#Lord Conquest

[wondyvillains]

[pinkniz]

Everyone knows the stud Raiden scene at the tavern but Im here to unleash the Raiden fucks scene upon y'all like the merciless entity I am

[silverskye13]

Trying to draw my Oath of Conquest paladin, take two.....

[oldschoolfrp]

Conquest of the Ring board game by Hobbit Toys & Games, 1970 -- the first board game adaptation of Tolkien's stories. The art style is similar to Barbara Remington's covers for the Ballantine 1965 Lord of the Rings paperbacks. The 4 pawns were packaged in a bag labeled "The Hobbit Game," suggesting a different original title.

[the0verboss]

So maybe someone can answer this for me.

The Absolute Hoax and Souls.

So Withers tells you mind flayers don't have souls. And part of why he gets involved at all is because the other Gods have noticed a change in their followers.

At what point in the tadpoling process does the soul leave? Is it at transformation? Because the mind flayer subsumes it's host? If the tadpole has reached maturity and the only thing stopping transformation is that netherese stasis, is the host still in possession of their soul? Partially Illithid, how's that work?

All of this is to say-

If Durge takes the brain and expands and tadpoles and builds armies of followers not all of which are turned completely illithid- could he build temples to Gortash and compel worship to the point that Gortash in Bane Hell becomes a quasi deity?

Could the Absolute raise up her fallen Chosen, beloved of her current Chosen, to such a pedestal, or does that not work?

[synchodai]

Not too keen on how the first scene of HotD made show-only viewers think that Aegon the Conqueror diplomatically convinced Torrhen Stark to give up Northern independence because they both believed in stopping a prophesized apocalyptic Long Night because it downplays the brutality of Aegon's Conquest.

Not the show's fault since it is realistic that Cregan and Jace would frame it like an amiable peacetalk given their current goals and circumstances (and they did touch on the intimidation aspect of it). But show-onlies don't get the context that:

Torrhen was the person who started a dialogue with Aegon I, not the other way around.

Aegon didn't fly North to meet with Torrhen. Torrhen was the one who marched south with his armies to stop the man who was burninating the entire countryside.

Because he was marching south, Torrhen saw the utter carnage of Aegon's Conquest. At least three entire dynasties of kings were extinguished at that point. Torrhen was thus faced with the possibility that the entire Stark line would be wiped out like them if he fought.

Aegon and Torrhen exchanged letters at the Riverlands when both their armies were about to meet, but those weren't what convinced Torrhen to kneel. Torrhen had to actively stop his brother Brandon from attacking Aegon's dragons when they got there. The Northern King had already made his mind prior to talking to Aegon that he didn't want to fight.

Aegon's Conquest wasn't him making buddy-buddy with the 6 kings. It was him and his sister-wives intimidating them into submission by threatening to wipe out their families.

[gingersnaptaff]

Nest of Deheubarth and Gwenllian ferch Gruffudd ap Cynan

Lemme talk about two fabulous Welsh women who deserve to be yelled about more because they occupy fascinating roles in Welsh history and also they were SISTERS-IN-LAW. If they'd met I do think they would have a very Morgan Le Fay and Guinevere relationship (without the casual murder? Hmm.)

Anyways, Nest of Deheubarth (Also known as Nesta, or Annest, was the 'Helen of Wales,' which, seriously, we gotta stop appellating Helen of Troy to women whose beauty starts wars. It is a handy metric, but, like, neither were THEIR FAULT.) daughter of Rhys ap Tewdwr - yes, as in the Tudors. They have links to them through Rhys' son, Gruffudd - and Gwladys ferch Rhiwallon ap Cynfyn of Powys. (Said it before will say it again intermarriage between Gwynedd, Deheubarth, and Powys is super common.)

(This is Nest with Henry II. Note how they both have crowns on in bed. Like, I know it's to telegraph they're royal but like imagine them kissing. *clang* sorry, my crown keeps slipping off my head *clang* sŵs.)

Anyways, born in about 1085 (give or take) Nest was Princess of Deheubarth. Normally, this would entail being married to another Welsh royal family - and possibly your cousin, yeesh - but, sadly (or happily depending on your view) this was not to be the case for Nest.

Her father, Rhys, was King of Deheubarth until 1093. Deheubarth had largely been left untouched by the Normans thanks to a peacy treaty brokered by Rhys and thr King of England William Rufus but, sadly, Henry I soon put a stop to that after his brother, William Rufus' death. (For those wondering he got shot in an arrow in the New Forest. Some say Henry did it so he could assume the throne)

Rhys perished in battle at Breacon against Bernard de Neufmarche's forces, with him being beheaded at Penrhys in Rhondda Cynon Taf (Penrhys literally means Rhys' head.) Brut Y Tywysogion records: 'Rhys ap Tewdwr, king of Deheubarth, was slain by the Frenchmen who were inhabiting Brycheiniog, and with him fell the kingdom of the Britons' His death allowed the Normans to take Deheubarth unopposed and they wouldn't even begin to break their yoke until Gwenllian.

Anyways, Nest, her mother, her half-brothers, and her sisters were captured by the Normans once they'd murdered Rhys and were sent to either prison or the Anglo-Norman court to live as hostages to prevent any further rebellions. Meanwhile, Nest's younger brother, Gruffydd, was spirited away to Ireland (more about him later!).

But even there Nest wouldn't exactly be allowed to fly under the radar. She grew into a beauty - don't all captured foreign historical women, honestly? Like, grim - and caught the eye of Henry I, becoming his mistress, bearing him a son -- also called Henry* as it goes. See, having the same name as your dad is just a Welsh trait, ngl.

Soon after, in around about 1102 but possibly later, and once Henry I had dealt with some rebellions from his subjects (namely Robert de Bellême) he married Nest off to Gerald FitzWalter who was the constable of Pembroke Castle, purely cuz he sided with him. Nest's feelings are not recorded in history, but I'd imagine she was both delighted to be going home to Wales and distraught that she was married to a Norman lord who'd had a hand in subjugating her country.

Either way, with her marriage to Gerald she was both seen as a Norman - as were her sons, collectively known as the Geraldines, famous for subjugating Ireland, and nephew, Gerald of Wales - and as a figurehead for Welsh resistance.

And it's this that gives her the claim for being the Helen of Wales. Now, various reports of how shit went down are given but the facts are thus: in either 1106 or 1109 her cousin, Owain ap Cadwgan, Prince of Powys, kidnapped Nest and her sons. Gerald escaped either by escaping down the latrine (smelly toilet pit) or fighting his way out. Some say this was during an Eisteddfod given by Owain's dad, some say this was at Cilgerran Castle, a Norman castle that Gerald had built. Idk. Either way, she was once again, a hostage. Kari L. Maude says Owain was 'overcome by her [Nest's] charm,' but, equally, he could've been making a point of raiding the castle to spite a Norman and carrying off his cousin to try and force the Welsh to rebel. 'What is clear,' Maund further writes, 'Is that Owain was engaged on a consistent campaign against the Norman colonies in Wales.'

(OR, Nest had engineered the whole affair deliberately cuz she and Owain were lovers. There is talk that Owain was gonna be betrothed to Nest before everything that occurred but that is spurious speculation so idk. Whatever floats your boat, I guess.)

ANYWAYS. The earliest account of this shenaniganery we have is by Caradoc of Llancarfan which relates that: 'At the instigation of the Devil, he [Owain] was moved by passion and love for the woman, and with a small company with him...he made for the castle by night.' Once he'd done this he took Nest and her kids to a hunting lodge by the Eglwyseg Rocks north of Llangollen, presumably to live in what he thought was relative peace.

Hoo boi, he was WRONG. The abduction of Nest, done with her consent or not, aroused the wrath of both the Normans (for obvious reasons those HEIRS ARE NORMAN-BLOODED GIVE THE SONS BACK) and the Welsh (I guess because this was seen as a Welshman abducting a Princess of Deheubarth? Unsure.) Either way, the Normans bribed Owain's Welsh enemies to attack him which they did. (Pls remember that the Powysians hated Deheubarthians and Gwyddelians hated them both ect, etc.)

Owain's dad throughout all of this desperately tried to persuade his son to give Nest back ('Pls, pls, pls, Owain, your himbo arse has gotten us into SO MUCH SHIT!' I can imagine him saying. This does, however, ignore the fact that Cadwgan himself was sanctioning his son's raids.) With Owain just brushing him off. Nest, once again, saves a man's life and entreats Owain: 'If you would have me stay with you and be faithful to you, then send my children home to their father.'

Owain did so, but before long, both he and his dad were then obliged to seek safety in Ireland lest further attacks were made on them. Nest was also returned to her husband. Whether willingly or not idk but yeah.

Now, by this time (1112), her brother Gruffudd had returned from his sojourn in Ireland and was trying to drum up support to get Deheubarth back under his rule, particularly with the aid of the King of Gwynedd, Gruffudd ap Cynan, who would ultimately become Gruffydd's father-in-law when Gruffydd married his daughter, Gwenllian 🥳🥳🥳. It's interesting to imagine that Nest was giving her brother a hand in this but we have no textual support to say so. Tbf, perhaps she did and she was just so good at doing it that it's just remained undetected for hundreds of years. 🤷🏻‍♀️

War broke out between Gruffydd and the Normans. Gruffydd, expecting to have his inheritance given to him and no liking to hear the word 'NO' yelled at him Henry I with a fuckin megaphone, fuckin burned Carmarthen and then destroyed Arberth in 1115, alongside 'members of the younger nobility'. (As he should, in all honesty.)

Owain ap Cadwgan who had, by this time, tootled back from Ireland, been PARDONED BY THE KING (Henry I, that is.), and became prince of Powys after his dad was ASSASSINATED (Assassin's Creed: Powys edition when?) Obliged by Henry I to rendezvous with a Norman force to proceed against Gruffydd, Owain found himself meeting up with Nest's husband, Gerald.

( Sjdjxjxjddkxj Could not make that up. Sounds like a Hollyoaks episode.)

Gerald, wanting to fuckin Murk Owain for what he did to his kids and wife, proceeded to Murk Owain. I do honestly feel like Gerald also thought 'If he kills my bro-in-law my wife will fuckin KILL ME.' so I respect this for being In Fear of his wife.

Gerald himself died in 1135, yet Nest delightfully, was still going. She married Robert FitzStephen, having another kid to the five she'd already had with Gerald, including the mother of my arch-nemesis Gerald of Wales, Angharad.

It isn't known when she died but it's estimated that it was about 1135/1136, thus allowing her to see the start of her brother and sister-in-law's rebellion that would eventually put the land that the Normans had so cruelly taken from the back into the hands of their family.

A note:

*Henry would later be killed in Ynys Môn during a battle against Nest's brother-in-law Owain Gwynedd, coincidently led by Owain's son - and my fuckin pookie - Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd. Apparently, again according to the Brut, Henry died 'by a shower of lances.'

Up next: Gwenllian!!!!!!!

Sadly we have no drawings of Gwenllian, but that's okay cuz artists are more than up to the challenge. Also, idk why but the fact that she has red hair is generally accepted even though we don't know how she looked. I guess it's because bravery is telegraphed as red, or at least fieryness which, ngl, she defo was.

Born in about 1097, Gwenllian was the daughter of the King of Gwynedd, Gruffudd ap Cynan, and his wife, Angharad ferch Owain.

Gwynedd, at this time, was perhaps the most stable of the Welsh kingdoms, although Gruffudd ap Cynan HAD had to battle like fuck to free Gwynedd from the Normans before he could even sit on the throne. (He got thrown in Chester for a time and had to be rescued by a very tall man called Cynwrig. Will do a post on him because he's FUN) so rebellion is very much in Gwenllian's blood. We don't know much about her childhood although we can assume it was happy and filled with the various activities of a Welsh Princess.

Still, that would soon shift.

Gwenllian, at around about thirteen /fourteen or so (remember girls became women when they reached 14 under Welsh law), soon became involved with Gruffydd ap Rhys after her father hosted him when Gruffydd was hoping to summon up aid for his Getting Rid of the Normans scheme.

Unfortunately for Gruffydd - who I will now call Griff so as not to confuse with Gruffudd ap Cynan - this place at the Gwyddelian court became tenuous. Gruffudd ap Cynan, unwilling to further inflame tensions with the Normans after he'd just recovered Ynys Môn (Anglesey) from them and now ruled kinda peacefully, elected to hand Griff over to them. Somehow - probably through Gruffudd ap Cynan's nobles - news of this rescued Griff and he once again left for Deheubarth.

Only he wouldn't travel alone.

Gwenllian, unwilling to let the man she loved slip away, eloped with him and became his wife. They soon became 'the Robin Hood's of Wales' as Philip Warner writes and set about killing the Normans. Griff, emboldened by his and his wife's success hastened to meet with his father-in-law, Gruffudd ap Cynan, in an effort to get troops.

So, Gwenllian was left to helm her husband's forces by herself. To be fair to her SHE DID. AND honestly, this is why she's compared to 'Buddug' or Bouddica. Normans led raids a just as she and Griff had done against them- and she was compelled to rise an army for Deheubarth's defense.

The Great Revolt of 1136, as it was known, was to be Gwenllian's last conflict for she and two of her sons, Maredudd and Maelwgyn were beheaded by the Normans after their forces were routed at Cydweli Castle. Yet Gwenllian would not be forgotten. Her youngest son, the Lord Rhys, would become Prince of Deheubarth and recover much of the territory that had once been their family's. And Nest? Well, Griff had sent time in her and Gerald's castles as he went about letting how to get Dejeubarth back. It's tempting to think that she and Gwenllian met.

Also, Dr Andrew Breeze HAS argued that Gwenllian is the author of the Mabinogi because much of the action takes place in Gwynedd and Deheubarth where Gwenllian was based. Might it have been a tract to inspire people to rebellion? Or for women to know their worth? It's tempting but we'll never know. We can only guess. All we can say is 'Dial Achos Gwenllian!'

(That's Revenge for Gwenllian btw. Long may she reign, as it were.)

[vorochi]

Lord of Change, drawn by me

For my Thousand Sons mod for CoE5

[the-reincarnated-princess]

[hannahwindy]

In my AU, Lord Raiden has his personality from the Mortal Kombat Conquest.

sassy, classy, Sarcastic, wise, and so done with almost everything.

[shamlesspandanerd]

[pinkniz]

We won

[fumble-art]

Been working on some coloring exercises this week and painting by blocking in shapes and building up rather than my usual convoluted process. Really loving the results so far!

Anyways I bring to you this moody Fortuna for your viewing pleasure

[sarcasticsweetlara]

The Pre-Conquest Targaryens are so interesting!

Surely Balerion or another dragon from Valyria flying in the sky was part of their emblem (black and blue would be their colors).

Daenys and Gaemon ruled over their half-siblings while acclimating to the culture of Westeros and one of their daughters married a petty lord, the other ones married Targaryen cousins.

And some cousins of Aegon and Elaena (Lord and Lady of Dragonstone and the first children of Daenys and Gaemon) must have married Velaryons to keep their blood pure and make an alliance with House Velaryon.

Maegon (in my mind, father of Naerys who was the mother of Valaena Velaryon) and Aerys married cousins, and the brothers Aelyx (my headcanon is that his daughter married into House Massey and was the mother of Alarra Massey), Baelon, and Daemion could have married maidens of House Velaryon; and let's say Aelyx and Baelon only had daughters as was the case of the other daughters of Daenys and Gaemon, we can see the Valyrians do have male preferred inheritance, as Daenys and Elaena are implied to be both the eldest child of their parents.

Aerion married Valaena and they were focused on keeping power in Essos and encouraging their children to keep expanding the domains of the Targaryens, and they did indeed.

Pre-Conquest Targaryens set the example for the Conquerors.

[gutmicrobiom]

Peter Quill from annihilation conquest

[hiemaldesirae]

rough design sketches/doodles of lacri, lord war and lady death

you can tell i was a former mcyt fan bc i immediately reverted to big hat on lady deaths design. i did end up making the hat like sorta weird lil flubby things that kinda flop round on the sides of his crown + veil but err. anyway her design is loosely based off one of my favourite portraits of tsarina alexandra feodorovna / charlotte of prussia (one where she has this bigass fuckin crown and veil on. its so gorgeous and her outfit is so beautiful). lady death is one of the designs where id imagine she sorta switches between whatever form he likes best so i refer to her using whatever prns feel right in the moment

as for war their design is also not at all finalized but i wanted to use medieval armor and also a skeleton somehow.... so, skull helmet

ill make more modern like designs of them later but i needed to get these out the way first

war is named iudex / the salvation, death is named verum / the haven