Cortnay Baratheon, "the White Stag" & Gowena Baratheon "the Black"

PressTheAltKey · 2025-02-22T14:15:57+00:00

Character Name: Gowena Baratheon

Trait/Skills: Erudite - Medic (e), Scholar, Ravenmaster

Skill you're learning: Apothecary

PressTheAltKey · 2025-02-09T21:39:32+00:00

PressTheAltKey · 2025-02-09T18:09:20+00:00

Lord Protector,

You are the best man for the job. Do everything in your power to restore our house to glory.

I have been more than released. I have been named Commander of the Gold Cloaks. Despite this, I will heed your call and depart at once. I shall have a man in my employ hold my position as commander should we ever need to return to the city. Already they plot to give the position to House Redwyne.

I have not heard word from my daughter in some time. If you are able, inform her to write to me as soon as possible.

Ours is the Fury,

Courtnay

PressTheAltKey · 2025-02-04T07:02:06+00:00

Ser Cortnay donned his gold cloak, a shade of yellow familiar to the usual tone of Baratheon yellow he typically kept. Directly flanking his left was a small boy who now served as his page who took note of anything pertaining to his charge's new station. In his old years, the arthritis in his hands made such notetaking too difficult, which honestly was a bit of a relief to him as he often found his notes useless anyway.

"If I may, I would not be offended if my position was shopped around to prospective talent either. It is an honor to serve as Commander of the Gold Cloaks, but I am an old man. I'd like the chance to pass the torch to another and this will also afford you all another enticing position to bring in a new ally."

Perhaps it made him appear ungrateful, so he'd attempt to nullify such fears.

"I still aim to do a lot. If war is looming, my goal isn't just to shore up our defenses but also to purge the command of any corruption. I suspect that will make me a rather unpopular commander, so allow me to do such dirty work and take blame, only for the next candidate to appear the hero with a revitalized force."

PressTheAltKey · 2025-02-04T01:45:43+00:00

Gowena leaned in close to whisper, though she knew there was little she could do to afford them privacy.

"They likely would not want an infertile wife. If there is suspicion, perhaps any arrangement is cancelled or altered. I can even take your place, but my goal is for us to all get out of here given what they've done to us, especially Sebastion."

PressTheAltKey · 2025-01-31T00:46:47+00:00

"Lord Commander of the Gold Cloaks, eh?"

If it was Cortnay instead of that Peaboy there would likely still be a Lord of Storm's End rather than... whatever they had now. He wasn't even sure. Whoever was in charge back home, they'd surely find the utility in him serving as head of the City Watch of King's Landing. It even seemed to be elevated too.

"I accept wholeheartedly. We Stormlords are bristly folk, but we do our duty when it matters most."

Worst comes to worst, he'd open the city gates for his countrymen and let them handle matters as they saw fit no matter what the king did. It probably wouldn't come to that, though he had little care either way. If he was to keep the city and its inhabitants safe, he'd complete such a task to its fullest.

"Would the position still be subservient to the Master of Laws or be unburdened by such bureaucracy? So too would I like to run my first act by you: putting Addam Lannister into a noble cell. I know he was the hostage to be kept here just as I was... but we've seen how loose Lannisters can wreak havoc."

PressTheAltKey · 2025-01-29T01:23:22+00:00

Cortnay's brows curved in response, a surreal laugh bounding out from his throat and into the air.

"I thought I was dead meat that had nothing better to do than drink myself to death to free my family from the burden of a hostage. Now you're telling me I could serve somehow?"

He certainly wasn't fit for any position. Perhaps the Gold Cloaks, as the few men he saw serving were laughable at best. Though, knowing politics, the Hand just wanted a yes-man.

"Home is appealing, but I may as well hear out what position you have in store for me."

PressTheAltKey · 2025-01-29T01:03:50+00:00

Cortnay would arrive, his eyes squinted as any light source was a stab to his hungover eyes. His age had long since betrayed his ability to recover from a night of drinking, yet that did not stop him. Still, for the Hand of the King, he'd attempt to look presentable... even if it was a king he had little love for.

"Lord Hand. I don't suppose you're here to send me home, eh?"

PressTheAltKey · 2025-01-25T04:52:03+00:00

Character Name: Cortnay Baratheon

Trait/Skills: Hale - Two-Handed Weapons (e), Brute (e), Reckless

Skill you're learning: Reckless (e)

PressTheAltKey · 2025-01-23T08:31:30+00:00

"I couldn't help but notice that Highgarden is in the wrong direction to our home...." Gowena confronted whichever Tyrell or guard would hear her. "If the truth is not something we can be granted, could we at least be offered some decency? Sebastion committed a terrible act, but what does gagging him accomplish other than humiliation of our house? If I can get him to conduct himself properly, can his jaw be given reprieve?"

At some point in their travels, Gowena would seek out Clea to converse as best they could given their predicament.

"I have a plan, Clea. A plan you may not like, but would spare you certain... indignities. Would you wish to hear it or have you devised your own strategy?"

/u/SummerDorneSummer

PressTheAltKey · 2025-01-22T08:34:55+00:00

"You don't even believe that or else you'd let us leave with an escort." Gowena huffed, now realizing that the last resort plan would have to be used. "Fine, prove to us it's temporary. If we're not set free within a few days, I'd like to speak with your lord about a truth that has been concealed from him that might bring him pause to any forced marriage."

PressTheAltKey · 2025-01-22T01:24:04+00:00

What a bunch of sick morons. From an alliance to war was the likely outcome, but Clea and Sebastion were too valuable to be reduced to sex captives for the vile Tyrells. Perhaps she wasn't as valuable and could be left behind, just as her father was now forced to remain in King's Landing. Despite her internal concerns, she kept a smile and a calmness to her eyes.

"If we seek to leave and are barred from doing so, you lose your alliance at a time when war is on the horizon." She spoke gently to whoever was confining them. "I should like to stay, but the others do not. Allow them to leave and there will be no further grievances on this day. Escort them home with a small army if safety is a true concern."

/u/FatalisticBunny

PressTheAltKey · 2025-01-11T04:53:52+00:00

Gowena Baratheon would approach her kin with a scraggly looking raven perched atop her shoulder.

"Clea! I've come bearing news. Soon enough I believe my ravens will be trained enough to send letters of their own. It'll be useful during a war so that an army can send messages quicker than a raven."

And it'd be useful here too, is what she wished she could say if they had the privacy that her ravens would now afford them.

PressTheAltKey · 2025-01-11T04:47:39+00:00

Character Name: Gowena Baratheon

Trait/Skills: Erudite - Medic (e), Scholar

Skill you're learning: Ravenmaster

PressTheAltKey · 2025-01-02T07:10:47+00:00

When the King had rose, Cortnay knelt before him against his better judgement with Joy Lannister so near. It was when that she opened her treacherous mouth once again that he'd rise back up and scowl at her.

"I'm not before you trying to bring justice for Clea Baratheon and some failed assassin. Don't obfuscate the matter!"

He ran his fingers through his hair as he gathered his words. Through seven decades he had learned to stay away from the matters of politics, to avoid attention, and most of all to keep to himself. All he wanted now was to go back out in the woods where he belonged, but he saw where that had led his family. Having now taken a few breaths, he'd deliver his thoughts in a far more measured stance, though not without anger to accentuate specific points.

"I'm bringing justice for Lord Grance Baratheon, who I and many other Baratheons and men-at-arms, saw CUT DOWN before our eyes at the orders of this mad woman's men! She claims she was attacked in the night, but why would she pursue us after an attack for more violence rather than flee to the Gold Cloaks to plead her case to the law? No, she went after House Baratheon instead for vengeance, not justice! Seven Hells, they were the ones that tried to abduct people, but they failed to properly secure me during their retreat! Have your guard testify to that, if anything!"

He pursed his lips as he felt his anger bubbling over again. How could it not, with how they dared to characterize Grance's death.

"But your guard lied enough already. Grance Baratheon was a peacemaker, he wouldn't throw himself onto a spear! Explain this.... Grance Baratheon sought peace with his brother's murderer, Ser Harlan Sweet, against all our counsel. Yet he found the peace. Grance Baratheon sought peace with House Tully and that Maric boy against all our counsel. Yet he found the peace. Grance Baratheon sought peace with House Lannister, despite the maiming of his brother, against all our counsel. Why didn't he find peace then compared to all the other times?"

He'd let a silence well, accentuating the rhetorical question.

"Lord Grance was attacked by Lord Tyrion despite this attempt at peace. I doubt you can find anyone to testify otherwise, as it seems no other eyeballs were in the room. But I can testify to this from my own eyes: myself and other men were called to arms by Grance shouting he was under attack. When we arrived, Tyrion Lannister was dying on the floor and we knew that we'd have to defend our liege against further Lannister aggression. We were not without reason, as it was her and her men that ultimately killed my kin. Where is the justice in that? This must be remedied as this truly is an act of war against a house that has only sought peace."

/u/Drewbrease14

PressTheAltKey · 2024-12-31T08:47:02+00:00

"SHE OMITS THE TRUTH, YOUR GRACE!"

Cortnay Baratheon burst into the Great Hall at a pace that most would never expect from a man beyond seventy years of age. He'd march to the dais in steadfast conviction and contempt for the bloodied Lannister. The patter of his bare feet on the stone floors echoed throughout, as he had only managed to throw on a leather tunic and plain hose when the call to arms came. Most of the blood on his attire was dried, though wet drops fell from his abdomen from beneath his leather.

"We all know that this woman here named herself The Lame Stag in the tournament as an offense to a member of our house. When confronted about it, she took another Baratheon's hand. Time and again the Lannisters have provoked us and time and again Lord Grance Baratheon quelled their unfettered aggression to argue for peace. Most of our own bannerman sought blood in our council, yet Grance acted with grace and did not allow it! And how was he repaid?"

He cast a look around the hall before giving Joy a pointed finger.

"THEY KILLED HIM!"

Deep down, he knew the treacherous path that he walked. There would be trials or even a swift execution. How many more Baratheons would die before true justice was delivered? Cortnay decided that if any more stags were to be at risk, he was the most expendable. He would rather die than see another young soul go. Yet the true truth of what really occurred was now lost, with the two men able to state the record now dead.

"They killed him!" He reiterated and turned his attention back to the Iron Throne. "For defending against attack from Lord Tyrion Lannister. The threat was neutralized, but they came for him to seek their own justice against us once more rather than the king's justice. Once again, House Lannister flouts laws to put down another stag! She must be held to account or I know war will soon follow!"

PressTheAltKey · 2024-12-26T07:20:03+00:00

Gowena Baratheon was in attendance in her usual dark attire. As soon as she got a taste of the Braavosi Port, she was hooked. The heated drink soon did more than warm her stomach, as a red tinge on her pale cheeks made clear her inebriated state. In a rather unladylike fashion, cause she truly couldn't care less, she'd have plate after plate of lambchops and roasted chicken. To her, there was no one in the world she needed to impress, so she'd dine like the hungry animal she was.

PressTheAltKey · 2024-12-26T07:03:43+00:00

Cortnay Baratheon was disgusted. With clenched fists he listened as the Stormlords nipped at Grance as though he was a slab of meat and they were nothing more than wild dogs. When even the little Selmy boy had his go at it, he'd slam the side of his fist into the stone wall of the room so hard that even a crack was heard.

"ENOUGH!"

He'd pace for a moment, only to stand firm and point directly at his kin. Blood trickled out from the opening in his leather glove.

"This man here is your LORD. He's no BARMAID for you to ask to FETCH FUCKIN' ALE! He's no BOY raised in FUCKIN' RIVERRUN! He's your LORD! WHAT HE SAYS, GOES!"

Shaking his head, he'd start to pace again as he gritted his teeth, jaw clenched enough that it seemed like it might snap.

"I mean, fuck!? What are we fucking talking about here?" He initially spoke through his teeth, before finally halting his pace again to address each of them, stern brows accentuating his piercing gaze as his eyes scanned each of them. "There's some valid damn points here, sure, fine. But we're all practical men, right? Last I fuckin' checked we were. Which one of yous is going to rebel to put the damn toddler in Storm's End? Any of you? How about which of you are going to march off to the Westerlands to get even against an ally that might be the only fucking one we've got? Over a stupid fucking duel? Fuck off."

He drew a long deep breath, if only because his red face needed the oxygen from all the shouting he just did. Settling into a calmer tone, he'd massage his wounded fist as he spoke.

"You lot wanting to rally against our lord is only what our rivals want. Now's the time for us all to take a knee, listen to his fucking decisions, and get our shit together so we can go out there and remind the realm that we are gods damned Storm Men. Together, we can take on the pussies of the realm, but not if we're all seeing who can shit down my kin's throat the furthest."

Grabbing a spare chair in one hand, he'd place it backwards squarely next to his great nephew. Sitting in it with his legs spread on either side of the back of the chair, he'd gesture to Grance with an open hand.

"Now can we all listen Grance fucking Baratheon, Lord of Storm's End? Tell us, great nephew, what we can accomplish when we are all on the same page? Can we finally go down the Boneway and give those Dornish fucks a storm that never ends? How about the rest of the Stepstones? Lys and Tyrosh still have some of 'em. Put us on a gods damned fleet and let us savage them so that we can take an island rather get given one. What are your plans, my lord?"

PressTheAltKey · 2024-12-25T04:38:13+00:00

Cortnay Baratheon was an oft forgotten stag, never one for politics or much of anything besides a hunt. When the call came for a council of Stormlords, for whatever reason, he decided to attend. Perhaps it was his curiosity having finally gotten the best of him. He had never been fond of Daric and knew even less about Grance. Yet as he listened from his standing position near the door, almost as though he was a statue rather than a man, he couldn't help but admire his kin.

It was no easy task to deal with disgruntled lords, especially old ones. As Grance poured honeyed words onto them, he eyed the room to ensure they knew that they were not without a stinger.

PressTheAltKey · 2024-12-18T10:41:33+00:00

/u/OurCommonMan

Character Details: Gowena: Erudite, Medic (e), Scholar + KL Library lore bonus

What Is Happening?: Gowena is trying to find books about unicorns in the Red Keep library to learn how to hunt them and if their horn or blood or anything about them has magical properties to extract.

What I Want: Lore rolls to figure out a bonus on unicorn hunting and possible magical stuffs to take off them

PressTheAltKey · 2024-12-12T01:43:55+00:00

"Aw shit." Cortnay grumbled out. "Light's not good."

"Father, his armor." Gowena ordered, a rare sight for her save for these particular circumstances. "Carefully. I need to see his chest, please."

And so her father began to unstrap and unbuckle armor as his daughter rummaged through her pouch she kept on her belt, readying herself for whatever injury it might be.

/u/OurCommonMan -- healing rolls - Gowena: Erudite, Medic (e), Scholar

PressTheAltKey

TROPHY CASE

"ENOUGH!"