#king of kadara

[silurisanguine]

Aeryn Ryder portrait - Enhanced edition

I decided to do more work on my portrait study of my Pathfinder from my fics - The Hidden King upon his mountain and Tales from Kadara, as the original one kept being mistaken for a screenshot. So hopefully this looks more like an actual painting they both are.

I decided to give her what I think she'd definitely wear off duty. A fitted racerback purple top with slouchy sweater over the top. (bottom half would probably be leggings or lounge pants. I never liked the special edition casual outfit they gave Ryder, so this is what she wears! The Nebula was so much fun to paint, I now have it as a wallpaper! Aeryn's eyes were also so much fun, she has the most intense green cat like eyes, no wonder Reyes fell for her! Closeup below the cut

[bioware-bard]

Hail to the King

Hail to the King (1692 words) by bioware_bard Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Mass Effect: Andromeda Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Female Ryder | Sara/Reyes Vidal Characters: Female Ryder | Sara, Reyes Vidal Additional Tags: Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, No Plot/Plotless, Shameless Smut, Oral Sex, Blow Jobs Summary: The Collective has taken over Kadara Port after Sloane Kelly's death, but all Sara Ryder can think about is that throne in the HQ. No longer occupied by the Outcast leader and about to be the seat of power for the Charlatan's figure head Keema, Sara invites Reyes to meet her there so she can show him what she thinks about Kadara's true new leader.

[bluerose5]

The Kings of Kadara 💖

[vorchagirl]

From the WIP ask game:

For LLF, or King of Hearts (your choice), which fandom is the fic about?

I already spoke about King of Hearts here. It's my original dark romance I'm working on about an obsessive serial killer.

So, instead I'll talk about LLF - which is Love Lead Fortune, my new Reyes x Ryder fic about the non-Pathfinder Ryder sibling: Sage Ryder.

This fic is about Sage Ryder, who leaves the Initiative to escape her obsessive and controlling brother - Pathfinder Seth Ryder. Seth has a genuine obsession with his sister, and struggles to accept that she is her own person and not part of him. He is controlling, emotionally abusive, and has been ruining Sage's life since they were children.

When she makes her escape, he goes nuts and will go to any lengths to find her. Sage however, finds an unlikely ally in Reyes Vidal - who she strikes up a partnership with even though she hides her true identity. She's willing to use her ability to use Remnant Technology to access Kadara vaults and get him Rem Tech, and he agrees to sponsor her and keep her presence there a secret.

The attraction between them is strong, but Reyes can't seem to get Sage to get her walls down. He think's she is running from an abusive boyfriend, and when he discovers who she really is and what has been done to her, he swears to protect her. Their budding relationship blossoms, but eventually Seth discovers where his sister is and aims to destroy everything she's built for herself.

It's not going to be a long fic - probably less then 10 chapters, but I'm excited to explore Reyes' relationship with a non-Pathfinder Ryder, and to explore an abusive and controlling relationship which isn't a romantic one. Seth is very sick, but he's so charismatic that people don't see it until it's too late.

The art is by Beemot :)

[katlakitty]

Writing patterns

Thank you @sweeteatercat for tagging me ;)

Rules: list the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there's a pattern!

1. Cyberlife was the leading company when it came to the development of Artificial Intelligence and Androids. From Software Instability, Reed900, DBH

2. GV200 ‘Gavin’ considered himself to be the unluckiest Android there was. My contribution Triple Chocolate Trip to the Synthetic Touch Zine 2024 (a 900Gavin Reverse AU zine), DBH

3. 'That's it, we failed...' From One moment is all it takes, RK1K prompt week, DBH

4. Connor’s footsteps echoed ominously in the empty hall of the former Cyberlife tower. From A new day, RK1K prompt week, DBH

5. The candle was flickering, causing the light to dance on the small piece of paper in front of Markus. From Facing your love, RK1K prompt week, DBH

6. All his life he’d known who their enemy was; those who couldn’t walk in the light of day, those who had to keep to the shadows, sneaky, ominous and hungry for blood. From Behind the lies, RK1K prompt week, DBH

7. "I'm not comfortable with this," Markus repeated himself as he followed Connor around the house. From Partners in (cute) crimes, RK1K prompt week, DBH

8. Thundering footsteps, running towards demise [...] From A failed attempt, RK1K prompt week, DBH

9. To be someone. From King of Kadara, N7 Month Challenge 2023, Ryder X Reyes, Mass Effect Andromeda

10. Shepard was pacing around her cabin on the Normandy SR2. From Beautiful, N7 Month Challenge 2023, FemShepard X Zaeed, Mass Effect 2

Hmm, interesting. There kinda is a pattern. Movements and statements. 😂

[ladyfenharel]

The king & queen of kadara

[385bookreviews]

1.72.7 Tower of Dawn by Sarah J Maas

SPOILERS

Pages: 660

Time Read: 11 hours and 58 minutes

Overall Rating: ★★★★☆ Storyline: ★★★★☆ Dialogue: ★★★★☆ Characters: ★★★★☆

Genre: YA Fantasy

TWs for the book: Death, violence, grief, injury, disability/chronic illness, blood, war, murder, medical content, s*xual content, ableism, vomit, death of a parent, gore, medical trauma, animal death, torture, pregnancy, drug use, emotional abuse, su*c*de, body horror, cursing, mental illness, alcohol, physical abuse, child death, fire, abandonment, classism, su*c*dal thoughts, toxic friendship, child abuse, infidelity, stalking, colonization, body shaming

POV: Third Person

Time Period/Location: Taking place during the events of Empire of Storms. On the fictional southern continent, in the city of Antica.

First Line: Chaol Westfall, former Captain of the Royal Guard and now Hand to the newly crowned King of Adarlan, had discovered that he hated one sound above all others.

Chaol and Nesryn arrive on the southern continent in Antica, the god-city, known for its 36 gods and ruled over by the Great Khagan. They go straight to the palace to meet with the Khagan and ask for his aid in the war and a healer to fix Chaol's paralysis. They meet the stern man, and his five heirs, Arguhn, Sartaq, Hasar, Kashin, and Duva. They beg the Khagan for aid but he is insulted that by the gold they try to bring him and that they were unaware of his youngest daughter, Tumelun's, death. He says that they are welcome to stay so Chaol may be healed, but must consider any plans of war while also taking time to grieve. Chaol and Nesryn also learn of Rifthold being sacked and are devastated. Shortly after their meeting with the khagan, Kashin, who has control of the horse warriors of the continent, arrives to speak with Chaol. He tells him he doesn't believe Tumelun committed su*c*de like everyone thinks, and that there might be a threat that has come from the north. Chaol explains briefly about the Valg and promises Kashin to keep a look out for anything amiss.

Yrene, the healer girl that Celaena saved in The Assassin's Blade, has been working to become a healer at the Torre Cesme for two years, and is now a fully fledged healer. Hafiza, the Healer on High, instructs Yrene to heal Chaol. She refuses at first, not wanting to help anyone from Adarlan after Adarlanian soldiers burned her mother alive for practicing magic. Hafiza says this will be her final test before she is to return to Erilea. She tentatively agrees to assess him. The next day she goes to the palace, and it is tense between her and Chaol, and Yrene is very rude, but she agrees to heal him anyways. Nesryn visits her aunt and uncle that live in the city, and they tell her that her father, sister, and nieces and nephews managed to make it out of Rifthold before it fell, but they don't know where they are now. Chaol tries to speak to Arguhn, but he refuses him.

Yrene begins her healing on Chaol, but finds that there is still a remanent of the Valg's dark power wrapped around his spine, and that she can fight against it with her healing gifts, but it will be very painful for Chaol and take a lot of time. Yrene goes to the Torre's library to try and find out more information on the Valg. She finds a scroll with Wyrdmarks, and a book called The Song of Beginning, but it is written in Eyllwe and she can't decipher it. She suddenly feels as though she is being hunted in the library and begins to rush out. On her way out, she trips on the body of a healer, who is now an empty shell sucked of all life. She runs from the library and the Torre is put on high alert. When she tells Chaol of this, he tells her it was a Valg. Sartaq and Nesryn begin to bond, as Sartaq also suspects that the threat growing in the north may be worth fighting against. He takes her on a ride on his ruk named Kadara, a giant, sentient bird that makes up the southern empire's aerial legion.

Yrene has a special saddle made for Chaol so he can ride a horse again. He offers to help her teach a special defense class for the young healers at the Torre. While there, she uses the opportunity to teach her students about Chaol's spinal injury, and they move him off his horse, almost dropping him. He is immensely humiliated and him and Yrene fight. Despite this, they manage to make progress in his healing. Chaol is forced to relive all of the painful, traumatic moments of his past, but Yrene manages to grant him some movement in his toes. Hasar, who is friends with Yrene, summons her to ask her to get information about Aelin's whereabouts from Chaol. At a party a day or so later, Yrene and Chaol pretend to flirt so they can talk privately. Yrene reveals what Hasar has asked of her, and Chaol has genuinely no idea where Aelin is, so he tells her Skull's Bay, as he thinks that that is the last place she will go after her fight with Rolfe as Celaena. Yrene hides the scrolls and books with Wyrdmarks or mentions of the Valg in Chaol's room. Chaol gains movement in his ankles and feet.

Nesryn leaves with Sartaq to go south to the rukhin, the aeries and homes of the warriors who ride the ruk. Sartaq knows that his hearth-mother knows of the Valg and they decide to gather information there. Nesryn leaves Chaol a note saying she holds him to no promises and will not be adhering to any promises of her own. Chaol is angered by this and him and Yrene fight, causing her to leave him before even healing him for the day. She then hears that Nesryn left and deduces that to be the reason for Chaol's attitude. She heads back to the palace to argue with him again, but realizes she is being followed by the Valg. She sprints into Chaol's room and locks the door, but the Valg begins banging on it, trying to get it open. She runs into Chaol's room and blocks off the doors, and they stand united. The Valg knows Yrene's name and says it through the door, banging and pounding, but it eventually goes silent. Kadja, Chaol's servant, sees the damage and runs to get Kashin, who comes to see what happened. Kashin, who is in love with Yrene, offers to walk her back to the Torre, but Yrene refuses and spends the night with Chaol.

Nesryn and Sartaq arrive in the Tavan Mountains. They are greeted by Sartaq's hearth-sister, Borte. She says that the hearth-mother, Houlun, is out on a mission and will be back in a day or two. When she eventually does return, she speaks with Sartaq, Nesryn, and Falkan, a northern merchant who has been traveling the continent for two years. He reveals that he is only 27, even though he appears to be in his 50s, because he sold his youth to the stygian spiders for spidersilk so he could be rich (this is the same merchant Aelin encountered in Xandria in The Assassin's Blade). He is hunting the spiders, in the south known as kharankui, to see if they can be killed and he can get his youth back. Houlun reveals that the kharankui are on the rise, and stealing hatchling ruks from their nests. She says that during the first demon war on the continent, when the three kings battled against Maeve and Brannon, a Wyrdgate opened there and let in the kharankui. Most of the Valg went to Erilea, and some Fae came to teach the ruks to understand language and fight back against the spiders. She tells them that the Fae set up watchtowers around where the spiders now reside, and that most of them are broken down but still have active booby traps. She tells Nesryn and Sartaq to investigate the watchtowers to see if anything useful can be found in them. Sartaq and Nesryn investigate the first watchtower, making sure to throw rocks to set off the traps. They find some Fae weaponry but not much else before a kharankui descends on them. They fight and run, and are then aided in killing it by a gray wolf. Kadara makes the final kill, saving the wolf, who shapeshifts and reveals himself to be Falkan. Borte, Sartaq, Nesryn, and Falkan go to investigate the other three watchtowers but find nothing. Borte's betrothed, Yaren, comes to tell them that hatchlings have been stolen from his aerie as well.

Chaol and Yrene search for more books and scrolls on the Valg and the Wyrdmarks. The librarian tells them to go to Aksara Oasis, but it is owned by the royals. Chaol gains movement up to his knees. Chaol and Yrene then learn from Hasar about Aelin and Dorian's display of power in Skull's Bay. The khagan grows more wary of Aelin. Chaol attempts to have a private meeting with the khagan but it does not go well and he is removed. Yrene comes to heal him but he is raging with anger at the khagan's dismissal. They fight, and Chaol says something hurtful and makes Yrene cry. She turns to leave. Instantly regretting his decision and panicking about her leaving, Chaol stands and walks. When he finally reaches her, they kiss. Yrene convinces Hasar to throw her a birthday party at the Aksara Oasis so her and Chaol can investigate the necropolis in the jungle around it.

Nesryn, Falkan, and Sartaq ride on Kadara to Dagul, the land of the kharankui, to find the hatchlings. They spot one and fly down to save it, but when Kadara tries to fly back up she is caught in a spider web. They all fall, and Sartaq is injured. Nesryn tries to save the hatchling but a spider kills it and eats it before she can. Kadara is also injured but manages to fly off, and Nesryn and Sartaq run. Sartaq gets stuck while they try to squeeze through the rocks. He tells Nesryn to run, and that he loves her, before he is snatched by the spiders. Nesryn and Falkan hatch a plan to save him, and she allows herself to be captured.

Yrene and Chaol go to Aksara with Kashin, Renia, Hasar, Arguhn, and other viziers. While the royals are swimming, Chaol and Yrene slip into the jungle and find the necropolis. They realize it is a Fae burial site, not a human one. Chaol theorizes that healers are descendants of the Fae that are buried there, and that their powers might be able to kill the Valg.

Nesryn awakes wrapped in web, Sartaq near her. Falkan, in the form of a mouse, begins chewing through her bonds. A kharankui comes in though, and Nesryn begs for their story before they kill her. The spider obliges, and tells her that they are the handmaids to a Valg Queen who came here to escape her husband, Orcus, the most powerful Valg King. The spider reveals that Valg Queen is Maeve, and that the kharankui stand guard of the Wyrdgate that is there to pave the way should Maeve decide to go home, or use the gate to conquer more worlds. Falkan shifts into a spider and lures the one speaking to Nesryn out of the save. Her and Sartaq then run, but are once again confronted by the spiders when they can't find Kadara. Falkan tells Nesryn that he has a shapeshifter niece who was thrown out on the streets of Rifthold, and that he has been searching for her for years. He says his fortune is hers and then he lunges into battle against the other spiders. They are fortunately rescued by Borte, who went against her grandmother's wishes and brought her betrothed and some of his warriors to save them.

When they return from Aksara, Yrene and Chaol find his room completely sacked, and all of the books and scrolls stolen, save for one scroll, the one with the Wyrdmarks. Yrene takes the scroll to leave with Hafiza, who has a locked iron cabinet containing a ton of books with Wyrdmarks. She says she will consider letting Yrene take them to Aelin to be translated. Yrene arrives back at the palace to find Chaol in immense pain. She decides to test out his theory and says that she is ending this now. Chaol faces all of his worst memories again, and feels as though he is drowning in them, but slowly, slowly works through them, and realizes that not everything was his fault, and that he is a changed man now who still has a promise to Dorian and Aelin to uphold. When he comes out of the memories, he is fully healed and can walk again.

Nesryn and Sartaq ask the rukhin to fly north with him to fight, as Sartaq plans to do so whether or not the Khagan agrees to it. Nesryn receives Chaol's warning to come home, and asks Falkan to come with them, revealing that she thinks his niece is Lysandra.

Yrene and Chaol go to see Hafiza but find her missing. They go hunting for her in the tunnels beneath the library, and find her bound and captured by the Valg: who is possessing a pregnant Princess Duva. They fight her while also trying not to hurt her or the baby. She reveals that she was possessed because Duke Perrington sent her a box of wedding presents, and Duva claimed the silver ring as her wedding ring. She didn't know that it was actually made of Wyrdstone covered in silver, and the second she was married she was possessed. The Valg in Duva killed Tumelun for questioning her change in behavior, and killed the healer in the library to try and scare Yrene out of healing Chaol. Duva demands Yrene put on the ring. Yrene refuses and Duva lashes out with her power. Chaol jumps in front of her and takes the blow to his back, destroying his spine and organs. Nesryn and Sartaq appear, and Hafiza manages to make Duva unconscious. Yrene tries to heal Chaol, but even with all of the healers of the Torre coming down to try and save him, he is dying anyways. Silba, the healer goddess, speaks through Hafiza, offering a deal and asks Yrene to pay the price. She agrees. When Chaol awakes, he asks Yrene what she did. Hafiza explains Yrene bound her life to Chaol's and that her magic is constantly flowing through him like a brace so he will be able to walk. But when Yrene's magic is drained, so too will the brace, and he will either have to walk with a cane or be in a wheelchair. Also, if one of them is killed, the other one will also die. They then take Duva before the royal family, who is utterly distraught. Yrene purges the Valg from Duva, killing it, but not before it reveals itself to be a Valg Princess, not a Prince. Duva and the baby are fine, and the khagan offers to do anything for Yrene and Chaol for saving her life. She asks him to help save her people, and he agrees. Sartaq, Hasar, and Kashin agree to go to war with them. Sartaq tells Nesryn that he has been chosen as Heir to the throne, and that he loves Nesryn and wants her to be with him. She agrees.

Chaol and Yrene sail north with 1000 ships and 300 healers. They reveal they were married before they left Antica. Yrene shows Chaol the note Celaena/Aelin left for her with the money, and Chaol recognizes her handwriting and begins to cry, promising he will tell her exactly who it was she met that night.

Chaol Westfall (Lord Westfall/Hand of the King of Adarlan): I was never a huge fan of Chaol's character, but I'm glad that he got the character development and redemption arc that he so desperately needed. I like how he didn't instantly get over his trauma, and had to face it and do it on his own (with support from Yrene). There was no magical fix for it, and he had progress and regressions just like anyone else would. I also like that he was not completely fully healed of his paralysis, and it became something that he will still have to deal with. Him being completely healed would have been too easy of a fix, and it puts a lot more nuance into his character, especially since he had to grieve the loss of his body, but then when that full, perfect healing was taken away, he was still grateful for what he did have and no longer viewed the mobility aids as "prisons".

Nesryn Faliq (Captain of the Guard/Wind-Seeker/Neith's Arrow): I really like how Nesryn was so patient with Chaol (even when he was being an ass and didn't deserve it). She realized that he was struggling with his emotions, trauma, and feelings, and she decided to be patient and understanding with him, while simultaneously not being willing to let herself be his second choice.

Storyline: While definitely an integral part of the storyline, and good closure for Chaol, he has never been one of my favorite characters so getting through an entire book just about him after reading Empire of Storms is a little bit difficult (I couldn't brave the tandem read). The storyline is definitely a bit slow at parts, but getting to see SJM expand her worldbuilding on a new continent was interesting, despite the amount of information thrown at you all at once.

Representation: There was thankfully a lot more representation in this book than in any of the other books in the series. Yrene, the royal family, and just about everyone else on the southern continent is POC. Hasar and Renia are lovers, and it is mentioned that Arguhn was being touchy with a male and female servant. Chaol uses a wheelchair and cane, and it is made clear at the end that this will be a chronic illness for him. While paralyzed in the beginning, due to Yrene's magic he is able to be an ambulatory wheelchair user. Shen, one of the guards, has a prosthetic arm.

[alyssalenko]

I finally finished that edit of Reyes Vidal, everyone's favorite Kadaran smuggler with an Anubis tattoo that I teased all those weeks ago. Turns out the color on my tablet doesn't match the coloring on my phone so this is both the original and the version I had to filter to get the coloring back. XD

[daniyla]

Simple Reyes to quiet my obsessions for now,

[deirdressorrows]

Reyes vidal could get it tbh

[husband-steve-cortez]

Noah/Reyes just also wouldn't work because while I don't think Reyes is super morally reprehensible I see him as still wanting to be pirate king of Kadara ykwim.

[silurisanguine]

thanks to @therealgchu for the tag. It's still Sunday somewhere, so here's a snippet from next chapter of my Mass Effect Andromeda Reyder fic - The Hidden King Upon His mountain.

Cora went to one of her plants as the doors closed behind them, spraying the leaves with a mist as she tilted her head to the pathfinder. “I hear you’ve done well Ryder. The vault is active and the planet is on it’s way to being viable.” “That’s what I’m about to let the Nexus know yeah.” Aeryn played with a leaf protruding from the side of one of the bays waiting for Cora to say what she really wanted to say. “And I hear you’ve made... allies in Kadara.” “Friends.” “Friends? From what Peebee was saying, it seems a little more than that.” Ryder leant back against a crate in frustration at the ship gossip as Cora turned to face her, her arms resting casually back on the counter. She didn’t seem pissed which was surprising to Aeryn, who tried to hide a little blush she could feel, giving away her feelings. “Typical Peebee...Look I-” “I trust you Ryder. you are the Pathfinder and I have your back, I’m not going to say anything about what you do with your private life. Just...be careful. Can you trust him?” Ryder wanted to instantly say yes, but she knew Reyes was hiding something from her. She always knew when people were, even if she couldn’t tell what it was. Her father hiding the reasons he got so heavily involved in the Initiative, that were now coming out through his memory triggers was one. She knew Reyes had something he was afraid to say. She couldn’t blame him though, after all she was carrying secrets she wasn’t going to tell him yet...if ever. But she felt she could trust him even with that because everyone kept secrets. Deep down in her gut, she knew he’d have her back and wouldn’t betray her. “I do. I also know the baggage that comes with getting involved with an exile, but he wants to help and has been invaluable so far.” That answer was enough for Cora’s shoulders to relax a little as she smiled at her Pathfinder. “That’s all that matters then. I do want to meet him though, I hear he is quite handsome.”

[bioware-bard]

It's almost the witching hour and I should definitely be sleeping. The muses have other plans, however.

It's finally time for part 2 of the Royalty Trilogy, sequel to Hail to the King.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Praise the Queen

With her attention fully on the data pad in her hand, Sara waited for the doors to her private quarters to slide open, her eyes rapidly dancing over the words of the report. The administrative work Tann demanded after a mission was her least favorite part of being Pathfinder and she wanted to get that part of her job done quickly. Normally she would use the time they traveled between systems to do the boring paperwork, but they had just docked at Kadara Port when Tann’s urgent request had reached her. Sara’s plans for the day had been shot to hell, but she’d be damned if she let the bureaucrat ruin it for her completely, so she vowed to get it done quickly- she could use some shore leave. The doors had slid open and she’d slowly walked inside, passing the squeaking little creature on her way to her terminal. She absently fed it a little bit of cereal before she sat down, placed the data pad on the desk and opened her email. Her brow furrowed at the first one she saw, its subject piquing her curiosity and diverting her attention away from her original intent of messaging Tann. The subject simply read, “Dear Sara,” and she knew instantly Reyes was up to something. Excitement bubbled in her chest while a small ball of nerves grew in her stomach, a combination of feelings she was starting to really like. She opened the message, then fell back in her chair at the lone sentence on the screen. Turn around.

[lereptile23]

[egobarri]

Shady bastard

[katlakitty]

N7Month Challenge - Day 29: Crown

To be someone.

That's what Reyes had told Sara when she asked him why he came to Andromeda. He hadn't planned any of this when he had boarded the ark to Andromeda. He had planned to fly the shuttle or pilot a ship; he'd originally been assigned as a pilot for the Pathfinder's ship. But then everything went down the drain when they came to Andromeda and he'd landed on Kadara.

They were independent, they made peace with the Angara and fought off the Kett, but Sloane was no better than any other oppressor in the Milky Way and Reyes had to do something. He'd always had ideas and backup plans, came with the job, really. Can't be a successful smuggler if you don't have a backup plan if things go south.

He started off small, a handful of people who were just as frustrated with how things were as he was. They soon grew and Reyes stepped back and hid in the shadows, for his own safety, but also so he could act more freely. Yes, he was a shady guy, but no one would expect him to be the mind behind the Collective.

No one. Not even Sara.

And she walked away from him as soon as she found out. Another loss, another sacrifice he had to bring to realize his goal. At least Sara had his back and she wasn't going to turn on him on a whim. He knew he could trust her, he knew he could rely on her. Now he only had to prove to her that she could rely on him, too.

Keema Dohrgun called him the king of Kadara once, he would wear the crown with pride, lurking in the shadows and taking care of his people. Protecting the outpost of the Initiative out in the mountains. He would do his part to keep their people safe.

You can find a collection of all my N7 Month drabbles on AO3.