#loreforged

@loreforged says ❝ one war ends, another begins. there is always someone fighting someone somewhere. ❞ / maege

THE ROPE BINDING HIS HANDS STILL ISN'T ENTIRELY CUSHY , despite it having been loosened already . it also is no longer tied to his feet , which is almost hospitable at this point . they , too , have switched the non - existent comforts of his cell with a seat at the long table in the center of the Great Hall of Mormont Keep ; a dark , intimidating place if there ever was one , but strangely warm despite the rain and light drizzle of snow crashing against the stone walls . the bears have caught themselves a kraken . and Maron finds some ironic comfort in their sigil not being a salmon .

he watches while a servant refills his horn with strong , black ale , glad that the old she - bear apparently has remembered that he , too , is highborn and not some lowely villain - and cants his head at her words . seemingly calm and unafraid , but also lacking any viciousness or intent to fight . the Greyjoy knows when he's lost . for now at least . . .

Maron:

@loreforged says ❝ the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. ❞ / theon

THE MOVEMENT IS QUICK AS A WHIP AND HURTS JUST AS BAD ; Maron's hand closing around the back of Theon's neck , fingers digging into the sensitive skin , holding him by the scruff like one would a dog . he pulls him closer , a force as old as time and one unique to the strength an older brother has over the younger one . and something burns in his eyes when he glares at Theon , close , so very close nobody else in the courts of the Great Keep would hear the low hiss that follows . " don't you ever cite Stark words to me . " the grip around his neck is one of steel and iron indeed . the way it's been bred into Maron . the way it lacks in Theon .

spots to kiss | ( currently not ) accepting

it was not a good idea, as he had kept saying & to no avail, to let the poor child look upon her father in such a state. he had not recovered yet, and a part of him knew he never would—not quite. and although the scarred side of his face was once again covered along with his left arm so the princess would hopefully not be too alarmed, he still felt uneasy about the thought of jaehaera being here—hadn't she seen enough ? how much more violence could her young eyes take ? aegon relented only when he was told she would not sleep, & barely ate these days, with her only demand being this one thing. seeing her father again. after everything she had to witness a part of her might be worried he was gone already, like jaehaerys. how could he let her live with that dread ? so perhaps the unsightly state he was in would still be preferable to the alternative, and that she could find some rest again ... if he managed to act as though not almost every waking hour was spent in unimaginable agonies, that is.

they had prepared him for the encounter, with the visible scars temporarily bandaged again & some milk of the poppy making it somewhat bearable. but what about jaehaera, what was she even told about his condition ? was she prepared to see him like this ? he would find out soon enough.

aegon couldn't help but tense up when the doors opened, and in they let his little daughter. half-seated on the bed, his uncovered eye followed the child as she immediately made her way to him without any signs of visible horror, much to his relief.

"my darling girl," his good hand reached out for her, voice low & drowsy. "i am sorry for having worried you, i was very ill but all is well now. i will get better," he lied with ease, offering a tired smile. she surprised him even more then, when she moved closer and pressed a kiss on his forehead, seemingly undaunted by his heavily bandaged appearance.

@loreforged wishes for Maron to sit down .

LAST HE HAD BEEN TO WHITE HARBOR , HE HAD BEEN TWELVE . accompanied by the Goodbrother to trade raw iron and blades for fabrics and wood . it had been the first time Maron stood as a representative of his family , still young but far from green and ever so proud . the irony of it all while he now wanders the hallways toward the Merman's Court is not lost on him ; thirteen years may have passed and the boy now is a man , tall and battle - scarred and even more of a kraken than he'd been back in the day . . . yet history occasionally does repeat itself in the strangest ways . iron - capped boots leave a dull clang with each step upon the stone floor , the scent of seawater and brine hanging thick in the air . if he closed his eyes , he could almost pretend to still be on Pyke .

only the man he is here to meet does not belong on Pyke .

the Young Wolf is seated by the fire , some of his retinue lingering at the long , wooden tables Lord Manderly hosts his guests at . he spots Theon amongst them , of course . a woman with auburn hair he suspects is the Lady Catelyn . a massive man Maron believes to be the Greatjon , glaring daggers at him as he passes , while almost invisible next to him sits some she - bear of House Mormont . on the other side of the hall , his Ironborn find their seating . those he could coax into defying his father , a rebellion within a rebellion and they are risking it all to be here . most prominently Vicmarr , Maron's first mate and heir to House Merlyn , the younger Lord Blacktyde , looking grim as usual , and Wulfe bringing with him a familiar chaotic energy . . .

@loreforged says ❛ sadness is a condition of motherhood. ❜

" PERHAPS - BUT THAT IS NOT MERE SADNESS , IS IT ? " it is hard to look away , yet seeing her like this pains him ; breaks his heart into a million pieces and fills the cracks up with a toxic mixture of grief and fury . Alannys sits by one of the high windows overlooking the sea before Harlaw . golden hair turned silver in those past years , her head leaning against the glass , a distant smile on her lips . as if she sees the world , but no longer takes it in . for hours , he had been sitting by her side , her cool hand in his . the young boy in him wishing to weep , while the man longed to shatter something . burn half the world to the core for what it had done to his mother . . .

( ' you . you look like my boy . he had eyes like yours . so bright . just like my son . ' )

he swallows hard , tearing his gaze away eventually . Gwynesse stands half - hidden beside him ; perhaps already used to the sight her sister has been offering for those past years . taking in all those boys to foster and ward had been a feeble attempt to fill the hole left in Alannys' heart . the loss of her sons , people all over Harlaw said , had broken the queen .

if only I could - I would kill Robert Baratheon all over again . and again and again . . .