#v: the faithful ships (between the mountains and the sea)

[scion-of-kings]

//Tag drop

[istumpysk]

I really like your take about the Starks endgame being in the line:

sit on the king’s council. He might raise castles like Brandon the Builder, or sail a ship across the Sunset Sea, or enter your mother’s Faith and become the High Septon ... “You,” Ned said, kissing her lightly on the brow, “will marry a king and rule his castle, and your sons will be knights and princes and lords and, yes, perhaps even a High Septon.”

Obviously the marrying king and ruling his castle is so Sansa and sail a ship across the sunset sea hints at adventurer Arya, but I am a little stuck on the other ones. Who is to sit on a King's Council? Jon? And raising castles like Brandon the Builder is likely Bran. But what I love the most is High Septon Rickon. Damn I want that so bad. Lately I have bitterly resigned myself to him dying, but him becoming High Septon would make me so happy. George you better not kill that poor child ��

Au contraire, anon! You have it slightly backwards. Let’s take another look.

sit on the king's council -> Bran.

Here’s George R. R. Martin being a little cheeky when hinting Bran may sit on the King’s council. Naturally he’ll be the head of that council... hardy har har. Funny guy.

He might raise castles like Brandon the Builder -> Jon.

Good old Jon the Builder. Anon, it is actually Jon Snow (I) with all the foreshadowing (II) of restoring (III) The Gift and its natural resources (IV), creating and settling new noble houses (V), and raising new castles there (VI).

King Bran Stark will likely be regifting The Gift back to the Starks, who used to hold dominion over it, undoing a Targaryen order of the past. You might call that Brandon’s Gift.

sail a ship across the Sunset Sea -> Arya.

Next up, Captain Stark. Anyone still doubting this is delusional, and we don’t need to expand on it any further.

marry a king and rule his castle, and your sons will be knights and princes and lords and, yes, perhaps even a High Septon -> Sansa.

Who is that Arya? Right, that’s Sansa. Marrying a King, ruling his castle, having his princes, and continuing the line of succession of what must be a very important integral house to the story. Small problem, can anyone think of a spare King that’s lying around? Can’t be Bran, that doesn’t make sense. I guess we’ll have to wait and see how this mystery plays out.

enter your mother's Faith and become the High Septon -> ???

Um, I’m not sure what the hell to make of that, to be honest. The other four are undoubtedly being directly referenced (the Sunset Sea being the dead giveaway), so this is either Rickon or it was added to dilute the foreshadowing a touch. Your guess is as good as mine.

Of course if he does survive the series, travels South to stay close to Bran (aww!), and eventually join his mother’s Faith and become the High Septon in an epilogue, I will scream from the mountains that I’m a genius and predicted it from the very beginning.

And if he dies, I will claim that it was a foregone conclusion. I don’t make the rules, ok?

Anyway, that’s the story of how one conversation between father and daughter, spoiled the whole gosh darn ending in the very first book.

“He was going to be a knight,” Arya was saying now. “A knight of the Kingsguard. Can he still be a knight?”

“No,” Ned said. He saw no use in lying to her. “Yet someday he may be the lord of a great holdfast and sit on the king’s council. He might raise castles like Brandon the Builder, or sail a ship across the Sunset Sea, or enter your mother’s Faith and become the High Septon.” But he will never run beside his wolf again, he thought with a sadness too deep for words, or lie with a woman, or hold his own son in his arms.

Arya cocked her head to one side. “Can I be a king’s councillor and build castles and become the High Septon?”

“You,” Ned said, kissing her lightly on the brow, “will marry a king and rule his castle, and your sons will be knights and princes and lords and, yes, perhaps even a High Septon.”

Arya screwed up her face. “No,” she said, “that’s Sansa.” – Eddard V, AGOT

❤️🐺

[orthodoxydaily]

Saints&Reading: Tue., Ja. 28, 2020

St Ephraim the Syrian

Saint Ephraim the Syrian, a teacher of repentance, was born at the beginning of the fourth century in the city of Nisibis (Mesopotamia) into the family of impoverished toilers of the soil. His parents raised their son in piety, but from his childhood he was known for his quick temper and impetuous character. He often had fights, acted thoughtlessly, and even doubted God’s Providence. He finally recovered his senses by the grace of God, and embarked on the path of repentance and salvation.

Once, he was unjustly accused of stealing a sheep and was thrown into prison. He heard a voice in a dream calling him to repent and correct his life. After this, he was acquitted of the charges and set free.

The young man ran off to the mountains to join the hermits. This form of Christian asceticism had been introduced by a disciple of Saint Anthony the Great, the Egyptian desert dweller Eugenius.

Saint James of Nisibis (January 13) was a noted ascetic, a preacher of Christianity and denouncer of the Arians. Saint Ephraim became one of his disciples. Under the direction of the holy hierarch, Saint Ephraim attained Christian meekness, humility, submission to God’s will, and the strength to undergo various temptations without complaint.

Saint James transformed the wayward youth into a humble and conrite monk. Realizing the great worth of his disciple, he made use of his talents. He trusted him to preach sermons, to instruct children in school, and he took Ephraim with him to the First Ecumenical Council at Nicea (in the year 325). Saint Ephraim was in obedience to Saint James for fourteen years, until the bishop’s death in 338.

After the capture of Nisibis by the Persians in 363, Saint Ephraim went to a monastery near the city of Edessa. Here he saw many great ascetics, passing their lives in prayer and psalmody. Their caves were solitary shelters, and they fed themselves with a certain plant...keep reading

St Isaac the Syrian

Our venerable father Isaac of Nineveh  also known as Isaac of Syria, is a 7th centurysaintknown for his strict asceticism and ascetic writings.

St. Isaac was born in the region of Qatar on the western shore of the Persian Gulf. When still quite young, he entered a monastery with his brother. His fame grew as a holy man and teacher. He was subsequently ordained bishop of Nineveh, the former capital of Assyria to the north, but requested to abdicate after only five months. He then went south to the wilderness of Mount Matout, a refuge for anchorites. There he lived in solitude for many years studying the Scripture, but eventually blindness and old age forced him to retire to the monastery of Rabban Shabur, where he reposed and was buried. His feast day is January 28.

He is not to be confused with the other St. Isaac the Syrian, Abbot of Spoleto, who lived during the mid-sixth century (April 12).

Orthodoxy

Much has been made in some circles that St. Isaac was a member of the Church of Persia (known today at the Assyrian Church of the East), which has been associated with the Nestorian heresy. The first edition (1984) of the Orthodox English translation of St. Isaac's Ascetical Homilies contained an extensive Epilogue entitled "A Brief Historical and Theological Introduction to the Church of Persia to the End of the Seventh Century," written by Syriac scholar Dr. Dana R. Miller of Fordham University, which has been summarized thusly in the new (2011) more compact second edition: "Saint Isaac was and still is commonly called 'Nestorian Bishop of Nineveh' and the Church of Persia of his day, 'Nestorian'. The [first edition] Epilogue endeavored to demonstrate that the teachings of Nestorius did not inform the theology of the Church of Persia; that the writings of Theodore of Mopsuestia known to her were partial and imperfect translations, and that the controversy his writings caused in the Greek-speaking world were mostly unknown to the Church of Persia, cut off by linguistic differences and political boundaries; that in some cases it was extremism on the part of the Monophysites that led the Church of Persia to take a stance that might seem to lend itself to a Nestorian interpretation, such as the cautious avoidance of the term Theotokos to avoid Monophysite Theopaschism, though she professed the Virgin's Son to be perfect God and perfect man; that the fraternal relations with Byzantium remained open: no general and hardened opposition to the Fourth [Ecumenical] Council created a final division between the Church of Persia of Saint Isaac's day and the 'Chalcedonian' Church, as it did with the Monophysites, for whom the rejection of the Council of Chalcedon became a defining element of their identity. Its aim, in a word, was to show that the Church of Persia to which Saint Isaac belonged was neither heretical in theology nor schismatic in confession." (pages 74-75, "Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian", Revised Second Edition, translated and published by Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA, 2011)...keep Reading From orthodox Wiki

James 3:1-10 NKJV

 The Untamable Tongue 

3 My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. 2 For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a [a]perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. 3 [b]Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. 4 Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. 5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.

See how great a forest a little fire kindles! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of [c]iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of [d]nature; and it is set on fire by [e]hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. 8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the [f]similitude of God. 10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.

Footnotes:

James 3:2 mature

James 3:3 NU Now if

James 3:6 unrighteousness

James 3:6 existence

James 3:6 Gr. Gehenna

James 3:9 likeness

Mark 11:22-26

22 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

Forgiveness and Prayer

25 “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. 26 [a]But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”

Footnotes:

Mark 11:26 NU omits v. 26.

New King James Version (NKJV) Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. From Biblegateway.com

[mikaltom53]

Tabletalk Devotions with R.C. Sproul

Duration: 365 days

Walking on Water

Matthew 14:22–36 “Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water” (vv. 28–29).

After miraculously increasing a few loaves and fish into a quantity that can feed thousands, Jesus sends the crowd away and withdraws to a mountain to pray. Shortly before dismissing the crowd, our Savior orders His disciples to return to the boat in order to give Him time alone with His Father (Matt. 13:22–23). Many scholars believe Jesus separates His disciples from the crowd so that they might not get caught up in the crowd’s messianic expectations, which were probably not in line with the fact that the Messiah had to suffer.

In any case, we know that Christ spends many hours in prayer. He begins as soon as the evening comes (six o’clock or so, v. 23) and we do not see Him in action again until the fourth watch of the night (anywhere between three and six in the morning, v. 25). Such perseverance in prayer must not be overlooked. If Jesus, who always does His Father’s will, needed to pray for such a lengthy period, how much more should extended communion with our Creator be a part of our lives? It is a fact that those believers who have made a great impact on history were men and women who spent a lot of time on their knees.

Jesus is walking upon the water, approaching their ship tossed far from the shore by a powerful storm, the first time the disciples see Him after this prayer vigil (vv. 25–27). This act is a powerful proof of His deity. In Scripture, Yahweh, the one, true Lord of all, is described as walking upon the water (Ps. 77:16–20; Hab. 3:15). Whether or not Peter has a full-orbed understanding of Christ’s divinity at this point in his life is doubtful, but he does understand the extraordinary authority that Jesus must possess if He can make His path on top of the waves. Such faith prompts Peter to ask for permission from Jesus to step off the boat and join Him upon the sea (Matt. 14:28–29).

Peter takes his eyes off of Jesus and sinks, but we would miss a vital lesson of this story if we focus only on Christ’s criticism of His disciple’s “little faith” (vv. 30–31). Though mixed with doubt and fear, Peter’s faith is nonetheless true — he does walk on the water. More importantly, the fisherman is not abandoned when he falters; rather, the Savior extends His hand to save him (vv. 32–33).

CORAM DEO: LIVING BEFORE THE FACE OF GOD

As many commentators have said regarding this passage, Peter’s faith is much like ours, small and incomplete, a mixture of trust and doubt. Nevertheless, God does not wait for us to have perfect faith before He saves us. The mere presence of authentic trust is required, and periods of doubt say nothing about the legitimacy of our faith. No matter the fervor of your trust this day, know that Jesus is a Savior who rescues those who struggle with doubt.

For further study:

Job 9:1–8

The Bible in a year:

Job 7–9

[redsoapbox]

MY ALBUMS OF 2019

Redsoapbox is five years old this weekend, during which time I have blogged over 150 reviews/interviews/opinion pieces. Many of these, together with my work for Wales Arts Review, New Sound Wales, Buzz magazine and From the Margins, make up the bulk of my debut collection Pop Hack. A revised and updated version, for the first time in print form, will be available by Christmas ( Watch out for updates on the blog). One of the annual features that I’ve most enjoyed compiling is my choice of Album of the Year and it’s that time of year once again folks. Before revealing this year’s shortlist (as has become the custom, the winner will be announced as the clock strikes twelve on New Year’s Eve!) here are the previous recipients of the award.

2015  -  Trouble In Mind: Jodie Marie

2016  -  You Can’t Go Back if There’s Nothing To Go Back To - Richmond   Fontaine

2017 -    Zero Moon - David Corley

2018 -    Asking For Trouble - Dan Bettridge 

So, it’s delicately poised at  Wales 2 the Rest of the World 2. Here’s my 2019 shortlist -

Fontaines DC:  Dogrel

‘Dublin in the rain is mine / a pregnant city with a catholic mind’. And so begins Dogrel, the irresistible debut from young tyros Fontaines DC. Frontman Grian Chatten, his rebel yell influenced by the cities rich literary tradition and the dramatic song staging of Shane MacGowan, throw’s a flurry of big punches early on in a successful attempt at shock and awe. “Big”, “Sha Sha Sha” and “Too Real” are all thundering tunes that rattle your cage. The first time you play this record, it’s possible to believe that you’re listening to an all-time great album unfold in real-time. Ultimately, though, Dogrel burns itself out before the close, but there’s no doubting it remains a powerful debut and a certain contender for album of the year.

The Delines:  The Imperial

Hot on the heels of their critically acclaimed debut Colfax (2014), Willy Valutin and his country-soul combo issued a limited-edition bonus album Scenic Sessions (2015), the unexpected result of a summer recording session initially booked with the sole intention of cutting the group’s next single. The band had already set aside a dozen or so songs for their second album proper, which was scheduled for release in 2016, when fate took a hand. The band was halfway through recording their new album when singer Amy Boone was knocked down outside a convenience store in Austin and seriously injured. It suddenly looked as if Scenic Sessions, once intended as little more than a superior stop-gap, would become the final chapter in the Delines story.

One thing was sure, there was never any possibility of Vlautin drafting in a new singer. The Richmond Fontaine frontman had only formed The Delines in the first place as a vehicle for working with Boone, delighting in the qualities she brought to her interpretations of his downhearted ballads. With his alt-country outfit Richmond Fontaine officially disbanded, Vlautin concentrated on re-working his latest novel, counting down the days until his friend was ready to return to the studio. Thankfully, after nine surgeries, Boone was able to re-join the band and work re-started on The Imperial. It was, of course, well worth the wait - The Imperial is an impeccable collection of heart-breaking character studies, Boone’s well-worn, country-soul whisper vividly bringing to life the despondent tales of Vlautin’s three-time losers. “Cheer up, Charley”, “Holly the Hustle” and “Eddie & Polly” are stand-out vignettes, but there is no filler here. The Imperial is a solid gold comeback.

Armstrong - Under Blue Skies

I reviewed this sublime re-issue on TBM/Country Mile (with no less than 8 extra tracks!) for New Sound Wales. You can read it here - www.newsoundwales.com/cd-reviews/armstrong-under-blue-skies/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ochnWdLJN3Q

Night Flight: Night Flight*

Night Flight’s debut album, notwithstanding a terrific review in PopMatters, seems to have gone somewhat under the radar, which is a deep disappointment given that it’s an outstanding piece of work. The band wisely used their two excellent pop/rock EPs Wanderlust (2017) and Carousel (2018) as a departure point for an elegant and emotional debut that is best heard with the lights turned down low and a whiskey chaser near to hand. Although sometimes compared to Elbow, Night Flight are more akin to a seventies soft-rock band. Their beautiful new single “Mexico” makes you believe that AOR can be king again in the 2020s.

* the loophole I’m using to include the album is that although it was available to stream in December 2018 it wasn’t released on CD until this January. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuOk2Wgr_KM

Swimming Tapes: Morningside

I’m sorely tempted to just write see Night Flight above and save on the man-hours! In fact, London’s Swimming Tapes’ beautifully manicured dream-pop, particularly on tracks like “Passing Ships” and current single “Mirador”, positions the band somewhere between The Beach Boys and Real Estate in the great scheme of things. There are, however, comparisons to be made with Night Flight – the classic songwriting, rooted in pop’s pre-punk past, for one, the fine-grained musicianship, another. I saw them play a wonderful set at Swn in October (as I did Night Flight the year before) before a smallish crowd. The times will change, though, and the race is on to see which of these bands plays a stadium tour first.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFSTJdkZMtw

Purple Mountains: Purple Mountains

Back in 2009, David Berman singer/songwriter with cult Americana outfit Silver Jews pulled the plug on his critically acclaimed band after twenty long years and six assured albums. Nothing very strange in that, you may think: Bands run their course, musical differences set in and people fall out. Except in Berman’s case, there was an altogether more unusual motivation for his walking away from the music business. Posting on the group’s message board, Berman “confessed” to the fact that he was the son of the union-busting lobbyist Rick Berman, a man dubbed by CBS’ 60 Minutes programme as “Dr. Evil”, due to a career spent representing the likes of big tobacco. The singer described his father as a ‘despicable man, a human molester and a scoundrel’, declaring that he’d previously thought that the band could provide ‘a refuge away from his world’. He jokingly promised to turn his hand to ‘screenwriting or muckraking’.

Except it was anything but a laughing matter though, as the opening track “That’s Just The Way That I Feel”, from Purple Mountains memoiristic debut makes painfully clear – ‘Course I’ve been humbled by the void / Much of my faith has been destroyed / I’ve been forced to watch my foes enjoy / Ceaseless feasts of schadenfreude’. Berman had long been battling depression and the album’s lead single “All My Happiness Is Gone” painted an even bleaker picture of Berman’s state of mind – ‘Lately, I make strangers wherever I go / Some of them were people I was once happy to know… I confess I’m barely hanging on’.

Tragically, David Berman was unable to hang on to life. He was found dead in his Brooklyn apartment this summer, three days before Purple Mountains were due to embark on a scheduled tour of North America. The medical examiner’s verdict: suicide.

Does it matter in the end that Berman’s last work and testimony represents a career-high, or that his music as a whole will survive until the time comes when our species is swept back into the sea? It’s worth calling attention, however, to Berman’s thoughts on his last communication with us - ‘Mine is not a cry for help, but an offer to provide a kind of it’.  

Silent Forum  - Everything Solved At Once

The long-awaited debut album from blog favourites Silent Forum is an absolute stormer. A full review can be read at https://www.walesartsreview.org/ 

You can also read my brand new interview with the band at

www.newsoundwales.com/interviews/silent-forum/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1U92eAaNr04

Peter Bruntnell: King of Madrid

Peter Bruntnell has been around a long time with, depending on how you figure it, somewhere between 10 and 14 albums to his name. I can’t claim, though, to have ever heard a Bruntnell record (although there is a possibility of having chanced upon a track on an Uncut freebie down the years) until this year’s sublime “King of Madrid”. And even that was a fluke! As a Juror for the Welsh Music Prize (WMP), I get to listen to any albums released through the qualifying period by Welsh artists, and Bruntnell’s album appeared, along with eighty or so others, on the 2019 longlist. It didn’t take me more than a track or two to realise that I was listening to an album that might be the AOTY, never mind Welsh AOTY. The opening track, the soaring, six and a half-minute sweetener, “Broken Wing”, is a master class in songwriting and the album as a whole reveals a true craftsman working at his absolute peak.  

You might be wondering, given the glowing recommendation above, why there was no sign of King of Madrid on the recently announced WMP shortlist. It turned out that Uncut magazine’s claim that Bruntnell was born in Wales, made when nominating his Nos Da Comrade (2016) as their Americana AOTM, was, sadly, incorrect. Bruntnell, as you might have guessed from that album’s title, had spent much of his life in Wales, but having been born in New Zealand and residing now in Devon, he was not eligible for the honour this time around. The silver lining for me, of course, was that an artist that I’d missed out on for many years was finally on my radar. Make sure he’s on yours!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUi1oxhlr6U&list=RD_AXJlX0zPZs&index=2

The Murder Capital: When I Have Fears

The Guardian may describe Dublin’s finest as purveyors of art-punk (and there is certainly no denying the force of nature that is “More is Less” or Feeling Fades”) but for me, The Murder Capital’s atmospheric debut is a cast-iron case of Indie-Noir. When I Have Fears is hugely impacted by the suicide of a close friend (an official band statement confirms that every lyric on the album relates in one way or another to that terrible event) and singer/songwriter James McGovern should be saluted for somehow navigating his way through unbearable pain to deliver a singularly devastating record. What also impresses about When I Have Fears, is that it’s in no hurry to get from A to B – some tracks weigh in at nearly seven, slow-paced minutes. This doesn’t always work, but I applaud the grand ambition at play here. The album finishes big, too, with both “How The Streets Adore Me Now” and, particularly, “Love, Love, Love”, which wouldn’t be out of place on Joy Division’s Closer, being colossal tracks which signpost the band’s extraordinary potential. 

Oblong: Hollalluog

Llanelli’s bilingual post-punk trio Oblong may well be the most underrated band in the U.K. Their debut album Brilliant…Gwd (2016) was fast and furious from start to finish, with one melodic masterpiece following another. Incredibly, they repeated the trick on Hollalluog (which translates as almighty) with storming tunes like “Giro Day” and “Light Sleeper”, both contenders for track of the year. And yet they still failed to secure themselves a slot on the shortlist for the 2019 Welsh Music Prize. If you do nothing else after reading this AOTY list, give this band a fair hearing, you won’t be disappointed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsLW0ZAgVVQ&t=114s

Amy Speace - Me And The Ghost Of Charlemagne

When you’re described by Folk Radio as ‘one of the great contemporary Americana singer-songwriters’ and when the much-admired Mary Gaulthier claims that your work has reached ‘a level of absolute mastery’ then you can’t just put out an album once a year for the sake of it -  you have a certain reputation, a standard of excellence to maintain. Just as well then that Speace’s latest album more than lives up to the hype. Produced by Neilson Hubbard, featuring regular collaborators Kris Donegan and Will Kimbrough on guitars and Eamon McLoughlin on violin, Me And The Ghost Of Charlemagne is a beautifully crafted, tenderly sung record that, thanks to Speaces’ lyrical dexterity, always hits home. Stylistically, Speace has much in common with the legendary Mary Chapin Carpenter, especially in terms of song texture/structure and vocal tone, as can be heard on the wistful title track below. It’s an album rich with new material, but the cover of Ben Glover’s “Kindness”, rightly held back to the close, will not soon be forgotten.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTECsSBawGM

Liz Brasher -  Painted Image 

North Carolina’s Liz Brasher is a marketing department's dream - a star in the making from the moment you see her. More important than how many units you can shift (someone fetch the smelling salts for the a&r reps) is, of course, the quality of the music itself. Brasher’s 2018 Outcast EP left no-one in doubt as to her potential, but the guitar-toting chanteuse has really delivered the goods on her debut album. Gospel, soul, country, pop and blues are all combined to memorable effect on Painted Image. A stellar career awaits. 

[beyondmistland]

Hidden History of the Westerlands: Lost Lore

 Letter #1: The singers tell us that in the days before the coming of the Andals, when the writ of House Lannister reached less than half the Westerlands, there was the savage War of the Lions between the Lannisters of Casterly Rock and the Lannisters of Lannisport when the latter refused to give up its crown to the former in a conflict that would consume the lives of no less than seven Kings of the Rock (though that number may well be an interpolation of the Faith). In the aftermath the two lines of Lann the Clever reconciled but only after Casterly Rock solemnly swore never to grant a city charter to any town in the Westerlands, of which it has the most after the Reach. (The Crakehalls and Baneforts, who had supported Lannisport, did not meet near as kind a fate, losing land and wealth that took centuries to recover, not to mention kinsmen. The Greenfields and Yews, on the other hand, did not even fare that well, being reduced from lords in their own right to the rank of master, a position they have kept till the present day as landed knights after the coming of the Andals. Those that had sided with Casterly Rock from the beginning prospered however in the years that followed such that by the turn of the century the Reynes, Westerlings, and Plumms were amongst the foremost lords in the west for example.)

 Letter #2: Much frustration and confusion has arisen around House Lannister's long-lost Valyrian steel sword, Brightroar, given that it is repeatedly mentioned as having been wielded by Lancel IV despite him having lived thousands of years prior to the Doom of Valyria, around which time it is known to have been bought. Maester Theomore, in his book, Questioning Inventories, however, posits a reasonable explanation for this discrepancy. That the Lannisters once had another Valyrian steel sword whose name has since been lost to history and thus the name Brightroar was applied to it as well without regard for the headache such a decision would inevitably give rise to.

 Letter #3: Gerold III cast aside worship of the Old Gods to take up the Faith of the Seven, with his people quickly following his example for then as now the Westermen were infamous for their (supposed) lack of piety when compared to the men of the Vale, Reach, and Stormlands, the last of whom they reserved a special disdain for on account of their "poverty".

 Letter #4: Some of the Lannister kings were famed for wisdom, such as Cerion II, who, with the help of his twin sister, the famous Septa, Ceryse, unified the laws and taxes of the Westerlands, earning the sobriquet "the Consolidator".

 Letter #5: Others on the other hand were known for their valor, such as Tywin (I) the Brave, who, while young, extended the writ of Casterly Rock to the Shield Isles in the south and Stone Hedge in the east only to then lose those gains once he grew feeble, having failed to take Highgarden from its child king, Garland VI, who, in the fullness of time, became known as the Hammer of the West.

 Letter #6: All, however, were noted for their generosity...save perhaps for King Norwin Lannister, better known as Norwin the Niggardly after he refused to ransom his youngest son, the future Lancel V, when the latter was captured by Perceon II Gardener near Red Lake whilst returning from a pilgrimage to the Starry Sept in Oldtown, forcing his long-suffering queen, Alys Farman, to pay for the release of her favorite child herself though it took seven years to raise the necessary funds and beggared her personal holdings in the process. As for the Lion Prince himself, he would live out the remainder of his days (and later reign) in peace following his Golden Victory over his erstwhile captor at Old Oak, earning the sobriquet "the Kind" for allowing Reachermen fleeing the grey death to settle in the Westerlands despite the protests of his lords, merchants, council, and kin. (As an aside I thought it would be remiss not to mention that King Norwin (I) was also well-known for three other things of interest. One, founding House Payne of Chequers from a long line of able tax collectors. Two, raising taxes to the highest they have ever been in the long, glorious history of the Westerlands. Three, spending most of his days in the vaults of Casterly Rock counting coins and examining tax ledgers such that by the end of his long life the shriveled king had been both blind and deaf for years.)

 Letter #7: Yet Casterly Rock also housed many a weak, cruel, and febble king, such as Tyrion (III) the Tormentor, who died heirless after all three of his wives disappeared once they could no longer bear him children. (Here I must make note of the controversy which surrounds Tyrion II and III, who are so often confused for one another on account of the Tormentor’s fondness for killing Maesters, particularly if they came from the Riverlands.)

 Letter #8: Norwin II was none of those things though, being instead known for his plain debauchery. Indeed, if the tales told of him are to be believed, he not only slept with every woman in the Rock, maiden or married, but also took his pleasure even in the middle of holding court, for which he is known in the histories as "the Lusty". Tywell III, on the other hand, was simply mad given that he not only refused to accept the fact that his betrothed, Jeyne Stackspear, had perished the morning they were to be wed but even went so far as to have her corpse crowned and seated beside him whenever he rendered judgment or entertained guests.

 Letter #9: On a somewhat less morbid note, Jaime II Lannister became known as "the Just" after he celebrated the seventh anniversary of his marriage to Cersei Lydden by sponsoring the construction of seven new towns and septs in the Westerlands as well as roads to connect all of them to both Lannisport and Casterly Rock, from which the royal couple rode forth on a never-ending progress. Their son, Joffrey (III) the Precious, in turn, would build a golden sept at Lannisport twice the size of the Starry Sept. When it was destroyed during a great fire three generations later his grandson Jason I built a new one twice the size of the original. That one too was destroyed a century later but by Ironborn under the command of Othgar the Degenerate rather than fire and, just as before, it was again rebuilt, this time thrice the size of the second. As a result, when a merchant from the Reach later shat in it while services were being given a long, terrible war ensued between the two kingdoms that left both realms crippled for generations and for once the golden sept was left to lie in ruin, which it still does to this very day, its beauty having slowly faded from memory into myth.

 Letter #10: Jason (II) the Upright later made amends with the Gardeners by loaning gold to the reconstruction of Highgarden during the reign of Mern VI though many found his sudden death shortly after proposing to build a bank in Lannisport quite suspicious, leading to the common but erroneous belief that the Faceless Men killed him given that he lived a thousand years before the founding of Braavos.

 Letter #11: Tywin (III) the Titan, greatest of all the Lannister kings, conquered the Iron Isles in the aftermath of the Famine Winter with the intention of scouring Westeros of the Drowned God's menace forever but died trying to hold them when his attempt to involve the Faith Militant instead led the Reach, Riverlands, and North to aid the rebellious Ironborn. (The Shrike, who had led the Ironborn against Tywin III initially, met a particularly gruesome fate, having been tied naked to a sharp rock and fed seawater until he died, whereupon his corpse was given over to crabs so as to deny him the right to join the Drowned God beneath the waves of the Sunset Sea.)

 Letter #12: House Lannister reached the nadir of its power during what the Westerlands call till now the Century of Defeat, which started under Tybolt IV, during whose reign King Garse V Gardener overran the Westerlands with the aid of the treacherous Lord Crakehall and may well have conquered them had Tybolt IV not threatened to release all the gold in Casterly Rock so as to ruin trade and thus make Highgarden's victory worthless. After Tybolt IV came his son, Stafford I, who died in battle at Goldengrove fighting against the one and only Gardener queen, Olenna I, known as "the White" due to her unusually pale skin, which was said to be cold to the touch all year long due to her blood having frozen in her veins when she was born during a long, cruel winter in the time of her great-grandfather, Garth XI. Stafford I was himself then followed by his brother, Tywald II, during whose reign the Farmans broke away when it became clear the king could not stop the reaving of the Ironborn under Wulfgar Blood-Drinker. Finally, this cycle of shame came to an end with the ascension of Tywald II's second son, Tywin IV, a strong king who restored law and order to the Westerlands after setting the Reach aflame from Old Oak to Red Lake and Goldengrove.

 Letter #13: Since then Casterly Rock has seen all manner of kings. Thus, we have Lyman IV, who was crippled in a tourney mishap and had been known outside of battle as "Nail-Biter". Willem (I) the Hunter, who sponsored hunts against mountain lions throughout the west, leading to their near-extinction. Kevan (II) the Bold, who invaded the Reach after buying dozens of elephants from Volantis and attempting to carry them across the Narrow Sea on a hundred ships. Tyland V, who died drinking molten gold in the blasphemous belief that it would turn him into a golden version of the Warrior. Tommen (III) the Bad, who renamed his seat Tommen's Rock and beggared the Westerlands by ordering the construction of an enormous statue of himself that was upon his untimely death immediately torn down by a mob which, to add insult to injury, then ran off with all its adornments without ever being brought to account. Jaime III, who proposed building a bridge connecting Fair Isle to the mainland. Tyrion (IV) the Judge, who called for a Holy War against the Starks and warred with them for control of Cape Kraken. Tytos (V) the Noble, who sailed into the Sunset Sea alongside his best friend, Ronard Reyne, after spending most of his rule building, restoring, and fortifying castles throughout the Westerlands without once raising taxes. Tygett II, whose murder sparked bounties as far as the Free Cities. Willem (III) the Solitary, during whose reign disease ravaged the Westerlands, with Casterly Rock in particular being so badly affected it is said that even today on a full moon's night the king's lonely ghost can sometimes be seen wandering the halls calling out for company. Tymond (I) the Traveler, who died fighting the Jogos Nhai in Yi Ti after abdicating the throne, having spent as king less than a moon's turn in the Westerlands, which he left under the regency of Rupert Reyne until his son came of age. (His bones were interred alongside those of Bu Han, the first azure emperor, making him the only Lannister king not to be buried inside Casterly Rock. Indeed, to hear the tales, he is today worshipped by the men and women of Yi Ti as a demigod child of the sun.) Loreon VI, who gave sanctuary to House Tarbeck when it was forced to flee the Reach three centuries before the Manderlys. Jaime V, who was said to animate the bones of miners using black magic. Tywin (VII) the Tall, who had a menagerie to rival that of the Prince of Pentos. Loreon VIII, who, on a sudden whim, ordered his face carved into Casterly Rock's seaward side before later that same day rescinding the order. Tommen (IV) the Glad, who played with stray kittens even upon reaching manhood and may well have been poisoned less than a year after donning the crown by his own wife, Johanna Sarsfield, who was said to love a man other than him. Kevan III, who died trying to steal the Valyrian steel sword, Vigilance, from House Hightower whilst on a pilgrimage to Oldtown. Gerold X, whose youngest daughter, Rohanne, married Robert the Ruin, grandfather of Arrec Durrandon, and finally, Tion (V) the Able, father of Loren (I) the Last, who gave his people the Golden Peace after defeating Halleck Hoare in no less than two wars. As always, share, comment, and critique. Next month, we head to the Vale of Arryn.

[rexcrystallis]

.v: heavens asunder

Age Range: Post-game Ship: None; Open Bahamut exclusive to @rexdivinus || Open To All Interactions (Can interact with other Bahamut, but with prior OOC discussions first.) Special note: Astral!Noctis

(acknowledgment for @theplagueofstars) --

They call him The Divinian. Lore focuses on the Once Chosen King who sacrificed his life in exchange for Dawn, and songs were sung and prayers woven in praise of this ultimate sacrifice, this heroic martyrdom. Temples were erected and people flocked to worship, and the Divinian was also associated with light. Summer was his season, the height of day, and every morning various peoples around Eos paid worship to him. 

They are known, collectively now, as the Heptatheon. Seven Gods - Bahamut, Ifrit, Titan, Leviathan, Shiva, Ramuh, Carbuncle - and Noctis. Religious scholars still debate about the validity of this new addition to the pantheon, yet the people hold onto their beliefs and no debate nor argument would dissuade the faithful. 

Some adventurers would even dare ask themselves if the Seventh Astral would forge a Covenant, like he did all those years ago in his mortal life. And if so, would anybody venture that far and would be worthy enough to be gifted with the brilliance and power of the Dawn. 

A second cataclysm shook the world. A second war - but fought only by two, the Draconian and this new addition, this Divinian. Heavens split and the seas churned dark water, the land cracked and fire licked the very firmament of the cosmos. Living proof of this battle stands today as a stone corpse of Bahamut lays undisturbed between the mountainous regions of the far South. The helm of the Draconian split and his forehead crushed, and there, if you looked closely enough, was the body of another Astral, also turned to stone, clutched in Bahamut’s great claws. A miniature hand still clutching what appeared to be the hilt of a sword. A sword that split the face of the Draconian almost clean in half. The remnants of the Draconian’s forehead a crater all on its own.

Some non-believers (or even some believers themselves) say the Divinian walks alongside humanity these days. But of all the gods he is the most selfish of his favors. You can pray all you want, but he will never lift a finger to bless nor save you.  

[dioscuriaquotes]

Carlo Troya, History of Italy of the Middle Ages v4, 1859

Page 305: III. Dioscuria.

Page 310: Sordid ptiropagi, like the Budini, lived among the cliffs of the Moschica belonging to the Colchis; near which lived the Suanis, equally disgusting, but rich in gold and full of courage, though fasting of every discipline. They were able to muster up to two hundred thousand fighters, and they had dominion over the surrounding tribes, protected by the harshness of games of the Caucasei, who ruled over the Mingrellian shore, where the city called Dioscuria was built in honor of the Dioscuri King Castor and Pollux; last term of any navigation of the Breeks in the Black Sea.

Page 311: Dioscuri had become a distinguished city for its trade: seventy barbarian peoples, Strabo said, were part of the traffic; but Timostene from the time of the first Ptolemies affirmed that more than three hundred tribes gathered there, separated from the rest of the earth and quite different from each other as to languages. Their ferocity and pride kept them apart; but most of them joined together when they hoped to attack Italy. All belonged to the Caucasus; the most numerous were the Sarmatians who were from the vicinity of the Budini and from the headquarters, which in time of Herodotus was beyond the Tanai, wandering in the century of Mithridates enlarged up to that mountain.

IV. Beyond Dioscuria, and after the Moschi, the beach of the 'Creteti', populous and not without ports, opened onto the Black Sea. The important shores followed, on which were the four kingdoms of the Eniochi and those of the Zigi and of the Achaeans. The Eniochi and the Achaeans, although they boasted of their Greek traditions, had long since abhorred civil life; therefore Aristotle accused him of being cannibals. They and other neighboring peoples were talked about racing the Black Sea with agile ships, called ‘camere’ in Greek; whence came the name of Camaritani. These were made of committed boards without iron; the sides were narrow, the concavity was wide, and the prow was the same in both ends; but if the sea swelle, other boards were are arched in the shape of a roof so that the pirates remained as if in a shell. Thus defended, they rowed by hand, in difficult times in the arbitrary waves. The Black Sea was often seen covered by such ships, none of which carried more than thirty thieves, bold despisers of every danger and proud pillagers of the beaches and cities. Above all the others Eniochi placed the opulent palace of Pitio, not far from Dioscuria.

Page 312: V. Fanagoria, emulating Dioscuria, likewise exercised a great trade with the Barbarians of the districts situated beyond the Meotide Marsh. No less traffic enriched the city of Tanai, built by the Greeks on the mouth of the Tanai; a city ​​that in other centuries would be seen to flourish again with other names and become a renowned source of the industry and riches of Italy. Fanagoria and Tanai, in the age of Mithridates, belonged to the reign of the Nosphoric, over whom Satyr, son of Parisade, had reigned. They still called themselves by one of these two names; and yet it is difficult to know which of them was the monument of Satyr not far from the mouth of the Cuban. It was more difficult to determine the age of Satyr, who forced the king of Sintj Ecateo to marry one of his daughters, and to kill his wife Tirgatao; although some attribute such a fact to the age of Philip and of Alexander, which left a long memory on the banks of the Meotide Marsh.

Page 335: XXII. Mithridates after a few years supplied more power to Armenia. From there he went out to his last nights. At Lucullus Pompey had succeeded, who again won the battle of Ponto and was forced to take shelter in the Caucasus. The Cubans tried in vain to forbid the passage of the monarch; he passed them and came to Dioscuria in the Colchis always faithful to him; there passed the winter, turning in his mind incredible feats of moving all the Barbarians of the Black Sea against the Romans, and of penetrating with them to the Bosphorus of Thrace so as to pass between Gallic Illyria and suddenly attack the Alps and the Italians, already so troubled by Spartacus. He moved therefore towards the Eniochi and then towards the Achaeans, who uselessly made him contrast; thereafter he saw the mystic regions and his kingdom of the Bosphorus Cimmerian. Pompeo followed it up to Colchis, accompanied by Theophanes of Mytilene, who described those lands, falsely judging that the Tanai rose in the Caucasus. There Theophanes sought the states of the Amazons; and seeing at times wounded or killed some women of the enemy tribes in Rome, later among those of the men, he avidly persuaded himself that he had found the ancient kingdom of such women near the region of the Albans on the one hand, and on the other hand on the other country of the Geli and of the Legi.

Page 503: Dioscuria, already so frequented by many peoples, was almost deserted: in the century of Corbulone the many cities built or expanded by the Greeks on the Phases had lost any renown; the ferocious Eniochi had instead spread out on the southern shores of this river. To them perhaps belong the Ampreuti located by Pliny on the beach of Colchis together with Lazi, who later became much more famous. To the north of the Phases, up to Dioscuria, the Sali, the Absili and the Sannigi kept that district. A range of the Caucasus Mountains connected the peoples of Colchis with Essedones, which to some seemed to be a colony of the Hedaxes of Herodus. Pliny of that time, besides the Eniochi and the Achaeans, remembers the Mardi and the Cerceti, after which came the Serri and the Cephalotomes. Not far from the Meotide Marsh towards the Cuban, the Napites lived; and towards the Tanai the methodical tribes of the Vali, of the Serbi and of the Psesii with infinite crowd of other nations, whose names are ignored or too full would certainly be repeated.

[netherwar-rpg-blog]

Location: The Region of Crywren

‘After the last Rifting, they vowed with blood to become as hard and strong as the mountains, never to be weak again.’

P O L I T I C A L - I N F O R M A T I O N

Leaders: High Lord Bawlrin Governing Clan: Clan Golwren Factions: the Singing Tree of the Fenarious Rangers Emblem: twin white swords crossed, bordered by three white suns, against a field of red

Demonym: the Crywrenian people

G E O G R A P H I C A L - I N F O R M A T IO N

Region: Crywren Capital: Fydlinn Main Towns: Oldavir, Thorvir Points of Interest: the Misty Moors, the Fydheim Highlands, the Norvellin Mountains (and the Core) Native Beasts: the Giant Beasts of the Forest, Gryphons, Dragons

C O U N T R Y - I N F L U E N C E S

Crywrenian culture is influenced by Celtic and Scandinavian societies. Its geography and architecture is influenced by Scandinavian countries.

C U L T U R E

It is no secret that the northern countries faces the toughest challenges because of its chilly climate and close proximity to the Core in the Norvellin Mountains. Its people have also suffered the most in the previous Rifting. The scars and ruins of such downfalls are still standing today, giving its people the constant reminder to the cost of past mistakes.

The Crywrenians vowed to never be unprepared for another case of war again, and its countrymen were united in loss and despair to become a nation that could even rival Varthal’s military might. Crywrenians are a very tough people where everyone is trained in warfare and expected to do their part in society - regardless of gender, occupation or rank. Despite their stoic and blunt stereotype, they are all socialised to follow a code of honour - duels are not uncommon in Crywren, but most disputes must be settled in a fair way. Those who cheat are not to be tolerated. Compared to their Siftish neighbours, they are not as welcoming or hospitable, and are more fiercely bitter of the south’s habit of forgetting the past.

The Holy Light has been growing in popularity since the last Rifting. Like most in the north, who are taught how to feel the power of the Balance by their Fenarious leaders and how magic must be respected; they do not like the Citadel of Light’s growing influence in Eldris. They are arguably more powerful than the monarchy. For decades now, the Crywrenians have been seething. Their warnings about another Rifting have been swatted aside as if they were the worries of a child. The Fenarious faith grows weaker in the south, and the Holy Light continue to meddle with the two most powerful but corruptible elements - Light and Shadow. The Crywrenians know that their mistakes will bite the southerners eventually but their people will not be taken by surprise.

In everyday life, the Crywrenian people typically live a lifestyle centred on hunting and tradecraft. Although they are devout believers to the Fenarius faith (like most northerners are), they take great pride in their hunting seasons and festivals, but make sure that they bring balance to their sport by protecting the forests and respecting nature’s raw power. The people celebrate many Fenarious traditions and festivals. Every spring the villages and towns hold a festival called ‘El Dyine’ (Ell Dee-ine). The people build a tree with an old, traditional frame as its base, and then weave both cloth and natural materials such as leaves, flowers and branches around it. It is meant to represent the Singing Tree of the Fenarious Faith. The unmarried adults are encouraged to dance together around the tree. If a young woman is interested in a young man, she may attempt to show her interest by plucking a flower from the tree and placing it in his hair.

To die in battle and with a weapon or shield in one’s hand is the absolute best way to die - to be executed is a great shame on a Crywrenian and the whole family could partake in the criminal’s ruin. Most Crywrenian funerals are done by ship or pyre, with the bodies set alight and sent on their ways into the eastern, misty seas.

The Crywrenians are stereotyped to being strong, outspoken, fierce and rash.

G E O G R A P H Y

Crywren is the most isolated country in Eldris’ mainland. It is located in the very north and east of the continent, with the great Norvellin Mountains stretching along its western borders like a natural wall. Most travel to the country by ship as the passage through the mountains and its magical forests can be unforgiving to the unprepared.

It is mostly a cold and wet place. To the east of the Norvellin Mountains, the land becomes hilly and desolate. Great swaths of moors and hills dominate the majority of Crywren’s landscapes, with plenty of earthy forests and rocky lands, and bitterly cold rivers.

Towards the very north, it is always imprisoned in winter, and snow always falls. The Fydheim Highlands are a mountainous and hilly part of the country. Tall, slanted trees cling onto the precarious ground. These Highlands gradually descend towards the central parts of Crywren, where there are ranges of hills and moors, and are often frequented by misty rains. Goats, sheep, deer and wild horses are plentiful here, but Crywren in general has poor land for farming. The people rely on hunting and livestock to make a living in the rugged land.

The Core – the only Rift to have survived from the last Rifting – makes the heart of the Norvellin Mountains glow with an otherworldly, wakening power.

K E Y - A R E A S

F Y D L I N N

The largest and most populated city is the Crywrenian capital, Fydlinn. It is perfectly situated on the country’s southern coast, allowing it to flourish in maritime and fish trade, and be connected to other parts of Eldris as a trade destination. The city itself is heavily fortified by tall, unforgiving walls, and it is always smoky from the fires of blacksmiths and taverns. Fish, fur and salt markets are always a busy part of Fydlinn.

At the very heart of the city is Clan Golwren’s castle - Stormwing Castle. It dominated the city’s heights.

O L D A V I R

Oldavir is located at the very end of the Norvellin Mountain’s southern tip. It is nestled between the southern coast and the range’s shadow, and surrounded by rugged woodlands. It is the main passageway through the mountains and it gains a lot of tcoin from its lumber and fur business.

T H O R V I R

Built on top of a hill is the town of Thorvir, a defensible and fortified locaton that has existed for centuries as a lookout point for the Misty Moors’ undead. It is famous for breeding strong, stocky horses and other livestock in the hilly lands. Most of the farming work is found around Thorvir, as the very south-east of the land becomes the most fertile, and it is surrounded by a ring of faraway farming villages.

T H E - M I S T Y - M O O R S

The Misty Moors dominates the central parts of Crywren. It is a large stretch of temperate moorland and it is renowned for being a rugged, hilly region. Woodlands and streams also frequent the area, and become thicker forest towards the west of the moors.

Wild animals roam the landscape in herds and are always hyperaware of the presence of magical spirits or undead that wail their high, sorrowful songs on stormy nights. It is not a place for the fainthearted, and many outsiders go missing in these foggy lands who do not believe in the tales of the walking dead.

T H E - F Y D H E I M - H I G H L A N D S

The northern parts of Crywren are a mountainous region that gradually climb from the Norvellin Mountains and become the Fydheim Highlands. It is an area of soaring heights, rugged and rocky forests, and stunning valleys.

[scion-of-kings]

VERSES

You can find all the info about the verses here [x]; this is just a quick summary to help me keep everything neat. Although there’re five main verses covering from Ereinion’s childhood to his death in the Siege of Barad-dûr, I’ve divided each one of them in several smaller verses, as sometimes there are a lot of things going on there. 

As this is going to be a sort of index to keep track of everything, I’ll be adding the links with the info about the AU verses once I write everything. 

CHILDHOOD

More info: History. Headcanons.

Trackers: Snows of Hithlum, Círdan’s home.

YOUTH

More info: History. Headcanons.

Trackers: The Pearls of Balar, Young High King of the Noldor, The War of Wrath

BETWEEN THE MOUNTAINS AND THE SEA

More info: History. Headcanons.

Trackers: Foundations of Lindon, Elvish Rings and Elvish Forges, The Faithful Ships

TALL SHIPS AND TALL KINGS

More info: History. Headcanons.

Trackers: Of Elves and Men

THE LAST ALLIANCE

More info: History. Headcanons.

Trackers: Moon’s Fall, Keep Darkness at Bay, Aeglos and Narsil, none could withstand

INTO THE WEST

More info: History. Headcanons.

Trackers: The Halls of Mandos, The Undying Lands

INTO LIGHT HIS STAR SHINES

AU where Ereinion never died at the end of the Last Alliance and lived to witness the events in the War of the Ring.

More info: History. Headcanons.

Trackers: Into light his star shines