#sandoq the shadow

[greenbloods]

"jaime dies in the lady stoneheart encounter" truthers when they read winds and read that ilyn payne (sandoq the shadow parallel, rhaegar targaryen in disguise) bursts out of the forest and plays a song so sad and beautiful that every starts weeping when he put down the harp

[daenystheedreamer]

sandoq the shadow kinda fuckable idk

[aforgeofdreams]

This RP looks really interesting! Before I join, can you give out some character suggestions?

Of course! We offer a variety of characters across all the eras. For those that see this post and want to know how it works, view this blog to learn more about our server and our plot and to get the direct link to join the server. We have a LOT of canon characters that we are looking to be claimed for each of the available eras to write with in. We will also provide some general original character concepts for those that are interested in making OCs at the end of this post! The following list would be our top recommended characters per era, for those who are interested in joining the roleplay as a canon character. We have provided four names per gender, per era. As mentioned before, OC ideas will be at the end of the cut, and on our advertisement post, we provide a larger list of canon characters.

We are fully aware that some of these names will overlap with the eras. You would be free to write them in all eras they appear in. ———————————— The Century of Blood

𖤓 Aegon Targaryen, son of Daenys

𖤓 Aenar Targaryen, the Exile

𖤓 Agnes Blackwood

𖤓 Argilac Durrandon, the Storm King

𖤓 Elaena Targaryen, daughter of Daenys

𖤓 Gaemon Targaryen, the Glorious

𖤓 Valaena Velaryon, mother of the Conqueror

𖤓 the many wives of Aenar the Exile

————————————

The Dragon’s Conquest

𖤓 Argella Durrandon, Princess of Storm’s End

𖤓 Daemon Velaryon

𖤓 Deria Martell

𖤓 Orys Baratheon, the One-Hand

𖤓 Rhaenys Targaryen, the Conqueror

𖤓 Sharra Arryn

𖤓 Torrhen Stark

————————————

The Sons of the Dragon

𖤓 Aegon Targaryen, the Uncrowned

𖤓 Alyssa Velaryon

𖤓 Ceryse Hightower

𖤓 Elinor Costayne

𖤓 Quenton Qoherys

𖤓 Rogar Baratheon

𖤓 Tyanna of Pentos

𖤓 Viserys Targaryen, son of Aenys

————————————

The Long Reign

𖤓 Alaric Stark

𖤓 Baelon Targaryen, the Brave

𖤓 Gael Targaryen, the Winter Child

𖤓 Jaehaerys I Targaryen, the Conciliator

𖤓 Jocelyn Baratheon, the Dark Lady

𖤓 Maegelle Targaryen

𖤓 Rodrik Arryn

𖤓 Viserra Targaryen

————————————

The Dance of the Dragons

𖤓 Aegon II Targaryen, the Usurper

𖤓 Alicent Hightower, the Queen in Chains

𖤓 Corlys Velaryon, the Sea Snake

𖤓 Criston Cole, the Kingmaker

𖤓 Jacaerys Velaryon

𖤓 Johanna Westerling-Lannister

𖤓 Nettles

𖤓 Rhaenys Targaryen, the Queen Who Never Was

————————————

The Regency

𖤓 Aemon Targaryen, the Dragonknight

𖤓 Daena Targaryen, the Defiant

𖤓 Daeron I Targaryen, the Young King

𖤓 The Four Storms (Cassandra, Maris, Ellyn, and Floris Baratheon)

𖤓 Rhaena Targaryen, daughter of Aegon III

𖤓 Sandoq the Shadow

𖤓 Serenei of Lys

𖤓 Unwin Peake

————————————

The Blackfyre Rebellions

𖤓 Bellanora Otherys

𖤓 Calla Blackfyre

𖤓 Daeron II Targaryen, the Good

𖤓 Maelys I Blackfyre

𖤓 Maron Martell

𖤓 Myriah Martell

𖤓 Ormund Baratheon

𖤓 Rohanne of Tyrosh

————————————

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

𖤓 Aegon V Targaryen, the Unlikely

𖤓 Aelinor Penrose

𖤓 Aelor Targaryen

𖤓 Betha Blackwood

𖤓 Duncan the Tall

𖤓 Dyanna Dayne

𖤓 Kiera of Tyrosh

𖤓 Maekar Targaryen, the Anvil

————————————

Robert’s Rebellion

𖤓 Aerys II Targaryen, the Mad

𖤓 Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning

𖤓 Ashara Dayne

𖤓 Brandon Stark

𖤓 Catelyn Tully

𖤓 Elia Martell

𖤓 Genna Lannister

𖤓 Robert I Baratheon, the Demon of the Trident

————————————

A Song of Ice & Fire

𖤓 Aegon VI Targaryen, Young Griff

𖤓 Arianne Martell

𖤓 Cersei Lannister

𖤓 Margaery Tyrell

𖤓 Petyr Baelish, Littlefinger

𖤓 Robb Stark

𖤓 The Sand Snakes

𖤓 Tywin Lannister

————————————

Original Character Concepts / Suggestions

⠀┈⠀⠀Harwin Strong’s unnamed sisters from F&B ⠀┈⠀⠀Alicent Hightower’s unnamed brothers from F&B ⠀┈⠀⠀Ladies of the Court ⠀┈⠀⠀Courtiers of the Court ⠀┈⠀⠀Assassins ⠀┈⠀⠀Court Jesters ⠀┈⠀⠀Tourney Knights ⠀┈⠀⠀Septas, Maesters, etc. ⠀┈⠀⠀Lysene Valyrians ⠀┈⠀⠀Dragonseeds

[blue-mint-winter]

Reading Fire and Blood: The rest of regency - Unwin Peake and others

I decided to make a post about the last chapters as they are mostly straightforward and the level of bias is somewhat lowered. With the removal of Orwyle and Eustace as sources and replacing them with Munkun it becomes a smoother story without so many internal contradictions. It's clear Munkun is still pro-Green and both him and Gyldayn paint certain characters in a better (or worse) light than they should, but all in all it's easy to see what was really going on - powerful people plotting to stay in power and control young Aegon III. I was rooting for Aegon III a lot.

Unwin Peake was the major player seeking full control as the new Hand by any means necessary. His execution of Orwyle and various actions taken to fill the court with people loyal only to him show how dangerous and power-hungry he was. Now I have no doubt he was behind Tyland's and Jaehaera's deaths (which is identical to Helaena's death, giving a strong hint that both of them were murdered).

Btw, Orwyle was highborn! I wonder which house he belonged to - was he another Hightower or maybe Dornish? When he hid in the brothel, he was called Old Wyl and Wyl is a house in Dorne.

Munkun is ridiculous as he's constantly calling Aegon III a sullen boy and trying to make him sound unreasonable when the kid was firmly under the boot of Peake, was tormented and terrorized by his master at arms who punished him for any disobedience by hitting Gaemon - who was like 7 years old. Aegon III was surrounded by traitors and enemies and couldn't trust even his own Kingsguard which was filled with Peake's own men. Marston Waters, the man that served Aegon II and watched Rhaenyra's murder, was the Lord Commander. Aegon III had nothing to be happy about, he had zero freedom and was only a puppet king constantly in danger of being replaced by a new claimant, if one was found, or by his own son if he married Peake's daughter.

Munkun portraying the choice to marry 6-years-old Daenaera Velaryon as motivated by her being exceptionally pretty is another claim that is hard to believe. Obviously, Aegon chose her because his sisters brought her and because she was so young that before he could have children with her, the regency would already be over and he'd be king in power. It was a perfect solution to his problems. (Btw, how ironic that Daemon and Rhaenyra's son married Vaemond's granddaughter).

The mess with Greyjoy succession and then Arryn succession is probably more important to the main book storyline. I definitely enjoy the mention of Nettles and Sheepstealer still hiding in the Vale. I wonder what happened to Alys Rivers and her son and the alleged dragon. Harrenhal is strangely dropped from the story and it wasn't even given to anyone.

Of course Hightowers are warmly welcoming Alyn on his way to Iron Islands, they are sucking up to king's brother-in-law. They want to regain their political capital. It's pretty telling how Redwynes are still refusing to be associated with them and won't even send their ships alongside Hightower ships.

Viserys was found which was a huge relief. I really like how the brothers became a united front against all the plotters. Especially the part with protecting the drawbridge to Maegor's Holdfast against Peake's loyalists and Viserys exposing lord Rowan's confession as false. It all pretty much proves that confessions under torture are completely unreliable, the man was so broken that he was agreeing to everything that was said to him.

Sandoq the Shadow was really cool, he seemed like a Balrog on the bridge, but he protected the king against the attacking white knights.

The fall of house Rogare does seem more like an Essosi plot than Westerosi. They had many powerful enemies, among them Iron Bank, their competitor. But then one of the Rogares went to Braavos which funded his attack on Lys, so it's uncertain if Braavos was truly behind the fall of his house or only wanted to get rid of their bank, after which they did business as usual with him.

Even though the current generation of Targaryens didn't practice incest, their marriages were still messed up, with huge age gaps. They were forced to grow up too young :(

The amount of child abuse in these chapters is staggering, including the girls that came to the ball on the Maiden's Day.

Manderly as the last Hand treated Aegon III the best out of them all, but I can see why he decided to get rid of all people involved with the whole regency mess when he finally came of age. The idea of progress wasn't bad in itself, as previous kings did that, but without a dragon was it truly safe to go to visit the lords, whose loyalties were often uncertain, and risk his neck to more plots? His decision to keep the home advantage and only treat with lords on his own turf in King's Landing was reasonable.

The policy of full bellies and dancing bears :)

All in all, I think Aegon III's regency looks like GRRM's answer to the end of GOT show, when the council from all over Westeros chose Bran, who was still a child, as their king and... just let him rule? Why would they let him have any real power over them? GRRM showed his version of what would happen if a council put an orphan child on a throne and the results aren't pretty - the constant power struggles, plots and various dangers to the young king's life. The king was vulnerable and helpless, a puppet that had no real power as others ruled in his name. If Aegon III represents the future king Bran (both are even called the Broken), then Baela and Rhaena would be substitutes for Arya and Sansa (Baela and Arya - wild, willful, Rhaena and Sansa - a lady, married to the trusted Valeman). The sisters came in the clutch, but couldn't truly protect their brother from the vultures. Perhaps Baela's marriage to Alyn, a bastard that became a lord, foreshadows that Arya would similarly elope with Gendry if he was acknowledged and given Storm's End. Viserys, the younger brother returning from overseas long after they presumed him dead, would be Rickon's substitute.

[elegantwoes]

The way people see Joffrey Dogget and Sandoq the Shadow in service to Alysanne and Larra Rogare respectively and come out believing it is foreshadowing for san/san and rather than Queen Sansa, even though there is no indication these men had any romantic relationships with the queens lmfao

Some people don’t want to see what is right in front of them, dear anon.

[depvotee]

1,2,3,4,5,7&9 ASOIAF asks please:3

Favorite Great House

I'd say Baratheons, tbh Targaryen!!!! Nothing tops having dragons!!! Also the entire drama of having your own family destroy itself and not being able to stop it. Not even the dragons could prevented that, in fact the clear correlation of Targeryen women begin the main source of strength in the house but also the birth of Dragons.

2. A minor (or extinct) house you need more lore on

Qoherys :3 I love that they were Valyrian but then also got snatched by the Harrenhal curse, but also the knowledge that before the fall of this house Gargon had a bunch of bastards.

3. Favorite sigil/house words

Baratheons (Stannis' branch)

4. Favorite Valyrian sword

Oathkeeper :3

5. A dead female character you need to save

LYANNA but that would also bring it's own baggage of problems... Rhaenyra too, Joanna Lannister (the mother of the twins), Cat :')

6. Which book or character did you not like at first but eventually grew on you?

CATELYN, and tbh she absolutely gets a lot of shit for not liking Jon, (which also bothered me a LOT at the start), but then I understood her, she is a woman of her environment, she didn't choose to marry Ned and then the guy goes to war, and after it's finished and are finally going to take up residence in what's going to be the castle you're going to live for the rest of your life, BAM the fucker has a bastard son with him. It's fucked up.

7. Which Free City are you retiring to?

Braavos :3

8. Build your own Kingsguard with any characters alive or dead

Jaime, Arthur Dayne and Brienne of Tarth bc i want to see Jaime sweat, the rest, idk. Gerold??? So he can stew on his pants over Arthur having dawn but also Sandoq the Shadow so bitches knew not to fuck with me.

9. Build your small council with any characters dead or alive

Tbh? The same as Robert's but also to have Stannis there too bc I need to see how HORRID the vibes the council can get.

[knightofthenewrepublic]

[twoiafart]

The end of the regency Artwork by Paolo Puggioni

And then came King Aegon’s nameday. A great feast was to be held that night in the throne room, and the ancient Guild of Alchemists had promised displays of pyromancy such as the realm had never seen. It was still morning, though, when King Aegon entered the council chamber, where Lord Torrhen and the regents debated the last details of the progress. With him came four of the knights of the Kingsguard, and the hulking figure of Sandoq the Shadow. Curtly, the king stated his readiness to rule, and had Lord Torrhen remove himself from the head seat at the council table. Then he informed the council that the progress was canceled. Though Lord Torrhen tried to persuade him that it would win him the love of the people, King Aegon stated that he would do that through providing peace, food, and justice. He even called off the nameday feast in his honor, sending the food to the poor instead. “Full bellies and dancing bears shall be my policy,” the king announced, before relieving the regents and the Hand of their offices and granting them leave to return to their seats.

[eschercaine]

It was still morning, though, when King Aegon entered the council chambers where Lord Torrhen and the regents were debating whether or not to include Tumbleton on the progress. Four knights of the Kingsguard accompanied the young king to the council chambers. So did Sandoq the Shadow, veiled and silent, carrying his great sword. His ominous presence cast a pall in the room. For a moment even Torrhen Manderly lost his tongue. “Lord Manderly,” King Aegon said, in the sudden stillness, “pray tell me how old I am, if you would be so good.” “You are ten-and-six today, Your Grace,” Lord Manderly replied. “A man grown. It is time for you to take the governance of the Seven Kingdoms into your own hands.” “I shall,” King Aegon said. “You are sitting in my chair.” The coldness in his tone took every man in the room aback, Grand Maester Munkun would write years later. Confused and shaken, Torrhen Manderly prised his considerable bulk out of the chair at the head of the council table, with an uneasy glance at Sandoq the Shadow. — Fire and Blood, pg. 721-722

Here it is, folks! Aegon III Targaryen, son of Rhaenyra Targaryen, the Realm’s Delight and Daemon Targaryen, the Rogue Prince. King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm.

[horizon-verizon]

Sandoq the Shadow had come from Lys with Lady Larra, a gift from her father the Magister Lysandro. Black of skin and black of hair, he stood almost seven feet tall. His face, which he oft kept hidden behind a black silk veil, was a mass of thin white scars, and his lips and tongue had been removed, leaving him both mute and hideous to look upon. It was said of him that he had been the victor of a hundred fights in the death pits of Meereen, that he had once torn out the throat of a foe with his teeth after his sword had shattered, that he drank the blood of the men he killed, that in the pits he had slain lions, bears, wolves, and wyverns with no weapon but the stones he found upon the sands. Such tales grow in the telling, to be sure, and we cannot know how much of this, if any, is to be believed. Though Sandoq could not read or write, Mushroom tells us he was fond of music, and would oft sit in the shadows of Lady Larra’s bedchamber playing sweet sad notes on a queer stringed instrument of goldenheart and ebony that stood near as tall as he did. “I could sometimes make the lady laugh, though she did not understand more than a few words of our tongue,” the fool says, “but the Shadow’s playing always made her weep, and strange to say she liked that better.”

Fire and Blood, by George R.R. Martin, pg 683-684

[fortunate-hal]

A sketch of an illustration of Sandoq the Shadow fighting Amaury Peake’s guardsmen from the Subterranean Press edition of Fire and Blood, as reproduced in Art of Gary Gianni for George R. R. Martin’s Seven Kingdoms      

[gotham-at-nightfall]

A few matters were still under discussion when King Aegon's nameday dawned at last. A great feast was to be held that night in the throne room, and the ancient Guild of Alchemists had promised displays of pyromancy such as the realm had never seen.

It was still morning, though, when King Aegon entered the council chambers where Lord Torrhen and the regents were debating whether or not to include Tumbleton on the progress.

Four knights of the Kingsguard accompanied the young king to council chambers. So did Sandog the Shadow, veiled and silent, carrying his great sword. His ominous presence cast a pall in the room. For a moment even Torrhen Manderly lost his tongue.

"Lord Manderly," King Aegon said, in the sudden stillness, pray tell me how old I am, if you would be so good!"

"You are ten-and-six today, Your Grace," Lord Manderly replied. "A man grown. It is time for you to take the governance of the Seven Kingdoms into your own hands."

"I shall," King Aegon said. "You are sitting in my chair”

King Aegon III ends his regency and takes control of the Seven Kingdoms!

[kellyvela]

Sansan shippers think Sandoq the shadow and Larra is foreshadowing for their ship. But forgetting that Larra married to a Targ. Unlike Sandoq, Hound wasn't guardsman to Sansa and loyal to Lannisters. Also Sandoq knew to play music which would made Larra cry unlike Hound who forced Sansa to sing. Sandoq the shadow was loyal, fierce and mute guard to Larra which could mirror Ghost(white shadow).

I know about that anon....

He reminds me a lot of Areo Hotah to be honest. But the mute part and the association with Ghost is really good.

Thanks for your message :)

[thehightower]

Though the court and city still doted on the king’s brother, that clever, gallant boy Viserys, the same could not be said for his Lysene wife. Larra Rogare had taken up residence in the Red Keep with her husband, yet in her heart she remained a lady of Lys. Though fluent in High Valyrian and the dialects of Myr, Tyrosh, and Old Volantis in addition to her own Lysene tongue, Lady Larra made no effort to learn the Common Tongue, preferring to rely upon translators to make her wishes known. Her ladies were all Lyseni, as were her servants. The gowns she wore all came from Lys, even her smallclothes; her father’s ships delivered the latest Lysene fashions to her thrice a year. She even had her own protectors. Lysene swords guarded her night and day, under the command of her brother Moredo and a towering mute from the fighting pits of Meereen called Sandoq the Shadow. [...] Sandoq the Shadow had come from Lys with Lady Larra, a gift from her father the Magister Lysandro. Black of skin and black of hair, he stood almost seven feet tall. His face, which he oft kept hidden behind a black silk veil, was a mass of thin white scars, and his lips and tongue had been removed, leaving him both mute and hideous to look upon. It was said of him that he had been the victor of a hundred fights in the death pits of Meereen, that he had once torn out the throat of a foe with his teeth after his sword had shattered, that he drank the blood of the men he killed, that in the pits he had slain lions, bears, wolves, and wyverns with no weapon but the stones he found upon the sands. Such tales grow in the telling, to be sure, and we cannot know how much of this, if any, is to be believed. Though Sandoq could not read or write, Mushroom tells us he was fond of music, and would oft sit in the shadows of Lady Larra’s bedchamber playing sweet sad notes on a queer stringed instrument of goldenheart and ebony that stood near as tall as he did. “I could sometimes make the lady laugh, though she did not understand more than a few words of our tongue,” the fool says, “but the Shadow’s playing always made her weep, and strange to say she liked that better.” — Fire & Blood

Larra Rogare and Sandoq the Shadow, by Doug Wheatley, for Fire & Blood (paperback edition) by George R.R. Martin

[asongofsilks]

Random fancasting --> The Free Cities: Peter Mensah as Sandoq the Shadow

“It was said of him that he had been the victor of a hundred fights in the death pits of Meereen, that he had once torn out the throat of a foe with his teeth after his sword had shattered, that he drank the blood of the men he killed. Though Sandoq could not read or write, Mushroom tells us he was fond of music, and would oft sit in the shadows of Lady Larra’s bedchamber playing sweet sad notes on a queer stringed instrument of goldenheart and ebony that stood near as tall as he did. ‘I could sometimes make the lady laugh, though she did not understand more than a few words of our tongue,’ the fool says, ‘but the Shadow’s playing always made her weep, and strange to say she liked that better.’

It was a different sort of music that Sandoq the Shadow played at the gates of Maegor’s Holdfast, as Ser Amaury’s guardsmen rushed at him with sword and spear. That night his chosen instruments were a tall black shield of nightwood, boiled hide, and iron, and a great curved sword with a dragonbone hilt whose dark blade shone in the torchlight with the distinctive ripples of Valyrian steel. His foes howled and cursed and shouted as they came at him, but the Shadow made no sound save with his steel, sliding through them silent as a cat, his blade whistling left and right and up and down, drawing blood with every cut, slashing through their mail as if they had been clad in parchment.”

The master in one of the coolest and most cinematic scenes in Fire & Blood, this is one character who may not have the best spoken part, but will certainly impress with his grace and skill at bloodshed.

House Targaryen fancasts here

Main series era House Martell here

[cellorockets]

Four Knights of the Kingsguard accompanied the young king to the council chambers. So did Sandoq the Shadow, veiled and silent, carrying his great sword. His ominous presence cast a pall in the room. For a moment even Torrhen Manderly lost his tongue.

“Lord Manderly,” King Aegon said in the sudden stillness. “pray tell me how old I am, if you would be so good.”

“You are ten-and-six today, your Grace. “A man grown. It is time for you to take governance of the Seven Kingdoms into your own hands.”

“I shall,” King Aegon said. “You are sitting in my chair.” 

                                                      fire & blood pg.717                                                               illustrations by doug wheatley