Wow, InGen I am honestly moved by this. As crushed as I am over this sudden announcement, losing a company that has affected me in such a huge way, this will make it so much easier to at least keep everything that happened here accessible once the forums shut down. I'll have a look through it, but this honestly takes away a lot of stress from me. I'll take care of saving the rest of the fanfiction threads on here. But honestly, I cannot thank you enough for taking care of the biggest chunk of it already. This means a lot to me and it will definitely help with not just saving what has been written so far, but with saving the story as a whole. I have plans, let's just hope there will be enough time to apply them before things get chaotic. At best, I'll get the story running on some other place before the forums shut down, for the smoothest transition, but given how out of the blue the announcement came today, I have to be realistic and assume the worst.
And thank you for all the years in which you have supported the story! Not just with uploading it, but with everything, really. You have been here from the very beginning and I hope you'll be there to see the end of the story whenever it happens. Let me know if there is any way to contact you once the forums are no more, because this definitely wouldn't be the same without you.
My dear friend, my dear old friend, I am also so sorry about this. It breaks my heart too. To lose so many friends, a company I loved...
… moreHowever, I have a little gift for you, for everything you have done for me, this great story...it has changed my life. I have taken the liberty of personally uploading of uploading EVERY SINGLE page of this thread all 315 for you. Well, I might have missed some (If I did, upload it, it's real easy)? I hope not, but if you go on web.archive.org, and just change the page number from p315 to whatever, it is here:
https://web.archive.org/web/20180921224051/https://telltale.com/community/discussion/89129/forum-of-thrones-an-interactive-story/p315
God Bless You Liquid, and God bless the rest of you. Please, archive other threads on the forums too. See you guys around...
INGEN I a begging you. How do we archive thread?. I will do all i can to save some of the memories i have of my friends over the past years. How do i save them?
My dear friend, my dear old friend, I am also so sorry about this. It breaks my heart too. To lose so many friends, a company I loved...
… moreHowever, I have a little gift for you, for everything you have done for me, this great story...it has changed my life. I have taken the liberty of personally uploading of uploading EVERY SINGLE page of this thread all 315 for you. Well, I might have missed some (If I did, upload it, it's real easy)? I hope not, but if you go on web.archive.org, and just change the page number from p315 to whatever, it is here:
https://web.archive.org/web/20180921224051/https://telltale.com/community/discussion/89129/forum-of-thrones-an-interactive-story/p315
God Bless You Liquid, and God bless the rest of you. Please, archive other threads on the forums too. See you guys around...
They will not be gone, Lord! Check what InGen just said in his comment. At least Forum of Thrones is forever saved on the internet archives and I will take care of saving the others as well, either for a trip down memory lane or to help the writers who wish to continue with their stories at some other place. This is the end for the Telltale forums, unless Pete Hawley somehow pulls off a miracle. But it is not the end for our writing and I definitely hope this won't be the end of this little fanfiction community that has gathered here. Send me your contact details asap, just in case the forums are closer to a shutdown than either of us hopes.
This is slowly killing me. I realize now we've all been writing on sand. All those comments, stories, all gone. I feel like Nietzsche might have been right after all, maybe we all get a Turin horse once in our lives.
You are hopeful and that is good. I am happy FOT will survive but i never doubted it i just fear what will die her. I used to have a forum rp with blue and super, i am trying to save it and oprime on word but its not working. What about those old stories we loved. Forum of the dead, dark angel, hell even the dead Golden palading stories. I can barely do anything.
What is my contacts? you mean gmail. i can send it and whatever else. I just got a discord thatnks to broken. SO maybe that. And please to god someone save the multivesre prime trhread I am so sorry for my absense. I had college, but i want to continue please don't let it die.
They will not be gone, Lord! Check what InGen just said in his comment. At least Forum of Thrones is forever saved on the internet archives … moreand I will take care of saving the others as well, either for a trip down memory lane or to help the writers who wish to continue with their stories at some other place. This is the end for the Telltale forums, unless Pete Hawley somehow pulls off a miracle. But it is not the end for our writing and I definitely hope this won't be the end of this little fanfiction community that has gathered here. Send me your contact details asap, just in case the forums are closer to a shutdown than either of us hopes.
You are hopeful and that is good. I am happy FOT will survive but i never doubted it i just fear what will die her. I used to have a forum … morerp with blue and super, i am trying to save it and oprime on word but its not working. What about those old stories we loved. Forum of the dead, dark angel, hell even the dead Golden palading stories. I can barely do anything.
What is my contacts? you mean gmail. i can send it and whatever else. I just got a discord thatnks to broken. SO maybe that. And please to god someone save the multivesre prime trhread I am so sorry for my absense. I had college, but i want to continue please don't let it die.
Fuck im trying to sabve everything.
Yes, you absolutely can! I want to keep things interactive and I actually value the character submission even higher than the choices. I just hope the new format will support them, but I am certain I will find a way.
And I will save things to google docs as well, be assured of that. It's only the first two parts of Chapter 3, I actually managed to update the google docs with the missing two chapters several days ago. Thank god I did that, I am already stressing out over reaching out to all of you. Now I just need contact details from all of you and we can find a way to continue as a community.
I do wonder if we could still submit new characters on either of those new formats.
And make sure you copy all the parts that aren't in the google.docs page yet. We don't want a nasty little surprise either.
Oh my god I had to rush over this website in a heartbeat when I heard the company is shutting down this morning. I have not been around for several months but I never realized things were this bad at all (For Telltale, not the story because it is still awesome). I remember joining the Autumn of 2013 and joining this Forum late 2014. It has LITERALLY changed my life since being on the Telltale forums. It has been a great honor to follow the story and be a part of this community over these last 4 years because I can safely say I had a blast being a member.
This does not mean I am going anywhere of course, I have been reading all of the parts since my absence I just could not vote since then, but the news of Telltale shutting down caught me off guard and I was really scared that FoT was going to disappear with no way of contacting any of you. I think it would be best for everyone to prepares themselves to move this story somewhere else at any time, there is no telling when FoT and the rest of the community discussions get wiped off the map.
It has been an adventure with Telltale that is for sure. Despite my problems with them, as a fan I love their work so much and it is really sad to see this happen to them. I will never forget the kind of work they made and I hope somehow they manage to return in some form to make other games.
With that being said, I want to thank Telltale for their effort in their many years of creating games, this community for being just so incredibly awesome, and I want to thank you Liquid, your perseverance through out these trying 4 years with the hope to make a fantastic story is truly unbelievable.
Alright guys, everyone, I have very bad news to share. Actually, these will be the worst news I possibly can share with you.
Telltale is … morepretty much officially bankrupt. A majority of the staff has been laid off, the rest will most likely follow after the Final Season finishes and there's conflicting reports on wether it will finish at all. I won't go into too much detail on what this will mean for the company, but I am deeply sorry for the employees who have lost their jobs and the ones that will lose their jobs soon. Telltale has meant a lot to me for a very long time and I am honestly shocked that this will be the end of it all.
However, there's a thread for these topics over in the General Discussion. Here, I want to talk about the elephant in the room, about what this will mean to Forum of Thrones. Because there's no way around it, once Telltale is gone, sooner or later these forums will shut down. The story has been an integral pa… [view original content]
Yeah, there have been rumours that Telltale isn't doing too well financially and there is the big layoff from a couple months ago, but still, this hit pretty much all of us by surprise. Pete Hawley claims they will continue for the time being, but I honestly doubt the company can be saved from this. And with that, the forums will be gone. The story will not, thanks to InGen and archive.org and I will make sure that as many stories as possible will survive through that.
However, we will figure something out. I'm brainstorming on what to do right now and there are some good ideas. However, it is crucial that you send me your contact information, either an e-mail address, or that you add me on Steam and/or Discord, so that I can keep you updated on how things will continue from here on.
Oh my god I had to rush over this website in a heartbeat when I heard the company is shutting down this morning. I have not been around for … moreseveral months but I never realized things were this bad at all (For Telltale, not the story because it is still awesome). I remember joining the Autumn of 2013 and joining this Forum late 2014. It has LITERALLY changed my life since being on the Telltale forums. It has been a great honor to follow the story and be a part of this community over these last 4 years because I can safely say I had a blast being a member.
This does not mean I am going anywhere of course, I have been reading all of the parts since my absence I just could not vote since then, but the news of Telltale shutting down caught me off guard and I was really scared that FoT was going to disappear with no way of contacting any of you. I think it would be best for everyone to prepares themselves to move this story somewhere else at any… [view original content]
I see, I was not aware that rumors flying around it just feels so sudden. I hope they can pull through somehow and it is not the end for them. Btw, I just added you on Disocrd so feel free to message me anytime.
Yeah, there have been rumours that Telltale isn't doing too well financially and there is the big layoff from a couple months ago, but still… more, this hit pretty much all of us by surprise. Pete Hawley claims they will continue for the time being, but I honestly doubt the company can be saved from this. And with that, the forums will be gone. The story will not, thanks to InGen and archive.org and I will make sure that as many stories as possible will survive through that.
However, we will figure something out. I'm brainstorming on what to do right now and there are some good ideas. However, it is crucial that you send me your contact information, either an e-mail address, or that you add me on Steam and/or Discord, so that I can keep you updated on how things will continue from here on.
Woah, this came out of left field. I have to admit I haven't been keeping up with Telltale as of late, but never in a million years did I think they'd go bankrupt. I know they've been on a decline, and their last few games were not as well received. But damn...
Anyhow, I'll definitely be on the lookout for wherever you end up deciding to migrate the story to. I've been following this story for years now, too. And it's truly a rare thing imo to be able to form a community as you've done online through interactive fiction, so hats off to you Liquid. Nevertheless, I am certain this will not be the end of FoT, we'll just all have to make an account for whichever site you migrate to, and make it our home base. Besides, and I'm sure everyone here would agree with me, we're already way too invested to not see this story through XD
My sweet friend, my fellow interactive writer, I already PMed you, but I just want to send a virtual hug to you and every other reader and writer in here, whose stories are sentenced to go down the drain on this forum. Preserve your legacy. We'll help you if you need us.
I'm gonna find a way to save my own fanfic too. This thrash is five years old and will probably fill me with shame after a re-read, but it still means so much to me. Once Telltale community was an awesome platform for creative writing for kids like me.
Hello fellow Forum of Thrones readers. Let's just jump away from that robotic introduction and pretend it didn't happen. I've already PMed a few of you about this, though I want to publicly invite anyone who would like to join.
Liquid and I have been talking about our options since we found out what happened and while we don't really have anything sorted out for now, we and a number of other writers and readers have gathered in a Discord server to allow communication between all of us in case something does happen to the forums. Most, if not all, of our stories have been archived and are present there while we work through our forums situation.
It is quite sad that my first post here after a month of absence will probably be the last one but I want to deliver my thanks:
1)To Liquid, for the awesome story that you make us readers be part (making choices and characters)
2) To all the others readers of this story (Ingen,Kenny,Diversegnu,The Furry,Nightshroud,Edinosaur,Mathea,Lord EAA,imighthavebrokenit and all the others) that make me follow FoT an even more enjoyable experience
3) To Telltale,for the cool story that you produce and to have make me know the existence of this story
PS:btw this post doesn't mean that I won't be back,just that we will meet again in the new form that Liquid will use to continue FoT
Indeed, I honestly cannot fully believe it myself. While this won't be the end to our community here, the company that brought us all together will be gone soon. There has been a thread in the General Discussion, pretty much mentioning how utterly strange this whole end is, given that they apparently expected to still be in a good position until yesterday. This will take time, I will miss Telltale and the forums, but hopefully we can save as much as possible from it.
Yeah, several people have actually claimed that they would go bankrupt, supposed insiders even, but I never believed them. I chose to believe the ones who claimed that Telltale has survived worse and that at worst they will turn back into a smaller company, but while they are not gone yet, it does not seem good in any way.
But ah, I can't tell you how much this means to me. While Telltale brought me here, it has long since been this community, my writing and that of the others that actually kept me around. I had the hopes you would all be interested in seeing it continue somewhere else, so knowing that it is indeed the case, that makes the parting from this forum at least less bitter. Things will continue, there is no doubt about it.
Woah, this came out of left field. I have to admit I haven't been keeping up with Telltale as of late, but never in a million years did I th… moreink they'd go bankrupt. I know they've been on a decline, and their last few games were not as well received. But damn...
Anyhow, I'll definitely be on the lookout for wherever you end up deciding to migrate the story to. I've been following this story for years now, too. And it's truly a rare thing imo to be able to form a community as you've done online through interactive fiction, so hats off to you Liquid. Nevertheless, I am certain this will not be the end of FoT, we'll just all have to make an account for whichever site you migrate to, and make it our home base. Besides, and I'm sure everyone here would agree with me, we're already way too invested to not see this story through XD
My friend, I said it before, it has been your early encouragement that even prompted me to start writing. I don't think either of us thought I'd still be doing this four years later, but here we are Thank you for this and for the years of support! I look forward for what the future will bring for our little community here.
When it comes to saving your old story, be assured that I will look into it over the course of the next days. It has been years, but it is essentially what brought me into writing, so I can promise I won't let it die when the forums are no more. It will be a trip down memory lane for sure
My sweet friend, my fellow interactive writer, I already PMed you, but I just want to send a virtual hug to you and every other reader and w… moreriter in here, whose stories are sentenced to go down the drain on this forum. Preserve your legacy. We'll help you if you need us.
I'm gonna find a way to save my own fanfic too. This thrash is five years old and will probably fill me with shame after a re-read, but it still means so much to me. Once Telltale community was an awesome platform for creative writing for kids like me.
It is quite sad that my first post here after a month of absence will probably be the last one but I want to deliver my thanks:
Ah, I said it in the private message, welcome back! While I still intend to use this thread for as long as it exists, if this will be your last post here in the thread itself, allow me to say that I always truly cherished your thoughts.
1)To Liquid, for the awesome story that you make us readers be part (making choices and characters)
Here I must say, you deserve my thanks. All of you, actually. This story wouldn't have gone on for so long if not for your interest in it, your enthusiasm, all of that motivated me to go this far and it is what motivates me to continue, all the way to the proper end. This has honestly been such a wonderful experience so far, more than I ever thought. And it means that this story will not end just because Telltale will close the forums.
PS:btw this post doesn't mean that I won't be back,just that we will meet again in the new form that Liquid will use to continue FoT
And I am actually excited to see what the future brings. I have plans, as I said before, ideas on how to keep us together in a new environment. I certainly look forward to welcome everyone there
It is quite sad that my first post here after a month of absence will probably be the last one but I want to deliver my thanks:
1)To Liqu… moreid, for the awesome story that you make us readers be part (making choices and characters)
2) To all the others readers of this story (Ingen,Kenny,Diversegnu,The Furry,Nightshroud,Edinosaur,Mathea,Lord EAA,imighthavebrokenit and all the others) that make me follow FoT an even more enjoyable experience
3) To Telltale,for the cool story that you produce and to have make me know the existence of this story
PS:btw this post doesn't mean that I won't be back,just that we will meet again in the new form that Liquid will use to continue FoT
This news hit me like a truck. I was aware TellTale had a few bumps in the road but I didn’t think it would lead to this as soon as it has. I didn’t agree with a lot of the decisions made by Telltale but they still told some amazing stories with memorable characters, even some of my favourites (TellTales Joker is my favourite iteration of that character).
Now this forum I’ve not been particularly active on, but I can tell the community here was close, it really is depressing to see it go. There’s already an emptiness in me from the news, I can only imagine what you more diehard telltale fans must be feeling like.
In a more positive light, the small time I’ve had here was a blast, and I’ll follow this story regardless of location and only hope that with the new location comes new opportunities to grow as a community. You all kick ass and I’m glad to have been a part of it.
Godspeed
Of course! It was because of coming on here to check on your story that I learned of the news yesterday. I was very glad to see you would still be continuing this.
Aw man, you nearly made me cry with this answer. It's so sweet how you still care for me after all these years. I'm glad we have a Discord now, everyone from this thread just needs to stay in touch
My friend, I said it before, it has been your early encouragement that even prompted me to start writing. I don't think either of us thought… more I'd still be doing this four years later, but here we are Thank you for this and for the years of support! I look forward for what the future will bring for our little community here.
When it comes to saving your old story, be assured that I will look into it over the course of the next days. It has been years, but it is essentially what brought me into writing, so I can promise I won't let it die when the forums are no more. It will be a trip down memory lane for sure
Alright, one last time (on these forums at least), I have come to give you another set of character drawings! I'm not sure if anyone will even see this post before the site goes down, but oh well Here they are, five characters from the storyline in Gulltown, I hope you like 'em:
Alright, one last time (on these forums at least), I have come to give you another set of character drawings! I'm not sure if anyone will ev… moreen see this post before the site goes down, but oh well Here they are, five characters from the storyline in Gulltown, I hope you like 'em:
Aye, I am deeply saddened to see them go down, especially without any sort of warning. I can only imagine nobody saw that coming. Honestly, when I first got the news, I didn't take it too bad, but the more I think about it, the worse it gets. No matter their more recent decisions, Telltale will always remain the reason why I came here in the first place and I'll miss them. So many fond memories from the forums, even if most of it will be saved in the internet archives, some stuff just cannot be replaced.
But ah, I am glad you want to follow the story to its new home, wherever that may be! A couple of possible solutions are on the table and to be honest, a completely new forum is the most tempting option right now. Have you already joined the Interactive Story Discord? Imighthavebrokenit shared a link above, the majority of FoT readers, several fellow writers and others are part of it already, though the link might not work anymore, I think it's only up for one day before getting inactive. If that is the case, let me know and I will provide a new link, or just directly befriend me on Discord. Basically, right now we're trying to archive as many threads as possible, until these forums shut down and I have hopefully gotten a new, stable forum up and running. Thanks to InGen, FoT is completely saved and many people have worked hard to archive dozens of stories. If you haven't joined the Discord and are interested, that's the place to be if you want to be updated about the new situation as soon as something changes, but if you don't have Discord, then make sure to befriend me on Steam, send me an e-mail or follow me on Tumblr. The story will continue, soon actually, though first I gotta work on finding a new safe haven for it. If everything works out fine, that should not take me longer than a week to set up, so expect new parts in a new location at some point during the next weekend
This news hit me like a truck. I was aware TellTale had a few bumps in the road but I didn’t think it would lead to this as soon as it has. … moreI didn’t agree with a lot of the decisions made by Telltale but they still told some amazing stories with memorable characters, even some of my favourites (TellTales Joker is my favourite iteration of that character).
Now this forum I’ve not been particularly active on, but I can tell the community here was close, it really is depressing to see it go. There’s already an emptiness in me from the news, I can only imagine what you more diehard telltale fans must be feeling like.
In a more positive light, the small time I’ve had here was a blast, and I’ll follow this story regardless of location and only hope that with the new location comes new opportunities to grow as a community. You all kick ass and I’m glad to have been a part of it.
Godspeed
The last set of drawings in the old forums. Honestly, I couldn't have hoped for a better set, because I actually feel like this is some of your best work yet. These drawings are positively gorgeous and I can't get enough of them. I am not sure if I can pick a favourite here, but I got a surprising tendency. First of all, starting at the top, Octavia Shett. I would say, out of all the characters introduced in the latest chapter, she is the one I look forward to reveal more about the most, because she is going to be a seriously mysterious character. I feel even above physical beauty, this drawing highlights that aspect of her personality. I really dig this mysterious, cold, powerful vibe she's giving off in the drawing. Onwards to Zeth, I haven't shown much of him yet, but I was actually looking forward for him, because I always felt your drawings are particularly brilliant when some intricate piece of wardrobe is involved. In general, the way the characters dress in your drawings is spectacular (may I remind of the set with the five rulers of Westeros after the Interlude?) and it shows in this part and especially in Zeth's coat. I really get this 19th century british captain vibe from him, with the facial hair and especially the coat. That has to be the best coat you have ever drawn, hands down. Next, our new PoV for that storyline. The Hawk was another I really looked forward for. Admittedly, I am surprised by the huge Geralt vibes, but I like them. Guess now you all know who Vaasrand of Lys' father is Seriously, it suits him. FoT's most badass old guy, I cannot wait to show you all what I have in store for him. Onwards to a drawing that honestly surprises me. See, the Pig has always been a fun character to writer. However, I never really thought much of him. He was just another quirky guy I enjoy having in the story. But this drawing, oh man. When I gave you the descriptions, I was particularly excited for Octavia and the Hawk, while once more not thinking much about the Pig. Man, was that a mistake! I honestly don't know what it is about the Pig here. He's definitely not good looking, when compared to characters such as Octavia and Zeth, he lacks the Hawk's sheer badassery and that cunning look on the Rat's face, but for some reason, he is my favourite of this set. It might be a detail as simple as the moustache braids, or the fact that you indeed somehow managed to make a character look strangely dangerous and strong despite being clearly obese. I can barely explain it myself, but for some weird reason, the Pig just surprised me, because I thought nothing of him and got blown away by your drawing. And then there is the Rat, at last. He is another character I was only mildly curious about, but I really wanted to see the contrast between him and the Pig. This shines the most, having the deformed Rat next to the obese Pig, the former with this sly look on his face, while the latter looks more simple. I greatly enjoy the small details with the Rat, his ill-fitting clothes, the oversized head and the facial expression. All in all, you absolutely nailed it here. What a wonderful final set!
With this being said, thank you, thank you so much for giving these characters their visuals. It is one thing writing about them, but seeing these characters I spend so much time with brought to life as drawings, that is always a special occasion. Farewell to the last set of drawings in the old forums! I am looking forward for the first set in FoT's new home though, wherever that may be
Alright, one last time (on these forums at least), I have come to give you another set of character drawings! I'm not sure if anyone will ev… moreen see this post before the site goes down, but oh well Here they are, five characters from the storyline in Gulltown, I hope you like 'em:
Haha, well, when you described the Hawk as tall and imposing but more wiry than muscular, Geralt's bodytype just instantly popped into my mind. And then when I was drawing him I realized "oh yeah, and he has the same hair as well" Anyway, as always I'm glad to hear you're satisfied with the set, and I'm excited to keep contributing to this awesome story with my drawings in the future
The last set of drawings in the old forums. Honestly, I couldn't have hoped for a better set, because I actually feel like this is some of y… moreour best work yet. These drawings are positively gorgeous and I can't get enough of them. I am not sure if I can pick a favourite here, but I got a surprising tendency. First of all, starting at the top, Octavia Shett. I would say, out of all the characters introduced in the latest chapter, she is the one I look forward to reveal more about the most, because she is going to be a seriously mysterious character. I feel even above physical beauty, this drawing highlights that aspect of her personality. I really dig this mysterious, cold, powerful vibe she's giving off in the drawing. Onwards to Zeth, I haven't shown much of him yet, but I was actually looking forward for him, because I always felt your drawings are particularly brilliant when some intricate piece of wardrobe is involved. In general, the way … [view original content]
Garthon is going to tell Mariya that he is willing to turn on his Ironborn friends
This was a pretty big choice for Garthon in terms of character development. It will also majorly affect how Mariya sees him and her support or lack of it can certainly help, given the influence she has over her father. His next part will show a bit more of that.
And well, I will start writing the next part now It will be a part with PoV's from Kyra and Edrick, though I am not yet sure when I will be able to post it. See, I will be gone for the next three days, visiting my grandfather until Friday. I take my laptop with me and should be able to write, but exactly how much I get done remains to be seen. I should also let you know, I am not yet sure if I should post it here in the forums for old times sake, or if I should just do it in the new forums to support the migration to our new community. If you have an opinion on that, feel free to share it either here or on the Discord.
Now, let me talk about what happened over the last week. Most of you have probably heard of it, we have organized in a Discord group, which has grown to over fifty people by now. And just today, with help from Mathea in terms of design, I managed to finish our new forums, Creator's Haven, a place dedicated to give the creative community a place to stay when the Telltale forums are no more. All of you are invited, regardless of wether you are an active reader or you just happen to stumble over this post. Many have already joined the new community and I bet more will follow soon. I definitely look forward to see you all there
Registration is free and easy. There's sub-sections for every active work and a number of rather intriguing features that the Telltale community actually doesn't offer. We're talking signatures, ranks, writing in colour and things like that, nice little gimmicks. Most importantly, this will be the main place where the story continues once the Telltale forums are no more, as much as I hope this place here will remain for a long time to come.
I’ve now signed up for creators haven forum, and hell, maybe I’ll write something for it sometime. During my teens I really wanted to be a writer so it could be fun
Question though, are the new parts going to be put up on that site as of now, or are they exclusive to this forum until that’s no longer an option?
The Voting is closed!
Garthon is going to tell Mariya that he is willing to turn on his Ironborn friends
This was a pretty big choice … morefor Garthon in terms of character development. It will also majorly affect how Mariya sees him and her support or lack of it can certainly help, given the influence she has over her father. His next part will show a bit more of that.
And well, I will start writing the next part now It will be a part with PoV's from Kyra and Edrick, though I am not yet sure when I will be able to post it. See, I will be gone for the next three days, visiting my grandfather until Friday. I take my laptop with me and should be able to write, but exactly how much I get done remains to be seen. I should also let you know, I am not yet sure if I should post it here in the forums for old times sake, or if I should just do it in the new forums to support the migration to our new community. If you have an opinion on that, feel… [view original content]
Ah, by all means, if you feel like writing something, go ahead. The community can only get better from growing. I'll probably introduce a section for smaller projects, but if you decide to go for something larger right away, send me a message
And yes, new parts will definitely appear on the new forums! I am still debating on wether to make them appear only there, or here as well for as long as these forums will last, but I lean towards the latter, where they will appear on both sites for the time being and then exclusively at Creator's Haven once Telltale is no more. The recent news seem to imply they are in the process of just wrapping up some final obligations
I’ve now signed up for creators haven forum, and hell, maybe I’ll write something for it sometime. During my teens I really wanted to be a w… moreriter so it could be fun
Question though, are the new parts going to be put up on that site as of now, or are they exclusive to this forum until that’s no longer an option?
I do get your point and I can say, I will post the next part on the new forum for certain, hoping to move a bulk of the activity over there. However, InGen and Partition have brought up some excellent points over at the Discord. For one, there might still be readers who haven't learned of the new place yet. By continuing to post the parts here, I get the chance to remind them of it repeatedly, posting the link any time I close the voting and so on. I know there are silent readers who have never or almost never commented and who might haven't seen the news yet, or absent readers who might return once they learn of Telltale's fate. These readers don't have any other place than these forums to stay in contact for now. Posting the new part here would help me with finding out who might has not yet made the migration to Creator's Haven. Plus, it would honestly feel weird not to use these forums for as long as possible. I will post the next part on the new forum and hope that most will already use it, but I owe the Telltale forums enough to remain active on them until the bitter end, so I do lean towards cross-posting for the time being. Of course, it means having to archive the site repeatedly, but I don't think we'll manage to reach that many additional pages before the end. Gotta say, I was looking forward for a million views and five hundred pages
I do get your point and I can say, I will post the next part on the new forum for certain, hoping to move a bulk of the activity over there.… more However, InGen and Partition have brought up some excellent points over at the Discord. For one, there might still be readers who haven't learned of the new place yet. By continuing to post the parts here, I get the chance to remind them of it repeatedly, posting the link any time I close the voting and so on. I know there are silent readers who have never or almost never commented and who might haven't seen the news yet, or absent readers who might return once they learn of Telltale's fate. These readers don't have any other place than these forums to stay in contact for now. Posting the new part here would help me with finding out who might has not yet made the migration to Creator's Haven. Plus, it would honestly feel weird not to use these forums for as long as possible. I will post the next part on … [view original content]
And here it is, the new part at last! Contrary to what I said, it will feature a PoV from the Hawk and not from Edrick, but I hope you will enjoy it regardless This is posted here for the sake of having every part up on both sites as long as this forum still exists. However, if you haven't joined yet, I would like to remind you all again that our new forums, Creator's Haven, with its own Forum of Thrones section is up and running and I want it to be the place where the story survives when the Telltale forums are no more. So, those of you who haven't seen it yet, check out the link above. You can vote here or in Creator's Haven and while I prefer Creator's Haven, I want to leave it up to you to choose your prefered method of voting for as long as you can. Enjoy the part, I'll be active in the comments on both sites
The Hawk
It was a cold evening, as the Hawk watched the sun setting behind the low mountain range. The three companies had gathered on the plains beyond Gulltown, now for everyone to see and the old sellsword stood on the walls, watching them carefully with his single eye. Lady Octavia’s order had been clear. With the city unable to hold several hundreds of sellswords at once, especially the Pig’s trained beasts, they were to camp before the city, in stark contrast to their previous secrecy.
“You seem bothered”, Sharako mumbled, his voice not raised above a whisper, carried by the harsh winds in these lands. The Hawk himself was used to warmer climate, though he braced the cold with a stoic face. Earlier though, he had heard complaints from the sellswords. The Pig’s men in particular, they hated these lands. And the Hawk knew fully well what hateful men could do if unleashed.
“I have reason to be”, he replied calmly. “The lady could have called us here to begin with. Instead, she ordered us to land out of sight, only for us to make our way here on foot” He glanced at his spymaster. “Do you know why?” Sharako shook his head. “Not yet”, he admitted. “But I’ll find out. Perhaps Octavia’s plans have changed. Perhaps our stay here is not a secret any longer”
“Yeah and she thought over three hundred sellswords can remain a secret to begin with? The Pig brought elephants, for fucks sake”, the Hawk growled. Sharako shrugged. “I would have adviced against the elephants”, he replied, causing the Hawk to smirk thinly and without even the hint of joy. “Have you found out about the Shett girl’s plans?”, he asked.
This time, Sharako nodded. “Just a little bit”, he spoke and he came closer, a sly smile on his otherwise unremarkable face. “She recently met with Lord Grafton”, he replied. “Means I bet she’ll approach us soon, she or her henchman, that Arryn” He glanced down at the army of sellswords and the Hawk followed his gaze to where Jorario the Beast was handling two trained zorses.
“And her plans?”, the Hawk mumbled. Sharako narrowed his eyes. “I think I’m onto something”, he revealed. “It might be merely a coincidence yet, but the gulls of this city sing a fascinating song” Once more, he stepped closer, almost enough to whisper into the Hawk’s ear. “It speaks of a time in which Lord Royce’s firstborn son was gone from Runestone, for over three years and of a time, just a little below one year, in which his disappearance fell into the same timeframe as Lady Octavia’s”
The Hawk raised an eyebrow over the dark glass orb that replaced his missing eye. “She was missing?”, he asked. “Any relations to Royce’s disappearance?” Sharako shrugged truthfully. “i have not found out yet”, he admitted. “It takes time, forming contacts in this city. Valemen are distrustful” The Hawk chuckled at Sharako’s unhappy tone. “Knowing you, they have good reason to be”, he replied.
This time, his spymaster made a sour face. “If there is a connection between Orson Royce and Octavia Shett, leaving their homes without a trace at the same time, then it could put our work here in a completely different light”, he warned his leader. The Hawk shook his head. “Not at all, I just want to be prepare”, he replied. “We do what we are paid to do, as usual”
“This could be bigger than usual”, Sharako replied. “Hells, if we aren’t careful, this will be our last war” He was going to add something else, though he cut himself off, glancing to the side. The Hawk, however, had already heard the reason for his silence. Breathing heavily from climbing the stairs, the Pig moved his massive body upwards. He frowned as he spotted Sharako. “Was hoping we could talk”, he gasped. “Alone”
The Hawk nodded at Sharako and the spymaster rolled his eyes. “I’ll try to find out more”, he promised, as he walked past the Pig, merely greeting the other man with a brief nod. There was no love between the Hawk’s most subtle underling and the boisterous sellsword leader, yet most of the time, they at least managed to ignore each other.
“How are your elephants doing, Pig?”, the Hawk asked and the Pig pressed his lips together, absent-mindedly chewing on one end of his moustache, as he rested his arms on the railing next to him. “They’ll manage”, he spoke. “It’s not the North, after all, and Jorario is doing what he can to keep them warm” He shook his head. “I just hope this war is over before winter comes to these godforsaken lands”
The Hawk smirked. “You don’t enjoy our stay in Westeros?”, he asked and the Pig gave him a nod. “This land is too cold and I don’t just mean the climate. Now, the climate can go and fuck itself”, he replied. “But what’s worse is the people. Westerosi, all of them are stuck up. In Braavos, they would have thrown a feast for us!”
“Remember that time they kicked us out of the city?”, the Hawk reminded him and the Pig chuckled. His chuckle quickly grew louder, until he let out a booming laugh. “I haven’t been the Pig back then, but how could I forget that?”, he roared. “The Sealord gathered half of his warriors because they were so afraid we’d start a fight. They had to pull the Rat out of some whore’s lap, while he shouted obscenities at half of the Braavosi highborns!”
His laughter faded, as did his jolly mood and the Hawk frowned as well. The Rat he mentioned, it hasn’t been the same man as the one who held the title now. Such was the fate of the Hawk, the Pig and the Rat. They had given up on their names to become titles, figureheads of their companies, united by a bond stronger than family.
At least that was the fate of the Pig and the Rat. The Hawk had formed the three companies with his two friends, the first Pig and the first Rat...how long ago? Fifty years? Sixty? Probably more even... Young they had been back then, before his hair turned white, before he had lost his eye. He still remembered their faces, though not their names, their original names, out of respect for what they represented. The first Pig, a man as wild as the current one, but thinner and more cunning. Cut down in the tenth year of the Three Companies, dying in battle as he always wanted. The first Rat, a man who held this title for over forty years, before old age claimed him. He had been as sly as the current, the second Rat, but the memory of his dry wit still caused the Hawk to smile on occasion. He never cried for those he had lost, but those were the moments where he came close.
“Gods, that man could cuss...”, the Pig mumbled. “He was quite something, unlike that wretched dwarf who followed” The Hawk did not comment on the remark towards the third leader. There had always been a Hawk, a Rat and a Pig leading the three companies, but for the first time, the latter two did not get along.
“They all were great men”, the Hawk mumbled. “The same goes for the four who came before you” The Pig looked up, glancing at the Hawk out of his small eyes. That was the one topic he always longed for and his gaze showed his curiosity. “How were they?”, he asked. “I’ve known two Pig’s before I took over, one of them very well, the other... not so much. How was he? And the other two?”
The Hawk shook his head. He wouldn’t talk about them, not like this. “They were the Pig”, he spoke. “That was their title, their glory. Now, it is yours” The Pig sighed, as he glanced down at the three companies, building up their tents and setting up camp. He would sleep among his men tonight, as would the Hawk. Only the Rat had accepted Lady Octavia’s offer to reside in Zeth Arryn’s mansion for the time being.
“How long do you think it will be mine?”, he asked, his voice showing a hint of doubt. “I am not afraid to die in battle, but I want to know your opinion. How bad will it be this time?” The Hawk was silent for a while after the Pig’s question, just staring down at his army. Then, he shook his head. “You should tell Jorario to think of something for the elephants”, he replied. “I doubt we’ll be done with it before winter comes”
The Pig raised an eyebrow. “That bad?”, he asked and the Hawk took a deep breath. Holding the cold air in his lungs for a moment, he closed his one eye. “It might be my last war”, he revealed, repeating Sharako’s sentence from earlier. The Pig was silent after this, just staring down onto his company. “Does the Rat know about your fear?”
“It’s not a fear”, the Hawk growled sharply. “Just... call it a feeling. I’m old, Pig. Look at the city behind you and I tell you, you’d hardly manage to find a man older than me” The Pig shrugged. “You still fight like a man half your age”, he claimed and the Hawk nodded. However, he did not comment on the remark. There were things the Pig was not meant to know.
“Still, one of these days it is time for me to choose a new Hawk”, he replied. “And if Sharako is right, then there’s something big coming. I’ve cheated death countless times” The Pig sighed, though he gave the older man a half-hearted wink. “What’s one more?”, he asked in return. “Though I doubt it can hurt to make preparations. I will die in battle one day and Agar the Cold will become the next Pig”
“A worthy choice”, the Hawk agreed. “Though he needs to tame his temper. A man such as him would have killed the Rat long ago” The Pig smirked. “Perhaps we need a man like him then”, he argued. “And the dwarf? Don’t know what’s going through his freaky head, but that Vii girl of his, seems he’s building her up”
“That is what I fear as well”, the Hawk admitted. “But I won’t tell the Rat what to do. It is his company” The Pig rolled his eyes. “And what about you?”, he suddenly asked. “You said this might be your last war. Whom will you pick?” His question was likely asked innocently, as the Pig was not quite a man for scheming. More straightforward than some of his predecessors, which explained why he was so casual about announcing who would follow after him. The Hawk, however, had bad memories from previous leaders of the three companies who would go as far as to murder intended successors of the other leaders if they deemed them unworthy. It was one of the reasons he would even accept Vii the Innocent to follow after the Rat, not that he expected to be around for this.
“See, from my point you only got two choices. Montoya, the obvious one”, the Pig deduced. “Or that squire boy of yours. What’s his name... Harald?” The Hawk shook his head. “Hazar the Weak”, he spoke and the Pig grinned. “Perhaps a good thing he’d get rid of the name”, he replied. “But there must be a reason you keep him around so closely. It’s so that he can learn, right?”
He was right. Hazar was an option, a raw diamond. His father had been a master of the blade, putting up the hardest fight the Hawk had ever experienced in the long decades of his life. If Hazar was only half the man, then he would be more than worthy. And Montoya, while young and carefree, had something the Hawk valued above all other abilities. He was a born leader, charismatic and well-liked. There were others, potential options should he outlive either of these two. But they were the ones he wanted to see after him. He had to wonder himself, whom would he pick? Could he even decide at all right now? And most importantly, should the Pig know?
[Say you would choose Hazar][Say that you would choose Montoya][Say you haven’t decided yet]
Kyra
The blade of her axe parried Gravven’s sword with ease. She knew, in a real battle this would be the point where Red Rain would cut through the iron, splitting her axe and likely her hand. But thankfully, this wasn’t a real battle and her second had enough honour in him not to use the Valyrian weapon for a sparring match. She grinned. Such honour would be his undoing right now.
Being smaller in size, it had one advantage. Once she got close enough, it became hard for her taller opponent to move properly, while she still felt comfortable. Heavily, the hilt of her axe slammed into Gravven’s ribs, catching him off guard. Before he was able to regain his footing, Kyra kicked his lower leg.
Gravven was one of the best fighters she knew. And yet, he staggered at her unexpectedly heavy kick. Parrying his next strike was easy and the wooden end of her axe smashed against his jaw. This was what finally got him. With a groan, he stumbled backwards, before he fell onto his back, holding the aching jaw.
“Fucking hell, Cap”, he mumbled. “Nearly knocked out my teeth right there” His speech was a bit of a slur and he clearly had trouble opening his mouth. In return, she merely gave him a sweet smile. “Maybe you’ll win next time”, she replied and smirked dryly. “Yeah, sure”, he chuckled. “Or maybe that’ll be the point where I can find myself a new set of teeth”
She rolled her eyes, as she reached down to help him back up. “See, that is the problem, you hesitate too much”, she told him. Gravven raised an eyebrow, while still clenching his jaw. “And maybe you hesitate too little. We’re not actually trying to kill each other, you know that, right?” She patted him onto the upper arm. “Speak for yourself”, she jested. “I was going for your throat”
Gravven sighed, though his smile grew wider. “Cap, sometimes you scare me”, he spoke, giving her a wink. She grinned at him, before she glanced over her shoulder. They had been watching, several of her guards and other Ironborn. Dorran Blacktyde was there, while his sister was guarding the young Princess Hoare on Kyra’s orders. Dagon Saltcliffe gave her a respectful nod and Simon Vessels had at least the decency to lower his head in her presence.
It was there that she spotted Harrick and Damon. The prince was seemingly in a talk with her brother, but she knew, both were glancing at her, Harrick more openly than Damon. Even after three weeks, her brother’s warning was still fresh in her mind, so her smile grew smaller, as she allowed herself to feel a hint of nervousness. “Excuse me for a moment”, she mumbled. “Take care of that, will you?”
She handed Gravven her axe, only slightly noticing how her second-in-command sighed. “Sure, lose one sparring match, get demoted to fucking servant”, he growled in feigned annoyance. “I’d like a piece of your attitude, captain” Though he took the weapon and she knew he’d return it to the armoury, so she fully turned to the two men.
Nervousness turned to anger as she approached them. Damon and Harrick interrupted their talk and she glared at the former. Not for the first time, this anger grew stronger than her fear of what he would do to those she cared for. That was precisely the issue. Kyra had no problem with someone threatening her. Damon would do that once and she’d break his nose. Unfortunately, Damon knew this as well. But her friends? Gravven, Dagon, Alerah... yes, perhaps even Harrick, if Damon would be pushed far enough. He was her brother and she would never not love him, not after all he did for her, but his threat several weeks ago, it had triggered something in her.
“A marvellous fight, Lady Greyjoy”, Harrick addressed her, his tone being more distant than his warm gaze. Without missing a beat, however, she placed her arms on his shoulders, instantly noting how he tensed up. He was confident, yes, when he was drunken or when they were alone. She had always been the distant one in... whatever it was between them. Her open display of affection, for all the world to see, it caught him off guard and she enjoyed the feeling. More than that, she enjoyed the thought of how utterly furious Damon would be at this. She hoped even Harmund would see them, just to get back at him for the sick, disgusting way he was looking at her. And so, she wasted no time to passionately kiss the prince right onto the lips.
He needed a moment to kiss her back and yet another moment to pull away. While his tongue moved across his lips, his black gaze darted across her, showing wild confusion. Perhaps for the first time since she knew him, Harrick Hoare had been caught off guard. “I...”, he stuttered, but she cut him off. “Will you join us in the Great Hall tonight, my prince?”, she asked.
As quickly as she had broken through the confidence, as quickly did he regain it. He narrowed his eyes, glancing from her to Damon and seeing her brother’s sour expression, understanding faster than she had hoped. “It’ll be my pleasure”, he spoke, allowing himself a slight smile, though she knew that he would confront her about this eventually. Right now, however, it did not matter. He gave her a nod, then one to Damon. “We should resume this talk some other time, Lord Captain”, he spoke and without even expecting an answer, he turned away from them, walking towards the keep.
Damon and Kyra remained behind and while she looked after the prince, her brother stared solely at her. Finally, he broke the silence. “Do you enjoy using him just to anger me?”, Damon asked and she shot him a brief smirk. He raised an eyebrow. “Do you enjoy knowing that he is aware of it?”, he added and her smirk faded entirely.
“Perhaps you don’t get a say in this”, she hissed. “I am with Harrick because I want to. Just stop making this about yourself for once” He sighed, as he slightly pointed down the courtyard. She understood and started to walk with him. “It’s true, I don’t want you to be with him”, he admitted. “But there is one thing I want even less and it is you being with someone you don’t even want, just because you think it somehow harms me” His mouth twitched with barely concealed anger. “Do you truly hate me this much, little sister?”
“Making this about yourself again, I see”, Kyra sighed. “But fine, let’s have it your way. You threatened my friends. Extorted a promise from me, one you know you’d never need!” She raised her voice only slightly and he showed no sign of concern, yet his fists were clenched. “Then why do you insist on questioning me?”, he asked. “I get it, you are upset about your men, but trust me when I say it had to be done”
She remained quiet for a moment after he said this, trying to swallow her anger. “Trusting you is exactly the problem”, she admitted. “How can I trust you after you murdered my men, after you threatened my friends?” He had changed, she saw it now more than ever. She would never not love him, but in this moment, she had to ask herself if she could still hate him at the same time.
“You had no problem helping me back when we had Breaker on our side”, he said harshly and Kyra averted her gaze for a moment. Garthon’s death, it was proven. Rell’s testimony had been in public and the king had been happy enough to allow him back at court. Harrick’s agents had found nothing that said anything different. And as much as Kyra had hoped for another outcome, Harrick’s agents hadn’t found any proof that Vessels had been lying.
“I helped you because you are my brother”, Kyra hissed. “Not because I want to betray our king, but because I know what he is going to do to you if you fail. To both of us, because of your petty grudge” She shouldn’t have said that. Near instantly, Damon grabbed her forearm, clenching it tightly. “I wasted over a decade of my life away from my home, away from my family”, he whispered and his voice was shaking with anger. “Had I not done what I did, you would have died back then. I don’t expect you to understand it, because you have been here, you have been with Mother when she died, you have been home and you had a good life” His gaze softened as he noticed how harshly he had grabbed her and he let go. “I don’t expect you to understand a thing of what I sacrificed. Least you can do though is not to call it a fucking grudge”
Her own angry gaze softened, as she thought back to that day. It had been raining, the stones of Pyke had been wet. And yet, he demanded, the rotten thirdborn demanded. Climb, little lamb... Those had been his words. She would have climbed on that day, to his pleasure, because she feared the knife he had brought. Damon had never feared a thing. Not the height, as he fought the prince so close to the cliffs, not Harndon’s knife, not the king’s wrath for nearly beating his son to death. She would have died, if not for him.
“You cannot expect me to betray my king”, she said and Damon sighed. “You betrayed him the moment you did not turn me in”, he said, now in a softer tone. “But I know you would never do that, my sweet sister” Gently placing a hand on her cheek, he looked her in the eyes. “And I am sorry. I shouldn’t have threatened you. In that moment... Kyra, I don’t claim to be perfect”
She bit down onto her lower lip. “Yeah, I know that”, she mumbled. “So, what are you going to do then?” Damon placed an arm around her shoulder and she accepted the gesture. “Nothing to your friends, I promise you that”, he spoke. “Not because I care for them, but because I care for you so very much” He shrugged. “But I must advance in our cause and unfortunately, there has been a bit of a problem lately”
Kyra didn’t need to guess. She knew him well enough and it wasn’t as if she didn’t know about his plans at all. “Rell Vessel’s return”, she deduced and Damon nodded. “How observant of you”, he replied. “Honestly, I hoped for that worthless buttkisser to die in Raylansfair. Would have given Simon a permanent reason to remain on our side”
Simon... Kyra couldn’t say she was any fond of him, but Damon seemed to need him. He was influential, had the king’s ear and up until recently, a legitimate grudge. Harren’s order to send Rell with Torvin and Garthon, to die in Raylansfair, it had turned the captain against his king, for as twisted as Simon Vessels was, he loved his son almost as much as he loved himself. And out of the three hundred who had left with Torvin, Rell, of all people, was the only one to return. The irony would have been hysterical, if not for the bitter news that accompanied it.
“And now he doesn’t want to talk to you anymore, huh?”, Kyra remarked. “His reason for turning on Harren all but gone. I doubt that sits right with you” Damon shook his head. “It doesn’t”, he confirmed. “I spoke to Simon earlier, but he is dismissive. Told me he no longer cares. Oh yes, he assured me he wouldn’t sell me out, but neither will he help me any longer”
Kyra rolled her eyes. “Bet that one is inacceptable”, she stated in a mocking tone, which Damon commented with a sharp glance out of the corner of his eye. “Simon knows too much, yet at the same time, killing him would mean killing someone we might still need”, he explained. “No, it is Rell we must get rid of”
“You got a plan?”, Kyra asked. She had no sympathy for Rell Vessels either. He was Harmund’s lackey, a man who went along with whatever atrocity the crown prince suggested, out of a pathetic combination of malice and cowardice. Damon nodded. “Two, to be honest. I want to hear your opinion”, he revealed to her. This actually caught her by surprise. “You want to hear what I think?”, she asked, her voice shivering slightly. “That’s a first”
“Won’t be the last if your advice is solid”, Damon replied. “I just cannot decide. It would be simpler to just kill him. Cut his throat, frame one of the king’s men. Hells, frame Harmund even, we know his affection is as fickle as his temper” Kyra nodded. Such a suggestion was to be expected from Damon. “Or?”, she asked and he smirked. “Or we disgrace him. He is still on thin ice, has no allies at court. Frame him for something he never did, force Harren to punish him in some capacity and look at that, his father will come back to our side”, he replied and he gave her a wink. “Tell me, sweet sister, what would you prefer?”
[Say you would choose Hazar] Let's by trolly. Change our mind constantly.
[Suggest killing Rell] I'm going to still respond here, but I love the ol' forums, want to use them as much as I can. I only vote for this because I think this path makes it much more likely that Kyra learns the truth about Garthon - perhaps in exchange for not killing him. Or naaahhh.
“See, from my point you only got two choices. Montoya, the obvious one”, the Pig deduced. “Or that squire boy of yours. What’s his name... Harald?” The Hawk shook his head. “Hazar the Weak”, he spoke and the Pig grinned. “Perhaps a good thing he’d get rid of the name”, he replied. “But there must be a reason you keep him around so closely. It’s so that he can learn, right?”
Hmm. Well, losing the name, definitely something I'd keep my eye out for...
And here it is, the new part at last! Contrary to what I said, it will feature a PoV from the Hawk and not from Edrick, but I hope you will … moreenjoy it regardless This is posted here for the sake of having every part up on both sites as long as this forum still exists. However, if you haven't joined yet, I would like to remind you all again that our new forums, Creator's Haven, with its own Forum of Thrones section is up and running and I want it to be the place where the story survives when the Telltale forums are no more. So, those of you who haven't seen it yet, check out the link above. You can vote here or in Creator's Haven and while I prefer Creator's Haven, I want to leave it up to you to choose your prefered method of voting for as long as you can. Enjoy the part, I'll be active in the comments on both sites
The Hawk
It was a cold evening, as the Hawk watched the sun setting behind the low mountain range. The three companies h… [view original content]
I will also still use the forum for as long as it remains, although I will comment on the other site as well. [Say you haven’t decided yet] While Montoya seems to have the charisma, if Hizar the Weak is candidate, then there must be something that the Hawk saw in him to nominate him.
The Pig is right, the weather is generally too cold for such creatures like elephants and who knows what else they use for fighting.
[Suggest disgracing Rell] His debt to Garthon has been paid, but killing him could be counterproductive to keep his father on their side.
And here it is, the new part at last! Contrary to what I said, it will feature a PoV from the Hawk and not from Edrick, but I hope you will … moreenjoy it regardless This is posted here for the sake of having every part up on both sites as long as this forum still exists. However, if you haven't joined yet, I would like to remind you all again that our new forums, Creator's Haven, with its own Forum of Thrones section is up and running and I want it to be the place where the story survives when the Telltale forums are no more. So, those of you who haven't seen it yet, check out the link above. You can vote here or in Creator's Haven and while I prefer Creator's Haven, I want to leave it up to you to choose your prefered method of voting for as long as you can. Enjoy the part, I'll be active in the comments on both sites
The Hawk
It was a cold evening, as the Hawk watched the sun setting behind the low mountain range. The three companies h… [view original content]
I'm going to still respond here, but I love the ol' forums, want to use them as much as I can.
Of course! That is part of why I want to offer the parts here in the forums as well. I have been writing here for almost 4 years (and I kinda hope we'll reach the 4 year anniversary here in the forums still), the whole mechanics and all just feels so familiar, it'd be weird not to use the forums as long as possible. I love them too and I just know I will miss them when they are gone. I doubt things will get too confusing by having to reply to two sites. Might be a first exercise in cross-posting.
Hmm. Well, losing the name, definitely something I'd keep my eye out for...
Well, with a name like Hazar the Weak, anything can only get better, really. The Hawk, for example, that'd be something to look forward for. Though the company names actually can change. If Hazar starts to become some badass, he could end up as Hazar the Brave, even if he doesn't end up as the Hawk.
[Say you would choose Hazar] Let's by trolly. Change our mind constantly.
[Suggest killing Rell] I'm going to still respond here, but I l… moreove the ol' forums, want to use them as much as I can. I only vote for this because I think this path makes it much more likely that Kyra learns the truth about Garthon - perhaps in exchange for not killing him. Or naaahhh.
“See, from my point you only got two choices. Montoya, the obvious one”, the Pig deduced. “Or that squire boy of yours. What’s his name... Harald?” The Hawk shook his head. “Hazar the Weak”, he spoke and the Pig grinned. “Perhaps a good thing he’d get rid of the name”, he replied. “But there must be a reason you keep him around so closely. It’s so that he can learn, right?”
Hmm. Well, losing the name, definitely something I'd keep my eye out for...
I will also still use the forum for as long as it remains, although I will comment on the other site as well.
Aye, that is another option and I'm going to split my reply to you so that I can reply on both sites. Just, to all who might think about this, make sure to pick the same votes as you do on Creator's Haven and if you use a different username, make sure I know about it
The Pig is right, the weather is generally too cold for such creatures like elephants and who knows what else they use for fighting.
Oh yes, the companies are usually active in Essos, in appropriate climate for such animals. But the Company of the Pig is specialized on them and they have never led their war beasts to a place as cold as the Vale in mid-autumn before. The Pig has reason to be concerned. In this climate, they are not just going to be in danger, they will be actively a hindrance, due to the effort that has to be done just to keep them alive.
I will also still use the forum for as long as it remains, although I will comment on the other site as well.
[Say you haven’t decided yet]… more While Montoya seems to have the charisma, if Hizar the Weak is candidate, then there must be something that the Hawk saw in him to nominate him.
The Pig is right, the weather is generally too cold for such creatures like elephants and who knows what else they use for fighting.
[Suggest disgracing Rell] His debt to Garthon has been paid, but killing him could be counterproductive to keep his father on their side.
Comments
Wow, InGen I am honestly moved by this. As crushed as I am over this sudden announcement, losing a company that has affected me in such a huge way, this will make it so much easier to at least keep everything that happened here accessible once the forums shut down. I'll have a look through it, but this honestly takes away a lot of stress from me. I'll take care of saving the rest of the fanfiction threads on here. But honestly, I cannot thank you enough for taking care of the biggest chunk of it already. This means a lot to me and it will definitely help with not just saving what has been written so far, but with saving the story as a whole. I have plans, let's just hope there will be enough time to apply them before things get chaotic. At best, I'll get the story running on some other place before the forums shut down, for the smoothest transition, but given how out of the blue the announcement came today, I have to be realistic and assume the worst.
And thank you for all the years in which you have supported the story! Not just with uploading it, but with everything, really. You have been here from the very beginning and I hope you'll be there to see the end of the story whenever it happens. Let me know if there is any way to contact you once the forums are no more, because this definitely wouldn't be the same without you.
INGEN I a begging you. How do we archive thread?. I will do all i can to save some of the memories i have of my friends over the past years. How do i save them?
They will not be gone, Lord! Check what InGen just said in his comment. At least Forum of Thrones is forever saved on the internet archives and I will take care of saving the others as well, either for a trip down memory lane or to help the writers who wish to continue with their stories at some other place. This is the end for the Telltale forums, unless Pete Hawley somehow pulls off a miracle. But it is not the end for our writing and I definitely hope this won't be the end of this little fanfiction community that has gathered here. Send me your contact details asap, just in case the forums are closer to a shutdown than either of us hopes.
You are hopeful and that is good. I am happy FOT will survive but i never doubted it i just fear what will die her. I used to have a forum rp with blue and super, i am trying to save it and oprime on word but its not working. What about those old stories we loved. Forum of the dead, dark angel, hell even the dead Golden palading stories. I can barely do anything.
What is my contacts? you mean gmail. i can send it and whatever else. I just got a discord thatnks to broken. SO maybe that. And please to god someone save the multivesre prime trhread I am so sorry for my absense. I had college, but i want to continue please don't let it die.
Fuck im trying to sabve everything.
I do wonder if we could still submit new characters on either of those new formats.
And make sure you copy all the parts that aren't in the google.docs page yet. We don't want a nasty little surprise either.
Well, at least there's still the submission in the google docs page.
Yes, you absolutely can! I want to keep things interactive and I actually value the character submission even higher than the choices. I just hope the new format will support them, but I am certain I will find a way.
And I will save things to google docs as well, be assured of that. It's only the first two parts of Chapter 3, I actually managed to update the google docs with the missing two chapters several days ago. Thank god I did that, I am already stressing out over reaching out to all of you. Now I just need contact details from all of you and we can find a way to continue as a community.
Oh my god I had to rush over this website in a heartbeat when I heard the company is shutting down this morning. I have not been around for several months but I never realized things were this bad at all (For Telltale, not the story because it is still awesome). I remember joining the Autumn of 2013 and joining this Forum late 2014. It has LITERALLY changed my life since being on the Telltale forums. It has been a great honor to follow the story and be a part of this community over these last 4 years because I can safely say I had a blast being a member.
This does not mean I am going anywhere of course, I have been reading all of the parts since my absence I just could not vote since then, but the news of Telltale shutting down caught me off guard and I was really scared that FoT was going to disappear with no way of contacting any of you. I think it would be best for everyone to prepares themselves to move this story somewhere else at any time, there is no telling when FoT and the rest of the community discussions get wiped off the map.
It has been an adventure with Telltale that is for sure. Despite my problems with them, as a fan I love their work so much and it is really sad to see this happen to them. I will never forget the kind of work they made and I hope somehow they manage to return in some form to make other games.
With that being said, I want to thank Telltale for their effort in their many years of creating games, this community for being just so incredibly awesome, and I want to thank you Liquid, your perseverance through out these trying 4 years with the hope to make a fantastic story is truly unbelievable.
Yeah, there have been rumours that Telltale isn't doing too well financially and there is the big layoff from a couple months ago, but still, this hit pretty much all of us by surprise. Pete Hawley claims they will continue for the time being, but I honestly doubt the company can be saved from this. And with that, the forums will be gone. The story will not, thanks to InGen and archive.org and I will make sure that as many stories as possible will survive through that.
However, we will figure something out. I'm brainstorming on what to do right now and there are some good ideas. However, it is crucial that you send me your contact information, either an e-mail address, or that you add me on Steam and/or Discord, so that I can keep you updated on how things will continue from here on.
I see, I was not aware that rumors flying around it just feels so sudden. I hope they can pull through somehow and it is not the end for them. Btw, I just added you on Disocrd so feel free to message me anytime.
I'm still trying to process that this is actually happening. It's so abrupt and bizarre.
Wherever this is, I'll be there.
Woah, this came out of left field. I have to admit I haven't been keeping up with Telltale as of late, but never in a million years did I think they'd go bankrupt. I know they've been on a decline, and their last few games were not as well received. But damn...
Anyhow, I'll definitely be on the lookout for wherever you end up deciding to migrate the story to. I've been following this story for years now, too. And it's truly a rare thing imo to be able to form a community as you've done online through interactive fiction, so hats off to you Liquid. Nevertheless, I am certain this will not be the end of FoT, we'll just all have to make an account for whichever site you migrate to, and make it our home base. Besides, and I'm sure everyone here would agree with me, we're already way too invested to not see this story through XD
My sweet friend, my fellow interactive writer, I already PMed you, but I just want to send a virtual hug to you and every other reader and writer in here, whose stories are sentenced to go down the drain on this forum. Preserve your legacy. We'll help you if you need us.
I'm gonna find a way to save my own fanfic too. This thrash is five years old and will probably fill me with shame after a re-read, but it still means so much to me. Once Telltale community was an awesome platform for creative writing for kids like me.
Hello fellow Forum of Thrones readers. Let's just jump away from that robotic introduction and pretend it didn't happen. I've already PMed a few of you about this, though I want to publicly invite anyone who would like to join.
Liquid and I have been talking about our options since we found out what happened and while we don't really have anything sorted out for now, we and a number of other writers and readers have gathered in a Discord server to allow communication between all of us in case something does happen to the forums. Most, if not all, of our stories have been archived and are present there while we work through our forums situation.
I'd like to invite anyone interested to join! http://discord.gg/DpY9XEv
Edit: Also a huge thank you to Liquid for letting me post this here!
It is quite sad that my first post here after a month of absence will probably be the last one but I want to deliver my thanks:
1)To Liquid, for the awesome story that you make us readers be part (making choices and characters)
2) To all the others readers of this story (Ingen,Kenny,Diversegnu,The Furry,Nightshroud,Edinosaur,Mathea,Lord EAA,imighthavebrokenit and all the others) that make me follow FoT an even more enjoyable experience
3) To Telltale,for the cool story that you produce and to have make me know the existence of this story
PS:btw this post doesn't mean that I won't be back,just that we will meet again in the new form that Liquid will use to continue FoT
Indeed, I honestly cannot fully believe it myself. While this won't be the end to our community here, the company that brought us all together will be gone soon. There has been a thread in the General Discussion, pretty much mentioning how utterly strange this whole end is, given that they apparently expected to still be in a good position until yesterday. This will take time, I will miss Telltale and the forums, but hopefully we can save as much as possible from it.
Thank you, I am truly relieved to hear this. I do have a couple of plans by now and I will of course keep everyone updated here and on the Discord.
Yeah, several people have actually claimed that they would go bankrupt, supposed insiders even, but I never believed them. I chose to believe the ones who claimed that Telltale has survived worse and that at worst they will turn back into a smaller company, but while they are not gone yet, it does not seem good in any way.
But ah, I can't tell you how much this means to me. While Telltale brought me here, it has long since been this community, my writing and that of the others that actually kept me around. I had the hopes you would all be interested in seeing it continue somewhere else, so knowing that it is indeed the case, that makes the parting from this forum at least less bitter. Things will continue, there is no doubt about it.
My friend, I said it before, it has been your early encouragement that even prompted me to start writing. I don't think either of us thought I'd still be doing this four years later, but here we are
Thank you for this and for the years of support! I look forward for what the future will bring for our little community here.
When it comes to saving your old story, be assured that I will look into it over the course of the next days. It has been years, but it is essentially what brought me into writing, so I can promise I won't let it die when the forums are no more. It will be a trip down memory lane for sure
Ah, I said it in the private message, welcome back! While I still intend to use this thread for as long as it exists, if this will be your last post here in the thread itself, allow me to say that I always truly cherished your thoughts.
Here I must say, you deserve my thanks. All of you, actually. This story wouldn't have gone on for so long if not for your interest in it, your enthusiasm, all of that motivated me to go this far and it is what motivates me to continue, all the way to the proper end. This has honestly been such a wonderful experience so far, more than I ever thought. And it means that this story will not end just because Telltale will close the forums.
And I am actually excited to see what the future brings. I have plans, as I said before, ideas on how to keep us together in a new environment. I certainly look forward to welcome everyone there
This news hit me like a truck. I was aware TellTale had a few bumps in the road but I didn’t think it would lead to this as soon as it has. I didn’t agree with a lot of the decisions made by Telltale but they still told some amazing stories with memorable characters, even some of my favourites (TellTales Joker is my favourite iteration of that character).
Now this forum I’ve not been particularly active on, but I can tell the community here was close, it really is depressing to see it go. There’s already an emptiness in me from the news, I can only imagine what you more diehard telltale fans must be feeling like.
In a more positive light, the small time I’ve had here was a blast, and I’ll follow this story regardless of location and only hope that with the new location comes new opportunities to grow as a community. You all kick ass and I’m glad to have been a part of it.
Godspeed
Of course! It was because of coming on here to check on your story that I learned of the news yesterday. I was very glad to see you would still be continuing this.
Aw man, you nearly made me cry with this answer. It's so sweet how you still care for me after all these years. I'm glad we have a Discord now, everyone from this thread just needs to stay in touch
Alright, one last time (on these forums at least), I have come to give you another set of character drawings! I'm not sure if anyone will even see this post before the site goes down, but oh well
Here they are, five characters from the storyline in Gulltown, I hope you like 'em:
They look great! The hawk reminds me of Geralt from the Witcher.
Aye, I am deeply saddened to see them go down, especially without any sort of warning. I can only imagine nobody saw that coming. Honestly, when I first got the news, I didn't take it too bad, but the more I think about it, the worse it gets. No matter their more recent decisions, Telltale will always remain the reason why I came here in the first place and I'll miss them. So many fond memories from the forums, even if most of it will be saved in the internet archives, some stuff just cannot be replaced.
But ah, I am glad you want to follow the story to its new home, wherever that may be! A couple of possible solutions are on the table and to be honest, a completely new forum is the most tempting option right now. Have you already joined the Interactive Story Discord? Imighthavebrokenit shared a link above, the majority of FoT readers, several fellow writers and others are part of it already, though the link might not work anymore, I think it's only up for one day before getting inactive. If that is the case, let me know and I will provide a new link, or just directly befriend me on Discord. Basically, right now we're trying to archive as many threads as possible, until these forums shut down and I have hopefully gotten a new, stable forum up and running. Thanks to InGen, FoT is completely saved and many people have worked hard to archive dozens of stories. If you haven't joined the Discord and are interested, that's the place to be if you want to be updated about the new situation as soon as something changes, but if you don't have Discord, then make sure to befriend me on Steam, send me an e-mail or follow me on Tumblr. The story will continue, soon actually, though first I gotta work on finding a new safe haven for it. If everything works out fine, that should not take me longer than a week to set up, so expect new parts in a new location at some point during the next weekend
The last set of drawings in the old forums. Honestly, I couldn't have hoped for a better set, because I actually feel like this is some of your best work yet. These drawings are positively gorgeous and I can't get enough of them. I am not sure if I can pick a favourite here, but I got a surprising tendency. First of all, starting at the top, Octavia Shett. I would say, out of all the characters introduced in the latest chapter, she is the one I look forward to reveal more about the most, because she is going to be a seriously mysterious character. I feel even above physical beauty, this drawing highlights that aspect of her personality. I really dig this mysterious, cold, powerful vibe she's giving off in the drawing. Onwards to Zeth, I haven't shown much of him yet, but I was actually looking forward for him, because I always felt your drawings are particularly brilliant when some intricate piece of wardrobe is involved. In general, the way the characters dress in your drawings is spectacular (may I remind of the set with the five rulers of Westeros after the Interlude?) and it shows in this part and especially in Zeth's coat. I really get this 19th century british captain vibe from him, with the facial hair and especially the coat. That has to be the best coat you have ever drawn, hands down. Next, our new PoV for that storyline. The Hawk was another I really looked forward for. Admittedly, I am surprised by the huge Geralt vibes, but I like them. Guess now you all know who Vaasrand of Lys' father is
Seriously, it suits him. FoT's most badass old guy, I cannot wait to show you all what I have in store for him. Onwards to a drawing that honestly surprises me. See, the Pig has always been a fun character to writer. However, I never really thought much of him. He was just another quirky guy I enjoy having in the story. But this drawing, oh man. When I gave you the descriptions, I was particularly excited for Octavia and the Hawk, while once more not thinking much about the Pig. Man, was that a mistake! I honestly don't know what it is about the Pig here. He's definitely not good looking, when compared to characters such as Octavia and Zeth, he lacks the Hawk's sheer badassery and that cunning look on the Rat's face, but for some reason, he is my favourite of this set. It might be a detail as simple as the moustache braids, or the fact that you indeed somehow managed to make a character look strangely dangerous and strong despite being clearly obese. I can barely explain it myself, but for some weird reason, the Pig just surprised me, because I thought nothing of him and got blown away by your drawing. And then there is the Rat, at last. He is another character I was only mildly curious about, but I really wanted to see the contrast between him and the Pig. This shines the most, having the deformed Rat next to the obese Pig, the former with this sly look on his face, while the latter looks more simple. I greatly enjoy the small details with the Rat, his ill-fitting clothes, the oversized head and the facial expression. All in all, you absolutely nailed it here. What a wonderful final set!
With this being said, thank you, thank you so much for giving these characters their visuals. It is one thing writing about them, but seeing these characters I spend so much time with brought to life as drawings, that is always a special occasion. Farewell to the last set of drawings in the old forums! I am looking forward for the first set in FoT's new home though, wherever that may be
Haha, well, when you described the Hawk as tall and imposing but more wiry than muscular, Geralt's bodytype just instantly popped into my mind. And then when I was drawing him I realized "oh yeah, and he has the same hair as well"
Anyway, as always I'm glad to hear you're satisfied with the set, and I'm excited to keep contributing to this awesome story with my drawings in the future 
The Voting is closed!
Garthon is going to tell Mariya that he is willing to turn on his Ironborn friends
This was a pretty big choice for Garthon in terms of character development. It will also majorly affect how Mariya sees him and her support or lack of it can certainly help, given the influence she has over her father. His next part will show a bit more of that.
And well, I will start writing the next part now
It will be a part with PoV's from Kyra and Edrick, though I am not yet sure when I will be able to post it. See, I will be gone for the next three days, visiting my grandfather until Friday. I take my laptop with me and should be able to write, but exactly how much I get done remains to be seen. I should also let you know, I am not yet sure if I should post it here in the forums for old times sake, or if I should just do it in the new forums to support the migration to our new community. If you have an opinion on that, feel free to share it either here or on the Discord.
Now, let me talk about what happened over the last week. Most of you have probably heard of it, we have organized in a Discord group, which has grown to over fifty people by now. And just today, with help from Mathea in terms of design, I managed to finish our new forums, Creator's Haven, a place dedicated to give the creative community a place to stay when the Telltale forums are no more. All of you are invited, regardless of wether you are an active reader or you just happen to stumble over this post. Many have already joined the new community and I bet more will follow soon. I definitely look forward to see you all there
Without further ado, here is the link:
http://creators-haven.boards.net/
Registration is free and easy. There's sub-sections for every active work and a number of rather intriguing features that the Telltale community actually doesn't offer. We're talking signatures, ranks, writing in colour and things like that, nice little gimmicks. Most importantly, this will be the main place where the story continues once the Telltale forums are no more, as much as I hope this place here will remain for a long time to come.
I’ve now signed up for creators haven forum, and hell, maybe I’ll write something for it sometime. During my teens I really wanted to be a writer so it could be fun
Question though, are the new parts going to be put up on that site as of now, or are they exclusive to this forum until that’s no longer an option?
I think it would be better that you start posting on the new forum so we can get used to it and so the new parts don't have to get archived.
Ah, by all means, if you feel like writing something, go ahead. The community can only get better from growing. I'll probably introduce a section for smaller projects, but if you decide to go for something larger right away, send me a message
And yes, new parts will definitely appear on the new forums! I am still debating on wether to make them appear only there, or here as well for as long as these forums will last, but I lean towards the latter, where they will appear on both sites for the time being and then exclusively at Creator's Haven once Telltale is no more. The recent news seem to imply they are in the process of just wrapping up some final obligations
I do get your point and I can say, I will post the next part on the new forum for certain, hoping to move a bulk of the activity over there. However, InGen and Partition have brought up some excellent points over at the Discord. For one, there might still be readers who haven't learned of the new place yet. By continuing to post the parts here, I get the chance to remind them of it repeatedly, posting the link any time I close the voting and so on. I know there are silent readers who have never or almost never commented and who might haven't seen the news yet, or absent readers who might return once they learn of Telltale's fate. These readers don't have any other place than these forums to stay in contact for now. Posting the new part here would help me with finding out who might has not yet made the migration to Creator's Haven. Plus, it would honestly feel weird not to use these forums for as long as possible. I will post the next part on the new forum and hope that most will already use it, but I owe the Telltale forums enough to remain active on them until the bitter end, so I do lean towards cross-posting for the time being. Of course, it means having to archive the site repeatedly, but I don't think we'll manage to reach that many additional pages before the end. Gotta say, I was looking forward for a million views and five hundred pages
I can understand that
And here it is, the new part at last! Contrary to what I said, it will feature a PoV from the Hawk and not from Edrick, but I hope you will enjoy it regardless
This is posted here for the sake of having every part up on both sites as long as this forum still exists. However, if you haven't joined yet, I would like to remind you all again that our new forums, Creator's Haven, with its own Forum of Thrones section is up and running and I want it to be the place where the story survives when the Telltale forums are no more. So, those of you who haven't seen it yet, check out the link above. You can vote here or in Creator's Haven and while I prefer Creator's Haven, I want to leave it up to you to choose your prefered method of voting for as long as you can. Enjoy the part, I'll be active in the comments on both sites 
The Hawk
It was a cold evening, as the Hawk watched the sun setting behind the low mountain range. The three companies had gathered on the plains beyond Gulltown, now for everyone to see and the old sellsword stood on the walls, watching them carefully with his single eye. Lady Octavia’s order had been clear. With the city unable to hold several hundreds of sellswords at once, especially the Pig’s trained beasts, they were to camp before the city, in stark contrast to their previous secrecy.
“You seem bothered”, Sharako mumbled, his voice not raised above a whisper, carried by the harsh winds in these lands. The Hawk himself was used to warmer climate, though he braced the cold with a stoic face. Earlier though, he had heard complaints from the sellswords. The Pig’s men in particular, they hated these lands. And the Hawk knew fully well what hateful men could do if unleashed.
“I have reason to be”, he replied calmly. “The lady could have called us here to begin with. Instead, she ordered us to land out of sight, only for us to make our way here on foot” He glanced at his spymaster. “Do you know why?” Sharako shook his head. “Not yet”, he admitted. “But I’ll find out. Perhaps Octavia’s plans have changed. Perhaps our stay here is not a secret any longer”
“Yeah and she thought over three hundred sellswords can remain a secret to begin with? The Pig brought elephants, for fucks sake”, the Hawk growled. Sharako shrugged. “I would have adviced against the elephants”, he replied, causing the Hawk to smirk thinly and without even the hint of joy. “Have you found out about the Shett girl’s plans?”, he asked.
This time, Sharako nodded. “Just a little bit”, he spoke and he came closer, a sly smile on his otherwise unremarkable face. “She recently met with Lord Grafton”, he replied. “Means I bet she’ll approach us soon, she or her henchman, that Arryn” He glanced down at the army of sellswords and the Hawk followed his gaze to where Jorario the Beast was handling two trained zorses.
“And her plans?”, the Hawk mumbled. Sharako narrowed his eyes. “I think I’m onto something”, he revealed. “It might be merely a coincidence yet, but the gulls of this city sing a fascinating song” Once more, he stepped closer, almost enough to whisper into the Hawk’s ear. “It speaks of a time in which Lord Royce’s firstborn son was gone from Runestone, for over three years and of a time, just a little below one year, in which his disappearance fell into the same timeframe as Lady Octavia’s”
The Hawk raised an eyebrow over the dark glass orb that replaced his missing eye. “She was missing?”, he asked. “Any relations to Royce’s disappearance?” Sharako shrugged truthfully. “i have not found out yet”, he admitted. “It takes time, forming contacts in this city. Valemen are distrustful” The Hawk chuckled at Sharako’s unhappy tone. “Knowing you, they have good reason to be”, he replied.
This time, his spymaster made a sour face. “If there is a connection between Orson Royce and Octavia Shett, leaving their homes without a trace at the same time, then it could put our work here in a completely different light”, he warned his leader. The Hawk shook his head. “Not at all, I just want to be prepare”, he replied. “We do what we are paid to do, as usual”
“This could be bigger than usual”, Sharako replied. “Hells, if we aren’t careful, this will be our last war” He was going to add something else, though he cut himself off, glancing to the side. The Hawk, however, had already heard the reason for his silence. Breathing heavily from climbing the stairs, the Pig moved his massive body upwards. He frowned as he spotted Sharako. “Was hoping we could talk”, he gasped. “Alone”
The Hawk nodded at Sharako and the spymaster rolled his eyes. “I’ll try to find out more”, he promised, as he walked past the Pig, merely greeting the other man with a brief nod. There was no love between the Hawk’s most subtle underling and the boisterous sellsword leader, yet most of the time, they at least managed to ignore each other.
“How are your elephants doing, Pig?”, the Hawk asked and the Pig pressed his lips together, absent-mindedly chewing on one end of his moustache, as he rested his arms on the railing next to him. “They’ll manage”, he spoke. “It’s not the North, after all, and Jorario is doing what he can to keep them warm” He shook his head. “I just hope this war is over before winter comes to these godforsaken lands”
The Hawk smirked. “You don’t enjoy our stay in Westeros?”, he asked and the Pig gave him a nod. “This land is too cold and I don’t just mean the climate. Now, the climate can go and fuck itself”, he replied. “But what’s worse is the people. Westerosi, all of them are stuck up. In Braavos, they would have thrown a feast for us!”
“Remember that time they kicked us out of the city?”, the Hawk reminded him and the Pig chuckled. His chuckle quickly grew louder, until he let out a booming laugh. “I haven’t been the Pig back then, but how could I forget that?”, he roared. “The Sealord gathered half of his warriors because they were so afraid we’d start a fight. They had to pull the Rat out of some whore’s lap, while he shouted obscenities at half of the Braavosi highborns!”
His laughter faded, as did his jolly mood and the Hawk frowned as well. The Rat he mentioned, it hasn’t been the same man as the one who held the title now. Such was the fate of the Hawk, the Pig and the Rat. They had given up on their names to become titles, figureheads of their companies, united by a bond stronger than family.
At least that was the fate of the Pig and the Rat. The Hawk had formed the three companies with his two friends, the first Pig and the first Rat...how long ago? Fifty years? Sixty? Probably more even... Young they had been back then, before his hair turned white, before he had lost his eye. He still remembered their faces, though not their names, their original names, out of respect for what they represented. The first Pig, a man as wild as the current one, but thinner and more cunning. Cut down in the tenth year of the Three Companies, dying in battle as he always wanted. The first Rat, a man who held this title for over forty years, before old age claimed him. He had been as sly as the current, the second Rat, but the memory of his dry wit still caused the Hawk to smile on occasion. He never cried for those he had lost, but those were the moments where he came close.
“Gods, that man could cuss...”, the Pig mumbled. “He was quite something, unlike that wretched dwarf who followed” The Hawk did not comment on the remark towards the third leader. There had always been a Hawk, a Rat and a Pig leading the three companies, but for the first time, the latter two did not get along.
“They all were great men”, the Hawk mumbled. “The same goes for the four who came before you” The Pig looked up, glancing at the Hawk out of his small eyes. That was the one topic he always longed for and his gaze showed his curiosity. “How were they?”, he asked. “I’ve known two Pig’s before I took over, one of them very well, the other... not so much. How was he? And the other two?”
The Hawk shook his head. He wouldn’t talk about them, not like this. “They were the Pig”, he spoke. “That was their title, their glory. Now, it is yours” The Pig sighed, as he glanced down at the three companies, building up their tents and setting up camp. He would sleep among his men tonight, as would the Hawk. Only the Rat had accepted Lady Octavia’s offer to reside in Zeth Arryn’s mansion for the time being.
“How long do you think it will be mine?”, he asked, his voice showing a hint of doubt. “I am not afraid to die in battle, but I want to know your opinion. How bad will it be this time?” The Hawk was silent for a while after the Pig’s question, just staring down at his army. Then, he shook his head. “You should tell Jorario to think of something for the elephants”, he replied. “I doubt we’ll be done with it before winter comes”
The Pig raised an eyebrow. “That bad?”, he asked and the Hawk took a deep breath. Holding the cold air in his lungs for a moment, he closed his one eye. “It might be my last war”, he revealed, repeating Sharako’s sentence from earlier. The Pig was silent after this, just staring down onto his company. “Does the Rat know about your fear?”
“It’s not a fear”, the Hawk growled sharply. “Just... call it a feeling. I’m old, Pig. Look at the city behind you and I tell you, you’d hardly manage to find a man older than me” The Pig shrugged. “You still fight like a man half your age”, he claimed and the Hawk nodded. However, he did not comment on the remark. There were things the Pig was not meant to know.
“Still, one of these days it is time for me to choose a new Hawk”, he replied. “And if Sharako is right, then there’s something big coming. I’ve cheated death countless times” The Pig sighed, though he gave the older man a half-hearted wink. “What’s one more?”, he asked in return. “Though I doubt it can hurt to make preparations. I will die in battle one day and Agar the Cold will become the next Pig”
“A worthy choice”, the Hawk agreed. “Though he needs to tame his temper. A man such as him would have killed the Rat long ago” The Pig smirked. “Perhaps we need a man like him then”, he argued. “And the dwarf? Don’t know what’s going through his freaky head, but that Vii girl of his, seems he’s building her up”
“That is what I fear as well”, the Hawk admitted. “But I won’t tell the Rat what to do. It is his company” The Pig rolled his eyes. “And what about you?”, he suddenly asked. “You said this might be your last war. Whom will you pick?” His question was likely asked innocently, as the Pig was not quite a man for scheming. More straightforward than some of his predecessors, which explained why he was so casual about announcing who would follow after him. The Hawk, however, had bad memories from previous leaders of the three companies who would go as far as to murder intended successors of the other leaders if they deemed them unworthy. It was one of the reasons he would even accept Vii the Innocent to follow after the Rat, not that he expected to be around for this.
“See, from my point you only got two choices. Montoya, the obvious one”, the Pig deduced. “Or that squire boy of yours. What’s his name... Harald?” The Hawk shook his head. “Hazar the Weak”, he spoke and the Pig grinned. “Perhaps a good thing he’d get rid of the name”, he replied. “But there must be a reason you keep him around so closely. It’s so that he can learn, right?”
He was right. Hazar was an option, a raw diamond. His father had been a master of the blade, putting up the hardest fight the Hawk had ever experienced in the long decades of his life. If Hazar was only half the man, then he would be more than worthy. And Montoya, while young and carefree, had something the Hawk valued above all other abilities. He was a born leader, charismatic and well-liked. There were others, potential options should he outlive either of these two. But they were the ones he wanted to see after him. He had to wonder himself, whom would he pick? Could he even decide at all right now? And most importantly, should the Pig know?
[Say you would choose Hazar] [Say that you would choose Montoya] [Say you haven’t decided yet]
Kyra
The blade of her axe parried Gravven’s sword with ease. She knew, in a real battle this would be the point where Red Rain would cut through the iron, splitting her axe and likely her hand. But thankfully, this wasn’t a real battle and her second had enough honour in him not to use the Valyrian weapon for a sparring match. She grinned. Such honour would be his undoing right now.
Being smaller in size, it had one advantage. Once she got close enough, it became hard for her taller opponent to move properly, while she still felt comfortable. Heavily, the hilt of her axe slammed into Gravven’s ribs, catching him off guard. Before he was able to regain his footing, Kyra kicked his lower leg.
Gravven was one of the best fighters she knew. And yet, he staggered at her unexpectedly heavy kick. Parrying his next strike was easy and the wooden end of her axe smashed against his jaw. This was what finally got him. With a groan, he stumbled backwards, before he fell onto his back, holding the aching jaw.
“Fucking hell, Cap”, he mumbled. “Nearly knocked out my teeth right there” His speech was a bit of a slur and he clearly had trouble opening his mouth. In return, she merely gave him a sweet smile. “Maybe you’ll win next time”, she replied and smirked dryly. “Yeah, sure”, he chuckled. “Or maybe that’ll be the point where I can find myself a new set of teeth”
She rolled her eyes, as she reached down to help him back up. “See, that is the problem, you hesitate too much”, she told him. Gravven raised an eyebrow, while still clenching his jaw. “And maybe you hesitate too little. We’re not actually trying to kill each other, you know that, right?” She patted him onto the upper arm. “Speak for yourself”, she jested. “I was going for your throat”
Gravven sighed, though his smile grew wider. “Cap, sometimes you scare me”, he spoke, giving her a wink. She grinned at him, before she glanced over her shoulder. They had been watching, several of her guards and other Ironborn. Dorran Blacktyde was there, while his sister was guarding the young Princess Hoare on Kyra’s orders. Dagon Saltcliffe gave her a respectful nod and Simon Vessels had at least the decency to lower his head in her presence.
It was there that she spotted Harrick and Damon. The prince was seemingly in a talk with her brother, but she knew, both were glancing at her, Harrick more openly than Damon. Even after three weeks, her brother’s warning was still fresh in her mind, so her smile grew smaller, as she allowed herself to feel a hint of nervousness. “Excuse me for a moment”, she mumbled. “Take care of that, will you?”
She handed Gravven her axe, only slightly noticing how her second-in-command sighed. “Sure, lose one sparring match, get demoted to fucking servant”, he growled in feigned annoyance. “I’d like a piece of your attitude, captain” Though he took the weapon and she knew he’d return it to the armoury, so she fully turned to the two men.
Nervousness turned to anger as she approached them. Damon and Harrick interrupted their talk and she glared at the former. Not for the first time, this anger grew stronger than her fear of what he would do to those she cared for. That was precisely the issue. Kyra had no problem with someone threatening her. Damon would do that once and she’d break his nose. Unfortunately, Damon knew this as well. But her friends? Gravven, Dagon, Alerah... yes, perhaps even Harrick, if Damon would be pushed far enough. He was her brother and she would never not love him, not after all he did for her, but his threat several weeks ago, it had triggered something in her.
“A marvellous fight, Lady Greyjoy”, Harrick addressed her, his tone being more distant than his warm gaze. Without missing a beat, however, she placed her arms on his shoulders, instantly noting how he tensed up. He was confident, yes, when he was drunken or when they were alone. She had always been the distant one in... whatever it was between them. Her open display of affection, for all the world to see, it caught him off guard and she enjoyed the feeling. More than that, she enjoyed the thought of how utterly furious Damon would be at this. She hoped even Harmund would see them, just to get back at him for the sick, disgusting way he was looking at her. And so, she wasted no time to passionately kiss the prince right onto the lips.
He needed a moment to kiss her back and yet another moment to pull away. While his tongue moved across his lips, his black gaze darted across her, showing wild confusion. Perhaps for the first time since she knew him, Harrick Hoare had been caught off guard. “I...”, he stuttered, but she cut him off. “Will you join us in the Great Hall tonight, my prince?”, she asked.
As quickly as she had broken through the confidence, as quickly did he regain it. He narrowed his eyes, glancing from her to Damon and seeing her brother’s sour expression, understanding faster than she had hoped. “It’ll be my pleasure”, he spoke, allowing himself a slight smile, though she knew that he would confront her about this eventually. Right now, however, it did not matter. He gave her a nod, then one to Damon. “We should resume this talk some other time, Lord Captain”, he spoke and without even expecting an answer, he turned away from them, walking towards the keep.
Damon and Kyra remained behind and while she looked after the prince, her brother stared solely at her. Finally, he broke the silence. “Do you enjoy using him just to anger me?”, Damon asked and she shot him a brief smirk. He raised an eyebrow. “Do you enjoy knowing that he is aware of it?”, he added and her smirk faded entirely.
“Perhaps you don’t get a say in this”, she hissed. “I am with Harrick because I want to. Just stop making this about yourself for once” He sighed, as he slightly pointed down the courtyard. She understood and started to walk with him. “It’s true, I don’t want you to be with him”, he admitted. “But there is one thing I want even less and it is you being with someone you don’t even want, just because you think it somehow harms me” His mouth twitched with barely concealed anger. “Do you truly hate me this much, little sister?”
“Making this about yourself again, I see”, Kyra sighed. “But fine, let’s have it your way. You threatened my friends. Extorted a promise from me, one you know you’d never need!” She raised her voice only slightly and he showed no sign of concern, yet his fists were clenched. “Then why do you insist on questioning me?”, he asked. “I get it, you are upset about your men, but trust me when I say it had to be done”
She remained quiet for a moment after he said this, trying to swallow her anger. “Trusting you is exactly the problem”, she admitted. “How can I trust you after you murdered my men, after you threatened my friends?” He had changed, she saw it now more than ever. She would never not love him, but in this moment, she had to ask herself if she could still hate him at the same time.
“You had no problem helping me back when we had Breaker on our side”, he said harshly and Kyra averted her gaze for a moment. Garthon’s death, it was proven. Rell’s testimony had been in public and the king had been happy enough to allow him back at court. Harrick’s agents had found nothing that said anything different. And as much as Kyra had hoped for another outcome, Harrick’s agents hadn’t found any proof that Vessels had been lying.
“I helped you because you are my brother”, Kyra hissed. “Not because I want to betray our king, but because I know what he is going to do to you if you fail. To both of us, because of your petty grudge” She shouldn’t have said that. Near instantly, Damon grabbed her forearm, clenching it tightly. “I wasted over a decade of my life away from my home, away from my family”, he whispered and his voice was shaking with anger. “Had I not done what I did, you would have died back then. I don’t expect you to understand it, because you have been here, you have been with Mother when she died, you have been home and you had a good life” His gaze softened as he noticed how harshly he had grabbed her and he let go. “I don’t expect you to understand a thing of what I sacrificed. Least you can do though is not to call it a fucking grudge”
Her own angry gaze softened, as she thought back to that day. It had been raining, the stones of Pyke had been wet. And yet, he demanded, the rotten thirdborn demanded. Climb, little lamb... Those had been his words. She would have climbed on that day, to his pleasure, because she feared the knife he had brought. Damon had never feared a thing. Not the height, as he fought the prince so close to the cliffs, not Harndon’s knife, not the king’s wrath for nearly beating his son to death. She would have died, if not for him.
“You cannot expect me to betray my king”, she said and Damon sighed. “You betrayed him the moment you did not turn me in”, he said, now in a softer tone. “But I know you would never do that, my sweet sister” Gently placing a hand on her cheek, he looked her in the eyes. “And I am sorry. I shouldn’t have threatened you. In that moment... Kyra, I don’t claim to be perfect”
She bit down onto her lower lip. “Yeah, I know that”, she mumbled. “So, what are you going to do then?” Damon placed an arm around her shoulder and she accepted the gesture. “Nothing to your friends, I promise you that”, he spoke. “Not because I care for them, but because I care for you so very much” He shrugged. “But I must advance in our cause and unfortunately, there has been a bit of a problem lately”
Kyra didn’t need to guess. She knew him well enough and it wasn’t as if she didn’t know about his plans at all. “Rell Vessel’s return”, she deduced and Damon nodded. “How observant of you”, he replied. “Honestly, I hoped for that worthless buttkisser to die in Raylansfair. Would have given Simon a permanent reason to remain on our side”
Simon... Kyra couldn’t say she was any fond of him, but Damon seemed to need him. He was influential, had the king’s ear and up until recently, a legitimate grudge. Harren’s order to send Rell with Torvin and Garthon, to die in Raylansfair, it had turned the captain against his king, for as twisted as Simon Vessels was, he loved his son almost as much as he loved himself. And out of the three hundred who had left with Torvin, Rell, of all people, was the only one to return. The irony would have been hysterical, if not for the bitter news that accompanied it.
“And now he doesn’t want to talk to you anymore, huh?”, Kyra remarked. “His reason for turning on Harren all but gone. I doubt that sits right with you” Damon shook his head. “It doesn’t”, he confirmed. “I spoke to Simon earlier, but he is dismissive. Told me he no longer cares. Oh yes, he assured me he wouldn’t sell me out, but neither will he help me any longer”
Kyra rolled her eyes. “Bet that one is inacceptable”, she stated in a mocking tone, which Damon commented with a sharp glance out of the corner of his eye. “Simon knows too much, yet at the same time, killing him would mean killing someone we might still need”, he explained. “No, it is Rell we must get rid of”
“You got a plan?”, Kyra asked. She had no sympathy for Rell Vessels either. He was Harmund’s lackey, a man who went along with whatever atrocity the crown prince suggested, out of a pathetic combination of malice and cowardice. Damon nodded. “Two, to be honest. I want to hear your opinion”, he revealed to her. This actually caught her by surprise. “You want to hear what I think?”, she asked, her voice shivering slightly. “That’s a first”
“Won’t be the last if your advice is solid”, Damon replied. “I just cannot decide. It would be simpler to just kill him. Cut his throat, frame one of the king’s men. Hells, frame Harmund even, we know his affection is as fickle as his temper” Kyra nodded. Such a suggestion was to be expected from Damon. “Or?”, she asked and he smirked. “Or we disgrace him. He is still on thin ice, has no allies at court. Frame him for something he never did, force Harren to punish him in some capacity and look at that, his father will come back to our side”, he replied and he gave her a wink. “Tell me, sweet sister, what would you prefer?”
[Suggest disgracing Rell] [Suggest killing Rell]
[Say you would choose Hazar] Let's by trolly. Change our mind constantly.
[Suggest killing Rell] I'm going to still respond here, but I love the ol' forums, want to use them as much as I can. I only vote for this because I think this path makes it much more likely that Kyra learns the truth about Garthon - perhaps in exchange for not killing him. Or naaahhh.
Hmm. Well, losing the name, definitely something I'd keep my eye out for...
I will also still use the forum for as long as it remains, although I will comment on the other site as well.
[Say you haven’t decided yet] While Montoya seems to have the charisma, if Hizar the Weak is candidate, then there must be something that the Hawk saw in him to nominate him.
The Pig is right, the weather is generally too cold for such creatures like elephants and who knows what else they use for fighting.
[Suggest disgracing Rell] His debt to Garthon has been paid, but killing him could be counterproductive to keep his father on their side.
Of course! That is part of why I want to offer the parts here in the forums as well. I have been writing here for almost 4 years (and I kinda hope we'll reach the 4 year anniversary here in the forums still), the whole mechanics and all just feels so familiar, it'd be weird not to use the forums as long as possible. I love them too and I just know I will miss them when they are gone. I doubt things will get too confusing by having to reply to two sites. Might be a first exercise in cross-posting.
Well, with a name like Hazar the Weak, anything can only get better, really. The Hawk, for example, that'd be something to look forward for. Though the company names actually can change. If Hazar starts to become some badass, he could end up as Hazar the Brave, even if he doesn't end up as the Hawk.
Aye, that is another option and I'm going to split my reply to you so that I can reply on both sites. Just, to all who might think about this, make sure to pick the same votes as you do on Creator's Haven and if you use a different username, make sure I know about it
Oh yes, the companies are usually active in Essos, in appropriate climate for such animals. But the Company of the Pig is specialized on them and they have never led their war beasts to a place as cold as the Vale in mid-autumn before. The Pig has reason to be concerned. In this climate, they are not just going to be in danger, they will be actively a hindrance, due to the effort that has to be done just to keep them alive.