals that limit her. Sherryl might fake these morals, quite convincingly so, if it helps her, but she cannot truly have them, whereas Saerya has shown even selfless behaviour in the past, or regret for things like her having to manipulate Federico. Trust me, there is nothing to respect about Sherryl's attitude. What I'm aiming for with them is a bit of a Littlefinger/Varys thing, with Saerya being Varys and Sherryl being Littlefinger. Both have similarities, both are far from heroic, but one of them is at least not without principles.
Oh yes, Argella noticed one important thing here. This mission to Raylansfair was authorized by her father and he was most likely aware of Tariel's and Sherryl's manipulation, though he thought it would be in his favour. Men of the Stormlands died and Argella is seriously disappointed in Argilac for putting them at risk for a lie.
Yeah, that is something I hope for. Then again, these deaths hurt so much after 1-2 years of writing about them. Some of the current characters will make it all the way to the end of Book 2, others will die in Book 3, meaning that it will be way harder to write about some future deaths, because there are some I am already growing seriously attached to. Ah, I might even have to reconsider some of them.
Well, this raid was surely devastating. About a fifth of the whole population was massacred, almost everyone has lost friends or loved ones in this battle. At the same time, Mullendore and Petyr have brought four hundred soldiers who will be stationed there if everything goes according to their plan, meaning that Raylansfair will be repopulated and it will be stronger than ever with their army to guard it.
Ah, I am not sure about this in general. In Sadie's case for example, I am willing to believe that this doesn't necessarily have to be true. Sure enough, she is going to think that way for a serious while, but it doesn't have to stay that way. Of course, how much she actually manages to recover will probably be affected by your choices.
Well, I never doubted I'd reach the end of Book 1 and with it being so close now, it makes me seriously excited. I just never thought it would take me so long. But, be assured that things will only get better from here. More massive in general, more epic and I am so incredibly hyped for the things to come. I can, with conviction, promise that Book 2 will surpass Book 1 in every aspect. Book 3, I don't know, it's still far, but I hope to make it no worse than what comes before.
Yes thank you, thank you.
I run another story called Multivese Prime. You can definitely join the readership if you want and I would be very greatful, but if you want to make a character PM me first since the rules for making them have changed.
Oh, one can hope and dream at least.
Yeah very, very crazy. It would be delusional for anyone to even consider that as a plausible scenario.
Ok, yeah I might have going a bit anti Sheryll here because of my theory that she is slowly trying to brainwash Jenna by manipulating her insecurities. I still think she's a good person, just one that is willing to justify herself. And please don't misunderstand me at all dislike Sheryll as a person completely, evil, manipulative, power obsessed and using people as objects she can just discard at any moment. But what I is that I respect the fact that regardless of whether her back against the wall she would still keep being herself. Of course that implies that she's egotistical, prideful and by definition irredeemable but..............I don't know I guess that I was trying to paint Saerya as the worst here but my argument ended up being, 'Yes Saerya is evil because there is a scenario in which she would be willing to lose her moral. This worse than Sheryll who under no circumstance would ever become a better person'..................So yeah very clearly having a biased against Saerya here. I'm happy I realize this and disagree with my very week argument here. If I hadn't this would have been one of my theories cores and that would have seriously killed it. Also I knew there was an order chaos thing here. Great job with that, Its the main reason I called them polar opposites. So to summarize Sheryl is not respectable at all and infact your confirmation makes her irredeemable which makes her worse. Saerya is a good person, I still stick to my thoughts on what she's doing with Jenna, but I feel like my subconscious attempt to vilanize her here was a very incorrect one.
Oh dear, this and the Orys thing. She might start to question her father on everything. And since he's not really the most moral guy....this is going to be bad.
Still jeez the battle killed an enormous amount of people. It will be hard to recover. Also: At the same time, Mullendore and Petyr have brought four hundred soldiers who will be stationed there if everything goes according to their plan, meaning that Raylansfair will be repopulated and it will be stronger than ever with their army to guard it. You know the first though that crossed my mind is Mullendore giving a speech to the soldiers about reproducing with the Raylandsfarians. "Men I know several of you have wives back home, but when a man loves his general and is willing to give anything for the cause...."
I still have hope for Sadie too, but it will be hard for her to build herself back up.
Hype! Serously you can't be serious. Booke 2 better than Book 1. I expected them to be equal but for the next one to....no impossible. There is no way it can get better......but i want to believe it can!!!!!! So excited for it to arrive
!!!!!
What the fuck's a Federico?
Alright, sounds awesome! I will be PMing you shortly because I would love to join.
Yay!!! Thank you so much
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Federico Snow..... that guard she has sex with for fun and because it gives her an inside man?..............Poor Federico. Nobody cares enough to remember him.
Hmmm... AH, you must mean Falafel, the joke character. You must understand, Fuckface (sorry) is a very hard name to remember you see. R.i.P Fatality.
Lol. Really? I though it was just his very role that made him forgettable to people. I can at least get that but his name is actually pretty unique. Very few characters name end with 'co' which should make him easy to differentiate. If anything its letter 'Aly' characters that I think people would confuse the most Alyssa, Alyssane, Alys... I'm sure someone has by this point.
I don't think I can continue the joke from here.
You can if you try. Just insist Federico is worse or agree and start bashing the confusion I pointed out. "Don't even get me started on Alysanta or whatever"
Haha I jest, but the joke about Flavorous Snow is that no one actually can remember what exactly Fergalicous' name is, so people kinda have to just guess what Fozzie's name is. Usually it's close enough for the point to be understood.
Yeah I realized that. I was trying to make a routine in which I'm the serious guy that just doesn't get it.
Well, I wouldn't quite call her a good person. Saerya has her flaws and some things she isn't even too bothered by which mark her as anything but a truly good person. However, neither is she all that horrible. I believe show-Varys is indeed a good comparison, a pleasant, well-intentioned and for the most part benign person who just happens to have an important goal they find themselves forced to value over conventional morals at times. So, this means while you might have been a bit too harsh on her, there is certainly stuff you can see as reason to mistrust her in certain occasions and questions. The one thing that is sure about her is that she is absolutely loyal to House Targaryen, for the better or the worse.
Well, the thing is that Argella has absolutely nothing to fear from her father and she knows it. As his only living child, she can be certain of his love. She never truly questioned him before, but she is certainly terribly disappointed in him now, which is more a problem for Argilac than it is a problem for her. Morality or not, the man loves his daughter more than anything and this situation as it is will be hard for both of them, especially as it is so clearly his fault.
Hehe, this is an idea Mullendore himself is actually rather opposed to. His goals are certainly larger than Raylansfair and I doubt he will be pleased if his men start to care for the city and its inhabitants a bit too much
Well, take Jaime Lannister as someone who suffered a similar wound and lost arguably even more through it. He recovered just fine. The problem there is really Sadie's mental well-being and that is going to be affected by your choices. Depending on them, she can potentially turn into a much different character into either direction.
Trust me, I am absolutely serious. Book 2 is, at least in the way I have planned it to be, going to be better than Book 1. I don't doubt that there will be some lesser exciting scenes as well, but the highlights will be more numerous and exciting than most of the stuff in Book 1. Consider Book 1 the build-up book compared to the things to come and you're having an idea what I am aiming at.
Ah, apologies, my mistake. It never happened before that I wrote his name wrong, so I really cannot explain why I made such a stark mistake. Of course I mean Fishandchips Snow, the guard, one of the most central characters in Book 1 and the most heartbreaking death of the raid.
I agree mostly on Saerya I went into the rest of my thoughts in the pm I sent you.
What I meant is that she might start questioning everything her father does and has done now. Now that her perfect father was wrong he can always be wrong. Maybe those stories she was told about his servant girls were true. Maybe he is too brutal. She will just keep questioning and questioning, and this will not end well for her or him. I imagine her being very disappointed and probably disgusted in the end.
So then its Petyr who will order his men to have tons of extramarital sense.
So she might go crazy? Or are you saying its between becoming evil or deciding to try to be herself again.
The I am so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ah, yeah. Yeah, she is already doing that a bit. It occurs to her that she has put her father onto a pedestal and this is truly the first time she is ever angry and disappointed at him. At the same time, what Argilac did might have been wrong, but she even understands his reasons. She is his daughter after all and her character has been heavily shaped by him, meaning that their views on a number of topics align nicely. But yeah, this is a new situation she finds herself in, with the trust in her father's infallibility being heavily damaged.
Well, Petyr is most likely involved in every scheme of Mullendore, so he is not likely to have a different opinion there. At the same time, he is a very different character compared to Mullendore, so his views could, in theory, differ.
Nah, probably not evil or anything like that, losing a hand won't do that to her, but she could very much change her general outlook on things, become bitter or depressed and generally a much darker character without actually turning to evil. See Lucas in Chapter 6 for example. It is natural that she will change, but how much and into which direction will largely be up to you, but there are some developments that are unlikely even in her situation.
The Voting is closed!
Jenna is going to support Leonard's plan
Well, I was not aware this would be such a divisive voting
But hey, I like that. You all brought up good arguments for either choice and it really could go either way here, so I can see how you have been so nearly evenly divided into two groups. Personally, and without taking my knowledge on how the situation will unfold into account, I would have had a hard time choosing, though I would have probably settled for Saerya. At the same time, Leonard brought up justified concerns about her plan, meaning that there is certainly a reason for supporting him as well from Jenna's perspective. Her voice might not be the most important in the room, but it might just be heard.
The next part should be out later today. It will be a Lucas part, the third for him in the chapter. We haven't seen him in a long while, but that's what happens when I write his second part so quickly after the first one. The last time we saw him was in a brief part, where you haven't even been given a choice. As you remember, he is in a bad situation, being imprisoned by Mullendore and his own brother and exhausted to the point where he hallucinates quite heavily. At the moment, his situation is serious, albeit I cannot say more without spoiling anything. Prepare for his next part, likely to be out in a couple of hours
There's always a few votes that win that really annoy me. XD
But I can't complain, fair's fair.
Sorry Agent. I just truly believe this is the best for Jenna. But they'll be other votes
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I obviously don't complain with the result (since I vote for Leonard plan) and I agree that it's still too soon (and for now unrealistic) speak of Jenna as a mindless Targaryen follower but I don't understand why some of us view this choice as "be a Targaryen ally or not" when it's more "Choose how try to save Leonard ass"
I think that is mostly my fault, which is why I'm apologizing. Basically my theory of Saerya as an evil manipulating brainwasher flipped the perception of the vote from "How to save Leonards ass" to "Jenna accepts or refuses manipulation" mostly as a reaction to Bounden's excitement at the prospect of making Jenna trust Saerya more and eventually become a loyalist spy for the Targs.
That is actually true. I mean, I can more than understand the reasons to choose Leonard's plan over Saerya's, but at the core, the choice was about which strategy Jenna would prefer when it comes to pursuing that task. That is at least the initial goal. Surely though, this has the potential to affect things beyond that, such as whom she is loyal to. We'll see about it, even if such a small decision is likely going to weigh very small when it comes to the greater picture of Jenna's loyalties. She herself isn't even seeing things that way right now, she really wishes to pick the option that gives her more chance at success and due to the decision, she is going to consider Leonard's approach to be this option. It might have a slightly stronger change in how Saerya and Leonard are going to see her though, respectively. Clearly, Saerya will be a bit bummed, because she genuinely considers Leonard's approach as a high risk, whereas Leonard thinks the same of her offer.
Apologies for the longer wait. I encountered some problems with this part, which required more intense revising of it, meaning I had to wait until later today to post it, as parts of it have underwent a longer rewrite. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless, despite the longer wait! Also, a little heads up, I will try to close the next voting a bit quicker this time, because I wish to put out two more parts in this week.
Lucas
Lucas wasn't sure how long it was since Mullendore had left. Hours? A day maybe. It was dark, with the only source of light being the tiny window behind him. It was cold and damp and his limbs were aching from being chained to the wall and from the general climate. By now, his whole body felt sore, hurting with every move he made. He was hungry, but even worse was the thirst. They had given him nothing and the way things looked right now, he wasn't even sure if he'd be able to make it to whatever fate his brother and Mullendore has planned for him. Or maybe this was what they wanted. Maybe they had left him to rot.
He would die here. In the brief phases where he drifted off to near sleep, it was the last thing on his mind and the first he had to think of when he snapped back into a state of full consciousness. It wasn't as much a horrifying fear as it was a palpable reality. And though it was still very much something to be afraid of, Lucas found himself oddly far away from a panic.
This was different from Mullendore's dungeons. Even there, in the deepest pit, he had the fleeting hope that someone would come and safe him. But here? How big were the chances of anyone surviving something like this twice? Then again, how big were the chances of this happening to the same guy two times?
At least the shadows left him alone. They were still there, lingering at the corners of his mind, fragments of what once has been, but they remained quiet for now and blissful silence filled the room, only interrupted by brief grunts of discomfort whenever Lucas saw himself forced to change his position. No matter what, the chains did not allow for much room.
There were guards, up in the room atop the stairs. Two, as he had noticed, their distant chatter occasionally reaching his ears. A murmur, rough laughter. Lucas gulped and instantly frowned at how dry his throat felt. He'd die of thirst before they could even put a single blade at him. Might not be the worst thing.
Still, Lucas' general feeling was grim. There was a tiny part of him that refused to just surrender and die in here, a tiny part that was livid with anger. His brother, his own brother had taken everything from him. He conspired with a monster. He murdered their father. And he was about to get away with it.
But what could Lucas do to stop him? He was chained to a wall, with no option but to wait for his death and only dead memories as company. Out of the corner of the one eye Mullendore had left him with, he spotted Harris, silently staring at him. He was not sure if the shadow of the acting lord was looking at him with pity or mockery.
His vision flickered as he yawned and Harris faded, replaced by Argella. The look on her face was disappointment and true enough, why shouldn't she be disappointed? What had he done to stay true to his oath. What honour had he brought her? Now he would die, so closely after he even took this oath. He would fail her, just like he had always failed himself. Argella was only the latest addition to a long list of people he had disappointed. His father, his entire family even, Leonard, Samantha, Argella... Lunett...
Momentarily, anger flared up in Argella's eyes, just as Lucas felt his own anger rising. It felt familiar. He had hoped to have gotten through this, but it felt just like the first few days after he had been freed from Mullendore's dungeon. His life taken away from him and he was powerless to stop those responsible for it. And here he was, seething with anger.
“You might be my only hope”, he mumbled towards the vision of Argella. It was a fleeting hope, that this princess he barely knew would somehow save him. Not something he should trust in. Samantha surely wouldn't risk her life for him again. And Leonard... he would try, but Lucas hoped with all his heart that his friend would not waste his life as well. If he was still alive even...
Then, a new noise sounded from above. The door to the courtyard got opened and Lucas looked up. Argella faded and the shadows flickered to the corners of his view, as he blinked. Someone was talking. One of his guards, as he realized. A man growled something in a low tone and from the quick way he was speaking, it was clear that he was agitated. “... can't...”, the guard said, slightly louder.
What followed was a loud, thumping sound. Steel was drawn, though another thump, followed by yet another echoed down the stairs and Lucas tensed up whatever was happening up there, it was not as he expected. This newcomer might not be whom he had thought would appear.
The door down to the cells got opened and Lucas heard heavy breathing, followed by a deep sigh. Then, someone heavily dragged themselves down the stairs. It didn't take long until Lucas saw a figure. He sighed as he recognized the man. “Aylard”, he said. “Aylard Kawl”
The innkeeper wasn't looking good. He clearly hadn't gotten much sleep in the past few days and Lucas could sympathize on that with him. His beard had gotten more unkempt and though his face was hidden beneath a hood, he could feel those green eyes burning at him with an intensity that caused him to shiver even despite the bars that separated them. He was holding a hammer, not his big warhammer, but a smaller one, one that can be concealed under his wide sleeves.
“Bastard”, he greeted him in return, the glare in his eyes flaring up as he leant against the cell behind him. Lucas' eyes fell upon the bloodstains on the hammer. Aylard noticed his glance and raised an eyebrow. “They will live”, he said. “But they will sleep for a while. Or maybe they'll die, it's not as if I care. They wanted to stop me from seeing you. We had a disagreement over this”
This was it. Lucas thought he would say more, so he stayed silent for longer, while Aylard remained the same. Both men were just staring at each other for what felt like an excruciating minute, although it couldn't have been more than a couple of seconds as Lucas opened his mouth to speak again. “How are things out there?”, he asked. It was such a simple question, yet given what had happened between them, it was anything but normal.
To his surprise, Aylard even answered. “Things are bad”, he admitted calmly. “Those men occupy the city now. There's no one left to stop them. So many died and those that remain had no choice but to submit” His glare grew more tired for a moment, causing him to look a decade older than he truly was. “ I believe you are friends with John and his sellswords. There is something you should know”
Lucas' heart began to beat faster. The way Aylard spoke... if anything had happened to John and the Gutters... “I'lian is dead”, Aylard replied and Lucas tensed up. He had never truly gotten along with I'lian. The dornishman had been too flashy, too lighthearted, too carefree. But he had been a companion, brave and loyal. Lucas felt a mixture of grief, as well as heartfelt pity to Jaro. He had lost a brother too once, though it had been different. His lost brother was still alive. His lost brother had ruined his life.
“And Janae and Behara...”, Aylard said and this time, Lucas heart skipped a beat. No... not them, not them too. His breath started to become more rapidly, as his one eye opened widely. Aylard waited for an excruciating moment before he answered. “They are missing”, he answered and Lucas gulped. “Missing”, he repeated. “Not dead?”
Aylard's glare intensified. “Are you disappointed?”, he barked, though Lucas did not react to the provocation. “What happened to them?”, he growled in return and though his voice had grown more agitated, it also contained a plea. He had to know. Aylard sighed and the momentary viciousness fell off him. “They are missing, as I said”, he answered. “Nobody knows what happened to them, but we haven't found corpses. John and Temari follow a lead. It is important to them. More important than seeing you one last time”
This hurt more than anything Aylard could have said otherwise and more than most things he could have done. John was his friend. Tem was his friend. The revelation that neither of them cared enough to even just visit him... It was almost understandable at the same time, given their situations. Lucas never had a friend as close as John and Janae and though he had two sisters, neither was as close to him as Behara was to Temari.
Of course they wouldn't come. What was there to see either way? A lost knight, a broken knight, a man without a future. He couldn't hold it against them. Weakly, he raised his head again to look at the man he had hurt more than any other living being. “And Leonard?”, he asked. “What happened to him?”
Aylard shrugged. “I don't know”, he revealed. “No one knows. He better prays that I won't stumble upon him. This time, an odd sense of relief flashed through Lucas. “So, he is not captured?”, he asked and Aylard shook his head. “You see anyone but me and you down here?”, he growled. “No, you and I, we're the only ones here. And we will have a talk”
Lucas nodded in a tired, weak way. “You know that the man who occupies the city is the one who murdered Lunett, right?”, he asked. This time, helpless rage flared up Aylard's eyes. “I saw him”, he revealed. “A one-eyed bastard, just like you, but unlike you, he's free and he's parading around the city, with that smug, self-righteous smile of his”
“My brother is with him”, Lucas said and this time, Aylard raised an eyebrow. “And I should care why exactly?”, he asked. Lucas bit down onto his lower lip. “He might be involved in all of this, he answered and Aylar narrowed his eyes. “Was he involved in my daughter's murder?”
Lucas shook his head. “Not as far as I know”, he answered. After hearing this, Aylard's stance calmed down. “Then he is of no concern to me”, he replied. “He is certainly not what I wish to talk about” Lucas gulped, as the innkeeper's glare grew more intense. “So I take it you haven't come just to tell me about the current situation”, he deduced. “Means you came for a reason. For something. What is it you want here?”
Aylard sighed. “That is something I had to ask myself on the way here”, he growled in reply. “Truth be told, I don't know. A part of me wanted to come to gloat at you, at the bastard that took my daughter” There was so much bitterness in his words that Lucas couldn't stand to look him in the eyes for a moment. Lunett... this was something he would regret for the rest of his life, no matter how short it would be.
“Well, gloat then”, he stated in a low, defeated tone. “If it gives you peace” Aylard raised his head and beneath the hood, Lucas saw the hint of tears inside of his eyes. “It won't”, the former innkeeper answered. “Your position gives me neither joy, nor satisfaction, not even gree” He clenched his fists, one around the hammer. “I have thought I might, but now that it has come to this, I realize that I don't. Nothing about your current situation makes me feel a thing”
“Then why?”, Lucas demanded to know. “If you haven't come to gloat, then what is it? Do you wish to make peace with me?” Aylard bit down onto his lower lip, heavily, before he shook his head. “I will never make peace with you, boy”, he said. “No matter what, you had a hand in the events that happened in Oldtown. You took my daughter from me, the most precious thing I ever had in life” Decisively, he shook his head again. “This cannot be forgiven”
Lucas lowered his head, staring at the floor, as he tried to blend out Lunett's screams in his mind, how she suffered in her final moments. All because of him. Because he had been too stupid, too reckless, because he took her with him and failed to protect her. This was his burden, the guilt he felt. And though he felt her absence more terribly than ever now, he knew this was nothing compared to the pain Aylard must feel. The man's voice reflected this. It was hollow and tear-stained, quiet, cold and broken. “A part of me wanted nothing more than to kill you”, he admitted.
“If it is vengeance you seek for, strike me down”, Lucas replied. “Or leave me. Whatever you deem more cruel. If it gives you peace, I will not resist” Aylard looked down at the hammer in his hand and at the bars that separated them. He walked closer, until he almost pressed his body against the bars.
“Vengeance won't change anything”, he said. “That is what my father used to tell me. I grew up believing in his words, but now that I have come to this point, I see that he was wrong. Deep down, I have always known it” An angry glare appeared in his eyes. “Lose a daughter, have her murdered and tell me that vengeance truly does not matter. Tell me it won't change damn thing”, he spat and with a sigh, his glare faded. “It won't bring me back what I have lost, that much is true. No matter what I could do to you, my Lunett remains gone”
Lucas felt tears felling up in his eyes, the good one and the ruined one, the latter of which caused him to frown, as the salt stung in the half-healed wound. Aylard was crying as well, silently weeping, though it didn't distract from the solid anger he was oozing with every word he said and all of his movements, with every glare he shot into Lucas' direction and the grim coldness between them.
“And yet, no matter if it changes something or not, vengeance is all I can think of”, he continued. “I know it won't achieve much. It won't change how I feel, it won't help with my grief. It won't give me back my daughter and all it will do is to cause more pain, more suffering” He shook his head. “But here I am, unable to get this thought out of my head, what I would do to the monster that murdered my daughter” He looked up and his glare grew stronger. “What I will do to him”
“You are going to kill Mullendore?”, Lucas asked. “You are going to try at least?” His voice sounded at least a tiny bit hopeful as he spoke. He had no hope for himself, no, but maybe there still was something for the others, for his friends and for his city. Maybe Maron Mullendore would pay in the very end.
“I am going to take what he loves the most”, Aylard answered. “If this is his life, then yes, I will kill him. He is a dead man. Maybe not today, not tomorrow, but one day he will be weak, one day he will be careless. And then I will be there and I will make him pay”
Lucas gave the man a grim nod. “Good”, he said. “Make him pay for all the lives he stole” Aylard replied with a similar gesture. There was no friendship between the men, but in this moment Lucas felt a deep understanding and he realized that more than any man living, Aylard shared his fate. They both had suffered at the hands of Mullendore, had lost something they would never get back. If anyone could truly understand him, it was Aylard Kawl, as strange as this thought was.
Finally, the innkeeper sighed. “For all of them”, he agreed. “Yours included” He looked at his free hand, opening and closing it. “You had a role in my daughter's death, but seeing you like this, I realize you have paid for it a thousandfold. I do not forgive you, but even you deserved better. I do not seek to do anything to you, not after what he has already done”
“What are you going to do to him?”, Lucas asked and Aylard visibly tensed up. “What he did to you”, he answered. “In the beginning. Then what he did to my little girl” He sighed bitterly. “Which brings me to something I never wanted to ask, something I cannot be quiet about...” He looked up and tears began to well up in his eyes. “What did he do to her? How did she die?”
Lunett's screams still echoed in his ears, as Lucas avoided to look the man in the eyes. For a moment, he was too horrified to even think of an answer, as the memories flooded his mind. Lunett on the ground, Mullendore's knife only inches away from her eyeball. The twisted grin on the false knight's face, her screams growing louder, more panicked, until they culminated in shrieks of agony.
“You don't want to know”, he said tonelessly, which caused Aylard to glare at him. “I wouldn't ask otherwise. I have to”, he answered and Lucas sighed. “Why do you wish to torment yourself with this?”, he asked and for a moment, he got a glimpse of the broken man behind Aylard's anger. “I have to”, he repeated with a hollow voice. “I should have kept an eye on her. I couldn't protect her, not from the world, not from the likes of you. I failed her”
“So, this is your punishment?”, Lucas said and to his surprise, Aylard gave him a defeated nod. “You got what you deserved. More even”, he said. “But I am just as guilty as you are for not protecting her” He looked away, avoiding to look the captured knight in the eyes. “And even beyond that, I won't get a calm minute as long as I don't know how she died”
“Knowing how she died won't change how you feel”, Lucas lied, knowing fully well that it would make the man only feel worse. Aylard sighed and his glare faded. “You are dying here”, he said, without any glee, simply stating a fact. “Whom else could I ask? This knowledge will die with you”
“Perhaps it is for the better”, Lucas answered. “Not everything is meant to be known” This time, Aylard shook his head. “I cannot sleep. It's been days since I got a full night. Ever since you returned and my daughter never did”, he revealed. “I lie awake and all that's running through my mind is how she died. What she felt. If this... monster made her suffer. It is all I can think of when I try to sleep and most of what I think of when I am awake. My daughter has been murdered. You know how she died and I want to hear it. I must”
Lucas sighed, as he contemplated his options. Lunett was there, in the corners of his blurry vision, where thoughts collided with reality. Blood was running down her cheeks, as if she was crying, though she remained silent, staring at him, as if she was expecting his decision. “Are you sure you know what this means?”, Lucas asked.
“The full truth, bastard. Now, no more lies!”, Aylard growled. “I don't need your pity. You didn't have it when you took my daughter, abducted her, and now it is too late for that, you fucking coward. Spare me your fake concern. Just spit it out already!” He started to shiver with anger, with pain. “You think some hurt feelings will be worse than what you already put my family through?”
Still, Lucas hesitated. With other men, he would have given in to their demands, but this was Lunett's father. He wasn't sure if he could do this to him, after all he did already to cause him pain. Perhaps a lie would be in order here, just a partial one, just to spare him some of the details. Or maybe he shouldn't answer at all. Lucas wasn't sure if this would be kinder or outright cruel. He did not wish to put Aylard through further torment, but he was afraid that either option would lead to nothing but tragedy. And who knew how the innkeeper would react to the truth? If anything, his temper had gotten only more volatile in the past days, a development Lucas not only understood, but also shared.
“Tell me!”, Aylard growled, though in this moment, his anger faded, like a wave crashing against rocks, as his free hand grabbed the bars of the cells. His eyes were widely opened and he looked at Lucas with the grief of a father in mourning. “Please”, he just said quietly, almost tonelessly.
[Tell Aylard the full truth] [Spare him the details] [Refuse to answer]
(I read the bottom part first because you said you need to close the vote quickly)
[Tell Aylard the full truth]
Its better for him to know. He'll know if Lucas is lying.
Edit: Holy shit this part was sad. I still feel good with my vote. There is no point in lying Lucas.
I appreciate it, though I am not going to close the voting that quickly
You'll likely have until late Friday to vote and I hope this is enough time for everyone. Reason behind that is that I might be going on a small semi-spontaneous semi-vacation next week (the actual details are not as pleasant as they sound, but I'll get to that once it is certain if it comes up next week or not) and I wish to leave you with two parts in this week on Friday and Sunday instead of just one more on Saturday.
Don't worry Liquid,take yourself all the time you need to write good parts
[Tell Aylard the full truth] I'm aware that the consequence of this choice won't be a good one for Aylard but I'm really interested to read his reaction
RT:
Heh, I always do. I just hope that the extra wait is indeed going to lead to extra quality, but sometimes that's not it. Sometimes I am struggling with a part because I am not happy with the way it goes and it does not meet the standards I am setting for myself. Those times are especially upsetting for me. I know none of you mind an extra day to wait, but I still want to push the parts out as quick as possible. Hell, I'd love to release a part every day, but that would be a nightmare of writing and I doubt all of you have the time to read a daily part of that length. So, 2-3 days it is, but I don't like to keep you waiting for longer
He's ready to catch them all, like a pokemon master. Of illusions. But well, there is a reason this is getting worse and it is his declining health. It was hinted at in this part, he hasn't drunken anything in a while, he is completely exhausted and his chances of dying from exhaustion or thirst are actually real. As a result, he is clearly hallucinating at this point and it is reaching pretty critical levels.
This chance is indeed there, for it to be their last talk! I am very glad you liked it. I wasn't sure if a talk between Aylard and Lucas can truly carry an entire part of its own, but have been surprisingly happy with the outcome. These two have a very interesting dynamic for me to write and it is nice to give Aylard's perspective on things, as he is among the few characters that more or less oppose Lucas without being actively a villain in the story.
Ah, since it is not spoilery at all, I can reveal this information already, Lucas has four half-siblings, two sisters, two brothers, one of them being Petyr. The youngest sister is in his age, the other siblings are all two to six years older, with Petyr being the eldest. Next comes Otho, who is roughly two years younger than Petyr and who is currently the heir to Darkdell, followed by Shiera, the older of two sisters, and Meria, the younger and only child that is slightly younger than Lucas. In time, I hope to introduce all of the Vyrwel siblings in the story. I can also tease that I will be able to introduce another member of the Vyrwel family in Lucas' next part
Indeed, at this moment he isn't really thinking about Sawyer. He is not thinking much at all. The thing is, Lunett has not only been his eldest child, but also his favourite by far. His wife and six of their children died during an illness and ever since, he has particularly depended on Lunett. Losing her has taken a terrible toll on him and while he loves his remaining child, his despair and will to avenge Lunett are greater than his rational thinking at this point. And at least in this early stages of grief, his rage at Mullendore and grief over losing Lunett are basically cancelling out any feelings of having to care for his son. He still very much loves him and once he had time to calm down, if he even gets this time, he will surely become even more protective towards him than ever before. This is actually going to be quite the problem for him, as he probably has to decide between providing for his son and avenging Lunett's death.
I think Samantha had a similar one. She told him roughly what happened, which was enough to send him into the downright murderous rage you have seen him in during the late Chapter 6. However, she hasn't witnessed Lunett's death and she was only able to tell second-hand what happened. She also told him a more tone down version, without any of the details, mostly because she herself couldn't stomach to tell him the state of Lunett's corpse as she found her. What he wants to know is the entire messy story, mostly to get some clarity what happened, as opposed to having to guess for the rest of his life.
[Tell Aylard the full truth] If he truly wants to know the truth, then he deserves to get it. If this results in his anger growing towards Mullendore, then good - the more enemies that bastard has the better.
[Refuse to answer] Sometimes ignorance is preferable. It serves no purpose to know how she died.
[Tell Aylard the full truth] He deserves to know. I'm regretting when I voted for John to not accompany Alyard. He definitely would have saved him. But none the less, what's done is done, and hopefully Lucas can get out of this. He might go mad if he doesn't get out.
[Refuse to answer]
Aylard is in too much of a mess to deal with hearing about his daughter. He has to think for his son right now, and he can't do that while searching for revenge. He can't just throw his life away in a bid of revenge, and if we tell him he will surely blow off the handle in a rage to kill Mullendore. His entrance was pretty badass, literally just knocking out the guardsmen nonchalantly. This kinda shows how unstable he is right now, so let's not do anything to make him more rash.
[Tell Aylard the full truth]
[Tell Aylard the full truth] As others have stated, he deserves to know it. Really good part.
One minor thing, Firstly, I get why it is that way, and fully understand Lucas' honour and trying to keep the details from Aylard. But it felt a bit dragged out to me. Lucas asking Aylard if he's sure he want to hear in 5-6 different ways went on a bit to long in my opinion. It might just be me, because I have a friend IRL who does it like that (not for as important things of course), asking if I am sure many times, before I get to know what I want. But overall, a really good part indeed!