If you don´t mind me asking, but what names do you think should work for each of A Symphony of Frost and Flame books? Its hard for me to come up with different subtitles for about seven books, especially one different from OTL.
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I don't even know. The only names I know are Game of Thrones, Dance of Dragons, and Winds of Winter (RIP).
Just in case you´d like to know, I´ĺl give you the names of the books so far in the series, as well as the names of the books yet to be released. You´re free to give them alternate titles if you want to.
Current finished books:
A Game of Thrones
A Clash of Kings (I´m tempted to go with something like A Struggle of Emperors or even the German translation of that, Kampf der Kaisers)
A Storm of Swords
A Feast for Crows
A Dance with Dragons
Unfinished books:
The Winds of Winter
A Dream of Spring
A Game of Thrones remains the same.
Kampf der Kaisers sounds epic.
A Gale of Blades?
A House of Ravens? Totally not a reference to that AAR.
A Clash of Dragons
These don't even exist.
Willhelm Tesla is not behind this I think, but someone is using the same tech he used. By money is on an associate of Jansen's.
Now for ASOFAF's book titles, those aren't so bad, though if you can, I suggest AFFC to be called A Meal for Carrions since that book does deal with the political aftermath of what occured after A Storm of Swords.
Now for ASOFAF's book titles, those aren't so bad, though if you can, I suggest AFFC to be called A Meal for Carrions since that book does deal with the political aftermath of what occured after A Storm of Swords.
Destroyer of Worlds, Part 2
Tesla Dynamic, Frankfurt - 8:00 PM
“He's alive,” Walter said, “I'm telling you, he's alive. I knew Jansen’s plan was too ingenious, too remarkable, and it had to have come from Willy. He's alive, Mina. The 'nanotech' Jansen used on the escalator, I've examined them. They were built by Willy. I'd recognize his work anywhere. His methodology was all over it. He was Glocke. He was behind everything all along.”
“Jansen had access to many projects at Tesla Dynamic,” Mina said, “He could simply have copied Wilhelm’s research…”
“Mina!” Walter said. “It was the work of a master, not an imposter! I know the difference.”
“Tesla died last year,” Angela said.
“At least we thought he did,” Anders said.
“The energy generated from the device which brought us back would’ve incinerated him, if the exploding jet didn’t get him first,” Anna said.
“Then again, we thought Nick, Sarah, and even Jansen were dead the whole time,” Diana said.
“Wait,” Walter said, “When I was in St. Clara’s, Willy came to visit me.”
“We know that,” Anders said, “He cut out parts of your brain.”
“No, after that,” Walter said, “It was New Year's Eve, 2005. They gave me additional shocks that day just to celebrate, so I can't remember what he said, but I know it had something to do with our present situation.”
“Walter, leave it,” Mina said, “You heard the others. He couldn’t have survived last year. And he couldn’t have crossed over to this universe without us finding out.”
“It's still possible…” Walter said.
“Oh, Walter, anything is possible, but the Tesla I knew wouldn't try to destroy a universe,” Mina said, “That doesn't sound like him.”
“Fine,” Walter said, "I'll prove it to you.”
St. Clara’s Psychiatric Facility - 9:00 PM
Walter sat in a holding cell and studied the equations scribbled there. An orderly, mopping the hallway outside, looked at him.
“Well, well... Wally Humboldt,” he said, “Hey, Doc, you just visiting, or are you coming back to stay for awhile?”
Walter’s face paled. Fortunately, Anders and Anna arrived at that moment.
“Good news,” Anders said, “The administrator can see us now.”
“Everything okay?” Anna said.
“Fine,” Walter lied.
9:05 PM
“I'm sorry, we're transitioning to a more up-to-date record-keeping system,” Dr. Benlo said, handing Walter a stack of yellowing visitor logs, “Government funding isn't what it used to be. To be fair, I'm told it never was particularly good, so, technically, it never was what it used to be. I guess now it's just worse. But I'm confident these are all the visitor logs during the period of Doctor Humboldt’s…"
“Incarceration,” Walter said.
“I was going to say ‘treatment’,” Benlo said, “It has a nicer sound, and I like to think is more reflective of what we do here.”
“Would you, now?” Walter said.
“What about your surveillance archives?” Anders said.
“Uh, security cameras?” Anna said.
“I'm afraid our current mainframe storage capacity is limited,” Benlo said, “The institution doesn't keep anything older than two years.”
“Convenient,” Walter said, “If this was the other side, such equipment would be thirty years out of date.”
“Uncle Walter, she has been cooperating fully,” Angela said, “Now do you see anything in those that suggests the logs have been doctored?”
“No,” Walter said, “Matter of fact, they're perfect. Very thorough. Every single individual logged in and out.”
“And?” Anders said. “No Wilhelm Tesla or Simon Franzen.”
“Walter, you said you had been having a lot of shock therapy,” Angela said, “Do you think he could have been a hallucination?”
“No,” Walter said, “My hallucinations were rarely biped and never human."
He sniffed and then licked the log book.
“Dr. Humboldt, are you…” Benlo said.
“Crazy?” Walter said. “No. May I borrow this?”
“Well, those records have already been digitized, so…” Benlo said.
Walter bolted form his chair. “Thank you. Let's go."
“Thank you, and sorry,” Angela said.
“I must say, you're much nicer than your predecessor,” Walter said.
Anders and Diana’s house - 10:00 PM
As soon as they returned home, Anders made his way to the kitchen and dug out his bag of sunflower seeds from a cupboard. It was just the two of them. Alex was asleep, which was a good thing, because Anders didn’t look like he was in a good mood.
“I still don't know why Walter needed that log book, and he's not telling me, and he won't back off the Tesla thing, either,” Diana said.
Anders simply sat down and started eating the sunflower seeds.
“What's the matter?” Diana said. “Are you worried about Walter too, because honestly, you shouldn't be. I'm sure he’s…”
“No, I'm not thinking about Walter,” Anders said, “I was thinking about that girl, Jessica, Angie dealt with earlier. One encounter with us and her child almost becomes an orphan. And we deal with this every day. Every day for the last twenty years. We're playing the odds, Di. What are our chances of having a normal life? Giving Alex a normal life?”
“Anders, I know you're scared about what happened to Angie in the lab,” Diana said, “I know she feels the same. She’s worried. I’ll go talk to her. We’ll figure it out. We always do, right?”
“Of course,” Anders said.
A flickering light outside caught their eye. They walked over to the window and noticed a beam of energy shooting down from the sky and blasting through a large building before dispersing. Another beam came down seconds later, blasting through more of the building.
“Damnit,” Anders said, “It’s Sentinel. It’s begun.”
“No, I think it’s just Jansen,” Diana said.
10:05 PM
Angela raced through the streets in the Impala. Her feet had floored the gas, and she lurched from lane to lane to avoid the late night traffic. Diana and Anders, on Diana’s motorcycle, were on their way as well, and Anna was driving down separately.
“Where are you now?” Walter radioed.
“I’m just passing into Neudorf,” Angela said, “What do you mean it's the Death Star?”
“Jansen is using a directed energy beam, focused on that building like a hammer,” Walter said.
“I thought the government controlled SVI,” Angela said, “And SVI was the only satellite network with directed energy weapons. How is he doing this?”
“Well, I'm not sure yet, but I have my suspicions,” Walter said.
“Sentinel, obviously,” Anders radioed.
“And why is he doing it?” Angela said. “Seems like he's trying to burn a hole to China.”
“It's a myth,” Walter said, “If I’m not mistaken, it would be the Pacific, but I doubt it.”
“What does this have to do with nanites?” Diana said. “And how do we even know it's Jansen?”
“So you are now prepared to concede this may well be the work of Wilhelm Tesla?” Walter said.
“Not now!” Anders said.
Walter’s lab - 10:10 PM
Walter hung up his earpiece and walked over to Olga, who got off the phone.
“Satellite imagery?” Walter said.
“Yeah, I just got access to the system,” Olga said, “Friend of a friend works in the Imperial Geological Survey.”
“I need geological data on Neudorf,” Walter said.
Olga typed on the computer while Walter contacted Angela again.
"Uh, you said Kurtz was onsite?” Walter said. “Is he evacuating the area?”
“Yes, one square mile from the center of the beam,” Angela said.
The computer printed out a report.
“Okay, Walter, the geological is printing,” Olga said.
Walter read the report. “Oh, no.”
“Oh, no, what?” Olga said.
“I knew I'd read something about this,” Walter said, "Three months ago, a subterranean oil reservoir was discovered below Neudorf.”
“And that means?” Olga said.
“Imagine putting a match to a can of lighter fluid,” Walter said, “Unless we stop this soon, the beam will essentially blow up all of Strasburg. Uh, Anders, son, you should alert Kurtz. Tell him he'll need to evacuate an area, uh, with a radius much wider than one mile.”
“Well, how much?” Anders said.
“All of it,” Walter said.
“All of what?” Anders said.
“Strasburg,” Walter said.
“We'll call you back,” Anders said, hanging up.
Olga studied her computer screen. “Walter, you're right. There is a radio frequency not owned by the government transmitting in the S-Band. It’s overriding the SVI signals.”
“What's the frequency?” Walter said.
“2202.518,” Olga said, “Actually, there's two frequencies."
“What?” Walter said.
“.520,” Olga said.
“Of course,” Walter said, “You brilliant motherfrakker, Willy. Quick, Olig, give me something to write on.”
10:15 PM
Angela answered her phone. “Hello?”
“Turn around, head north!” Walter said. “Towards Barkstrasse, on the waterfront.”
“Why?” Anders said. “What's there?”
“I believe that's where Jansen is commanding the satellites from,” Walter said.
“What satellites?” Anna said.
“We think Jansen has commandeered two SVI satellites,” Anders said.
“In any case, I have triangulated the signals, and they appear to be coming from the 1600 Block off Barkstrasse,” Walter said, “Interrupt the signals and you shut them down."
“Okay, we're on our way,” Angela said.
10:16 PM
Walter hung up. His oven dinged.
“Get me a knife,” he said, “My lemon cake's ready.”
“Walter, if you were hungry, I could've had Di get you something,” Olga said.
“This is not about food, this is about Tesla,” Walter said, “Where's the knife? Please, quickly?”
10:20 PM
Angela parked the Impala next to Anna’s car and Diana’s motorcycle. They got out and looked to the rooftops.
“Alright,” Anna said, “This is the 1600 Block. See anything?”
Angela pointed to an antenna.
“I see another one,” Anders said, pointing to a second one across the street.
“Di, you’re with me,” Angela said, “Anders, Anna, take the other one.”
“Wait, what are we supposed to do?” Anna said.
“Turn them off, before they blow us all to pieces,” Diana said.
“And how do we do that?” Anna said.
“I don’t know, figure it out,” Diana said.
They split up and entered the two buildings.
Walter’s lab - 10:25 PM
Walter sliced open the lemon cake. Olga cursed.
“That smells terrible,” she said, “What is it?”
“Lemon cake, laced with pig brain,” Walter said.
“But why?” Olga said.
“Lemon cake is the perfect incubator,” Walter said, pulling a piece of paper out, “And I thought it was more practical to get pig brain on short notice than a human specimen.”
“Is that from the log book at St. Clara’s?” Olga said.
“Just the relevant page,” Walter said, "I first tried scraping it, hoping Willy left some DNA behind on it, but he was too clever for that.”
“Or maybe he was never there in the first place,” Olga said.
“I know none of you believe me, which is why I have conducted this little experiment,” Walter said, “The pig brain is activating a little-known side effect of Cortexiphan, which is temporary rapid tissue regeneration. Heated between ninety and a hundred degrees, the Cortexiphan I have added to the pig brain should cause at least partial regeneration of all biological matter on the sheet of paper, and voilà, fingerprints!"
Fingerprints appeared on the paper.
“Although... identifying Willy’s prints from these smudges may prove impossible, after all,” Walter conceded.
Olga pointed at a smudge. “What is that brown mark?”
“I don't know,” Walter said.
The cake sealed itself back up.
“What?” Olga said.
"As I said, Cortexiphan is regenerative,” Walter said, “You shouldn't eat it, of course.”
He smelled and then tasted the paper. “Almond oil. I knew it! Tawantinsuyuan almonds!”
“Almonds?” Olga said.
“Willy’s family was obsessed with them,” Walter said, “Especially Willy. Even had an agreement with the Tawantinsuyuan importers. They sold them to the family wholesale. He had the oil on his fingertips.”
He raced to his office to change jackets.
“Walter, what are you doing?” Olga said.
“I'm going to find Willy,” Walter said, “A-1 Imports, on the river.”
“Walter, would you stop?” Olga said. “This is nuts.”
“I am not crazy,” Walter said, “At least I'll be able to confirm he's still alive. Now would you excuse me?"
“What about the others?” Olga said.
“They're doing everything they can,” Walter said, running to the exit, “There's nothing we can do to help them now.”
“What do you think you're going to find there?” Olga said.
“I know this is a 'wild goose chase', a fool's errand, and I'm a fool, but no one is asking you to join me, Alex,” Walter said, “It's my hunch, and I'm quite capable of pursuing it on my own, so peace out.”
He left the lab and quickly returned. “I don’t…”
Olga held up her keys. “Drive. Alex?”
“I was on a roll,” Walter said.
“And I’m not your grandson,” Olga said.
Barkstrasse - 10:30 PM
On one building, Angela and Diana approached their antenna, while Anders and Anna approached the other. Angela opened the access panel at the base of her tower.
“Okay,” she said.
“We’re good to go,” Anders said.
“You found the control panel?” Diana said.
“Yeah,” Anders said.
“Now find the dial... marked 'transmission amplitude’,” Diana said, “That's the one that needs to be tuned all the way down.”
“But we have to do it together,” Anna said, “If we don't, the beam could go off-kilter, blast holes across Strasburg. It'd be sort of like don't cross the streams, just, you know, in reverse.”
"Okay, tell me when,” Anders said.
“Okay,” Angela said, “3…2…1…now!”
They rotated the gauges in unison, and the towers stopped broadcasting. No more energy beams came down from space.
“Woo!” Angela said. “We did it!”
At that moment, David punched Anna with his robotic arm, and she fell over. Anders turned around and reached for his gun, but David hit him in the side. Anders punched back, but he blocked the blow with his robotic arm. Angela and Diana pointed their weapons at him from across the street, but they couldn’t get a clear shot.
“Jansen!” Angela said. “Step away from Anders!”
David hit Anders again, dislocating his shoulder.
“Aaah!” Anders shouted.
The door behind Angela and Diana opened, and security guards appeared, pointing their guns at Angela and Diana.
“Hey!” they said. “Security!”
Angela and Diana held up their badges.
“We’re Athanatoi!” Diana said.
“Drop your weapon!” the guards repeated. “I said, drop it! Now!”
“Damnit,” Angela said, tossing her pistol a few feet off to the side.
However, the guards also dropped their weapons, as did Diana.
“Wait, what?” Diana said.
“What?” the guards said. “What did you…?”
“I think I know,” Angela said.
On the other rooftop, David was now choking Anders with his robotic arm. Anders struggled, but he couldn’t break free. Angela turned to them and concentrated. She directed Anders to elbow David and release him. Surprised by the unexpected counterattack, David stepped back and looked at Angela. Then Angela directed Anders to push his shoulder back into his socket. Anders screamed in pain, but it worked.
“A little warning, Angie?!” Anders said.
David charged at Anders, but Angela too control of Anders’ arms and directed him through a series of uppercut and roundhouse punches which quickly overwhelmed the unprepared David. Angela finished with a kick to David’s head, knocking him into the electrical array for the second antenna. David screamed as he was electrocuted. His molecularly weakened body began disintegrating into dust.
"I got it wrong,” he said, “I’m the sacrifice. It’s not Bischoff. It was just a bishop.”
“What?” Angela said. “What do you mean?”
David didn’t answer. His body fell apart, and his robotic arm clattered harmlessly next to the pile of ashes and dust making up his remains.
Port of Strasburg - 11:00 PM
Olga drove up to the docks of the port and stopped in front of a warehouse.
“This the place?” she said.
“Yep, A-1 Imports,” Walter said, “Come on.”
“Walter, they're probably not even…” Olga said.
Walter walked through an unlocked door and entered the large, empty storage area.
“Ye of little faith,” he said, “It's just as I remember it. I used to accompany Willy on his visits. Not a smell you forget.”
“It smells like sweat,” Olga said.
“Exactly,” Walter said.
“Hello?” a foreman said.
“Hello, sir,” Walter said, “My name is Walter Humboldt. I'm sorry to trouble you so late. I was hoping to speak with Frau Weisberg.”
“I'm sorry, who?” the foreman said.
“Linda Weisberg,” Walter said, “Uh, lovely woman, yea high. Nice laugh.”
“Walter, I don't think he knows her,” Olga said.
“Hmm?” Walter said. "She's the owner. Or she was. I was hoping to ask her about a customer.”
“Oh, I think I get it,” the foreman said, “You're talking about that import-export company. Well, they were bought up by Tesla Dynamic and moved out, three years ago.”
His jacket shifted, and Olga noticed the holstered pistol underneath. She slowly reached for one of the guns in her own coat.
“Oh, I see,” Walter said.
“Tom, do you copy?” the foreman’s radio said.
“Yes, I'm here,” Tom said, “Coming right now. Look, I have to go.”
“Um, thanks for your help,” Olga said, “Sorry to have bothered you.”
“No bother,” Tom said, moving to another part of the warehouse.
“Maybe we should ask around,” Walter said, “Maybe someone else…”
“Walter, he had a gun,” Olga said.
“What?” Walter said. “Well… it's a dangerous neighborhood.”
“Whatever the reason, there are no almonds here,” Olga said.
They heard a faint roaring sound from the far side of the warehouse.
“Did you hear that?” Walter said.
“Yes,” Olga said.
“Come on,” Walter said, sneaking deeper into the warehouse.
“Walter!” Olga whispered.
They reached the back half of the warehouse, which was filled with shipping containers being moved around by forklifts and longshoremen. The sounds of the busy forklifts was intermittently interrupted by several loud roars and weird animal noises.
"One of them sounds almost like a rhino, but more nasal,” Walter said.
Tom and several armed guards surrounded them.
“I'm sorry,” Olga said, “We were leaving, and then we heard a noise.”
Tom looked at one of the guards. “Go and tell him we have visitors.”
“Sir, I'm with the Athanatoi,” Olga said, taking out her badge, “You're making a mistake.”
“Hands where I can see them,” one guard demanded.
“Look, this is all just a misunderstanding,” Olga said.
She grabbed the guard’s gun and slammed it into his head before kicking another guard and dispatching and disarming the others in seconds. Those not in range quickly retreated and opened fire, while Olga pushed Walter behind a container.
“Go!” she said, drawing her gun.
She blind-fired from around the container, hitting two more guards. As Walter bolted away, Olga ran after him, firing more shots behind her. However, when she looked back at Walter, Tom appeared from around a corner and aimed at her. She spun around and fired at him, hitting him in the head, but he got off one shot, catching her in the stomach. She looked down and noticed she was bleeding badly. It didn’t hurt at all. How was she so slow? She fell over and fainted.
“No!” Walter said, rushing to her side. “Oh, no!”
Another man walked around the corner and emerged from the shadows.
“You,” Walter said, “You’re alive.”
"I'm not sure I ever thought I would see you again,” Wilhelm Tesla said, “Hello, old friend.”
“Hello, Willy,” Walter said, “Or should I say, Glocke.”
I know Martin hasn´t released those books yet, I just listed them since those are the planned titles for the last two ASOIAF books. Plus GRRM has released sample chapters of Winds of Winter as well.
That sounds good. And now I´m thinking what would be a good name for the Yi Ti series?
As for plot ideas for the Yi Ti series, aside from the supernatural and lovecraftian plot lines I described before, the Yi Ti series could be simlar to what @HIMDogson described in his ASOIAF summary, with of course with a lot of twists and differences to the Westerosi ASOFAF series. We already have the Azure dynasty in the lore (Lei Dyansty here) who´s rule is disputed by the Orange Emperos (Chéngzi Dynasty in TTL) in Trader Town and the Yellow Emperos (Huô Dynasty in TTL) in Carcosa, a lot can be done with that if the Yi Ti series can distinguish itself from the Westeros series.
A shame @HIMDogson probably won´t see these discussions even through I´ve mentioned him, he´d probably like these ideas.
Don't worry, I've seen them (apologies for not replying earlier, I had an essay). Unfortunately I wouldn't be doing a detailled ASOIAF thing for this, because I'm busy between university and my novel. I'll definitely keep an eye on what you come up with, though!A shame @HIMDogson probably won´t see these discussions even through I´ve mentioned him, he´d probably like these ideas.
Okay. Thanks for the reply, I´ll see what ideas I can come up with!
Let's just pretend he hasn't even announced those books yet here.
A Song of Shadow and Jade? Because of the Asshai and the Jade Road stuff.
Yi Ti can be the more high fantasy Conan-style adventure stories to set itself apart from the "grounded" Westeros series. I would really like it if it touched on the more obscure parts of the ASOIAF lore and flesh out Yi Ti to be a superpower maybe on par with Valyria.
Just as Jensen is (likely) truly defeated, Tesla returns. A tad worried, as we need an antagonist to fill Jensen's shoes...
I don't think Jansen's coming back from being literally disintegrated.
I see your point, through I would also like to know about the poltical conflicts and tension Yi Ti has, espically since ASOIAF is well known for its political drama and subverting of fantasy tropes. Maybe the Yi Ti series would be more like the Witcher, a high fantasy adventure still grounded in political tension (abiet in the background unlike the Westeros series) and moral ambiguity. I think the Chinese would enjoy that in TTL.
I think replacing Song with Hymn would make that title a bit better, otherwise that sounds good.
Now on to a change of topic. Since we´ve had disscussions of the Hamiliton musical, or Metternich in TTL, I wondered what would Lin-Manuel Miranda´s other works like In the Heights would be like in TTL and what minorities would play certain roles in the musical. I think Miranda would have all the Nikephourus-Siegfrideists characters be played by minority actors while the Maximsts get very traditional German actors, like how minority actors played lead characters in OTL´s Hamliton. I think this fits since the Maximsts were notoriously xenophobic and they are the antagonists of the Metternich musical.
He could even make a follow up Franz Joseph musical if thats possible. I think this musical would be darker than the previous and more uplifting Metternich musical for several reasons; Bismark's fall to madness (played completely straight in the musical rather than for laughs), Franz Joesph´s family tragedies and the First Weltkrieg. I can see the Franz Joesph musical being a lot like a Greek tragedy, where the Fist Half of the musical focuses on Bismarck and the Kaiser´s friendship the two statesman ablities before Bismark spirals into insaintiy while Joesph deals with the trama from his family tragies, and the rest of the musical will focus on the looming specture of WW1, starting with Sisi´s death and Bismark´s prediction and culnating in the assassination of Franz Federnaid. Those are some ideas I thought would fit into a Franz Joesph follow up musical to Metternich, through I could condense these ideas down into a Bismark focused drama if you want. Any more stuff or thoughts you want to add to these ideas.
Tesla as the next would be antigonist would be oddly fitting considering that OTL conspuracy theories and rumors did paint Nikola Tesla to be a mad scientist figure, I suppose this is just the Universe attempting to rectify the price of Tesla's legacy to be recognized
Now since I do have a bit of an idea how TTL's ASOIAF saga might develop, I'll give this very short interlude, you fellas are free to add some or even rewrite bits of it.
A Symphony of Frost and Flame is the obra maestra of renown Roman sci-fi writer Gregoras Matthuew set in a fantasy continent of Westeros where a powerful dynasty rules over a continent spanning empire as High Kings of Westeros. The series, which was released sometime during the 1990s focuses on an array of characters that have steadily grown in number as of the release of the latest book. Recurring themes that feauture in the series include subtle anti-war messages (More in later books apparent as Gregoras lost both a son and a brother during WW3), the divine right of the High Kings, and the enigmatic power of the ancient Old Gods of the North (To which share Celtic and Suominusko themes). The series initially escalates into a conflict of epic proportions as the various great houses, all of which have varying degrees of loyalty, pit against each other for control of the empire. All of these overshadowed by a looming threat in the very far north and whispers and rumors of dead things walking again. In both the snowy terrains, and in the water.....
The series has gained popularity over the author's interesting way to defy the usual fantasy trope that had been established by authors such as JRR Tolkien as well as an array of characters whose grey morality snd severe underdog status has made them fan favorites.
A Hymn of Shadow and Jade is another series of fantasy books set in the same world as ASOFAF written by a Saimese immigrant whom Gregoras had befriended shortly after the end of the first Siamese War. Interviews from both authors reveal that they concieved the world after Gregoras introduced his friend to a Dungeons and Dragons campaign that Gregoras jokingly admits to still have not started.
Hymn takes place ten years before the events of the first ASOFAF book and occurs at the same time as the series during the third book and up to the sixth, Hymn however focuses more on the great empire of Yi Ti in the continent of Essos and its dealing with both the Jhogus Nai horselords and the mysterious lands of Asshai-by-the-Shadow. While ASOFAF focused more on the Byzantine like politics, intrigued and back stabbing, AHOSAJ mostly focuses on being a traditional adventure series but still keeping fantasy elements, unlike Symphony, which mostly focuses on an array of characters, Hymn mostly follows on a prince of the Yi Ti empire as he gradually embarks on a quest to unlock the true history hidden in the Empire's past, while also dealing with the prophecy of a return to a long night, a curse that began with the legendary figure known for destroying the ancient Great Empire of the Dawn and bringing about the Long Night, the Bloodstone Emperor.
Both authors have initially expressed that their respective series will eventually converge, to which Gregoras jokingly quips that it will happen in his lifetime.
So yeah, here's a short interlude. Feel free to make some corrections lads
Now since I do have a bit of an idea how TTL's ASOIAF saga might develop, I'll give this very short interlude, you fellas are free to add some or even rewrite bits of it.
A Symphony of Frost and Flame is the obra maestra of renown Roman sci-fi writer Gregoras Matthuew set in a fantasy continent of Westeros where a powerful dynasty rules over a continent spanning empire as High Kings of Westeros. The series, which was released sometime during the 1990s focuses on an array of characters that have steadily grown in number as of the release of the latest book. Recurring themes that feauture in the series include subtle anti-war messages (More in later books apparent as Gregoras lost both a son and a brother during WW3), the divine right of the High Kings, and the enigmatic power of the ancient Old Gods of the North (To which share Celtic and Suominusko themes). The series initially escalates into a conflict of epic proportions as the various great houses, all of which have varying degrees of loyalty, pit against each other for control of the empire. All of these overshadowed by a looming threat in the very far north and whispers and rumors of dead things walking again. In both the snowy terrains, and in the water.....
The series has gained popularity over the author's interesting way to defy the usual fantasy trope that had been established by authors such as JRR Tolkien as well as an array of characters whose grey morality snd severe underdog status has made them fan favorites.
A Hymn of Shadow and Jade is another series of fantasy books set in the same world as ASOFAF written by a Saimese immigrant whom Gregoras had befriended shortly after the end of the first Siamese War. Interviews from both authors reveal that they concieved the world after Gregoras introduced his friend to a Dungeons and Dragons campaign that Gregoras jokingly admits to still have not started.
Hymn takes place ten years before the events of the first ASOFAF book and occurs at the same time as the series during the third book and up to the sixth, Hymn however focuses more on the great empire of Yi Ti in the continent of Essos and its dealing with both the Jhogus Nai horselords and the mysterious lands of Asshai-by-the-Shadow. While ASOFAF focused more on the Byzantine like politics, intrigued and back stabbing, AHOSAJ mostly focuses on being a traditional adventure series but still keeping fantasy elements, unlike Symphony, which mostly focuses on an array of characters, Hymn mostly follows on a prince of the Yi Ti empire as he gradually embarks on a quest to unlock the true history hidden in the Empire's past, while also dealing with the prophecy of a return to a long night, a curse that began with the legendary figure known for destroying the ancient Great Empire of the Dawn and bringing about the Long Night, the Bloodstone Emperor.
Both authors have initially expressed that their respective series will eventually converge, to which Gregoras jokingly quips that it will happen in his lifetime.
So yeah, here's a short interlude. Feel free to make some corrections lads
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That sounds good. I just wanted to distinguish it from the Westeros series somehow.
Hymn definitely sounds better.I think replacing Song with Hymn would make that title a bit better, otherwise that sounds good.
Good idea on the cast. The play should focus more on Metternich's life than on the war itself, though. I think it would be nice if it started at his deathbed and then jumped back to his youth and arrival at the imperial court, then overcoming palace intrigue to become the first true chancellor of the Reich. The play would develop his friendship and mentor relationship with Siegfried and Sigismund respectively as the country heads for war and the Maximists make their move. Konrad von Habsburg attempts to set up Maximilian as Metternich's arch-rival thoughout the play, but Maximilian won't have it. The end would have Bismarck arrive at the court and Metternich mentoring him as he grows old and nears death.Now on to a change of topic. Since we´ve had disscussions of the Hamiliton musical, or Metternich in TTL, I wondered what would Lin-Manuel Miranda´s other works like In the Heights would be like in TTL and what minorities would play certain roles in the musical. I think Miranda would have all the Nikephourus-Siegfrideists characters be played by minority actors while the Maximsts get very traditional German actors, like how minority actors played lead characters in OTL´s Hamliton. I think this fits since the Maximsts were notoriously xenophobic and they are the antagonists of the Metternich musical.
The Franz Joseph musical could be a direct sequel to the Metternich one. It would start off relatively cheerful and bright, with Franz Joseph ascending to the throne, marrying Sisi, and presiding over a golden age of culture. But then cracks start appearing. The first is Bismarck's madness, which becomes increasingly apparent as we go on. Eventually, Franz Joseph is forced to fire his old friend, upending the status quo he has known for decades. Then his family starts dying off, and tensions rise with China. Franz Joseph's sanity starts slipping, especially after Sisi and Rudolf die. The play ends with World War I breaking out. Franz Joseph confides in his new heir, Karl, worrying about the future with him. He hopes Karl can hold the country together once the war ends (but we all know that won't happen).He could even make a follow up Franz Joseph musical if thats possible. I think this musical would be darker than the previous and more uplifting Metternich musical for several reasons; Bismark's fall to madness (played completely straight in the musical rather than for laughs), Franz Joesph´s family tragedies and the First Weltkrieg. I can see the Franz Joesph musical being a lot like a Greek tragedy, where the Fist Half of the musical focuses on Bismarck and the Kaiser´s friendship the two statesman ablities before Bismark spirals into insaintiy while Joesph deals with the trama from his family tragies, and the rest of the musical will focus on the looming specture of WW1, starting with Sisi´s death and Bismark´s prediction and culnating in the assassination of Franz Federnaid. Those are some ideas I thought would fit into a Franz Joesph follow up musical to Metternich, through I could condense these ideas down into a Bismark focused drama if you want. Any more stuff or thoughts you want to add to these ideas.
The universe works in strange ways...Tesla as the next would be antigonist would be oddly fitting considering that OTL conspuracy theories and rumors did paint Nikola Tesla to be a mad scientist figure, I suppose this is just the Universe attempting to rectify the price of Tesla's legacy to be recognized
Maybe the ancient Valyrians were also warmongers? They did conquer a lot of stuff with their dragons.
The wiki states that Yi Ti is also known as the land of a hundred (or thousand?) princes, which got me thinking, what if Yi Ti could be represented by a mix of traditional Anglo-French feudalism and Sengoku-era Japanese politics? It doesn't seem like the God Emperor of Yi Ti doesn't have that much power outside his own capital. Perhaps the protagonist could try to defeat the other princes and seize the throne for himself, claiming descent from a previous emperor? The Carcosa pretender could play into this somehow.
Obviously, someone in Hymn will unleash the Old Ones from the labyrinths of Leng upon both Westeros and Essos.
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I think Nikephorus would also play a role early on in the musical as Metternich’s mentor and friend, kind of similar to George Washington in OTL’s Hamilton.
And now I’m thinking of possible series name that could work for these two musicals. How does the Iron & Blood Duologogy sound? I mean both of these musicals take place during the Imperial Century, so a period appropriate phase would work well for these musicals.
I know we named TTL’s Victoria 2 Franz Joesph many pages ago, but I think the Imperial Century would work better for V2, as it takes place over the whole course of the Imperial Century spanning from 1836-1936, through your free to pick what ever names comes to mind.
I also remembered we never gave subtitles to that Otto biopic trilogy we discussed awhile back, what names do you think would work for each movie?
Yeah that’s pretty much the gist of the Valyrians, and let’s not forget about all the incest and slavery they practiced.
Speaking of Slavery, since Slavery wasn’t a big problem for the Reich, what would Slavers Bay in Essos be like here? Obviously the old Ghiscar Empire was heavily based on Carthage and the Slaver bay cities are loosely based on Egypt and India with their slavery system, maybe Slavers bay could take after the Triple Alliance in terms of being practitioner of human sacrifice and constant wars to enslave and scarafice POWs. I can see Deanarys being as revolted by that as she was with slavery in OTL.
Also @TWR97 , I was wondering if you could lore summaries of the Great Houses (we’ll call them Dynatoi to keep it short) of Westeros and their history? I’m actually thinking doing a ASOFAF history interlude for Aegon’s conquest, but if you want to do more interludes you’re free to do so. Plus I’m more familiar with the Show than the books tbh, so you might be more qualified than I am to do interludes on the books. Up to you about whatever you decide to do.
You’re also free to do summaries of those Hedge-knight books. I’m unfortunately with those and I know the main characters of sir Duncan the Tall and his squire, Egg (Aegon V Targerean) and their future as Kings Guard Lord Commander and King respectively. You’re free to cover those stories in mini interludes if you wish.
Also @zenphoenix , you may want to include these notes and interludes in the table of contents, just a little reminder. Sorry for nagging on you.
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True. I almost forgot about that guy, ironically.
How about A Century of Iron and Blood?
How about Franz Joseph: Imperial Century?
Otto: The Interbellum
Otto: Destiny of a Kaiser
Otto: Ode to Freedom
Slavery was still an issue for the Reich. It's just that chattel slavery (treating slaves as property) and all the racial ideas that came with it never took off, so the Reich remained tethered to older ideas of slavery (which still afforded some humanity to slaves). But other countries practiced chattel slavery. I like your idea of the the slaver bay cities going on raids to get people to enslave and sacrifice.
I'd certainly love to hear some lore summaries of the YiTish nobility and imperial houses.Also @TWR97 , I was wondering if you could lore summaries of the Great Houses (we’ll call them Dynatoi to keep it short) of Westeros and their history? I’m actually thinking doing a ASOFAF history interlude for Aegon’s conquest, but if you want to do more interludes you’re free to do so. Plus I’m more familiar with the Show than the books tbh, so you might be more qualified than I am to do interludes on the books. Up to you about whatever you decide to do.
There really hasn't been much detailed content added, as we seem to only be hashing out a few notes and guidelines. Once we get actual summaries up, I'll post those, since they will make our recent notes redundant. I'll remember to put TWR's interlude in the table of contents, as that's detailed enough. I don't want my table of contents to get too cluttered, as it decreases the likelihood someone's going to read it at all in the future.
I’m a bit late to this, but here’s my response to your comment here
After all; dread it, run from it, Winter is coming all the same.
(At least, in this TTL anyway)
And then the Others break through the Wall AND the Five Forts, bringing the Long Nights (served with slices of eldritch terrors) to Essos and Westeros.Obviously, someone in Hymn will unleash the Old Ones from the labyrinths of Leng upon both Westeros and Essos.
After all; dread it, run from it, Winter is coming all the same.
(At least, in this TTL anyway)
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And then the Deep Ones rise from the Sunset Sea, Brandon the Shipwright's descendants come back, whatever the deal is with Sothoryos decides it's not satisfied with Sothoryos, and then Valyria explodes again. Because why not.I’m a bit late to this, but here’s my response to your comment here
And then the Others break through the Wall AND the Five Forts, bringing the Long Nights (served with slices of eldritch terrors) to Essos and Westeros.
After all; dread it, run from it, Winter is coming all the same.
(At least, in this TTL anyway)
White Walker: "I am inevitable."