The House of Threedrop [A Game of Thrones AAR]
- Thread starter Henry v. Keiper
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Think of it this way: he bonds with men generally, and Andren is his heir and firstborn, so he sees him as important, especially in regards to the future glory of his house, which is still fresh and making it's way in the world.
That pretty much sums up most people under 14 in the Game of Thrones universe (as the tales of Sansa, Arya, Brandon and Rickard attest to).
Both good and bad. How will Andren turn out? Tune in next time - same Threedrop-time, same Threedrop-place!
From what I've played so far, most of Lorys' children, in one way or another, will have an interesting part to play in the future.
Chapter 16: Lorys
The siege had gone into the next year, and by June of 296 AL, it was still going on. Lorys did not mind, however – he knew that Stannis could not stay within the walls of Dragonstone for long. He was not Aegon, with his immense power and cunning, and he had no dragons to fly against the attackers or to launch an escape. Furthermore, the Lyseni fleet were still active around the island, taking whatever merchant ships dared sail too close. This would not be like Storm's End, during his brother's rebellion: Stannis would not be able to hold out here indefinitely, and there would be no Onion Knight sailing in the dark of night to bring supplies at the last minute.
There was, however, one slight setback: the payment for the upkeep of troops and ships (as well as the initial cost for Andren's education) had set Lockport back quite a bit, and Lorys had found himself in debt again. It was not quite as bad as it was before: it was perhaps only ten dragons worth of debt at the least, but nonetheless it threatened to hurt the war effort...especially if the Lyseni found out they would no longer be receiving their monthly salary. After much discussion with Dermot (and with some minor input from Bryen), Lorys dismissed the Lyseni fleet, fulfilling his promise that their loot was theirs and theirs alone.
The disappearance of the fleet was obviously noticable from the walls of Dragonstone, and Stannis surely must have noticed it and believed that Lockport and the Lyseni had come to blows, or that there was a morale problem growing in the ranks. Lorys arose one night to an alarm that a raid was being launched from the castle, against the Lockport camp. Stannis and many of his remaining levies were charging in, but they had failed to raise the portcullis in a quiet or quick manner, and some of the Lockport men had noticed the activity and warned their officers. The Dragonstone defenders were met with a hail of arrows as they approached the camp, and footmen surged forward to meet them. After an hour of fighting and a loss of over a hundred men, Stannis retreated back into the castle. Lorys led his men in calls of mockery, daring him to come out again for another beating. No such attack came, of course, but the Threedrop morale had increased, while Dragonstone's morale had dropped dramatically.
Two months later, another bastard child was brought before Lorys, with claims from the mother the child was his. It was a girl named Rhaella, and Lorys had no real doubts the child was his (even if the only thing he knew about her was that the act of making her was quite a lot of fun). He kept her nearby, letting the mother play wet nurse. When Andren encountered Rhaella for the first time, Lorys took her in his arms, showed her to Andren, and said, "Look, my son – you have a new sister, and from a more pleasing mother!" Andren seemed confused by this, but Lorys figured he would probably not remember this episode when he was older.
The siege went on. Lorys snuck a rumor into the castle that someone was working against them: a spy, or an "anti-Davos," as some nicknamed him, was bringing in diseased rats to spread death among the defenders. Panic began to build. It was said that even Lord Stannis himself seemed to be "concerned" about the situation (which meant he was growing afraid). This news caused Lorys to feel quite proud of himself, and his situations. He began to ponder on things, and realized that he now had a far more positive outlook on life than he had before, when he was merely a hedge knight. Perhaps there was something to these gods? Perhaps there really was some strange invisible hand of fate assisting him along the way, and leading him through these matters.
His sentiments became even more pronounced when an event occurred on the island that shocked him: Maester Dermot passed away in his sleep. He was found by Andren, who wept bitterly, missing the maester who had taught him much and watched over him on this journey. Bryen found Andren, and went and told Lorys, who went and investigated Dermot's body. Indeed, Dermot had passed away. What was even more embarrassing, however, was the way Dermot was found...it suggested that he had been touching himself quite vigorously for much of the night. Lorys quickly sent Andren away (thankful that, at five years of age, he would not understand such things), then told Bryen to not tell anyone else this little detail.
"It is better he be remembered as the maester he meant to us, and not the maester he was," Lorys explained.
Bryen got an embarrassed expression, then said in a low voice, "Aren't those the same, m'lord?"
After a moment of silent pondering, Lorys finally nodded and said with a reserved sigh, "Yes, I suppose they are..."
First Lysana, now Dermot – in the span of a few years, Lorys had lost two people on his council that he trusted most dearly. Lysana ha died during a strange, dazed episode of sleep walking; Dermot had died of old age. Lysana was to be missed for her skill and capability, but Dermot was to be missed for his companionship. With Dermot, Lorys felt like he could relax and forget to play lord for a while. He could be a man with Dermot; it felt like he was around the campfire during the Rebellion again, joking and talking as casually as possible. He couldn't speak that way to any of the other council members without either offending them or stepping over some protocol they were concerned about. He definitely couldn't speak that way around his wife. With Dermot gone, who could he speak with about which female council member had the best bottom, or what serving girl had the best breasts? Who could he lounge around with and talk about this and that with ease? Dermot had passed on now, and while his skills would be missed, his friendship had been a treasure that could never be replaced.
They buried his body on the island, with a special stone engraved to be placed over his grave. The local septon was summoned and presided over the service, which Lorys, Andren, and Bryen all attended, along with their junior officers. As Dermot's casket was laid to rest, Andren let out a sigh and said:
"And now his watch has ended..."
Lorys gave the small child as he looked down at his son, "That is the Night's Watch, Andren."
"Oh..." said Andren, squinting his face as he tried to figure out the right phrase for this event. "What do you say when a maester dies, then?"
"How about...bye?"
"Oh! Alright, father! Bye, Dermot!" Andren was continuing to wave until they had finally filled the grave up with dirt.
Lorys was still hit hard by Dermot's death even after the funeral, but better tidings came the next month. One lone day, a messenger from Dragonstone left the gate and approached the Lockport camps, carrying a white standard...
Lord Stannis Baratheon had surrendered to Lord Lorys Threedrop, and gave up his assistance in the war for Sharp Point. Maric Massey was released from his imprisonment, and control over Sharp Point went to Massey's Hook. Lorys had fulfilled what he intended to accomplish: he had brought the war to an end, and with glory for his house. He had done what all the might of the Reach had been unable to do: he had brought Lord Stannis to his knees, and caused him to give up his defense.
"Does this mean we will go home?" Andren asked, when Lorys informed him of the situation. "Back to mother?"
"Oh yes," said Lorys, "we are going back to your mother. And..." He pointed towards Rhaella, adding with a wicked grin, "...we will have a surprise for her."
Maester Dermot will be missed for sure. I'm curious who his replacement will be. As for the business of bastards, I will admit that their presence will make interesting stories in the future. At this rate, Eglantine might be pushed too far and do something drastic. At least, I hope she will.
Farewell Dermot. It is said of few enough men that they died as they lived... though in Dermot's case, they might not want to mention it in mixed company.
Incidentally, if I'm reading the dates correctly, it appears we're getting close to the point in time where AGoT canon begins, though I'd imagine the situation on the ground is rather different with ten or so years of divergence. If I may be allowed to satisfy my curiosity: What's the wider world of Westeros look like?
Incidentally, if I'm reading the dates correctly, it appears we're getting close to the point in time where AGoT canon begins, though I'd imagine the situation on the ground is rather different with ten or so years of divergence. If I may be allowed to satisfy my curiosity: What's the wider world of Westeros look like?
Oh poor Lorys /sarcasm
My guess is there's a thousand trader republics that have it out for Robert due to all the trade wars.
Absolutely fantastic storytelling and your characters really come to life! Can't wait to see what happens to Lorys and House Threedrop. Actually a bit relieved Dermot is sleeping the eternal sleep, I was getting some bad vibes.
You get to meet Dermot's replacement in the next chapter.
Honestly, nothing too drastic. There will be an occasional "State of Westeros" update in the future, but at the point of this chapter, everything is pretty much as is.
I honestly do not understand what it is with the King Robert AI and his hatred for trader republics...
He was too perverted for his own good. Though I guess compared with some people in the original ASOIAF canon, he was a saint. I don't recall him raping a 13-year old innkeeper's daughter, for example...
Dermot touching his wood and the bastards this is gonna get more FANTASTIC for englantine
Dermot was becoming a bit too obsessed with girls and so. Time to move on.
No more than your average high school sophomore (or fifty-year old virgin...).
I'm sure she's happy to have Dermot gone, at least.
Chapter 17: Bartimos
It is a strange thing for a new maester to enter into the chamber of his predecessor. He sees everything that the previous maester saw, but with newborn eyes, attempting to discover and ascertain the scope of the man's life and world. Why did he have the books that he had? Were all of them brought in by him, or were some brought in even before he was born? What do his notes mean? What did his studies mean? What drove him to study what subject while he serviced here?
Bartimos was a Stormlander himself, from the region of Broad Arch. He was well versed in most matters of court – diplomacy, intrigue, economy, what have you – everything except, perhaps, the martial aspects. Perhaps that was why he had been sent to this specific hall, he mused. Lord Threedrop was said to be a mighty warrior...did he need a maester that could help him fulfill his other roles? Whatever was his requirement, he would serve faithfully. Whatever kind of lord Lorys was, this maester would serve him to the utmost of his ability. Whatever may befall Lockport and its inhabitants, Bartimos would remain true. This was this hall now – it had become a part of him.
When Bartimos had first entered Herston Hall, after the long trip from the Citadel, he had walked its halls alone, tugging on the chain around his neck. There were links of black iron, links of gold, links of silver, and links of copper and electrum. The chain made quite a jingling sound that was amplified by the hallway echoes as he made his way, taking slow steps and glancing around at the heirlooms and works of art that were scattered along the walls.
"I have no family, and no allegiances or titles other than this chain around my neck," he whispered quietly to himself. "I lost it all when the chain was given to me. This hall is my home. The lord who commands it is my lord. I obey as long as I am needed. I shall be a light in the darkness, and a healing to sickness. I am Maester of Herston Hall."
Unfortunately, it was a sad time for a Stormlander to return to his homeland, and for one simple fact: Lord Paramount Renly Baratheon had passed away. He had apparently been suffering from a great illness that had overtaken him, and was near the end of his life completely confined to his bed. Renly had only been eighteen-years old, and aside from a war against his brother over a miniscule stretch of land had accomplished very little. The reign was transferred over to Renly's daughter and only child: the newly appointed Lord Paramount Mary Baratheon. She was only two-years old at the time, and was ruling through the regency of Corenna, a lowborn woman who served as the Master of Whisperers for the Stormlands. Like her mother, the Princess Arianne of Dorne, Mary had the tanned skin of the Sand Dornish, which made her quite remarkable for a Baratheon. Already there were rumors of grumbling among the lords of the Stormlands over the worry that Dorne would use Princess Arianne and Mary to exert their influence beyond Sunspear.
Another death hit far close to home: the Lady Eglantine Threedrop, who had been pregnant with child, miscarried. It had happened shortly before the maester had arrived, but he could tell that it had a hard affect on her. Reportedly, the baby had been a girl, and this was perhaps the third miscarriage that Eglantine had experienced in her marriage.* Bartimos felt his heart ache at this news, and wished he could have been there to try to deliver the child himself – he would have done his utmost to make certain it had lived to see this world.
More bad news arrived after this: King Robert had found done a prisoner trade with his brother, Lord Stannis, with the prisoner being Lady Eglantine's lord father...and shortly after the trade, King Robert had executed Maric Massey in King's Landing. This was also a terrible blow for Lady Eglantine, for now she had not only lost a child, but a father as well. For long periods of time, she would lock herself in her room and refuse to see anyone – even her children – for so deep was her grief. Why King Robert would do such a thing, Bartimos was unsure; servants told him stories of how Lord Maric had supposedly slighted Robert at the Lady Eglantine's wedding, for some inappropriate words the king had said about Lord Massey's daughter. Whatever the story was, Bartimos grieved greatly for the lady of the hall, who had suffered more in these past few months than many women suffer in a decade.
Not too long after, Lord Lorys Threedrop himself arrived, fresh from his campaign against Dragonstone. He was welcomed into the court, where he briefly introduced himself to Bartimos and then talked of the conquest of Dragonstone with all present. Bartomis noted that his son, Andren, was with him. The boy was standing with him, looking at his father proudly and remaining at his side no matter where he was or what he did. He appears to be a bright child, Bartimos thought to himself, I must make certain he receives the proper education. He is heir to the seat of Herston Hall – when he gets older, I shall be serving him as lord.
After his speech, Lorys summoned a servant, who brought in a small baby. He introduced the child as Rhaella, and declared that she was the newest addition to the Threedrop family. At this, Bartimos felt his countenace fall: there was only one way that child could be Lorys', and that was through adultery. He felt especially terrible for the lady of the hall, and when he glanced out of the corner of his eye, he saw that many other courtiers and council members were likewise glancing at her with awkward expressions. Eglantine, for her part, bit her lip and choked back a wave of tears as she watched Lorys hold Rhaella up and declare her a legitimate member of House Threedrop.
Later on that day, as Bartimos was exploring the hall a bit more in order to become familiar with it, he happened upon two voices speaking in anger. When he drew closer, he looked around the corner and saw Eglantine and Lorys facing one another, and speaking in hushed but vehement tones.
"How could you embarass me like that?!" Eglantine said. "Before everyone! Why did you not warn me ahead of time? And why did you send the first child to me and declare it a gift!"
"I thought you loved children, dear wife." said Lorys in a sarcastic tone. "I was simply sending you one to fill the void while Andren was gone."
"I would prefer one from my own loins than the loins of a whore!" Eglantine snapped back.
There was a pause, and then Bartimos heard Lorys reply in a low voice full of malice, "Yes, well, the loins of whores seem far more reliable – the offspring from your loins have a bad habit of dying."
Bartimos felt a sting in his heart as those words were said – he felt himself inhale, and he had to push back tears that came to his own eyes. Around the corner there was a moment of silence, and then he saw Eglantine come storming down the hall, turning a corner and running away from Bartimos, towards the direction of the septon. She was covering her eyes and bawling hysterically. The maester remained where he was, worried that Lorys would hear him and storm around the corner to lecture him. As it was, he heard the lord stand there without a word, and then turn and walk down the hall in another direction.
Bartimos was uncertain what to do at this point: he found himself literally in two paths. Did he follow his lord, and give advice, or did he follow his lady, and give comfort? He pondered this a moment, knowing it would be an important decision. Then, he remembered the words of his intellectual father at the Citadel, who taught him much of what he knew: Do not attempt to be the new maester of a hall without first stepping into the shoes of the old one. With that in mind, he turned and headed to his rookery, to uncover the secrets of what his predecessor had left.
What he found was most curious. Most of the books seemed to be about female anatomy which, while interesting and important, especially if the lord had daughters or a pregnant wife, seemed to be in a needless abundance; Bartimos intended to sell the excess and order books of other topics. He also noticed that the lens-tube seemed to be pointed in a downward angle rather than up, and seemed to be pointed towards a crag not too far from Herston Hall. Why would the former maester require the lens-tube to be pointed there? Did storms frequent there? Did the stars reflect there well? Bartimos was unsure, but he found it to be pointless either way. He turned the lens-tube back up towards the sky, where he could study the stars. The only factor in the rookery which could be called standard for any maester was the organization of the ravens, which seemed to be in order. There was one raven in a cage marked "Storm's End" which continued to bang its head against the cage and repeat "Owie! Owie! Owie!" – how that happened, Bartimos was unsure. The maester decided to send him to Storm's End and request they use another one.
After things were put in order in the maester's tower, Bartimos made his way to find Lorys, and introduce himself to the lord-turned-knight. He noticed, as he had earlier, the scar of grayscale over Lorys' cheek, but the scar had grown less noticeable as the knight had grown with age. He was gray on his beard and on his hair, showing the affects of the five decades of his life, as well as his time in battle, both in the rebellion and in the recent war. He had a Valyrian sword at his side and seemed, in many ways, to be a man of war through and through.
"I trust you find your accomodations satisfactory?" Lorys asked.
Bartimos nodded, "Yes, your lordship. As much as any maester's quarters are. You have a lovely view of the coastline from the hall."
For some reason, that caused Lorys to snicker, "Oh? Did you look through the previous maester's lens-tube?"
Bartimos tilted his head, raising his eyebrow. Whatever in the world could the two points – the view and the lens-tube – have in common that would be so amusing as to warrant this question? "No sir – I did notice it being at an odd angle, and I corrected it at once."
"Oh, I see," Lorys said. His tone had suddenly become very disappointed, and his expression became very awkward. "Well, that is most good, we must set all things in order..."
The boy at Lorys' side was his heir and eldest son, Andren. Even at such a young age, he was growing into the spitting image of his father, and the two already bore similar features. Bartimos was surprised by the boy, as he had been told that Andren was very talkative and outgoing, even to those not in his immediate family; however, the lad who came before him had little to say to the new maester, and seemed almost hesitant to answer his questions. Bartimos attempted to be understanding, as he could only guess that something had happened at Dragonstone to cause the boy to suddenly become antisocial. His father grew very stern with him, telling him to speak and answer the maester's questions, and after Bartimos showed that he wished the boy no ill will, Andren began to open up soon enough.
In April of 297 AL, a raven arrived from the citadel. Bartimos had a sinking suspicion about what it would say, and his feelings were confirmed as he unrolled the message and read it. Winter, it declared, was approaching Westeros for the third time that decade.
"Oh yes," Bartimos whispered to himself, "winter is indeed coming..."
* Yes, I know there's no way for Eglantine to have gotten pregnant while Lorys was away, sans adultery, which didn't happen. However, the game said she got pregnant and had another baby while Lorys was away on campaign...somehow. I wasn't quite sure how to get around it in the narrative, so I figured to just not worry about it. I hope people will forgive me for this unintended, game-inspired plot hole.
Bartimos is certainly quite the contrast to his predecessor in many ways, not the least of which being that his stats are absolutely fantastic. He seems to have hit it off well enough with Lorys at the start, but I do have to wonder if his sympathy for Eglantine in the face of Lorys's contempt for her is going to complicate things soon enough.
Obligatory Crazy Fan Theory (beware ASOIAF spoilers!):
Obligatory Crazy Fan Theory (beware ASOIAF spoilers!):
"Owie" the Raven is in fact one of the "thousand eyes and one" of the Three-Eyed Crow, through whom he is subtly working towards whatever strange goals that also led him to contact Bran and teach him how to warg in proper ASOIAF canon.
Bartimos seemed destined to accomplish much but I fear that his loyalties will be tested soon enough between his lord and his lady. I feel that the confrontation between Lorys and Eglantine is a foreshadowing of what will take place. A storm is definitely brewing from within.
Yeah when I saw his stats, I was like, "Jackpot!" When you have to send for a new maester in the mod, what you get is always the luck of the draw.
Maybe so. Maybe not.
Fun fact: I tried modeling him after the mentats from Dune (there are some similarities between them and ASOIAF maesters, when you think about it).
...Huh, that totally went over my head while I was reading, but you're right. On that note, that reminds me that I need to go back and reread Dune anyway; maybe after I finish off A Clash of Kings, I'll do just that.
I can totally see someone trying to do ASOIAF/Dune mix up.
Maester Pycelle: "We are here to discuss my plan-"
Tywin Lannister: "MY plan!!"
Maester Pycelle: "...THE plan..."
Daenerys: "He who controls the dragons CONTROLS THE UNIVERSE!!"
Maester Luwin: "Bran?! Is that you? They said you were dead!"
Varys: "This meeting did not happen...I was not here..."
Etc., etc., etc....