#ive got a map though
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you guys i put off planning my session again and now I have 7 hours and no ideas
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Since you might be interested (and likely read the Sin War trilogy) based on map and region information, Diablo IV lately hinted at the first novel taking place in Teganze (AKA: Diablo equivalent of African savanna). Thoughts on that?
Here's the thing about The Books.
The Sin War trilogy came out in 2006. Massive chunks of them have already been retconned (The Worldstone is a big one, Rathma being Not Dead is pretty significant. Apparently there was an active volcano somewhere in Estuar), and characters as they are in the books behave drastically different from how they do in the games. The geography was never that well laid out to begin with. At this point, they're more of a vague guide than gospel when it comes to the current series, so take anything you read in them with a grain of salt.
That being said.
If you get creative, and look at things a bit lopsided, and accept that some things just aren't going to perfectly slot together, you can kinda piece together roughly where/how things took place.
I've been thinking that Birthright actually starts up in the Fractured Peaks, and makes its way into and through Hawezar, ending at the very edge of Toraja. They do cross through some scrubland, which could be Teganze, but it's mentioned in one sentence and nothing of note happens there. Scales of the Serpent crosses south west down through Toraja, and eventually curves northwest up into Kehjan as they head for the City, before flipping up to head straight north to the Cathedral of Light. Exactly where Kehjan the city, and the Cathedral of Light are, is a bit of a mystery.
Seram is surrounded by a temperate forest, and Uldyssian and his companions who hale from the area are considered northerners/uplanders. Seram is possibly closer to the Cathedral of Light than any other location in the books, at least laterally. There are two zones in D4 that have temperate forest; the Peaks, and Scosglen. It should be noted that D4 takes place in the winter time, and the Sin War seems to be during the summer, or possibly spring (for being a farmer, Uldyssian makes no mention of when his next harvest might be. They have good weather through the entire series despite being in the 'north' though.)
Seram could be in either one; we don't know conclusively which side of the mountains its on. Being in the southern end of Scosglen would would put Kehjan/jistan immediately south of the town, when it's stated to be more westerly. Kehjan is also noted to be a few days ride-by-caravan to the nearest major seafaring ports, with travelers able to get lost and end up in Seram by accident.
The sea-port could be something on the Twin Seas, or it could be one on the Sea of Light. We don't know, either one could fit. Personally though, I like to think Backwater in Hawezar is our port-town, doing trade with the Western countries over the Sea of Light.
As the group plan to flee Partha in Birthright, Mendeln tells us that Toraja (present-day Nahantu) is still to the Southwest of Kehjan. They're two separate regions. The group plans to hide in the Torajan jungles to escape what Lilith started. Scales of the Serpent takes place entirely within the region of Toraja though. They rampage their way through the Torajian jungles on their mission to root out the Triune.
Kind of fitting that Mephisto's tomb and shenanigans are apparently in the same place as the original Temple of the Triune.
Now, the differences between Toraja and Kehjan are a little...muddy. There are multiple books and games that put them as being two different entitys, one entity, or sometimes even three.
The lands that make up Kehjan become Kehjistan after the conclusion of the Sin War. This was at the beginning of the Age of when the Vizjerei were in control, and they moved the capital from Kehjan the City to Viz-Jun, down in Toraja somewhere. During the Sin War, Kehjan contained parts of Kurast/Toraja/Nahantu, but lost them over time. Nowadays, Kehjistan mainly consists of the dried out borderlands. Big difference from the apparent verdant jungle that it was made up of in the books eh?
It could be that the various magical battles over the ages ruined the lands. That's actually the explanation given for the Desolate Sands; that the area used to be lush, but was blasted flat and ruined by a particularly nasty Mage Clan battle. It's not clear whether or not all the damage Uldyssian and Inarius do to the landscape surrounding the Cathedral is undone or not. One might imagine that such a clash would leave behind some kind of impact, but then, Uldyssian may have gone ahead and fixed everything when he ascended.
Kurast is it's own can of worms. In D2 its treated as a separate entity from Toraja, even though it actually makes up most of Toraja itself. Kehjistan 'owns' it at the time, along with their more northernly territories. After Mephisto thoroughly ruins the capital city of Travincal, the capital is transferred to Caldeum, which prospers.
Until it doesn't.
The most likely explanation here is that a powerful Kehjistan conquered or annexed the Torajian territories through an allyship with the Mage Clans, shortly after the Sin War. After the Mage Clan Wars, Kehjistan began a slow decline in power, and coincidentally a slow receding of land. By present-day Diablo IV, it is nothing more than the burnt out shell of a once-great empire.
Now, the Cathedral. We know it takes about a day and a half for the Edyrem to march from Kehjan to the Cathedral, although they have the benefit of mowing down the forest in their path. So lets say its about two days for a good ol' Pilgrim. Trouble is, we don't know exactly where Kehjan the City was. Maybe it became Caldeum itself, perhaps it is lost in the sands somewhere. Maybe Blizzard has changed all of this, and it is actually down in Nahantu somewhere.
Tbh I feel like Blizzard has shot themselves (and the rest of us) in the foot by not already showing where Kehjan + the Temple of the Triune + The Cathedral were. They're running out of space.
This is more of a side-note, but both Uldyssian and Mendeln make note that the landscape changes biome very abruptly while they travel. Almost like a patchwork quilt. Almost as though someone (or, quite possibly, multiple someones) built and stitched the place together. Or perhaps even like a bunch of video-game levels interconnected with one another.
Anyway. Have a boney-Lilith x Inarius that I never posted and prolly won't finish, since this is my art blog.
#The Sin War#words#this got long#asks#answers#Oh yeah and this doesn't even get into my headcanon that Nevesk used to be Seram#or that the old Cathedral is actually buried under Kyovashad#literally none of the towns or cities mentioned in SW are on any map#Seram? Tulisam? Partha? who knows#Hashir? Istani? Pfft#Kehjan was apparently built on top of an old Nephalem city#so hey!#maybe it's on top of Kasama#(probably not though)#Actually with the way Knaak described Kehjan's underbelly I think he was taking inspiration from the dungeons in Kurast#which is a thought that just complicates things further#so lets not go there#Diablo#Diablo 3#Diablo 4#Diablo 2#Diablo IV
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So

Here's what my copy of fire andblood looked like before returning it to the library, I obviously didn't read the whole thing, just aegons conquest, the dance and a couple other sporadic things. I just really like to underline quotes I like or take notes when I read, but since I couldn't do that I just went with the tabs. The green tabs on top are all the illustrations, which I wanted to mark so I could find them easily while crazy talking with my brother and IRL friends

#was kind of shocked it didnt have a map though#like#i just thought it was odd#what kind of fantasy book doesnt have a map?#but yeah pretty much everything youve heard about it is true its long and kind of dry in parts but it does have pretty epic dragon fights#i really liked beala she was epic#oh and i liked jace more than i was expecting too. cant wait to see him die next season#i took these pictures at my desk at work before i checked it in cause i didnt realise my time was up#bad librarian moment#anyway im going to start a painting of aemond#ive got these colored inks that i want to play around with#need to go find a reference#hotd#fire and blood#asoiaf#a song of ice and fire
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fuck it drawing the map with a mouse bc i cant use my tablet right now
#the map is just semi traced from the world drawing i did a few days ago#and it looks so so shitty but i got myself to do it.#im sooo powerful. and i hate drawing maps ive learned#this is somebody else's job if i ever publicly put out cq. i swear.#anyway blessed town of Pee#this is a small crop of the map if it isnt clear#though itd be funny if this was it. a whole day spent making just this#okay i gotta shut up too many tags#brambleramble
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was playing the new TF2 halloween event, and someone noticed that my avatar was a flamingo and complimented me on it. things are perhaps good, i think.
#been playing for like... 8+ hours? i like a lot of the maps#freaky fair is probably the map i spent the most time on today. like god damn#dynamite. i only played one/two rounds of. it's a neat concept. ive played a map similar to it before#toxic seemed neat. only time i played was with like 6 people max. haven't queued for it again yet#circus is fine. player destruction isn't usually my thing. due to my ability to die constantly#outburst. its versus saxton hale. i can't really say much more than that. it's fine#blazehatten. really really messy. brushes you can stand inside. invisible clipping where railing use to be. missing textures.#iirc it was like that before zombie infection was added. like all of those problems (if not most). im sure they'll get sorted out soon.#dont really have much thought on it's gameplay though#darkmarsh. havent played yet. it looks neat from the screenshots ive seen.#happy to be doing contracts again. freaky fair has been really distracting me from doing more of them.#MVM upgrades in a normal match is weirdly addicting. i kinda wish the map was 5cp instead of 3cp.#mostly due to how sometimes we'll get steamrolled to the middle point and have to struggle getting currency if they have it locked down#since the only ways you make money are: killing enemies and capturing mid#wanted to play with a friend to do the contracts but they were busy all night and i got kinda lonely just playing on my own#normally its not something i think about#but yeah. updates good. messy in places. but not unplayable.
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7) Describe them in three words. Now let them describe themself in three words.
For Aedes and/or June?
Aedes: Charming, lonely, hurt
He would describe himself as dangerous, lonely, and dishonest.
June: Blunt/honest, curious, caring
She would describe herself as impulsive, playful, and dedicated.
Oooh! So these will make a lot more sense after a few more chapters 👀💕
#cant wait to write enough tostart doing weekly posts again.#ive got it all mapped out for the next 10 or so chapters#though i've only written the next 4- i wanna get to 10 to get a hefty buffer#Bite Me#JuneOC#AedesOC#askento
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playing so much eo luminous the last few days i tetris effecting fish swimming in the corners of my vision at all times.
#i will probably write more in depth how i feel abt it but basically what i expected from initial trailer. not a fifty dollar game but i am#autistic and have been grinding the event map i want to crack top 100#at 160 now. uhm it sure is a game. there are no jellyfish in the game i didnt realize tilsomeone on reddit pointed it out lol#crazy. was talking to my brother abt it and he compared it to starfield which like. mmhm.#ive literally only played the event map i got the game a week late so like i have not experienced the actual generation part but still.#but like. slow collectathon mixed w pokemon snap free roam and random ppl swimming in circles w me is fun enough i will get my moneys worth#add seals to the game. i dont expect a giant content update but i would like a like. heres another fifty animals w like seals and waterbird#and jellyfish yknow. i dont expect a true story mode or even an aquarium mode (i never cared abt the aq in the original games so idc either#way) but i do hope for like some more types of spawn in formations and then more animals. pipe dream is zoom in spots but idk how possible#that is w the shared maps. though i figure its no diff than ppl freezing in place for the cutscenes.#i will write out my oficial thoughts probably next week but for now i will no life this game etc etc. yay#went and typed in the code for the softlock item from reddit so i am just going and starting to collect salvage the last hour#so its fun to read item descriptions
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hmm.. a bit of a ramble but it's really weird playing g3nshin rn because of how differently i see it? spent a lot of my G3nshin Phase holed up in my room mindlessly grinding and was so fixated that i developed a really strong attachment to it and was deeply fandom pilled and deranged LMFAO... perhaps its because of that that i burnt myself out a lot and became overly (though rightfully) critical of it
playing it now as someone who's less depressed and has a Life outside soc med is.. a lot more enjoyable actually. i think g3nshin works best as a game to be played in moderation, like idle clicker games hahaha. playing it Casually has never been an option for me until now.. wow.. the wonders of getting your shit together
i dont think.. i can confidently say i love the game or that it's one of my favorites because it being a gacha game ruins a lot of its potential and valuation and i dont wanna dogpile it rn lmao but [insert other reasons why g3nshin is Bad]
but mannn. i love worldbuilding. i love huge expansive maps and story quests. love random exposition drops lmao. g3nshin offers a lot of narratives that are extractive albeit the corny executions and poor storytelling but it's a fun game to wind down to. didnt think id be saying this but ive missed this game. hehe
#please don't reblog! salamat!!#tangy says something to the void#tangy talks genshin#games w huge maps usually evoke the best gameplay memories#i always vividly remember how i percieved a certain area or the first time i explored it#ive made so many memories in teyvat man theyre so lethal#anyway i just did the 2nd traveler quest w dain in the chasm and the first 2 acts of the sumeru archon quest. that took me.. 6~ hours jesus#it was fun though... sumeru quest was actually kinda intriguing?#but that's enough genshin for the week i feel like ive been microwaved#also? i like quests more than exploring for sure#just not really interested in pulling so i dont NEED primos. just wanted ga ming and some of his cons#been really lucky w my rng though. somehow got xianyun and c2 ga ming in 20 pulls. thank you stellar reunion
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The Art of Liquid Fire. Where did it come from?
A lot of people believe Rosalyne learned the liquid fire art through the Akademiya, I've always disagreed with this sentiment and this post expands on why.
The Akademiya Curriculum
Sumeru Akademiya is not a place you go to to learn practical elemental skills. We've heard from many npcs and playable characters alike, Spantamad focuses on the theory of the elements and observation and the other darshans aren't element focused at all.
All the alumni we've met, or know of, that have gone on to become vision holders did not hone these skills through the akademiya, rather they developed them externally, or after they'd completed their studies. While yes it made some of their studies easier, especially if they were a spantamad scholar, their practical elemental skills were developed after receiving divine recognition.
I don't know what Rosalyne studied at the Akademiya, we don't even know for certain what darshan she was in, Spantamad is most likely but it's yet to be confirmed. At the very most, her studies may have aided her practical elemental skills but the Akademiya did not teach them.
Very Little Is Known About The Art
Sumeru Akademiya is located in the nation of Wisdom, and since the Lawrence Clan burned down 4/5 of the Mondstadt Library, the akademiya has served (and still serves) as Teyvat's largest modern archive of knowledge.
It's very unlikely that the physical embodiment of the "Crimson Witch" was the art Signora learned,
"Rumour told of how she sacrificed her mortal body to become the embodiment of liquid fire herself"
instead her sacrifice seems to serve as the art in it's raw, most destructive and desperate form.
"And so the Crimson Witch continued to burn,"
The time it took for Rosalyne to turn into the Crimson Witch also indicates a gradual loss of control over her own powers.
It's an art that was supposedly once prosperous and reknowned, and only once has there ever been a Crimson Witch, I fail to see the Akademiya forbidding the knowledge because of the danger, and even if they did there would still be some evidence in the restricted section.
However its explicitly stated that the art was 'lost to time.' Implying this knowledge is no longer accessible at all, there's no one upkeeping a modern record of the art anywhere, and as a consequence it's been forgotten or abandoned in the process of social evolution and linguistic deviation.
Rosalyne's Youth
We know nothing about Signora's childhood, we have no confirmation she's from Mondstadt, and we have no mention of parents or siblings. We have only her name and her artifacts to go off of.
The etymology of her name has been discussed and dissected multiple times, but what stands out to me is not the meaning itself but the origin — this makes more sense later — "Lohefalter" is Old German, meaning 'blazing butterfly' showing her age by using Old German to source the etymology of her name.
Likewise, she's almost always exclusively referred to as a 'maiden,' meaning 'a girl, or (usually young), unmarried woman' given Rostam was most likely in his early 40s when he died I'm going to assume hyv is using the term maiden to refer to her marital status, or lack thereof, and not her age.
Aside from the one occasion she's referenced as an 'apprentice.' Given the fact that Mondstadt is based on the Holy Roman Empire and medieval Germany, I am working with the medieval definition of an apprentice, that being:
"An apprentice was a young person, most often male, who learned a trade by working for a guild master. Apprenticeships often began at age 12, and commonly lasted from two to seven years. Apprentices frequently lived at their master's house and were given room and board, but earned no money."
In comparison to 'her maiden years' Rosalyne would have been a young girl during her "Witch's Scorching Hat" days. This further extends her parallels with Childe as it alludes to a master or mentor whom she stayed with and worked under for a time in her adolescence. I'm inclined to believe Rosalyne was with this master for at least 6 years, as outside of this time period she's exclusively referred to as a maiden, making her at the very least 18 years old.
This makes sense with her timeline, and why Rosalyne appears to come out of nowhere, if she spent her youth outside of Mondstadt and moved there later after ending her apprenticeship.
Furthermore I always believed her comment in Liyue
"Just as a child quickly matures after losing their parents, so has Liyue matured when faced with the death of its deity..."
– to be about herself. We know from her artifacts that her mockery of Teppei's death, while it seemed like a morbid, out-of-pocket allegory, it can be reflected in her own story; and I don't believe her morbid comment about an orphan to be an exception.
#this is a very long winded post#but ive been sat on these thoughts#for a while#and have finally got it out there#genshin impact#genshin#fatui#la signora#signora#genshin signora#rosalyne kruzchka lohefalter#childe genshin impact#genshin childe#i have other theories about the origins of the crimson witch#theyre not really fleshed out though so ill jot them down at a later date#also hi been a while since ive posted here#i kind of fell off the map#genshin mondstadt#mondstadt#fatui harbingers#genshin lore
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Started playing breath of the wild again when I finished link's awakening friday morning after dropping it back in early august. and I need you guys to be honest with me, is it weird that the most fun i've had so far in the 3 days ive been playing it is taking pictures to fill up the compendium? like yeah the game before getting the camera mode and compendium actually installed on the slate was fun and all, but i can't remember the last time i've been so excited to explore a new area. just because it means that it might bring new items, animals, and enemies to take pictures of 😭
#zelda#breath of the wild#super early in the game still if i didn't make that super obvious#like i only got the new shit to complete the slate on friday#i still havent met any of the companions lol#though i am finally making my way through lanayru to meet up with sidon#...which is only the third area of the map im starting to explore ajkshdajksdh#ive been spending way too much time looking for shrines and koroks before moving on with the story aksdhakjhsd
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#periodical life updates#maybe when artfight is done i'll ask for avm art reqs; that seems fun. i wanna draw the colorful sticks#(<- has been mainly drawing the stickmin sticks for twitter)#wait i also mentioned i wanted to work on my selfship blog right? fck. and also my part for that map too.#jegus jace r.i.c.k.e.c. starlight youve got so many projects huh. well its good to write them down. ive got this thing i do where once i-#finish a big project i forget all other projects ive ever had. ''i was so caught up in the euphoria of not being busy with artfight anymore#''i forgot that my other projects existed!'' type beat. future jace check here when youre done artfight. you've also got a fic to write!!#and ecas to draw! you also wanted to do an oc sexyman tourney but you wanted to draw everyone portraits first so <3#stickmin comics (charles; randy; jegus we probably cant think of montana just yet) and also i still got the requests from there :'>#maybe a commission sheet. i might do kofi commissions they sound fun. real commissions stress me out hgkjh </3#infinite art project hell hfkjhf </3 didnt do much artfighting today due to dentist appointment. it was very unpleasant.#i need a lot of dental work done. i have to go back next week (RIGHT BEFORE SAHCON TOO LMAO) and i also gotta have my wisdom teeth removed#not then i think (hopefully i dont wanna be fcked up before sahcon :/) but eventually. ugh. mimserable.#my queue's running low again. im tired of filling it back up ough u-u#my new drawing tablet came in btw!! ive been drawing more comfortably again <3 gotta update my progress reports for artfight#ive been watching secret sleepover society though hjdfjkh they played a cute potion making game!! but i'll work on the spreadsheet now hdjk#okay done and posted! gonna take my dental meds and probably sleep or add more stuff to queue?#see ya! <33
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im on a rolll, fun fact pt 2
cheetahs are classified as medium cats. It doesn't roar, and isn't as big so therefore id doesn't fit witv big cats such as lions, tigers, leopards, etc. Furthermore, it doesn't meow and is bigger then a house cat, or small wild cats. Cheetahs actually sorta squeak. It's kinda cute, google it
#cheetahs#fun fact#ive also known this quite a while#bonus fun fact: personal edition#when i was on a school trip to the zoo this year#i was going around with two other girls from ny class that i usually don't hang out with much bc im an introvert#back to the story though#we went around and for every animal we saw i gave 1 ☝️fun fact minimum about that animal#they didn't react much but they also said they didn't mind#so that was nice#they got a fucking free guided tour considering i was the one who had a map of sorts#though none of us could figure it out and we almost got lost
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i miss december 2023 when i had just gotten back into genshin and had 3 entire nations to find out about... looking at that uncomplete map was so exciting!! and there were so many new characters!! it was great i was having a blast
#not that im not enjoying the gameplay now#i just noticed how much ive caught up...#i have so many lvl 90 characters now!! and many 100%ed areas on the map!! smile#also finally got my sucrose and her weapon to lvl 90 she deserves it. my first main#dont look at her artifacts though these are a wip#fischl is next she also carried me so much... i use her regularly on my teams anyway but shes still lvl 80#back then i used her as a physical main dps and she kicked ass#for early game at least. when lumine and qiqi were my only 5stars#natpost
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alright i’ve got like 1000 words written so far and like eight hours of alhaitham’s birthday left to go so take your bets now over whether or not this fic will get done lol
#oof we’re working hard😤#i think it’ll be in the 3k to 4k range when it’s done but god knows#im awful at estimating word count lol#im hopeful though! ive got most of it mapped out and everything#and i love them enough to fuel me through the next few hours of writing#so crossing my fingers that we’ll make it🤞🤞
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Hey girl hey. Hope you are still alive and life is treating you well. Just checking in.
you're so sweet for this omg. so ive graduated from high school, have this whole summer, but I can't really enjoy it since a broke girl's got to work. got my very first job and it's sooo draining, but I've got to get that bag
Sevenmas

pairing | aemond x wife!reader
word count | 9.2k words
summary | amid the haunting ruins of harrenhal, aemond's pregnant wife senses the looming threat of alys rivers, a witch whose presence fuels her nightmares and aemond's growing distance.
determined to protect her husband and unborn child, she delves into the secrets of warding magic, reclaiming her bond with aemond as she invites him back into her bed and vows to stand against the witch’s dark influence.
tags | 18+ (MDNI), smut, p in v sex, unprotected sex, pregnancy, magic, fluff, soft aemond, hubby aemond
a/n | it's summer, the heat is evident, yet I've only been at work or home. I needdd to leave my house!
likes comments and reblogs are much appreciated ✨
ᴍᴀsᴛᴇʀʟɪsᴛ
My Dearest Babe,
It has been a full moon since your father and I arrived at these dreary halls of Harrenhal. It is bleak here, cold and damp, and the walls seem to hold the whispers of the dead.
I have not known a single night’s rest since we set foot in this cursed place. My sleep grew all the more restless when your father saw fit to move me into a separate chamber.
Harrenhal weighs heavily upon him. It has changed him in ways I cannot yet understand. He walks the halls as if hunted, and I see the shadows of his unrest in his eyes.
Each night, his dreams twist into dark things—visions that wrench him from sleep, leaving him gasping as though clawing his way back to wakefulness. He grows ever more volatile, as if the very stones of Harrenhal press upon his mind, threatening to drive him to madness.
One night, he woke from a nightmare so violent, I feared for him. I reached out to calm him, but he struck out, not knowing it was I. I do not hold it against him—he was deep within whatever horror plagued him.
But he looked upon the bruise on my wrist with such anguish, fearing for my health and yours. It was then he resolved to put me in another room, to shield us both from his torments.
Yet, my sleep has only worsened since he made this change. This keep holds no comfort, only shadows and sighs, and I feel that something - someone - wicked watches us, waiting.
The sixth day of Sevenmas dawned in Harrenhal, a day to honor the Crone, she who carried the lantern of wisdom and foresight. How you longed for that guidance now, caught in the maze of cold stone walls and shadows that seemed to stretch into eternity.
The ancient keep, with its crumbling towers and halls seeped in ghosts of past horrors, gnawed at your spirit with every passing hour.
The days bled together, each as gray and listless as the last. Time itself felt suspended, and there was little to fill it but your prayers to the Seven and the slow, meticulous pull of thread and needle.
Embroidery was meant to calm the mind, but here it became another way for your thoughts to spiral into dark corners. How could you not let them when the halls echoed with whispers not your own and the air felt thick, laden with something unseen yet suffocating?
Your husband, Aemond, the prince with a fire in his blood and the shadow of the conqueror in his step, had become a stranger cloaked in duty.
Since Rhaenyra had laid siege to King's Landing, his days were consumed with strategy, flame-bright eyes scanning maps and murmuring with commanders until dawn kissed the horizon.
You would catch glimpses of him, his presence fierce and distant, a sword poised to strike. And still, there was one tether left—he would always return to break his fast with you, no matter the hour, as if the morning meal was a sacred pact he refused to break.
This shared ritual was a brief light in the gloom, a moment where his brow would smooth, and he would offer a small nod, as if to say, I am still here.
Yet even then, the weight of Harrenhal seemed to press upon him, creasing the corner of his eye and stealing the little warmth from his voice.
You wished for the strength of the Crone’s wisdom, to find words that could soothe whatever haunted him, whatever pulled him into those long, silent stretches where he barely met your gaze.
And so, with the sun’s first pale rays stretching over the stone battlements, you whispered a prayer to the Crone. Let me see what he cannot. Let me guard us in ways unseen.
There was another shadow cast over your time at Harrenhal, one that gnawed at your peace like a hound at a bone. Within the first week of your arrival, an attempt on Aemond’s life had been made, a sloppy affair that left more questions than answers.
Yet the mere notion of betrayal and blood sharpened Aemond’s already fierce nature into something perilously close to madness.
In his rage and paranoia, he swept through Harrenhal like a storm, burning and executing every male Strong—lords and bastards alike, sparing none.
The aftermath left the keep haunted by its own silence, populated mostly by women and children who dared not cross his path. Yet among the survivors, there was one who set your skin crawling like no other: Alys Rivers, the bastard daughter of Lionel Strong.
Her gaze, dark and knowing, seemed to pierce through you whenever it drifted your way. The keep’s old women, those who lingered in the kitchens and halls, were full of whispers, speaking in hushed tones about Alys and the tales that clung to her like a shroud.
They claimed she was a wet nurse with no babes of her own, that her cradle stayed empty because she offered her children to dark gods, drawing power from their sacrifices.
The word witch passed between toothless mouths with reverence and fear, a name that conjured images of blood and whispered spells in the dead of night.
You would catch Alys watching Aemond from the shadowed corners of the great hall, her green eyes glistening like the polished scales of a serpent.
There was something about the way she looked at him, a gaze that lingered too long, with a subtle curl to her lips that suggested she saw beyond what others did. Each time, a cold knot formed in your stomach, winding tighter with each day.
Aemond, for his part, seemed oblivious—or perhaps unwilling—to acknowledge her attention. He stalked the halls of Harrenhal like a restless dragon, his eyes always aflame with thoughts of war and vengeance.
But you, kept to the fringes and left with little to occupy your time, had learned to listen. You had overheard more than once the old wives’ tales, how the stones of Harrenhal bore witness to strange sights in the dark of night.
The morning light struggled to filter through the narrow, soot-streaked windows of Harrenhal’s great hall, casting long, somber shadows across the cold stone floor.
You sat at the grand table, an expanse of dark oak that seemed almost too vast with just the two of you seated at its head.
The hall’s emptiness swallowed the small noises of clinking silver and the rustle of fabric, leaving only the low crackle of a distant fire to break the silence.
You glanced at Aemond, his face severe and sharp as ever, eyes narrowed and distant as he picked at the bread before him. His hair, pale as moonlight, spilled over his shoulders, catching the dim glow of morning like polished silver.
You traced the line of his jaw with your gaze, noting the tautness there, the slight twitch that spoke of restless thoughts.
In truth, you did not know this man well—your husband, your prince, and yet a stranger in so many ways.
It had only been moons since you first met, and within days, the marriage vows were spoken, the ink on the alliance barely dry before you found yourself bound to him in name and in fate.
Your father’s fleet had been your dowry, a formidable power that the Greens could not afford to spurn. You understood your role, the politics and power that tethered you to Aemond, but understanding him was another matter entirely.
His silences were as deep and dark as the Blackwater, and he carried an anger that smoldered beneath his skin, an unquenchable flame that whispered of vengeance and old wounds.
But despite the cold armor of his demeanor, Aemond had never raised his voice nor his hand to you. He moved with a kind of carefulness in your presence, a restraint that bordered on gentleness.
He treated you with a respect that was rare among men of power, where wives were often little more than pawns on a board.
And though it was likely due to the child you carried beneath your heart, it kindled a small warmth within you to think that he had not left you behind when he marched to Harrenhal.
Instead, he had commanded that you come with him, a choice that puzzled you even as it comforted you.
Harrenhal was a desolate place, steeped in old, cracked stone and a history that groaned beneath every step. You despised it, with its drafty halls and the air that always seemed to taste of ashes.
Yet sitting here, across from Aemond as the thin light etched sharp lines across his face, you felt a reluctant flicker of gratitude.
The silence between you was not companionable, but it was not cruel either. It was a space where the two of you existed, tethered by duty and an unspoken understanding.
Your gaze lifted from your untouched plate to meet his. “You barely ate anything,” you ventured softly, the words almost swallowed by the great hall’s vastness.
Aemond’s eye flickered to you, just a moment of acknowledgment, before drifting back to the distant, unfocused point beyond the hall’s great hearth. “I have much on my mind,” he replied, his voice low and guarded, as always.
You lowered your gaze, the golden glint of your cup catching the flicker of the fire as you turned it in your hands. “Today is the day of the Crone,” you murmured, the soft words drifting into the vast emptiness of the hall.
Aemond’s eye settled on you again, this time with a sharper intensity, as if he were trying to read the thoughts that played behind your eyes. The violet of his gaze, stark and unyielding, seemed to see through flesh and bone.
You felt the heat rise to your cheeks but pushed on, lifting your head with a tentative, almost sheepish smile.
“I have been holding small celebratory suppers in my chambers for each of the Seven,” you said, the words trembling on the cusp of hope. “Perhaps you would join me tonight?”
Aemond’s expression remained inscrutable, carved from the same marble as the gods whose names you spoke. He was silent, his lips pressed into a thin line as he measured the request. You held your breath, bracing for the sting of rejection, but after a moment, he inclined his head with a slow, deliberate nod.
“I shall see if I am free to attend later, wife,” he replied, each syllable precise, as if spoken under a watchful eye.
A smile unfurled across your face, a small, fragile bloom that brightened the somber air. You nodded, your gratitude silent but deeply felt, and returned your attention to the meal before you.
The hall fell back into its familiar hush, but the silence seemed gentler, softened by the promise—no matter how uncertain—that he might sit with you as the evening drew near.
Throughout the day, you moved with a purpose that had been absent for some time. Excitement flickered within you, casting a rare warmth over the bleakness of Harrenhal’s cold stone walls.
You spent more time preparing yourself than you had in weeks, choosing a gown of deep violet, the color rich and regal, one you knew would match Aemond’s eye.
Your hands worked carefully as you braided your hair, fingers weaving strands with practiced precision. You wound the braids into a half-up style, securing them with thin silver pins, and threaded small pearls between the coils, their soft luster catching the waning light that seeped through the chamber’s narrow window slits.
As the sun dipped lower, you prepared the chamber for supper, eager to cast away the dreariness of Harrenhal’s stone embrace. The table, though small, was set with care.
You placed a modest arrangement of primroses at its center, their pale petals lending a touch of softness to the somber room.
Candles, thick and tapered, were placed with a meticulous eye, their wicks waiting to be lit and offer a warm glow that would banish the shadows lurking in the corners.
Tonight was meant to honor the Crone, a day of wisdom and reflection, yet you could not help but hope for something more—a chance to share a moment, however fleeting, with the man you called husband.
The hours had been long since you’d known any touch of intimacy, any whisper of companionship. The prospect of Aemond joining you, even for a brief supper, was enough to make your heart beat with anticipation.
Time stretched on, heavy and unyielding, as you sat alone at the small table in your chambers, a solitary figure in a room filled with muted light. The food before you, once steaming and fragrant, had grown cold, the sheen of oil on the meats congealing in the chill air.
The candles you had lit earlier had burned down to stubs, their light dwindling as shadows crept up the walls.
The fire in the hearth, once crackling with warmth, had reduced itself to a bed of glowing embers, the last vestiges of heat sputtering as they surrendered to the draft that snaked through the stones.
Your heart, which had quickened with hope earlier in the day, now felt leaden with disappointment. The silence pressed in around you, each passing moment a reminder that Aemond would not come. The anticipation that had kept your spirits aloft now left a hollow ache in its absence.
Pushing your untouched plate away, you rose from the table, your movements deliberate as anger stirred in your chest. It was not the hot, reckless kind, but the slow-burning indignation that came when expectation was met with silence.
You wrapped your cloak around your shoulders and slipped into the dim corridor, determined to find him, to seek an answer rather than stew in this quiet, stinging rejection.
Harrenhal’s halls were a maze of stone and shadow, empty and vast, with only the sound of your footsteps echoing softly in the cold. The castle held a thousand whispered secrets, and tonight, it seemed eager to keep its prince among them.
You turned corners and climbed staircases, the flicker of dying torches casting your shadow long against the walls, until the familiar paths grew strange and your resolve wavered.
Finally, as you entered a lesser hall that stretched toward a wing of old chambers, you spotted movement—a maidservant carrying linens, her head bent as if afraid to be seen. Relief mixed with frustration as you quickened your step.
“Excuse me,” you called out, your voice sharper than intended.
The servant started, nearly dropping her burden before bowing her head hastily, eyes fixed to the floor. It was a common sight in Harrenhal, the way they kept their gaze averted in your presence.
Word of your husband’s fierce reputation as Prince Regent and Kinslayer had traveled swiftly, and it seemed they feared that to slight you was to invite his wrath upon them.
With a lifted chin and a tone that brooked no disobedience, you asked, “Where is my husband?”
Before the maid could stammer out an answer, another voice cut through the dim hallway—a voice that chilled the blood in your veins and haunted your sleep with its whispers.
“I fear the prince is still occupied in the council chamber, my lady,” said Alys Rivers, her tone smooth and deceptively courteous, like the edge of a blade.
You turned slowly, meeting her gaze. Her eyes were dark, unreadable, but a knowing smirk pulled at her lips as she regarded you, taking in the sight of your tense shoulders, the protective way your hand drifted instinctively to your rounded stomach.
There was no warmth in her expression, only the sly amusement of a cat toying with a bird that dared to stray too far from its nest.
Your nostrils flared, and you straightened your back, eyes narrowing as you corrected her in a low, simmering murmur, “Princess.”
Alys tilted her head, feigning surprise, though her eyes betrayed nothing but a cold mirth. “Pardon me,” she said, her gaze sliding deliberately to your abdomen before flicking back up to meet yours, daring you to react.
“I am not your lady,” you hissed, “I am your princess.”
With a final, steely glare, you turned on your heel, the folds of your violet gown sweeping the floor as you made your way back through the shadowed hallways, heart pounding beneath your ribs.
The silence of Harrenhal enveloped you once more, and you did not pause until you reached the safety of your chambers, locking the door behind you and pressing your back against the cool, unyielding wood.
The echo of Alys’s smirk lingered in your mind, but you would not let her see your fear. Not tonight. Not ever.
A scream ripped from your throat, raw and primal, as the pain surged through you, tearing its way up your spine and scattering your senses. It felt as though your very body was being split apart, the agony sharper and deeper than any blade.
“Keep pushing, my princess; the babe is almost here,” urged the midwife, her voice steady but relentless.
You clenched your jaw, wanting to curse her, to scream at her to hold her tongue, but the pain stole all words from you, leaving you breathless and shaking.
It was a torment that came in relentless waves, each cresting higher than the last, only to drag you under when you thought you could surface for air. The burning, the stretching—unbearable, blinding.
“I cannot,” you sobbed, tears mingling with the sweat that drenched your brow. “Please… I can't,” you pleaded, your voice broken and desperate.
The pain surged again, stealing the air from your lungs, and then you felt it—a firm, familiar hand pressed gently to your cheek. Through the haze of pain, you turned your head, and your vision cleared just enough to see the sharp lines of Aemond’s face.
His single violet eye was intent, fierce, a rare expression of vulnerability breaking through his stoic mask. Relief, so profound it was nearly painful, swelled in your chest.
“Aemond,” you gasped, his name a lifeline, an anchor in the storm.
Husbands were not meant to be present for the birth, tradition forbade it. But he was there, and you did not care for any rule or rite that would keep him away.
“Just a few more pushes, my love,” he murmured, his voice low, a thread of steel woven through the gentleness.
You nodded weakly, mustering what remained of your strength. A deep groan escaped you as you pushed once more, the room spinning around you. The midwife’s voice rose above the roaring in your ears.
“The babe is crowning, my lady.”
But the tone was wrong. Too familiar, too cold. Alarm jolted you to consciousness, and you struggled to prop yourself on trembling elbows. Your eyes darted to the space at the foot of the birthing bed, and dread coiled tight in your gut.
There, in the dim light of the chamber, knelt Alys Rivers. Her dark hair framed eyes as green and sharp as glass, eyes that glimmered with a knowing, malevolent gleam. A smile curled at the corners of her lips as she met your gaze.
“No, no!” you screamed, panic twisting your voice. “Get away from me!”
With a surge of fear-driven strength, you tried to kick her away, your limbs thrashing wildly, but Aemond’s hands clamped down on you, firm and unyielding. “Calm yourself,” he commanded, his voice cool, steady as stone.
Alys turned her gaze up to him, a shadow of mock sympathy curving her lips. “You must choose, my prince,” she intoned, each word dripping with false solemnity. “The babe, or your wife.”
A sob wrenched from your chest as you felt your breath come in sharp, shallow gasps. “No. No!” The pain was drowned beneath the torrent of fear that flooded you.
Desperately, you looked up at Aemond, seeking the warmth, the fierce protection that once resided in his eye. But what you found was a gaze distant and unreadable, as though he stood apart, watching from some cold, unreachable place. His jaw tightened. “Save the babe.”
Time seemed to fracture around you. His words, so final, crashed over you like a wave of ice. Your eyes widened, disbelieving, as rough handmaids or shadows, you could not tell—pressed you back, holding you firm as you struggled.
“Let me go! Let me go!” you screamed, your voice raw with betrayal and terror, limbs straining against the iron grip that pinned you.
Pain cleaved through you, and you felt the weight of the babe shift within. But your focus broke as Alys moved, no longer at the foot of the bed but gliding closer, the flicker of torchlight catching on the edge of a cruel, glinting blade.
The chamber seemed to darken around her, the faint cries of the midwives fading into an ominous silence. And all you could see were those green eyes, bearing down on you like a curse whispered in the dark.
You jolted upright, heart pounding and breath ragged, the remnants of your nightmare clinging to your skin like a shroud. A trembling hand reached up to brush the tears from your cheeks, the dampness proof of the terror that had gripped you in sleep.
Your eyes drifted down, catching the soft curve of your swollen belly under the covers, rising and falling with your shallow breaths. A shaky sigh escaped your lips, a bitter mix of relief and unease.
The babe was still safe within you—at least for now. You pressed your palm over it, as if to reassure yourself of its presence.
Beyond the thin light filtering through the shuttered window, the sky remained cloaked in the indigo of night.
The stillness told you it was not yet dawn, that liminal time when dreams and waking often blurred. But sleep would not find you again; not after that vision, nor for many nights to come, you were sure.
The memory of Aemond's cold, detached gaze as he spoke words that sealed your fate in your dream clung to you. It pierced deeper than any blade, a wound festering with fear and doubt.
Yet you forced yourself to swallow the sharp sting of betrayal, directing your thoughts toward another source of your unease—Alys Rivers.
The whispers, the eyes that followed, the dark air that seemed to shift when she was near. Your fears, your husband’s torment, the sense of something wicked gnawing at Harrenhal’s bones—it all traced back to her.
Resolve steeled your spine. You pushed back the covers and rose, the weight of your pregnancy making the motion slower, more deliberate.
Wrapping yourself in a heavy fur cloak, you reached for the candelabra on the nightstand. Its small flame sputtered in protest before catching steady, casting long shadows that danced upon the walls.
The corridors of Harrenhal, once alive with whispered conversations and the hurried footfalls of servants, now loomed around you in cold, watchful silence. The draft that crept through the ancient stones nipped at your cheeks and sent a shiver down your spine.
Clutching the fur tighter against your body, you moved forward, the warm light in your grasp flickering as it met the draft.
The silence was thick, broken only by the soft rustle of your cloak and the creak of old floorboards beneath your weight.
At last, you reached the great doors of the library, their dark wood carved with sigils long forgotten and gnarled from centuries of use. Setting the candelabra down, you pushed against one of the doors, muscles straining with the effort.
It groaned open, the sound reverberating through the stillness and sending a cold gust rushing past you. Picking up the candelabra, you stepped inside and let the heavy door drift shut behind you with a thud.
The scent of old parchment and dust surrounded you, familiar and oddly comforting. Shelves stretched high, towering sentinels filled with the stories of old and the wisdom of those long gone.
On other nights, you would have lost yourself in the tales that wove through these tomes—myths and sagas that spoke of courage and triumph. But tonight, solace was not what you sought.
You moved through the rows with purpose, eyes scanning the spines until they found those few volumes that hinted at the arcane.
The lore of witches, their dark arts, the means by which they could twist men’s dreams and cloud their minds—it all lay within reach, hidden among dusty pages that no one dared speak of.
You placed the candelabra down, its light casting a golden glow that flickered across the cracked leather and faded titles.
With trembling hands, you opened the first book, its binding stiff with age. The parchment crackled as you turned the pages, your eyes drinking in the inked words.
If there was any way to guard yourself, to protect Aemond from the shadows that had seeped into your lives, you would find it here. No longer would you be haunted by that witch’s knowing gaze or the dread that coiled tight in your belly.
With each turn of the page, the flickering glow of the candelabra cast dancing shapes upon the stone walls, warding off the chill that seeped through Harrenhal’s blackened stones.
The words spoke of charms and tokens, of age-old rituals whispered by the smallfolk who feared the unseen.
Marking doors with protective sigils or crosses to ward off malevolent forces. The purifying strength of salt, said to bar dark spirits and their ilk. Rowan wood, revered for its protective properties, best used when tied with crimson thread to seal its potency.
The hours crept by, measured by the slow guttering of candle wax. You read, forgetting the passage of time as the nightmare’s claws loosened their grip on your heart.
Knowledge was your weapon now, and you wielded it with the silent promise that neither you nor Aemond would fall victim to powers unknown.
The day’s first light spilled through the high, narrow windows, a pale and hesitant glow that bled into the room and painted the bookshelves in muted gold.
It was the day of the Stranger, seldom celebrated, yet you paid it no heed. Lost in the pages, you missed the bells that tolled the hour and forgot the warmth of your usual morning meal shared with Aemond.
When at last you closed the final volume, a resolve settled in your chest, resolute and unyielding. You would need these items—symbols of protection—and that meant venturing beyond the castle’s shadowed halls and out into the market.
The fur-lined cloak wrapped snug around you, guarding against the bitter drafts that swept through the corridors as you made your way back to your chambers.
As you reached the windows, a rare sight unfolded before your eyes—snow, soft and unrelenting, blanketing the bleak spires of Harrenhal.
Snow was a rarity in King’s Landing, seldom seen during your girlhood there. For a moment, untouched by fear or doubt, you felt the stir of childish wonder rise within you.
Three knights of the Kingsguard, their white cloaks pristine even in the snow, flanked you as you ventured to the market. The square bustled despite the cold, vendors calling out their wares with voices hoarse from the chill. Your list of protective items, hastily scrawled in the early hours, guided your every step.
Surprisingly, the rowan wood was easy to find, its branches bundled tightly with red thread as per custom.
Charms of polished crystal and talismans wrought from iron and bronze were procured with little effort, their sellers eager to part with them for a handful of silver stags.
The murmured blessings from the old crones at their stalls made the hair on the back of your neck prickle, but you pressed on, their eyes shadowed with both reverence and suspicion.
By the time the sun began its descent, casting a gilded glow over the snow-draped stones of Harrenhal, your arms were laden with your newfound protections. You returned to your chambers with purpose, setting to work immediately.
With meticulous care, you bound the red thread around the twigs of rowan wood and placed them above each entrance.
Salt, precious and fine, was spread across the thresholds, each grain catching the firelight like scattered stars.
With charcoal from your writing desk, you etched intricate symbols—wards against dark magics—onto the cold, unyielding stone walls.
But it was not just your own safety you sought to secure. For Aemond, you had combed the market for a piece both practical and protective. After much haggling, you procured a leather eyepatch, supple and black, unmarred by wear.
Returning to your chamber, you carefully stitched shards of black tourmaline into its edge, each piece glinting with a subtle, protective gleam. Your needlework was steady, each pull of the thread imbued with silent prayers.
Lost in your task, you barely noted the soft knock at your door or the maidservant who entered, setting a tray of supper on the table near the hearth.
The aroma of roasted fowl and warm bread wafted through the chamber, but your focus remained fixed.
As you worked by the fire's glow, the shadows that had haunted your waking hours seemed to lessen, replaced by the steady rhythm of thread and needle, and the quiet resolve that this time, you would be ready.
You were so absorbed in your needlework, fingers deftly stitching the dark crystals onto a supple leather patch, that the sudden clearing of a throat startled you. Your gaze snapped up, eyes wide with surprise as they met the cool, familiar face of Aemond Targaryen.
“Husband,” you said, breathless as you hastily hid the finished eye patch beneath a velvet pillow. Rising to your feet, you inclined your head, though your heart thudded with residual tension.
He stood tall and imposing in the dim glow, the silver-white of his hair catching the light like a crown. For a moment, the room felt smaller, as if the walls themselves pressed in with the weight of his presence.
“What brings you here?” you asked, voice touched with confusion and a hint of sharpness. Exhaustion dulled your sense of propriety, leaving the question more pointed than intended.
Aemond’s lone violet eye narrowed, an unreadable glimmer within its depths. “To have supper with you,” he replied, as if such a thing were the most natural answer in the realm.
Your eyes flickered to the table, where two silver plates now sat, the steam rising lazily from the dishes set by the silent servant moments before.
You pressed your lips into a thin line and sighed, murmuring, “I believe my invitation was for yesterday.”
A shadow of regret crossed his face, so brief that another might have missed it, but you saw. As you moved past him to take your seat, you caught the soft murmur that slipped from his lips, “I deserved that.”
Aemond followed and took his place across from you, the creak of the chair echoing in the quiet chamber. For a moment, silence hung between you, broken only by the faint crackle of the hearthfire. His gaze settled on you, sharp and searching.
“I have not seen you at all today,” he said at last, the words carrying a hint of something that might have been longing, tempered by pride.
Your eyes dropped to your hands, fingers fiddling absently with the edge of your gown. Remorse pricked at your heart—you had broken your shared morning ritual, the one part of the day reserved just for the two of you.
“I was very busy,” you replied softly, the excuse feeling thin on your tongue.
Aemond’s expression remained unreadable as he tilted his head slightly. “I heard. Visits to the market square,” he said.
You hesitated, holding back the details of the charms, the salt, the ancient warding sigils you had traced with trembling hands. He would only deem you foolish or worse, mad.
“I needed fresh air.”
His eye narrowed, a flicker of displeasure passing over his sharp features. “It is too dangerous for one in your condition to wander beyond these walls,” he said, the admonishment clear, though his tone held an undercurrent of concern.
You lifted your chin, meeting his gaze with defiance. “That is why I took three of your White Cloaks,” you retorted, the fire in your voice matching the spark in his eye.
For a heartbeat, the tension crackled between you, the weight of unsaid words pressing down like a heavy cloak. Then, Aemond’s lips quirked, almost imperceptibly, as if some silent battle had been waged and resolved within him.
“Good,” he said at last, a faint smirk playing at the corner of his mouth. “You are no fool, wife.”
The tautness in the room eased, and though unspoken, an accord was reached.
Aemond leaned forward, and placed a carved wooden box on the table between you. “I’ve brought you something,” he said, his voice a measured calm, yet there was an undercurrent of something softer. “An apology for last night.”
Your brows knit together, skepticism clear in your eyes. “My forgiveness cannot be bought with trinkets, husband,” you said, your tone edged with defiance. Yet even as you spoke, curiosity stirred within you.
One of his silver brows arched at your remark, and a small smile ghosted his lips. “Let us see if it is worthy,” you murmured, reluctant to give ground but unable to hide the intrigue that tugged at you.
With a careful hand, Aemond lifted the lid of the box, revealing a necklace of silver and sapphire. The deep blue stone glimmered like the sea under moonlight, capturing the room’s faint candle glow.
Your breath stilled for a moment, eyes tracing the intricate work of the silver links, each carved to mimic dragon scales.
Your fingertips brushed over the gem, the cool surface grounding you as warmth bloomed in your chest. Unbidden, a soft smile tugged at your lips, an expression so rare that even you felt its presence.
“Thank you, husband,” you whispered, your voice softened by genuine gratitude.
Aemond’s face shifted, pride flickering across his sharp features. There was something triumphant in his half-smirk that you could not allow him to savor unchallenged. You rose from your seat, skirts rustling as you moved.
“I, too, have a gift for you,” you said, your tone now light with a note of playfulness.
“Oh?” he replied, one silver eyebrow lifting in surprise, though the glint in his lone violet eye revealed his interest.
“Mm,” you hummed, stepping to the chaise where a small cushion lay. Your fingers slipped beneath it, retrieving the item hidden there. Turning back to him, a touch of shyness colored your expression, a rare sight that softened the lines of your face.
With both hands, you presented him with an eye patch, the black leather supple and embroidered with fine strands of broken tourmaline crystals, catching the dim light with a subtle shimmer.
Aemond took it, surprise giving way to careful scrutiny. His fingers traced the delicate work, the weight of the crystals and their arrangement thoughtful.
“Black tourmaline,” you said quietly, watching his gaze flick between you and the patch. “It is said to have powerful protective qualities.”
You hesitated, unwilling to speak of how it was also believed to ward against dark energies and unseen dangers—of how it might shield him from threats both known and hidden.
For a moment, silence stretched between you, thick with unspoken words. Aemond’s mouth quirked into a faint smile, rare and genuine. “Thank you, wife. 'Tis a very thoughtful gift,” he said, voice low and sincere.
A moment passed, and you froze in silent shock as Aemond reached up to remove the eye patch he wore. Of course, you had seen what lay beneath—the striking sapphire set into the hollow of his missing eye—but Aemond was never keen on showing it.
In King’s Landing, he would only take it off moments before sleep and replace it the moment he awoke.
Before he could put on the new eye patch, you placed a hand over his arm. “You know you don’t have to wear it around me, yes? I have no issue with it, and you should not either.”
Aemond stared at you for a long moment, his nostrils flaring slightly. For a heartbeat, you feared you had overstepped, but then he nodded, leaving both eye patches on the table.
A small, victorious smile touched your lips as you felt the weight of this unspoken understanding between you. “Allow me to have the maids bring us some dessert,” you said, the tension lifting.
Aemond nodded, his gaze lingering on you as you turned to the doors.
Stepping into the corridor, you quickly found a maid and requested something sweet to be brought to your chambers. When you returned, your heart faltered at the sight before you. Aemond stood at your desk, his tall frame hunched slightly as he leaned over an open book—your journal.
Panic surged within you, and you strode forward, slamming the book shut with a sharp motion. “What are you doing?” you demanded, your voice sharper than intended, eyes wide with both shock and alarm.
Aemond straightened, holding the closed journal in his hand. His expression was unreadable, though his eye bore into you with quiet intensity. “What is this?” he asked evenly, tilting the book slightly for emphasis.
“My private journal,” you answered quickly, reaching for it, but he lifted it just out of your grasp, his superior height giving him the advantage. “Give it back, husband. It is mine.”
Aemond’s voice was steady but carried an undertone of something raw, almost fragile. “Then why,” he began, his eye fixed on you, ignoring your protests, “do you write to our babe?” There was an ache in his tone, a depth of emotion he hadn’t yet voiced.
The question caught you unprepared, stealing the breath from your lungs. Your fingers tightened around the fabric of your skirts, and your shoulders sagged as you avoided his penetrating gaze. “In case,” you whispered, the words trembling as they left your lips.
“In case of what?” he pressed, his voice low and edged with a demand for understanding.
His gaze bore into you, unrelenting, as though he could uncover your secrets by sheer will. Unable to face him, you closed your eyes and let out a shaky sigh. “In case I’m not there,” you admitted at last, the words barely audible, like a confession carried on the wind.
Aemond’s brows drew together, confusion shadowing his features. “What do you mean if you’re not—” He stopped mid-sentence, his breath catching as realization dawned. The tension in his posture shifted, his shoulders falling ever so slightly. “…There.”
His sharp features softened, a rare vulnerability settling over his face. “Women do survive the childbed,” he murmured, his voice gentler now, as though he feared the weight of his words might shatter you.
“Not every time,” you countered, your tone edged with resignation. “And there’s also… that choice.” Your voice broke on the last word, and you felt the tears prick at the corners of your eyes.
The room fell into a heavy silence, broken only by the faint crackling of the fire. Then, with a tenderness that made your heart ache, Aemond reached out and cupped your cheek.
His touch was warm, his thumb brushing lightly against your skin as he tilted your face toward him, forcing your eyes to meet his.
“There can be more babes,” he said softly, his words a promise etched with fierce determination, “but there is only one you.”
His eye, a storm of violet and sapphire, held yours with such intensity that you felt as though he was laying his very soul bare. A tear escaped and traced down your cheek, but Aemond caught it with his thumb, his touch steady, grounding you in the moment.
“I would not choose otherwise,” he said firmly, the weight of his vow lingering in the air between you. “Not for all the heirs in the realm.”
Your lips trembled as you whispered, “You swear?”
“I swear it,” he replied, his voice low and resolute. “I will not lose my wife.”
The ache in your chest eased slightly, the warmth of his words wrapping around you like a shield. You placed your hand over his, pressing it gently against your cheek.
With a soft breath, you tilted your head upward, letting your lips meet his in a gentle caress. The kiss was tender at first, a quiet exchange of affection that carried the weight of your unspoken fears and his unyielding promise.
Aemond responded eagerly, his lips pressing more firmly against yours as his hand slid from your cheek to cradle the nape of your neck.
His other hand found your waist, gripping you firmly as he pulled you closer, as if the mere thought of distance was unbearable. His tongue brushed against your lips, seeking entrance, and you granted it willingly.
As his tongue met yours, the kiss deepened, a slow, fervent dance that sent warmth coursing through your veins. A soft moan escaped your lips, and you felt his grip on your waist tighten in response, his fingers digging into the fabric of your gown.
Your hands moved up his chest, tracing the hard planes of muscle beneath his tunic, before curling into the fabric as if to anchor yourself.
The world around you faded, leaving only the press of his body against yours, the taste of him on your lips, and the heat that built between you like the fire crackling in the hearth.
When the kiss broke, it was with a reluctance that lingered in the air between you. Your breaths came in shallow pants as you gazed up at him through hooded lashes, the corners of your lips curving into a teasing smile.
“My love,” you purred, your voice sultry and laced with affection, “you’ve left me wanting… again.”
Aemond’s gaze darkened, the stormy hue of his violet eye smoldering with barely restrained desire. “Have I now?” he murmured, his voice low and velvety, the faintest smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. “Then it seems I must remedy that, wife.”
You guided his hands lower, to the swell of your belly, then further down to the hem of your nightgown. “Will you show me how much you desire me?” you asked, your voice a sultry whisper. “Make me forget everything but the feel of you inside me...”
A low growl rumbled in Aemond's throat as his hands moved beneath your gown, fingers tracing the curves of your swollen belly before dipping lower to find the damp heat of your core.
“You have no idea how often I dreamt of this,” he murmured, his breath hot against your ear. “Of burying myself deep within you, feeling your walls clench around me...”
With a swift motion, he lifted the hem of your nightgown and pulled it over your head, throwing it aside, revealing your naked form.
His gaze devoured every inch of you, from the full breasts that rose and fell with each ragged breath, to the soft, rounded hips and the glistening folds of your sex.
“Tell me what you want, my queen,” he commanded, his voice husky with desire.
A shiver ran through you at Aemond's bold appraisal, your nipples hardening into tight peaks as his hungry gaze seared your skin. You reached for the fastenings of his breeches, your fingers fumbling with urgency to free his straining erection.
“I want you,” you murmured, your voice low, thick with a desire that lingered like a soft melody in the air. Your eyes never left his, the depth of your longing laid bare in the way your breath hitched.
Aemond’s violet gaze darkened, the flicker of a smirk ghosting his lips. His head tilted ever so slightly, a predator’s grace, as though savoring your words before acting upon them.
You took a step back, your movements slow and deliberate, your footsteps light against the floor as you inched toward the bed. The flicker of the firelight cast a warm glow across the room, the shadows dancing across the carved posts of the bed.
As you reached its edge, you let yourself fall gracefully onto the soft mattress, your body sinking into the luxurious furs and silks. Propping yourself up on your elbows, you gazed at him through lowered lashes, a sly smile curving your lips.
“You beckon me so boldly,” he murmured, his voice a low, velvet drawl, the faintest edge of amusement laced within it. “Have a care, wife, for I am not a man to resist such temptation.”
Aemond watched, transfixed, as you sank onto the bed, the mattress creaking under your weight. His cock throbbed in time with his racing heart, the tip already glistening with precum.
He shed his clothes the rest of the way, letting them fall carelessly to the floor as he stalked towards you, muscles rippling with each step. By the time he reached the bed, he was fully erect, his shaft jutting proudly from a nest of silver curls.
Lying beside you, he reached out to cup your breast, thumbing the sensitive peak before leaning in to capture your mouth in another searing kiss.
His free hand trailed over your round stomach, pausing to tease the edge of your slit before delving deeper, fingers probing your slick folds.
“You're so wet for me already.”
You gasped into the kiss as Aemond's fingers found your entrance, your hips bucking instinctively to meet his touch. “Please,” you whimpered, breaking away from his mouth to gaze up at him with pleading eyes. “I need you inside me. Fill me up, make me yours again.”
As if sensing your desperation, Aemond positioned himself between your thighs, the broad head of his cock nudging insistently at your opening. With a deep groan, he thrust forward, sheathing himself to the hilt in one powerful stroke.
You cried out at the sudden intrusion, your back arching off the bed as waves of pleasure-pain crashed over you. It took a moment for your body to adjust, to relax and welcome the thick length filling you so completely.
Aemond's breath hitched as he bottomed out inside you, your velvety walls gripping him like a vice. For a moment, he simply savored the exquisite sensation, reveling in the tight heat enveloping his throbbing cock.
Then, with a slow, deliberate withdrawal, he pulled almost all the way out before slamming back in, setting a relentless pace.
The bed frame creaked ominously beneath the force of his thrusts, but Aemond paid it no mind, lost in the primal rhythm of rutting his mate.
“Yes, just like that,” he growled, his hips snapping forward with increasing urgency. “Take my cock, my queen.”
You wrapped your legs around Aemond's waist, heels digging into his firm behind as he pounded into you with wild abandon.
Each brutal thrust sent shockwaves of ecstasy coursing through your veins, your inner walls fluttering wildly around his pistoning shaft.
“Aemond!” You wailed, your nails raking down his back as you met his ferocious pace.
The obscene slap of flesh against flesh filled the room, punctuated by my wanton cries and Aemond's guttural grunts. You could feel the pressure building within you, coiling tighter and tighter like a spring ready to snap.
Suddenly, you were hurtling over the edge, your orgasm crashing through you like a tidal wave. You screamed his name as your cunt clenched rhythmically around him, milking his cock for all it was worth.
Aemond's eye rolled back in his head as your velvet sheath spasmed around him, your climax triggering his own. With a hoarse groan, he buried himself to the hilt and came undone, his seed erupting in thick, pulsing jets.
He continued to thrust through the aftershocks, prolonging your shared bliss until he was spent, collapsing beside you with a grunt. For a long moment, the two of you lay entwined, chests heaving as you struggled to catch your breath.
The chamber was awash with the warmth of the firelight and the quiet hum of your contentment. As you lay entwined, your bodies barely a breath apart, your gaze lingered on Aemond’s face.
His sharp features, so often hardened by duty and war, were softened now, his violet eye fixed on you with a tenderness rarely seen.
Your noses brushed lightly, a quiet intimacy, as his hand rested possessively over your waist while yours splayed across his chest, feeling the steady rhythm of his heart.
Almost as if drawn by a spell, he leaned forward, pressing a feather-light kiss to your lips, a gesture so gentle it felt like a whispered promise. When he pulled away, he settled back onto the pillow beside you, his arm still wrapped protectively around you.
You shifted, nestling closer, your head finding solace in the crook of his neck. Your hand lay over his heart, its steady rise and fall a soothing cadence that began to lull you into slumber.
His breathing slowed, each exhale a soft brush against your hair, and soon, the quiet comfort of his presence drew you into a deep, dreamless sleep.
But the peace did not last.
You jolted awake, startled by the sudden thrashing of Aemond’s body beside you. His face, so serene moments ago, was now contorted in anguish, his brow slick with sweat.
His breaths came in sharp, uneven gasps, and his hands clenched the sheets as if warding off some unseen terror.
Your heart clenched at the sight. He had spoken little of his nightmares, but you knew they haunted him—a torment born of battles fought, losses endured, and burdens carried.
Pushing yourself up, you moved with as much haste as your swollen belly would allow, the weight of your pregnancy slowing you only slightly.
Grabbing the robe draped over the chair, you wrapped it around yourself, its soft fabric barely warding off the chill of the room as you padded toward the small table where you had placed your new goods.
Your hands rummaged through the items with purpose, your fingers finally curling around a small vial. You held it up, peering at its contents even in the dim light. The faint, familiar scent already began to calm your racing heart.
Lavender oil.
You returned to the bed, the vial clutched firmly in your grasp. As you sat beside him, Aemond's thrashing began to subside, though his breaths were still ragged, and his jaw clenched tightly.
Carefully, you uncorked the vial, the soothing aroma of lavender wafting into the room. You poured a small amount onto your hands, warming the oil between your palms before leaning over him.
With gentle, deliberate movements, you began to anoint his temples, your touch light yet firm as you traced small, calming circles.
The oil left a faint sheen on his skin, its scent filling the space between you. "Aemond," you whispered softly, your voice low and steady, a tether pulling him back from the depths of his nightmare.
His breathing began to slow, the tension in his body easing under your ministrations. You moved to his wrists, massaging the oil into his pulse points, your hands steady despite the ache blooming in your lower back.
“You are safe,” you murmured, your lips brushing against his ear. “I am here.”
You whispered a silent prayer under your breath, invoking the gods for protection and peace. Your gaze stayed fixed on him, your heart clenching as you watched his features begin to soften, the tension melting away.
You held your breath, waiting. When his form finally stilled, his breathing evening out, you let out a soft sigh of relief. The lavender and your quiet vigil had worked.
Exhaustion weighed heavily upon you, and you slid back into bed beside him, pulling the covers over the both of you. But just as you were about to lay your head against Aemond’s chest, you froze.
A chill ran down your spine, and the hairs on your arms stood on end as an inexplicable sensation swept over you.
You were being watched.
Your eyes darted to the chamber doors, which you now noticed were slightly ajar. Beyond them, barely visible in the darkness, you caught the faint glimmer of glowing green eyes.
Your heart raced, a primal fear coursing through you. The air seemed to thicken, heavy with an unseen presence.
But you steadied yourself, your breathing slowing as you reminded yourself of the protections you had set in place earlier that day.
You had taken every precaution, warding the chamber with runes and incantations, ensuring that no ill intent could cross its threshold. Alys Rivers might wield her strange gifts, but she would not claim Aemond—not without a fight.
With a courage you hadn’t known you possessed, you tightened your arms around Aemond’s sleeping form, drawing strength from the warmth of his body against yours. Lifting your chin, you stared directly into the glowing eyes, refusing to show weakness.
“I won’t let you have him,” you whispered fiercely, your voice a low, steady vow. “Not without a fight, witch.”
For a moment, the air seemed to hold its breath. The green eyes lingered for a moment longer, unblinking and cold, before retreating into the darkness.
Only when the oppressive feeling lifted did you allow yourself to exhale. A trembling sigh escaped your lips as you lowered your head, nestling into Aemond’s chest. His heartbeat, steady and strong beneath your ear, became a soothing rhythm, lulling you out of your fear.
As the night enveloped you once more, you clung to him, your resolve unshaken. Whatever forces sought to disturb your peace, you would face them.
For Aemond, for your babe, for the family you were building together—you would fight.
Hope You Enjoyed!
#aemond targaryen x reader#house of the dragon#aemond targaryen#aemond x reader#hotd fanfic#hotd#hotd aemond#aemond one eye#aemond x you#aemond targaryen smut
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Miracle IV
Aitana Bonmatí x Teen!Reader
Summary: You're up late
You're up in the attic when Aitana gets home.
That usually isn't a problem.
It's where you usually retreat to after school. You come in, say good afternoon to Aitana if she's in, eat a snack and immediately go up into the attic.
You've become a bit more sullen now that your friends are busy.
Conejita has entered the work force now, working at some florist in town, a few hours away from the little house Aitana bought so you rarely see Marta and Caro's daughter during the week.
Skatt is studying at some top rated school in Norway, drowning herself in her studies of bugs while Ingrid and Mapi fight to get her to go outside and see the sun.
You're still in school though. In all advanced classes, of course, but still school aged and catching the bus to the fancy school that Aitana is paying an extortionate fee to send you to.
You've withdrawn a little now that it's just you and her, disappearing up into the attic to study your star charts and maps and wait long enough for the sun to dip in the sky so you can use the telescope you spent all of last year saving up to buy.
Aitana doesn't have a problem with that.
You're a certified genius and sometimes you need alone time.
What she has a problem with is you being stuck up in the attic when she gets home from an event at gone three in the morning.
The ladder creaks under her feet as she hauls herself up through the hole in the ceiling, head popping up to see you sitting at the desk, documents in hand with your telescope set up through the skylight.
"It's late."
You jolt, dropping the papers in your hand and covering them with your star maps.
You spin in your chair, clutching at your chest.
"Mama," You say," You scared me."
"You should be in bed," Aitana continues, coming to stand in front of you," You've got school tomorrow."
You look away from her with an eye roll.
"We both know I don't need much sleep for school. You always say I'm intelligent."
You've been told you're intelligent for most of your life, a clear superstar in academics since your first year of school and you could already read and write and do simple multiplication and division.
You'd been streamlined into the most academic of classes and if it wasn't for Aitana insisting that you stay with your year group, you'd already be away at university.
"You still need rest," Aitana reminds you," And to rest your brain."
She cards her fingers through the loose strands of hair framing your face.
You're her mirror image in every way, the same eyes and nose and hair.
Aitana wonders briefly if she was ever this aloof with her own parents at your age and if she owes them apologies for it.
"Go to sleep, estrella," She says," We can talk more tomorrow."
You huff, pulling out of her grip and turning back to your maps.
They cover all the walls in the attic, completed and signed at the bottom with your name.
Aitana looks down at the ones on your desk, the ones not yet completed or not yet perfect enough for you to display on the walls of your little sanctuary.
Something peaks out from under one of them and she frowns.
She's already pulled it out before you've even noticed.
"Where did you get this?"
Aitana's voice is stern, one that you're not all too familiar.
You freeze, eyes wide in alarm.
You reach for the documents. Aitana holds them away from you.
"Where did you get this?" She demands again and you scoff.
"In the safe. Under your bed."
"You broke into the safe?!"
You roll your eyes. "It's not the most secure of passwords. Our birthdays? Please, it was easy."
"Drop the attitude!" Aitana snaps," Why were you rummaging around in there?!"
You stand up from your desk.
Neither of you are overwhelmingly tall but even at sixteen, you meet her height so you're eye to eye.
"They're mine!" You say and Aitana laughs.
"I think you'll find they're mine," She says," You certainly didn't sign them."
"Well they're my adoption papers! I deserved to see what they say!"
Aitana sighs, rubbing her temples. "Then you come to me! You don't go snooping around in my bedroom."
You huff, finally breaking eye contact to stare out of the skylight. "As if you'd tell me anything." You shove past Aitana, barging her shoulder on your way to the ladder," You never want to talk about them."
"Well, forgive me for not wanting to talk about my dead friends."
"Forgive me for waiting to know about my dead parents."
Aitana holds your gaze for a moment.
You're already halfway down the ladder, staring back at her with identical eyes.
The wound is still raw even though it happened sixteen years ago. The loss of her friends still weighs heavy. Aitana doesn't even know if she could look at you if you held even one feature of your parents.
"Estrella-"
"I'm going to bed," You cut her off," We'll talk in the morning."
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