Lords and ladies scurried out of the way as a regal young woman walked through the halls, her sworn sword Erryk following behind as they walked to the Tower of the Hand.
Torrhen was busy with an important step in his magical training which is why she had left Arryk to guard over him instead of coming with her.
She would not have left his side, especially after his body restoration ritual last night, but when the Hand calls, only the King or Queen are allowed to deny the call.
'What would he need of me, though?' As far as Helaena can recall, her grandfather never paid her any mind and only greeted her briefly before leaving her alone, which was fine. She didn't care for his opinion or how he felt about her.
Well, that's a lie as his dismissal of her did hurt her for a while before she met Torrhen and everything changed. Ever since her wolf came to the South, life was much more interesting and complex and she liked it.
Unlike her family, he was also the one who decided to help her with her ailment, ending the constant nightmares that plagued her at every waking moment.
In all honesty, if it were not for the fact that she needed to wait until marriage to give him her purity, she would have rode him until the sun went down.
Now, she was married to him and she couldn't be happier, especially since they were so close to having their own castle. She half-expected Moat Cailin to take more years, but apparently, other than the larger moat that needed to be made as well as the extra housing, everything else was close to being finished.
'Is that normal or were there more additions to the runes he made than I could make out?' she thought before shaking her head, pushing the thoughts away as Erryk knocked on the door for her.
"Who is it?"
"It is Helaena, Lord Hand."
"Please, come in."
"Wait here, ser Erryk," the knight nodded as he opened the door, Helaena walking through to see her grandfather seated behind his desk.
Walking away from the closing door and standing beside one of the seats in front of her grandfather's desk, Helaena stayed quiet as the man looked up with a soft smile.
Well, he tried to, but Helaena could see right through it, returning it with a bow of her head.
"Lord Hand."
"It's only grandfather while we're alone, Helaena. Please, sit."
"Thank you," Helaena nodded, sitting down and waiting patiently as her grandfather looked at her.
"I assume you know why you are here?"
"I only have an inkling of a thought, grandfather."
"Then, share this thought with me," he replied and she kept her gaze on the man before answering.
"Well, I can only assume that it has to do with my invitations to Lord Greyjoy and Prince Martell."
"Lord Martell."
"According to history, every lord of House Dorne possesses the title of prince, not lord," Helaena replied, a calm smile on her face as she enjoyed her grandfather narrowing his eyes ever-so-slightly.
"I suppose you are correct, granddaughter, and no, I did not call you here for Dorne."
"Then, it is about Lord Greyjoy, then?"
"That is correct. You do understand the relationship the royal family and the other lords have with House Greyjoy, yes?"
"I do."
"Then, you also understand that what you did could be seen as a slap in the face to the other lords given what House Greyjoy has done to their houses."
"That may be, yes, but given that no lord has risen against the Crown after the wedding, I assume they are not as offended as you fear," Helaena replied and her grandfather's jaw tightened as she saw the flash of displeasure.
"You risk a great deal by assuming so, Helaena," she just hid her sigh as the man went off on one of his tangents. "Many lords find diplomatic slights far more grievous than open insults.
Along with that, only the fool prepares in front of all. I bet my entire legacy that lords and ladies that were already in opposition of House Targaryen are currently busy with their own plans to back our foes."
"What will they do against our dragons?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, continuing before he could. "The Reach and the Westerlands have already learned what it means to face a Targaryen dragon on open fields. The Stormlands and North are loyal to us. The Riverlands follow House Tully, who is indebted to House Targaryen after House Targaryen made them the lords of the Riverlands.
Dorne is a problem, yes, but that is only on their territory. Once they leave the sand and the south, they cannot stand against our dragons. As for House Greyjoy and the Iron Islands, that is a problem the queen is currently working on. So we have nothing to fear, grandfather."
She could see her grandfather's frustrated gaze, but she also knew that the man was not stupid enough to just push her words to the side as those of a child.
"Is this newly found confidence of yours because of Lord Stark's capabilities?" he asked instead and Helaena raised an eyebrow at that. "I see that it is. Allow me to say this one thing, Helaena.
You and Torrhen are capable of mystical feats that many others can only dream of, but I know men and Dalton Grejoy befits the description of an ambitious man that will become dangerous the longer you keep him alive."
"It is okay, grandfather. You will come to understand things better in the near future. Now, may I be excused? Torrhen might come looking for me."
"...Very well, granddaughter. This was a good discussion."
'No, it was not,' she thought as she stood up, bowing her head before turning and walking to the door. Opening and closing it behind her, Erryk fell into step beside her as the two made their way back to her and Torrhen's room.
It appears that the Dance may be more chaotic than she had foreseen.
'Torrhen will enjoy this change.'
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Shape changing, or shapeshifting as it is more commonly known, was the cornerstone of Druidic magic if Bran the Builder's words are to believed.
It is the pinnacle of human-Druidic magic touching on the realm of the Children's sorcery that relied not on brute force, but on yielding. One needed to yield one's form, breath and boundaries until the aether of the world accepted you as a creature of its making.
'Unfortunately, it is also quite limited,' I thought as I let out a slow exhale, standing barefoot on the polished stone floor of our chamber. Noise came from outside through the open windows and Arryk was more intrigued with the grapes he was eating than actually guarding me.
I didn't mind it, given that him doing so meant he was more occupied with entertaining himself instead of bothering. Unfortunately, that left me with nothing to do, but focus on shape changing, which wasn't going so well.
The book said that it should be simple and that Bran the Builder figured it out on his very first try, but then again, Bran could just be talking out of his ass.
'Okay, back to training. It is simple. Start small with a change of skin or a shift of sense,' I thought, taking another breath as I lifted my wand.
My aether rippled around me and along the length of the wand as I began to trace runes around me, letting my breathing slow down.
"Let flesh remember the first shape," I recited the mantra carved written in the journey with a frown. "Let bone recall what came before man. Let the wild pass through me."
Another ripple passed through me and I narrowed my eyes, focusing on the specific animal I had in mind. Looking at my wand arm, I watched as the skin began to twist, patches of silver-grey fur growing from it before I grimaced when the fur dissolved into mist.
"Huh, that's the first success you had, Lord Torrhen. Did you do anything different?" Arryk asked and I nodded as I let myself relax.
"Yes, though I also found out that any unintended bursts of emotion undoes the partial transformation. Still, this is good."
"What is good?" I looked to the door as it opened, Helaena walking in with a smile while Erryk raised an eyebrow at his smiling twin.
"Really?"
"Not much else to do, brother," Ignoring the twins, I smiled as Helaena walked closer and hugged her, a giggle escaping her lips as she kissed my cheek.
"How was the meeting with your grandfather?"
"As well as we could expect it to go. He wanted to scold me for inviting Lord Greyjoy by hiding it behind concern."
"So, you poked holes in every point he made as he made them?" I asked, chuckling as she nodded while tucking a strand of silver-gold hair behind her ear.
"Without a doubt. He spoke of lords that may be planning in shadows so I had to remind him that dragons cast even larger shadows."
"Oh, that is quite the wording to use against the Lord Hand," Arryk's words made me snort as Erryk elbowed him in the side, Helaena smiling amusedly at their interaction before glancing at my right arm where the remnants of fur were just moments ago.
"The aether clings to your arm."
"I managed to successfully grow my forearm hair," I replied and she looked up at me before nodding slowly.
"That's good. I know how much getting this right means to you."
"It is, but it's still a struggle."
"You have only been at it for a day, Torrhen. You need to learn how to stop forcing it and to just let your mind yield to the transformation."
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say the princess would want him to run naked in the godswood and howl at the moon."
"That...is not what I meant, but that is a goal you need to work to now," I just stared at her before turning my gaze to Arryk, who gave an apologetic smile as Erryk chuckled.
"Really?"
"I did not think she would take it literally."
"You should know otherwise, ser. Now, leave us, please," she replied and my breath hitched as I felt her hand grabbing my crotch.
"No need to say more," Arryk replied, taking the bowl of grapes with him as Erryk dragged his twin with him. Helaena was uncaring for the two leaving as she wrapped her arms around my neck, my hands fondling her ass as I smiled.
"You understand that you still have that tea date with your mother, yes?"
"And?" She asked, squealing as I picked her up and she wrapped her legs around my waist with a giggle.
"Just making sure."
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Qoren Martell was silent as he sat on his throne, staring at the dancing women dressed in the skimpiest Lys dresses that he could find.
While he was entertained by them, his mind was otherwise occupied by the wedding that took place only two days ago, having gotten this fast back to Sunspear only thanks to his daughter's blessing.
The Mother Rhoyne had told her that he should only take one ship that contains himself and her and he followed her command. After all, while she was his youngest child, Coryanne was the special one that he adored.
Ever since her mother died, she had been secluded, talking to herself in her room and making him more concerned with every second she stayed there.
That was until three years ago, when she walked out of her room and parted the water of the Water Gardens with a flick of her wrist.
He had heard the ludicrous tales of Torrhen Stark and his ability to manipulate nature, but it was one thing to hear the tales and another to see it happening right in front of him.
After that incident, he pulled her aside and was told by her that she was not talking to herself. Instead, she was talking to Mother Rhoyne, who was a companion of her mother's before being passed on to her.
"She only talks to the youngest female in the family," was what Coryanne told him at that moment, a fact that her oldest sister and his heir Aliandra did not like.
That was shown when she tried to poison Coryanne because Aliandra believed herself to be 'the new Nymeria'.
The sight of every drop of water in Sunspear trying to drown Aliandra while Coryanne tried her best to calm down Mother Rhoyne was a sight none would forget.
It was also a sight he ordered everyone to take to their deaths and given that no one has come for his daughter yet, it appeared that everyone had kept their promise.
Not that he was worried, of course. In Dorne, all were family and all cherished the secrets of others.
'Still, it is surprising to see that Torrhen Stark and Helaena Targaryen are the same as Coryanne,' While he could not see the 'threads' as Coryanne liked to call them, he could feel that the presence they gave off was eerily similar to that of Coryanne when she was playing with her 'threads'.
He also knew that Torrhen Stark was most likely affiliated with the Old Gods since that is all everyone from the North preaches about. However, he had to wonder what godly patron was backing Helaena given that the Targaryens themselves followed two sets of gods.
'It could be the Seven or it could be the gods the old dragonlords of Valyria used to worship. Either way, this could be both a sign of good faith and a problem,' He knew that House Targaryen have been longing to include them into their little Seven Kingdoms, but he did not know how Mother Rhoyne would hold up when it's multiple gods against just the one.
The sound of water dripping into a puddle echoed around him and Qoren straightened in his seat as he immediately waved the dancers away with a smile.
"Coryanne."
"Father," his daughter greeted, her bare feet leaving wet footprints despite her being completely dry while she held a small bowl of sand that shifted like waves.
"My little sweetling. Is she speaking again?" he asked, smiling as his daughter nodded. "What does she say?"
"The sky is too crowded, the rivers are growing restless and the one beneath the sea is beginning to stir."
"The one be-The Drowned God, right?" A grimace adorned his face as she nodded, remembering the ethereal presence that Dalton Greyjoy had when he passed the man.
With the feats the man has shown and the looks of worship his men had for him, he wasn't surprised to find out that the man was the chosen for their god.
He just wished a more saner and mentally-stable person was chosen and not the Red Kraken.
"What are we to do?"
"Prepare your ships quietly and prepare for the visit of the blue-eyed wolf. He will come with a proposal and you would be wise to reject it."
"Understood, dear. Anything else?"
"Do not mistreat the silver dragon for she will burn the halls down should anything happen to the wolf."
'So, take care for how I treat Torrhen Stark and Helaena Targaryen. Understood.'
"I see. Is that all?"
"...The drowned one will come before then. You are to reject his three offers and make a fourth where you must not take part."
"Take part in what?"
"You will know when the time comes, Father," Coryanne replied before she turned and walked away, leaving Qoren sitting with a frown as he leaned back into his throne.
'So, Dorne will be busy for the next few days? I suppose it is time we prepare for war.'
A/N: And we end it off here~! And there you have it! The showcase of another godly chosen and diving deeper into the mystical aspect of the story.
What happens next? Talking and showing off.
Like always, you can go to my Pat-reon-.-com-/-KingCrimsonNova to read ahead on this as well as many other stories & even some that haven't been released out to this site yet. If you want to, you are free to, but if you don't want, all's good as I will still be uploading here. This is just me trying to get some extra cash.
Anyway, as always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one…
Ba-Bye~!!