True, but to be fair that list was given quite a while ago and there might be more men Rhaenyra could fall in love with than previously listed.
I mean Tyrion was able to find love in Tysha (Not the greatest example I know) and according to descriptions even our warrior Rhaenyra is quite a bit more easy on the eyes than Tyrion.
Tyrion is likely the more charming of the two however.
It was also probably just a "these people come to mind right now"-list and not an exhaustive accounting of all options. It will likely expand as we meet and get to know more people.
It wouldn't be a ASOIAF quest without a billion minor named characters.
It was also probably just a "these people come to mind right now"-list and not an exhaustive accounting of all options. It will likely expand as we meet and get to know more people.
It wouldn't be a ASOIAF quest without a billion minor named characters.
Yeah. it was basically a list of planned options at that moment. IT could change in time, Particularly with the Royal Progress since there's gonna be a lot of OCs in places coming up.
Adhoc vote count started by Teen Spirit on Nov 20, 2024 at 4:28 PM, finished with 68 posts and 35 votes.
[X] Plan: She Who Carries the Sentence Must Swing the Sword
-[X] [Action] Take Part in a Judgement -[X] [Action] Study --[X] Study the law books Lord Strong has given you.
-[X] [Conservation] Speak with Lady Jeyne Arryn --[X] Bring Alicent along
[X] Plan: No Judgement
-[X] [Action] Train with Syrax -[X] [Action] Study --[X] Study the law books Lord Strong has given you.
-[X] [Conservation] Speak with Lady Jeyne Arryn --[X] Bring Alicent along
[X] Plan The Dragon's Authority
-[x] [Action] Train
--[x] [Duel] Challenge the Knights of the Vale
-[X] [Action] Take Part in a Judgement -[X] [Action] Study --[X] Study the law books Lord Strong has given you.
The Eyrie Godswood was a tiny thing by comparison to the one back home. It was effectively just a circle within the Eyrie, surrounded by some of the Eyrie's brillant white towers. The circle was uneven in places, some parts containing moss covered stone, others grass and small blue fllowers, with the various statues scattered through. Thin trees and some flowering shrubs did provide some measure of privacy in parts.
You and Alicent found yourselves strolling through the seculded parts of the godswood. Alicent had suggested you arrive early so you could enjoy the privacy early morning provides, giving the two of you a chance to be alone together without being cramped in a carriage. Thankfully despite the early morning, the towers blocked the mountain wind leaving the godswoods pleasantly cool.
"I'm surprised they are able to grow anything so high up," Alicent remarked as the two of you walked by the shrubs, "even here the ground seems so cold and full of stones."
"The Arryns who built this were stubborn, that's for sure," you agreed.
People always talk of the first Storm King's stubborness in building Storm's End in defiance of the gods but it took a particularly determined man to look at the highest peak of a mountain range and decide to build a summer palace atop it.
"I'm curious," Alicent said with a coyish tone, "has you mother's castle inspired anything poetic in your soul?"
You admit your thoughts had returned to your mother since you arrived here, wondering what her life was like here before she married your father. You had only known King's Landing and Dragonstone, picturing a childhood at another castle, particularly one so different like the Eyrie, was a struggle for you. So high in the mountains, no stables or nearby city, just a palace standing defiant atop a mountain.
"I have some thoughts, but nothing poetic, not yet at least," you admitted.
"That's a shame," Alicent replied, "I know you could do this place justice with your words."
Suddenly you felt her hand grasp yours, fingers interlocking as she did. You turned to see that beatiful face of hers smiling at you, a slight blush on her cheeks, not from the cold.
"Of course I prefer you focus your efforts on your feelings first, among other things" Alicent's tone went low, "I really enjoyed your first poem, and I can't wait to hear you sing."
"I know, and you will," you assured her, "I just haven't had the time yet."
You felt slightly guilty, despite the long carriage rides you haven't been able to give Alicent the kind of attention she deserves since the trip began.
"I know," Alicent smile grew broader, "I am patient, my aspiring knight, it's just your first poem has left me greedy for more."
"Well aren't you two cute?" you flinched in surprise at Lady Jeyne's voice.
You turned to see her standing not far away near a statue of one of your shared ancestors. A red haired woman, Jeyne's handmaiden Jessamyn Redfort, standing close besides her.
Alicent let out a small frightened noise, almost like a mouse, as she quickly withdrew her hand from yours.
"Relax, girl, you are among friends," Jeyne assured her as she pointedly put an arm around Jessamyn's waist, causing the other woman to giggle in response.
Ahh, so Jeyne did have a lady of her own. And now that you thought about it the two did seem rather close at the wedding.
Alicent sighed in relief.
"Glad to see you took my advice about not waiting for them to make the first move, Princess," Jeyne smiled in approval.
"You talked about me?" Alicent questioned.
"Nothing of the sort, Lady Hightower," Jeyne replied, "I simply told her that if she found a woman compelling, she shouldn't wait for them to make the first move."
"Oh," Alicent said in pleasent surprise, "Well I suppose I owe you my thanks then, Lady Jeyne. Without your advice I might have never known that my lovely apsiring knight held such tender feelings for me."
Now it was your turned to blush as Jeyne smiled in amusement.
"Children," Jessamyn muttered as she rolled her eyes.
"Now now, let them have their fun," Jeyne chidded her as patted Redfort's shoulder.
You felt both nervous and almost giddy talking about your relationship with others. Having someone see Alicent's affection and approve got your heart pumping. Ser Tarly almost certainly knew but he didn't seem to care one way or another. This felt nice.
"Sadly, I did not invite you to talk simply to discuss your relationship," Jeyne said, "Though I would like to at another time, the two of you aren't that far away by dragonback, you should visit more often."
"Dragon riding is Rhaenyra's interest," Alicent said timidly, "I much prefer remaining an observer."
"Your lovely aspiring knight has a beatiful dragon, easily big enough to hold both of you, and you refuse to partake?" Jeyne teased, "such a waste."
Jessamyn coughed pointedly.
"Right yes," Jeyne said quickly, her tone growing more seriously, "First I wish to thank you for support against Arnold."
"It was no trouble," You assured her, "And I'm certain you would have managed fine without my assistance."
You knew even Jeyne would probably begin to resent you a bit if she believed you thought you were the only reason she remained in her seat. No vassal wanted to think themselves powerless.
"True," Jeyne nodded, "But your support prevented bloodshed, and few have been bold enough to speak against me now that they know the royal family is active in their support. Your visits have saved me from quite a few headaches."
"Well it gladdens me to hear that," you replied,"is there something you wished to talk about in regards to his trial?"
"No," Jeyne waved dismissively, "Either he will stay my guest or leave here with a black cloak or through the moon door, all suit me fine,"
Good, that meant you effectively had a free hand in the trial to come.
"I've been thinking about what we disccused at the docks, about the advice I gave you" Jeyne went on, "You need people at court who won't just claim to be your friend but actually listen to you."
"It would be nice to have people at the small council who saw me as more than just a cup-bearer," you agreed.
"I don't have anyone for the Small Council I'm afraid," Jeyne was sympathetic, "But I have heard word that King's Landing needs more full time commanders for the city watch."
This was true, finding knights who could serve was easy, finding knights who could serve for more than a few months before having to return home or simply finding themselves overwhelmed by the job was proving a challenge.
"My brother already serves in the city watch," Alicent spoke up.
"Well that's a good first step," Jeyne replied, "But it won't do the princess any good if he's alone in a sea of Lannisters and Reynes."
That was definitely a concern, if Johanna or her allies had control of the city watch that could prove quite the problem for you in the long term.
"Do you have someone in mind?" you asked.
"My half brother, Steffon Redfort," Jessamyn declared, "He's a rather restless fourth son, but I know him well, he's a good listener, he's been loyal to Jeyne and he's strong as stone, he would serve well."
You were certain that Jessamyn's half-brother would be more loyal to her and Jeyne then you but your actions had tied the two of you close together, loyalty to Jeyne was good enough for you in this situation.
"If you could write a letter to your father, I'm certain he'd at least get a chance to prove himself worthy to the king," Jessamyn said.
"I could send a raven to my father as well," Alicent suggested, "He has been worried about the Westerlings gaining too much influence in the city."
"Wonderful," Jeyne nodded.
"I do worry how the Queen will react," you spoke up, "She is not your biggest fan, dear cousin, and she may take offense to someone who's clearly your ally joining the goldcloaks."
You needed to allies who would side with you over the Queen, but having the Queen's ire could also cause you a number of problems in it's own right.
"Oh, has she spoken of me?" Jeyne's curosity was peaked.
"Yes," You eyes focused on a blue flower at your feet, "I do not wish to repeat the vile things she said."
The things that woman said that day still made your blood boil. Jessamyn and Alicent seemed taken aback but Jeyne herself was more bemused then anything.
"Scandalous," Jeyne took the implications well, "I'll be sure to send her a nice gift for her name day."
You considered Jeyne's offer. You needed more friends in King's Landing but what would the Queen and others think of you pushing for someone so close to your cousin? Particularly since you didn't know the man at all.
Action Unlocked
Relationship with Jeyne Arryn Improved
Relationship with Jessamyn Redfort Established
How do you react to Jeyne and Jessamyn's Offer?
[] Accept, promise to send you father a letter and have them send Steffon to King's Landing Immediately
[] Ask to have Steffon join your Progress first so you have a chance to get to know him better.
[] Decline, it's not worth the Risk
[] Write-in (Subject to QM Approval)
With the trial looming over your thoughts, you decided to focus on the law books Lord Strong gave you that focused on sucession. Various Maesters and Justicars had written on the subject over the centuries.
What they wrote was, to put it bluntly, incredibly messy. You could find twenty different ways of handling sucession in two different tomes and even more opinions on the matter. You could tell there were some who would assert that obiviously you were the heir to the throne, while other writers would scream bloody murder at the idea and all but call for your head. The truth of the matter is there was no codified sucession law anywhere in westeros. While this was particularly true with the Iron Throne, even among the Andal Kings before Aegon it was clear that the standards of sucession were more guidelines then firm rules. Even the wills of various lords and kings dedicating their sucession have been ignored in the past
Daughters came before a lord's brother and yet you saw many examples of daughters being ignored entirely in favor of their uncle. Sometimes sucession passed not to the daughter but to the daughter's husband who assumed her family's name. Some cases you saw a lord or king have their throne go to the daughter's son instead of their daughter directly.
And yet, you also saw many examples of daughters inheriting in their own right, almost all the great houses had Queens at some point in their histories before the Targaryen Conquest. Women could inherit, no matter what many claimed, it just seemed to be a matter of the strength of the woman in question and or a matter of luck and cirumstances.
All that said, as descandants of one of the first Andal Kings, the Arryns did stick closely to Andal traditions in this matter most of the time. Sons before daughters, daughters before brothers, trueborn children before bastards.
One volume that Lyonel gave you caught your attention as you studied in the Eyrie's libraries. It was not so much book or tome but more a collection of various resolved legal disputes that Lyonel had gathered for his own study. While most of them were dry matters, or petty affairs from the Riverlands. By the Seven Hells did the Riverlands love to bicker.
You noticed a fair few of them were requests to help resolve matters of disputed inheretiance. House Banefort having a dispute between a legitmazed bastard son and uncle over who was rightful heir, twin sisters of House Ball both claiming to be the first born. When it came to matters of inhertiance, the King was the final arbiter of who was the rightful heir to any lordship if the matter was under question.
Largely most noble houses never took it that far, trying to avoid having matters of their own house dictated to them by an outsider, but it was an option.
And curiously, there was no sign Arnold Arryn ever raised his dispute to the King. This collection had no mention of the Aryyns and it was fairly recent in it's records. You also could not recall such a dispute ever being mentioned in the Small Council, and you knew a dispute over a lord paramountship would be a topic of heavy conversation. Arnold Arryn never tried to claim the Vale through legal means.
This was quite compelling evidence. Not only was Arnold guilty of treason against his liege, one of the blackest of sins, he knew his position was weak enough that the Iron Throne would not have supported his claim had he tried to claim it legitmately.
You didn't need evidence to throw the man out the moon door or send him to the wall, but what you'd discovered would give you a great chance of making him look the utter fool in court.
Stewardship Improved
Learning Improved
The throne room of the Eyrie was beautiful to behold. Polished white stone and sky blue banners complimented each other and even though fall had come, the hearths kept it full of warmth. Today was the day. Technically it was Lady Arryn who was holding court, but it would be on you to lead the proceedings. To hold a trial and judge the fate of over a dozen men.
You shifted uncomfortably on the chair, glancing over to Jeyne on the Arryn's weirwood throne beside you. For all that you had prepared, for all that you wanted to do this, now that the time had come, your were having nerves. Though she did not. When she noticed your look, Jeyne simply smiled and gave you a brief nod. Your gaze wandered to the other side where Ser Raylon, Alicent and Ser Gwayne were standing. Lady Arryn had been right. It was important to have friendly faces around you. For many reasons.
When the servants opened the doors, any doubt was long gone from your mind. Instead, a hundred hours of courtly lessons seemed to snap into effect. You straightened your pose, brushed a few creases out of the long black and red velvet dress your handmaiden had chosen for the ocassion, and schooled your expression in a firm, yet polite mien.
The room filled rapidly, first with courtiers then with guards leading the accused in. They were a peculiar sight. A number of lords had already been pardoned on account of having captured Arnold Arryn and bringing him to the Eyrie, or who had not committed themselves openly enough to put them to trial over it. What was left were mostly minor lordlings and a few knights who either had not known to dip their banners at the right time or who were truly committed to the cause. Most of them had eschewed to wear their house colors or only subtly did so. It was not a good sight for a house to have ones banner seen among the accussed of a treason trial.
But Arnold Arryn himself was quite the opposite. Wearing the falcon crest proudly on a sky blue doublet, he seemed to even now wish to contest Jeynes lordship. Where the others tried to look contrite, he held his head high and proud. So far, you had not met the man. You had heard and read much about him. Talked with many in the Eyrie who knew him too. From what you gathered, he was a decent enough knight with a bit too much pride and ambition for his own good. Seeing him in person though, you had the feeling that you would not find him a very likeable sort.
The doors closed again and the murmurs of the crowed died down as Jeyne rose from her throne and spoke. Her tone was almost unfamiliar as it was the first time you heard her speak as Lord Paramount of the Mountain and Vale. "My court. I have called you today to witness the trial of Ser Arnold Arryn, who stands accussed of having raised banners in defiance of his liege lady, his goal no less than treason and usurpation of my lands and titles."
"It is not treason for the true heir to ask for what is rightfully his," Arnold called out, confirming Jeynes suspicion that he would try to disrupt the proceedings as much as possible.
She did deign to answer him. Instead, she raised her hand towards you. "The accussed will receive a fair trial, for it will not be me to pass judgement. On behalf of King Viserys Targaryen, his daughter and heiress Rhaenyra Targaryen shall pass judgement in the Iron Throne's name."
Then she sat and you rose, striding forward onto the small dais overlooking the Moon Door. Your eyes met those of Arnold. He was judging. Weighing. And within that single moment, you knew that he had already dismissed you. "Ser Arnold Arryn," you called over to him, careful to keep the edge annoyance out of your voice. "The crimes you are accussed off by your liege lady are severe. What do you say to these allegations?"
"That they are false, and so is this trial." The crowd began to murmur once more, surprised by his daring. "That woman sits on the throne that by law and custom should be mine. All I did was to gather allies to restore the rightful order to our lands."
"Then you claim that she is not her fathers daughter and heiress?" You probed carefully, trying to put just the right amount of curiosity into you tone to sound as if you not already knew his opinion.
"No. I say that womanfolk is not fit to sit a throne," he called back with no hesitation. Some of the other accused were nodding at this statement, while the rest tried to seem as small as possible, very aware how poor an argument he had made given his judge. "They should be passed over when there is a hale and healthy man who can inherit."
You were tempted to recite all the reasons for why he was wrong, with dates and names for rulers, events and scholars reporting them. Once this was done with, you would have to write Lord Lyonel to think him for his aid. But Arnold Arryn was unlikely to care and the crowd would not appreciate a droning legal argument either, so you kept it brief. "There have been a great number of women sitting on this throne as queens. Legends of Queen Alyssa Arryn are still well known today and Rowenna Arryn ruled less than two centuries ago."
He had no good response to it, and the sneer on his face told you he knew as much. "Legends and odd circumstances make no rules of succession."
"If you have such rules in writing, would you present them to the court? I have scoured the library of the Eyri and sadly found no such thing."
You could see his fists clench. "It is custom, not written law. Every good and proper Valeman knows." This time a few more men nodded, not just among the accused and Arnold noticed just as you did.
"Then you claim, just as Lady Jeyne, to be heir by the same laws and customs. Why did you not call upon the Iron Throne to judge in this matter?" The was a glint in his eye as you said this that made you wary of what he would respond, but you pressed on. He would not dare to doubt the Kings rights. "That is the way such matters are to be resolved since Aegon the Conquerer forged his throne, not through armies in the field."
"This is a matter of the Vale and not for you to judge," he dared.
There were a few gasps in the crowd and some of his fellow traitors tried to best to have the color of their faces match the marble. But Arnold himself just puffed out his chest, leaving you boggling at the audacity. "You claim the King has no right to judge over a Lord Paramounts succession?" you asked him, not sure if you could trust your ears.
But he went on. "I see no King before me. Just a spoiled girl playing with her father's title." More gasps went through the crowd and from the corner of your eye you saw your sworn shield's hand resting on his blade. Arnold too seemed to notice, suddenly studying Ser Tarly quiet intently.
"Arnold, have you gone mad in the sky cells?" Lady Arryn called incredolously from behind.
"Ser Arnold, dear cousin. That is the one honour you will never take from me," he called back to her, before turning to the crowd. "And it is not I who has gone mad! All Seven fearing men know that a woman is not fit to rule. It his the Father who leads, and the Mother's role is to bear and rear his heirs. So it was always meant to be."
More nods in the crowd and you were not surprised in the slightest. This what you had always feared. What you had always struggled with. Given the slightest reason, so many men were willing to consider Jeyne and you their lesser against all sense and reason. You had to shut this down before he made even more of a farce of this trial. "So, this is the basis of your claim then? That your disdain for women weighs more than even the word of Iron Throne?"
"My cousin will lead the Vale to ruin," he called loudly to be heard over the crowd. "The Seven will send us blight and long winters for letting her sit on the falcon. A fornicator! Who lays with other womanfolk and beasts instead of men! How could they not curse us for this?"
Your chest felt tight and hot. The memories returned of sitting in a chamber of the Red Keep, watching your step-mother petting a cat while calling your friend a vile and unnatural. You remembered the terror you saw in Alicents eyes as she admitted her feelings to you, all but expecting to be struck down on the spot by the gods for her transgression.
There were so many words you wished to hurl back, but before you found the right one, he looked straight into your eyes. "Is that why you help her? Did she bed you too?" Court was being held. But you struggled to focus on anything but this disgusting man. The armsmen moved to restrain him and quiet the crowd, but it was too little, too late.
"Enough!" Arnolds harsh bellow cut through the room, silencing everyone. His gaze was almost wild, like a cornered beast. "I will no longer quietly stand here. My life and honor is not a prop for your mummers farce."
You knew already what his next words would before he said them, just from how he strode forward to the edge of the Moon Gate with his head held high and a glance to your sworn shield. "Your father might indulge your childish whims, but I will not entertain your pretensions. You are not fit to pass judgement on a knights honor. My fate will be decided only by steel and the Sevens grace. Name your champion, girl." He almost spat the last word as if it was the worst insult he ever uttered.
The room was silent. All eyes turned to you as with bated breath. They waited for your reaction. Unbidden, your hand went your belt, finding only the velvet folds of your dress instead of a blade. You could see in the faces of the crowd that Arnolds words had hit their mark. His fellow accused looked defiant and proud all of the sudden, and many others around likewise seemed to approve of his words. You could almost hear the hateful and cruel things they must have thought.
There was a heat in your chest you had never known before. As hot as a dragons breath and just as terrible. Suddenly there was nothing else that mattered. No politics. No carefully wrought plans. All that you could see was the traitor before you. A man who, even with his life in your hands, was still belittleling, taunting and insulting you. You already knew what they would whisper behind your back in the days to come. How they would praise him for standing up for what was right an proper. A hero, in death perhaps even more than in life, who defied two unfit lieges at once.
Unless you shut them up. Once and for all.
What Do You Do?
[] [Defiant] Demand a blade. [] Call for Ser Tarly.
[] Let Jeyne Arryn name a champion.
[] Call for a knight in the room willing to defend Jeyne's and your honor.
QM's Note: First, many thanks to @Azel who wrote the final section of this update, he's done a lot of great working fixing my errors with this quest and I was thrilled that he wanted to contribute his own writing to it.
It's simple, in the three dots next to the tool symbol, it will appear a list which will contain Spoiler option, simple but the message you want in the middl of it.
This fucker wants to die, well wish granted... Besides that, we need to start burning that stress away...
[X] [Defiant] Demand a blade.
I don't doubt that Steffon is a good and loyal man, but I think this will help with the transition...
[X] Ask to have Steffon join your Progress first so you have a chance to get to know him better.
I'm not talking about what feels the least icky. I'm talking about a couple different factors here:
1) Gwayne is the cleanest cover. Obviously we're close to Alicent - she's our sister in law! We can probably get away with even some courting her in the open because like we can't ask Gwayne for his favor, so asking Alicent is the next best thing (when actually the relationship is reversed).
2) It provides a more solid foundation. We should recognize that Alicent's current position is actually precarious. Royal mistresses get set aside all the time, particularly embarrassing ones. If we break up, she suffers at best a political fall from grace and needs to scramble to find a path forward. And if our relationship becomes suspected then she becomes an embarrassment to both her family as the crown. If our relationship becomes suspected and then we break up, her life is ruined. If her brother is king consort, then she has a safety net.
3) It solidifies an alliance between our families. This feeds into 2) but another big risk Alicent is running is Otto and us coming into conflict. Otto has no good reason to trust in an affair as a basis for any sort of long term political alignment. He's pretty clearly okay with using his daughter for political advantage, but if he's not getting much to show for an affair it's political risk and embarrassment. If Otto and us come into conflict, then if Alicent breaks up with us she's likely not in a good position within her own family. But if she sticks with us, and we ever get tired of her, her life is ruined. If we marry Gwayne, then we are marrying our families. While I expect we'll still have some conflict with Otto about image and what we should do, we'll at least remove the risk of her having to pick between us and her family. And within her family, even if she might still be a source of some embarrassment - it's an embarrassment that got them a royal match. So her status within her own family is secured.
Getting heirs wise… idk if artificial insemination is possible at this point historically? But even if not, I expect that all of that will heavily outweigh the ick factor. But also, we can just ask. If Alicent doesn't feel that way, or has some other consideration.
[X] Accept, promise to send you father a letter and have them send Steffon to King's Landing Immediately
[X] [Defiant] Demand a blade.
Gonna go for just sending him to KL, since I can't imagine we'll really have the actions to spend taking to Steffon.
[X] Ask to have Steffon join your Progress first so you have a chance to get to know him better.
This is also important as a matter of perception. Lady Jeyne is a dear friend and ally of ours, but we cannot just immediately comply with wishes of our allies. That would create the image of a weak Queen who just goes along with whoever has her ear.
Arnold Arryn even in canon seems like a really stupid dude. Completely fumbling two rebellions, and like he was a first cousin, I think even most of Westeros would be like "Nah, Jeyne comes first she was her lord father's only surviving child."
I'm not sure about the other matter as both @Susano & @hailcapital have points, As while we don't want to seem so easily swayed however we probably don't have the available actions necessary to get to know Steffon Redfort.
It's simple, in the three dots next to the tool symbol, it will appear a list which will contain Spoiler option, simple but the message you want in the middl of it.
