Bleap

CHP 73: Insult To War

Join the discord server for instant six pack,

https://discord.gg/nbWz6YhZ

-

I quietly bit an apple, watching Arya strike away at a strawman with a small blade, designed purely for thrusting and increased maneuverability. She used her left hand to wield the blade, and her lithe form seemed tailored for her choice of arms.

Whoever had decided to gift her the aptly named, 'Needle', knew her personally.&n...

CHP 72: Playground

I tossed my squ-... former squire onto the battlement and plopped down on the wet parpet, resting my chin on my palm. Beyond, the once verdant plains of grass that surrounded burned where they were not charred earth.

A creation of my own two hands, or claws, and yet one I didn't find myself caring for.

"So, we meet again, Robb." I couldn't help the slight nostalgic smile that crept onto my lips. 

This distinct scene reminded me of a meeting with young Morgott, when the ...

CHP 71: Grace & Fury

As ever, Robb watched from Harrenhal's battlements, wearing a mask of stone that betrayed none of the fear and anxiety that made his heart drum against his chest so loud it drowned out even the drums of war that beat all around.

Constant, everpresent.

Fiery war engines hurled great masses of stone from distant fields that flew across sad grey skies then struck the unyielding walls of Harrenhal, tall and dark. The stones boomed, then split into a thousand shards and rained down on ...

CHP 70: History Repeated

"You were not with the Wildl-... Free folk."

I leaned against the window, watching the last of the fearful wildlings filter in through the only remaining opening left in the Wall. The Northmen seemed equally unsettled, and uneasily gripped their spikes, watching with nervous eyes as rough men and women walked past their ranks.

True to his name and title, Stannis had laid claim to the King's Tower once he'd arrived at Castle Black, and his men had taken to make it an abode fit for ...

CHP 69: Natural Enemy?

Jon's eyes briefly flickered to Mance, and then to Val. It became apparent that none of them had the faintest idea just what he was talking about... Well, Jon did to some extent but he had also seen the Others before.

He'd seen their icy blades, heard their old and powerful words carried by the shrill wind. Jon had seen the dead they raised, the great spiders and beasts they rode.

The Others were not great in number like men were, but each man dead was another added to the wights ...

CHP 68: A Thousand Mistakes And Then One

I crouched and waved my hand in Jon's unamused face with an amused grin.

"How's it been, Jon Stark?" 

Roach had decided that hoisting him by his neck and running at 'breakneck' speeds to reach me was apparently the best idea. It did not help that he tossed him into snow once they reached the camp AFTER eating the man's collar.

I looked to Roach who was busy rearing to scare off the wildlings that dared approach him. "What do you have to say for yourself, boy?"

He ...

CHP 67 (2/2): Madness

Robb Stark stood sentinel, watching the night sky quietly from the tall curtain wall. Grey Wind nestled below him, content to sit and lick his paws.

There were no stars to behold, and no moon to light the darkness that seemed to stretch on endlessly down below. It was a sight he had grown used to over his stay here, in this wet, ancient and dreary place.

It rained ceaselessly in the Riverlands, much to his displeasure, and when it didn't, dull grey clouds covered the sky. Robb was...

CHP 67 (1/2): Small Council Meeting VI (?)

(A/N: This and the next post were written together, but it felt better to section them because of their nature.)

"This is madness," Cersei said quietly.

She smiled with grace, and with uncontested beauty, one hand over her belly as she waved the other at the cheering smallfolk. 

The air was thick with the scent of heavy perfumes, and distant fires, so much so that it momentarily drowned out the pungent stench that was natural to King's Landing.

Petals of roses wer...

CHP 66: The Bigger They Are...

I sat by the hearth in Val's 'home', munching on a rabbit leg roasted with the most basic of salts and dry herbs I'd stole-... appropriated. 

It was the spoils of her hunt, but... 

I cast a glance over my shoulder, at the blonde woman lying in furs, her breasts heaving up and down peacefully from an exhausted 'sleep'.

"I doubt she'll mind," I shrugged to myself, breaking the bone and tossing it into the fire.

From what I'd seen so far, the Wildlings were a st...

CHP 65: Unwise Notions

Kneeler-... what?

I cocked my head, and unceremoniously gestured to the havoc around us, then at the hole in the mountain beside her and finally, I pointed a finger at the bits of crushed stone buried into the snow and at the moaning giant stumbling about behind me.

"I don't think that's fair."

"You dress like one," Her gaze moved to my silk tunic, "And you talk like one as well."

"And Greatjon talks like his first word to his own mother was 'bitch'. Or are you guys re...

CHP 64: Illiterate Schmuc-

(A/N: Minor edits, no need to reread if you have already.)

I rubbed my hands together, dangling my feet off a glacial cliff as I watched the Sun peek from behind distant snow-capped mountains. Down below, the depths disappeared into distant shadows that seemed to coil and turn just out of eyeshot, settling in silence when I turned to stare.

Expectedly, there was little to be found in the wild lands beyond the Wall except for woods and mountains and a few frozen lakes. The vegetati...

CHP 63: Blubbering Fool?

(A/N: Boredom will kill me before the pain. I spend half the day doped up on pain meds anyway. This one got done a lot faster than the one before it.)

Jon stuck close to the wall of ice beside as they passed by a ridge, groping at gaps that weren't there as he sucked in the chill air again and again, despite not wanting to. A sheer fall awaited him on the other side, into rocky depths that would shatter his bones long before he ever hit the frozen waters of the Milkwater.

Mance Ra...

CHP 62: Winter Comes

(A/N: I understand that it might not be the best of decisions to write when one of my arms looks like an overcooked steak and the other is broken but, in my defense, I'm bedridden and it's extremely boring to sit around and do nothing all day. Four fingers are still working. Granted, it did take me around three hours to write a simple 2k word chap... Buuut, I have some practise writing with one hand.)

A dead place.

Cold and grim.

A reminder of the fury the Targaryen dragons ...

CHP 61: Lord Snow

I was led past shoddy stone towers and timber keeps as passers-by watched on in curiosity. I even saw a few familiar faces from Winterfell who looked as though they had seen some ghost. There was recognition in the eyes of others, followed by doubt and confusion.

It was quite entertaining when I suddenly jerked and the men holding me 'prisoner' almost ran away. They led me down a broad, snow-coated road rife with footprints from both men and horses. The brothers of the Night's Watch wer...

CHP 60: Snowy Paths

Scaling the seven hundred foot tall wall of ice wasn't impossible per se, just that it wouldn't be worth the time it took to do so.

And, adaptable as humans were, they had built a sort of lift system to go up, consisting of winch-drawn metal cages that groaned under my weight the moment I stepped onto one. I was only joined by King Stannis, Davos and Melisandre with two brothers of the Night's Watch to serve as guides, Cotter Pyke and Emmett.

"It's been a hundred years since a Kin...

CHP 59: The Wall

I stood at the head of the galley, a foot on the bow that creaked and groaned under the weight of men, horses, and whatever supplies Stannis had brought along. The journey had been pleasant for the most part, with strong winds hurrying us along the plotted course and oddly, no storms in sight. 

One would think I would have found great enemies in the Drowned and Storm Gods with my actions at the Iron Islands in eradicating the only people that believed them to be real but both the s...

CHP 58: Small Council Meeting - V

Cersei knew by the look on Tyrion's face that he was hiding something from her, something that concerned them because for all his guile and tact, the little monster did value his family far more than they ever did.

Yet, as Queen Mother, there were certain things expected of her.

So, she kept her thoughts to herself and sipped arbour gold from a silver goblet, embedded with emeralds that mirrored her own gaze. It was no secret that she quite enjoyed the white wine, but most often f...

CHP 57: Dragonlord

"Huh. Earlier than last time."

I cast a disinterested glance at the vast expanse of sand around me, stretching to the horizon under a raging sky. Thunder roared, and crimson lightning surged above dark clouds that did little to dull its brilliance. It continually attempted to creep into winds of gold, like a kind of weed, but was struck down the moment it crossed over.

The sand under my feet, slinking between my toes, was a graveyard of the countless dragons I had killed and devou...

CHP 56: Great War

"So, so, how did you stop her?" Shireen asked excitedly, bobbing her little head up and down. The child was how I expected one her age to behave... unfortunately, her mother didn't agree with me and so Shireen was sad and quiet most of the time.

Selyse Florent, the Queen, had made it so. Selyse was... she was like a mean old gremlin that was six and a half feet tall.

She was thin, gaunt even, incredibly tall, stood crooked, and had the meanest mug I'd seen in this world. She was h...

CHP 55: A Smuggler's Doubts

Davos Seaworth stood in a quiet corner of the Round Hall, listening to the Storm Lords bicker amongst themselves over the war for the throne.

It had become routine now.

They would convene, they would argue and bicker, perhaps even come to blows, then they would forget themselves and King Stannis would shut them down, in that storm-like way of his.

And as many times before, Davos would listen to it all, and speak only when asked to. The Storm Lords, with their proud and ancie...

CHP 54: Tea Party

Stannis furrowed his thick brow, a hand on the round table set up in the centre of the hall. He had ordered his bannermen to leave, and they had complied without question.

All save for one.

A slight man that stood a few steps behind Stannis himself. Much like his King, he too wore a simple blue tunic, leather breeches and old boots that did not befit any lord. His skin was wrinkled and chafed from weather, and his thinning brown hair and short beard was flecked grey by time.

CHP 53: Lord of the Seven Kingdoms

The Kingsroad stretched from the so-called Wall in the far North, all the way to Storm's End. 

So, with a route already mapped out, and a steed that rode faster than most creatures could perceive, it didn't take long to ride deep into the Kingswood and enter the Stormlands.

The first part of the journey saw me ride through a verdant forest, teeming with game, small and large, that ran away the moment its ears caught the thundering hooves of Roach. Or maybe it was just the cri...

CHP 52: Den of Lions

"That sword..."

A gruff voice called out as I was exploring the corridors of the Red Keep in the morning.

I kept my hood on, and most of the patrolling soldiers steered clear for the simple fact that someone who walked around like he was meant to be there couldn't possibly be an intruder. Who'd be stupid enough to try entering the Red Keep when unneeded? They'd only make fools of themselves in case I was a noble.

It was amusing to see the mental loops they were jumping throu...

CHP 51: Kingmaker

I cared for others now that I had to no longer worry about myself each moment. An oddly selfish thing, or that was what the human mind would make of it.

I just accepted the truth the moment it dawned on me rather than skirt around it and try to stubbornly deny it for no reason. It wasn't as though it went against my being. If anything, it shed light on the core principle I'd adhered to most of my life.

Being just.

It still felt very good to say it aloud.

Though, Varys ...

CHP 50: Beauty

For a rule that was on the verge of crumbling, King's Landing was in a much better state than I would have expected.

But then again, humans were like that. The exceptional among them would often forcefully drag along the rest, intentionally or otherwise. Tywin Lannister was good at what he did, that much I wouldn't deny.

People from all walks of life, rich merchants, tailors, smiths, apprentices and small-time criminals and even prostitutes passed by as I watched quietly, standing...

CHP 49: Small Council Meeting - IV

"Should we kill him?" Cersei pondered, eyes wandering across King's Landing from the window of the Small Council chamber. She put her hands against her navel, one over the other, and took a deep breath to calm her heart, feeling the smooth fabric of her golden dress.

The realm was at war, this was a truth known to the youngest of babes to the oldest of men, to decrepit to even move. It wasn't some small rebellion, no, it was a storm that had swept up the whole of the continent in what w...

CHP 48: Old Acquaintances

"Been a while, boy." I stroked Roach's neck as he ran, leaving dust and smoke in his wake as it carved a path through the grassy plains around Harrenhal.

The horse neighed, loud as a beast before picking up the pace and galloping even faster. Lightning arched from his feet. It seared the ground under his hooves, leaving a trail of burnt grass and the unfortunate insect that lived in it.

I'd left Riverrun as quickly as possible, bidding a small farewell to those I knew because I wa...

Pic

I just figured out that y'all have no reference art whatsoever for Karl.

Here's the one I think is perfect.

CHP 47: Cold Wrath

The next day, much of the combined Northern-Riverland host started marching along the River Road while those left behind made preparations to join them. Their personal quarrels were quashed under an iron fist by their commanders, who were straightened out by Robb the prior day.

The River Lords had been particularly accommodating in this endeavour.

From what I'd gleaned from passing conversations and the maidservant from the night before, the host would move to the ancient Harrenha...

CHP 46: Gripes of Age

I sat by a rushing stream, one of many that slithered through Riverrun's godswood before emptying out into one of the two rivers running beside the castle. There was no real place to sit there, but I'd never been averse to plopping down in thick grass.

"You're a dumb little shit, aren't you?" I chuckled and poked the snake hissing at me with a small branch. It was a small thing, green like the grass and thin, barely as long as my arm, but for some reason it had decided it would bite me....