#tyranny! stag

[tallglassofchoccymilk]

Father and son

[randofanficrecs]

Fandom: Pathfinder: Kingmaker (Video Game)

Relationships: Baron | Baroness/Nyrissa (Pathfinder: Kingmaker)

Characters: Amiri (Pathfinder: Kingmaker), Jaethal (Pathfinder: Kingmaker), Linzi (Pathfinder: Kingmaker), Regongar (Pathfinder: Kingmaker), Octavia (Pathfinder: Kingmaker)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Series: Part 3 of Blooming Roses

Summary:

Ethyn finally puts an end to the Stag Lord’s tyranny, receives her new title, and makes a new friend.

[theweeklydiscourse]

“Alina is the child Baghra wished she could have had in Aleksander - selfish, powerful but still obedient and naive”

@black-rose-writings I absolutely love this line. Alina’s deference to Baghra’s authority is exactly what she’s always wanted from Aleksander and I’m reminded of a scene from Shadow and Bone where he defies her commands.

I really love Aleksander’s reaction to Baghra’s request here because I can just imagine the incredulous expression on his face at the utter audacity of Baghra to ask him this. This is a man that has endured Baghra’s orders and demands for centuries and refuses to validate them. This particular conversation revolves around Alina’s competency with her abilities and the possibility of obtaining the stag for her to use.

Right after that passage, Alina says this:

Baghra expresses that Alina could do fine without the stag and Aleksander pushes back. He reiterates the gravity of the situation and makes a very good point, that they can’t risk it all on Alina’s minimal training. They need the stag to assure their success. Alina initially agrees with Baghra and follows her lead until Aleksander reminds her that they’re up against an incredible threat and cannot afford to take chances

Alina concedes and then self deprecatingly says” Without Morozova’s stag, I’m pretty much useless.” To which Baghra responds with “Ah, so she’s not as stupid as she looks,” An insult which Alina just accepts and offers no response to. She’s obedient and submissive to Baghra’s authority despite her enormous potential and strength. Where Aleksander resists, Alina relents and gives in to Baghra’s meanness which is something that Baghra clearly enjoys.

Alina then becomes the next subject of Baghra’s tyranny and follows in her footsteps towards the same selfishness and misery that Baghra wallows in.

Alina is never beating the “miniature version of Baghra” allegations. It’s moments like these that really inform me of how closely associated their beliefs are with one another.

The two of them share the same naive worldview and approach problems with the same degree of unawareness and lack of understanding of the world. Alina ends up adopting so many of Baghra’s beliefs that her words to Aleksander become almost indistinguishable from his mother’s. Alina even seems to accept Baghra’s “power = evil “ idea absolutely, admonishing herself for her greed (even though doing so enabled her to achieve her goal of destroying the fold).

I love reading Aleksander’s point of view chapters in Rule of Wolves because it gives me a glimpse into the mind of a character that isn’t spewing revisionist nonsense every other chapter. Behold, example #1.

You know what? As I was reading this passage, I was suddenly struck by a strange sensation. It was if I could here Bardugo herself speaking to me through the pages, as if I was watching a puppet show and suddenly the puppeteer popped out to interject their opinion. To be fair to Zoya, he did do these things but the way her statement is delivered is so insufferable. Like please spare me of your inane moralizing (and this is especially ironic given that Zoya herself ends up in a position of power similar to his) It obliterates my suspension of disbelief and no matter how true it might be, makes me laugh at how clumsy Bardugo was with her conveyance of Zoya’s point.

[danikabonham]

One time we played Hoard of the Dragon Queen and the Rise of Tiamat and we didn’t die and also stopped the destruction of the world at the hands of a dragon god. 

But most importantly my Paladin rescued a prince that had been cursed to be a golden stag, found a spellcaster that could rescue him. And they fell in love and had babies. And he stayed and was a househusband while she focused on running her magic shop. And I still think about them.

[bonefall]

Tangleburr, Deerfoot, and their Parents

EDIT 2: On 1/30/2023 This post was changed to be accurate to the current version of the rewrite.

So here they are! Lizardstripe, her mate Mudclaw (renamed to Mudfoot in my rewrite because I don’t like major characters having name repeats), Tangleburr, and Deerfoot.

Info below

So in general, I give ShadowClan cats big eyes and very long whiskers, plus a lot of facial hair. Mudfoot and Deerfoot both have a classic ‘shadowstache,‘ a bundle of short whiskers around the mouth. I also wanted Lizardstripe to have green eyes because I always see Tangleburr with that color, and she got a bit of an overbite (which Deerfoot inherited) because there’s not enough cool dentition in Warriors.

Lizardstripe

She’s very, very different from canon. Instead of being just a sour, abusive mother, Lizardstripe is one of Bluestar’s oldest friends and used to sneak out to hang out with her friend group, the Forget-Me-Nots.

Lizardstripe was the first Forget-Me-Not to die, taken out in a battle over the Mothermouth moorland, before Brokenstar took power.

She was a young mother, not ready for the experience nor particularly happy about it, but she did still love her children. When she was bored, she would go on ‘exercises‘ and bring her kittens along, resulting in them being in Yellowfang’s den a lot for scrapes and dings.

She agreed to nurse Raggedstar’s motherless son for him when he still needed milk, but didn’t raise the little guy.

Mudclaw Mudfoot

Wasn’t the best mate, but a decent father. He was particularly close to Deerfoot, passing on many of his skills.

He was one of the best builders the camp had ever seen. They used to joke that he could out-dig a badger and still come back with a rabbit. He died of greencough and general weakness during the last winter of Raggedstar’s reign, shortly after which all three of his kits started to drift apart.

Deerfoot

Inspired by a red stag, I wanted him to look noble, but not in a ThunderClan way. His brow whiskers are thick and brush back like antlers, with a big bushy ‘stache (he’s proud of it. Tangle makes fun of it) and dark paws like hooves.

While he supported Brokenstar at first, it quickly becomes clear that him and Runningnose are bending the code to fit their needs. But, he got the same smarts that his brother Runny did, and learned quickly to shut up and get sneaky. Sure, he’s loyal, sure, he follows orders... to the letter. And the rules didn’t say anything about sneaking a few mice to the exiles. Mice full of herbs. Birds full of messages. Frogs full of rebellion.

He’s principled and honorable. He can have a fair amount of the good old ShadowClan dark humor in his fangs, but he gets tired of nonsense very quickly. He honestly regrets a lot of the things he said as a kit, and gets frustrated that Tangleburr never seemed to grow out of being a bully. After one too many comments that went to far, he stopped talking to her entirely.

They had just begun to reconcile when TigerClan took power, and Tangleburr became a fast loyalist. Deerfoot organized the rebels, just as he’d done before, resisting tyranny at every step. After helping the half-Clan cats escape, he was the only one captured and put on trial. He refused to name his co-conspirators and was brutally executed.

Jaggedtooth, Mosspelt, Dawnflower, and Reedwhisker, just some of the cats who owe their lives to him.

Tangleburr

DUMB! AS!! ROCKS!!!

I needed her to look like the funny little guy she is. She’s a little fluffy. A little chunky. She’s got this little tail and these big teeth and she’s always grinning. Her whiskers twist over each other, tangling at times. Sooo many appearances of her make her brown and white so I decided she needed ALL of the colors. Heterochromia also.

“Think before you speak“ but Tangleburr has never had a thought in her life. She’s all emotion. Swat first and ask questions later. She never has a good idea of boundaries or what the appropriate thing to say is.

In contrast to Deerfoot, Tangleburr was a loud and proud supporter of Brokenstar’s leadership up to the bitter end. She was ready to take over the entire forest, with no regard for how much space ShadowClan could actually use, or the suffering of other clans. After all, they’d never have peace as long as there were borders to battle over. She happily ate up every excuse and loophole Runningnose came up with-- she felt lucky to have such a smart brother and powerful leader!

As you’d expect, this caused a lot of tension between her and Deerfoot. When he cut her off, she blamed him at first for being stuck up all the time. Later, when they reconcile, she comes to realize that she was destroying the clan she loved, and that she’d lost so many clanmates while she’d been gone. When Deerfoot died, Tangleburr was distraught and could only think to keep him alive with her actions

She started asking herself what Deerfoot would have done, letting her paws be guided by his actions. This lead to a strong connection with StarClan (for a warrior, at least) and she became a good friend of Tawnypaw’s. She’s “No good at saying good, wise stuff, but I got two ears and one mouth! If you want a listener, I mean. Yeah.”

I’ve kind of fallen in love with her. Her son is Talonclaw; being saved from the vicious kittypets to help fix the family tree.

[acrispyapple]

Ikemen Prince: New Princes Sprites

Silvio Ricci

Birthday: July 23 Height: 180cm Coat of Arms Motif: Dog (Dalmatian)

Tyranny x Devotion CV: Takuya Sato 1st Prince of Benitoite

Gilbert von Obsidian

Birthday: December 21 Height: 178cm Coat of Arms Motif: Black Tiger

Absolute Evil x Infringement CV: Shintaro Asanuma 1st Prince of Obsidian

Keith Howell

Birthday: February 20 Height: 183cm Coat of Arms Motif: Stag

Dour x Brute Personality CV: Wataru Hatano 1st Prince of Jade

[dizzymilo]

Alrighty; after some googling, here’s a quick write up of the gw2 tarot in the order that is shown in the post and their rl equivalent. 1:- X: Satchel of Fate/Wheel of Fortune Upright: Change, cycles, inevitable fate Reversed: No control, clinging to control, bad luck 2:- IX: The Stag/The Hermit Upright: Contemplation, search for truth, inner guidance Reversed: Loneliness, isolation, lost your way 3:- XV: The Fiend/The Devil Upright: Addiction, materialism, playfulness Reversed: Freedom, release, restoring control 4:- IV: The Mirror/The Emperor Upright: Authority, structure, control, fatherhood Reversed: Tyranny, rigidity, coldness 5:- 0: The Convoy/The Fool Upright: Innocence, new beginnings, free spirit Reversed: Recklessness, taken advantage of, inconsideration

Big SoTO Spoiler below!! Just some confusion over achievement lore bits

So, completing Sorrow's Lost gets you a tarot card reading from Dagda, and this is what she reveals. For reference:

Convoy = Commander

Mirror = Isgarren

Satchel of Fate = Wizard's Ascent; a collection of ideas spread across the table. Between lovers and wars, they always choose war (I put the whole descript here because this is really cryptic)

Stag = Zojja

Fiend = Outrider Arina

I just can't figure out if this is predicting the events of SoTO's current update, or future ones? Zojja's severe choice is definitely about becoming a Wizard, the Convoy entering can be read as the Commander's grand entrance into the Astral Ward... The Fiend seems to be important but untouched for now, which means Arina is for sure important to the plot.

But what on earth does the Satchel of Fate refer to? Is Isgarren planning to go to war with the Kryptis?

[tallglassofchoccymilk]

Behold! Outer Wilds Owlk OCs :] They’re for an AU of mine lol

[empires-smp-out-of-context]

Have you been looking for the transcript of the beginning of Pixlriff’s latest video “Who Is... Our New King?” so that you get get all of the lore in one easy to read (and copy-paste) package?

Are you like myself, and need subtitles to focus but there’s only youtube generated ones so you’re struggling slightly? Look no further, because I have you covered!

Under the cut is the full introduction from Pixlriff’s video. The intro does only go for one minute at 14 seconds but here it is in an easy to read format, though it is a bit long.

Pixlriffs, uses a narrators voice that sounds akin to an elderly man through the whole introduction. The background to the exposition is the drawn map of the SMP.

Corruption had spread throughout the world. Each empires had found itself in the iron grip of a seemingly inescapable evil. They did their best to continue building in the shadow of this oppression, but all hope of escape seemed lost.

It was then, at their darkest hour, that a coalition of many empires came together, and with a song in their heart, confronted their demonic captor. 

Recalling a time when their ancestors had banished the demon to the ancient darkness beyond the world, they struck down the terror of Xornoth and restored peace to the land.

In the days that followed The Stag King of Rivendell sent forth a message to all the empires of the world: “Come to feast and revel in the downfall of tyranny and remake our alliances anew.” The twelve rulers came forth and broke bread, and laughed amongst themselves.

But one had a proposal, and an artefact of great significance, that would once again stoke the fires of rivalry between their lands.

[nabrizoya]

RoW Theories and Things I Want to See

with RoW literally a few weeks away, here’s some theories your way. 

this is Really long. like, really very long; mind you. 

Nikolai might become a disabled character.

It’s just the vibes. If we can take reference from the Too Clever Fox story, there’s a line that says “...and his [Koja’s] fur never quite sat right the same...”, which might hint at it (mostly bc i don’t want him to die). Also if this is indeed possible, it can be used to address ableism if it exists in this universe, especially since Nikolai is someone in the highest position of power. 

Zoya will experiment the shit out of powers. 

Idk why the synopsis says that using her powers might be a great deal, which tbf will be because she is truly the most most powerful atm; but Zoya wouldn’t mind taking the step outside of the old norms and bend the orders until they serve their purpose. That’s the entire goal rly.

But all along, she will consciously keep herself mindful to not hunger or discharge her power in a way that may cause harm. She knows the tyranny of the Darkling and the ways he employed. She knows better. 

More character depth to Zoya. 

Given the excerpts, the book does seem to explore Zoya’s infinite grief. And of course her Suli heritage, which a great part of the fandom consistently wants to shadow what with the talk “white features/ part Ravkan” bs. 

But there’s more. I hope RoW will show Zoya’s dilemma (that was alr hinted in KoS) she has with the power she holds, the responsibility she has with having that power + using it in the way that will not be detrimental to her and the country. It will be a great way to portray her self-awareness and doubt and insecurity. She is a good leader, that much is told in text but not shown. There’s character development from the end of R&R until KoS that makes her evolve from a what she was then to the capable and mature 22 year old she is in KoS. 

Of course all of their capabilities will come to light in RoW but I think Zoya and the agency to her as a character will play an integral part. More so because Zoya is to be the conduit to reversing the current Grisha orders, which runs in parallel with the fact that she needs to go back, go back to the roots of her Grisha knowledge and roots of her i.e. her unending grief and trauma. 

She will need to forgive herself while also dealing with the guilt and anger she may have caused due to her position and power. All of this while dealing with her own complex and contrasting emotions due to her own trauma.

Nikolai is held for treason. 

The word of allying with The Darkling may be out and that is enough reason for the entire country to turn against him. The secret about the monster causes issues more than enough already, and this will plunge the country into deep political turmoil and threats to security. So RoW will be more politically driven. That said...

There’s no overt war. 

By this I mean that there will not be war on the battlefield, both armies or more charging at each others’ enemies and such. Ravka cannot afford one either. The excerpts have already proved that. There will be skirmishes akin to a war scenario, but a complete battle like the last battle in R&R? Like a final battle? That’s not going to be there, I think… What I’m assuming might happen is that the Fjerda and Ravka will take a possible Cold War route, if it isn’t already the case they’re already dealing with atm. 

Ravka’s monarchy will collapse. 

It may become a democracy or any other form of public or majority vote. But the monarchy (as well a possible dictatorship, esp with the Darkling returned) will be eliminated. ...Or so I hope, since it has been alluded to in KoS. 

But that poses many problems. With no one line for the throne, let alone with a crime so dark like a blot on Nikolai’s skill (of taking the Darkling’s help), it is possible that Ravka will shun it, right alongside being torn about it because Nikolai has been, for the best of his ability, a good King. All of this in line with the Resistance rising in West Ravka. 

This ties in with the court matters, especially if I want to hold the further points I make true. The resolution to acquit Nikolai of his charges requires a testification forth a jury which will then make a decision about his motives and future. 

Zoya as the Interim Head. 

After all of this, Zoya’s point about Ravka not accepting a Grisha Queen will be true after all, because there will be no monarchy to welcome such an arrangement. 

But Ravka will need a good and trustworthy leader despite Grisha powers and Zoya is the best person to take care of that. The comment “...becoming a steady leader...” and the “Welcome home, Commander,” were there in KoS for a reason (and this is what I think it will link to). 

That being said, there’s more nuance to this than my summary. Zoya is a character of colour. That—in addition to the already existing threats, objections and possible question of capability in the position—ill play into how she will be able to discharge her responsibility. It’s not going to be convenient.

EDIT: taken from a reblog/addition to the og post:

A smoother/more structured transition

Once after the monarchy collapses and a leader must be chosen, it will not be Nikolai. Nor will it be Zoya, though she might serve as an interim head. What I assume might be possible is that someone older is chosen, someone older and loyal and with the proof of knowledge and service to the country. Possibly by majority vote or elected by a council.

Instead of the sudden change, this can be a smoother (if that can even be said about such a major political scenario change) or more structured. I also say this because a. if Nikolai is indeed charged (and later acquitted), firstly his political career will already hold a blot if the word about using the Darkling as a resource is out and secondly, he’s way too young to serve as the leader (by modern standards, sure, but like, the required age will be set while drafting the constitution? currently its 35+).

Instead, the current cast can become representatives (which Zoya would already be, (mostly the head of the) international committee that safeguards the Grisha all over the world) and the Triumvirate will be dissolved. (it should be, tbh)

And hey, b. after all of this, they can and kind of need to take a step back. Nikolai and Zoya will be able to truly explore their relationship, given how Nikolai mentions how he wouldn’t marry unless he’d have had the chance to court someone and marry someone he barely knows nor knows him. For Zoya’s part, she does know Nikolai but surely probably not the extent of openness that a healthy relationship has, and on Nikolai’s part, he admits he barely knows her beyond as a General except for just little things about her.

They could be able to realize and work on their feelings while alongside being involved with the workings of the country and the constitution.

“One day you will overstep and I will not be so forgiving.” 

Need I say more? Something that Zoya does will cost her Nikolai’s goodwill and we know Zoya knows her practicality and the extent to which she will unapologetically move if there is threat to the country and its King. She will do what was right and required. 

A major part of that line ties in with Magnus Opjer and I think with the confidence in the versatility of her powers, Zoya might as well move w/o any word to the Triumvirate to eliminate the most direct threat to the throne. This will bring splits in Nikolai and Zoya’s relationship. 

How this tension between them will be resolved without compromising either of their values, without playing into fandom stereotypes and others must be carefully handled. All of this while showing the best of their dynamicity, practicality and priority as they carefully pull out just those weak sticks of the jenga without putting the whole country into trouble. And with a war in plain sight, they’d know better than pointlessly argue and would rather see how the two of them are wrong. This ordeal will bring out just how condensed power is in the current scenario, imo. 

Importance on the way women have shaped history. 

Something that KoS has already set precedence for. Zoya being a PoC, Nina taking into account of the sufferings of women she comes across and the consistent ‘Who will remember them?’ will be elaborated on further. As for how it is done and how well it is done, that remains to be seen. 

Baghra is alive but maybe not thriving bc she’s stuck in the Ice Court. 

They entered a chamber where an old woman sat with her hands chained, flanked by guards. Her eyes were vacant. As each prisoner approached, the woman gripped his or her wrist.

A human amplifier. [...] But the Fjerdans used them for a different purpose – to make sure no Grisha breached their walls without being identified.

Kaz watched Nina approach. He could see her trembling as she held out her arm. The woman clamped her fingers around Nina’s wrist. Her eyelids stuttered briefly. Then she dropped Nina’s hand and waved her along.

Had she known and not cared? Or had the paraffin they’d used to encase Nina’s forearms worked?

- Chapter 22. Kaz; Part 4: Trick to Falling, Six of Crows.

Nina will be the one to free her and together they might wage a war from Djerholm together.

This gets even more interesting because we know the anguish and scorn that Baghra feels for her son at the same time; she understands the wrongness that he used to seek and will continue to. Zoya does take Baghra’s name at the Fold when she mourns and rages over how people forget the destruction and most importantly, forget the women. Baghra could be the symbol of the stag as the art piece depicts, or will be shown with relation to the Darkling’s powers.

As for how she will play into the story, perhaps she will be the one to help reverse and find the roots of the orders, in the sense that changes the perception of the Grisha powers for the Grisha as well as the common folk of Ravka. She is the only other person other than Juris and the Darkling to have the age of eras together, knowing Ilya Morozova, and she will be instrumental in giving Ravka an advantage over Fjerda. Either that or she will help in scrubbing the prejudices of Fjerda slowly away with whatever powers she has left. Or both. 

Alina will reappear, but will not contribute to the plot significantly.

Zoya understands that the truth she knows about the Darkling is very minimal not enough to end him for once and for all. It makes sense that she will probably consult Alina for it. So, Malina appearance, possibly at the orphanage. Alina will not directly contribute to this war, but she will play a critical role in defeating the Darkling.

Besides, Alina —and Baghra— are the only ones who know that there has only ever been two Darklings. Zoya did sense, multiple times during KoS, that the Darkling is damn old. Yuri mentions it. And while it is not outright specified, the fact that Zoya thinks that she realizes just how ancient Lizabetha is in context of meeting the Darkling is enough proof for her to seek more information about the age and the older skill of the Darkling. 

And I think it goes without saying that I want to hope that the Darkling and Alina will not meet. Pls, she’s had enough. 

Lada is the lost, other friend that Zoya refuses to bury. 

“She saw her mentor die and her worst enemy resurrected, and she refuses to bury another friend.”

Liliyana is dead, we know. But there’s no other mention of Lada except for the “wondering what happened to the pug faced girl.” Lada is possibly a part of the group of women and a Grisha returning to Ravka from Fjerda, exploited by the parem. She might die being unable to withhold the sheer torment of the parem induction, which will devastate Zoya because Lada was also the closest she’s had to a family with Liliyana. 

Either that or Lada is already dead or dies some other way, and Zoya cannot bring herself bear the grief of losing her. 

Cameos: Inej and Jesper. 

The most likely of the crows to appear in RoW are Inej and Jesper and they’ll play equally important roles in the plotline. Here’s a breakdown of why:

Inej

Inej has taken the responsibility of becoming a slave hunter, and it makes sense for Inej to make an appearance in the book, given that there’s going to be a ship taking the Grisha from Fjerda to Ravka. 

The women aboard are vulnerable and require immediate attention, which Inej will immediately zero in on. She will have enough reason to suspect both Leoni and Adrik on the ship, especially when the jurda parem is still a secret. Leoni and Adrik cannot give that information away because they don’t trust Inej (and have no reason to either). Inej won’t trust them either, not until she understands that the reason why the women are being taken to Ravka and for what reasons. 

Which gives her excellent reason to step in, try to analyze the situation and help the women accordingly.

Here’s an exciting thought though. Once after the entire misunderstanding is overcome and Inej understands (esp. if Nina is brought into the conversation and security and secrecy of the conversation is ensured), there may be discussion about how the Grisha might find a safer space in Ravka.

Inej’s appearance might also extend to playing a pivotal role in giving Zoya the confidence to seek her heritage and where she hails from, to embrace the part of her past and forgive herself and others for her mistakes. 

ALSO, 

Grisha finding a safer space in Ravka will mean that Inej can pitch Jesper’s case for him to Zoya. Being the highest authority who takes cares of the responsibilities of the Grisha, Zoya will be the best person to talk about this with. 

And so, here comes Jesper. 

Jesper

For one, I wish Jesper and Leoni interact, talk and just bond like the iconic siblings they would be. <3 But more than that, Jesper plays very integral to the plot for more reasons.

Jesper’s arc will parallel Zoya’s. Both of them are new to their powers in their own individual sense; Zoya is trying to use her new powers in a way that hasn’t been done before, thereby breaking the Grisha orders of powers and Jesper (assuming he has decided that he might want to learn and embrace his Grisha powers) is learning them afresh. 

This journey of them trying to embrace, learn and relearn and reject older norms and experiment really work in tandem.

That will lead us to a further (plot) theories. 

Ties with Novyi Zem 

As of the KoS end, Ravka has no support from anyone atm. Sure the Kerch will provide funds but Ravka has no real allies. Here’s where Novyi Zem and Jesper come in. 

We know Novyi Zem is a new country and also that it is the second safest country for the Grisha in the universe. As of KoS, their agreements are not renewed and they would be since between Kerch and Novyi Zem, Ravka was forced to pick Kerch. Yet Ravka needs their help in acquiring jurda for the antidote. 

So here’s the deal: Ravka will get their jurda but at many conditions that the Novyi Zem will impose on Ravka to not let exploitation get in the way. 

The conditions imposed could be (these are just some at the top of my head but I hope there are more to ensure the safety and security of the Zemeni, in Novyi Zem and in Ravka too) : 

Naval support from Ravka

We know of the Zemeni ships and ofc Nikolai has been hard at work trying to develop plans to use the sea to its fullest advantage. While the news of the izmars’ya isn’t public, Zemeni can place a condition for technical aid from Ravka since Ravka does have the technical knowledge it can dispatch as a condition.

A Grisha School in Novyi Zem

Think about it. Ravka, despite being the safest place for the Grisha, still isn’t entirely safe. Not all Grisha become soldiers in Ravka, they have a choice to abstain but those who are training are still recruited a honed for purpose alike preparing for war, especially the teens and preteens from the time of the Civil War. The training does take a lot of time. Ravka intends to make a home first and then service, but at the moment, while the Grisha are provided safety, it’s not assured in the best sense. Both the facts about a home and service are in precarious positions atm.

TL;DR: Ravka isn’t entirely safe for Grisha therefore the Grisha themselves too are not + Ravka is war torn. 

So what happens? 

One of the conditions as the next best country that serves as home to the Grisha, Novyi Zem may put forth the prospect of building a Little Palace like institution for the Grisha in Novyi Zem. It sounds morally wrong in the sense that the Grisha there will also be trained for war, but the war will end and soon, the Grisha will not be subject to serve for something but engage in economic activities as anybody else with the progression of time.

All of this won’t happen immediately either; learning their powers, honing it in the way that is unocnventional from what it had been pre-RoW and that transition + the building of the establishment in Novyi Zem and laying foundation for the  transnational panel or committee for Grisha that Zoya talks about will all take so much time. 

A few Grisha representatives from Novyi Zem can learn at the Little Palace and by the time the construction of the institution is done in Novyi Zem, these Grisha, along with other willing Grisha who either want to return to the country they were born in (like Leoni) or are offered to teach in a different country can do so too. 

There will be stricter terms so as to not ensure exploitation and possible colonization in these nations. 

Zoya mentions in one of her chapters that eventually there will be a need for the a  transnational panel or committee for Grisha. Jesper can Zoya can make it possible, adding in other countries to the panel slowly as the war recedes. 

Kaz and Wylan? 

Least likely to make an appearance, in my opinion. I think they’ll be mentioned plenty of times or brought up once and given great importance for how they can help in the side plot. 

Shu Support: 

This is more a hope than an actually theory dfbkdhjadfh but Makhi might have to step down from the throne because Ehri will take the place; either as a Queen (no...) or she might oversee the process of strengthening Shu Han and finding a leader (if she doesn’t want to become one herself). 

Ehri is capable, more than capable despite the little we know of her from the last chapter in KoS. All I hope is for an understanding and friendship between Nikolai and Ehri (and the subsequent cancelling of the marriage duH) for this to happen. She has little interest in statecraft but with the time she might spend with Nikolai, she might change her views. Even if not then she still gets the happy ending she deserves with Mayu (which is canon at this point rly).

Emotional Development or Breakdowns

Okay but I really, really, really hope we get to see all the three protagonists lose their shit and deal with their trauma, seek help or trying to stop isolating themselves or anything else they do to cope? Nina, Zoya and Nikolai, all of them cry, all of them get to completely lose it, let themselves be human and healthily cope and learn to rely on the people they trust the most. Like the sheer power and potential to show the myriad of ways to deal with grief, sadness, stress and more and make use of the trio’s backgrounds to show healthy and diverse ways of helping themselves, by letting themselves and others help them is just *combusts* Incredible! 

That being said, can I also ask for moments of fear and desolation from the side characters too? Impending war isn’t small business, it will take its toll on people, and all these reactions just cement their fears and what they value the most so. pls. Humanizing them rly. 

The Saving Each Other 

As much as I mostly kinda hate this trope, there are traces in the KoS that Zoya might be the one to end Nikolai’s affliction. On the other hand, there is talk of Nikolai helping Zoya control her powers which seems counterintuitive when you consider that Zoya knows that there is a line that she must never cross and that she is very, very careful about it and will continue to be. 

They can instead be the ones who motivate each other in times of distress as they always do (as shown with how Nikolai tries to gain control over his monster during the burning thorn ritual in KoS, allowing himself the vulnerability but also knowing that giving up will be unforgivable to both himself and Zoya as well) but I seriously do not wish for each other to be the ones directly ending one another's misery. Or perhaps this is just a fear imo that Leigh wouldn’t even take the route of (in which case, thank fuck).

Stab Stab Stab 

Zoya gets the chance to kill the Darkling with the rest of her friends. After all, Darkling does call them all his old friends. Just Julius Caeser him all the way and put a bow tie on the book. *chef’s kiss* Everybody deserves a second chance... at ending a tyrant when it fails the first time. 

+

So far, this is it. Rule of Wolves is in less than a few weeks and im- asdfghjkl. not Ready. i’m more Worried than Ready.

[argyrocratie]

#kind of half serious tho #depending on where you live #a more or less liberalized patriarchy #it gave up a lot but still has its dues #bourgeois and parallel regimes have mess up its organs but always it stay in the marrows of the bones wheter it's flesh advances or retreat

to expend a bit from my tag i'm ironically reminded of proudhon (ironically because of proudhon own patriarchal tendencies notably in his oposision to woman franchise) who i believe ilustrate some of what i mean where he says:

No boss. — The boss is given by polygamy. The husband is boss of his harem, like the cock with his hens, the bull with his heifers, the stag with his hinds, etc. — Where there are couple, there is separation and anarchy.

The boss is then given by patriarchy and slavery.

The boss is given by the bourgeois system, boss of the establishment, etc.

The boss is inevitable, in every state that is governed; and the republicans have produced nothing as well organized as the constitutional monarchy, which they copy while corrupting it.

Archy or anarchy then, no middle ground.

-P.-J. Proudhon, “What, Finally, is the Republic?”

of course unless i'm mistaken when he says "Where there are couple, there is separation and anarchy." by separation he mean separation of property and implicitly linking women to goods

but i would say that not so much coupling but separation as uncoupling, freedom of association is the crux of the anarchy

i'm reminded of anthropologist Charles Macdonald notion of strong andd weak ties:

I define a strong tie as a tie that 1. cannot be dissolved by a unilateral decision of one of the parties, 2. endures until death and beyond, 3. is enforced by an external agency, not the parties themselves.

(...)

It appears that strong ties of a personal nature were predominantly displayed at a certain historical stage, under the form of collective killings of followers, what Testart has analyzed and brilliantly theorized under the name of “les morts d’accompagnement” (Testart 2004). Archaeological evidence of mass graves predating the birth of great empires, such as Rome or China, tells the story of a particular practice observed around the world: slaves, servants, followers, dependants, consorts and familiars (including horses) were put to death after the demise of a prominent person or man of high status. If we follow Testart (id.) these deaths are a clear sign that personal links of loyalty and fidelity (“fidélité personnelle”) were institutionalized, leading to the killing or self‐sacrifice of dependents and followers.

Loyalty to a person until death and beyond became in many places around the world an institution. It is only this kind of personal loyalty, together with the widespread development of slavery and debt‐bondage in primitive and pre‐state societies that led to the formation of early states. These were nothing but transference of strong ties between persons, to strong ties between subjects and rulers and, later on, between citizens and nation. Strong ties once internalized make tyranny acceptable as La Boétie told us five hundred years ago in his aptly entitled essay “De la Servitude Volontaire”.

Anarchic and open‐aggregated communities observed by ethnographers do not put any premium on such ties. They display loyalty and trust to a high degree but very rarely to the point of self‐sacrifice and death outside the domestic family. Instead they rely on weak ties, like those of friendship and partnership. Weak ties are, and probably were in a majority of pre‐Neolithic communities, the material with which communities were built. These ties entail a continual negotiation between partners and consociates, leading to frequent and repeated fission and fusion of groups, bands, local settlements and other temporary forms of association (Dentan 1992). Weak ties bind people together but do not weld them together. They permit solidarity and cooperation, occasionally create intense feelings, but are not forever, and at any moment anyone can and may shake them loose. They imply no long‐term commitment. They must match certain requirements and obey what I have called “conditions of felicity”.

-Charles J­H Macdonald, “Can anarchism be a critical point in the new anthropological imagination? Contributions of anarchy and anarchism to social theory.” (2010)

_

in the matter of anthropology and anarchy an interesting possible exemple of "degenerate patriarchy" might be those "powerless chief" notably theorized by Pierre Clastre (if with too much overgeneralization) where groups have an official chief who is denied coercicive power (he (and he is a he) can propose, try to convince basically must talk but can not give orders) but he is also the only one of the group allow to have more than one wife

some have theorize that (at least some of) those societies were people having flee or who where the result of the colapse of more hierarchical/patriarchal societies

"actually we live in a sate of degenerate patriarchy"

[empiresresources]

transcript - intro to pixl 27

transcribed clip: the opening to pixlriffs' episode 27

speaker: the only speaker in this clip is pixlriffs, acting as a narrator rather than a character.

“Corruption had spread throughout the world. Each empire found itself in the iron grip of a seemingly inescapable evil. They did their best to continue building in the shadow of this oppression, but all hope of escape seemed lost. It was then, at their darkest hour, that a coalition of many empires came together and with a song in their heart, confronted their demonic captor. Recalling a time when their ancestors had banished the demon to the ancient darkness beyond the world, they struck down the terror of Xornoth and restored peace to the land. In the days that followed, the Stag King of Rivendell sent forth a message to all the empires of the world: Come to feast and revel in the downfall of tyranny, and remake our alliances anew. The twelve rulers came forth, and broke bread and laughed amongst themselves. But one had a proposal, and an artifact of great significance that would once again stoke the fires of rivalry between their lands."

[aurabird]

For All It’s Worth

Legend tells of a great war between two stags and their champions. Scott is the reincarnation of Aeor's champion, Alinar; but the reincarnation of Exor's champion, Connel, remains unknown to him.

He doesn't think he'll ever get the chance when crystalline corruption consumes the Empires he has come to know for centuries and leave only him and two others the sole survivors of the land.

That is when strangers come from worlds beyond his own, one such individual offering to use demigod-like powers to save them all.

But with this plan comes consequence, and with that consequence comes prophecy.

Inspired by @phoenixfyrebird​‘s crossover AU where 3rd Life is after Empires and is where Scott finally meets Exor’s champion

Ao3 Link

--------------

For as long as Scott could remember, the twelve Empires had existed together; their rulers granted longevity of life and immortality from everything but old age due to ancient magic left behind by Gods when they banished a horrible corruption from the land centuries ago.

All elves knew the story, but Scott had only recently learned of the underlying prophecy that came with it. The reincarnations of Connel and Alinar would fight for their respective Gods in a battle for the fate of the world; and that failure to stop the evil of the former would lead to an eternal winter.

Scott knew that he was the reincarnation of Alinar but he had no idea who Connel was reborn as. He had suspicions of course; Fwhip's affinity for the crystalized redstone that corrupted whatever land was around it and Sausage's constant practicing of blood magic being the most likely in his mind, but so far they really didn't seem to give off 'reincarnation of a great evil' vibes, despite their chaotic and unhinged behavior.

Eras of war and peace came and went for them and, just when all twelve empires had found harmony, destruction arrived at their doorstep in a familiar form.

It was all an accident, but it claimed its cultivator first. Count Fwhip of the Grimlands had become infected and twisted by the very magic he studied until his own sister had to cut him down to save him from madness. Her kingdom fell shortly after along with that of the Undergrove and the Lost Empire.

Mezalea and the Ocean Empire were next to fall, the latter ruler sacrificing herself to save her husband. The Cod Empire where the heartbroken king settled was not spared, nor was the neighboring Mythland, whose ruler perished trying to help the Cod and Mezalian Kings. Pixandria's ruler went shortly thereafter, followed by those of Smallhold and House Blossom.

Rivendell was the only kingdom left unaffected, protected by the magic of Aeor. Twelve rulers had been reduced to a mere three in just a few months time, and even now the crystalline corruption had begun to creep closer, bypassing the protection of the elven kingdom.

 Joel didn't want to die, for it was his wife's last wish that he survive.

Jimmy knew he had to live in order to keep the memories of the fallen alive

And Scott knew that as Aeor's champion, he could not surrender until the prophecy came to be

 They would have to flee, leave everything they knew behind with nothing but what they could carry. Even then, though, the corruption would never slow, it would catch up to them eventually, it would consume everything in its path until nothing was left.

Still, they took their chances.

Several days they traveled, several days the corruption just followed them. Sometimes they'd get a few days of reprieve, others they barely had time to rest. While Scott himself could fly with his natural wings, Joel and Jimmy's elytras had long broken by this point and with no time to rest and repair them, they would be forced to walk from this point on.

It was a battle they knew they'd never win and the trio was well aware that they were on borrowed time, why bother running anymore?

But, that is when two purple rifts tore open nearby them, pulsating and hissing with magic unlike they'd ever seen. From these portals came people, eleven to be exact. Ten from one, and a single person from the other. They'd been told the stories and fables of worlds beyond their own, and these strangers couldn't have been from anywhere else with the entrances they made.

As it turned out, these strangers were the sole survivors of worlds that had faced destruction of their own. The first group, from a world they called Hermitcraft, had once housed twenty-six individuals; of them, only ten remained. When asked about the cause of their home's destruction, three of them had guilt flash across their faces.

Vengeful beings called Watchers had destroyed the world, punishment for the guilty trio's insolence. The avian in the red jumper was a Watcher himself once, but fled from them with the only two survivors of his original home, Evo. He used most of the power he had to open a portal and escape with the group behind him now.

As for the other, the man in a sleeveless and torn suit, he came from a world known as Legacy. He had not been there very long before Withers and the decay they brought with them consumed and torn it apart.

That was when the three former-kings shared their tale, lamenting that these individuals had only left behind two destroyed worlds in favor of what would soon be another. There was no escaping the crystalline corruption that inched closer and closer by the hour, it would consume them all in time.

However, there was a small ray of hope. The avian from Hermircraft explained that he had enough power left from his time as a Watcher to teleport them all far away from the corrupted lands and put up a barrier that would protect them should the corruption ever reach that far. It wasn't the most ideal scenario, but it was all they had. In agreement, the fourteen found themselves in an area protected within a 700 x 700 radius. Plenty of room to thrive, plenty of room to live...

...then they realized a fatal flaw.

The magic that brought them back upon death, Respawn Magic, as the world-jumpers had called it, was limited within such boundaries. The avian, Grian, deducted that there was only enough in the area to bring them all back twice. Three lives to live, they had to make them count.

It didn't take long for the universe to alert them to the next flaw. With the dwindling respawn magic came consequence; a slow decent into madness would come with each death. Those on their second life would grow paranoid, flighty, and hostile. Those on their last life became  chaotic, aggressive, and bloodthirsty.

Collectively, they decided to call this curse by a fitting name:

3rd Life

--------------

Scott and Jimmy had grown close in the journey prior to the current living accommodations the fourteen of them were faced with, and the two of them took up residence in a flower forest with Joel not too far off. Joel had been invited to live with them, but the former king could not bear to live with the now-lovers, heart still broken by the loss of his wife. Instead, he befriended wolves, living alone with his canine companions.

Hermitcrafts survivors scattered; Cleo, Bdubs, Impulse, and Tango in a castle, Scar and Grian now bound by debt settled in the desert, BigB lived on his own, and lastly Martyn, Ren, Etho and the one Legate survivor, Skizz, ran an enchanting business in the taiga.

Despite the lingering threats of limited respawn magic and the curse of death slowly leading to madness, things went relatively fine...until Scar fell into a ravine, costing him his first life.

After that, he became antagonistic and manipulative, getting whatever he wanted through fear from everyone he swindled...

...until he didn't. Ren didn't surrender to Scar's tyranny and remained defiant; something that cost the hybrid his first life, and the second ones of both Skizz and Jimmy. It also caused Ren to do something drastic, something that struck Scott with fear and realization.

Scott was present when Ren asked to be sacrificed by Martyn, as it was the only way to make him strong enough to bring about the Red Winter. At first, the elf had thought nothing of the words, but when Ren lifted his head and Scott saw the veins of corruption webbing across the hybrid's face, once-blue eyes now glowing red as blood and full of a lust for destruction and chaos, the pieces fell into place.

Despite everything Scott had not forgotten the prophecy he'd learned so long ago, and until that moment, he didn't expect to ever meet Exor's champion before dying to a fraying world. But before him stood the reincarnation of Connel, the harbinger of eternal winter.

That night, he confided the info and the prophecy to Jimmy and Joel, both of them in disbelief. They didn't get to talk about it much, however, before Ren and his Hand showed up and demanded tribute and sacrifice through threat and force.

Jimmy burned their banner in defiance and Scott's gaze met that of Ren, allowing him to see the realization that flashed in the Red King's eyes. He too, had made the connection; why else would he proceed to have Skizz to shoot Jimmy down in the desert when there were plenty of other targets? He wanted a reaction from Scott, he wanted to send a message.

Lives were taken, blood was spilled. Joel and Scott had been the hunters of Ren and Martyn at first, but now they were the hunted, pinned down in the crater of what had once been the desert. If the elf had any doubts about the hybrid's true identity before, they were gone now. Ren openly admitted to being Connel before lunching forwards with the intent to kill.

Scott heard the sound of a body being skewered onto metal, but upon opening his eyes he realized that it wasn't his body impaled on Ren's sword...it was Joel's.

"Run..." was the dying order given to him, and with a heavy heart Scott followed the command, making his way to the Crastle where he took refuge within the building's walls. That night, he told the tale, of the corruption and the eternal winter; of his destiny to stop Ren...no, Connel. He asked them to fight by his side in a final battle. They all agreed, they had vengeance in their hearts as well.

The battle of Dogwarts was brutal, crimson dying the water and staining the grass as it pooled from fallen bodies. Now, Scott faced Ren alone, the two of them the only survivors of their respective armies.

Like prophecy foretold they clashed, the reincarnations of Alinar and Connel fought with unyielding vigor, staining snow with blood as their weapons tore through flesh and arrows pierced through skin.

But only one of them would win, with a final cry full of anguish about those he'd lost, Scott drove his sword through Ren's heart. Exor's champion was dead, he had won.

The victory felt hollow to him; he was surrounded by bodies and had already buried countless more, he was the only one left in a fraying world and Scott could already see the crystalline corruption that'd taken everything from him already at the edges of the magical barrier. He was out of time...and there was still one life left to go.

After burring the bodies of the newly-fallen, ally and enemy alike, Scott made his way to the highest peak near Dogwarts...and let himself fall. His instinct told him to catch himself and fly, but he didn't listen, only welcomed the air blowing past his face.

A sickening crack...agonizing pain as bones shattered...and then blissful darkness.

--------------

Darkness...

Darkness...

Darkness...

Light...?

Scott's eyelids flickered open, light and color filling them as he looked at the sky from between the thick canopy of the jungle...

Wait, jungle?

He jolted up as the gears began to turn. He knew this place, but the last time he'd seen it, it was corrupted by red crystals and the colors of everything were far more vibrant compared to the muted shades they were now.

"There you are! I was wondering when you were going to show up!"

Scott's blood went cold at the voice...the last time he'd heard it was...

The elf dared to turn around, his heart skipping a beat at who he saw before him.

Dressed in his Codfather attire, stood Jimmy with a goofy grin on his face. Behind him, the rest of those that had ruled empires lost to corruption so, so long ago. "J-Jimmy? Guys? Where are...?"

Jimmy extended a hand and spoke "This is it, this is the end."

"Is it...home?"

"It's home, Scott. It's home."

[chiefbasementcreator]

Lewd Warhammer

Races

Empire: human. German names, based on the Holy roman Empire with a 18th century aesthetic and a tiny bit of steampung in the weaponry, but very mild. Knows magic and has a college dedicated to learning/training battle mages. Lewdability: high

Bretonnina: human French feudal knights. based on the arthurian mythos, monarchist and very strong elitism/classisism. Mages are women called Prophetesses/damsels (prophetess being the higher rank). Lewdability: high

Kislev: human, Pseudo-slavic states, vodka, bears and ice magic. Ruled by Tzarina Katarin, has a strong orthodox/19th century russia motif. Lewdability: high

Cathay: Imperial China, human. Very little known about them, since they’re a severly underdevelopped faction in the lore.Lewdability: high

Vampire Counts: undead, zombies, skeletons, etc... Vaguely “romanian” names, vampire women are extremely hot lewdability: high for vampire women, low for everything else

Tomb Kings: Undead egyptian mummies, pyramids, sphinxes, animated statues, etc... Lewdability: almost none, they don’t have flesh, but i suppose you could have fun with their living statues

vampire Coast: Vampire pirates. Imagine the crew of the Black pearl in the first pirates of the carribean and you’re pretty close. Also have some undead sea monsters and zombies with guns/rifles.  Lewdability: meh. They have vampire women, but they aren’t particularly attractive, adn the rest are mostly basic zombies      

Dwarfs: (spelled Dwarf and dwarfen in this universe) Steampunk, very spiteful, hold grudges for a VERY long period of time. Lewdability: nonexistent.

Chaos Dwarfs: Dwarfs, but worshiping a god of evil/tyranny/slavery and work with demoons/infusing demons in things. Lewdability: nonexistent (their slavery is either “work you in the mines until you collapse death” or the “murder you and use your soul as bait for a demon” kind instead of the sexy one)

Lizardmen: Aztec dinosaurs. Lewdability: mild. They’re all men, but i guess if you’re iinto monsterfucking...

Skaven: evil very intelligent and treacherous rats, have different clans dedicated to different things. Lewdability: mild (depends on the clan)

High Elves: More or less standard arrogant high elves, on the side of good, but condescending as all fucks. Lewdability: high

Dark Elves (not dark/brown-skinned, very pale-skinned, but they all dress in black and are edgy fucks): Evil elves in a war with their cousins. Lewdability: VERY HIGH (their sorceresses are all hot and dress skimpily, and they have the fun kind of slavery on tope of other less sexy ones).

Beastmen: Either goatmen, centaurs or minotaurs. Lewdability: high (if you’re into that)      

Norsca: human, evil vikings that worship gods of evil and have monsters (mammoths, werewolves and fimirs) in their ranks. Lewdability: high

Warriors of chaos: metal album cover, more or less. evil knights/warriors worshiping gods of evil. Lewdability: low

Greenskins (orcs and goblins): standard “evil orcs”, but they also have an accent/are dumb. Lewdability: nonexistent.

Demons of Khorne: Angry demons living only to kill and do war crimes, lewdability: none

Demons of nurgle: demons of a plague/rot god, lewdability: none

Demons of tzeetch: bird-faced weird thing dedicated to an evil god of scheming and tricker. Lewdability: none

Demons of Slaanesh: Demons to a god/ess of excess (glutony, lust, greed, etc): lewdability: low (they look weird as all fucks)

wood elves: night elves from WoW, but more xenophobic, isolationists and actually kicking ass. Half otheir roster is what you’d expect of wood elves (rangers, archers, spearmen, etc), half is wood spirits (treemen of different sizes) and various animals (eagles, dragons, stag knights ,etc..)

[bridgetstandson]

Memento Mori

Story, Prologue I, Prologue II

Prologue III

In a matter of seconds, her hands shot out. A burst of green pushed the approaching men back several feet.

Before they even had a chance to stand another burst of green and flames slowly formed coiling around them.

Wildfire.

A roar of flames spread through the men. They didn't stand a chance. The bannerman held their breath as they watched thousands of men began to burn. A chorus of screams rang through the air. It was the kind of scream that bypasses the ears to go straight to the heart, as they screamed, the fire wrapped tighter around them, their bodies became swallowed by a luminous green fire. A fire that could only be found in the bowels of hell. In a matter of minutes, the destruction settled.

Then came the silence again.

Aadya grinned. Her lips pulled back, her canines gleamed in the light provided by the fire. She turned the bottom of her dress flared around her feet. She set her gaze on her husband. This was no longer Aadya Romulus, in front of them was Aadya Kcreden, the Wicca of old Valyria.

Words had left him. Never had Titus seen such a display of power from his wife. He knew who she was, he was not ignorant. Her family had a long sordid history with sorcery. The Wicca of the deserts. But the sorcery had long died out throughout the lands, Valyria was thought by many to be the heart of sorcery and when it was destroyed in the Doom, sorcery to was destroyed. But here she stood, able to conjure such feats of power. He had seen her make her remedies, little things like concoctions to help the gardens blossom during winter or teas for small ailments. But never this. Titus turned to her. Staring at her, his eyes set with disbelief. As if underwater his movements were slow, he grabbed her face his eyes desperately searched hers......... waiting.

" How could you?" He breathed out. She looked up at him, her hand reaching for his heart she placed it softly on his chest.

" How could I not Titus?" She asked softly. " You left me no choice. when I married you I took your name, your history and the responsibility of ensuring our legacy".

"A legacy that you and your father failed. Those scum would have never, NEVER had the courage to challenge us. But they did because your father didn't do what he was supposed to do- he failed to show them what happens when you cross us and you are failing too.

Someone had to do it. You were too weak"

Titus stared deeply at her. " Are you mad?" he let go of her face, staring between her and the ashes that were left behind. Giving her a final glance, he uttered to his king's guard. " Ser Linus, please escort Her grace to her chambers, she is to remain there until further notice".

There it was again.

Silence.

No one moved, Linus didn't make a move to follow his order. Whether it be out of fear of the queen or disappointment. Instead, Linus stared at his king. A king he once admired, a king born into the great and formidable dynasty. A king who was about to throw Dormus into the hands of the usurper. A man that murdered innocent children and sort to kill every surviving dragon. a man that hated everything he and his children were. How disappointed he felt. It was clear Titus Romulus was not worthy of the name and so his time was over.

Titus moved to turn to Linus and in quick fluid movements, knife met flesh, soft flesh.

Titus gasped.

A blade was stuck deep in his chest. A hand twisted it, sinking it deeper and deeper. Until the metal had disappeared inside his heart. He released a cry, guttural chokes mixed with an agonising whine. The blade was pulled out, he sank to his knees and looked deep into the eyes of his killer.

And in that moment of betrayal, he forgave her.

Titus was dead, eyes fixed and vacant.

" Take his head, send it to his beloved stag" With that Aadya left swiftly, soft murmurs of " Your grace" followed her as the men bowed to their new Queen Dowager.

-Kings Landing-

In the throne room, Robert sat, a newly crowned king. By his side, his bride. Not Lyanna, no she was dead. His bride hailed from the west, the prettiest girl in Westeros they called her, the light of the West.  Cersei Lannister.

The court before him was full, the room crowded with nobility from all over Westeros, all chattering amounts themselves softly. All except the raging Martell, who still sat in Dorne still furious over the death of Elia. Had Robert had it his way her would have summoned them to court but was advised against it by his mentor, understand how volatile the tension was. The day instead was spent with houses pledging their loyalty and praising him for the freeing them from the dragon's tyranny. The dragons were gone, he made sure of that, well not all. West of West, housed another dragon, the shadow dragons. Filth the whole lot of them Robert thought bitterly.  He had wanted so desperately to go west and show them the same fury he showed the Targaryen's. In his eyes a dragon was a dragon, they were not different despite them trying to distance themselves from the Targaryen's. But of course Ned Stark and Jon Arryn fought against it, refusing to supply men to a 'pointless war' as they called it - " The war is won, Lyanna is avenged, It is done" Ned had told him. They didn't understand his need to get rid of them all. So he turned to the Romulus' enemies- the Juvient's and Lannister- none hated the Romulus more. Tywin a man of ambition, set to ensure that his legacy lived on. After the rebellion, no one would forget what it meant to be a Lannister. Pledging ten thousand men, Tywin was sure that Dormus would fall into the hands of his family. A land far richer than their own. The Juvients, a foolish house in his opinion, simply wanted the Romulus' death and claimed they were happy to bend the knee should Robert claim the country. Though Tywin doubted that all they wanted, but once the Romulus was removed, the Juvients could be easily handled. The country would be easy to take with how weak the current Romulus' had become.

So now they stood awaiting a word of their victory, awaiting the arrival of the Romulus on their knees. Robert was determined to not only destroy one dynasty but two.

It was at that moment the door slammed open, echoing through the room. Two men carried a chest, arriving dead centre of the room, they set the chest down. They stood proudly, trapped in their armour, red and black for all to see.

Their voices filled with amusement the first spoke. "Robert Baratheon a pleasure to meet you, Queen Aadya has sent us to congratulate you on obtaining the throne and wishes to give you a gift"

" I'm going to take that fact that you are here, that House Romulus is accepting of the negotiations " Robert utter, a sense of apprehension beginning to grow. Demanding the Romulus to bend the knee was risky, but it was a risk he would take. If there is one thing he knew about Titus was that he is naive and easily coerced. Titus would never wage war, just like his father he sorts out peace and resolution.

"No" the man Dormusian man stated.

"Dormus was built from the ground up by the Romulus, the great structures and lands were forged with the help of their shadow dragons. Dormus know no other king"

Slamming his hand down, Robert's grew instant frustrated. "Where is Titus!?"

Bending down the second man kneeled by the chest slowly opening it. As if carried by strong winds, a smell wafted into the room. The smell many recognised as burnt flesh. And there It was.

Nestled in a bed of ashes Titus Romulus head sat for all to see, a single rune carved onto his forehead. Silence.

The court stood in silence, each trying to understand the implications of the chest. Taking their leave the soldier walked out the throne. No one moved to stop them. Instead, they started at the rune.

At that moment a reminder rang out, death now loomed over them all.

The rest of the story found on WATTPAD