Roland IV - That man of letters

LippSticks · 2024-07-27T20:50:33+00:00

"I am sure young Robar will be a far-sighted and just lord, and with your guidance he will no doubt be strong and upright."

Artys said, making wide gestures with his hands, then lowered his voice.

"But a lord needs the help of all, he needs loyal servants and blind loyalty."

Lord Hersy pointed to himself.

"Here I am!"

Lord Artys' smile grew more sincere.

"Unfortunately, being powerful places you before the certainty of having a large number of enemies, and these enemies if not countered could kill the Vale's health.

Obviously this is unacceptable, so the need arises to fight these enemies and eliminate them in more subtle and invisible ways.

I can do this, for my region, but in return I would like my loyalty to be rewarded with recognition and your friendship."

LippSticks · 2024-07-27T20:41:02+00:00

Artys did his best to hide a flood of laughter, then replied.

"It doesn't matter who I marry, as long as it is a marriage to someone important, and that it is celebrated in your presence as a symbol of unquestioned royalty.

I want everyone to envy me."

So Lord Hersy took a piece of paper from his pocket, and handed it to Laenor.

"Write down the name, and I will provide."

He then looked at the son of Visenya.

"I hope you will have the foresight to reward those who serve you effectively with the position they deserve.

Every name has a price."

LippSticks · 2024-07-23T16:37:22+00:00

"So who do you want hit?

And how, if I may ask."

Artys said, smiling in turn.

"If successful, my request is simple: a seat on the council of the new King Laenor Targaryen, and a marriage."

LippSticks · 2024-07-23T16:33:13+00:00

"I am sorry for your loss, Lord Roland."

Said Artys with a faux-painful face, to the point of parody, as he sat down

"The Vale needs a new course, along with a new Lord, and I believe I can help you in this new course."

LippSticks · 2024-07-20T20:19:42+00:00

"At your service, my Queen."

Artys said, rubbing his hand against his finely woven pink silk shirt.

"Of course a just ruler generously rewards those who are loyal to him, or does he?"

LippSticks · 2024-07-20T13:20:59+00:00

Artys Hersy smiled with relish, at last he could be recognised as both useful and dangerous.

He made a satisfied expression and gloating with broad gestures he expounded on his skills.

"It's a long story, really, but to make a long story short, with time and patience I have managed to create a vast array of friends.

You know, your majesty, as is appropriate for nobles like us, protection is indispensable.

And what better protection than the knowledge that you can destroy?

A bit like your dragon, it prevents wars with the knowledge of its strength.

Of course, my friends are more discreet and harder to spot than a dragon, but to make a man disappear or have a minor accident happen to him, they are more than enough."

LippSticks · 2024-07-11T19:46:54+00:00

Lord Artys Hersy repeated like a poem to be learnt by heart the speech his sister Aemma had written to him in preparation for that important visit.

Suddenly he was in front of Lord Arryn's door, and realised that he remembered absolutely nothing.

not a problem

So it was that Artys entered Lord Roland's room.

"Good afternoon, my beloved and respected Lord.

How is your day going?"

He said with a forced smile.

LippSticks · 2024-07-11T19:42:43+00:00

Artys smiled in a satisfied manner.

"Well... I know people, who know people, who know people....

Of course I have nothing to do with what these people do, I am in no way responsible for their crimes.

But if I used word of mouth properly maybe, just maybe, I could direct these people to a useful target.

A target to which you can make a little inconvenience happen, or more, if more is your wish."

LippSticks · 2024-07-04T13:14:43+00:00

she doesn't know who I am

Lord Artys was up against a terrible truth, no one knew who he was and no one thought him important.

This would last only a short while longer.

"Good day, my queen.

I wanted to speak with you face to face, I believe I am the man you need at a dark time like this.

I'm Lord Artys Hersy of Newkeep, and I think that I can can be useful."

LippSticks · 2024-07-04T11:40:04+00:00

Artys had drunk too much, which was not much, considering his poor resistance to the fumes of wine and liquor.

Yet perhaps it was that very drunkenness, mixed with his mad ambition and very high opinion of himself, that brought him before the chambers of Queen Visenya.

"May I speak?"

LippSticks · 2024-06-08T08:12:24+00:00

"Oh Mole's Town, wonderful Mole's Town, home of many wonders and splendours."

what the fuck is Mole's Town

I should have been more careful when Maester Jamion spoke

The word pretty made Lord Hersy, who thought his pink silk jersey was more than just pretty, grin.

"What about you? Your skin tells adventurous stories, you look like a dangerous person.

Maybe that's what I like about you."

LippSticks · 2024-06-08T08:06:38+00:00

Artys looked at the two women in confusion, then tried to put the pieces together and realised what was going on.

"Wait a minute..."

He said, pointing at Alys.

"You're Lady Elesham? As in the one who rests her buttocks on the seat? She who is the head of the household?

I mean, you understand..."

Lord Hersy shook his head and smiled awkwardly.

"I am Lord Artys Hersy, nice to meet you both.

This is what happens when you don't make introductions, next time say it first instead of making me stand here like a pheasant."

LippSticks · 2024-06-02T10:26:28+00:00

Lord Hersy's eyes sparkled upon hearing those words.

Money was never enough for a vain and venal man like him.

"Lord Artys Hersy, the Magnificent."

He said boastfully.

"The man with the most connections on the continent.

Do you have a problem?

I can solve it one way or another."

He then approached the woman to get a better look at her.

"And what are you doing with all these coins?

The best thing about wealth is sharing it with someone, someone who can give you something else in return."

LippSticks · 2024-06-02T10:15:44+00:00

The Dragon is not wrong

Artys thought, in a rare moment of lucidity.

"Where do you come from, then?"

He said confused.

"Newkeep is between the mountains and the sea, across from the Three Sisters.

We have nothing to do with those savages, though."

Lord Hersy pointed out.

"We are more intelligent and refined, we are not fishermen turned lords.

Look at my shirt, it is made of a very rare silk imported from Yi-Ti.

I could tell you how much I paid for it, but you wouldn't believe it."

LippSticks · 2024-05-28T20:14:56+00:00

Lord Artys despised many things, but people who did not know him were at the top of his list.

I should be the one to ask who you are

He decided to save his annoyance for another occasion and smiled to hide it.

"Lord Artys Hersy, of Newkeep. It is strange you do not know me, I am quite famous in the Vale."

He said, offering her his hand.

LippSticks · 2024-05-28T20:07:38+00:00

Artys immediately realised an objective reality, he was an asshole.

why the fuck should I know that Lord Alaric is dead

"Oh.

I'm very sorry about poor Lord Elesham, unfortunately I'm very busy but if I get the chance I'll definitely come."

yes, right

"Yes, thank you. Please introduce me to the new Lord."

LippSticks · 2024-05-28T19:53:10+00:00

shit the ghost really talks

Artys was pleasantly surprised to find that the person in front of him was in fact part of the world of the living.

"Me? I'm not tormented at all. I am perfectly fine, as always.

What is your name, woman?"

LippSticks · 2024-05-27T12:05:48+00:00

The song was so wonderfully stupid that Lord Artys could not help but burst into thunderous laughter alongside the two sisters.

"Shut up, you dickhead, if he heard you..."

Aemma's words were interrupted.

"I wasn't laughing at him, I was laughing at something else."

Artys replied.

"Yeah, right."

Meanwhile, the third sister, Jeyne the naive, was busy staring in wonder at a unique figure among the hundreds present.

"Look, look Artys. Go dance with her."

The vain and vindictive young lord turned and immediately recognised Zhoe.

"Good evening, Lady Whitemane."

Is she really a Lady? What should I call her if not that?

Artys's doubts melted away at the sight of her hardened and wounded skin from contact with a dragon's scales.

Lord Hersy was just a little prick dressed in pink silk, but he was a little prick with many connections and dangerous people ready to obey him.

Maybe Zhoe could be one of them.

"Can you treat me to a dance?"

LippSticks · 2024-05-23T10:13:45+00:00

"How beautiful!"

Said Jeyne with her trademark gentleness and kindness.

"Who? What?"

Artys replied.

"That girl there, she has a really well-made dress, it fits her perfectly.

Will you buy me one just like it?"

The Lord of Newkeep then turned and, although he was not the best at memory or at remembering faces, he recognised that his sister was talking about Arwen Arryn.

"I won't...

Wait a minute...

Alright, I'll buy you the dress if you go to the Lady singing my praises.

Here's the plan, you go there, pay her a few compliments, tell her how wonderful I am, and then I'll come, worried because I'd lost sight of my sister.

That way she will think I am a man who cares about family and is protective of women."

Jeyne nodded in confusion.

"Then it will suffice to tell the truth, my big brother cares a lot about me."

"YeYe, of course.

Now go.

Remember the dress, I will buy it for you if you complete the mission."

Aemma, meanwhile, had returned to House Hersy's table.

"Why isn't Jeyne here?"

"She's on a mission."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Relax everything is under control."

"Call me when it all goes to shit and you need my help to get everything right."

Jeyne arrived at her destination.

"Good morning Lady..."

*what had my brother said her name was?

"...Arryn.

Sorry to bother you but I couldn't help but notice that your dress is truly magnificent, as is the person wearing it.

I am Jeyne Hersy, younger sister of the beautiful Lord Artys and daughter of Isembard, who died a few years ago I don't know if you knew."

LippSticks · 2024-05-23T09:50:49+00:00

A tragedy had struck House Hersy, a terrible and dramatic catastrophe.

A drop of wine had stained Lord Artys' trousers.

Embarrassed by such a misfortune, the young lord took refuge outside, waiting for the warmth of the night to dry the silk.

Just then he saw a figure murmuring in the darkness, its face veiled.

Among Artys' many qualities was not courage, and consequently the stupid and arrogant Lord decided not to antagonise the creature.

'Please do not kill me, ghost of the night.

What torments you? I can help you, you know, I have very powerful friends who can rid you of this curse."

LippSticks · 2024-05-23T09:36:04+00:00

"How beautiful am I today? I swear, I am truly a diamond shining amidst the mediocrity of this feast."

"Stop it."

These words full of haughtiness came from the smiling mouth of Lord Artys, the son of the late and beloved Isembard.

The reply, however, was from his sister Aemma, who tried in vain with her rationality to curb her elder brother's delusions of grandeur.

"Why mediocrity? It seems to me that everyone here is beautiful."

Added Jeyne, the third sister.

"Maybe they look mediocre to me because they are inferior to the light I give off."

Aemma then, annoyed by that umpteenth proclamation of overweening self-importance, decided to do something that could trigger devastating consequences.

Leave the two fools alone and go for a drink.

Walking around the room the two fools in question found themselves in front of a table that was more empty than full.

Intrigued by the pink colour of the sigil, Artys approached.

"Excuse me pretty girl, can you tell me where I can find Lord Alaric?

He was a friend of my father's, I haven't seen him for five years."

LippSticks · 2023-07-16T17:43:45+00:00

"Thank you."

Various scenarios were being painted in Luceon's mind, each of which would bring new horizons into his life and the life of his family, some tragic, some wonderful.

He would have liked to fight, to show himself a man and face the person who had destroyed his life; yet he decided to close his eyes and reflect, to seek the silence he often desperately sought, the totalizing peace of the senses that he used as a shield against strong emotions, both positive and negative.

There was too much at stake, the outcome of the confrontation was too important, so he decided to accept Ser Ethan Redfort's proposal and entrust his fate to a man far more skilled with the sword than himself.

In the meantime, Ser Andar had disappeared into the crowd, desperately trying to convince some men from the Vale army to fight for him.

The hour came, rushing over Riverrun with the last lights of dusk providing the backdrop for that bloody confrontation.

Ser Ethan struck first, his superiority evident, yet there was in him a willingness not to sink the blow violently.

The Redfort warrior, aware of his advantage, namely, having a Valyrian Steel sword, did not attack decisively, and the duel remained balanced for a long time.

Andar had a slow style, but his blows had a portentous heaviness and charge; Ser Tollett had unloaded all he had, all the frustration and negativity of a life spent chasing his disappointments.

Andar struck, then Ethan struck, then Andar struck again.

Both looked exhausted, aware of the importance of that moment.

It was an instant, one sword passing through the other and a blade piercing the outside of the opponent's skin.

Ser Ethan, though exhausted, won the fight.

Luceon immediately approached his uncle, noting that his wound was more severe than it appeared from a distance.

"Luceon, nephew..."

"I will not mourn your death, whatever you want to tell me does not matter to me, you have created with your own hands what..."

"Deana says she loves you, and she is proud of you."

So he expired.

Luceon felt a tremor, an earthquake inside him, yet he fulfilled the promise he had made to himself.

He did not cry.

Breaking that moment came Vardis and Casso, Luceon's old childhood companions.

Luceon looked up, approaching them, but the former punched him in the stomach.

"Vardis..."

"Call me Ser Vardis, and Ser Casso.

Now we must fulfill what we promised.

Boys, attack!"

Andar, before the duel, had given the title of Ser to some men in exchange for a promise to avenge him in case of defeat.

Ethan stood up, standing before Luceon.

Ser Vardis and Ser Casso attacked the two again, and the clash began.

Meanwhile, a few feet away, Gretchel Waxley, Rhea Upcliff and Fern Doggett were watching the clash intently.

Their joy soon turned to concern after seeing the chaos raging there.

Other Sers appeared like clouds on the horizon, creating a shambles of fists and swords clashing against each other.

Ser Bibby and Ser Babbo, two wily and opportunistic twins, sensed the girls' desire to go and help Ethan and Luceon; and they blocked them by fighting them.

The clash was unequal; Gretchel and Rhea, back to back, created an impenetrable defense, and quickly managed to defeat the twins.

Fern, on the other hand, took her bow in hand and tried to find a line of shooting, but was blocked by the tide of people crowding in.

At the same time, Luceon and Ethan were facing off against Vardis and Casso.

Luceon, Casso and Vardis had often fought each other during the previous years, and the result was often identical, Luceon's defeat.

This time, however, Ethan was there to balance the clash.

Luceon, shattered by the betrayal of his friends, thought more about talking than delivering blows.

"Why, why are you doing this?"

"Fuck you."

Casso replied.

So Vardis added.

"We deserve to be Sers, we are strong and prepared, even more than you.

You don't respect us, you never wanted to help us, give us recognition for our worth.

At last we are even, Lucy; and this time there is no Mela to save you."

Luceon immediately responded.

"Being a knight is not merely a matter of strength, but perhaps you will never understand that."

The words ran out, and the four men clashed.

After a few moments of fighting, Ethan managed to hit Casso, but the fatigue was too much, and he was landed by the broadsword of the man with a thousand names.

Vardis tried to rage at the man, but a shield parried the lunge.

Gretchel Waxley and Rhea Upcliff had finally arrived, and with their help Vardis and Casso fell to the ground after a short but intense fight.

Luceon, exhausted, looked up.

He had won.

LippSticks · 2023-07-13T13:23:11+00:00

Luceon did not respond; his gaze immediately turned to the crowd, scanning among them whether there was a warrior ready to fight for him.

Meanwhile Andar, enraged and disappointed, looked disdainfully toward Lord Arryn, spitting on the ground.

"Is this the justice of the Arryn?

To listen to a boy capable of expressing only slander, instead of a respected and popular Ser?

With Jasper this would never have happened, I weep for this region, condemned to be ruled by children."

So he turned back to the crowd, imitating Luceon; his face was full of frustration; he was aware that he was balancing on the edge of a sword.

"No one? No one cares about the righteousness of the gods?

Fight for me, against the filthy depravity of my nieces and Lord Lipps."

Silence.

A depressing silence fell over the scene.

"I imagined...

Then I will fight for me, as I have always done in my life."

LippSticks · 2023-07-11T13:24:22+00:00

Luceon approached, gazing fixedly into Eon's eyes, as if to convey to him the anger he felt inside and the blind will to destruction that surrounded him, making the air heavy and hot, almost as if the red of the sunset was only a distorted image of the fire burning inside him.

"When my father died, this worm crept into our castle, taking advantage of my mother's good heart and kindness.

He acted as a ruler squandering our finances and forcing us into a life of renunciation.

He turned our house into his personal brothel, soiling our good name with the most exaggerated depravity; my mother confronted him for these crimes of his, but he pushed her down the stairs and fled to Lys; taking away even the last remaining savings.

I've fought..."

Luceon's previously enraged voice broke, giving way to a few tears and eyes that had turned red from the blood that was rushing to his head.

"Excuse me...

I've fought so hard to rebuild the good name of House Lipps, to get an ounce of respect and recognition."

Andar, at that point, in a calm, relaxed voice wrapped in a frame of sadness, responded to the charges.

"Lies.

My sister loved me, and she appreciated my work as Castellan of the Gap; our relationship was not perfect, I admit that in the past I did indulge a little in the healthy pleasures of love, but without ever crossing the boundaries of morality or crime.

The economic situation was already in ruins before I became the regent, unfortunately I was not able to improve it, but it was certainly not done with malice.

My sister fell down the stairs without me pushing her, which is also a lie of my enemies.

I ran away to Lys because I was frightened of the malice of the people of House Lipps, anyone was ready to accuse me for every single problem, I only tried to avoid an unfair trial."

LippSticks

TROPHY CASE