2 Days prior to his 45th Nameday:
Errin Shadowater just arrived back into the Azaryen Lands from a trip to King's Landing. He was shocked to learn of his Lord's announcement and yet happy at the same time for it means he can attempt to win favor with the gifts he brought back for the Lord's Family.
Oddly the most expensive of which is a elegant Longsword for the Lord's Daughter followed by a Dirk for the Lord himself then fine scents & perfumes for the Lady. Paid for with what little of a personal cut he got from this trip. Upon learning of the celebration he decided to hold them off and give them at the celebration. Though he will hold off on giving the Longsword til the lord doesn't know.
Mornings are spent with the Steward, overseeing the needs of the Domain. Early Afternoons generally in the practice yard with the Sargent-at-Arms & whichever unit is currently in drill. Late Afternoons are again with the Steward reviewing those matters which cannot wait until the next day & with the Maester in varied studies. Evenings attend on Father.
One day a week, at need, focused solely on either Stewardship of the Lands or Drill with the soldiers, she tries to keep it balanced between the two.
Beatriz spends longer that morning than usual within her dressing chambers. Once she comes out the cause is clear, though her stance & carriage are still more those of a soldier or a scholar than a courtier, it is obvious she & her lady's maids have put every effort into clothing her as befits a maiden of her House.
Her Silvery-white hair bound back in a demure snood, her Amethyst Eyes accented with just enough cosmetic to enhance their size & clarity. Unfortunately, her physique was just too robust to properly fit the gown she had been laced into. Her shoulders & chest too broad for the lacing to meet properly causing a minute gap through which the chemise peaked ever so slightly.
Oh yeah... Errin will spend most of his days searching for goods to trade & such. Maybe looking for a chance to present the Heiress with the Sword.
Korran does what Korran does most days: Grumble, gamble, and teach. Just because his noble charge is willful, unladylike, and constantly not-where-she-should-be does not mean he can't eventually find her most afternoons. Whether any actual learning is done by then...who knows. Korran is studious but he also learned not to let life's important, simple pleasures pass you by during the war. He's thus fond of object lessons and things that can relate back to concrete matters, even if he's got to teach Beatriz abstract things as well...to a degree, anyway. The Lord probably doesn't want his daughter to be too brainy, lest a potential suitor find her intelligence beyond his own.
The Lord probably also has little actual say in what Korran teaches Beatriz because he's too busy ruling his lands, and if his daughter learns swords he's already loosened his hold on her quite a bit.
When he's not attending to the various common injuries of life, pounding knowledge into heads, or figuring out how to shore up faults in the castle's stonework, Korran's probably off in town looking for a dice game surreptitiously, or just about any chancy thing one can wager on, trusty block of cheese and perhaps a little firkin of booze along. Maybe. It's expensive even in the Riverlands.
As for the celebration, the idea that Barric would do...well, anything celebratory or exciting is out of character enough for Korran to wonder if the man's humors are imbalanced severely. Maybe he needs a good physick.
I think this is more so he knows how to work us into the Campaign.
Most days Rhys rises with or before the dawn, attending to the mongrels that makeup the Lord's excuse for a kennel. Then a quick meeting with the huntmaster, Aaron to divvy up the tasks for the day; organizing the hunt parties for whatever is needed for the Lords table ( venison, pheasant, boar...) or meeting with the kitchen master to get warning on what will be needed in the coming days or meeting with the Steward to be sent on this or that errand.
Some time during the day is reserved for training the more inexperienced members of the hunt master's crew; bow and sword practice and trail-craft mostly.
Hearing about the planned celebration, Rhys groaned inwardly. Such meant a greatly increased workload in order to supply game for the feast. A bit strange coming from this Lord, though.
Might I suggest we use some of the houses from the Chronicle Starter? Most are positioned well enough that we could have a lot of fun with just that small group of 6 Other Houses.
Hmm... Maybe we could use a Birthday Tournament as a good intro. Plenty of Intrigue & Combat to get us started & used to the system with that.
Mmm...Korran's probably been around for at least half of Beatriz's life. I envisioned him as a gawky young teenager on the cusp of becoming a man legally when the Rebellion broke out, but that he didn't actually become a Maester until a bit later in life, and that he fairly blazed through the education and trials because he's something of a prodigy where sheer knowledge is concerned.
The rules don't quite let me model his colorful past but I figured it made sense that his unused skills from the war days would atrophy. So how long he's been Maester to the House and teaching the heiress would probably depend on how long she's been alive. Korran's just about to turn 31, and I figure he's been a Maester for at least six years if not more. Exact number TBD.
Odd, for some reason I missed this post the first time around. Has Korran noticed Beatriz can practically match him in sheer intellect yet, or is that yet another of her infuriatingly un-ladylike qualities? Considering she is literally less than half his age.
I like Azaylas' idea of the Household/Beatriz' first Maester having been old & infirm (and consequently appropriate for a decidedly House because of it), while the replacement Maester got sent to us right out of schooling & therefore was seen as untried & inexperienced.It seems to me that might have been one of the, if not the prime, roots for Korran & Beatriz seeming dislike/disinterest in each other. The previous Maester, being 'old & doddering' at least to people's mind, 'indulged' Beatriz in focusing her studies in areas more commonly considered appropriate for young Lords & once Korran arrived the 'damage' was done & all he can do is suffer the indignity of such an inappropriate student even when it isn't his fault...
Hey UF, you put the wrong Avatar up for your post!
I was on my phone, and the dropdown menu wouldn't activate so I just kinda rolled with it.
As for your other question, I dunno if he'd consider her intellect a downside, and she's quite far behind what would be expected of a septa or a maester so I doubt he'd get hung up on it.
He'd probably snarkily take some credit for molding her logical abilities, but otherwise not really mention it. In the scheme of things whether the heiress is smart or barely able to form letters isn't really a huge concern to him so much as things stay stable and he can execute his directives effectively.
And I really didn't get a "dislike/disinterest" vibe from our respective backgrounds. Korran probably finds Beatriz's mighty mind a great thing when he desires conversation at his own level, but to me it seems like they could both have an aloof side that could play for and against them at any time.
Unfortunately, my monthly visit from Family is starting a few days early this month, so I expect I will be posting even less frequently than usual for the rest of this week.
Ah, I understand that dilemma. In your own time.
You to comrade?
This is strictly OOC, but the perceived slight I was referring to was Erin presuming to critique her father's choices. Beatriz may not agree with them, but he is still a) her father & b) the rightful lord & Head of House Azaryen & even she doesn't critique his decisions in public, which this conversation very much was since Beatriz didn't want the specter of being seen to have a private conversation with a man she wasn't at least betrothed to without a chaperone.
That said, everyone in nebulous positions of power in Westeros tends to be 'prickly' & I don't see why the PC's shouldn't likewise.
Don't know much of Nobility do you...
True Heir refers to a legitimate bloodline child, whether Male or Female. BUT the Heir could be anyone the Lord chooses to succeed him as Lord, but typically is only a Male with Female Heirs could only take control til they were found a suitable Husband.
Speaking of which... I hate Real World Nobility... Makes me glad to be Playing/Co-Narrating a Mercenary Company using things from the Night's Watch Book.
Oh he can understand that. Though he always has the option of marrying his daughter to a willing ally.
That requires that he have willing allies...
Pretty much our entire House history revolves around strife & we sided with the Targeryens during the Baratheon Uprising. Just how many other Houses do you think are going to admit to being allies with us?
Honestly, I'd be very surprised if Robert's Pardon didn't have some fairly hefty hidden strings attached. I strongly suspect the other House Lords out there have that exact same suspicion.
The thing is most Houses sided with Targaryen early on then switched sides later on. Most of the Pardons required either the First Surviving Son to "Take the Black" or some equivalent. so for all you know the Lord could have had a Son or 2 and lost the via the War &/or Pardon before/shortly after you were born. The Lord might have forbidden anyone talking about it out of grief & it is obeyed out of fear...
Oh now that would be interesting...
Those are suppositions it would be helpful to have clarified, on both our parts. Wandslinger?
|
Beatriz is his only True Heir. As we discussed earlier, the continuing scandals of our line are mainly based in our House's apparent curse, aka, the usual lack of proper Heirs. This leads to Lords wandering afield to sow their oats, and then reaping what they've sown later in life, should it prove fruitful.
Then I wonder what the Pardon could have held... Maybe us losing Land & Banners?
Also, I have a few Back-Up Characters if need be.
Stuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuff.
How's things.
Starts dancing to Gangnam Style.
I know that feeling.
Watches a Tumbleweed roll by."Well that is a rare site outside of Dorne..."
Yeah Wandslinger's life has gotten waaaaaay busier recently so this is probably on hold for now.
I figured that. Just figured I would bump this.
If you guys want I can set up a campaign similar to this one that way Wandslinger can take his time sorting everything out.
Actually, My life is picking up in terms of outside busy, so having one Campaign I can be 'casual' about is nice.
I stumbled on an interesting fact earlier, though it might be a little late for this...
GRRM apparently hinted that a Lord can name his Daughter Heir as long as he has No Trueborn Sons and approval from his Liege Lord or the King. This is probably there for the same reason it existed historically. That is to save face from naming a Bastard as Heir.
Also technically we should have paid for the Heir. Apparently the slots are for any that immediately could inherit. The Heir/1St Son slot could even be a brother, cousin, or simply a trusted confidante. And we could have said he had a young 1St born son who is Warded to another house. Then we could have had getting the influence to retrieve him being a major goal.
Oh well. Live and learn.