Chapter 90 of Shrouded Destiny (SD) is out for Squires!
Added 2024-11-18 03:07:05 +0000 UTCOkay, this was wild. Chapter is thicc, and it felt cathartic to write, so I hope you all enjoy.
You can read the previous chapters in the collection!
Comments
Finally just deserts
Garri Sarkisov
2024-11-24 04:41:04 +0000 UTCThe Baratheons may end up being the Kings and sitting on the Iron Throne when this is all said and done, but it will be clear and evident to any and everyone that the Starks will be the true and real power in Westeros. Robb, Ned and Jon's actions will have basically crushed armies in the Reach, Vale, Essos , Dorne and the Stormlands and with their blood and kin ties to the Lannisters who they have in essence now subsumed their holdings and line into their own with Tywin naming Robb his Warden and his second son the heir to Casterly Rock, Tullys who will now easily be the most powerful in terms of manpower in the South, Baratheons and Arryns.
NJ
2024-11-23 23:06:45 +0000 UTCNed stark is now my murder daddy. <3
InnerDemons
2024-11-19 22:56:54 +0000 UTCI think you mean a Cerseirean section. 😁
Omar Syed
2024-11-19 18:46:28 +0000 UTCWith the good ol' Hungry Wolf in his head I doubt Ned would get a moments rest if he allied with Renly.
Omar Syed
2024-11-19 18:43:20 +0000 UTCVery enjoyable read. Garlan's arc seemed very realistic considering what had happened to Margaery's retainers. And l found the end of Leonette both proper, in the context of the story, and heartbreaking knowing this has happened throughout actual history. But Hugor of the Hill on a pogostick made of Weirwood! Eddard 'Cityender' Stark! Did not see that coming. Though it is probably what most people who read the books feel is hardly a tenth of what Cersei deserves. Seems Ned's dislike of the 'game' has boiled over and he's on to straight Cregan-ing everyone he deems a danger to the realm. Bravo! Always found book Ned to be foolish, and book Catelyn too stupid. And most fanfics don't have enough of a character arc to show how and why they've changed from their book counterparts. But now I'm not sure if I want Ned to be more Theon or Cregan. Damn you Gladiusx! Damn you to the seven hells! And thanks for a wonderful chapter. Didn't think I'd enjoy any non-combat chapters even close to the combat chapters. And you've proven me wrong. Well done.
Omar Syed
2024-11-18 23:34:38 +0000 UTCJustice for canon Ned! Poor Garlan, I almost want a time travel story where Garlan travels back to when Ned just arrived in KL & convinced his family to seat out the war & engage in the end like the Frey are doing.
zasha ktrystei
2024-11-18 21:50:49 +0000 UTCGreat chapter as always! Must say that I didn't see any of that coming! So now can we get Ser Garlan falling on his sword since he now has nothing left to lice for? And putting the House of Ambitious stewards to rest permanently. The irony that a bastard (Tommen) will further the Baratheon dynasty just as Orys Barathean was a bastard that kept the Durrandon bloodline going although the name died. Have you given any consideration to what fief Jon shall receive? I figure at this point with all he has done for the North it has to be a wealthy and powerful seat. Far more than just the Dreadfort could provide. Unless of course the Hornwoods also died out in this story and he gets those lands as well as the Dreadfort? I've had a personal head Canon that the Ironborn had started on a foundation for a castle at Sea Dragon Point to use as a staging ground and that Jon should be given that land to build his castle and use the Iron fleet and Redwyne fleet as his own. Maybe put a bastard in Desmera's belly to inherit the arbor and build some southern connections. And make the whole of the stony shore his holding as well since he is throwing the Ironbirn back into the sea or killing them outright. And from all that land Jon builds a city to rival Old town or surpass.it making g the North richer as a whole. Will all of Jon and Vals children have the Valyrian look?
Ambrose Young
2024-11-18 19:00:41 +0000 UTCGreat chapter! I hope you give us a long epilogue with some nice historical assessments of the events and major players once things are done like with Dragonwolf! There are two men i can see getting as much attention as the kings if not even more and thats the kingmakers Ned and Mace both of whom i can see being warped into legendary figures. From the outside historical perspective first Ned was one of the three men that broke the Targaryen dynasty and if FAegon falls to his forces probably the man given the most credit, he defeated Arthur Dayne, he has had a much longer and much more eventful career as hand than even Cregan and will have made a much bigger impact on the South as well, he has become a famous warlord undefeated in battle, crushed a free city, almost single-handedly kept the Baratheon/Lannister cause afloat and has raised sons worthy of being legendary lords and figures in their own right with much of that attributed i am sure to Ned and how he raised them, he will be the foster father of a king in addition to being his hand, protector and regent and the grandfather of the Wardens of the North and West in addition to probably being the foster father of the Warden of the East if sweetrobin lives. History loves its victors even more if they have a bloody reputation as a formidable lord, bloodsoaked warrior and possible sorcerer like Ned who will have probably elevated the Starks to the height of their power for a generation or more! Truly the kingmaker of the historical saga that the clash for the throne will be in the histories. Then in almost total contrast to Ned you have Mace who inherited House Tyrell at the height of its power and seemingly led it to either its doom or near doom. He is also easily the best scapegoat for much of what went wrong and for any historians seeking to protect the memory of Renly, the Hightowers or the Targaryens. Mace had his only real battlefield victory won by another man who he then slighted, failed to take a castle with between 70 and 100 thousand men with naval dominance, held back most of his army from aiding Rhaegar or saving Kings Landing, he basically guaranteed a long and bloody civil war by joining Renly, under his watch the Faith Militant rose again and crowned his goodbrother, the fanatics began a religious war under his watch, he allied with the Ironborn who are near universally despised, he very visibly helped spread the black death by using dead bodies for war like the Mongols IRL, brought slavers and Essosi corsairs to Westerosi shores helping kick of the wars in the Free Cities and died having failed completely to take Kings Landing or win the war leaving his family, kingdom and king to ruin after helping unleash what is probably the bloodiest single war in the history of the seven kingdoms if not Westeros as a whole. All in all he is perfect for a historian to cast him as an ambitious and grasping kingmaker who being less capable than his foes Tywin and Ned failed completely.
SneeringImperialist
2024-11-18 13:38:38 +0000 UTCAs bad as it sounds, the reaction of the one lady who didn't want to be "saved" is the most realistic. The "mission" that drove Garlan is over, tragic but realistic, with him having already described himself as "death seeking" bevor. What now, Sellsword Company, drinking away his sorrows, "falling on his own sword", what awaits the last son of House Tyrell. Solidest chapter overall, to be honest I had completely overlooked 😉Tyrion and thought I had skipped a chapter. He seems to be more of a realist than an opportunist here, I hope he has other advisors.
Grimgoth
2024-11-18 09:50:15 +0000 UTCI for one am glad you didn't drag it out, Cersei is also missing her usual support that lets her get away with so much here.
Grimgoth
2024-11-18 09:36:57 +0000 UTCThe father was one of Robert’s bastards. Ironically the same one that knocked up the queen. You can’t make this shit up….. except you obviously can.
MehOhWell
2024-11-18 09:33:19 +0000 UTCBlack hair, blue eyes, I think this is not a bastard but the only trueborn daughter of Robert. I may be wrong, the timeline is a bit fuzzy and I no longer remember the features of the pirate who "kidnapped" her.
Grimgoth
2024-11-18 09:30:51 +0000 UTCEven though you’ve never mentioned Maggie the Frog, I loved the fact that Cersei was killed by the little brother, after all, since Ned was Brandon’s little brother.
P. Derek Moore
2024-11-18 08:57:43 +0000 UTCI didn't remember that. That's pretty definitive.
LordApathy
2024-11-18 07:16:01 +0000 UTCOut of all the bloodshed and violence and death in this story that part with Garlan hurt me. Literally made my blood run cold. I can’t tell if Leonette was genuinely trying to get rid of the kid so she could be a suitable wife again or if it was elaborate suicide. Also good on Ned. But who did Cersei get knocked up by again? I mean the bastard child.
Based_Bass
2024-11-18 07:05:40 +0000 UTCJon had no way of knowing what was true or not since he was not. That’s why he told Ned to be careful. I don’t think Ned ever conceived of the possibility that Cersei would’ve cuckolded Robert just out of spite.
Based_Bass
2024-11-18 07:01:18 +0000 UTCI mean they cut Margaery’s kid out of her belly.
Based_Bass
2024-11-18 06:58:40 +0000 UTCGarlan has had the WORST time in this story. What will he do now!? Though some of the dialogue was making me suspicious of where Garlan ends up by the end of this story. Tyrion… He is getting my side eye in this chapter! Also I’m dying to see what happens in the Vale! And will Ned be more suspicious of sweet Robin now that he’s heard them rumors about him? At least Tommen is betrothed to Shireen and Myrcella was named as Tywin’s heir. So Ned supporting them and burying this nasty secret with Cersei doesn’t actually change things. I believe Renly has caused too much bad blood between everyone for Ned to ever support him, no matter where he came in the line of succession.
Happy
2024-11-18 06:31:17 +0000 UTCOut of all your Garlan POV's this was the most gut wrenching of them. To tease Garlan with a potential future only for it to be brutally ripped. Even the part with the other ladies of the reach (Alice's hopelessness) was tough to swallow. I seriously cant figure out what sort of happiness Garlan would be satisfied with now. It appears he would more likely welcome death. I think people like Ned, Robb are really lucky in this aspect. Everything is relatively straightforward to them. But to genuinely decent people on the losing side like Garlan end up getting brutally screwed by the war. Even though Jon himself went through a similar scenario, but he essentially lucked out be travelling to the past and forging a new and better life. It excellently highlights the brutal cost and effects of war Ned's part was pretty excellent too. Didn't know he had it in him, but can understand how it came to him. Cersei had it coming. Its not surprising that she most likely discarded her newborn infant girl in White Harbor to come and join Ned and Tommen. The conversation they had was somewhat reminiscent of that infamous one in AGoT. Now waiting to see the new direction this was is moving towards.
Trivedhan Sivaprakash
2024-11-18 05:52:43 +0000 UTCGarlan cant catch a break. Damn thats rough. I hope he will find some happiness when this ends.
David C.
2024-11-18 05:45:16 +0000 UTCOh thank thhe Old Gods 😊
Jacob Hall
2024-11-18 05:13:21 +0000 UTCEven with Cersei's drunken words, Ned can't exactly pull out a DNA test to check for real, so don't worry. Ned has given his oaths to Tommen, and he will keep them.
Gladiusx
2024-11-18 05:11:55 +0000 UTCPlease tell me Ned won't turn on Tommen and Myrcella. They don't deserve that. Tommen sees Ned as the father he never had, and Myrcella and Robb love eachother.
Jacob Hall
2024-11-18 05:10:16 +0000 UTCDamn. I feel bad for Garland. His entire family is gone and now the woman "and mission" he fought for is gone too. It's been a long time so i don't remember but was it confirmed that his sister was killed by the dornish ambush. I remember her ladies were found dead and that they suffered a terrible fate and that's why Garland killed the Dornish lord but I can't remember if she's confirmed dead or not. Wonder what he's going to do now. Glad Cercie is gone. Most of this lays at her feet but it's still on Renly as well because even if he was right about her kids being bastards, he still tried to usurp Stannis as well. Wonder what's going on with Renly.
LordApathy
2024-11-18 04:29:50 +0000 UTCThat whole Lys section was some of the toughest reading I’ve done. Man, when Leonette walked in pregnant and defeated, it was frankly devastating. I think the worst part is that nothing you wrote seems too far fetched for this world. Sadly, I think the reactions GRRM would write for this situation would be exactly like what you wrote.
Rick Malone
2024-11-18 04:28:44 +0000 UTCRobert is smiling down on Ned right now lel
Yeno Memevig
2024-11-18 04:26:45 +0000 UTCYeah that all lines up right, I imagine Ned will be annoyed at Jon when he realises that he knew the rumours were actually true and didn’t confirm them. Either way. I love that it’s set up so Shireen will end up as Tommen’s queen, thus ensuring Stannis’ blood will be on the throne. I imagine that thought is what will keep Ned sane in the upcoming days lol.
Aithoron
2024-11-18 04:17:32 +0000 UTCJon only told him of the accusations, but noted that he had no proof at all, so Ned dismissed them. Robb rebelled in canon only because his father was arrested and then executed, not because of honour/justice.
Gladiusx
2024-11-18 04:10:22 +0000 UTCI think I assumed Jon had told him about it in the letter he left before going north, but obviously he didn’t and in hindsight I don’t know why he would when there were so many more important things he was prioritising.
Aithoron
2024-11-18 04:09:24 +0000 UTCPoor Garlan. I hope he finds happiness one day.
Cass W
2024-11-18 04:04:21 +0000 UTCThans for the chapter
Ulquiorra Schiffer
2024-11-18 04:00:54 +0000 UTCNed refused to investigate thinking it a courtly plot by someone muddying the waters.
Gladiusx
2024-11-18 03:57:03 +0000 UTCI honestly forgot that Ned didn’t know the truth about the kids. It’s been so long since I read the early chapters of this story, I’ve just been following it weekly for months. Somehow took me by surprise lol
Aithoron
2024-11-18 03:54:20 +0000 UTCDamn!!! Winter is coming!
Monzter E
2024-11-18 03:53:34 +0000 UTCDamn!!! Winter is coming...
Monzter E
2024-11-18 03:53:22 +0000 UTCWow, I never thought I’d read anything that could have Ned pull this off without Cersei suspecting. It’s props to your character development that Ned doing things this way doesn’t seem forced or too out of character. Welcome to the Game of Thrones - you win, or you die.
Nicholas Fiend
2024-11-18 03:48:10 +0000 UTCI considered prolonging the Cersei fiasco too, but delving into petty plots at this point of the war feels entirely pointless.
Gladiusx
2024-11-18 03:39:29 +0000 UTCI’ll believe it when I see it. LOL.
Velyndin1989
2024-11-18 03:39:10 +0000 UTCThere is some happiness and joy in his future, I swear!
Gladiusx
2024-11-18 03:38:46 +0000 UTCGarlan continues to suffer. You really didn’t want to give him a happy ending did you?
Velyndin1989
2024-11-18 03:37:30 +0000 UTCWell damn, poor Garlan and Leonette you could have at least let them have a happy ending after all their suffering you monster. I'm suprised you killed Cersai that quickly I would have thought you'd have dragged it out for another chapter or 2. Otherwise good chapter, I can't wait for the Robb-Aegon showdown. Will that come before or after Jon wrecks the Iron Islands?
Jacob Hall
2024-11-18 03:35:19 +0000 UTCHoly shit. Poor garlan. Daaaaaaaamn Ned. Didn't think he had it in him
Archimedes
2024-11-18 03:30:25 +0000 UTCHoooooly shit I didn't expect that! Wonderful chapter
Maninthefoxmask
2024-11-18 03:28:40 +0000 UTCholy shit that ending!!
Nightshadeq8
2024-11-18 03:27:14 +0000 UTC
