Remove ads

A Sword Without a Hilt: A Song of Ice and Fire/D&D 3.5 Crossover

Reader mode
Azel said:
They don't even have a face. Or blood.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Yeah but some people would prefer their partner not have either...

I have come to a revelation.
Our Black Knights are just Ethan Winters, faceless creatures powered by Mold capable of taking shit loads of punishment.
 
Last edited:
Remove ads
Part MMMDCCLXXXIX: Of Crowns and Princes
  • Threadmarks
    • Of Crowns and Princes ​

    Ninth of the Eighth Month 294 AC

    The word goes out, loud and clear, that there would be trade fairs as had already been planned where one could hawk the newest products at the best of prices and draw custom from near and far, but there would also be an art fair for those of more refined aspirations and perhaps a more curious eye. You have little doubt Wisdom Elaheh will take the chance to expound upon the virtues of her craft, still you make a small mental note to remind her of when it will be opening in case she becomes engrossed in some other project and looses track of time.

    Additionally you ask that an inventors' fair be set up, very specifically open to the mundane, the magical and everything in between, to help with creating a new paradigm for the arcane. No more will magic be frightful or miraculous to the visitor, it shall be a tool put to useful work. You hem and haw a bit mentally on the notion of allowing a Black Knight to be unmasked freely since so much of their use comes from their menace, but in the end you go with Lya's suggestion and allow it to happen. People are going to find out anyway, it is hardly a state secret, so you might as well reveal it of your own will and show that far from some sordid secret it is but one of the weapons of the Imperium, no different from a cannon battery save in the sorts of sorcery it used.

    When you mention that in addition to the trails at arms and those of athleticism and skill there would be one for skill of song and poetry, Lya giggles. "And will a certain Buttercup show his face there? That sounds a lot more fitting than the mystery rigmarole thing if you ask me. I mean, being able to act well is part of the skillset you are trying to prove yourself in."

    "Which would not, alas, make it any less hideously unfair," you sigh. "Do you ever think of what we would have done if we found a place even a tenth like what the Deep had become three years ago? If we had chanced on a trial of magic with prizes of gold and enchantment?"

    "Personally I would have held out for books," Lya notes, the thoughtful tone not quite able to match the lingering smile. "My guess is we would have had fun for a while, we would have stayed for a while, enough to learn and to make allies, but in the end we would have moved on. I mean, there has to be a reason why we all learned so much so quickly where others must contend themselves with far less... and it can't be destiny. I checked. What else have you got?"

    "Just the usual; parades, feasts, well in this case less feasts the way they would do it in the old days and more giving subsidies to taverns bars and similar venues for the hiring of bards and other artists. That is less work for the Ministry of Trade and more of a creative spin on the whole thing than could be decreed from on high. They know their custom better than we do after all."

    "We should do this again next year..." at your no doubt bewildered look she adds. "Oh not the wedding, this festival. It is an Imperial thing, but not specifically about celebrating an occasion of state, you know? It's now because the tourney was last year on the same date and that is because we had all the ducks in a row."

    "Not to say this isn't a good idea, love, but if we do continue this to next year they will think we are celebrating the anniversary of our wedding. That is a state occasion."

    "Oh right, I forgot... well not actually forgot, you I know did not think about it." She pauses, then admits. "It is still a little strange to think of our wedding being a official state event instead of a huge feast that just happens to contain all the high nobility of the realm."

    "I will do my best to distract you from any lingering feelings of strangeness," you reply with mock solemnity and barely veiled humor... as well as other things.

    "Well I will admit you can be very distracting..."

    Alas, the conversation did not get the chance to evolve from there. A soft knock on the door of your study following a familiar tread heralds your mother. From the look she gives the two of you, you suspect she might have guessed what was going on, though of course she is far too discreet to mention it, turning instead to the matter she had come here to address. "What are we going to do about Jon?"

    "Do?" you ask curiously. "He seems to be getting better on his own, finding new companions even if it is too early to call them friends yet."

    "He is," your mother nods, her expression softening as she thinks of the boy and what he had gone through. "I meant his position. It was more or less understood that things were too unsettled when he had just come to the capital for any announcements to be made, but the notion will not hold forever. If he is still a Snow by the time the wedding ends some might begin to think that is because you wish him to remain a Snow."

    "I do not think he would wish to be, ah..." It is not often that you are at a loss for words these days, but talking about the worst of your brother's deeds can still do that to you, especially when it is to your mother.

    "He does not want to be a Targaryen, yes, but that does not mean he has to wear a name that is nothing more than a mark of infidelity past. The boy deserves batter than what Rhaegar left him with, a cadet branch perhaps. We have not had the best of luck with them in the past granted, but..."

    Lya gives a startled laugh at the dry understatement, yet neither she nor you can deny the truth of your mother's last words.

    "Times have changed."

    Do you proposed to legitimize Jon Snow as a member of a cadet branch?

    [] Yes
    -[] Write in how you wish to address the matter (Optional)

    [] No, it is still too early

    OOC: Well that flowed quite a bit smoother than I thought it might when I started this. I hope that is not just my impression.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Forming a cadet noble house named somthing like Drakenwulf would be best for Jon

    "Jon Drakenwulf" , certainly sounds good to
    me

    Edit: jon would appreciate us greatly if we ennoble him
     
    [X]forming a cadet house (leave the name up to Jon)
    -[X] the house will be given an island to govern in the Stepstones that way the house will have independence to considered legitimate but stay close enough that no shenanigans like Damon the rogue prince or the BlackFires could happen latter down the line
    --[X] if Jon doesn't want a domain to rule he could be given a large plot of developed land and a mansion in the city to become his estate instated

    The idea here is even if we make legitimize Jon we should keep him close that way any nobles that oppose us don't try to incite him to rebel for the throne like they did with Damon Black Fire were they constantly pressured him until he turned on his brother Daron because they hated his policies and marriage to Dorn
     
    [X] No, it is still too early

    He simply doesn't have the fame and recognition to found a cadet branch at this point. Let him adventure for a few years.
     
    DragonParadox said:
    Of Crowns and Princes ​

    Ninth of the Eighth Month 294 AC

    The word goes out, loud and clear, that there would be trade fairs as had already been planned, where one could hawk the newest products at the best of prices and draw custom from near and far, but there would also be an art fair for those of more refined aspirations and perhaps a more curious eye. You have little doubt Wisdom Elaheh will take the chance to expound upon the virtues of her craft, though you make a small mental note to remind her of when it will be opening in case she becomes engrossed in some other project and loses track of time.

    Additionally, you ask that an inventors' fair be set up, very specifically open to the mundane, the magical, and everything in between, to help with creating a new paradigm for the arcane. No more will magic be frightful or miraculous to the visitor, it shall be a tool put to useful work. You hem and haw a bit mentally on the notion of allowing a Black Knight to be unmasked freely since so much of their use comes from their menace, but in the end you go with Lya's suggestion and allow it to happen. People are going to find out anyway, it is hardly a state secret, so you might as well reveal it of your own will and show that far from some sordid secret, it is but one of the weapons of the Imperium, no different from a cannon battery save in the sorts of sorcery it used.

    When you mention that in addition to the trials at arms and those of athleticism and skill, there would be one for skill of song and poetry, Lya giggles. "And will a certain Buttercup show his face there? That sounds a lot more fitting than the mystery rigamarole thing, if you ask me. I mean, being able to act well is part of the skillset you are trying to prove yourself in."

    "Which would not, alas, make it any less hideously unfair," you sigh. "Do you ever think of what we would have done if we found a place even a tenth like what the Deep had become three years ago? If we had chanced on a trial of magic with prizes of gold and enchantment?"

    "Personally, I would have held out for books," Lya notes, the thoughtful tone not quite able to match the lingering smile. "My guess is we would have had fun for a while, we would have stayed for a while, enough to learn and to make allies, but in the end we would have moved on. I mean, there has to be a reason why we all learned so much so quickly where others must contend themselves with far less... and it can't be destiny. I checked. What else have you got?"

    "Just the usual; parades, feasts, well in this case less feasts the way they would do it in the old days and more giving subsidies to taverns, bars, and similar venues for the hiring of bards and other artists. That is less work for the Ministry of Trade and more of a creative spin on the whole thing than could be decreed from on high. They know their custom better than we do, after all."

    "We should do this again next year..." at your no doubt bewildered look she adds. "Oh, not the wedding, this festival. It is an Imperial thing, but not specifically about celebrating an occasion of state, you know? It's now because the tourney was last year on the same date and that is because we had all the ducks in a row."

    "Not to say this isn't a good idea, love, but if we do continue this to next year they will think we are celebrating the anniversary of our wedding. That is a state occasion."

    "Oh right, I forgot... well not actually forgot, I did not think about it." She pauses, then admits. "It is still a little strange to think of our wedding being a official state event instead of a huge feast that just happens to contain all the high nobility of the realm."

    "I will do my best to distract you from any lingering feelings of strangeness," you reply with mock solemnity and barely veiled humor... as well as other things.

    "Well, I will admit you can be very distracting..."

    Alas, the conversation did not get the chance to evolve from there. A soft knock on the door of your study following a familiar tread heralds your mother. From the look she gives the two of you, you suspect she might have guessed what was going on, though of course she is far too discreet to mention it, turning instead to the matter she had come here to address. "What are we going to do about Jon?"

    "Do?" you ask curiously. "He seems to be getting better on his own, finding new companions, even if it is too early to call them friends yet."

    "He is," your mother nods, her expression softening as she thinks of the boy and what he had gone through. "I meant his position. It was more or less understood that things were too unsettled when he had just come to the capital for any announcements to be made, but the notion will not hold forever. If he is still a Snow by the time the wedding ends some might begin to think that is because you wish him to remain a Snow."

    "I do not think he would wish to be, ah..." It is not often that you are at a loss for words these days, but talking about the worst of your brother's deeds can still do that to you, especially when it is to your mother.

    "He does not want to be a Targaryen, yes, but that does not mean he has to wear a name that is nothing more than a mark of infidelity past. The boy deserves batter than what Rhaegar left him with, a cadet branch perhaps. Granted, we have not had the best of luck with them in the past, but..."

    Lya gives a startled laugh at the dry understatement, yet neither she nor you can deny the truth of your mother's last words.

    "Times have changed."

    Do you proposed to legitimize Jon Snow as a member of a cadet branch?

    [] Yes
    -[] Write in how you wish to address the matter (Optional)

    [] No, it is still too early

    OOC: Well that flowed quite a bit smoother than I thought it might when I started this. I hope that is not just my impression.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Made some additional edits to the chapter, DP.
     
    [X] Ask him what he wants.
    -[X] Make sure he knows both the benefits and drawbacks to keeping his name or changing it, and the possibility of future ruling opportunities either way.
     
    Last edited:
    Azel said:
    [X] No, it is still too early

    He simply doesn't have the fame and recognition to found a cadet branch at this point. Let him adventure for a few years.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Rather than a cadet branch, and all the baggage that entails, can't we simply give him a new family name? Legitimizing him might carry other expectations, but nothing says we have to hold to those conventions.
     
    @DragonParadox Even if people broadly assume Viserys intends to keep him a bastard, with a dragon that is a COMPLETLEY empty notion to begin with, and also... we are in charge, and very large. Changing our mind is not really a thing we need permission for, especially for something involving our own household.

    The nobles wouldn't want anyone interfering with their succession issues beyond the remit they've already invited us to do (ensuring its upheld).
     
    Maybe provide him with cadet branch name and train him in ruling? No need to provide land just now rather his expenses will be provided by crown. I think we can in future install him in those pacifist sheeptraders. Just to show them how crown consider them important by installing a member of royal family.
     
    Crake said:
    @DragonParadox Even if people broadly assume Viserys intends to keep him a bastard, with a dragon that is a COMPLETLEY empty notion to begin with, and also... we are in charge, and very large. Changing our mind is not really a thing we need permission for, especially for something involving our own household.

    The nobles wouldn't want anyone interfering with their succession issues beyond the remit they've already invited us to do (ensuring its upheld).
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    It is not going to impact your capacity to make decisions of course. Rhaella is concerned (perhaps unduly so) how it will impact their perspective of Jon. There is probably more than a bit of misplaced guilt in there, she feels responsible for how Rhaegar comported himself, because it's not like she can blame Aerys for being a bad role model, he was already mostly round the bend at the time.
     
    It's too early. Jon seems like the kind of kid who'd want some achievement under his belt instead of being handed status he feels like he hasn't earned.

    [X] No, it is still too early.
     
    [X] Ask him what he wants.
    -[X] Make sure he knows both the benefits and drawbacks to keeping his name or changing it, and the possibility of future ruling opportunities either way.
     
    Reader mode
    You must login or register to reply here.
    Remove ads
    Back
    Top