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[leonanette]

Chapter 50 of The Man in the Pearl Mask is now up!

Chapter Title: Ride of the Golden Dread

Chapter Summary: Aemond is left desolate after the loss of Vhagar and, in that desolation, he forms a desperate plan.

[leonanette]

Chapter 49 of ‘The Man in the Pearl Mask’ is now posted!

Chapter Title: Harrenhal’s Revenge

Chapter Summary: Ser Criston thinks he sees an opportunity to defeat Lord Velaryon and doesn't hesitate to try it.

[leonanette]

Is anyone else a bit disappointed that there weren’t any History and Lore videos released with Season 1 of House of the Dragon? I feel they missed an opportunity to go more in depth on the Great Council of 101 and the lead-up to it. I don’t think the History and Lore videos have touched on Jaehaerys and Alysanne’s reign too so that’s another missed opportunity.

I would have loved to see videos about:

- Baelon and Alyssa Targaryen narrated by Viserys and/or Daemon, maybe with a few fond reminiscences thrown in.

- Daella Targaryen narrated by Aemma in a sad tone and ending with something about the burden of bearing heirs.

- Aemon Targaryen narrated by Rhaenys (who can maybe tell us what happened to Jocelyn Baratheon).

- The history of House Hightower narrated by Otto or Alicent (maybe mentioning that they married into the Targaryens before but neglecting to mention that it ended badly).

- The history of House Velaryon narrated by Laena, Corlys or Laenor, maybe pointing out all the times they married into or assisted House Targaryen over the years.

- Saera Targaryen - but I’m not sure who should narrate that one. Maybe, Rhaenyra in a tone that sounds almost impressed or Alicent in a scornful tone, drawing unfavourable comparisons between her and ‘certain other princesses’…maybe, both at once, adding some comedy with their passive aggressive arguments.

- Rhaena ‘Queen of the West’ Targaryen - just give me a video on Rhaena, I don’t care who narrates it!

What do you think? What other History and Lore videos do you wish the HOTD crew had made?

[leonanette]

Chapter 48 of 'The Man in the Pearl Mask' is now up!

Chapter Title: The Deep Breath

Chapter Summary: The deep breath before the plunge, the moment of calm before the storm.

[leonanette]

"Two ways to view the world so similar at times

Two ways to rule the world to justify their crimes

By kings and queens young men are sent to die in war

Their propaganda speaks those words been heard before

Two ways to view the world brought Europe Westeros down in flames

Two ways to rule

Has man gone insane?

A few will remain

Who’ll find a way

To live one more day

Through decades long years of war

It spreads like disease,

There’s no sign of peace

Religion Succession and greed

Cause millions to bleed

Three decades long years of war

From dawn to dawn they’re fighting,

Die where they stand

The fog of war lies thick

When armies scorch the land.

When all of Europe’s Westeros's burning

What can be done?

They’ve been to war a decade long year,

Two more to come

Long way from home

Döpas och dö I strid

Lifetime at war

Has man gone insane?

A few will remain

Who’ll find a way

To live one more day

Through decades long years of war.

It spreads like disease,

There’s no sign of peace.

Religion Succession and greed

Cause millions to bleed.

Three decades long years of war.

When they face death they’re all alike

No right or wrong, rich or poor

No matter who they served before

Good or bad, they’re all the same

Rest side by side now

Has man gone insane?

A few will remain

Who'll find a way

To live one more day

Through decades long years of war?

It spreads like disease

There's no sign of peace

Religion Succession and greed

Cause millions to bleed

Three decades long years of war..."

Lyrics: A Lifetime of War by Sabaton (slightly altered - to fit House of the Dragon - by me)

I'm not trying to be deep with this. I just have this song stuck in my head and, now, so do you.

[leonanette]

Chapter Title: Family in Name Only

Chapter Summary: Everything goes as Vermax said it would and Aemond finds freedom not to his liking.

[leonanette]

Chapter 46 of The Man in the Pearl Mask is now up (sorry, a bit late with the announcement this time)!

Chapter Title: Silence and Defiance

Chapter Summary: Aemond suffers for his silence but salvation comes wearing a surprising face.

[leonanette]

Lord Velaryon, drawn by @hrgves

Here he is, the main man of 'The Man in the Pearl Mask', Lord Velaryon (a.k.a. Luke brought back from the dead by Valyrian Gods)! Like the portrait of Syrax, this was drawn by the wonderfully talented @hrgves.

And, if you think that cloak looks familiar, yes, I think Luke is subconsciously mimicking Aemond in the way he dresses as Lord Velaryon.

[leonanette]

Chapter 45 of The Man in the Pearl Mask is now up!

Chapter Title: The Highgarden Ball

Chapter Summary: Aemond finds himself drawn into a different kind of dream than his usual nightmares by Alys Rivers.

[leonanette]

Meleys

(from the fanfic, The Man in the Pearl Mask)

Domain: Goddess of love and fertility

Title: The Proud

Family: The second to hatch from the original eggs, mother of Vermax, former wife of Aegarax, grandmother of Syrax

Personality: Haughty, demanding, a long memory for grudges

Appearance: Burning red eyes, a fur lion-like headdress

Distinctive feature: A scorpion tail (hidden under her dress)

Animal aspect: Lioness

Inspiration: Ishtar

Meleys was one of the greatest contenders in the War for the High Throne of the Gods. She could command great loyalty among her allies and her marriage with Aegarax (though he had since withdrawn from the war) meant dragons were on her side and her powers of fertility meant the creatures Aegarax created were well-fed, healthy and numerous. However, they did not operate quickly enough and the combined force of Vhagar and Tyraxes’ destroyed her creations and her beautiful lands. It took her many long centuries to forgive them for it.

She suffered a further betrayal when Aegarax withdrew from her company and she found herself alone with a young son. She did her best with him and, from her, Vermax learned cunning and how to play with the minds of men. While she could pull on their heartstrings, he could play with their brains.

She never quite recovered from her heartbreak though. Though Aegarax set her free from their marriage, she never took another husband or wife. Or, indeed, another lover. Only she and Shrykos remain without any demi-gods or kind of children conceived with mortals. She channels the heartbreak from her siblings and her husband into a haughty exterior and into constructing great love affairs among mortals.

[leonanette]

Vhagar

(from the fanfic, The Man in the Pearl Mask)

Domain: Goddess of war

Title: The Terrible

Family: The fourth to hatch from the original eggs, mother of Vermithor, lover of Arrax and Tyraxes (on and off)

Personality: Provocative, belligerent, reckless, greedy

Appearance: Pale skin and hair like a Targaryen, always wears expensive furs, silks and jewels, black eyes

Distinctive feature: Her body is a rotting corpse from the neck down

Animal aspect: Robin with black stripe in the middle

Inspiration: Ares

How to describe Vhagar? Take the recklessness of Gaelithox, the cunning of Vermax and the cruelty of Tessarion then remove all the good sense.

During the War for the High Throne of the Gods, Vhagar tried to form an alliance with Arrax just as Tyraxes did. Arrax and Vhagar carried on a passionate love affair. However, though being with Vhagar is fun and exciting in the beginning, even Arrax grew weary of her constant provocations and her caprices. He chose Tyraxes instead and the two of them took the throne with Vhagar demoted to a mere ally.

Arrax could never really stay away from Vhagar for long though. Neither could Tyraxes. Their natures meant they could never be apart for long and that developed into something more. They know it never ends well but there’s always something about her that keeps both Arrax and Tyraxes coming back for more and she always welcomes them back. Not even Tyraxes choosing to exile Vermithor, her only immortal son, affected Vhagar’s desire for her much. But, in truth, she never truly loved her son. She only saw him as a possible way back into Arrax’s favour. When that failed, she said nothing against Vermithor’s exile. Vermithor has no love for his mother either and all the other gods dislike her to various degrees.

She is the opposite of Syrax in that, while Syrax dislikes some of her domains, Vhagar embraces all of it. While Tyraxes embodies all the nobler aspects of war and shuns the unpleasant parts, Vhagar is happy with all the violence and suffering. If there is no war, she will provoke one. Even if it’s a fight among friends, she’ll be happy.

She is also very vain and greedy. She could take all the riches in the world and still wouldn’t be satisfied. She wears as much finery as she can and often in front of her rivals/lovers, Arrax and Tyraxes.

No one knows how Vhagar’s body became rotted. She wasn’t that way when she hatched. No one can quite remember when it happened either. Perhaps, she offended the wrong person and a witch cursed her after her side lost a war. Perhaps, it was a pestilence caused by Tessarion on Tyraxes’ orders because she had grown sick of her continually breaking the peace.

Perhaps, the other gods say behind her back, it’s just a reflection of what she is. She can cover herself in fine clothes and jewels all she can just as men write fine ballads and songs about the glory of war. Under the gloss and pretty words, both war and Vhagar are rotten to the core.

[leonanette]

Vermax

(from the fanfic, The Man in the Pearl Mask)

Domain: God of boundaries, travel, communication, trade, language, and writing

Title: The Cunning

Family position: Son of Aegarax and Meleys, husband of Tessarion, father of Syrax

Personality: Mischievous, far-sighted, never forgets a debt

Appearance: A wide mouth and a black robe, wears gold ribbons around his arms that can make a loop to show visions of the present and future (with his wife’s help), gold eyes like two coins

Distinctive feature: Bird legs - usually covered by his robe

Animal aspect: Raven with gold bands around the legs.

Inspirations: Loki, Hermes

Stories of Vermax are some of the most numerous among the myths that survived Old Valyria. Mostly, thanks to him spending much of his time around mortals and his love of telling stories of his brilliance. He preferred their company to that of the other gods. The stories of Vermax are as numerous as their authenticity is doubtful.

What is not in doubt, however, is that he was the son of Meleys and Aegarax. He grew up watching his parents’ marriage fall apart and often sought refuge in the mortal realm. There, while his family was distracted, he learned the ways of creating mischief throughout the lands and developed great pleasure in hoodwinking the powerful freeholders or tricking heroes into their doom.

He might have become more mean-spirited in his pranks if not for Balerion. After a particularly vicious one resulted in the sinking of an entire navy, Balerion confronted him. Vermax responded as usual with scorn and a witty retort. Balerion, however, was not one for wit. With his mother’s help (for Vermax had also drowned one of her favourite heroes with his prank), he set his own trap for Vermax. Tyraxes offered Vermax the opportunity to help Balerion find out where a dead captain had hidden his gold.

Vermax, already thinking of how he could mislead the mortals to their doom over the promise of treasure, followed Tyraxes into the underworld. There, Tyraxes sprang her trap. She had him bound to a rock and had Shrykos (who had often been the victim of his japes) hang over him in her snake form, dripping venom into his eyes.

So it was for a hundred years. And that resulted in a hundred years of strife between the gods. Though Arrax was King, Meleys was keen to remind them all of her power. In her fury at her son’s continued imprisonment, she turned brother against brother, common against noble and all surrounding kingdoms against the freehold. She pulled apart bonds of friendship, family and alliance until there scarce seemed a single person in the Freehold that was not at war with someone. Even Vhagar grew weary of the constant fighting with rewards that soon turned to ash when the next conflict broke out.

It only got worse as time went on and each petition to release Vermax was rejected. Balerion, after all, is the most implacable of the gods. Even when he saw (to his great pertubation) so many more children and innocents enter his realm, he still believed this honest fighting was better than Vermax’s deceits. Shyrkos, too, enjoyed punishing Vermax perhaps a little too much.

At last, when the Freehold looked close to collapsing under its own weight of troubles, Tyraxes relented and told her son to release him. Shrykos protested but Balerion saw sense and released him but with the strong warning that he could imprison him again if Vermax resumed his pranks.

So, the restoration of the Freehold began. But, this was not to be easily accomplished. So much damage had been done that would take centuries to repair. Vermax saw the damage and, rather than feel shame, he saw an opportunity. He came to Arrax and Tyraxes and offered them a bargain. He would use his powers over trade, communication and writing to repair the broken bonds and bring the Freehold back to prosperity - but he must be allowed to have his own little japes to make the labours more enjoyable.

Balerion was outraged at this but Arrax, who had become so very tired of all this strife, agreed. And, Vermax was as good as his word. The Freehold enjoyed a golden age with the help of Vermax’s silver tongue and far-sighted reasoning. And, he never let the gods forget it. Especially when he was brought before the gods to explain himself for his latest jape.

Though, it cannot be said that he completely went back to his old ways. Half of his japes were in service of the Freehold and what the other gods wished and the other half could be atoned for with a service for them. He was still a trickster but one who made sure he was too useful to be discarded.

[leonanette]

Tessarion

(from the fanfic, The Man in the Pearl Mask)

Domain: Goddess of music, arts, knowledge, healing, plague, prophecy, poetry, beauty, and archery

Title: The Cruel or The Unseen

Family position: Mother of Syrax and wife of Vermax - had mortal family but abandoned them for a husband who later proved faithless

Personality: Cruel, conniving, far-sighted

Appearance: Unknown - always wears a pale grey veil and matching dress, eyes are rumoured to be green

Distinctive feature: Height of nine feet

Animal aspect: Silver spider

Inspirations: Medea, Psyche

Tessarion is the only ascended mortal among the Valyrian gods. Before immortality, she was a powerful enchantress. She fell in love with a mighty hero and betrayed her family to be his bride. That proved to be unwise, however. That hero, though strong and constant in battle, proved faithless in the marriage. After many years and two children, his eye wandered to a widow who had inherited her husband’s rights to part of the Freehold.

Tessarion’s fury drove her to terrible deeds. She decided not to kill him outright but instead plotted to take everything from him, leaving him with nothing but infamy to his name. She cursed the marriage bed itself to catch fire when he and his new bride first lay in it. The bride burned to death while he was spared even the smallest burn. The most terrible secret, however, came when the remains of the bed were pulled apart and the bodies of their children and the widow’s father were discovered.

Tessarion didn’t know it yet but she had caught the eye of Meleys and Vermax with her plot. Meleys rather approved of Tessarion’s plot to punish him and even said her plot was better than the punishment she had in mind for the hero. Vermax admired her and then desired her. He sent a dragon to help her escape and had it bring her to his house in a valley full of herbs and flowers where Tessarion could make every kind of potion and spell.

Vermax then wooed and eventually won Tessarion. Meleys petitioned to have Tessarion raised to godhood as she feared for the passing of the years. She herself had known heartbreak and did not want Vermax to go through the same. Besides, she herself had grown fond of Tessarion and of learning sorcery from her. Her petitions, however, were not enough. Shrykos, in particular, was horrified at the idea of a mere mortal being ascended to a level near her own.

However, Vermax managed to save the day. He did Arrax a very big favour and, in return, Tessarion was granted immortality. Though, Shrykos definitely sabotaged the ritual which resulted in Tessarion’s increased height.

Tessarion showed herself capable of taking on many roles and was responsible for a great deal of the Valyrian freehold’s prosperity. Good archers and a convenient plague befalling the enemy camp were invaluable in times of war, better quality poetry and art promoted the power of the gods and the Freehold and her healing arts made sure Freeholders lived longer and happier lives. And, above all else, her ability to see and manipulate the threads of fate made her invaluable to the gods. All but Shrykos warmed to her eventually.

Like her husband, she would walk among the mortals and answer mortals who wished to know their future. Then, one day, she gave a mortal an answer that he didn’t like. She promised nothing but doom on his house and that his line would end within his lifetime if he proceeded with his plans. That mortal had thought his marriage plans for his daughter had been perfect and grew wroth at the idea that it was foolish.

That mortal returned the next day and threw oil of vitriol in her face. She had been pregnant at the time and the attack brought on a premature labour. She gave birth to Syrax in the temple and the baby wrought a worse fate on the mortal than Tessarion had thought of while she recovered. Her healing arts allowed her to recover physically but trust is not something as easily mended. From that moment on, she wore a veil over her face and only spoke her prophecies to her chosen dreamers.

She also became much more inclined to cruelty toward mortals. She became deliberately vague and even downright misleading in her prophecies, delighting in the misery caused when her prophecies came true in a way that brought them only sorrow.

[leonanette]

Chapter Title: The Punishment

Chapter Summary: Cole finally lets Aemond leave his room but, by the time he's done, Aemond will wish he hadn't.

[leonanette]

Chapter 43 of The Man in the Pearl Mask is now up!

Chapter Title: The Awful Truth

Chapter Summary: Aemond returns to the Red Keep while someone else leaves King's Landing in a very dramatic way.

[leonanette]

Chapter 42 of ‘The Man in the Pearl Mask’ is now up!

Chapter Title: The Search

Chapter Summary: The search for Aemond continues and Aemond learns more about the silvercloaks.

[leonanette]

Chapter 41 of ‘The Man in the Pearl Mask’ is now posted!

Chapter Title: Cloak of Gold and Cloak of Silver

Chapter Summary: Daeron and Cole search for Aemond, fearing the worst, while Aemond enjoys a show.

*Warning: the author once again proves she is an amateur at iambic pentameter. She also tried to make the lines rhyme but she gave up halfway through.*