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

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[X] "I know that I would have chased the throne, you know. The me of yesterday. I can see now how chimeric his dream was, with the benefit of hindsight, as he would have been alone, surrounded by enemies even if he was clever enough not to make ones out of those who could be friends."
-[X] "But you all taught me about the possibilities unlooked for. That the expectations and circumstances behind one's origins weren't everything, almost nothing but a nudge, these days. Life has given me many other gifts than honest friendship, although seldom does anything approach 'beyond price' in value."
--[X] "And meeting you under the light of the moon, and not wondering if it was the moment my life had changed for the better, but knowing it? That is the greatest gift of all."
 
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[X] Crake

For whatever reason I remembered the audacity of the Tyrells to try to sell Margaery to us. I wonder what they think of this wedding. :rofl:
 
DragonParadox said:
Xhahosta had found new land and people dwelling there. But it was not Asshai-by the-Shadow, but another city where mages ruled. Mage priests perhaps, the verses are hard to parse out. It would be worth speaking to the captain by proxy or even in person, but for now there is another realm both infinitely closer and more distant you would hear news of.
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Wait do we know anything else about this mysterious city where mages rule and is not asshai?
Can we send one of our magitech ships to the city to make contact with them this turn?
 
Ouranous said:
Wait do we know anything else about this mysterious city where mages rule and is not asshai?
Can we send one of our magitech ships to the city to make contact with them this turn?
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Not this turn, that is a major decision that should be in a tun, net turn certainly

Vote count
Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Jun 9, 2021 at 5:46 AM, finished with 13 posts and 7 votes.
  • [X] "I know that I would have chased the throne, you know. The me of yesterday. I can see now how chimeric his dream was, with the benefit of hindsight, as he would have been alone, surrounded by enemies even if he was clever enough not to make ones out of those who could be friends."
    -[X] "But you all taught me about the possibilities unlooked for. That the expectations and circumstances behind one's origins weren't everything, almost nothing but a nudge, these days. Life has given me many other gifts than honest friendship, although seldom does anything approach 'beyond price' in value."
    --[X] "And meeting you under the light of the moon, and not wondering if it was the moment my life had changed for the better, but knowing it? That is the greatest gift of all."
    [X] Rhaella Interlude
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I'm going to need a few more votes guys.
 
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Interlude MCCIV: In a Queen's Eye
  • Threadmarks
    • In a Queen's Eye ​

    Eighth Day of the Ninth Month 294 AC

    Far more so than the Red Keep of Rhaella's youth, the Imperial Palace was more administrative headquarters than it was simply a royal residence. Its rhythms thus had more in common with the daily lives of bankers and solicitors, engineers and architects, than it did with those of what she understood to be courtiers. There were of course representatives from all the major lords, cities and governors in residence, the staff of the Curia members high and low, but though many of these people were used to sleeping until noon, the better to burn the midnight oil in feasts and dances, they would not find much of that entertainment here, at least not ordinarily.

    In the place of the common stream of petty entertainments to fill the void between affairs of state the new capital was a place of exuberant displays of wealth and power, broken up by long stretches of what she could now call ordinary life. It was more regimented and more predictable than the ebb and flow of petitioners and minor sycophants who were the mainstay of the court in King's Landing. People did not rise and fall in the favor of the throne here, here is where they came to trade in that influence, for a few borrowed moments, for the chance to bring ideas forward to the consideration of the Ministers in an informal setting.

    Factions cut deals and discussed trade and expansion plans, betrothals were set and guardianship settled—that was one Westerosi custom that seemed to be crossing the sea at full speed, helped no doubt by Viserys' habit of collecting wards of the Crown, though if Rhaella were to judge she would say that had more to do with her son's soft spot for the young and vulnerable, moved by powers beyond their own than political calculus.

    One could hope that the inclination would move him to secure the succession sooner rather than later, but she was not going to press the matter. Gods knew she of all people knew what it was like to be pressured into trying to produce an heir. Granted her gooddaughter was not likely to have those troubles, but there were other subtler perils in her path which personal power and skill alone would not ward one from.

    For now there seemed to be a sort of general confusion on the person of the new Empress, not on who she was or what she might do. Her love and loyalty to Viserys was both crystal clear and one of the things that endeared the girl to Rhaella the most, but an Empress was more than just the Imperator's wife, she was the defining ideal of womanhood in the budding realm, the subject of song,poem and soon to be of plays also, though a touch more veiled in the latter respect.

    That presented something of an issue, since the person of Lya the Sage Empress was about as far from the bounds of ordinary experience as one could go without shape-shifting out of the human form altogether. Viserys at least projected an understandable image. Larger than life, yes, but still something that could be imitated writ small; clever, charismatic, slow to take offense when none was meant and happy to jest when jests could be had. But what exactly was one supposed to make of a woman whose principal claim to fame was the ability to bend the world to her will with word and gesture, of one who could be in two places at once and who had crafted 'daughters for herself' like some ancient goddess molding the primordial clay.

    Some of the young women of the court had taken to reading and making public shows of it. The genuinely studious were likely exhilarated and even some of those who had not the chance to take to books beyond the needs of their basic education had found a new passion for some aspect of scholarship. There are more books on the shelves of the Dragon than there are stars in the sky, the saying went, and not without cause underneath the flattery. Books also made for portable and compact ways to refuse unwanted company, particularly suitors, among the more spirited set of young women who had made their way to the capital in the wake of the wedding... a habit which had not taken long to expend to the male half of the young aristocrats.

    'I have courses early' had grown into such a formulaic rejection there were jests circulating about it already, though in truth those very classes did odd things indeed to notions of what was 'proper' among the circles of the high nobility. One could not take a chaperone to class in any of the institutions of public learning in the Deep, and traveling all the way to the capital just to learn from a tutor was seen as unsophisticated at best.

    So it was that the academies and schools of the Deep became hotbeds of flirtation and rumor that one would normally expect of court functions, to the annoyance of some of the professors and the intrigue of the populace. It was unlikely indeed that it would have gotten so far so fast were it not for the fact that proponents of education could hold up the image of the Empress like a warding talisman. The words 'knowledge is never wasted unless it is lost' were often bandied about, though Rhaella happened to know Lya herself considered them little more than a rhetorical flourish in a speech given before a library opening in Lorath.

    Alas, the obvious counter to that from those who feared youthful promiscuity and ruined marriage plans were reminders that Lya and Viserys had hardly waited to consummate their marriage after the bed was made, a fact which no one could deny and it would be absurd to even try. There was, the former queen was starting to realize, a building sentiment against Lya, not for what she actually was, but for what she represented in the minds of the younger sons and especially daughters of the nobility. Her matter of fact trespass against old norms was a threat in a way the challenging deportment of say, Tyene Sandviper, could never be. She was playing a familiar part, however brazenly, that the Empress was making up the lines as she went along.

    What do you do about the subtle but growing anti-Lya sentiment among the more conservative nobles at court?

    [] Ask Lya to lean into it—it is not quite what you were expecting, but she could do worse then being emblematic to the 'New Noble' among the younger generation

    [] Ask Lya to carefully distance herself from the perception, no sense indirectly dragging the throne into inter-generational conflict

    [] Write in

    OOC: Interlude brought to you by the new turn system. There was no way enough time would have passed IC for these kinds of cultural developments without the faster passage of time.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Ask Lya to lean into it, it is not quite what you were expecting, but she could do worse then being emblematic to the 'New Noble' among the younger generation
     
    [X] Ask Lya to lean into it, it is not quite what you were expecting, but she could do worse then being emblematic to the 'New Noble' among the younger generation

    out with the old and in with the new , the days were noble ladies were nothing more than broodmares to be traded about by their families with no personal power of their own are over
     
    [X] Craft a new Arcanum, tasked with condescending, scornful, and oratorical diatribes against the enemies of the Empress. She will murder them all with words, and for real if necessary.

    It's time for the Negative Energy and Shadow Arcanum.

    The Female Dolorous Edd

    We shall call her... Karen!
     
    DragonParadox said:
    In a Queen's Eye ​

    Eighth Day of the Ninth Month 294 AC

    Far more so than the Red Keep of Rhaella's youth, the Imperial palace was more administrative headquarters than it was simply a royal residence. Its rhythms thus had more in common with the daily lives of bankers and solicitors, engineers and architects, than it did with those of what she understood to be courtiers. There were of course representatives from all the major lords, cities, and governors in residence, the staff of the Curia members high and low, but though many of these people were used to sleeping until noon the better to burn the midnight oil in feasts and dances, they would not find much of that entertainment here, at least not ordinarily.

    In the place of the common stream of petty entertainments to fill the void between affairs of state, the new capital was a place of exuberant displays of wealth and power broken up by long stretches of what she could now call ordinary life. It was more regimented and more predictable than the ebb and flow of petitioners and minor sycophants who were the mainstay of the court in King's Landing. People did not rise and fall in the favor of the throne here. This is where they came to trade in that influence, for a few borrowed moments, for the chance to bring ideas forward to the consideration of the Ministers in an informal setting.

    Factions cut deals and discussed trade and expansion plans, betrothals were set and guardianship settled. That was one Westerosi custom that seemed to be crossing the sea at full speed, helped no doubt by Viserys' habit of collecting wards of the crown, though if Rhaella were to judge, she would say that had more to do with her son's soft spot for the young and vulnerable, moved by powers beyond their own than political calculus.

    One could hope that the inclination would move him to secure the succession sooner rather than later, but she was not going to press the matter. Gods knew she of all people knew what it was to be pressured into trying to produce an heir. Granted her good-daughter was not likely to have those troubles, but there were other subtler perils in her path which personal power and skill alone would not ward one from.

    For now there seemed to be a sort of general confusion on the person of the new queen, not on who she was or what she might do. Her love and loyalty to Viserys was both crystal clear and one of the things that endeared the girl to Rhaella the most, but an empress was more than just the Imperator's wife. She was the defining ideal of womanhood in the budding realm, the subject of song and poem, and soon to be of plays also, though a touch more veiled in the latter respect.

    That presented something of an issue, since the person of Lya the Sage-Empress was about as far from the bounds of ordinary experience as one could go without shape-shifting out of the human form altogether. Viserys at least projected an understandable image, larger than life, but still something that could be imitated writ small, clever, charismatic, slow to take offense when none was meant, happy to jest when jests could be had. But what exactly was one supposed to make of a woman whose principal claim to fame was the ability to bend the world to her will with word and gesture, of one who could be in two places at once and who had crafted 'daughters for herself' like some ancient goddess molding the primordial clay.

    Some of the young women of the court had taken to reading and making public shows of it. The genuinely studious were likely exhilarated and even some of those who had not the chance to take to books beyond the needs of their basic education had found a new passion for some aspect of scholarship. There are more books on the shelves of the dragon than there are stars in the sky, the saying went and not without cause underneath the flattery. Books also made for portable and compact ways to refuse unwanted company particularly suitors among the more spirited set of young women who had made their way to the capital in the wake of the wedding... a habit which had not taken long to expand to the male half of the young aristocrats.

    'I have courses early' had grown into such a formulaic rejection there were jests circulating about it already, though in truth those very classes did odd things indeed to notions of what was 'proper' among the circles of the high nobility. One could not take a chaperone to class in any of the institutions of public learning in the Deep, and traveling all the way to the capital just to learn from a tutor was seen as unsophisticated at best.

    So it was that the academies and schools of the Deep became the hotbeds of flirtation and rumor that one would normally expect of court functions, to the annoyance of some of the professors and the intrigue of the populace. It was unlikely indeed that it would have gotten so far so fast were it not for the fact that proponents of education could hold up the image of the Empress like a warding talisman. The words 'knowledge is never wasted unless it is lost' were often bandied about, though Rhaella happened to know Lya herself considered them little more than a rhetorical flourish in a speech given before a library opening in Lorath.

    Alas, the obvious counter to that from those who feared youthful promiscuity and ruined marriage plans were reminders that Lya and Viserys had hardly waited to consummate their marriage after the bed was made, a fact which no one could deny and it would be absurd to even try. There was, the former queen was starting to realize, a building sentiment against Lya, not for what she actually was but for what she represented in the minds of the younger sons and especially daughters of the nobility. Her matter of fact trespass against old norms was a threat in the way in a way the challenging deportment of say Tyene Sandviper could never be. She was playing a familiar part, however brazenly, the empress was making up the lines as she went along

    What do you do about the subtle but growing anti-Lya sentiment among the more conservative nobles at court?

    [] Ask Lya to lean into it, it is not quite what you were expecting, but she could do worse then being emblematic to the 'New Noble' among the younger generation

    [] Ask Lya to carefully distance herself from the perception, no sense indirectly dragging the throne into inter-generational conflict

    [] Write in

    OOC: Interlude brought to you by the new turn system. There was no way enough time would have passed IC for these kinds of cultural developments without the faster passage of time. Not yet edited.
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    Click to shrink...
    Here's an edited version of the chapter, DP.

    I loved this chapter, dude. Great Rhaella interlude and even better world building an insight into the developing culture and politics of the Imperium.

    You did it, Lya. Nerds are cool thousands of years sooner than would be expected. 🤓
     
    [X] Ask Lya to lean into it, it is not quite what you were expecting, but she could do worse then being emblematic to the 'New Noble' among the younger generation
     
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