#but people from the north being torn apart by beasts and nobles seeing this as a spectacle?

[novaursa]

Love love LOVE reading your most recent requests! Especially the cregan ones

If you’re still taking requests, could I get one from cregan pov where velaryon/targ reader must wed cregan to honor the pact made by Jace. I’d Iove to get cregans first impressions of seeing her, almost in awe because it’s his first time seeing a targ/velaryon with old Valyrian features and how he feels about the betrothal. Bonus points if you add her dragon too 👀💖

Valyrian Bride

Requests are closed!

- Summary: When your older brother, Jacaerys, promised you to Cregan to be his bride, the Lord Stark did not expect what he got - a trueborn dragon.

- Paring: velaryon!reader/Cregan Stark

- Note: I hope this is what you had in mind. 🙂

- Rating: Mild 13+

- Next part: 2

- Tag(s): @sachaa-ff @alyssa-dayne @daeryna @melsunshine @21-princess

Cregan Stark stood tall upon the frost-crusted battlements of Winterfell, his grey eyes fixed on the southern horizon. The wind howled around him, cold and biting, but he barely noticed. The men beside him, his bannermen and closest retainers, stood in hushed anticipation. They were a hardy lot, men of the North, but today there was a tension in the air that not even their steadfast presence could dispel. The daughter of Rhaenyra Targaryen, the Dragon Princess promised to him, was on her way. And she was bringing her dragon.

Cregan was a man of duty, honor-bound by his word. When Jacaerys Velaryon had come to the North, securing his father’s oath to Rhaenyra, Cregan had listened to the young prince’s proposal with a calculating mind. He had known what the South was asking—his allegiance in a civil war that would tear the Seven Kingdoms apart. The North had no taste for southern squabbles, but for an alliance that could secure his people’s future, Cregan had agreed. A marriage bond, a union with the blood of kings and dragons.

But he hadn’t expected this.

The sky darkened. A shadow passed over the pale light of the day, and a roar echoed across the windswept land. His heart quickened. The unmistakable sound of wings filled the air, as if the heavens themselves were being torn apart. Men murmured in awe, some with fear. Cregan’s grip on the pommel of his sword tightened as he peered into the sky. And then, she appeared.

The dragon came first—Vaetrix, her crimson scales gleaming like molten fire against the pale snow. Larger than anything Cregan had seen before, the great beast descended from the clouds with a grace that defied her monstrous size. Her wings flared, casting a shadow over the courtyard, and the air was filled with the smell of sulfur and smoke.

But it wasn’t the dragon that took Cregan’s breath away.

Atop Vaetrix, astride the monstrous creature as if born to it, was the princess. Her silver-gold hair streamed behind her like a banner, long and flowing, catching the sunlight as she descended. Her features were sharp, unmistakably Valyrian—the high cheekbones, the proud set of her jaw, the violet eyes that seemed to pierce through everything they beheld. She was a vision of Old Valyria, like the stories his father had told him as a boy. She bore little resemblance to her half-brothers, with their softer features. No, this was the blood of the dragon in full force.

His bannermen whispered around him.

"She looks like a goddess," one muttered, his voice thick with awe.

"Old Valyria reborn," another added, his voice trembling.

Cregan said nothing. He could only stare, his heart thudding heavily in his chest. He had expected a girl, a lady to wed and secure an alliance, but this… this was something else entirely. There was power in her, in the way she moved, in the way she carried herself atop that dragon. She was not just a girl of noble birth—she was a force of nature, a storm in human form.

Vaetrix landed with a deafening thud, snow and dirt kicking up around her as she folded her massive wings. The ground trembled beneath her weight, but Cregan stood firm. He watched as the princess dismounted with a fluid grace, her hand brushing along Vaetrix's scaled neck before she strode forward. Her boots crunched in the snow, the chill of the North seemingly unfelt by her as if the dragon's fire warmed her from within.

When her eyes met his, Cregan felt a jolt run through him. Those violet eyes… they were ancient, wise beyond her years, and yet held a fire that could burn a man alive if he dared to challenge her. His mouth felt dry, his usual steady words faltering in his throat.

She approached, and as she drew nearer, Cregan noticed more—her height, the proud way she held her head, the confidence in her steps. She did not walk like someone being delivered to a husband. No, she walked like a queen in her own right, a woman who expected the world to bend to her will.

When she stopped before him, she inclined her head ever so slightly, a gesture of acknowledgment rather than submission. “Lord Stark,” she said, her voice smooth and strong, carrying the faintest hint of the Valyrian accent that lingered in her family’s tongue. “I have come as promised.”

Cregan blinked, forcing himself to regain his composure. “Princess,” he replied, his voice rougher than usual, betraying the whirlwind of thoughts racing through his mind. “Winterfell welcomes you.”

Her lips curled into the faintest of smiles, though it was hard to tell whether it was one of amusement or mere politeness. “I am honored to be here, to fulfill the promise made between my house and yours.”

He nodded, his gaze locked on hers. “I did not expect—” His words caught in his throat for a moment, and he shook his head, cursing himself for his loss of composure. “I did not expect such… splendor.”

The smile deepened, and there was a flicker of something in her eyes—perhaps amusement, or perhaps something more dangerous. “I am not what you expected then, my lord?”

Cregan met her gaze evenly. “No, princess. You are far more.”

Behind them, Vaetrix rumbled, a deep sound that reverberated through the stone walls of Winterfell. His men shifted nervously, glancing at the beast with wide eyes, but Cregan paid them no mind. His focus was entirely on her.

The princess tilted her head, studying him with those sharp, knowing eyes. “I have heard much of the North, of its strength, its honor,” she said softly, her voice carrying on the wind. “It is a land of fierce men and harsher winters. I hope that I will find my place here, as your wife.”

There was something in the way she said it, a subtle challenge, as if she were testing him, seeing if he was the man she had been promised. And for the first time, Cregan understood that this marriage was not just a bond of convenience. She was not some southern lady to be tamed or coddled. She was a dragon, and if he were to claim her, he would have to prove himself worthy.

“You will,” he said, his voice steady now, conviction settling in his chest. “You will find your place here, with me.”

Her eyes gleamed with something close to approval, and she nodded once, a gesture as regal as any queen’s. Then, without another word, she turned her gaze back to Vaetrix, who stirred at her silent command, lifting her massive head.

Cregan watched her walk away, feeling a mixture of awe and excitement. The North had never seen a woman like this, and he knew, in that moment, that his life—Winterfell itself—was about to change forever.

[randomnameless]

I'm not judging lol, I'm like you, at least in this ending we see Rhea post time skip when she isn't on the verge of death or fulfilling the role of a mc guffin to infodump us before she passes away!

About Fodlan splitting...

Yeah, it's supposed to be seen as a BaD thing (from the Empire's POV it totally is) but then, no matter what led to the birth of those two nations, they've been around for more than several centuries, so then what, are we supposed to believe they'd be super duper happy to be united again, after having spent at least 300 years apart?

There's a book in the DLC Library - a novel set in the early Empire where, for an Emperor's wedding, people were watching "northeners" being eaten/torn apart by wild beasts as a distraction, and I'm like, sure, this is said to be a novel so it might no be historically accurate! And yet, given all the plausible details (dishes named after the Saints, Flayn's fish has a lot of fish, and Seteth's dish has iirc lot of breads because he is an earth dragon so harvest etc etc is his domain or what not?) this novel has, I don't know if the "northerners being executed by animals in a coliseum" detail was pure invention, especially as, if you zoom on Enbarr's map, you can see a coliseum...

Nopes has a diary of an Adrestian commander who calls Brigid islanders "savages", so this + the novel where "northerners" are eaten alive, made some people believe Adrestia, at least the Empire, did not regard that well the people who weren't from Enbarr, the Empire or the former "northeners".

So, taking this into account, sure, Loog led to Faerghus' independance from Adrestia thanks to Agarthan meddling, but is the game telling us that it's a "bad" thing because it was "tainted" by Agarthan influence, and the northerners should have continued being eaten alive?

That's an issue with the Fodlan games in general, they try to play a bit too hard on the "both sides" rhetoric, and to compare two things that... aren't comparable at all. Sure, Agarthans most likely wanted to weaken Adrestia and helped Loog win his rebellion... but when Loog was going to be fed to a giant Wolf, was he supposed to accept his fate and die?

Some people would say this is a case of "grey morality" but imo that's not the case, first because we only and always hear about the Adrestian POV and never about anyone in the Kingdom's POV about Loog's rebellion, second because the devs try too hard to fit Agarthans everywhere to explain why "things" happen in Fodlan, effectively removing any agency humans can have when this had been a staple of the series (look at FE5, it started because Reidric wanted to get a promotion!), third, why should events from 800 years ago matter now and be used as a justification to "defend" the annexion of a sovereign state?

I like Fodlan and its setting, but really, at times, you feel like there were several writers on the board, and they never talked to each other, ultimately leaving the player with more questions than answers, until say players takes a backstep and realises that why the eff are they even thinking that much about a game when the devs themselves confessed they had no continuity guy?

As for Claude's version of the unification...

Well, given how FE16 and especially 3 Hopes depicted Almyra, I don't know if Claude's ending with one "nation" who will finally be able to talk/open itself to Almyra is supposed to be a good thing - we have a lot of off-screen stuff happening where Claude ultimately changes Almyra so it's not a racist caricature anymore, but with what we see and hear and deduct in the game...

yeah I'm not buying it at all.

SS is done.

The most standout part: I got the Rhea S rank. It was good. I support it, but I wish there was a gen version and also that it was available on VW. My general impression is that VW actually gives you more chances to ask after and worry for Rhea (plus Claude is a rather meh romance option), so it would be great if I could get with her there too.

In general, I wish VW and SS were just one route. Both have some nice small details, but given how similar they are, I feel like you'd get a better experience if they were just combined.

Checking my VW endgame notes, it seems VW gives you info dump about Agartha, which definitely feels missing in SS, and SS gives you a bit more detail about Byleth's deal from Rhea, which adds some nice details on the Rhea relationship front. Seriously, they should have just combined them.

(Hilariously, Catherine's endcard outright contradicts the paired Rhea one. They are incompatible, but I got both. Additionally, Ingrid's card seems to be written for Crimson Flower, since it mentions Galatea being "seized" and Ingrid needing to push strongly to be allowed to govern it, which comes across weirdly as a post-war in the Byleth-led United Kingdom, especially since the other Lions kids I recruited all got their lord positions without any apparent fuss.)

Overall, not much else to say about SS. Final take: SS and VW are really obviously the same route, but even though SS was supposedly written first, VW feels marginally better in its focus and I enjoyed it more. However, the Rhea stuff specifically is good, and I wish I could get it on VW. Yup.

Final save file time: 95:19. Minus the VW playthrough, it's 44:07, so a bit faster. Specifically post-route split, it's 20:16, so it seems like the part that I finished faster was actually just Academy phase, possibly because I just didn't care much for the BE kids.

Liveblogging notes:

Looking closely at the battle selection screen, it seems Shambhala is at the very eastern tip of the Empire. There's a bit of mountain that stretches down from the Throat across Airmid River, and it seems to be there.

Narration calls it a "sprawling underground city."

Thales was kind of a chump!

Ah, I just realized I forgot to check his X description blurbs. They probably weren't too interesting tho.

The Agarthans are super mad about living underground and not having "light." Thales also name drops Agartha in his battle line vs Seteth and in the cutscene afterwards. Aside from their ability description, I think this is probably the first time their proper name is mentioned. But we uh, don't seem to discuss this much?

Small scene with Nemesis's coffin is missing, I think. Well, obviously because he's not the final boss now. iirc the scene immediately after the month change, with everyone freaking out over Rhea is new instead. It's a little weird because iirc VW gives you more opportunities to express concern for her. Here, the Rhea focus feels a bit less supported.

Seteth didn't realize you already knew that Rhea is the Immaculate One (which you did, btw).

Seteth "long ago" lost the power to change form, but "it seems" Rhea has not. My dude, did you not know... He does confirm that he's also a child of the goddess, which Rhea keeps hidden in VW. Flayn is also counted as one of the children of the goddess, even though she's more like a grandchild. It's a general term for dragons.

Seteth and Flayn press Byleth about taking over as the leader of Fodlan in some capacity, now that Rhea's future is uncertain.

We find the Sword and Bow of Zoltan in Shambhala. I was wondering about whether these things existed, since Zoltan is a dude that got namedropped in a small quest item description a while back. I also have an Axe of Zoltan though I can't remember exactly where I picked it up. No spear?

Just noting that you use Arcane Crystals to repair magical weapons like the Bolt Axe, Mythril to repair sacred weapons like Cichol's Spear of Assal, and Umbral Steel for relics. Mythril is also used on forging the rusted weapons that require A+ professor rank. iirc they're legendary weapons from other games or something like that. Smithing Stones are for normal weapons of all rarities.

On VW, this month was about Nemesis appearing and us going to fight him, but here on SS, that doesn't happen, so the explore dialogue is all about Seteth telling us that we should become the new Ruler of Fodlan and us taking the month to think about it. Everyone around the monastery comments on this, how we should think about it carefully, how they believe in us, how they're thinking about the future, etc. It's... hm. I think it's okay, but it really highlights how much Byleth has not been setup for this role At All.

They're a mercenary who became a teacher via nepotism and while we do things in the story that you could probably read as proof of Byleth's ability to lead, they don't really feel that way, especially since Seteth can end up spending half the war refusing what we suggest. Byleth is also just... not a real character. So them becoming the big deal leader is kinda... yeah.

Anyway, I accidentally ended the month early. But whatever.

Before you tell Rhea your "decision," she gives you exposition about how she made you and Sothis's crest stone is in you. She wanted to see Sothis again and thought she could regain everything she had lost.

Sitri was Rhea's 12th attempt. She "grew up" without Sothis's consciousness and fell in love with Jeralt. But when she gave birth, the child was not breathing and she herself was also "in grave danger." Sitri told Rhea to take the crest stone from her and put it into her baby. Otherwise, both would have died.

Byleth is suggested to be able to house Sothis's consciousness because they have both the crest stone and a body born from a parent with Rhea's blood.

Rhea is aware that Sothis gave you her power and disappeared, which means Rhea's dearest wish did not come true, but she's accepting of that. She basically entrusts Fodlan and the future to you.

And she just flips out in the middle of that.

"White Beasts" appear all over the monastery. They are from priests and knights that Rhea shared her blood and "stones" with. Tho given how JP plurals work, it's impossible to tell if Rhea is meant to have one crest stone or several. Demonic Beasts also run in??

Enemies are Frenzied Church Soldiers with minor crests of Seiros, Altered Golems, White Beasts (cardinal that has transformed and gone mad due to the rage of the Immaculate One) with Blest Crest Stone Shards (bestowed by a saint and wielded as a weapon), and the Immaculate One herself. She has a crest stone of Serios, can recover HP when near a White Beast and is described as having been driven to an uncontrollable anger due to the power of the goddess.

This battle was annoying because of the Classic setting. The whole business with Rhea having a private army of people whom she shared blood with is, hm. But I get the feeling this was done purely to explain her battle having the same mechanics as with Nemesis and the 10 Elites. It's... an interesting tidbit that these cardinals and such exist, but kinda weird that the crest of Seiros is actually this common, especially since they can ALL presumably pass it down to their kids, and I would expect Rhea had done this for more than just one generation.

(funny concept: after a thousand years of Rhea just sharing her blood all over, a good three quarters of Fodlan has some Seiros crest blood and it manifests pretty much at random in people all over.)

Anyway, final blow by Flayn.

OK, enough screwing around. tbh I do like Rhea, so there's some emotional resonance in everyone being very worried about her and having little voicelines about how they want to pay back the debts they owe to her, and her sadness and suffering and all that. It's not the worst.

She mistakes Byleth for Sothis when collapsing in the cathedral.

They did make a mistake: Rhea transforms in her dressing gown without the mantle or headpiece, but she changes back in full archbishop regalia.

The post-battle exposition exposition is kinda... ah yes, all nations in Fodlan are gone, but you see the Church is leading people toward a new... nation? How does this work. Sorry, but I don't see a religious government (??) as a good thing.

Rhea says she had a vision of flying free and speaking with Sothis while near death. She's happy she survived... so am I.

Rhea's wish was for peace, but she admits fault in propagating a false history and deceiving the faithful. And she did a bit of forbidden experimentation on the side, obvs. We forgive her tho.

I wish there was a gen way to save her, without the romance. It's such a good coda, honestly, without the marriage.

I wish Byleth was a more concrete character. Not necessarily a super detailed one, but with at least some grounding traits.

Still, Rhea romance scene is pretty good. WAY better than Flayn. Why can't I do this on VW..........

Endings: Ashe takes over Gaspard as the new lord. Galatea was "seized" what the heck, though Ingrid did rule it. Felix still ended up Duke Fraldarius. Sylvain talked his way into peace with Sreng, good on him. Lindhart "escaped the Empire" but went missing. Dorothea fled with her troupe to a secret location. Petra went to Brigit. Caspar fell on a battlefield. Bernadetta because seriously ill and lived as a recluse. Ferdinand returned to his territory but went missing. Catherine became Guardian of Zanado, but why was she shaking up with MY wife in solitude? Because in the ending card with Byleth, Rhea is still archbishop and assists the leader of the new "United Kingdom of Fodlan." Shamir became Robin Hood. Alois became captain of the knights. Seteth became very tolerant lol

[butwhatifidothis]

It's so baffling that Edelgard - or more, her stans - try to say that Faerghus separating from Adrestia was a plot from Rhea to gain control of Fodlan, when, like... the people of the north were literally being fed to wild beasts for Adrestian nobles' entertainment. And this had been going on since at least the fourth Emperor's time.

Like they were literally poppin' bubblies to the horrified and desperate screams of northerners as they were torn apart by animals. Like uh yeah maybe the people of the north, like. Didn't appreciate that bit of history (if it'd even stopped by Loog's time). And so wanted to bounce. Like I'm just sayin' it's not an impossibility that that was at least part of the reason Loog wanted independence.

Makes sense why Edelgard never brings it up seeing how it'd kinda ruin her speech about Church Bad if she included this detail in it. But edelstans doing it too is double hilarious because they point to the Church disallowing certain texts within the library as proof of the Church's evil, but guess which is one of two known texts in the game that has Seteth's signature on it showing that?

One of the pieces of evidence for peeps saying that the Church is bad also shows that Adrestia used to partake in the noble enjoyment of the violent maiming of northerners. Never seem to mention THAT part of the deal lmao

[blaireducroix]

Nightmares of Death

yBlaire wandered through the woods, the kind that normally appeared in nightmares. The kind with old, black, dead trees. Leafless branches scratching against each other as cold wind passed by them. In the distance branches could be heard breaking, whether from being stepped on by unknown creatures, or falling as window-makers from the force of the winds. Blaire though, she didn’t feel scared, this atmosphere reminded her of the North woods of her homelands, the woods where aspiring Nightriders would have to go and overcome their fears. Spend months in these woods alone surviving, fighting, overcoming their weaknesses to become the protectors and most elite warriors in the Du’Croix arsenal. She continued to walk, every now and then looking to her side seeing both red and yellow eyes stalking her just out of her normal vision. She knew the beasts were there. She could hear them as their feet padded on the ground, breaking small sticks and twigs beneath them. Hell, she could even smell them, mange and wet beast had a peculiar smell, especially when it was coming down wind at her. Still she walked though, she wasn’t afraid.

In fact, it brought back memories of her childhood, being dropped in those same woods in the North. She wasn’t training to become a Nightrider; no, her parents had tried many ways to have her killed off by nature. Their fear of angering the deity that seemed to have favored Blaire from her birth had kept them from outright killing her themselves. Instead they would send her on excursions like this hoping Nature would do their work for them, then they couldn’t be punished, it could be blamed on a training death. Needless to say, the memories weren’t ones she cared to always remember, but they made her who she was. Every time though she always managed to walk back through the streets of the city, back to the Manor. through the halls past all the staff, and her family who thought and hoped she might have been dead, back to her room and slept. This night, like nights before in her past, she seemed to have made a silent understanding with the beasts that stalked her. She wouldn’t mess with them, and they would watch her from the shadows.

She walked for hours under the half-moon night. The wind bit at her skin as it brought in that familiar northern cold. The bit of light the moon gave off helped her see, and the more she walked the more she realized…this was the woods from her lands. For some reason parts of it seemed familiar. She was confused as to why she would be here of all places, but her thoughts were quickly cut short. In the distance, just within the range of her hearing she heard the pounding of horse’s hooves. She kept walking, but she could hear them get ever closer. Then in the night a loud neigh cut through the standard wood sounds. She turned around to see at least a dozen torches approaching her.

“Finally, the Nightriders show up…”

She stood there and waited to watch the lights get closer and closer. She could start seeing the shapes of horses and men stop them, and they weren’t slowing down. She had to react quickly as she dived off the path into the woods as the men rode over where she was standing. Half stopped before her previous spot the other half quickly turned around and trotted back blocking the path. She stepped back onto the path a little peeved.

“The fuck is wrong with you assholes. You couldn’t bother to slow down and not try to run me over. I was clearly visible!”

The twelve men just sat there atop their steeds, black hoods over their head concealing their faces in shadows, a common look for the Nightriders.

“Answer me, I am your Lady, and I demand to know what the hell is going on in those heads of yours.”

In the night though another set of hooves cut the silence. A figure atop a more fearsome stead broke the ranks.

“You are no Lady…Blaire Du’Croix. You have no family. No purpose. You are an insult to these lands, this world, since the day you were born. A breathing body wasting the precious oxygen this world offers its people. You shall find no love. No want. You should realize that the very people you think care about you cast you to the side time after time. These are signs that you…you do not belong.”

Blaire heard the figure speak, trying to block the words out of her head. She knew they were not true, people cared.

“The fact you live day after day, is an insult to those around you. No more. The gods have passed judgement. Not even the deity who has protected you all these years can prevent what is to transpire tonight. Your sentence has come, and your eternal torment awaits in the hells below…And I have finally been given the pleasure, after watching and waiting for so many years, to deliver you there myself.”

It was then Blaire noticed that it had gotten considerably colder, her breath visible. She looked around to all the riders. The flames of their torches no longer burned orange, but a bright blue. Their horses, death steeds now. The riders still had their hoods up, cold breaths penetrating the dark, but their cloaks and clothing were torn from age and use. The weapons at their side were rusted and covered in a lair of frost. She looked to the head rider, his horse, much like the rest, was in a state of frozen decay. Except, on the sides of the saddle were skulls roped together. His own cloak had turned into a large shawl, that if he were standing would cover his legs. The saddled allow for his plated legs to be visible though. He stuck his hand out to the side and in the air materialized a scythe. Blaire shook her head, what had been Nightriders, had become death and his trackers.

“I know who you are…and I am not afraid. Surely a mistake has been made. If not…I will not go down easily Horseman…I have faced death many times in these very woods…and I still live.”

With that she took off into the woods in a mad dash. She heard the terrifying cackle from the riders.

“Dear Blaire, you must have faced imposters then...because true Death, never fails!”

Chase ensued and within moments Blaire could feel the riders on her heels, the dense woods not slowing them down a bit. Suddenly she felt herself airborne, off her feet for moments until she crashed hard onto the dense ground. She heard plated greaves dismount and rolled over to see Death looming over her with his scythe.

“True Death…never fails the hunt. I admire your will to live, but your fate has been sealed. Time to go Blaire…”

He raised his scythe and brought it down.

­­

Blaire quickly woke in a cold sweat and heavy breathing. While sitting up in her bed she frantically scrambled looking around for a bottle of alcohol only to find empty after empty littering the floor. It took her moments to calm herself enough to climb out of bed and put on a simple pair of clothing and her boots. She walked the streets of Stormwind with one place in mind, the nearest Tavern. She looked disheveled as she walked through the entrance. The barkeep looked at her shaking his head.

“Again?” Blaire only nodded placing a pouch of coin on the counter. The barkeep set down he glass he was cleaning and walked into the back. He was gone for a bit before coming back with a crate of whiskey and rum.

“Listen Kid, I really appreciate the business you be bringin’ me, but fuck, you are but a child, not much older than me own. And here yeh be coming in every few nights drinkin more than a common man would even be darin’. Yeh need help. See yeh a priest, or counselor, because as much as I hate teh be turning down good coin…I ain’t gonna be serving yeh liquor no more.”

Blaire looked at the man with a tired scowl as she picked up the crate.

“I don’t need help…I am fine…and you can go fuck yourself.”

She walked out of the establishment carrying her purchased haul. As she walked away she heard the tavern keeps return

“Yeh be lyin’ to yourself if you be thinkin’ you are okay kid!”

Blaire just kept walking. She got closer to her apartment when she saw a shadow move from the corner of her eye, she knew it was a member of the local gang in the area.

“Come out of the shadows…and make me drop my alcohol…and I will cut you so bad…the guards won’t be able to identify your sorry ass…”

The figure retreated giving her wide berth.

She got to the door of her apartment and saw a note not their when she had left. She read it carefully.

 Dear Blaire,

 It pains me to hear what has been going on with you lately. From the guards, scouts, and even Zamantha. I don’t know what has gotten into you, but your actions, they are bringing shame to you and our name. You need to figure out what is wrong in your life because the way you are spending the coffers, whether they be yours or not, is affecting your people as a whole. If this keeps up, whether you are the head of house or not…I will find a way to cut you off financially. To feed your habit you will have to find work elsewhere. I will even have Zamantha tell Penny, or Moni, or whoever handles the Golden Odysseys finances to cut your pay in half it means you can’t afford to drink.

I care about you a lot Blaire, or else I wouldn’t have helped you kill your parents and grandparents. I know you are capable of better things whether you find yourself being a subservient maiden to a noble, or manage to find your stripes and make something of yourself. The potential is there, you just need to find it within yourself to reach out and take a hold of it.

Your friends, your family, hell even your people need you Blaire. If anything above all…you need yourself. This isn’t you. This isn’t the Blaire Du’Croix that has faced death more times than a twenty-two-year-old should because of the rage and hate of her family.

Fix yourself, or find someone who can. I don’t want to have to force my hand, but I will if I must.

From your Family,

Dav and Zam

 P.S. – The guards and scouts have been pulled back. I don’t see a need to be watching over you anymore.

 Blaire set the crate down and tore the note off her door, looking around to see if the person who put it there was still around. She saw nothing in the night though. She picked up the crate and went to her apartment setting it down on the counter in her small kitchen.

She pulled out a bottle of rum and uncorked the top moving to her chair in front of her fire place. She did not light the fire, instead, just sat in the dark, bottle of rum in one hand, and watching shadowy smoke dance on the other. 

A gentle breeze came from the port during the night and eventually she fell back asleep in her chair to the sound of the wind and waves crashing against the docks.

(Tags for Mention @amanthasdemons @davmirducroix @penvenomstarkstar @monishadangelo) @golden-odyssey