apropos of literally nothing, we should try and kill the Cannibal. It's unironically the biggest threat to House Targaryen in the Seven Kingdoms
The Heir of the Dragon: A Rhaenyra Targaryen Quest
- Location
- Lake Wobegon
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
We must marry Elmo Tully.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
It's option, I will resent all of you if you pick it, but it is an option.
Turn 2: Results
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Turn 2 Results
After spending long hours every day for the better part of a month looking through the Red Keep's archives, you can say this about the history of women on the Small Council: It did not exist.
Of course, that wasn't entirely accurate. Queen Rhaenys and Visenya sat on Aegon's small council, the latter basically leading it by the end of Aegon's reign, but they had been acting as consorts of their husband. Same with Queen Alysanne during the reign of Jaehaerys. Alyssa Velaryon had served as regent during the early parts of the Old King's reign as well, but that was only because she was his mother. It was always wives and the occasional mother, and never a specific position like master of coin or laws. Lord Beesbury's predecessor as master of coin, Martyn Tyrell, had, judging by the numerous thinly veiled references in the accounts you saw, effectively been little more than a mouth piece for his wife, Florence Fossoway. But Fossoway had never held the post in her own right, and didn't actually sit upon the small council. Something which occasionally frustrated many of Tyrell's peers.
Now of course, no woman had ever sat the Iron Throne purely in her own right before, so breaking tradition here was simply another challenge to be overcome. Gender was honestly less of a problem for you then the second issue you discovered in your research. None of the normal seats, save for hand, suited you.
You were talented with a blade, had an easy charm with most people and possessed a decent mind for tactics. Matters of Coins and Laws were part of your education of course, but not something you had particular affinity for. You simply didn't have a mind for numbers like Lord Beesbury. You did have a good sense of justice, but even you found yourself doubting if you could handle the complexities of the law better than Lord Strong. With training you could see yourself as Master of Ships, but the seat had only ever been held once by someone other than a Velaryon since the days of Aegon the Conqueror and you knew there was no way you could take the position without deeply offending one of the most powerful men in the realm. Perhaps if he left the position.
Lord Commander of the Kingsguard was closest the Small Council had to a full time martial position and that was obiviously out of the question.
Hand of the King would be ideal. The second most powerful person in the realm, outside of the king himself, and a clear sign you had the skills needed to be Queen. Your grandfather Baelon had held the badge for a tragically brief moment when he was heir. But that was something for when you were in your thirties and already had some kind of experince. You were looking for position you could claim in the next few years.
As you poured over the records, through the various meetings and temporary positions pervious kings had added and removed from the Small Council, only one position held any promise for you. Commander of the City Watch. Your Uncle's position until his recent disgrace. It wasn't always a position on the Small Council, but your uncle was not the first commander to have a seat.
Were you a few years older, now would be the perfect time to push for his position. There would protests of course. You could just see your father now, his face red at the suggestion.
"The City Watch is no place for a woman. You'd be surrounded by rapists and murderers. No matter how skilled you are, I cannot let you put yourself in danger," you quietly mocked, earning you a confused glance from a nearby Maester.
But even you couldn't deny you were too young, too untrained to take command of the City Watch. But perhaps you could take some kind of position. Overseeing the training or something like that. Your uncle had proven it was easy to subvert the watch for one's own designs. Your father needed someone to keep the new City Watch honest. Perhaps that could be you. It wasn't a Small Council seat, but it could be a start.
Action Unlocked: Request a Role in the City Watch
Raylon Tarly looked different in a white cloak. Less like a prancing Marcher lord out to prove something and more like the seasoned knight he had shown himself to be.
"Ser Raylon? May I speak with you in private," you say one day as the two of you are returning from a long day.
"Of course, Princess." The man replies with a nod.
He follows you into your quarters, one of the few men who could do so without setting off countless rumors.
You stood near a suit of armor you had displayed. Black with a blue trim to honor your Arryn parentage. Your mother had instructed the royal blacksmiths to make the armor to your specifications on your last name day. The sight of it brought a smile to your face.
"What did you wish to discuss, Princess?" Tarly asked.
"During our bout, you said whoever trained me is too cautious," you remarked. "What did you mean by that?"
"May I speak openly?" the knight asked.
"I would not ask if you if I did not want honesty," you replied.
"Very well," Raylon nodded. "Your preformance that day suggested your master-at-arms is training you to be competent, but little more. Now granted, competent with a sword at your age is quite impressive, certainly caught that Mallister off guard, but you clearly are capable of more."
That was upsetting to hear. How would you ever become a knight if you never rose above competent? You wonder if the Master-at-Arms was holding you back because he believed that was the most a girl could handle or because that was what your father ordered him to do.
"Could you train me?" You asked bluntly.
He was clearly skilled and had little issue with fighting you. Exactly what you needed in an instructor.
"To what end?" The man questioned.
"Pardon?" His reply caught you off guard.
"To what end do you seek to improve your swordplay?" The man's expression grew serious. "Is this a passing fancy? Do you simply seek to defend yourself from whoever dares threaten you? Or do you seek something more?"
You knew you had to be honest. You needed to know if his training was something worth pursuing and the best way to figure that out was the truth.
"I wish to become a knight, and all that entails," you said earnestly. "For some years now, I have wished to be a warrior and a knight of great renown. I want my enemies to fear me for my sword arm as much as my dragon. This is no passing fancy but a dream I take as seriously as a my status as my father's heir."
The man starred at you intently, smoothing his salt and pepper mustache as he did.
"Your passions are bold, but fitting for your title."
"The Iron Throne needs a warrior to sit it. Why else would it be made out of blades?" Ser Raylon asked rhetorically. "Most women, even dragon riders, are not fit to bare the burden of leadership, but you are clearly not most women."
You found yourself starring at him in confusion. Seeing a man hold typical views of your gender, and yet distinctly making an exception for you, was a unique experince to say the least. Normally you had to work four times harder than any man to prove you weren't some delicate wallflower.
"The gods clearly decided to bless you with the strength of the Warrior," he gestured to your well-honed arms, "and the will to actually use it. Princess, I cannot make you a knight, only your father can do that, but I can give you the means to become as skilled as any of them. If you wish, I will train you, on one condition."
"Name it," You say instantly. Eager for the chance to train with someone who actually wants to see you get better, become a knight.
"I need to be able to train you as I see fit, which means sometimes training for hours. Sometimes you'll walk away with bruises from a lance strike or a blow you didn't properly defend against," Raylon explained. "I need to know I can do that without the risk of your father sending me to the wall or putting my head on a spike."
You saw no reason to refuse his request.
"Of course," you nod. "I will explain to my father that you are replacing my current trainer and any bruises or injuries are my fault and my fault alone. You have my word."
The knight relaxed his shoulders a tiny but notable amount.
"Very good," he nodded. "We begin training tomorrow. I expect you in the yard at dawn, in armor, ready to go. Understood?"
You nodded respectfully, "Understood."
Relationship with Ser Raylon Tarly Improved
Ser Raylon Tarly will now Train You
You never realized how easy you had it before until you walked out into the training yard, grabbed a training sword and Ser Raylon's first blow nearly knocked the sword right out of your hand. Tarly was right. At the rate your pervious training was going, you'd be able to defeat bandits and common thugs with ease, but against a knight, particularly a well trained one with experince, your skills would fall short, your style too defensive for your own good.
The next few weeks were long and exhausting. Ser Raylon was a strict teacher with high demands, though never cruel or brutal. Something you had to make clear to your father after a training blade to the hand had left you visibly bruised.
Raylon teaches you to fight with much more aggression while still keeping control. To use and increase your strength while not depending on it. Swinging a sword harder, putting more force behind a lance. He also teaches you how to take hits better, how to take a hit from a lance and recover without falling off your horse, and how to turn aside a blade with your own. There's also training in horse riding, and hours spent in armor. Occasionally you'd spend days reading manuals and old tomes on techinques and combat tactics Tarly had brought up from Horn Hill. Tarlys prided themselves a great deal on their skills in combat and were smart enough to write some of it down so future generations didn't have to relearn how to fight against Dornish raiders.
Sometimes you wish he focused more on sword work and didn't bother with the less physical stuff, but Ser Raylon makes it clear that everyone has their limits, even Targaryens, and pushing too hard carried risks that simply weren't worth it.
After a few months, your training begins to show siginficant progress. You begin to hold your own against your sworn shield, even winning a few of your sparring matches. You can tell Raylon is proud of your progress, but cautions you against becoming overconfident. Remarking that you have the potiental to be one of the deadliest blades of this generation, but it's going to take several years of training to get there. And he makes it clear he expects you to keep up this training if you're serious about your dream of becoming a knight.
Your Prowess has Significantly Improved
It had been another long day of training. Your arms ached a great deal and your back was uncomfortably slick with sweat. You were putting your away your equipment when you spotted her, Alicent Hightower, staring at you from the walls of the Red Keep. She was there most days in truth. You may not talk much, but you saw each other nearly daily, largely because she always seemed to come watch you train.
You put your sword away, doubt filling your mind as you wonder if you should confront her. For weeks now, you've been trying to force yourself to talk to her but everytime you get called away or you lose your nerve, too afraid of what she might actually say to actually speak to her. For a moment you found yourself overcome by the same old worries but they vanished as quickly as they came.
'No, I am not going to let this go another day,' you told yourself.
She was your best friend, perhaps your only true friend when it came down to it. The two had known each other since you could barely walk. It was absurd that the two of you were like this.
You quickly finished up putting your equipment and made your way towards where Alicent was standing. Only by the time you got there, she was gone. Thankfully she had not gotten far and you were able to find her walking the halls of the Red Keep.
"Alicent, could you hold for a moment," you called out.
Strangely she did not stop or even acknowledge your call, if anything she seemed to be going faster.
"Alicent, wait up," you said as you began to follow her.
Okay now she was definitely walking faster now. You picked up the pace to catch up with her, which only made Alicent move even faster, by now drawing the attention of onlookers as you two all but raced down the hall.
"Why are you running?" You exclaimed, "you know I can run faster than you."
Those words brought Alicent to a stop, you halting behind her. For a moment you could feel the eyes of various servants and minor lords upon you both before they grew bored and moved on.
"Yes, Princess, did you say something?" Alicent's voice had a feigned air of calm, contrasting sharply with her flush face abd her eyes that were trying to look anywhere but at you.
"I was hoping we could talk," you said, ignoring Alicent's odd behavior.
"I would love to but I am quite busy at the moment. I do apologize, Rhaenyra," Alicent replied quickly.
"How can you be busy if you have time to watch me train for hours," you said bluntly.
Alicent's face became even more red.
"I have no idea what you speak of," Alicent proclaimed, despite how absurd a statement it was.
You stared at her in naked disbelief.
"You cannot possibly expect me to believe that," tou say with an amused expression. "We both know you've been watching me almost every time I train, sometimes for a few minutes sometimes for hou-"
"You said you wanted to talk, yes?" Alicent interrupted sharply. "What is it you wish to talk about?"
"For starters," you began with a sigh, "how about the fact my mother died and you're the only person in this entire city that I can talk to that understands what I'm going through. Or how about the fact my best friend has barely said more than a few sentences to me in nearly two years."
Embrassment gave way to shame across Alicent's face.
"Yes, perhaps it has been too long since we last spoke."
"But not here," She added quickly "Meet me in the Godswood. And change. Please. I cannot stand your smell."
Alicent made a pointed effort to put her sleeve to her nose, her face still a quite vivid red.
"Very well. I will see you there."
You arrived in the Godswoods a short time later, changed into a simple but refined black outfit. You were surprised to find yourself the first one there and took a seat among the roots of the heart tree that dominated the center of the Godswoods.
The two of you had spent many a days here when things were better.
For a brief moment you worried she lied to you and no intent on coming, but after a short while, Alicent arrived, dressed in light blue.
"I do apologize for not talking to you earlier," she said regretfully. "I know better than most what it's like to mourn your mother and have no one actually speak to."
"Thank you," you said in a soft, sad, voice.
"It's awful isn't?" Alicent said warmly. "How everyone talks to you in riddles about what happens? No one ever wants to just say I'm sorry for what happened to you."
You nodded, outside of your conversation with your father you could not recall a meaningful conversation about it. Sure many expressed vague sympathies or talked about what a wonderful person she was, even if they barely knew her, but those had all felt hollow. Like they only said it because it was their obligation.
"I am very sorry, for the awful thing you have been forced to endure," Alicent said, her eyes wet with tears. "I should not have let my fustrations prevent me from being there when you needed me, Rhaenyra."
"Fustrations?" The word escapes your lips before you can stop yourself.
"Don't play the fool," Alicent replies as she stares at you in fustration. "You know what you do is unbecoming for a woman."
"There have been plenty of women throughout history who took up arms," you countered. "Queen Alysanne's sworn shield was a woman."
"Those have all been bastards or third daughters," Alicent argued, "not women of your station. You degrade yourself everytime you go out there in armor."
'Then why do you watch me so?' You wanted to say.
"Visenya Targaryen was-"
"Was a sorceress," Alicent interrupted snappishly. "Hardly a role model you should take after."
You thought back to your earlier conversations with Otto.
"Why do you act so angry with me and yet sing my praises to your father?" You questioned.
"He talked about that?" Alicent questioned, suddenly turning red again.
"He even said your praise was part of the reason he pushed for me to be named heir," you observed.
"Ooh," Alicent mumbled in embrassment before regaining her composure.
"While I disagree with your behavior," she said purposefully, "I cannot deny there is some amount of honor in your efforts to protect some of the maids."
"Then what is the issue here?" you dared.
Alicent glared at you this time, her eyes feeling like burn through your head like dragonfire.
"Do you have any understanding of how fustrating it is to see you flaunt ever norm and tradition expected of us and get away with it?" she asked pointedly. "My father would never let me do one-tenth of what you've done."
"Have you any desire to pick up a sword?" You asked, legitmately curious.
The mental image of Alicent as a warrior was interesting, if nothing else.
"Well, no," Alicent admitted sheepishly.
"And am I not flaunting every norm expected of a woman by being heir to the Iron Throne?" You observed. "Do you take issue with that as well?"
"No, of course not!" Alicent said, suddenly defensive, "But that was done for good reason. What reason did you have for picking up a sword and declaring you want to be a knight?"
Alicent's gaze felt sharp and intense. You knew you had to give an honest answer. If you lied, she might never forgive you.
Why did you want to become a knight?
[] "I believe the Gods blessed me with this strength and becoming a knight and protecting people seemed the best use of their blessing."
[] "I wanted to protect my family. I knew if my mother ever gave me a brother he would have been a lot younger than me, perhaps even come to throne young, and I wanted to make sure he had someone to protect him."
[] "I had a clear talent for the blade and it seemed wasteful not to use it."
[] "I was tired of watching men take advantage of the women around us and I knew I had to be stronger to stop them."
[] "I wanted to impress people."
[] "I wanted to impress you."
[] Write-in (Subject to QM approval)
QM's Note: So couple of things. I want to make clear I didn't tailor Tarly to suit us. My idea was always that Tarly was generally sexist but had a clear respect for women of strength. Sort of like an inversion of Randyll Tarly in the books. We got lucky here. Also, again, that kind of gain in a stat or relationship is situational. And I should note that Alicent will not like all of these reponses so do think carefully.
- Location
- Sweden
[] "I wanted to impress you."
Welp time to get a girlfriend.
Welp time to get a girlfriend.
10ebbor10
DON'T PANIC
- Location
- Present
This is a fairly important vote, so, if we're going full disaster, we should do it with intention, not quite as a meme vote.
Like, it could work, or it could also upset Alicent greatly. She thinks the whole thing is a massive risk, a mistake, a flight of fancy. To be, in a way, blamed for it, might not land well.
- Location
- Spain
Since this is a quite important vote, would you mind putting a moratorium in place for a few hours @Teen Spirit
- Location
- Volksstaat Hessen, Deutsches Reich
With how repressed Alicent is, this option may result in a backlash.
As for the other options, vanity is clearly not a good thing to admit, and I don't know if Alicent would buy sudden piety coming from us.
Protecting family, protecting oneself and other women from men and "it'd be a waste otherwise" are all perfectly good and fine reasons. I think the one that would resonate most with Alicent is probably about not being vulnerable to men.
[] "I was tired of watching men take advantage of the women around us and I knew I had to be stronger to stop them."
Regency
PFP by vanathema (previously yubishines)
- Location
- Morioh Town, Mt. Ebbot
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Uhhh I'm stumped. Maybe something like this: [] "I was tired of watching men take advantage of the women around us and I knew I had to be stronger to stop them."
But more personal, in a way? I think we need a write-in for this one.
But more personal, in a way? I think we need a write-in for this one.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I mean so far you guys seem to be regulating things for themselves.
Also since I realize not everyone here is familar with House of the Dragon I am willing to answer any and all questions people have about Alicent's character. Just keep in mind what I say is my own (likely bias) view of the character.
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- Location
- Germany
@Teen Spirit, this fine?
[] "I just always knew in my heart that this is what I wanted to be. No. That this is who I truly am. Maybe it is selfish of me, but is it not worth fighting for what you know to be the truth?"
[] "I just always knew in my heart that this is what I wanted to be. No. That this is who I truly am. Maybe it is selfish of me, but is it not worth fighting for what you know to be the truth?"
- Pronouns
- He/Him
That works.
- Location
- Volksstaat Hessen, Deutsches Reich
Maybe more personalize it more to "Protect myself and you" instead of just "women" in general?
Ohhh, hidden meanings. That'd work, if okayed.
Random Member
Gardener of Human Happiness
- Location
- Behind You
[] "I believe the Gods blessed me with this strength and becoming a knight and protecting people seemed the best use of their blessing."
Oldtown is still the center of the Faith in this period, and I think Alicent was pretty religious? This could work.... or she could see it as blasphemy, I guess?
Oldtown is still the center of the Faith in this period, and I think Alicent was pretty religious? This could work.... or she could see it as blasphemy, I guess?
10ebbor10
DON'T PANIC
- Location
- Present
Anyway, three ideas.
[] I was tired of the small mindedness of fools, who assume with every deed their superiority. So you will play them at their own game, beat and humble them for their hubris.
[] The heroic women of ages past were ignored as wives, or demonized as sorcerers, their achievements dismissed or destroyed. To be a knight is to be virtious in your own right, a shining shield to stop those who would seek to tarry you.
[] Every tradition begins somewhere. If you break tradition, it is to replace it with something better, so that others might follow in your footsteps and take inspiration from your deeds.
- Location
- Lake Wobegon
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
It's also the pat chivalric answer and thus somewhat in-credible.
You are correct, though I do find most of the recent decisions to be somewhat indulgent towards the meme vote end. We can definitely use a write in here. To make it less direct but more personal.
Unlikely the the daughter of the hand would have been similar victims in the court servant manner, but she clearly shares frustration of being limited by her status as a woman.
We should appeal to that sentiment.
"I am tired of watching men take advantage of the women around us. I wanted to show you that between two Targaryen and Hightower women, nothing should be off limit to us."
Something along those lines. Bind her and through her Otto to us.
- Location
- Space between realms
- Pronouns
- He
[X] "I just always knew in my heart that this is what I wanted to be. No. That this is who I truly am. Maybe it is selfish of me, but is it not worth fighting for what you know to be the truth?"
Oh, I like this.
[] The heroic women of ages past were ignored as wives, or demonized as sorcerers, their achievements dismissed or destroyed. To be a knight is to be virtious in your own right, a shining shield to stop those who would seek to tarry you.
This one too.
[] Every tradition begins somewhere. If you break tradition, it is to replace it with something better, so that others might follow in your footsteps and take inspiration from your deeds.
Oh, I like this.
[] The heroic women of ages past were ignored as wives, or demonized as sorcerers, their achievements dismissed or destroyed. To be a knight is to be virtious in your own right, a shining shield to stop those who would seek to tarry you.
This one too.
[] Every tradition begins somewhere. If you break tradition, it is to replace it with something better, so that others might follow in your footsteps and take inspiration from your deeds.
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- Location
- Spain
A small analysis of the default options
These two seem like the ones that would work the best with Alicent since they would resonate the best with her own values without scaring her too much...
These two seem like the ones more likely to backlash since it is us being overly prideful, and that is a big no-no for someone so religious...
I doubt this will backfire on us, but I don´t expect any change on our relationship either...
This could either work wonderfully or backfire terribly, as pointed out by @Susano Alicent is very, very repressed...
- Pronouns
- He/Him
You can use these.
10ebbor10
DON'T PANIC
- Location
- Present
Probably not no.
Imperious
Without the sun of my life
[] "I wanted to protect my family. I knew if my mother ever gave me a brother he would have been a lot younger than me, perhaps even come to throne young, and I wanted to make sure he had someone to protect him."
Seems like a decent one. Alicent is a big believer in filial piety, and we can credibly claim to be motivated by it then by religious piety.
Seems like a decent one. Alicent is a big believer in filial piety, and we can credibly claim to be motivated by it then by religious piety.
- Location
- Germany
[] "I just always knew in my heart that this is what I wanted to be. No. That this is who I truly am. Maybe it is selfish of me, but is it not worth fighting for what you know to be the truth?"
The reasons I want to say this are fairly simple. Even though she doesn't say as much, her actions already clearly show that she admires us for what we are doing and has feelings for us that go beyond friendship. She isn't asking us this question because she wants to understand our political reasoning. She wants to hear why we are not jut shirking back and fulfill the expectations of the people around us like she does.
So, an emotional answer. One that hopefully helps her realize that she too can stand up for her own feelings and desires and which neatly ties back to us questioning her about her lack of interest in swordplay. At the same time, it remains non-confrontational, so we don't put any pressure on her to act in a certain way and instead just offer a reasoning for her to act on her own.
The reasons I want to say this are fairly simple. Even though she doesn't say as much, her actions already clearly show that she admires us for what we are doing and has feelings for us that go beyond friendship. She isn't asking us this question because she wants to understand our political reasoning. She wants to hear why we are not jut shirking back and fulfill the expectations of the people around us like she does.
So, an emotional answer. One that hopefully helps her realize that she too can stand up for her own feelings and desires and which neatly ties back to us questioning her about her lack of interest in swordplay. At the same time, it remains non-confrontational, so we don't put any pressure on her to act in a certain way and instead just offer a reasoning for her to act on her own.