[OOC] Game of Thrones : The Pact of Ice and Fire (Always Open)

[Greenie]

@DrunkasaurusRex

My Hider

I had actually been thinking the same, at least when I saw the poster, that maybe there was always a dead dragon in his army, just kept back as a trump card. Because clearly these guys are using smarts.

[TyrannosaursRex]

Deleted

[Antediluvixen]

@DrunkasaurusRex

Spoilahs

It did feel very... hamfisted.

[MrDidact]

spoilers

I wonder how this will play out in the books. I can't imagine that there won't be an undead dragon or ice dragon to fight in the books. But they always talk about the dragon having three heads. Interesting.

Also, Gendry has to be the best athlete in Westeros history.

[Nightwing95]

Have you seen the previews for the finale guys?

[Antediluvixen]

@Nightwing95

Shhshshshssshsssshshhshhhshhhhhhhh

[MrDidact]

@Nightwing95 Indeed. It seems great things are coming.

[Celeste]

@MrDidact

My Hider

Targaryen boatsex is coming, yo. Get hype.

[Antediluvixen]

>Goes to read Konrad's post
>Mind explodes from length

[Abefroeman]

>Goes to read Konrad's post
>Mind explodes from length

@Monochromatic Rainbow

MY eyes... I can't fathom such walls of amazing text. Though... one wonders if my ravens fell into the ocean rather than reaching their destination. Damn ravens! @kingkonrad

[Abefroeman]

@NecroKnight I haven't forgotten to make the titanpad page yet, just have been a bit busy to actually sit down and type long posts. I will hopefully find some time tommorow to at least open it up, build some info for it, and send an invite to you and anyone else who would like to take part in the collab.

[NecroKnight]

@Abefroeman

Very well then.

[MrDidact]

@Abefroeman Yeah, I didn't get anything from you yet Abe.

@Monochromatic Rainbow The walls of text have come again.

[FourtyTwo]

@Abefroeman

Oh, don't worry. She'll get them very shortly. :)

[Abefroeman]

@MrDidact I haven't forgotten about you either. I will hopefully get time tonight to finally start.

@kingkonrad I'm watching you, always watching.

[Abefroeman]

@NecroKnight@MrDidact@Greenie Hey howdy hey!!!!! Here is a link to the piratepad I have created for our use of making sweet collaborative works of art. I would be most honored for you to join in with your characters as you see fit, and if anyone else would like to hop in, feel free to do so. I will be crafting a three part single post, covering the Red Moutains/Vulture's Roost, The Stepstones/Bloodstone, and Golden Tooth/Westerlands.

piratepad.net/8ZUP49DRrZ

[Greenie]

@NecroKnight@MrDidact@Greenie Hey howdy hey!!!!! Here is a link to the piratepad I have created for our use of making sweet collaborative works of art. I would be most honored for you to join in with your characters as you see fit, and if anyone else would like to hop in, feel free to do so. I will be crafting a three part single post, covering the Red Moutains/Vulture's Roost, The Stepstones/Bloodstone, and Golden Tooth/Westerlands.

piratepad.net/8ZUP49DRrZ

@Abefroeman

Cool :D I may join in with Layali tomorrow ^^

[Abefroeman]

@Greenie Of course. Just know I will be popping in and out while typing.

[Celeste]

House Tully

House: House Tully of Riverrun
Region: The Riverlands
Liege: House Targaryen
Holding: Riverrun

Recent History

Few houses sacrified as much in the name of family, duty and honor as the Tullys of Riverrun did during the War of the Ten Crowns and the War for the Dawn. The armistice with the White Walkers and the restoration of the Targaryens to the Iron Throne found their family decimated and humilliated, their lands in ruins, and their people profoundly traumatized by years of betrayals, hunger and death. With his newborn daughter in tow, Edmure Tully returned to his house's ancestral seat as a diminished and near powerless Lord Paramount of the Trident.

Saddled with the seemingly impossible duty to bring back order to the Riverlands, the early years of Lord Edmure's rule served as a test to his true worth and commitment. With help from the Iron Throne, his Stark relatives and the Riverlander houses that had stayed true to their liege, the reinstated Lord Paramount led a series of campaigns to bring the peace to places still ravaged by rebels, bandits, mercenaries and Lannister loyalists. With coin and goods confiscated from his defeated foes, he supported the rebuilding of the communities most affected by the years of fighting and plunder. And through the taking of hostages and arranging of marriages, he managed to reestablish a modicum of harmony between most of his bannermen.

Edmure Tully's peace, however, was a fragile arrangement, and soon new difficulties exacerbated the lingering troubles of old. Even as the generous Lord Paramount did what he could to lessen the smallfolk's burden, hunger and poverty were widespread. Trade was undermined by the persistent threat of bandits, as well as the rising threat of strange beasts and religious fanatics. The peoples that came from across the Narrow Sea with Queen Daenerys gave the Riverlands much needed manpower, but also more mouths to feed, and strange new customs and faiths that clashed with the more devoted inhabitants of the land. Small victories, the love of the smallfolk, and the loyal support of most powerful bannermen helped keep his rule afloat through the worst of it all, and gave him enough room to maneuver through the increasingly unstable political scene.

Over two decades since their return to Riverrun, House Tully faces a great many challenges, yet even in the face of misery and violence they stand strong and united. Aided by his devoted children and friends, the kind and capable Lord Edmure works hard to maintain order in the Riverlands by whatever means are available to him, all the while serving the Iron Throne faithfully. The slow and arduous recovery has left the Tullys with a respectable amount of wealth and a growing military strength. Their system of alliances continues to withstand the pressure of the many deep emnities between their bannermen. And in the face of rising tensions between the many peoples and faiths that now inhabit the Riverlands, House Tully has become a guardian of religious freedom and protector of the persecuted.

Nevertheless, even with all their efforts, the Riverlands still bear the brunt of Westeros' troubles. Violence is widespread as smallfolk revolt against high taxes, houses feud with one another, septons butcher worshippers of foreign gods and fearsome beasts attack people indiscriminately. The return of magic to the world has only exacerbated matters, and forced the Lord Paramount and his children to delve into the study of the arcane. Whether House Tully can bring a definitive end to all of this remains to be seen.

With the traditional structures of power and authority submerged in such a deep and seemingly perpetual crisis, perhaps the Riverlands will ultimately be the testing grounds for a grand political reform, or even a revolution.

Family Members:

Edmure Tully

Name: Edmure Tully
Age: 55
Appearance: Handsome even now, stocky and of an average height, his body remains hardened from his recent campaigns. He has the blue eyes and greying auburn hair of the Tullys, with a matching well-trimmed beard.
Role: Lord Paramount of the Trident, Lord of Riverrun, knight
Equipment: Oathkeeper, a Valyrian steel longsword. A scaled armour and cloak in the colours of House Tully and a greathelm adorned with a silver trout.
Skills: An able knight and commander, as well as a just and generous ruler. Decades of experience have given him the wisdom and strength of character to be a moderating force in the politics of his homeland, and the Seven kingdoms as a whole. Though not skilled in courtly intrigues or the art of persuasion, his integrity attracts support from his peers and the smallfolk.
Biography: His spirit broken by his loss, humilliation and captivity at the hands of the Lannisters and Freys, many would have expected Edmure Tully to age into a frightful, weak man. Instead, the man who eventually returned to Riverrun was a melancholy but hardened leader, determined to raise his house back from the ashes and redeem himself for his failures.

Though he was still good-hearted, the reinstated Lord Paramount had lost his youthful hot-headedness in favour of a more thoughtful demeanour. Those guilty of betraying his house he punished with varying severity, knowing that he would still need the support of his bannermen in the coming war against the Night's King and its aftermath. He fought bravely and well against the armies of the dead, and returned to the Riverlands as a more heroic, respectable figure. A just and generous man, many among the smallfolk came to love him, even as misery and violence lingered in the realm.

Despite the terrible circumstances surrounding their marriage, Edmure grew ever fonder of his wife, Roslin Frey, and treated her well as she stood by him through the most difficult years of his rule. Their union would give him five children, the first of them conceived during the Red Wedding. He doted on them all, and raised them to be his trustworthy advisors, envoys and enforcers.

While not exceptionally skilled in politics or war, Edmure is competent and knows when to delegate. A cautious reformer, the years have given him insight into the deep-seated ills of the Seven Kingdoms, as well as tools to mitigate them. And now, as sparks of conflict appear on every corner of the Seven Kingdoms, threatening to set the continent ablaze once more, he relies on the collective strength of his family and friends to steer the course of the Riverlands in the right direction.

Notes: None.

Roslin Frey

Name: Roslin Frey
Age: 42
Appearance: Still comely despite her age, with very white skin, a pretty face with a small chin, delicate nose, and big brown eyes. She is small in stature. Her hair is brown and reaches her waist.
Role: Lady of Riverrun
Equipment: None.
Skills: With her gentle nature and talent for music, Roslin can be very charming.
Biography: A loving wife and devoted mother, the daughter of Walder Frey was one of the few in her family who were spared from the vengeful wrath of the Stark and Tully loyalists. Having distanced herself from her kin, Roslin instead spent the following years standing by her husband's side as a reliable, effective companion. She worked hard to endear herself to the Riverlords, and her success there made her one of Lord Edmure's most effective advocates.

Much like her husband, Roslin dotes on all her children, but specially on Lucas, her youngest. She is currently with child once more.

Notes: None.

Catelyn Tully

Name: Catelyn Tully, Dragonfish
Age: 25
Appearance: Pale, slender and pretty like her mother, but possessing the blue eyes and auburn hair of the Tullys, Catelyn's features have a delicate elegance and cool dignity to them. When dressed in her customary silver finery, she looks every bit like the ideal young lady of the Riverlands.
Role: Justiciar of Riverrun
Equipment: A small personal collection of arcane books and artifacts. A slender Braavosi blade.
Skills: Strong-willed, well read and charismatic, Catelyn is an inspiring and precociously wise political leader, yet her talents extend far beyond that. A prodigious student of law, history, geography, foreign peoples and even magic, she takes comfort in understanding the inner workings of the world around her and having the tools to confront the challenges her family faces. She is also fluent in a handful of foreign tongues, a skilled finder and keeper of secrets, and a very, very good liar.
Biography: Conceived during the Red Wedding and born in the midst of the final battles for the Iron Throne and against the Night's King, Catelyn Tully was keenly aware of the atrocities that had surrounded her family during her upbringing. Even as her father worked to pacify and rebuild the Riverlands, the many conflicts raging around her did not escape her notice. And before long, she became deeply interested in understanding the underlying reasons for it all. Thus, from a very early age, she began to study from her family's library, with the help of Riverrun's maester, as well as the wiser men and women who she came across.

Lively and gregarious, if somewhat prone to deceitfulness, Catelyn eagerly accumulated and shared all manner of knowledge as she neared the end of her childhood. Wanting all of his children to be able to serve as his advisors, Lord Edmure encouraged his daughter's education, unaware of her growing fascination with magic and distant foreign lands. She spent months sitting in her father's councils and accompaining him in his travels, and all the while she befriended green men, children of the forest, mystics and Essosi immigrants living in the Riverlands. From them she learned about their gods, their rituals, their traditions and their problems, while her father showed her the reality of rule.

By the time she finally became a woman grown, Catelyn had already begun acting as a trusted advisor, envoy and justiciar to her father. And in her moments of leisure, she delved deeper into the mysteries of the world alongside her brother Sylvester, and made plans for a grand future endeavour.

Not long after her sixteenth nameday, Catelyn Tully, eldest daughter of Edmure Tully, sailed from King's Landing to Essos alongside some of her noble childhood friends, including Princess Daenyra Targaryen. Thus began a four-year-long expedition to the fascinating faraway lands that she had spent her childhood reading and hearing about. She did so with her family's cautious support, and that of the royal family, in the hopes that her voyage would yield new insight into the state of affairs in Essos and potentially sow the seeds of a warmer relationship between the peoples on both sides of the Narrow Sea.

Over the course of her travels, the entirety of which she would chronicle, Catelyn visited many of the places that Queen Daenerys Targaryen herself had, met with countless people who had either lived through the Mother of Dragons' long journey or had grown up in the aftermath of it, and collected various artifacts and writings. She acquainted herself with the vastly different societies and systems of government of the Free Cities, the Bay of Dragons and the Dothraki sea. She learned of the horrors of slavery from those who had suffered it, discovered the oft ignored virtues of the Dothraki and Braavosi, and travelled through the Disputed Lands beside mercenary companies. She even visited Vaes Dothrak and spoke to the dosh khaleen, after arranging for safe passage with an amenable khal.

Ultimately, however, the most noteworthy event of her journey would be a chance encounter in the port of Braavos. Shortly before the beginning of her voyage back to Westeros, she met two silver-haired boys, named Valerys and Mylenos. Catelyn soon discovered that they were the bastard sons of Archon Valarr Maegyr, born from his Lysene bed-slave, and that they were trying to escape from their father. Despite knowing that she would likely cause a diplomatic incident with the notoriously ambitious ruler of Volantis, Catelyn took them with her and incorporated them into the Tully household as her personal retinue. Close friends and confidants at first, as time passed she fell in love with them and, in secrecy, they became her lovers.

Catelyn's journey through Essos earned her a degree of fame and prestige among her peers, but it also gave her no small amount of personal experience on many matters she had only read about before. Though she had already been sympathetic to the worshippers of the Old Gods and the Essosi peoples living in the Riverlands, her travels had made her into a passionate opponent of oppression and religious persecution. As fanatics spread their violence through the region, supported by some of her father's own bannermen, Catelyn distanced herself more and more from the Faith of the Seven, and started to advocate for a curbing of septons' power in the Riverlands. Her brother Sylvester and her spent a large amount of time in the company of the Essosi, and visiting the green men's sanctuary in the Isle of Faces. And as they did so, the two developed a growing interest in the Old Gods and the magic related to them; although Catelyn did not go as far as outright changing her faith, which Sylvester did.

Since then, Catelyn Tully has continued to prove herself a formidable woman. At twenty-five years of age, she remains unmarried, but otherwise she continues to serve her family faithfully and lovingly. A born leader in the eyes of the smallfolk, and a rising threat in the eyes of many noblemen and septons, she is just, friendly and erudite, if perhaps too stubborn, passionate and vindictive for her own good. Much like her father, she worries a lot about the well-being of the people of the Riverlands, but for all the mercy she shows to those she sees as victims of injustice, she saves none for those who betray her trust or hurt the innocent. Those who see some parallels between her character and that of the young Queen Daenerys have thus come to call her Dragonfish.

Notes: Catelyn's personal sigil displays a silver ship beneath the leaping trout of House Tully's sigil, while the field under both remains a striped blue and mud red.

Sylvester Tully

Name: Sylvester Tully, the Bewitched
Age: 20
Appearance: Slender but toned, and very handsome, Sylvester boasts the blue eyes and red-brown hair of his father.
Role: Heir to Riverrun, Castellan of Riverrun, knight
Equipment: A sword. A small shield. A scaled armour and cloak in moss green, mud red and silver.
Skills: A skilled warrior fascinated by the magic of the Old Gods, Sylvester has learned to combine his agility in battle with spells he learned from the inhabitants of the Isle of Faces. He is a swift fencer and rider, good at striking quickly and moving away from danger just as fast. He is also a very effective tactician and strategist, and a likeable leader. His political instincts are somewhat lacking, specially when compared to his older sister, but he is a good judge of character, an eager learner, and knows when to delegate.
Biography: Edmure Tully's first son and heir was born and raised in strange times, in a land teeming once more with all manner of mythical life. Those circumstances visibly left their mark on him

From an early age, Sylvester was a wild child, with a deep love for the forests and meadows of the Riverlands, and eagerly drawn to the mysterious and the mystical. While he enjoyed a traditional education fitting of a future lord, he also spent his time of leisure learning about the arcane with his elder sister, Catelyn. He listened intently to songs of legend, collected supposedly magical trinkets, and often forwent his prayers to the Seven so that he could play or sleep in Riverrun's godswood.

Sent to train as a squire under Ser Brynden Blackwood at the age of ten, the heir to Riverrun soon proved himself an exceptionally gifted swordsman and rider, and became close friends with the children of House Blackwood as they trained, played and hunted together. More importantly, however, it was in their company that he grew closer to the Old Gods and their magic, as he joined the Blackwoods in their prayers before Raventree Hall's dead weirwood.

Knighted by his mentor a few months after his sixteenth nameday, and finally reunited with his sister after her long voyage to the other side of the Narrow Sea, Sylvester then set out to visit the Isle of Faces and learn from its inhabitants. In that mythical place, the children of the forest, greenseers, skinchangers and witches taught him their arcane arts, for which he showed a seemingly natural talent. And from that experience, his lifelong interest in the Old Gods turned into wholehearted devotion. In the months that followed that journey, Sylvester distanced himself from the Faith of the Seven, and in its place he took to praying before his home's heart tree. The day eventually came when he no longer felt any connection to the new gods or their septons, and only found spiritual kinship among those who worshipped the old.

Although his decision initially remained a closely guarded secret, since his father feared the potential repercussions of it in a climate already thick with religious tensions, the rumours spread after a while. Those among the Riverlords who were staunch supporters of the Faith openly expressed concern over the future of the Riverlands under an "infidel" Lord Paramount, and their concerns grew louder as Sylvester marched in the defense of other "infidels" being persecuted. Stories of his use of magic in battle further exacerbated the problem, as did his refusal to marry the daughter of any of the complaining lords or knights.

However, even as his deeds have caused scandal in some circles, they have also endeared him to others, specially Northern lords. And his military accomplishments during his father's campaigns, as well as his reputation for kindness, have earned him a fair share of prestige. Even if he is an "infidel", many nobles and smallfolk alike now see in him a respectable knight who could one day become a good-hearted lord like his father. Sylvester Tully is now twenty years of age, unmarried despite an abundance of suitors, and widely regarded as one of the finest soldiers in the Riverlands. He enjoys a close bond with his family, both in Riverrun and in Winterfell, and the loyalty of the people he has fought to protect.

Notes: Sylvester's personal sigil forgoes the blue in House Tully's sigil, and instead its field under the leaping silver trout combines mud red and moss green.

Eleanor Tully

Name: Eleanor Tully
Age: 16
Appearance: Willowy, taller and thinner than her sisters, Eleanor has delicate features and bony limbs. She lacks her older sister's cool dignity, and instead exudes a joyful, almost mischievous confidence. Much like her older siblings, however, she possesses her father's blue eyes and red-brown hair.
Role: Lady-in-waiting under Sansa Stark
Equipment: None.
Skills: A small army of suitors and friendly ladies-in-waiting comprises Eleanor's web of spies, who inform her on all manner of courtly intrigue. Shrewd and sweet, she makes loyal friends easily.
Biography: Her cousin Sansa once jested that Eleanor would one day be able to talk a demon into becoming a septon. Cute and courteous, few people found the third Tully child difficult to like in her childhood. And by the time of her flowering, she had honed her gifts into the tools of a precocious master of rumours, intrigues and conspiracies. Eleanor's father, in line with his older children's upbringing, made sure that she received a thorough education on rulership so that she could one day advise and assist him. All the while, she learned all that was expected of a noble lady, including needlework.

As she was introduced to courtly life, Eleanor made friends with noble boys and girls, both from within and outside the Riverlands, and through them she learned about the state of affairs in the Seven Kingdoms. With the secrets she gathered over time, she began to act as her father's leading spy, albeit without his knowledge, undermining House Tully's rivals from the shadows. From the comfort of Riverrun and, after becoming her cousin Sansa's lady-in-waiting, the Dreadfort and Casterly Rock, Eleanor sabotaged marriages, sparked minor feuds and ruined the reputations of difficult nobles. All of it, she did in the service of protecting House Tully and preserving peace in the Riverlands, or at least the fragile facsimile of it.

Eleanor is not as notorious as her older siblings, but she is, to some extent, an important hidden part of House Tully's rule over the Riverlands. Though she has learned much from both her sister Catelyn, and her cousins Sansa and Arya, her growth is far from over.

Notes: None.

Melissa Tully

Name: Melissa Tully
Age: 15
Appearance: Save for her more stocky build, Melissa is almost identical to her mother. Short, brown of hair and eyes, she might be considered quite pretty, with soft features that generally express a warmth.
Role: Almoner of Riverrun
Equipment: None.
Skills: Melissa usually comes across as kind and likeable, even though she tends to be rather shy and withdrawn, making her a fairly effective courtier. She is a good listener, a lover of poetry and song with some talent for the lute, and has an exceptional memory. Like her siblings, she has been trained to be a competent ruler.
Biography: Melissa has only once set foot outside of the Riverlands, for the recent royal wedding. This has largely been her choice. Timid from an early age, she feared the world outside of her homeland. The silver lining to this was that her focus on life in the Riverlands made her quite aware of the state of affairs in the region. Her father eventually named her almoner precisely because she understood what needed to be done for those in need.

Of all the Tully children, Melissa is, by comparison, the most devoted to the Seven, which has caused a small amount of tension with Catelyn and Sylvester, but also earned her the fondness of local septons and septas. Melissa seeks to do good, to be an example of virtue, and she has both the commitment and the education to do it better than most.

Notes: None.

Lucas Tully

Name: Lucas Tully
Age: 12
Appearance: Lucas has his father's blue eyes and his mother's brown hair. His small, round face makes him look slightly younger than he actually is, but also gives the impression of a calm, collected boy.
Role: Squire under Patrek Mallister
Equipment: A steel shortsword. A shortbow.
Skills: A decent hunter despite his young age, Lucas is strong and patient. He is also a good tracker and fisher, and is quite interested in the study of wild beasts.
Biography: The youngest of the Tully children brought much joy to the family the day he was born. All four of his siblings doted on him almost as much as his parents did, and each helped raise him in some way or other. His father instilled in him the core values of their house and his mother sought to keep him humble and kind, while Catelyn read to him writings on wild beasts, Sylvester taught him to fight, and Eleanor and Melissa prepared him for life at court. Then he was sent to squire under Patrek Mallister, Lord of Seagard, his father's lifelong friend. With his help, Lucas has grown much for a boy his age, both in body and mind.

As of late, Lucas has been spending much time in the company of Mylenos Maegyr, the two of them sharing a passion for the study of all wild life.

Notes: None.

Valerys Maegyr

Name: Valerys Maegyr, Goodsilver, Syzgelion
Age: 23
Appearance: With his pale skin and silver hair, Valerys could almost be confused for a secret Targaryen, were it not for his father's red eyes. He is quite beautiful of face, as well as tall and lithe.
Role: Knight, botanist, healer
Equipment: A spear. A steel-scaled leather and silk armor in mud red and blue. A personal supply of healing herbs and ingredients.
Skills: A lovely reciter of poetry, an experienced player of cyvasse, and a self-taught botanist and healer, Valerys is not a man fond of battle. Agile and strong, he is a talented warrior, specially with his spear, yet it is in peaceful activities where he feels most comfortable and what he truly excells at. Despite his modest, bashful nature, many among the nobility and the smallfolk find him appealing. He is particularly popular among the Essosi as a heroic figure of sorts, due to his origins and humble reputation. Valerys also speaks a variety of tongues, including High Valyrian.
Biography: Queen Daenerys brought freedom to countless slaves in Essos, but her victory over the injustices of slavery was not absolute. Even after subjugating her opponents in the Bay of Dragons and the Free Cities, not few were the wealthy and powerful who found ways to circumvent the prohibitions on slavery and the slave trade. As years went by, the problem grew, as hundreds of free Essosi were taken and sold in secret, although it could not reach the scale it had in the past.

Valarr Maegyr, then the leader of the tigers of Volantis, was among the first who succeeded in establishing a secret slave trade route between his city and Lys, only a year after Queen Daenerys' return to Westeros. Through that route, he bought his own harem of bed-slaves, who he kept hidden and locked away in the depths of his palace. Nobody outside of his palace knew the full extent of the situation, but in later years it would be rumoured that he regularly had bed-slaves' tongues cut off, and gave them to the Red Temple of Volantis when he tired of them.

What eventually proved not to be just another mere rumour was the story, whispered by Volantene smugglers in many ports, that the future archon had fathered not just one, but two bastards with his favorite bed-slave. What became of the bed-slave herself, not even her children would ever know, but it was said that the boys had been given as slaves to a Volantene merchant, who promised to keep their parentage secret. A man obsessed with founding a New Valyrian Empire and becoming a great dragonlord, Valarr Maegyr feared the likely dangers of keeping two bastard children born from his illicit behaviours in Volantis. The nameless bastards represented a stain on his lineage and, as the history of the Blackfyres had taught him, a threat to his trueborn children. Though unwilling to kill those of his own blood, Valarr saw fit to get the two as far away from Volantis as possible, and pretend that they had simply vanished into thin air.

The two boys' early years were profoundly shaped by their captivity and lack of identity. Without the privilege of a formal education, they had to learn about the world on their own while serving their master. They taught themselves to read with whatever books and scrolls they could get their hands on, and listened intently to all that merchants and other slaves would tell them. Left unnamed by their father, and despising their slave names, they chose Valerys and Mylenos, the names of characters from a play, as their own. Their master's trade took them from one free city to the other, where they witnessed both the unimaginable beauty of the great families, along with the misery of the slaves hidden in plain sight. Their shared curiosity for the world beyond their life as slaves grew with every waking moment, and so did their desire for freedom.

As they grew older, Valerys and Mylenos showed very different temperaments in the face of the life they had been given. Valerys was the naivest of the two, for he clinged to the hope that their father would one day welcome them back and recognize them both as his royal princes before all of Volantis. He had vague memories of his life in the Maegyr palace and was convinced that his enslavement had been a mistake, rather than his father's conscious decision. Thus he thought of himself as standing above the rest of the slaves. Thus he devoted himself to what he saw as studies proper for a future prince, and developed a small, though at times nasty rivalry of sorts with his brother.

All of that changed, however, when their master sold Mylenos to a pillow house in Lys as punishment for trying to poison the merchant. The act sparked a series of events which would end, a few years later, with both Maegyr bastards as fugitives seeking safe passage across the Narrow Sea.

Valerys confronted his master, intent on rescuing his brother. During their heated exchange, the merchant revealed to him that his father had purposefully given them both away to make them disappear. Valerys, distraught by the truth and infuriated by the injustice inflicted upon his own brother, murdered the man and fled with a few of the other slaves, leaving behind his master's wagons burning and his mercenary guards dead.

Only fourteen years old at the time, Valerys went into hiding for several months, dyeing his hair various colours and pretending to be either a travelling performer or a healer whenever he moved to a new city. Stories of his escape, and the circumstances surrounding it, soon made their way to every free city, prompting his father to send mercenaries in search of him. For three years, he resigned himself to endlessly roaming Essos and assumed that his brother was utterly lost to him.

What changed his mind, and convinced him to sail to Lys, was a conversation with a Yunkish captain. He told Valerys of a defiant whore, rumoured to be one of the two Maegyr bastards, who had pierced his face with many rings to spite his Lysene masters, and was suspected of killing one of them with a self-made poison. A penniless but hopeful Valerys sneaked his way onto a ship bound for Lys, determined to find Mylenos.

After weeks of search, the oldest of the Maegyr bastards finally found his brother, held in one of the city's more infamous pillow houses. Clearly having suffered innumerable abuses, Mylenos' spirits appeared fragile but not yet unbroken, and in their brief first reunion the two immediately began plans to escape together. Soon after, the two reunited again on a swan ship that took them back to the Essosi mainland, leaving behind a Lys shocked by the bizarre deaths of an infamous pillow house's owners and the disappearance of one of its most notorious whores.

Together and free at last, Valerys and Mylenos spent many months travelling towards Braavos, where the threat of their father's mercenaries would be lesser and they were most likely to find safe passage out to Westeros, where they knew their father had no influence. The road was long and arduous, and they repeteadly had to defend themselves from sellswords seeking to claim the prize for capturing them and taking them back to Volantis.

Finally in Braavos, the two brothers faced trouble getting transport to the other side of the sea, until they had a chance encounter with a red-haired lady from the Riverlands. After revealing their identity to her, Catelyn Tully offered them safe passage to Westeros and her personal protection once they arrived. From this first meeting, and this act of kindness, a strong friendship immediately blossomed between the three; a friendship which would later transform into something more intimate.

Valerys and his brother received a warm welcome from the Tullys, and soon came to see Riverrun as their home. All the while, news spread among the Essosi immigrants living in the Riverlands of the Maegyr bastards' arrival, and their tale was told around the region, often heavily embelished, to the wonderment of the people who heard it.

Skilled in battle, botany and healing, specially after so many years of wandering through Essos, Valerys found a place in the Tully household as Catelyn's personal guard of sorts, and an occasional helper for the castle's maester. In time, he also came to be a valued presence in Lord Edmure's councils and feasts, and his recitations of poetry and games of cyvasse entertained the Lord Paramount, along with many other lords and ladies. After a year fighting under House Tully's banner, Valerys was knighted by Lord Edmure and made a permanent member of the household.

Years later, Valerys remains a quiet but gentle figure. His distinctive looks, name and story still sometimes make him the focus of attention in courtly gatherings, but that is not his concern. Now a humble but stronger young man, his main concerns are his brother, his beloved Catelyn and her family, and the well-being of his fellow Essosi in the Riverlands. He has taken it upon himself to learn the customs and traditions of Westeros, but not to abandon his roots, however terrible some of them may be. So far away from his birthplace, Valerys no longer feels threatened by his father, nor does he yearn to become a prince, although the thought of a day when he might choose to return and overthrow the tyrannical archon lingers.

Notes: Valerys has chosen for his personal sigil a silver-haired youth with broken chains on a striped mud red and blue field.

Mylenos Maegyr

Name: Mylenos Maegyr, Sweetsilver, Dongelion
Age: 21
Appearance: Perhaps even more beautiful than his brother, although certainly not by choice, Mylenos also has pale skin, silver hair and red eyes, but he is somewhat shorter, and his body is less toned, having never really trained or fought. Nevertheless, his most distinctive features are the gold rings that pierce his ears, eyebrow and lower lip.
Role: Botanist, healer, poisoner, singer
Equipment: A personal supply of healing herbs and ingredients. A few vials of poison. A dagger.
Skills: The two Maegyr brothers shared a talent for plants, and the uses of plants, from an early age. However, where Valerys eventually discovered a gift for fighting and playing cyvasse, Mylenos found that he was very, very good with poisons. As a bed-slave, he also learned various arts of seduction, of which singing was the only one he came to enjoy. Even without all that he learned in the pillow houses of Lys, many still find Mylenos rather captivating, in no small part because of his open-hearted and lively character, and his wit. Like his brother, he can speak various tongues.
Biography: By now, the tale of Valerys Maegyr is well-known by those who care to hear it, but little is known about Mylenos Maegyr's life after he was sold to a pillow house in Lys and before he saw his brother again. As a child, he was proud and brave, which meant he was often punished by his merchant master for being "insolent". Mylenos never had any illusions about taking them home someday and making them his princes, so instead he concentrated on ways to escape from his enslavement, be it by retreating into his mind and his secret studies, or by plotting ways to murder their master and run away to some distant land.

After successfully brewing his first vial of poison and unsuccessfully trying to kill their master with it, Mylenos was put in chains and shipped as soon as possible to Lys. There, his master hoped, his spirit would be broken and he would cease to be a problem for anyone.

Only twelve years old at that time, Mylenos was not immediately forced into prostitution once he reached the pillow house, but he was introduced to his very first tools of seduction. Knowing that it was just a prelude to a life as a whore, however, he resisted from the very beginning in every way he could. Much like with the merchant, he was punished on a regular basis for his disobedience, until he finally started to submit. Once he did, he proved to be a fast learner with a beautiful singing voice.

Over the course of the next three years, Mylenos became one of the pillow house's most sought after whores, but also one of the most expensive. Renamed by his masters as "Kelitsos", which meant "Kitten" in High Valyrian, rumours of his true identity took a lot of time to spread, but men and women alike were drawn to his beautiful looks and singing, as well as his peculiar herbal concoctions. But all the while, Mylenos never stopped plotting, preparing for his escape, and finding ways to undermine his owners. When they insisted on keeping his face pristine by whatever means necessary, to make him the perfect bed-slave, he chose to pierce his face and decorate it with gold rings, thus ruining all their work.

Whether he actually did poison one of the owners of the pillow house remains a mystery, but the whispers of it only incremented patrons' fascination with him. Some even bought poison from him, instead of his other preparations. And when some mercenaries, thinking to steal him away for his father's prize, came to the pillow house, he found ways to dispose of them without raising suspicion, his poisons acting slowly and discreetly.

Mylenos survived, if perhaps barely so. As he reunited with his brother, the mark of those three years made deep in his heart and mind, he did not hesistate in his escape nor surrender in the face of the difficulties that followed. The young man that came to Westeros with his brother and a new friend beside him carried with him a profound vulnerability, yet he carried onwards and tried to make himself at home in this new, strange land.

Despite the lurid nature of his past, Mylenos found a place in Riverrun alongside his brother and Catelyn, helping them in their endeavours while also befriending the rest of the Tullys. Like his brother, he began to help the castle's maester, while also on occasion using his skills in botany and healing to aid the smallfolk. At court, he endeared himself to many nobles with his singing and good humour, even if many others openly spurned him and bemoaned his presence in their midst. Eventually, he formed very close bonds with the two youngest of the Tully children, due to shared interests in music and wild life.

Mylenos Maegyr is not a great warrior, nor does he have an experience in matters of rulership or diplomacy. Yet he is, beyond any doubt, a survivor, one who taught himself many ways, both subtle and deadly, to protect himself from those more powerful than him, and even challenged them. And he is happy to lend all that he learned to House Tully.

Notes: None.

[MrDidact]

@Celeste The sheet is looking great, a lot of great details and thought put into it.

I'll point out that out of all the kingdoms, the Riverlands probably have the most diversity of arcane stuff going on. You got Faith of the Seven followers with abilities, you got the Children of the Forest and the Green Men on the Isle of Faces, you got pockets of Red God worshipers, you got rumored witches and blood mages in Harrenhal, and you have all the eclectic mystical or shamanic beliefs from different groups of Essosi.

I do think it's somewhat off that the Tully kids would be drawn to R'hllor more than the Old Gods or something. Because R'hllor often has the most fanatical followers. See human sacrifice lol. The temple in Volantis even has slaves. I'm also unsure if you can even use R'hllor magic tricks if you don't believe in the god.

I do like the idea of her going on a foreign tour. If you think it's kosher, perhaps she's also friends with a lot of the Second Generation characters, namely the kids of the characters from the series proper. I could see her having gone on that foreign tour with Aemon or Daenyra for example, and perhaps some of the other Second Gen.

I also like the Maegyr bastards, could have some interesting implications once Essos comes into more focus.

For future reference I think I'm going to have it so that the Essosi immigrants have enclaves of settlement throughout most of the kingdoms, mainly in the cities, but the largest numbers of immigrants who are settled in their own agrarian communities will be in the Riverlands and mainland Crownlands. The Crownlands get much less strife both because the Iron Throne keeps a firm hand on everyone, and the Riverlands are just generally the focal point of all the shit going on in Westeros.

I'm thinking right now there isn't much, if any mixing, and most of the immigrants keep to their own towns or neighborhoods in the cities. And most are pretty poor, with some skilled artisans, craftsmen, and merchants who are better off.