ASOIAF: Rhaegar's Rebellion (OOC/Signups)[OPEN]

[Dragos Bee]

Personally I believe that the GC's aim remains and they would never help the Targaryens in this fashion. The Golden Company are the most expensive sellsword company there is, so unless the Martells plan to bankrupt themselves it seems (to me) unrealistic for most Westerosi houses to be able to afford them unless you are the throne, the Lannisters, the Tyrells, or maybe the Hightowers. I think it would be for the best if we kept them out.

That's my POV though and we shall see what OP decides upon.

I would not be surprised if the Martell's could theoretically afford it, provided, as Yaana claims, they do not mind draining their treasury. A loan or two from the Iron Bank might be in possible if need be.

As for if they would, that is a more difficult question. In the books, they support Aegon VI under the assumption he is a trueborn Targaryen. Similarly, the original plan was for the Golden Company was to travel with Aegon back to Meereen to join with Daenerys. Tyrion states that their main motivation now could be just to return home.

It is hard to know what they would do, I think it will depend on if the Martell's representative can be alluring enough to tempt the Company into working for Dorne.

It is also possible it is in contract with someone else already.

I will think more about it later today.

All true, both of you, and I did discuss with Balerion in TGs about the possibility of Rhaegar helping pay the Golden Company's hiring fee once he takes the Iron Throne. Basically, if worst comes to worst, Dorne will try to have someone else pay the costs/debt.

[Dragos Bee]

I might not be available tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

[Yaana Noore]

The argument could be that they are now willing to support the Targaryens and want to simply return, yes. The thing is, they have already had that opportunity and turned it down. When Viserys asked them to help they laughed at him and refused. So clearly there was something different about the two, because in one scenario they laughed the claimant out the room, and in the other they dropped everything to help by breaking their contract, something they had never done before. Illyrio explains this by saying "Some contracts are writ in ink, and some in blood." - that is, the GC's original mission.

This isn't necessarily something they are all aware of, as Jon Connington isn't aware of the full details of the plan. As he says himself, the only people who know the whole plan are Varys, Illyrio, and Blackheart Toyne. The thing is, Toyne is almost certainly the one in charge of the Golden Company at this point, and House Toyne has a long-lasting dislike of House Targaryen.

I don't mean to just echo the main comments of the Aegon/Blackfyre theory although if you want to read some on it you can here. The GC section sums up my argument about why they wouldn't help the Targs though, and you can see an explanation of why the GC's commander-general at this point hates the Targs here.

All true, both of you, and I did discuss with Balerion in TGs about the possibility of Rhaegar helping pay the Golden Company's hiring fee once he takes the Iron Throne. Basically, if worst comes to worst, Dorne will try to have someone else pay the costs/debt.

If the promise of payment is based upon Rhaegar taking the throne, this is even more unrealistic. Even in a hypothetical where the GC don't hate the Targs or aim to remove them (see above) and only want to return home, it is asking a lot to expect them to join when currently the odds look heavily stacked against Rhaegar and they only get paid if they win. This is the sellsword company that always fulfills their contracts and always gets their money. If they don't, they are willing to sack a city for it. Newer and smaller sellsword companies might be willing to gamble with the reward for a hope of the big score if the guy they back wins, but what incentive is there for an already prestiguous and immensely rich sellsword company? There's a reason Stannis has barely any men after losing the Blackwater - good sellswords want gold, not promises. It's only with him getting the loan off the Iron Bank that he is getting his sellswords.

Add in to this, if all the GC really do want is to return home (in a scenario where they are willing to help the Targs) then Rhaegar has to agree to that, no? This means promising land currentlty owned by Westerosi lords away to the members of the GC in return for assistance.

All of this creates a situation where it seems very, very unlikely that they would help a Targaryen. The Martells can try (and be rejected), but it would be for the best story-wise if they ended up hiring another sellsword company.

[Dragos Bee]

All of this creates a situation where it seems very, very unlikely that they would help a Targaryen. The Martells can try (and be rejected), but it would be for the best story-wise if they ended up hiring another sellsword company.

I was pondering that; are the Second Sons a good alternative? I only have Wiki knowledge.

[Yaana Noore]

All of this creates a situation where it seems very, very unlikely that they would help a Targaryen. The Martells can try (and be rejected), but it would be for the best story-wise if they ended up hiring another sellsword company.

I was pondering that; are the Second Sons a good alternative? I only have Wiki knowledge.

According to the wiki they only have 500 men. Looking at some of those from the wiki now a better you may want is the Company of the Cat which apparently has around 3,000 men.

[Dragos Bee]

I was pondering that; are the Second Sons a good alternative? I only have Wiki knowledge.

According to the wiki they only have 500 men. Looking at some of those from the wiki now a better you may want is the Company of the Cat which apparently has around 3,000 men.

Hmm, all right; @Balerion, can I change 'Golden Company' to 'Company of the Cat'?

[Balerion the Dread]

All of this creates a situation where it seems very, very unlikely that they would help a Targaryen. The Martells can try (and be rejected), but it would be for the best story-wise if they ended up hiring another sellsword company.

I was pondering that; are the Second Sons a good alternative? I only have Wiki knowledge.

The Second Sons are a far smaller company.

The more I think the more I am persuaded that it makes the most sense for the Golden Company remains in Essos.

House Martell has 25,000 men, and that should be ok for now in terms of fighting the war.

If it would help the story, or would be interesting later on, I may authorize bringing in the GC.

[Balerion the Dread]

According to the wiki they only have 500 men. Looking at some of those from the wiki now a better you may want is the Company of the Cat which apparently has around 3,000 men.

Hmm, all right; @Balerion, can I change 'Golden Company' to 'Company of the Cat'?

Yes you may go back and edit on this one occasion.

[Revlona]

No mention of Eddard at all?

I’m disappointed Baratheon

[Yaana Noore]

No mention of Eddard at all?

I’m disappointed Baratheon

I do mention him, Robert thinks of him at one point. In your post you say he is with his father at Winterfell so there is no opportunity to talk with him.

[Revlona]

No mention of Eddard at all?

I’m disappointed Baratheon

I do mention him, Robert thinks of him at one point. In your post you say he is with his father at Winterfell so there is no opportunity to talk with him.

No I made a mistake by including him and edited it out

In my second post he’s mentioned in the eyrie

[Yaana Noore]

There's my first post done. Stannis wants to do nothing, while Robert wants to do... something.

On sellsword companies: the general reason they aren't as prominent or used as often in Westeros is probably because of the feudal system. There isn't a point to hiring sellswords most of the time when there is a much cheaper, less disloyal fighting force readily available in your own lands.
Merc companies exist in situations where war is common and the general population isn't willing to fight. As Westeros is relatively peaceful, especially compared to Essos, and the feudal system means calling up men is a normal part of society, there is less need for sellswords. You have a cheap alternative available and there isn't great opportunity for a massive merc company to walk around the continent making great deals of money. Westeros has individual hireable hedge knights instead.

Obviously you get them sometimes when manpower is lacking (see: Stannis), most of the time the manpower each one has is fine. If you look at the one of the largest conventional battles (that is, a pitched battle with no dragons) in Westerosi history, the Battle of the Trident, the Royalists had about 40,000 men and the rebels had less than this. It is very, very rare for an army to be bigger than this. Apart from the Redgrass Field which sounds like it was just as large as the Trident although we don't know the numbers, there are very few times an army numbers much more than 20,000 and goes into battle, it is too big a force to realistically feed and manouvre with the current time period. The only exceptions to this I can think of are the Field of Fire (two kings desparetly combine forces to stop the Aegon the Conqueror and all 3 dragons) and the Blackwater (massive relieving army arriving to a city). For a real word example: The Wars of the Roses, which most people cite as Martin's main inspiration for the series. The largest battle (by some distance) in that war is the Battle of Towton. The Lancastrians had 30-35,000 men, and the Yorkists had 25-30,000. This was the biggest battle in England during the Medieval Period (assuming TWotR is that), and remains the largest battle fought in England.

This can be a problem in ASOIAF RPs sometimes with people wanting some gigantic army and then bloating it with sellswords. A few thousand complements your ranks but otherwise it is often not needed, most armies are around 10-20k.

TL;DR - armies don't need to be that big.

[Balerion the Dread]

There's my first post done. Stannis wants to do nothing, while Robert wants to do... something.

On sellsword companies: the general reason they aren't as prominent or used as often in Westeros is probably because of the feudal system. There isn't a point to hiring sellswords most of the time when there is a much cheaper, less disloyal fighting force readily available in your own lands.
Merc companies exist in situations where war is common and the general population isn't willing to fight. As Westeros is relatively peaceful, especially compared to Essos, and the feudal system means calling up men is a normal part of society, there is less need for sellswords. You have a cheap alternative available and there isn't great opportunity for a massive merc company to walk around the continent making great deals of money. Westeros has individual hireable hedge knights instead.

Obviously you get them sometimes when manpower is lacking (see: Stannis), most of the time the manpower each one has is fine. If you look at the one of the largest conventional battles (that is, a pitched battle with no dragons) in Westerosi history, the Battle of the Trident, the Royalists had about 40,000 men and the rebels had less than this. It is very, very rare for an army to be bigger than this. Apart from the Redgrass Field which sounds like it was just as large as the Trident although we don't know the numbers, there are very few times an army numbers much more than 20,000 and goes into battle, it is too big a force to realistically feed and manouvre with the current time period. The only exceptions to this I can think of are the Field of Fire (two kings desparetly combine forces to stop the Aegon the Conqueror and all 3 dragons) and the Blackwater (massive relieving army arriving to a city). For a real word example: The Wars of the Roses, which most people cite as Martin's main inspiration for the series. The largest battle (by some distance) in that war is the Battle of Towton. The Lancastrians had 30-35,000 men, and the Yorkists had 25-30,000. This was the biggest battle in England during the Medieval Period (assuming TWotR is that), and remains the largest battle fought in England.

This can be a problem in ASOIAF RPs sometimes with people wanting some gigantic army and then bloating it with sellswords. A few thousand complements your ranks but otherwise it is often not needed, most armies are around 10-20k.

TL;DR - armies don't need to be that big.

"Robert wants to do... something."
Beautifully said.

Agreed, there needs to be some level of realism in terms of army size, the examples cited are good ones.

In that vein, the military strength of each House (Such as Dorne having 25,000 men, or the North having 45,000) is if every able bodied man or boy were to take up arms. Such a mobilisation would take an immense amount of time, and leave the Realm they came from bereft of both defenses and labour.

For example, Robb Stark is able to assemble a maximum of 18,000 Northmen in a time of crisis.

Numbers will be something I monitor as OP, so hopefully we all try to be accurate.

[Dragos Bee]

@Yanna, @Balerion, thank you; I'll keep it in mind.

[Revlona]

There's my first post done. Stannis wants to do nothing, while Robert wants to do... something.

On sellsword companies: the general reason they aren't as prominent or used as often in Westeros is probably because of the feudal system. There isn't a point to hiring sellswords most of the time when there is a much cheaper, less disloyal fighting force readily available in your own lands.
Merc companies exist in situations where war is common and the general population isn't willing to fight. As Westeros is relatively peaceful, especially compared to Essos, and the feudal system means calling up men is a normal part of society, there is less need for sellswords. You have a cheap alternative available and there isn't great opportunity for a massive merc company to walk around the continent making great deals of money. Westeros has individual hireable hedge knights instead.

Obviously you get them sometimes when manpower is lacking (see: Stannis), most of the time the manpower each one has is fine. If you look at the one of the largest conventional battles (that is, a pitched battle with no dragons) in Westerosi history, the Battle of the Trident, the Royalists had about 40,000 men and the rebels had less than this. It is very, very rare for an army to be bigger than this. Apart from the Redgrass Field which sounds like it was just as large as the Trident although we don't know the numbers, there are very few times an army numbers much more than 20,000 and goes into battle, it is too big a force to realistically feed and manouvre with the current time period. The only exceptions to this I can think of are the Field of Fire (two kings desparetly combine forces to stop the Aegon the Conqueror and all 3 dragons) and the Blackwater (massive relieving army arriving to a city). For a real word example: The Wars of the Roses, which most people cite as Martin's main inspiration for the series. The largest battle (by some distance) in that war is the Battle of Towton. The Lancastrians had 30-35,000 men, and the Yorkists had 25-30,000. This was the biggest battle in England during the Medieval Period (assuming TWotR is that), and remains the largest battle fought in England.

This can be a problem in ASOIAF RPs sometimes with people wanting some gigantic army and then bloating it with sellswords. A few thousand complements your ranks but otherwise it is often not needed, most armies are around 10-20k.

TL;DR - armies don't need to be that big.

"Robert wants to do... something."
Beautifully said.

Agreed, there needs to be some level of realism in terms of army size, the examples cited are good ones.

In that vein, the military strength of each House (Such as Dorne having 25,000 men, or the North having 45,000) is if every able bodied man or boy were to take up arms. Such a mobilisation would take an immense amount of time, and leave the Realm they came from bereft of both defenses and labour.

For example, Robb Stark is able to assemble a maximum of 18,000 Northmen in a time of crisis.

Numbers will be something I monitor as OP, so hopefully we all try to be accurate.

I’m thinking 30,000 would be quite fair number

As it’s the same that came south during the conquest

And I plan on taking my time gathering

[Rozeta]

CHARACTER APPLICATION
Name: Canen Elsey
House: Elsey
Age: 40
Gender: M
Titles: Lord of Kite
House Seat: Kite’s Nest
Allegiance paid to: Martell
Appearance:

Oscar Isaac FC

Personality: With a serious demeanor, Canen is a quiet, contemplative man. He cherishes his family above all else, encouraging and supporting their every interest and whim. He often ends up as the mediator between family disputes, and governs his seat fairly and kindly with the same steady patience and sympathetic ear as he does when handling his children. His diligence in administration is tempered by his dedication to his House, but he maintains a respect for duty and etiquette, instilling those values in son and subject alike.
Skills: Like all Elsey children, Canen learned horse riding at a young age, and naturally graduated to mounted combat. He was born charismatic and matured into a talented negotiator and diplomat, made all the more successful by his focused and dutiful personality.
Weaponry: Warhorse named Riona, castle-forged steel longsword, ceremonial bronze scimitar.
Biography:

Born of Lord Cabron Elsey and Lady Media of Toland, Canen was an exuberant child who loved to challenge squires and stable boys alike to horse races. It was said of him he could talk anyone into anything, and then out of the consequences again. He befriended anyone and everyone who talked to him, even if it was just for a few moments he would become that person’s best friend, often winning himself a free loaf from the bakers or a gaggle of other children eagerly following him everywhere he went.

His younger brother, Carman, took after his mother’s complexion, and was much more tame in his escapades, preferring to stay in Kite’s Nest where he basked in the attentions of his mother and Maester Berric, but the boy’s still considered each other close friends, and when Carman was sent to be fostered in Ghost Hill with his mother’s family neither took it very well, less so when their mother suffered a difficult pregnancy and they lost both her and the child, beginning a dark period for their family.

After a brief visit Carmen returned to Ghost Hill, and Canen’s father neglected his lordly duties in favor of hunting bandits, often leaving Canen in charge of Kite’s Nest and forcing him to give up his childish ways, a fact he would remember when raising his own children.

At 16, his father seemed to have come to terms somewhat and refocused enough to wrangle a marriage for his heir; Leria Santagar. The newly weds began an intricate game of teasing, becoming the best of friends shortly before the birth of their first son; Devyn, their relationship only strengthening after welcoming a daughter, Jewyl, into their family.

As parents they spoke at length about how they wished to raise their children, Canen sharing how his brother’s fostering, his mother’s death, and his father’s withdrawal from his life had all taken the joy from his life for so long. They decided to make things better for their children, encouraging them and sheltering them more than they perhaps should.

Lord Cabron disapproved, but was largely still a very distracted man, all but abdicating to his eldest son, and did not object when Canen took the initiative to recall his brother from Ghost Hill, and wed him to Nymella Vaith, his childhood best friend.

Leria Santagar and three of her maids drowned in The Scourge when their boat tipped. The Greenblood Orphans, a river-faring people, had been more welcome in Kiteswallow since the assent of Canen, who specifically invited them yearly to help promote trade of his people’s goods. One of their rafts had been nearby when the Lady Leria’s boat tipped, and came to their aid, but arrived too late to save them.

Somehow, once returning their bodies to shore, the orphans ended up in Kite’s Nest and in the confusion and grief could not find a way to leave without being rude or impolite. They stayed there for nearly two weeks, in that time one of them became an informal apprentice to Maester Berric, another befriended Carmen and his wife Nymella in the marksmen’s yard, and the last, Qara Rapids, became an impromptu nanny and counsellor for the two grieving children. When Canen finally remembered their presence he of course gave them permission to leave, but invited them to return anytime, seeing their quick bonding with the castle staff, his brother, and his children.

Two years later, after frequent visits and getting to know each other, Canen and Qara married, having three children; Terssa, Cressy, and Tremyn, and then a fourth by way of Qara’s best friend and bedmate, Dena, having a son called Simmer. The family often journeyed to Sunspear, Ghost Hill, Vaith, Spottswood, and Planky Town, visiting relatives and friends.

Lord Cabron remarried some years later, giving Canen two more brothers, twenty years younger than he, by the names Callyn and Camyr. He died a few years after their birth, and so they became as sons to him rather than brothers.

RP Example:
I guess I’ll do two so you can properly gauge… this is from a DC RP on roleplayerguild where I made a custom alien character based off Danny Phantom lmao

November 3rd, 2019
6:15 AM, PT
Buffy’s, Coast City

Echo

Ezra sat on his little stool behind the slim desk near the entrance, the wooden countertop only large enough to fit a thin and sleek cash register, a tiny dark mat for his elbows, and a large touch screen computer. Bright sunlight had already deigned to invade the room through the tall floor-to-ceiling windows on either side of the glass door, reflecting warm light off the shiny wooden floors and stainless steel bars, and prompting him to hide behind his sunglasses even as the first few members began to trickle in. By now he’d mostly adjusted to their routines and knew their faces well, though he wasn’t as good with the names.

There were the coffee girls, a quartet of young women always packing Starbucks and showing up first thing in the morning every other morning, claiming a few mats and a radio by the window where they alternated between yoga and some kind of dance workout. The high school jocks were another group, made up of a trio of teenage boys who spent most of their time gossiping, but occasionally they used the large mat in the back to practice wrestling- Ezra assumed they were on a high school team, but didn’t know for sure. Missing from the usual crowd of today were a group of four, two middle aged couples who had admirably stuck with their new year's resolution to get in shape, but skipped sometimes as they were parents and sometimes had other responsibilities.

Ezra left them to their own devices, he was just the clerk and had to make sure everyone using the gym had their membership cards up to date, and sometimes he even got to issue new cards. Exciting. The trainers and fitness experts were usually around later in the day, and after a quick glance at the schedule he saw it wouldn’t be until after his shift that a customer had scheduled an appointment to receive a fitness plan. All in all it was set to be a boring day.

10:00 AM, PT

“Hey Ezra!” A young voice suddenly called, childishly exuberant.

He reluctantly allowed his attention to be pulled up from his phone, currently playing an informative techno-babble video from TED about artificial intelligences. Human technology amazed him sometimes, it was so different from his homeworld’s, though his people had been more advanced he was proud to admit.

He allowed himself a bemused smile at the familiar child throwing open the gym door, glancing behind the kid expecting to see an equally familiar parent, but no such luck. “Kyle?” he half greeted, half questioned. He had short dark hair and warm brown eyes, and his skin was surprisingly brown given that last time Ezra had seen it the color had been on the red side of pink.

“I didn’t know you worked here!” the boy cried, dashing up to the counter and giving a wide grin. Kyle was an alien of some sort, and Ezra would bet that wasn’t even his real name, but as with most aliens he’d met Kyle’s mom had been cagey about their species, their names, and their circumstances. “Are you going to watch the match?!”

Ezra’s eyebrows drew together, expressing his confusion. “The match?” He parroted, puzzled, but then redirected; “Hey, where’s your mom?” Aliens took being in the closet seriously, and children of near any species were impulsive and uncontrollable, why let this one wander about the city alone? Who knew what could happen?

Kyle waved a dismissive hand, “She’s next door buying flowers or something.” He shrugged, uncaring, “She said I could watch the match with you while she’s busy!”

Ezra raised both eyebrows in surprise, shocked he’d be trusted to watch out for a kid without even a word of warning. He supposed it wasn’t a complicated or difficult task, and he was pretty sure Lauren and her son were telepaths, or maybe they had some other way of keeping in contact quietly- that’d been the vibe he’d gotten from the hints dropped at The Small anyway. It was an awfully tight community they had, even if they treated each other with caution and suspicion there was still a level of trust solely from the fact they were all in the same boat.

He shrugged, deciding to allow it. “Alright, as long as your mom’s okay with it. The TV’s over there,” he gestured to the black flatscreen he hadn’t bothered turning on yet, “you know what channel this match is on?”

Rather than answer, Kyle darted over and snapped up the remote, flicking the TV on and hurriedly changing to a new channel. Ezra was only mildly surprised to see a boxing match on the screen. “That’s Christopher Ives! He’s the defender, and the black guy is Marvin Hayes! The underdog! He’s totally gonna win and turn the world of boxing on it’s head! Everyone’s been saying he’s gonna lose, but no way! Hayes is takin' it home!” The kid babbled excitedly, claiming a seat on one of the unused pieces of equipment. The gym was mostly empty now, a new group had moved into the back and were doing more flirting than wrestling, but most of the morning crowd had moved out.

Ezra allowed himself to share a smirk with the kid, giving him a teasing; “Oh yeah?”

“Definitely!” Was the confidant response, and Ezra couldn’t resist.

“I dunno, I’d put my money on the other guy. That chest hair? Totally has magical powers.” He joked, allowing his usual reclusive shyness to fade away. What harm could there be in talking about a human sport? Besides he’d agreed to keep an eye on the kid, best to keep him entertained until his mom came for him, and hopefully she’d turn up soon, his shift was ending in an hour and he really needed to catch up on his class work.

November 3rd, 2019
10:35 AM, PT
Buffy’s, Coast City

Echo

There were few things Ezra would ever regret more than betting on Ives, even though it had been informal and nothing had been wagered it was still going to go down as the day a happy go lucky kid turned half an hour into an eternal stretch of hell.

As the first round came to a close Kyle was worried, but defiant. He buckled down and stuck to his previous words, loudly insisting Hayes would win and cheering for the man exuberantly. He was a constant stream of facts and opinions mixed together in a never ending spew of words Ezra couldn’t keep up with, which was fine in Kyle’s book who was so absorbed in the match he never once looked away from the screen and bounced energetically in place, mock dodging and punching excitedly as the next round came on screen.

Then Hayes won, and Kyle went ballistic. Ezra wasn’t entirely sure what he’d said to the kid in the haze of happy celebration that followed, but whatever it was only made him more excitable as he lorded his victory over the entire gym. His efforts to calm the kid down were utterly fruitless, but he was saved when Farha finally arrived.

The muslim woman stepped into the shop, taking off her sunglasses and letting her eyes adjust to the new lighting for a second, and then just stood there taking in the scene for a long moment. Quiet Ezra, usually bored to tears and desperately patrolling his phone for something to read or watch or do, eagerly awaiting her arrival so he could finally go home- was instead replaced by a very stressed Ezra, smiling uncomfortably at a bouncing jibbering child flouncing all over the gym equipment and vomiting a range of words as he crowed his joy for all to hear. In the back a couple of young men were whispering to each other as they watched the scene, presumably taking a break from their workout to watch the mayhem unfold.

It very soon became apparent the kid was excited about a boxing match, as he returned to the TV and cried ’"MIRACULOUUUSSS" MAARVVIIINN HAAAAAYYYEEEEESSS!’ in a faux deep voice.

In the second it took the kid to take a breath, Ezra pounced. “Oh Farha!” He said loudly, catching the kids attention that someone new had turned up. “Well, sorry kid, looks like my shifts over. How ‘bout we find your mom so I can go home and get some work done, huh?”

“Aww man!” The kid moaned, “Can’t I stay a little longer? He’s only just got his trophy!”

“Nope, sorry, but it’s Farha’s turn now. Wouldn’t want to disturb the nice lady while she’s getting ready for her shift would we?” Ezra reasoned, but Farha knew that was all talk, she’d started her shift amidst five separate blaring radios a few times, on those days when the gym was packed and every speaker there was turned up to max, some playing different songs. She could handle a noisy rambunctious kid, this was clearly Ezra trying to make a hasty escape.

She considered protesting, getting Ezra and the kid to stay, she was awfully curious about her secretive coworker, and this random child would be sure to shed some light on his life, but before she could act on her half finished plan the child shot her a look, as if piercing into her very soul and rummaging for secrets. “Yeah, okay.” He said quietly, still looking her in the eyes and sounding suddenly very serious. What was that about?

Then they were gone, and Farha was left standing in the entrance trying to reorient herself.

Ezra took Kyle’s hand in his right, and with his left pulled a small backpack over one shoulder. He was a bit curious about why the kid suddenly switched tracks like that, and he was a bit concerned over how far his mood had fallen. He didn’t have to wait long to find out though, as Kyle looked and searched his eyes; “Do you ever get tired of hiding?” He asked, softly.

It was a short walk to the flower shop next door, where Kyle had said his mom would be earlier. They reached it after only a few seconds, but Ezra made no move to go in, and for a long moment the two aliens shared a moment of silence as they pondered their lives and their secrets. “Yeah.” He finally admitted, but it wasn’t a topic he was ready to broach, especially with an insightful child who may or may not read minds.

He opened the door and relaxed, hit with the smell of flowers. It was a nice place, but he’d never been inside before, had never had any reason to buy flowers. He wondered what reason Lauren had for buying them. Decoration? Had she met someone? Were they human? Maybe they were for family, how many of hers were here on Earth? Were they okay? He rolled his eyes at his train of thought, none of that was his business.

He spied the familiar woman talking to another girl ([@Korkoa]), presumably someone who worked here, and let go of Kyle’s hand. The kid bounded over to his mother, smile beginning to return, probably anticipating telling her all about Hayes’ victory. She looked over after greeting her son, giving Ezra a motherly smile and called over to where he lingered by the entrance; “Thanks Ezra! See you at The Small soon?”

He gave a noncomittal shrug at first, he was awfully busy, but then let out a reluctant; “Sure, see you then.” He gave a final wave before leaving, sparing a final small glance at the flower shop girl as he went.

Now he just had to get home, he had so much classwork due...

Notes:

I’ll do FCs for the other characters as they’re introduced.
House Elsey
[i[Children of Cabron and Media[/i]
Lord Canen Elsey, 40 M
- Lady Qara Elsey nee Rapids, 35 F
Carman Elsey, 38 M
- Nymella Elsey nee Vaith, 36 F
Callyn Elsey, 19 M
Camyr Elsey, 18 M

Children of Canen and Leria
Heir Devyn Elsey, 24 M
Jewyl Elsey, 23 F

Children of Canen and Qara
Terssa Elsey, 21 F
Cressy Elsey, 20 F
Tremyn Elsey, 16 M

Children of Canen and Dena
Simmer Sand, 19 M

Children of Carmen and Nymella
Darrian Elsey, 23 M

Carman’s Bastards
Covar Sand, 22 M
Coryn Sand, 21 M

CUSTOM HOUSE APPLICATION
House Name: Elsey
House Sigil:

House Words: Glean, Glimmer, Glory
Allegiance Paid to: Martell
House Seat: Kite’s Nest

((The custom markers are over a CK2 mod map of Dorne, so it’s probably not an accurate outline of the land divisions, but if I could have something vaguely matching the province titled “The Scourge” or at least an area along the Scourge river itself even if not exactly as depicted, that’d be fantastic thanks ))

Approx Number of military at command: 3,500
History of the House:

House Gully once ruled The Scourge from Gull Tower in Marshallow, but history remembers that House as traitors to Dorne, a scandal involving the assassination of a Prince’s daughter after she swore to accuse the Lord Gully’s eldest son of assault, and worse things. After the murder was discovered, House Gull closed ranks and denied everything, but the evidence was against them and House Elsey marched from Kite’s Nest under orders of the Prince of the time. They took the city easily and sieged the Tower for three days before their offer of asylum for whatever innocent party let them in was accepted.

They escorted two Gully daughters, a son, and four servants to the docks where a boat took them upriver to their family’s orchard house, and covered it up by allowing them to change their House name to Somer and providing falsified documentation to make it believable without drawing undue attention. Lord Gully, his eldest son, and the rest of their House were dragged from Gull Tower and presented to the Prince upon his arrival.

A bit of diplomatic wrangling ensured that none of the other local lords or levies beyond Marshallow acted for or against House Gull, making House Elsey the unopposed leading influence in the area. Their quick mobilization and securing of the traitors also made them the ideal replacement for House Gull.

Gull Tower was restructured as a barracks and integrated into the defenses of the town. Likewise the land and city were redubbed, from The Scourge to The Kite, and from Marshallow to Kiteswallow. Kite’s Nest, House Elsey’s personal keep granted to them decades ago for valiant service fending off invaders in 161 AC, remained their home even after gaining lordship of Kiteswallow on the Scourge.

Kite’s Nest was built over copper mines, and House Elsey gained ownership of tin mines further west. Bronze became something of a signature for their House, and they fastened their sigil, the Bronze Kite, on every surface available; bronze brooches, bronze scimitars, bronze daggers, bronze arrowheads. Once gaining lordship of Kiteswallow they founded a larger blacksmithing business and made fastenings for ship parts as well.

There are many orchards and canals along the Scourge, and being connected to the Greenblood, and thus the orphans, trade is a large part of their economy.

[The Valyria Empire]

On the topic of sellswords and theories, I might as well throw in the theory that I believe the Martells already have a mercenary company to use.

It’s stated that Oberyn founded a company while in Essos. While it is never out right stated what the company is called there is a lot of evidence (especially if you believe in the Dornish Master Plan) that the company he founded was the Brave Companions. I believe this should be the company Oberyn calls in to assist Rhaegar.

Anyway, I’ll get a post up sometime tonight or tomorrow.

[Ruskland-Preuben]

To be fair you guys could always pull off defeats in detail.

[Balerion the Dread]

CHARACTER APPLICATION
Name: Canen Elsey
House: Elsey
Age: 40
Gender: M
Titles: Lord of Kite
House Seat: Kite’s Nest
Allegiance paid to: Martell
Appearance:

(Image)
Oscar Isaac FC

Personality: With a serious demeanor, Canen is a quiet, contemplative man. He cherishes his family above all else, encouraging and supporting their every interest and whim. He often ends up as the mediator between family disputes, and governs his seat fairly and kindly with the same steady patience and sympathetic ear as he does when handling his children. His diligence in administration is tempered by his dedication to his House, but he maintains a respect for duty and etiquette, instilling those values in son and subject alike.
Skills: Like all Elsey children, Canen learned horse riding at a young age, and naturally graduated to mounted combat. He was born charismatic and matured into a talented negotiator and diplomat, made all the more successful by his focused and dutiful personality.
Weaponry: Warhorse named Riona, castle-forged steel longsword, ceremonial bronze scimitar.
Biography:

Born of Lord Cabron Elsey and Lady Media of Toland, Canen was an exuberant child who loved to challenge squires and stable boys alike to horse races. It was said of him he could talk anyone into anything, and then out of the consequences again. He befriended anyone and everyone who talked to him, even if it was just for a few moments he would become that person’s best friend, often winning himself a free loaf from the bakers or a gaggle of other children eagerly following him everywhere he went.

His younger brother, Carman, took after his mother’s complexion, and was much more tame in his escapades, preferring to stay in Kite’s Nest where he basked in the attentions of his mother and Maester Berric, but the boy’s still considered each other close friends, and when Carman was sent to be fostered in Ghost Hill with his mother’s family neither took it very well, less so when their mother suffered a difficult pregnancy and they lost both her and the child, beginning a dark period for their family.

After a brief visit Carmen returned to Ghost Hill, and Canen’s father neglected his lordly duties in favor of hunting bandits, often leaving Canen in charge of Kite’s Nest and forcing him to give up his childish ways, a fact he would remember when raising his own children.

At 16, his father seemed to have come to terms somewhat and refocused enough to wrangle a marriage for his heir; Leria Santagar. The newly weds began an intricate game of teasing, becoming the best of friends shortly before the birth of their first son; Devyn, their relationship only strengthening after welcoming a daughter, Jewyl, into their family.

As parents they spoke at length about how they wished to raise their children, Canen sharing how his brother’s fostering, his mother’s death, and his father’s withdrawal from his life had all taken the joy from his life for so long. They decided to make things better for their children, encouraging them and sheltering them more than they perhaps should.

Lord Cabron disapproved, but was largely still a very distracted man, all but abdicating to his eldest son, and did not object when Canen took the initiative to recall his brother from Ghost Hill, and wed him to Nymella Vaith, his childhood best friend.

Leria Santagar and three of her maids drowned in The Scourge when their boat tipped. The Greenblood Orphans, a river-faring people, had been more welcome in Kiteswallow since the assent of Canen, who specifically invited them yearly to help promote trade of his people’s goods. One of their rafts had been nearby when the Lady Leria’s boat tipped, and came to their aid, but arrived too late to save them.

Somehow, once returning their bodies to shore, the orphans ended up in Kite’s Nest and in the confusion and grief could not find a way to leave without being rude or impolite. They stayed there for nearly two weeks, in that time one of them became an informal apprentice to Maester Berric, another befriended Carmen and his wife Nymella in the marksmen’s yard, and the last, Qara Rapids, became an impromptu nanny and counsellor for the two grieving children. When Canen finally remembered their presence he of course gave them permission to leave, but invited them to return anytime, seeing their quick bonding with the castle staff, his brother, and his children.

Two years later, after frequent visits and getting to know each other, Canen and Qara married, having three children; Terssa, Cressy, and Tremyn, and then a fourth by way of Qara’s best friend and bedmate, Dena, having a son called Simmer. The family often journeyed to Sunspear, Ghost Hill, Vaith, Spottswood, and Planky Town, visiting relatives and friends.

Lord Cabron remarried some years later, giving Canen two more brothers, twenty years younger than he, by the names Callyn and Camyr. He died a few years after their birth, and so they became as sons to him rather than brothers.

RP Example:
I guess I’ll do two so you can properly gauge… this is from a DC RP on roleplayerguild where I made a custom alien character based off Danny Phantom lmao

November 3rd, 2019
6:15 AM, PT
Buffy’s, Coast City

Echo

Ezra sat on his little stool behind the slim desk near the entrance, the wooden countertop only large enough to fit a thin and sleek cash register, a tiny dark mat for his elbows, and a large touch screen computer. Bright sunlight had already deigned to invade the room through the tall floor-to-ceiling windows on either side of the glass door, reflecting warm light off the shiny wooden floors and stainless steel bars, and prompting him to hide behind his sunglasses even as the first few members began to trickle in. By now he’d mostly adjusted to their routines and knew their faces well, though he wasn’t as good with the names.

There were the coffee girls, a quartet of young women always packing Starbucks and showing up first thing in the morning every other morning, claiming a few mats and a radio by the window where they alternated between yoga and some kind of dance workout. The high school jocks were another group, made up of a trio of teenage boys who spent most of their time gossiping, but occasionally they used the large mat in the back to practice wrestling- Ezra assumed they were on a high school team, but didn’t know for sure. Missing from the usual crowd of today were a group of four, two middle aged couples who had admirably stuck with their new year's resolution to get in shape, but skipped sometimes as they were parents and sometimes had other responsibilities.

Ezra left them to their own devices, he was just the clerk and had to make sure everyone using the gym had their membership cards up to date, and sometimes he even got to issue new cards. Exciting. The trainers and fitness experts were usually around later in the day, and after a quick glance at the schedule he saw it wouldn’t be until after his shift that a customer had scheduled an appointment to receive a fitness plan. All in all it was set to be a boring day.

10:00 AM, PT

“Hey Ezra!” A young voice suddenly called, childishly exuberant.

He reluctantly allowed his attention to be pulled up from his phone, currently playing an informative techno-babble video from TED about artificial intelligences. Human technology amazed him sometimes, it was so different from his homeworld’s, though his people had been more advanced he was proud to admit.

He allowed himself a bemused smile at the familiar child throwing open the gym door, glancing behind the kid expecting to see an equally familiar parent, but no such luck. “Kyle?” he half greeted, half questioned. He had short dark hair and warm brown eyes, and his skin was surprisingly brown given that last time Ezra had seen it the color had been on the red side of pink.

“I didn’t know you worked here!” the boy cried, dashing up to the counter and giving a wide grin. Kyle was an alien of some sort, and Ezra would bet that wasn’t even his real name, but as with most aliens he’d met Kyle’s mom had been cagey about their species, their names, and their circumstances. “Are you going to watch the match?!”

Ezra’s eyebrows drew together, expressing his confusion. “The match?” He parroted, puzzled, but then redirected; “Hey, where’s your mom?” Aliens took being in the closet seriously, and children of near any species were impulsive and uncontrollable, why let this one wander about the city alone? Who knew what could happen?

Kyle waved a dismissive hand, “She’s next door buying flowers or something.” He shrugged, uncaring, “She said I could watch the match with you while she’s busy!”

Ezra raised both eyebrows in surprise, shocked he’d be trusted to watch out for a kid without even a word of warning. He supposed it wasn’t a complicated or difficult task, and he was pretty sure Lauren and her son were telepaths, or maybe they had some other way of keeping in contact quietly- that’d been the vibe he’d gotten from the hints dropped at The Small anyway. It was an awfully tight community they had, even if they treated each other with caution and suspicion there was still a level of trust solely from the fact they were all in the same boat.

He shrugged, deciding to allow it. “Alright, as long as your mom’s okay with it. The TV’s over there,” he gestured to the black flatscreen he hadn’t bothered turning on yet, “you know what channel this match is on?”

Rather than answer, Kyle darted over and snapped up the remote, flicking the TV on and hurriedly changing to a new channel. Ezra was only mildly surprised to see a boxing match on the screen. “That’s Christopher Ives! He’s the defender, and the black guy is Marvin Hayes! The underdog! He’s totally gonna win and turn the world of boxing on it’s head! Everyone’s been saying he’s gonna lose, but no way! Hayes is takin' it home!” The kid babbled excitedly, claiming a seat on one of the unused pieces of equipment. The gym was mostly empty now, a new group had moved into the back and were doing more flirting than wrestling, but most of the morning crowd had moved out.

Ezra allowed himself to share a smirk with the kid, giving him a teasing; “Oh yeah?”

“Definitely!” Was the confidant response, and Ezra couldn’t resist.

“I dunno, I’d put my money on the other guy. That chest hair? Totally has magical powers.” He joked, allowing his usual reclusive shyness to fade away. What harm could there be in talking about a human sport? Besides he’d agreed to keep an eye on the kid, best to keep him entertained until his mom came for him, and hopefully she’d turn up soon, his shift was ending in an hour and he really needed to catch up on his class work.

November 3rd, 2019
10:35 AM, PT
Buffy’s, Coast City

Echo

There were few things Ezra would ever regret more than betting on Ives, even though it had been informal and nothing had been wagered it was still going to go down as the day a happy go lucky kid turned half an hour into an eternal stretch of hell.

As the first round came to a close Kyle was worried, but defiant. He buckled down and stuck to his previous words, loudly insisting Hayes would win and cheering for the man exuberantly. He was a constant stream of facts and opinions mixed together in a never ending spew of words Ezra couldn’t keep up with, which was fine in Kyle’s book who was so absorbed in the match he never once looked away from the screen and bounced energetically in place, mock dodging and punching excitedly as the next round came on screen.

Then Hayes won, and Kyle went ballistic. Ezra wasn’t entirely sure what he’d said to the kid in the haze of happy celebration that followed, but whatever it was only made him more excitable as he lorded his victory over the entire gym. His efforts to calm the kid down were utterly fruitless, but he was saved when Farha finally arrived.

The muslim woman stepped into the shop, taking off her sunglasses and letting her eyes adjust to the new lighting for a second, and then just stood there taking in the scene for a long moment. Quiet Ezra, usually bored to tears and desperately patrolling his phone for something to read or watch or do, eagerly awaiting her arrival so he could finally go home- was instead replaced by a very stressed Ezra, smiling uncomfortably at a bouncing jibbering child flouncing all over the gym equipment and vomiting a range of words as he crowed his joy for all to hear. In the back a couple of young men were whispering to each other as they watched the scene, presumably taking a break from their workout to watch the mayhem unfold.

It very soon became apparent the kid was excited about a boxing match, as he returned to the TV and cried ’"MIRACULOUUUSSS" MAARVVIIINN HAAAAAYYYEEEEESSS!’ in a faux deep voice.

In the second it took the kid to take a breath, Ezra pounced. “Oh Farha!” He said loudly, catching the kids attention that someone new had turned up. “Well, sorry kid, looks like my shifts over. How ‘bout we find your mom so I can go home and get some work done, huh?”

“Aww man!” The kid moaned, “Can’t I stay a little longer? He’s only just got his trophy!”

“Nope, sorry, but it’s Farha’s turn now. Wouldn’t want to disturb the nice lady while she’s getting ready for her shift would we?” Ezra reasoned, but Farha knew that was all talk, she’d started her shift amidst five separate blaring radios a few times, on those days when the gym was packed and every speaker there was turned up to max, some playing different songs. She could handle a noisy rambunctious kid, this was clearly Ezra trying to make a hasty escape.

She considered protesting, getting Ezra and the kid to stay, she was awfully curious about her secretive coworker, and this random child would be sure to shed some light on his life, but before she could act on her half finished plan the child shot her a look, as if piercing into her very soul and rummaging for secrets. “Yeah, okay.” He said quietly, still looking her in the eyes and sounding suddenly very serious. What was that about?

Then they were gone, and Farha was left standing in the entrance trying to reorient herself.

Ezra took Kyle’s hand in his right, and with his left pulled a small backpack over one shoulder. He was a bit curious about why the kid suddenly switched tracks like that, and he was a bit concerned over how far his mood had fallen. He didn’t have to wait long to find out though, as Kyle looked and searched his eyes; “Do you ever get tired of hiding?” He asked, softly.

It was a short walk to the flower shop next door, where Kyle had said his mom would be earlier. They reached it after only a few seconds, but Ezra made no move to go in, and for a long moment the two aliens shared a moment of silence as they pondered their lives and their secrets. “Yeah.” He finally admitted, but it wasn’t a topic he was ready to broach, especially with an insightful child who may or may not read minds.

He opened the door and relaxed, hit with the smell of flowers. It was a nice place, but he’d never been inside before, had never had any reason to buy flowers. He wondered what reason Lauren had for buying them. Decoration? Had she met someone? Were they human? Maybe they were for family, how many of hers were here on Earth? Were they okay? He rolled his eyes at his train of thought, none of that was his business.

He spied the familiar woman talking to another girl ([@Korkoa]), presumably someone who worked here, and let go of Kyle’s hand. The kid bounded over to his mother, smile beginning to return, probably anticipating telling her all about Hayes’ victory. She looked over after greeting her son, giving Ezra a motherly smile and called over to where he lingered by the entrance; “Thanks Ezra! See you at The Small soon?”

He gave a noncomittal shrug at first, he was awfully busy, but then let out a reluctant; “Sure, see you then.” He gave a final wave before leaving, sparing a final small glance at the flower shop girl as he went.

Now he just had to get home, he had so much classwork due...

Notes:

I’ll do FCs for the other characters as they’re introduced.
House Elsey
[i[Children of Cabron and Media[/i]
Lord Canen Elsey, 40 M
- Lady Qara Elsey nee Rapids, 35 F
Carman Elsey, 38 M
- Nymella Elsey nee Vaith, 36 F
Callyn Elsey, 19 M
Camyr Elsey, 18 M

Children of Canen and Leria
Heir Devyn Elsey, 24 M
Jewyl Elsey, 23 F

Children of Canen and Qara
Terssa Elsey, 21 F
Cressy Elsey, 20 F
Tremyn Elsey, 16 M

Children of Canen and Dena
Simmer Sand, 19 M

Children of Carmen and Nymella
Darrian Elsey, 23 M

Carman’s Bastards
Covar Sand, 22 M
Coryn Sand, 21 M

CUSTOM HOUSE APPLICATION
House Name: Elsey
House Sigil:

(Image)

House Words: Glean, Glimmer, Glory
Allegiance Paid to: Martell
House Seat: Kite’s Nest

(Image)

((The custom markers are over a CK2 mod map of Dorne, so it’s probably not an accurate outline of the land divisions, but if I could have something vaguely matching the province titled “The Scourge” or at least an area along the Scourge river itself even if not exactly as depicted, that’d be fantastic thanks ))

(Image)

(Image)

Approx Number of military at command: 3,500
History of the House:

House Gully once ruled The Scourge from Gull Tower in Marshallow, but history remembers that House as traitors to Dorne, a scandal involving the assassination of a Prince’s daughter after she swore to accuse the Lord Gully’s eldest son of assault, and worse things. After the murder was discovered, House Gull closed ranks and denied everything, but the evidence was against them and House Elsey marched from Kite’s Nest under orders of the Prince of the time. They took the city easily and sieged the Tower for three days before their offer of asylum for whatever innocent party let them in was accepted.

They escorted two Gully daughters, a son, and four servants to the docks where a boat took them upriver to their family’s orchard house, and covered it up by allowing them to change their House name to Somer and providing falsified documentation to make it believable without drawing undue attention. Lord Gully, his eldest son, and the rest of their House were dragged from Gull Tower and presented to the Prince upon his arrival.

A bit of diplomatic wrangling ensured that none of the other local lords or levies beyond Marshallow acted for or against House Gull, making House Elsey the unopposed leading influence in the area. Their quick mobilization and securing of the traitors also made them the ideal replacement for House Gull.

Gull Tower was restructured as a barracks and integrated into the defenses of the town. Likewise the land and city were redubbed, from The Scourge to The Kite, and from Marshallow to Kiteswallow. Kite’s Nest, House Elsey’s personal keep granted to them decades ago for valiant service fending off invaders in 161 AC, remained their home even after gaining lordship of Kiteswallow on the Scourge.

Kite’s Nest was built over copper mines, and House Elsey gained ownership of tin mines further west. Bronze became something of a signature for their House, and they fastened their sigil, the Bronze Kite, on every surface available; bronze brooches, bronze scimitars, bronze daggers, bronze arrowheads. Once gaining lordship of Kiteswallow they founded a larger blacksmithing business and made fastenings for ship parts as well.

There are many orchards and canals along the Scourge, and being connected to the Greenblood, and thus the orphans, trade is a large part of their economy.

My main concern is the size of the levies here.
Dorne can call maybe 25,000 men if fully mobilized, and one House having 3,500 of that would be surprising, unless its maybe House Dayne or Yronwood.

[Balerion the Dread]

Also, Revlona, I think mobilizing a little slower might be in order.
We still have many players that have yet to write their first post, and even mobilizing a modest army, such as the 12,000 men mentioned in your post, would probably take many days, if not weeks.

[Rozeta]

My main concern is the size of the levies here.
Dorne can call maybe 25,000 men if fully mobilized, and one House having 3,500 of that would be surprising, unless its maybe House Dayne or Yronwood.

Yeah I totally guessed, whatever you think is better I'm happy with.

[Danceria]

Perhaps the good Rhaegar could use a few Ironborn, so long as Aerys pays the Iron Price.

[Union Princes]

I wish I could use the Bolton Sigil from the show instead of the books. The Game of Thrones Bolton banner just looks cool.

[Barratistan]

Was thinking applying as a son Cregan Karstark; together with his father leading their host south instead of Lord Rickard out of distrust or maybe some other excuse. I was thinking applying some drama into the RP

[Revlona]

Also, Revlona, I think mobilizing a little slower might be in order.
We still have many players that have yet to write their first post, and even mobilizing a modest army, such as the 12,000 men mentioned in your post, would probably take many days, if not weeks.

I could change it to like 8,000 and have it swell to 16,000 on the March