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sj-thefan · 4 years

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A Wedding in the North* (Ramsay’s Lady)

Warning: Smut (I’ve indicated where if you wish to skip it), violence and death

They both woke with a smile that day, for it was the day they were to be united forever. The sun was shining, and a fresh layer of snow had fallen the night before. Despite the dull, grey stone of the Dreadfort, Lady Y/n couldn't help but find the day to be beautiful. The long winter would come, and it would be harsh, but for now, the people were content with the small, fluffy flakes that fell from the sky.

House Katermal had arrived less than two days ago, and nothing had gone wrong yet. Y/n was delighted to see her little brother, Darron. She didn't realize how much she had missed him until she saw him climbing off his horse. He was only 16 years, but already he was beginning to grow into a man. She was sure he would be taller than her. He was still skinny, though, something she was sure her father would try rid him of. They had never been close. Their father often kept him indoors, and he had a strict schedule. Still, something about him seemed different. Less childish, maybe? He didn't spend much time with her since being at the Dreadfort, although that wasn't completely unusual; he often preferred being alone.

It was good to see some of the people Y/n hadn't seen in quite a while, but she had to admit, she didn't miss a lot of them. They were free to leave as soon as the wedding ended.

On the morning of her wedding, she didn't see Ramsay. She and Ramsay had decided the evening before, that they would wait to see each other until they were both under the weirwood tree. They wanted their wedding day to be special and the moment when their eyes would meet as she walked down the aisle would be even more perfect if it were the first time they were seeing each other for the day.

The lovers were excited. Lady Y/n had to admit the butterflies that had begun fluttering in her stomach were quite unnerving and, though he'd never admit it to anyone except his wife, Ramsay was nervous too.

After eating and taking a bath, Y/n tried to find something to distract her from her nerves. She couldn't leave her room for risk of seeing Ramsay, so she settled in her chair by the window and began to read. It didn't work very well as her mind kept focusing on the wrong words. Instead of the words in front of her, her mind rehearsed the ones she would say later today.

Finally, after what felt like a lifetime of daydreaming, Lady Y/n's maid, Haynna, along with Myranda and a few other serving girls came to help her get ready.

The dress she had had made was a soft white with long sleeves that turned into lace near the ends. The neckline was speckled with lace and red jewels which were replicated in her veil. The skirt flowed smoothly as the white fabric faded to red at the bottom with more of the red jewels scattered to aide in the transition.

Her hair was divided with the upper half being twisted into a braided and pinned to the top of her head and the bottom laying curled perfectly on her shoulders. Myranda pinned the veil to her head and lifted her hair to wrap the Katermal cloak around her shoulders. Y/n glanced in the mirror, admiring the blue icicle she would never wear again.

"You look beautiful m' lady," Haynna said.

"Thank you," she responded, turning to her maids. "You've done wonderfully. You may leave now." She began to turn away but noticed the sullen look on Myranda's face. "Myranda," she called. "Stay."

All the maids gathered their things and left, leaving the two women standing in front of each other.

"You love him," Y/n said, turning back to the mirror and smoothing out any imperfections she saw.

Myranda didn't speak, but when Y/n glanced back at her, her eyes were focused on the floor. It was enough of an answer.

"It's a good thing." Myranda glanced up in shock. Y/n had turned back around and was smiling at her. "If Ramsay is to be Lord of the Dreadfort, he's going to need loyal subjects. He trusts you-" she paused and stepped forward until she was right in front of Myranda. "-and I trust that you will obey him."

"Yes, m'lady," Myranda mumbled in response.

The Lady stepped back. "Call me Y/n. If we're to be friends, we must be on a first-name basis, and I very much want to be friends with you."

"Of course, m-" she paused, "Y/n." The name felt foreign to her. She had always called her superiors by their title, except Ramsay, but he was her lover.

A knock at the door made both the girls turn their heads. Myranda quickly remembered her job and rushed to the door. With a glance back for confirmation, she opened the door.

Lord Katermal stood before them with a grin on his face.

"My beautiful daughter," he spoke as he entered the room.

"Father," Y/n acknowledged his presence. "Thank you, Myranda. That will be all." She smiled at the girl as she left before turning to her father. "Is it time?" she asked eagerly.

He nodded. With a small smile, he offered his arm to his little girl. "You look just as beautiful as your mother did."

She took his arm and smiled up at him. "Thank you, father."

Night came early in the North, and Y/n was thankful. If she had to stay in her room much longer, she would have gone insane with anticipation.

The air was cool and crisp as they walked towards the godswood. Y/n could see the lanterns held by the few guests ahead and her smile grew even more. She knew her brother would be among the guests and, although they moved on, she felt her mother and twin's presence. She pushed her thoughts of the dead out of her mind and stepped forward. It was time.

She was the most beautiful girl in Westeros, and she was all his. That was all Ramsay could think when he saw her and her father make their way through the trees. When they paused at the end of the aisle, his eyes locked with hers and time stopped. Y/n's smile seemed to light up the night, and her eyes were filled with excitement. Ramsay couldn't imagine what he looked like, but he was sure he wasn't as beautiful as his bride. As much as he didn't want to show weakness, he smiled, a true, honest, and happy smile. One that only she seemed able to bring out of him.

Before he knew it, she was standing in front of him. He hadn't noticed she was moving as he stared at her. As his father began the ceremony, Ramsay hoped he would not be absent-minded again and forget his line.

"Who comes before the Old Gods this night?" Roose spoke.

"Y/n, of the House Katermal, comes here to be wed," Aberam responded. "A woman grown and flowered, trueborn and noble. She comes to beg the blessing of the Gods. Who comes to claim her?"

Ramsay's eyes didn't leave hers. "Ramsay, of House Bolton, heir to the Dreadfort. Who gives her?"

"Aberam, of House Katermal, who is her father."

"Lady Y/n," Roose said. "Will you take this man?"

She didn't hesitate. "I take this man."

Ramsay stepped forward and grasped her hands before they turned together to the weirwood tree and knelt in prayer. All the guests followed.

After a few silent moments, Ramsay and Y/n stood. He then gently removed her cloak and handed it to her father, who gave him a slight nod. He then took his cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders. As he did so, he whispered in her ear, "my beautiful wife," which cause the smiles to return to both their faces.

He offered his arm, and the two walked back to the Dreadfort for the feast.

Everything had gone perfectly. They wanted the ceremony to be small, and it was. Only House Katermal, a few members of House Karstark and Umber, and some of the household were in attendance as most of the men were off fighting in the war.

The new husband and wife spent the night hand in hand. As they greeted guests and made small talk, they never left each other's side. They even shared a few dances.

Finally, the servants brought out the desserts.

"I made sure to get the finest apples for your pie," Lord Katermal told his daughter. He and Lord Bolton had split up the duties for the wedding, and he was in charge of the feast, including desserts. Y/n's favourite had always been apple pie. "I tried some last night; they truly are delicious."

"Thank you, Father," she said as she watched the servants bring out the pie.

Ramsay noticed the smile on his wife's face and quickly hurried her to the table of desserts. Unfortunately, they were not the first. A large man had found his way to the apple pie and had a large piece piled on his plate. He was mid-bite when Ramsay spoke.

"You pig!" he spat. "Don't you know any manners? The lady should be the first to get her food." As Ramsay spoke a look of regret flashed on the man's face before it morphed into fear.

The plate fell from his hands as they went to his throat. He tried to spit out the half-chewed food, barely missing Ramsay and Y/n.

Y/n's grip tightened on Ramsay's hand. She didn't understand what was happening, but it was a truly disgusting sight.

Blood began leaking from the fat man's nose and eyes. His eyes were bulging as if they would pop out of his head. His veins became prominent as his skin changed to purple. Finally, he collapsed to the floor without a heartbeat.

Maester Tybald made his way over to check the fat man's pulse. When he felt nothing, he looked up to Ramsay and shook his head.

"Ramsay?"

Her voice was soft and filled with fear. They had been about to eat the pie. It was meant for them. Whoever poisoned the pie must have known Y/n couldn't resist apple pie.

He turned slowly to Lord Katermal. "You brought the pie, my Lord?"

He nodded.

Ramsay didn't want to make a scene – at least no more of one then had already been made. He respected his wife's father. He had raised her so he must be a decent fellow. But it didn't quite make sense, why would her father want to kill them, he had been the one that suggested Y/n was ready for marriage. She had feared something like this might happen. It was still possible she had been right.

He nodded his head towards a door, trying to take this conversation away from the common folk. Lord Katermal understood and made his way to the sitting room

, followed by Ramsay, Y/n, and a few guards. Roose followed with a quick comment to the remaining guards to not let anyone leave the feast.

"Why did you try to poison us?" Y/n had been the one to speak first, not quite believing the situation that was unfolding before her.

"I didn't."

"You brought the pie, yes?" Ramsay asked. Lord Katermal nodded sadly. "And it was the pie that was poisoned." His eyes filled with rage. "If it wasn't you, who poisoned it?"

"I don't know," the lord sighed. "It was baked last night. Only the servants, myself and-"

"-Y/n?" a quiet voice said causing everyone to turn to the door.

Darron was standing just inside the door with a confused look on his face. Y/n glanced at Ramsay, giving him a nod. She trusted him to figure out the truth of what was happening and what they should do about it.

She walked towards Darron, putting her arm around him and leading him out of the room. She didn't want to go back to the hall, where everyone was still gathered. It was likely that she would be faced with too many questions for her to handle. So, she took him out the other door which led to the library.

It was dark in the library; the servants hadn't lit the lamps since it was unlikely anyone would be using it tonight. Y/n hurried to the nearest lamp, grabbing the match beside it any lighting the lamp before moving to light the rest.

"What's going on, Y/n?" Darron asked once all the lamps were lit.

"Someone poisoned the pie." She sighed, sitting down a chair by the table and resting her head against her hands.

"You think it was father?"

"Yes," she paused. "I mean, no. I don't really know. He brought the apples, and he knows how much I love apple pie, but I don't understand it."

He moved to rest against the wall, thinking over her words.

"You don't need to worry about this, though." Y/n stood up, feeling as though she couldn't stay still any longer; she had to do something. "You can go back to the party."

"Why does everyone always do this?"

She furrowed her brow as she turned to face her brother. His demeanour had drastically changed in less than a minute. "Do what?"

"Treat me like I'm some child who can't do anything."

Y/n focused on her brother. He was angry, far angrier than he should be for a kid who was just told to leave the adults alone. His jaw was clenched tight as he frowned at her. His hand tightly gripped the sword at his side. She never liked the tradition of wearing a sword at all times, but now she was starting to think she should take it up herself.

"Darron." She tried to speak calmly, but the fire in his eyes frightened her. He had never looked at her like this.

"No!" He kept his voice stern but made sure to keep it low to not gain the attention of the men in the other room. "I'm tired of it. Father is the worst at it. Did you know he was sick? You probably did – I wouldn't be told until he was gone. I heard him talking to Maester Rylan just before we left. 'I shouldn't have sent Y/n away. Someone has to take over when I'm dead.' What am I? Some servant who's just been pretending all this time."

Y/n tried to move to the door. Darron was pacing as he ranted. She hoped he wouldn't notice if she slipped away. He noticed.

She froze when he drew his sword, pointing it directly at her. "Darron, please, don't do this."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you? You've always gotten everything you ever wanted." She stepped back as he pushed the sword closer, her eyes flitting all over the room, trying to find something that could help her. "If I want even a little bit of something, you've got to go. I'm sorry Y/n, it has to be this way." She stepped off the carpet, a thought – a flicker of hope – reaching her chest as she remembered the day the vase fell.

A loud noise filled the sitting room, pausing Lord Katermal's defence. "What was that?"

Ramsay looked around, his eyes settling on the door to the library when the sound came again. He instantly rushed forward, drawing his sword as he thrust the door open.

Darron was holding his sword to Y/n's chest, the fabric of her dress straining.

"Son? What are you doing?" Lord Katermal was looking over Ramsay's shoulder. He was shocked to see his last son about to kill his only daughter.

Darron looked over his shoulder to see he had an audience. "It's the only way." He turned his focus back to his sister but found she had stepped away while his attention was off her. He swung his sword at her anyway.

She fell to the floor, tripping over her dress which was in no way suitable for the situation at hand, yet her brother missed.

"No!" he screamed, running forward to try and hit her.

Her eyes fell to Ramsay when his sword pierced her brother.

Darron's body crumpled to the ground, his face frozen in anger.

Ramsay quickly rushed to his wife. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Thank you."

Ramsay helped her up keeping an arm around her waist as he turned to her father. "I'm sorry, Lord Katermal, I couldn't let him hurt her."

Aberam nodded as Ramsay and Y/n passed to leave the room.

As they rejoined the party, several people came up to try and figure out what had happened. He ignored their questions, leading his wife to the dance floor and slowly swaying to the music.

"Are you sure you're okay? You don't have to lie to me."

"I'm fine, Ramsay. Darron wanted to kill me; he didn't love me, so why should I fret over the person who would have stolen my life." Ramsay leaned down to kiss his wife. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

A few of the people who saw the kiss started chanting and yelling.

"It's time for the bedding ceremony!"

Y/n had dreaded this part. She didn't want to be stripped naked for others to see, and Ramsay agreed. Her body was only to be seen by his eyes. So, they had made sure to clarify to all the guests that they were not to undress the newlyweds. Doing so would result in severe punishment. Still, the guests were excited to drag them to their chambers, saying all the things they wanted to do to them.

Y/n tried to tune out the comments made by the men who pulled her to Ramsay's chambers. Instead, she focused on the event that was about to take place.

Finally, they both made it to the room. Ramsay closed the door on the loud cheers that were still echoing in the hallway. He turned around with a bright smile.

"Ramsay," Y/n whispered. "I don't like that there are people out there listening."

"They're just jealous. I get to spend the night with the most beautiful girl in all of Westeros, and they have to go back to their dreary lives." He kissed her passionately, pulling her close.

*Smut starts*

She hummed when he moved to her neck, sucking and biting the pure skin. His hands found the ties at the back of her dress, and he quickly started undoing them. She did the same to his vest, but she was quicker, her hands smaller and faster than his. She pushed him back until he was sitting on the edge of the bed. "I think you need to take this off," she whispered in his ear, biting it as she tugged at the now loose leather. He moaned, quickly shedding his vest along with his tunic, placing his hands on Y/n's waist and pulling her back in for a kiss.

He moaned when her hands found their way into his hair and tugged. He pulled back, looking into her eyes. "Beautiful."

She turned around, so her back was too him. Moving her hair, she glanced over her shoulder. "Think you could finish what you started Lord Bolton?" She smiled as she felt him practically rip the fabric apart. She let it fall, cascading over the curves of her body till it pooled at her feet. She turned back around. Ramsay was looking her up and down with a wide smile on his face.

"Beautiful," he whispered in her ear as he pulled her down to the bed, flipping them, so he was above her. "And it's all for me." He pulled away to strip himself of the rest of his clothes.

Y/n spread her legs, beckoning him forward. "Only for you."

He crawled back over her, lining himself up. "I'm going to make you feel so good." He kissed her deeply as he pushed in, causing her to moan.

"Fuck," she whimpered when he started thrusting. Her eyes fell closed as her arms gripped onto him. Slowly, the pain faded and was replaced by pleasure.

"Open your eyes," he demanded. She obeyed, feeling a tingle start to grow in her stomach. He hadn't been demanding with her before. Sure, she had seen him order the servants around, but he had never taken that tone with her before. She liked it.

Ramsay started moving faster when her eye's opened. When he fucked his bedwarmers, he never looked them in the eye. Most of the time, he took them from behind so he wouldn't have to look at them. But Y/n was different. He wanted to see her, to see the pleasure he was giving her twist her features, and her eyes, they were the best part. They were blown wide with lust and love as he was sure his were too. He had truly found someone to love.

He pulled out, pushing her legs up out of the way so he could reach deeper inside her. With a kiss, he thrust back in.

"Ah," Y/n moaned when Ramsay hit a particular spot inside her.

"You like that, huh?" he teased, thrusting so he would hit that spot every time.

She moaned his name, her hips moving to meet in sync with his. The pleasure was building, growing inside her. Her hand gripped his back, pulling him closer; she was sure her fingers hand left scratches, but that didn't matter. All she could focus on was the growing ball of pressure, building inside of her.

She screamed when she felt it explode, filling her with the most intense pleasure she had ever felt.

"Fuck," Ramsay moaned as his climax washed over him. He collapsed on her, taking a moment to catch his breath before pulling out and moving to lay beside her.

A few cheers could be heard out in the hallway, causing the two newlyweds to chuckle. "Get a life!" Ramsay shouted at them.

"Leave them be," Y/n said, rolling so she was laying partly on him. "They're just jealous because I get to spend the night with the best man in all of Westeros."

He chuckled at her, placing a kiss on her head. "That's exactly right."

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#Sj writes #Ramsay's Lady #Ramsay Bolton x reader #Ramsay Snow x reader #smut #Game of thrones

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arcadianambivalence · 5 years

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Will the “Real” Azor Ahai Please Stand Up?

**Got 8x03 spoilers**

History in this world echoes, but it sounds a little different every time.

It’s not Jon who kills the NK (that would have been to obvious, guys. He’s already been given a special sword and a special direwolf, appointed Lord Commander and King in the North, loved by siblings and friends (and the audience and authors), and participated in several impressive fight scenes that allowed him to get out unscathed. He’s also secretly the Targaryen heir. It’s overkill. Come on).

It’s not Daenerys and Drogon (we’ve seen Walkers walk through fire before).

It’s not even Bran who gets a big magical showdown. No, it’s--

Arya!

So does that make her Azor Ahai if she didn’t meet the other steps in the prophecy? Well…

Who’s to say the Azor Ahai story is entirely accurate? We’re supposed to believe a man is a hero because he killed his wife to forge a sword? In thisuniverse?

Daenerys smothered Drogo (who was not cognizant and could not agree to it), but that didn’t give her dragons—the death of her baby was the lifeblood of the exchange. Tyrion strangled Shae, the woman he supposedly “loved,” but that didn’t give him a magic sword. It made him a murderer. Stannis agreed to have his daughter burned as she screamed and begged for her life, and he failed in every way possible (as a father, as a commander, and as a king) for this action.

Why? Because this isn’t myth.

If you love someone, you don’t murder them.

(That should be resoundingly obvious!)

So why would the fulfillment of the prophecy suddenly make someone re-enacting the myth okay? It doesn’t. That behavior made the Night King. He was the one who had a blade run through his heart, after all.

He too was reborn amidst his own tears (salt) and the collapse of the weirwoods for homes and firewood (smoke).

And as for the idea that the new Azor Ahai must be a Targaryen…that prophecy came from the woods witch (later dubbed the Ghost of High Heart) who told this prophecy to Targaryen court in order to get Duncan to abdicate as prince and marry Jenny of Oldstones. All of this is rather convenient given that Jenny was the woods witch’s friend, so of course she’d want Jenny and Duncan to marry, prophecy or not. Who’s to say she didn’t lie to get her friends to marry, anyway? Who’s to say Rhaegar tore the continent apart to follow a vague prophecy, anyway?

The show, apparently.

Instead of the (slightly more) straightforward retelling Rhaegar tried to follow, we have multiple characters playing out symbolic roles in the story. Melissandre “brings” light to the Dothraki’s scythes. Bran offers up himself as a Nissa Nissa-style bait, but Theon is the one who actually charges headlong into death for a cause (stabbed through the torso like the mythical sacrifice). Finally, Arya delivers the fatal wound with a blade instead of a sword.

Fandom is full of theories about how the final pieces of the Azor Ahai myth will subvert the story as it’s been told before. Maybe Nissa Nissa didn’t agree. Maybe Azor Ahai was a villain. Maybe it has nothing to do with the North’s Long Night.

And now the show has subverted the myth, too. Like Melissandre cutting her hand to set the scythes on fire, the sacrifice made to forge something new is done to forger themselves. Arya gave up her chance to go home when she went to Braavos to train (learning many of the fight moves she exhibited throughout the entire episode). Theon was willing to give up his life for the Starks when he jumped off the battlements with Sansa in season 5, rose against the Boltons in season 6, and returned to Winterfell in season 8, all of which “forged” him into the good man who gave his last hours defending Bran and who gave his life to give Bran a few more minutes.

People who sacrifice others are not heroes, only those who sacrifice themselves are.

#got s8 spoilers #got 8x03 spoilers #game of thrones spoilers #got #got meta

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she-wolf-of-highgarden · 6 years

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I’ve noticed that a popular opinion is that after the war Arya is going to go off on her own and travel the world. May have argued that the theory does not make sense considering Arya’s whole story is about finding her family again. I agree with that angle, but i want to point another out. I doubt Arya leaves the North often once she gets back to it. Not just because of her family, but because how close she is to the old magic of the North and the Old Gods themselves.

I’ve talked before about “No Feather bed for me” having a double meaning and referencing Arya’s relationship to the Heart tree. While i realize that is a grasp and more in reference to her acorn dress i think Arya very much is the maiden of the tree in terms of the Old Gods.

One example is the Children of the Forest. When Bran firsts sees one his first thought is of Arya.

“For a moment Bran thought it was his sister Arya … madly, for he knew his little sister was a thousand leagues away, or dead. And yet there she was, whirling, a scrawny thing, ragged, wild, her hair a tangle.” - Bran, ADwD

At first glance that is not something terribly special. Arya is scrawny and usually messy, but even when Bran realizes that the Child cannot be Arya he still puts the two together.

“Meera cradled Jojen’s head in her lap. And the Arya thing stood over them clutching her torch.” - Bran II, ADwD

He does not make the Child her own entity, but one tied up with his sister, Granted when he notices the physical differences he seperates the two in his mind, but the fact that in the beginning he closely associated the two is interesting. Another interesting part in the connection between the Child and Arya comes from the descriton of the Child.

“It was a girl, but smaller than Arya, her skin dappled like a doe's beneath a cloak of leaves. Her eyes were queer—large and liquid, gold and green, slitted like a cat's eyes. No one has eyes like that. Her hair was a tangle of brown and red and gold, autumn colors, with vines and twigs and withered flowers woven through it.” - Bran II, ADwD

Again some of this is grasping and observational, but the first part of that passage interests me. “Her skin dappled like a doe’s beneath a cloack of leaves.” I dont know about anyone else, but it reminds me of “I’ll wear a gown of golden leaves and bind my hair with grass.” No Featherbed for me is a southern song and so it is probably not associated with the Children of the Forest, but there is an interesting parallel. Along with this the line “dappled like a doe” is funny because the song is sung in the presence of (and seems to be in reference of) Arya and Gendry. Gendry, who we know, is a Stag himself.

Another grasping point in this is the cat’s eye. Arya is associated with a lot of animals, but the one that comes back the most after wolves is a cat. She chases cats at the Red Keep and she befriends them as Cat of the Canals. When Arya loses her sight as Blind Beth it is implied she somehow figures out how to see by wargining into a cat. In her own way she does have cat eyes.

“The priest winced and snatched his hand back. "And how could a blind girl know that?"I saw you. "I gave you three. I don't need to give you four." Maybe on the morrow she would tell him about the cat that had followed her home last night from Pynto's, the cat that was hiding in the rafters, looking down on them. Or maybe not. If he could have secrets, so could she.”- Blind Beth

Another strong connection Arya has is with the Old Gods. She is unafraid to yell at them and at Harrenhal her father or the Gods actually speak to her. She also believes, to some extent, that the Old Gods are looking out for her.

“The old gods of the North must have been guiding her steps.” - Arya VIII, ACoK

“Shoving her sword through her belt, she slipped down branch to branch until she was back on the ground. The light of the moon painted the limbs of the weirwood silvery white as she made her way toward it, but the five-pointed red leaves turned black by night. Arya stared at the face carved into its trunk. It was a terrible face, its mouth twisted, its eyes flaring and full of hate. Is that what a god looked like? Could gods be hurt, the same as people? I should pray, she thought suddenly. Arya went to her knees. She wasn't sure how she should begin. She clasped her hands together. Help me, you old gods, she prayed silently. Help me get those men out of the dungeon so we can kill Ser Amory, and bring me home to Winterfell. Make me a water dancer and a wolf and not afraid again, ever.Was that enough? Maybe she should pray aloud if she wanted the old gods to hear. Maybe she should pray longer. Sometimes her father had prayed a long time, she remembered. But the old gods had never helped him. Remembering that made her angry. "You should have saved him," she scolded the tree. "He prayed to you all the time. I don't care if you help me or not. I don't think you could even if you wanted to." - Arya IX, ACoK

After the Red Wedding Arya loses her faith in the Old Gods, but i think that the Wolf Dreams and the ability to warg into a cat without guidance shows that the Old Gods are not done with her. I think Arya is tied to the North just as much as Bran is. She is tied to the old North as she is the last alive (other than possibly Benjen) to look like the Kings of Winter, the Old Gods talk to her, and her ability to warg has not gone anywhere, even when she puts on another face. I dont think Arya could ever leave the North and stay away.

#Arya Stark #bran stark #meta #a song of ice and fire #asoiaf #asoiaf meta #game of thrones #got #A Dance with Dragons #children of the forest #old gods #long meta

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myupostsheadcanons · 7 years

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My loooooong rant about The Aen Elle: The Witcher

Book Spoilers, not so much Game Spoilers.

First off, my “elephant in the room” ... Eredin.

In the books he is nowhere near final-boss material like he was in the games. He’s the “That One Boss” rather than “The Big Bad”. Eredin has less of his shit together in the books tbh. He’s like Kylo Ren Evil rather than Voldemort Evil. They both did extremely bad things and you can’t deny either of them being villainous characters, just different types of evil characters.

Book Eriden has no filter, literally, he says what’s on his mind and doesn’t hesitate to go after what he wants. He’s arrogant and too the point, and doesn’t know what discretion is.

Some of his semi.... alright.... ? qualities:

1. He accidentally insulted Ciri upon first meeting her and apologized right away, he even gave her a flower. 2. He was the only one to be upfront with Ciri that she was a prisoner and will never be released. Even though he did lie to her about her friends being dead and gone. (Unless he wasn’t in his POV and just didn’t understand that TIME means nothing to her).

3. He wasn’t a bad sport about loosing a horse race with her. While he was competitive while it happened, at the end praised her skill and her horse for winning. Note: Kelpie let him pet her on the muzzle. Kelpie, the super horse with a foul temper that Ciri had made sure to note that would bite.... Either this was to show that he is decent with animals or to prove some kind of point of rebuking the “animals hate them” trope that villain characters often get stuck with.

Side Note: Considering he is the commander of mounted combat shock troops for the past several hundred years, it would be logical enough to say that he has a healthy amount of knowledge on horses and their mannerisms and knew if it was safe to pet Kelpie or not.

4. He was honestly trying to help further their people’s common goal when he offered Ciri the aphrodisiac to give Auberon, enough so that he gave it to him himself anyways. And was surprised to learn that it killed Auberon.

I highly doubt that Eredin’s skilled enough to make the potion properly 100% of the time, or making it more potent/concentrated turned it into a poison OR, somebody else made it...... (Avallach???? hmmmm???) and gave it to him with instructions on what it does.

((Avallach making it would mean that him getting the hell out of dodge was intentional, that he wanted to be far-far away when Eredin put the puzzle pieces together.))

Auberon, Avallach, and Eredin had a Triumvirate going on. The Unicorns specifically called out all three of them as being dangerous and behind most of what the Aen Elle had been doing. Together they followed the Face/King (Auberon), Brain/Sage (Avallach), and Hand/General (Eredin) .

Just look at the nicknames the Unicorns gave the three of them: The King of the Alders, The Fox, and The Sparrowhawk. They mean something.

While Alder can be an alternative name for Elder, as in the elder blood, the Aen Elle themselves, an actual Alder is a kind of birch tree common in wet areas and used often in dying leather, charcoal/gunpowder, and for making structures that need to be held in wet areas without rotting. The Alder is also a sacred tree, the tree of Bran the Blessid, and was the inspiration for the Weirwood Trees in GRRM’s A Song of Ice and Fire, the insides of the Alder tree will turn red/brown/dark when it is cut (weirwoods are blood red on the inside). Forests of Alder are considered “cursed” and to be avoided at all costs, those that go in unprepared or properly blessed will not be seen again (killed by monsters or taken by Fae, the Sidhe, to their realm (hmm, Aen Sidhe.... any one?). Though irl, it is because Alder Forests are in wetland and boggy areas, people just get stuck in the mud and drown.

(Note: another literary example, The Erl King from The Dresden Files. King of the Alders also refers to the character he is based off of: Erlkonig (Elf/Alder King). And in the Dresden series, The Erl King is a powerful wild-fae, the Goblin King (think: The Labyrinth) and King of the Wild Hunt (The Elk-Horned King). It is a also a common fan theory that he is /the/ Oberon, though he is called Lord Herne by name, another horned-crowned hunter of myth as well. As a lord of the wild-fae, he is neutral to winter and summer. ((Yes, one character can have many identities. This is a word where Odin the All Father is also Santa Clause)).

Remember, Auberon wasn’t some aloof sassy king. He’s jaded and apathetic from being around for over 650 years. But he’s ordered the deaths and enslavement of millions of humans, a genocide, and Avallach and Eredin were right there carrying out these orders. He was polite to Ciri because they needed her, and that eventually went out the window when given an opening to do so.

The Aen Elle’s entire plan was based on re-opening the gates so they can continue this practice. They tricked the Unicorns into doing this once before, but they grew wise and are now at war with the Aen Elle. Lara was the culmination of the Aen Elle’s breeding efforts to create somebody powerful enough to accomplish this. There is a strong possibility she completely disagreed with her people’s ideals, be it that she knew she was being used and/or because she fell in love with a human and changed her ways. But she completely booked it and left them all to rot, while giving them two big middle fingers (which were later mailed back to Avallach in an envelope...... bad joke).

IMO, Avallach, The Fox, was the more dangerous of the trio (not necessarily the most evil of them). With Eredin he didn’t hide who he was, but Avallach.... he had an agenda a mile long and lied through his non-pointed teeth. He would present a kind and helpful facade, and when ever something underneath would slip through the cracks, it wasn’t very pleasant. Foxes are depicted as tricksters, cunning and wily, an animal most frequently associated with being deceitful, or having ulterior motives. When Auberon threaten to give Ciri over to Avallach and his laboratory, my mind went straight to Vilgafortz and his plans for Ciri... i don’t think this was unintentional.

There is several instances in the novels (The Lady of the Lake especially) where events parallel one another (like Auberon’s abhorrence to Ciri ended up mirroring itself with Emhyr rejecting his plans for Ciri in the end. The theme with Ciri escaping people associated with Birds of Prey (Cahir (his helmet), Tawny Owl, Eriden the Sparrowhawk.... Merlin better watch himself)). Vilgafortz was the obvious villain of the saga, the biggest threat at the time, but did not start out that way, he was first presented as a diplomat, somebody who should be respected and came off as being the reasonable authority figure compared to the decadence of the Sorcerers. Then was revealed to be a sick, twisted SOB doing science experiments on abducted women in order to perfect a technique he was to do on Ciri. Everything he did was in order to accomplish this end goal, to harness Ciri’s powers for himself, even his kind and diplomatic facade at the start and him spending decades gathering political influence in both the North and Nilfgaard under it. The disfigurement of his face was a physical representation of his madness, that the mask was removed and now showed on the outside the ugliness on the inside.

Emhyr’s plan for Ciri started out as Vilgafortz’s plan. Vilgafortz was the one that knew of the prophecy and was the person to find out whom Duny was really. He brought the prophecy to Emyhr and put the idea that the heir of Nilfgaard will be the chosen one. When this was proposed, Ciri was a toddler at the time (keep in mind that Pevetta was only around 20/21 when she died, and wasn’t 15 yet when she met Emhyr/Duny. In perspective: Ciri was 16 by the end of Lady of the Lake).

Avallach was part of the original breeding plan with Lara, a multi-generational slow-burn magical science experiment. It was more than likely that it was arranged that the two of them become a couple. Avallach is a powerful Sorcerer, member of the Aen Saeherne, sages with specialized training and secretive knowledge about the “Lara Gene”. When the actual Lara, also an Aen Saevherne, broke up with him and left their people he was very upset about it, something he’s still grudgingly bitter about centuries years later. This is one of the cracks in his facade, when people talk about Lara, and when he did snap at Ciri it was because she compared herself to Lara and in anger suggested that Avallach should be the one to knock her up. He pretty much told her that she disgusted him (maybe even more than Auberon was of her), that her human blood was an insult to their people, that a human took their gift away from them and Lara away from him.

Avallac’h isn’t even his actual name, it’s Creavan Espane aep Caomhan Macha. The root of the nickname also gives us the name to Avalon (the Isle of Apple Trees)... Avalon is were the faeries live, where Morgan La Fae learned her powers, /The/ Lady of the Lake lives there in some stories (she was the one to give Arthur Excalibur, the “sword in the stone” is Uthar Pendragon’s sword), and where King Arthur was taken after he was mortally wounded by Mordred. Geralt and Yennifer were basically taken to Avalon by Ciri and the Unicorn. Then sometime between that and showing up before Galahad, she got into a bloody fight (and won/escaped from that).... (If you believe that Avallach betrayed his people intentionally and ran off.... Ciri taking Yen and Geralt to Avallach for help would be quite the literal interpretation)

Eredin being the Sparrowhawk is one of the more straightforward meanings, its practically hanging a lampshade on what his reason is in the over all story. Like the character himself: to the point and doesn’t hide his motives or pretends to be something he is not. Sparrowhawks get their name because small birds are their most frequent prey. Cirillia’s name came from the Aen Elle word Zireael, a word that means Swallow, a type of small bird. Sparrow and Swallow are very similar words. Book Eriden calls her Zireael instead of her name to put further emphasis that he sees her as prey.

Wiki Note: Falconers have utilized the Eurasian sparrowhawk since at least the 16th century; although the species has a reputation for being difficult to train, it is also praised for its courage.

Falconry is a practice of keeping birds of prey captive in order to hunt small game for sport or food. They are kept on a leash, hooded, and in cages/aviaries.

Who had Eredin’s leash and used him to hunt prey? Auberon, The Alder King. There was very little indication that there was a conflict of interests between the two, Auberon even trusted him enough to take the vial from him on his word alone. And, again, Eredin seamed not to have expected it to kill Auberon.

Eredin’s name doesn’t seam to have as much significance as Auberon (Oberon) and Avallac’h (Avalon). Eredin Breacc Glas (fan nickname: break glass) he’s literally the first thing that comes up, excluding “witcher” from the searches, you get results from League of Legends, Star Wars, and Final Fantasy :/

A shot in the dark is the Eridanos (river of Hades). AND I only thought of that one because of.... Homestuck’s Eridan Ampora being named after it. It means “Amber” in Greek. And when i think of “Amber” I first think of Roger Zelazny’s Amber Chronicles. Another series based off of Arthur and Shakespeare Mythos (King Oberon, Avalon, Traveling through Time/Space (Shadow), Blood of the Unicorns, Merlin). Amber was written in the 70′s and 80′s, Zelazny died right around the same time the Witcher short-stories were being published.

Note: Ciri escaped while fighting him on a river, because it was the only path to get out of the loop... if that means anything. :/ (water is a common “ground” for magic, it disperses the energy needed in the spell. it is why Vampires can’t travel across moving water).

The mere presence of Ciri among them, her curse of destiny, ended up breaking open the below-surface cracks in their Triumvirate. Auberon’s disgust, Avallach’s jealousy, Eriden being the unhelpful helper... Ciri’s insistent want to go home... the Unicorns.... Their plans just crumbled in their hands and resulted in the death of Auberon, Avallach possibly deserting them, and Ciri’s escape from Eredin.

Myu Recommends, Extra Reading Material:

Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files.... A Wizard for Hire, solving supernatural cases, and later gets tied up in wars with the Vampires, the Fairy Courts, Arch-Demons, and Ancient Horror Terrors.

Roger Zelanzy’s Amber and Chaos Chronicles. (As Collected in The Great Book of Amber). Corwin of Amber wakes up with amnesia, discovers that his father Oberon, King of Amber, is missing or dead and he is now on the top of his siblings’ hit-lists. Those born of the unicorn and traversed the pattern can freely walk through time and space, The Shadow. (Chaos Courts have an older and more complex version of gaining the same ability, The Labyrinth/Logrus, The Serpent .... most people die before completing it)

King Arthur: Le Morte de Arthur, The Once and Future King, and (maybe) The Mists of Avalon. The Faery Realm, Galahad ascending into Heaven, Merlin being Trapped in a cavern for centuries, The Isle of Avalon.... The basis of many of the modern “alternate dimension” in fantasy stories, including The Witcher, Dresden, and Amber.

#the witcher #aen elle #avallac'h #Auberon #Eredin #the witcher books #myu reads

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