Jasper Hale is the son of Tarnide, and Belescia Hale making him a member of House Hale. Jasper Hale is member of the Lucernian Shadow Council, as well as the leader of the Belarian Gaurd which is a sub-sect of the Order of the Golden Dragon. Unknown to Jasper he is the brother of Rosalie Hale, who is ironically now dating one of his best friends inEmmett McCarty. This unknown sister came to be known after his friends William Lovie, and Edward Cullen conspired to find out the truth of who Rosalie Hale really was. With the secret out, the two have grown closer, and Jasper now treats her as an honored member of House Hale despite the reservations and open discust of his mother. Jasper Hale believes he has two children with Lanna Lannister in the form of Termin, and Ophellia Jest of which he is the gaurdian of Termin and has been training him for the eventual belief that he will join him in the Order of the Golden Dragon, while his daughter Ophellia is a beautiful young girl that has become her mothers favorite person and never far from her side.
Jasper Hale is the current leader of the Belarian Gaurd within the Order of the Golden Dragon, and he has gained immense amount of influence and power from this position but his loyalty remains unwavering. Jasper Hale was in line for the heir to House Hale, but passed this position to his uncle Valian Hale and remained within the Order of the Golden Dragon.
Jasper is now known as a very honorable and kind man, but in his youth he and William gathered quite the reputation as careless and uncaring playboys. This experiance has molded the two into the people they are now, but Jasper is lucky in that he is not paying for his mistakes the way William is. Jasper Hale would following the return of Edward Cullen become the closest person to the young prince William Lovie III. and in this position he became almost in a rivalry with his old friend Edward Cullen over the direction that William was going. During the events of the Journey it would be a regrowth of the relationship between Alice, and Jasper that would be the first of many moments that brought Jasper to a point of being above Edward Cullen. During the Journey it would be Jasper that stood side by side with William Lovie and it would be said that he saved the princes life during the Battle of Minas Ithil. Jasper Hale would become the second hand of William Lovie III. to the point that the once closest bond between Edward, and William was exclipsed by William and Jasper causing some jelousy between Edward towards Jasper. Jasper Hale begin forming the Belarian Gaurd shortly after the rise of William Lovie from the Journey and this would lead to his command of the Gaurd on the order of William, and he went about finding the organization that he wanted. Taking part in the Battle of Berne he was forced to watch his best friend watch Amber Heard die and there was noone else there outside of Emmett that understood the actual love that William had for Amber, and thus it was Jasper that took on most of the arrangements for her funeral as William was emotionally unable to do it himself.
Jasper Hale can sometimes pass as cold, because he has a very militaristic mindset from the constant lectures he was given by his father Tarnide, and the fact that he was groomed from birth to be William's right hand man. However, the truth is that he is a very kind, polite, gallant and simply good person. He is described by Alice as 'a good northern gentleman'. He is a natural scholar and avid reader, and has a shrewd mind on business and battle tactics.
History
Early History
Jasper Hale was a shy boy, but was pushed into the limelight continuesly by his Grand-father. This only got worse when during the First Battle of Tree Hill Jasper's father Tirande II. was killed. Following this his grand-father become the de-facto father of young Jasper. His grand-father dreamed of making House Hale important and thought he could use Jasper to get that. It was this desire that originally brought Jasper together with Prince William , but after a time Jasper came clean and they became true friends. The first friend that Jasper would have. As William and Jasper grew closer, so too did the number of girls that gravitated to the two. Before either knew what was happening they were losing themselves in women, and it started spiralling out of control. At first it was nothing more then idle fun, but a devisive moment in his life would occur when his friend Edward Cullen would be forced to leave Lucerne in order to go away to Hogwarts and learn how to control his Magi. This had a pyschological effect on the group as they were already each dealing with thier own problems and through those problems Edward had been the one that kept that grounded and guided them in the right direction.
Blake Cullen
"Blake Cullen started off as something I was going to hurt so that I could get back at Edward for leaving. That all changed the more I got to know her. I should have stayed loyal to her. I should have loved her the way she deserved to be loved, but I see now I wasn't capable of that back then. Our love was true at the time but it was always going to end badly."
-Jasper Hale
When Edward left Jasper in his mind became silently obsessed with Blake Cullen and this obsession led him to menipulate his friend Emmett into getting them to meet echother. After thier "Suprise" meeting he used all of his kindness and charm to get her to love him and in a relatively short amount of time she was hooked on to him. Even as he spent every night with her, and whispered in her ear how much he loved her and was devoted to her he was falling deeper into his sexual deviation alongside his friend William. Despite his best intentions, and the best intentions of William the two during this time were lost without their best friend in Edward Cullen, and thus they continued to sleep around with as many women as they could
Black loved Jasper with everything she had.
get their hands on. For Jasper this led him to become estranged emotionally from his love in Blake Cullen and from this departure he begin to become romantically involved with Kristen Trachtenburg, who fell in love with him, and was under the illusion that Jasper was going to end things with Blake so that he could be with her. As time went on and this didn't come to pass, and she watched as things between Jasper and Blake grew closer she begin to hate Blake with everything in her heart. Jasper continued down this dark path, and as time went on he became confused as to what to do as he truly loved the both of them, and didn't want to hurt either of them.
Pregnancy
"Painful as it may be, a significant emotional event can be the catalyst for choosing a direction that serves us - and those around us - more effectively. Look for the learning in every moment and never let the darkness pass by pointlessly."
-Jasper Hale
For Jasper this behavior ended when his at the time girlfriend Kristen Trachtenburg became pregnant with his child, and the moment she came and told him was one of the worst moments of his life as he understood that he had finally been caught. He also knew that because it was Kristen Trachtenburg that was Andrew's cousin and thus his best friend was going to be furious that he defiled a member of House Lovie in such a way. The first person that he knew he had to tell after he left Kristen was Andrew, and as he arrived at the Sky Towers he was allowed in as all the gaurds knew who he was to Andrew. When Jasper arrived in Andrew's floor he was having sex with Levan Martell on the floor of his room, and in this moment as Jasper walked in on this kind of behavior he for the first time truly understood how far he and his friend has fallen. Andrew laughed it off, and bid Levan to get dressed, and when she did she left his room with nothing more then a sideways kiss. When Jasper moved to tell Andrew about what happened with Kristen Andrew stopped him and begin telling him how he was a great friend, and as Andrew continued to talk Jasper realized that Andrew was drunk. Seeing his friend like this he couldn't help but wonder what was happening that had him so emotionally troubled, and at the same time he wondered where Alice was. When Jasper asked him where Alice was he laughed and said that Alice was pissed at him for the way he was acting. Despite the hard way that he had said it you could tell without any effort at all that Andrew was exceptionally emotionally damaged by the rift with his beloved sister, and so Jasper didn't have the heart to tell Andrew about what he had done.
Keeping Secrets
"I lied. I lied to everyone for so long I got confused as to who I was anymore. Was this the person that I was now. Someone who skulked around hiding the truth from the only people who had ever meant anything to me? Was I the kind of man that tricked a girl into believing I loved her so that she would keep my dirty secrets? In the end it was always going to come out. Whether the world found out when she started showing, or someone slipped up the news was always going to get out. It was the hopelessness of the lie that made it all the more terrifying."
-Jasper Hale
So for nearly a month Jasper lied to everyone, and convinsed Kristen Trachtenburg to lie as well to everyone. The lying continued as Jasper needed to fix Andrew and Alice before he could ever tell Andrew, so with this in mind he went to Alice and attempted to convinse her to talk to her beloved brother. Her words were laced with anger
Kristen Trachtenburg stood as the center of a lot of drama during her time.
towards Andrew, but also were very cruel to the way in which Jasper as well was living, and Alice openly called out Jasper for the way in which he was running around behind Blake's back with Kristen. Jasper couldn't undestand how Alice could have known so he became irate about Alice telling him how she knew, but she refused and as they begin to yell Andrew appeared in the doorway with true anger in his eyes. For William this must have appeared to have been Jasper being hostile in a physical manner towards Alice, and everyone knew that there were certain things you just didn't do if you wanted William to be rational, and at the top of the list for things you didn't do, threatening Alice was at the top.
"I'd known my best friend Andrew for years. Since the days of us both being tykes and thrown into the same little playground I had known him. I'd seen him angry with people over how they treated me or one of the other members of our group. I'd seen him sad over an argument with Alice. I'd seen all of these things but the emotion on his face when he saw what he must have believed was Alice in trouble was something elce. It was a look that sent a chill up my spine because even though he was my best friend and I was his, I was mentally capable enough to udnerstand that if it fell down to it we were all secondary to Alice."
-Jasper Hale
Seeing the look on his face, Alice stepped between the two, and basically begged Jasper to tell Andrew the truth, and everything about it because they all needed to come together before the darkness swept over everything. William was overcome with rage, and only the fact that Alice was between them kept him from attacking Jasper where he stood. When Alice looked between the two and realized that Jasper looked uncertain and William looked enraged she spoke softly to her brother, and gently placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. Hearing his sister's voice, and having her hand on his shoulder calmed him down immediatly and he sat down in order to hear Jasper tell him whatever truth he had apparently been keeping from him. As Jasper told Andrew about all the things that had been going on, and the fact that Kristen was pregnant he watched as the look of disapointment went across his friends face. While at first they argued in bitter tones to eachother as all the bitterness they felt was poured out on the only other person that could ever understand the pain that they were feeling, Andrew became slowly more angry with his best friend, and the emotional attacks became too much for the two to continue trade at eachother without violence. It would be William making a low blow at a lack of loyalty shown by Jasper that would truly escalate the argument to a new level.
"We trusted you Jasper. You were supposed to be someone that this house could trust, and now you go and do this. You leave my cousin high and dry like some common whore on the street. If this is the person we laid our faith on then our faith was grossly misplaced."
-William Lovie III.
With questions raised against his loyalty Jasper was more hurt then he had ever felt in his life and before either of them knew what was happening Jasper charged his friend and the two of them begin fighting on the floor, and out into the hallway, and they continued to fight until they were pulled apart by Alice. Alice gently held onto William of whom wouldn't pull away for fear of hurting Alice, and before he left Jasper and William spoke one more time that day.
Jasper was the best friend of Alice's brother William Lovie
"You never have to doubt me Andrew. Your my brother. You were always my brother, and trust me when I say that I take that more serious then anything elce in life. But also trust me when I say that you and I are falling. Were not the people we were meant to be. We can blame this on him all we want but in the end were making choices. Were the ones not making the right decisions, and eventually we have to start or were never going to be able to stop."
-Jasper Hale
With that Jasper left the Sky Towers and the two best friends left eachother to cool off for a time. William was consoled by Alice, but for Jasper there was nothing to return to. He returned to his home at the House Hale tower, and realized with absolute certainty that the life he was leading was leading him down a path that he was no longer willing to go down.
The Winter Ball The Winter Ball changed all of our lives.
“The Academy was a culture shock for me. I had grown up amongst the nobility of Forks so I understood the intricisies of that culture, but the aristocrats, and noble children of the academy and what they brought was something I just didn't fit into.”
— Amber Heard II.
Her early time in the academy was filled with learning as she attempted to honor her family by gaining the most out of the experience as she possibly could. She had been placed into all of William's classes, but despite her obvious interest in him, she was kept away by the bullying of the other girls that seemed to hate her, and the continued relationship of William with several of the same girls. Amber though was falling into a very deep crush on William and despite the constant abuse she took from the girl students of which much of this was led by Britney Hemsworth of whom saw her as a major threat to her she continued to attempt to get to know William. Britney during this time was causing a lot of problems for William and his personal life, and because of this he was growing more sad, and Amber noticed this which made her see an even deeper side of him that few people noticed as they were looking for other things with him. Outside of the Shadow Council the only people that he seemingly truly trusted were those such as Marcel Lovie II., Hanna, and Aria Arryan, and Emma Bell of whom were also members of his family, and this number decreased further after the departure of Hanna, and Aria Arryn from the city due to the silent manipulation of Bill Lovie. Even as Britney was pushed from the city the simple fact dawned on Amber that he didn't even notice that she didn't arrive at class anymore, and the usually jovial young man was constantly filled with malaise over the things that hung over his life.
Bill Intervenes
“Despite my growing affection, and perhaps more for William he never seemed to be within my reach. Each attempt I did with him was met by a tenderness from him, but extreme hostility from the other girls. All that changed when for whatever reason the teachers decided to pair us for everything they could possibly design.”
— Amber Heard II.
Despite the fact that both of them were attracted to eachother in an extremely strong way, for William the loose ends of Britney Hemsworth, and Leven Martell, alongwith with the arguements with Alice meant that he was depressed, and felt vulnerable at this point. This vulnerability meant that he didn't feel up to corupting a girl that he for whatever reason felt different about then many of the other suitors for his bed. When Bill saw that she and William were not immediatly coming together he went to William and subtly asked him what he thought of Amber Heard, and when he saw his young prince blush he knew that something was there. When he tried to push William on his hesitence to seal the act with her, his son clammed up and the conversation ended without any real responce but Bill had in his own mind finally found the young women that would give his son a child. Amber Heard was nearly as good a choice as Britney as she was a blood relative of the ruling House Arryn through her mother, and this meant that she was someone who would further the alliances of the crown. Bill knew that for whatever reason his son wasn't moving at the speed he usually did and for this reason he decided to intervene at the school, when he had the teachers create numerous group projects of which all combined William and Amber working together in very sexualized assignments.
“For a guy who had every women in the school pawning over me, I found myself not wanting to debase her the way I had done all the other girls here. There was an essence of purity in her face, that made it feel wrong to take advantage of her. It wasn't until the moment came that fate seemed to thrust us together that I relented and continued to be the same man I had become. For better or worse I felt something for her, that stilled me inside. I felt something for her that made me want to protect her, and that wasn't something I felt for any girl I had seduced.”
— William Lovie III.
The projects begin as simply normal projects that students at the academy did together, and these projects drove the two together into a deeper friendship at first. This friendship helped William to push himself through the depression that he felt about so many bad things in his life, and Amber was the first person even above Alice that he actually verbalized to how much he missed Edward. William at this time was very sad over the numerous arguments that he was having with both Jasper, and his beloved sister Alice and because of this their friendship was allowed to blossom in a scenario that allowed for the usually sexual William to take his time and actually feel something for the girl in front of him. As the two became more and more inseperable the time came where they had a school affair which led to them being forced to anwser questions about their first life experiances. When the question appeared about who their first kisses had been with she confirmed that she had never kissed anyone, and at this realization he couldn't resist anymore.
“Looking at her face, and how honest she was with me, I was overcome with emotions that I didn't know still existed in me. I reached out and touched her face and revelled in the calmness that washed over me as she lay her hand against me. I knew in that moment even if I didn't admit it till after she was dead that I loved her. I knew then and their that she wasn't just a fling.”
— William Lovie III.
When the too broke apart something had changed between the two. The friendship that they had built this moment around remained but the chemistry and sexual tension that had always been there increased to the point that when they walked back he couldn't believe it when he held her hand all the way back to the academy. After this it didn't take long before Amber and William began sexually intimate. When this became clear to everyone around them it became nearly common knowledge that the prince was in love with a girl, and everyone from the commoner farming in Brill to the noble in Lucerne Hold came to obsess over this girl that may have finally tamed the playboy prince. It wasn't until he had invited her to dinner with his family that the true scope of the relationship came to be realized by the one that may have mattered most in the form of Alice. and not long after that the usually playboy William settled into a true relationship with Amber Heard. The two of them grew much closer then Andrew did with Britney Hemsworth and in this way the two were truly in love though its true to say that Andrew took it for granted.
The Winter Ball
Amber Heard, and Alice Lovie were both unaware that the Winter Ball was among their last moments in Lucerne. A relationship that had defined both of the Lovie children was on the verge of ending and neither were even a little aware that this was happening behind the scenes.
“The Winter Ball was the last moment that I could point to before she left that I felt anything. It was the last moment for years that my heart felt the love that I felt at the end of that night. Had I of known how little time I had left, I would have done things differently. I would have...I guess...I don't what more I would have done, but I do know that I would have told them both how much I loved them. How much they both meant to me.”
— William Lovie III.
One of the annual traditions of the Lucernian Academy was the Winter's Ball, and for the two years previous this years William had brought his sister Alice as his date of which he had pretended was an act to melt the girls hearts but in fact it had more to due with the fact that she was younger and without the invitation wouldn't have gone with him of which meant that he wouldn't have gone and his father would have lost his mind if he didn't. In the year previous William and Alice had first got into their arguments as he had arrived with Alice bit shortly after this Britney Hemsworth had taken his eye, and had been able to covinse him to go around with her. During this time as Alice had remained alone she had been the source of many jokes from some of Britney's friends of whom Britney had pushed into this as she attempted to push Alice away from William knowing how strong her influence was over William. This year because of their fighting being particularlly bad, and the fact that William was for the first time actually in a real relationship he didn't invite her, and on the eve of the dance it appeared that Alice wasn't going to be coming.
Amber Heard was in a precarious position as she wasn't all that popular in the Shadow Council as she was seen as somewhat of an outsider that didn't play well with others, and thus if she repaired the relationship between Alice and William then she risked William having one more person to go to that might not like her. But despite this danger she knew what William's heart wanted and she already loved him so deeply at that point that she couldn't bear to see him hurt, even if he didn't know he was hurting.
“I knew of Alice through the rumors. I knew of Alice as the girl that had stolen the heart of the man I loved. I knew of Alice as a girl that clearly loved her brother. And yet the only time I had met her was when I had dinner at the Sky Towers and she didn't say a word to me. I could tell she had wanted to, and it wasn't even under debate how much she loved him and because of that. Because of what she meant to him. Because he deserved that kind of love I would ignore how powerful she was. I would ignore the fact that with a flick of her finger she could send me packing. I would ignore all this and make her see the truth.”
— Amber Heard II.
William and Amber would go to a dinner where Amber hoped Alice would be and thus she would convinse the two siblings to talk through their problems, but as she arrived she saw that it was only William, and his aunt and uncle with no sign of Alice. When Amber wondered where Alice was William would tell her that his father had sent her away to Nortburg for a few days as Alice had not wanted to go to dinner with William as angry as she was. Scolded by his aunt Catherine for saying such a mean thing about Alice he was visably angry by the fact that Alice had seemingly ditched him and convinsed his father to send her away for a few days. In fact the truth was that Bill realized that they were fighting and had conspired to attempt to make it worse by having Alice sent to Nortburg with Michelle Trachtenburg where he hoped William would be unable to forgive her after she returned. At this knowledge it became clear to Amber that she could no longer sit on the sidelines and wait for either Alice, or William to make the first move, and thus she went to Alice a girl that she only knew through the legends of Alice Lovie, and a girl that clearly held the heart of the man she loved with everything in her.
“I didn't know how to make it better anymore. I wanted him to know that I was sorry I had made him upset with me, and that none of it mattered in the end. The only thing I wanted was my brother back. I wanted the person who meant the most in the world to me, to return. I hadn't meant to make him feel ashamed. I hadn't meant to hurt him as deeply as I clearly had. In the end I was just sorry for everything. I didn't care who came out as the winner, and who came out as the loser. I didn't care about anything except letting him know that I was sorry, and that I loved him.”
— Alice Lovie
She went to the Sky Towers on the night that she knew William was going to be staying with Emmett, and when she arrived she told the guard on duty that she wished to see Alice, and knowing who Amber was she was allowed inside without much questioning, and she made her way to Alice's room. Draco Highmore would accompany her up the stairs of the Cloud Tower and though she had been up this pathway many times she felt scared beyond anytime before as she was going to confront the great love of her lovers life. When she arrived on her floor she could hear the sounds of crying and when she entered Alice's room she found her curled in the corner holding onto a bear as if it was the last thing on Earth.
Amber Heard and Alice would come to the shared conclusion that she was going to need to be the one that made the first move or else they risked William always ignoring the situation.
Upon hearing Amber enter the room Alice immediately attempted to hide the bear but it was clear to both girls that Amber had seen it, so in the first real communication between the two Amber asked what the significance of the bear was. Alice told her it was a bear that Andrew had given her, and that for her it basically was the one constant reminder of how much her brother loved her. Alice would stare at the bear which was nothing of any great quality but for Alice the bear meant everything. Realizing in that moment how much Alice loved her brother she would talk Alice into believing that she wanted Alice and William to get back together in the way they had been in the past. Alice would only believe her after much convincing as she had watched William's last real girlfriend in Britney Hemsworth spend much of her time actively attempting to weaken the relationship between William and Alice. Once Amber had convinced her though Alice and Amber came together and talked it all through, and by the time they were done Alice was ready to make the first move.
For Alice Lovie the dance was her chance back into her brother's life.
“Jasper and Will weren't even talking on the days leading up to the dance, so it didn't exactly put me in the best of moods. I knew that of all the things in this world that we shouldn't be doing it was fighting amongst ourselves. Something had to change for us. Something had to get better.”
— Emmett McCarty
For William during this time he remained by the side of Amber, and Emmett of whom was very uncomfortable during this time as he was forced to both choose between his best friends, and at the same was being forced to go to the dance with Lauren Oakheart of whom he hated, and was only there to get a chance at William. Jasper was completely alone at this point and had as said previously even pushed away Emmett, and despite his reservations and attempts to get her away from him, Alice had remained the only one willing to be around him in his depression over his friendship with William crumbling. Alice came to him with the idea that the time was now for them all to get back together, and that the only way it could work was if he invited her as his date. Jasper at this point was a leper amongst the girls of the school because of what he had done to Kristen, and Blake and the fact that noone wanted to upset the prince so he relunctantly said yes to her proposal. Arriving at the ball everyone who was anyone in the academy was their and as William, Amber, Lauren, and Emmett arrived they made their way to their table and prepared to spend the night enjoying eachother's company. The quiet table would be interupted when they found that the two empty chairs at their table were set up for Jasper, and Alice by the two of them arriving at the table and in an act of bravery they both sat down.
“I knew this was them apologizing to me. I knew exactly what their arrival at the table meant, but the problem was with them. My love for them hadn't changed, or diminished with the time we had been fighting. The only thing that had changed was how I felt about myself. At this point I had forgiven them a long time ago, the only person I couldn't forgive was myself.”
— William Lovie III.
Seeing them both sit down, William shook his head before getting up from the table followed quickly from behind by everyone at the table outside of Lauren who had no idea what was going on. When they finally caught up with him outside he broke down and said he couldn't take it anymore how bad he felt all the time, and he didn't know how to move forward anymore. As the group watched the rock of the group break down Alice lunged forward and took him into a hug which the two maintained for sometime before the whole group begin talking through the problems of the the past. Everyone got everything off their chest that had been bothering them for so long that it had built up into something horrible, and as they talked through it they were all finally able to move past the crimes of the past, and accept that they all needed eachother.
“Everything improved the moment after that Winter Ball ended. We had finally put everything out on the table that had been bothering us, and to top that off I felt like for the first time in my life I had found the girl I would marry. What could possibly go wrong.”
— William Lovie III.
Following the Winter Ball the relationship was mainly fixed between William, and Alice and this caused an increase in the relationship of Amber and Alice as the two were now around each other all the time due to their shared time with William. On the days that Andrew and Alice couldn't go down to Lucerne proper on their adventures Andrew begin to even take Amber Heard who had a silent enjoyment for taking part in the adventures, but even beyond that she just wanted to spend time with the prince that had her heart. The two would take their little swords and journey down into the city, and unlike on times when he went with Alice the times were more filled with silent contemplation on top of the roofs of buildings they came to enjoy climbing. The two became quite open in their romance as this came to pass, and although Andrew still went with Alice whenever she was able, there wasn't such a deep sadness that he was going with someone other then Alice the way there was when he tried to take other girls he had been involved with. Their was no jealously between Alice and Amber, and she came to enjoy spending time with Amber on a level that had never even been contemplated between Alice and Andrew's previous girlfriends. As time went on the adventures of Amber, and Andrew took on a different turn as Andrew had become interested in seeing the caves of Lucerne proper and he silently knew that if he told Alice about that then she wouldn't let him go because he might get hurt in there. Instead he told Amber that he, Jasper, and Emmett were going there and that he would miss her while they were gone, and while she and he became intimate before he left he forced her to promise him that she wouldn't come and she relunctantly promised him.
The Return of Edward Cullen His return was always going to change things. There was never a compass while he was away, and it is terrible the way we tried to push him away. Its time we moved past our hurt, and let him truly return. Its time to heal.
“I don't know what I expected about my return. I knew they would be angry, but I never thought I would have been completely hated by some, and irrelevant to others.”
— Edward Cullen
Edward, and Hilary having come to their conclusion of leaving Hogwarts and returning to Lucerne no matter the cost. Believing that they had the violence and death that was the Triwizard Tournament of 5122 as enough evidence to make their families understand why they were leaving, they would decide to write a letter home telling their family of their plans. Edward made the mistake of not understanding that the situation back home had changed dramatically following the Griffon Roost Plot. His father had not yet even returned to Lucerne leaving Edward’s sister Blake Cullen in command of the Lucernian apartment for House Cullen. This would be a major problem as following the death of Rosalie Hale it was Blake that had changed for the worse and this change had made her very hateful towards Edward Cullen who she blamed for not being there to save her. Blake would as a part of this plan make the decision to go to Aelfwyn Turnidlon of whom she had fallen under the sway of following the supposed death of Rosalie Hale during the Griffon Roost Plot. Aelfwynn Turnidlon is preparing to leave for a mission for the Circle in meeting with the Senegal nation near Loudlon when she gets a knock at her door and finds Rosalie Hale on the other side. Rosalie shows her the letter that Edward has written and realizing that Edward’s return could make him choose to settle down and thus lessen her chances at being with him once she has risen within the Circle its Aelfwynn that agrees to help Rosalie change the letter. Together the two change the letter that Edward had written and instead of Edward being honest about all the terrible things that happened at the Tri-Wizard Tournament instead they make him sound like the hero of the tournament and making the decision to stay at Hogwarts. Changing this letter is directed somewhat at William but the main target of the two is turning the other members of the Shadow Council against Edward, thus leaving him isolated and unable to influence William upon his return.
Turning the Shadow Council
See Also : Letters of Edward Cullen
“Edward and I had written to each other once every few weeks at the start of his time in Hogwarts, and while that had gone down as the months of him being gone pushed on, I still thought I knew what was happening with him. To think that he had been keeping all of this to himself made me feel alone. Things were falling apart. Matilda was gone. Rosalie was gone. Now maybe Edward was gone.”
— William Lovie III.
As Blake comes with the changed letter its William that escapes his own bedroom which he had shared with Leven the night before in a lie he forces his cousin Marcel to back him on and then he goes to the Lucerne Lake where he sits by the water thinking of Rosalie Hale at first but as he falls into daydreaming, he dreams of his time with Ar-Brentey Hemsworth. Feeling tears falling down his cheek at the memory of his lost lovers he wipes them from his cheek and gets up travelling back to the Sky Tower where he finds Faye Skane one of the girls that he has been sleeping with as of late waiting for him at the gates into the Sky Tower and decides that since she is clearer on his emotional capabilities that he will invite her up. Taking Faye upstairs the two discuss her life back in Nostheim and William becomes disappointed in himself for not knowing more about her, and their conversation only stops when they begin kissing and sleep together. After sleeping together Faye sadly must leave and William walks her out the two talking and William is happy to learn more about her, they make plans to go to Nostheim in the summer something that excites them both. It was William who would be sitting in the gardens following the departure of Faye Skane when he is interrupted from his reading by the arrival of Blake Cullen who has arrived and brings news from her father that Edward Cullen is returning to the capital.
The Valley of Lucerne - Conversation Incoming
I have spent my entire life trying to do what was right. I have fought for a king I loved. I have fought for a friend I trusted. I have watched my family grow around me...I have watched all this and in my heart I knew everything would be okay. I knew this because I believed in you. You were the foundation of my faith. The boy I knew would have never done the things you have done. You have allowed this...this...thing to take over everything you are. Everything that happens now is up to you. You choose what path you go. I have nothing to say in my Kill me now for seeing you. Seeing what you have become makes me realized I have nothing left to believe in. Take me from this world, and free of me knowing what you have become.
"William? I felt the arm wake me up from the dream. Opening my eyes, I saw that it was Blake. Blake Cullen was the twin sister of Edward and after Edward had left, I had shamefully taken her as a lover. I discovered later that Jasper had also taken her as a lover, but their relationship had become more painful than mine and it was now something I didn't bring up to Jasper.
Looking at her though it wasn't difficult to know why she had become the source of so much attention. Blake was famous at the academy for her beauty and while Edward was here the attention had been nonexistent the moment, he left there was no stopping it. Her blonde hair blew in the wind as I pulled myself up from the blanket, I had fallen asleep on, and she gave me a smile before handing me a letter.
"What is this?" She didn't say a word just smiled. I opened the letter and read the contents. Dear father. I am writing you from Hogwarts. I just wanted to let you know that despite my best attempts to extend my trip for another year I have been told I have reached the end of my schooling. Hogwarts is gripped by the drums of war, and they do not have the time to run a school and defend themselves. Thus, it is clear I have learned all that I can from Hogwarts, and it is time for me to come home. In three days, I will be boarding a boat taking me south and I look forward to seeing everyone once I am home.
"Is he really coming home."
"I can't believe it either Will." I felt so much as I realized that Edward was coming home. I wondered how different he was. I wondered how different he would think I was. "Keep reading Will." She laughed as she said it and looking up at her I just playfully gave her a push to the shoulder which made her laugh more. Going back to the letter I saw my hands shaking as I continued reading. I will be taking Hilary back home, but once I have taken her to Brill I'm coming home. I wonder if you could do me the favor of letting my friends know that I am returning. As you know I have become very popular here, and thus did not have the time to stay connected as I would have liked. The city of Lucerne just seemed so small while I was here.
"That explains the silence from him." It had hurt a lot when he had stopped writing. I had hoped arrogantly that something had busied him, and our friendship would be the same when he did come back. Turns out I may be wrong about that.
"He spent all his time with Hilary, and someone named Harry Potter. Father says he was quite the charmer while there. A dozen marriage proposals lined fathers’ desk."
"In his letters to me he seemed to be missing home." Edward and I had written to each other once every few weeks at the start of his time in Hogwarts, and while that had gone down as the months of him being gone pushed on, I still thought I knew what was happening with him. To think that he had been keeping all of this to himself made me feel alone. Things were falling apart. Matilda was gone. Rosalie was gone. Now maybe Edward was gone.
"He told us what we wanted to hear."
"I suppose he did."
"Want to go upstairs and read the rest of the letter?" I was done the letter. She knew it and the look in her eyes told me exactly what she wanted from me.
Blake tells William that she received a letter from her brother and lies during this telling William that she has received several letters in the past month which hurts William who hasn’t been getting the letters Edward’s been writing to him. The two read the letter that Blake has altered, and reading it has the desired effect of causing resentment from William towards Edward. In this resentment a bitter William moves in an kisses Blake of which is something she very much wants, and they begin to get more intimate until she takes him by the hand and leads him deeper into the garden. Hidden behind the larger plants the two have sex. They continue until Jasper, Emmett, Leven, Tanya, and Dylan arrive and despite Blake trying to keep him to herself he takes Blake to his friends. William and Blake show the group the letter, and of the group Jasper, and Tanya have very negative reactions to hearing what the letter said with Tanya storming away followed by Leven and Blake. Emmett, Jasper, and Dylan are discussing the letter when a group of men at arms led by Draco arrive. Seeing Draco nod at him to follow him, its William that says goodbye to his friends but they make plans to meet up later.
Betrothal to Amber Heard II.
“My beloved son, I would like to introduce you to Lady Amber Heard, second of her name.”
— James Lovie II.
Following Draco, he is taken into the tower, and he remains quiet as he thinks on the letter he has just read. The lift stop son the 13th floor whereas he gets off Draco remains, and he sees the meeting hall if quite full of people. The seats at the table are all filled, and he even sees his father sitting at the king’s chair something he hasn’t seen in some time. Entering the room his aunt Catherine gets up from her chair and leads him to an open spot beside her, whereas he walks up to the chair its Catherine that gently rubs his back. Sitting at his chair he looks across from himself and sees a young girl who he doesn’t recognize and thinking to himself of her beauty a slap beneath the table by his aunt brings his attention back to his father who begins to speak. His father welcomes him to the meeting and introduces William to the guest of honor in the form of Amber Heard II. who he says is here to become his betrothed before he begins whispering to himself and Keith gets up from his chair and takes James into a back room leaving Catherine to take the chair reserved for his mother Lisa and take over the meeting. Catherine takes of and calms things down after the departure lying about James not feeling well, and this goes over well with the attendees. As William looks around, he sees the amber girl has her head down clearly uncomfortable with the attention this meeting is bringing her and seeing that brings a smile to his face reminding him of the way Rosalie used to hate attention. Looking around he sees many of his fathers’ top advisors in the room but is surprised to see Wuldrik, and Aelfwynn both in the room and sends a smile towards Aelfwynn who returns it quickly. Also sitting on the Heard side of the meeting hall is his friends Byron and Arria’s father in Landsgrave Byron Arryn of whom he has met a few times but doesn’t really know that well. The meeting goes along with Catherine speaking for a time about the importance of the Kingdom of Lucerne’s relationship with House Arryn, and their cadet house in House Heard.
“It goes without saying that it is a true honor to have the opportunity to bring our two houses closer together. I know that I speak for everyone in the capital when I say that House Arryn and House Heard are the bedrock of our eastern front. This is a true honor to have such a loyal family in our midst.”
— William Lovie III.
Catherine eventually directs her attention at William and leaves him on the spot to speak to the betrothal which he has only just learned about. Realizing she is placing him in this position as a test he keeps himself under control and speaks to all the things he knows about House Arryn and House Heard and discusses his happiness at the opportunity to get to know Amber before sitting back down. Food is brought out and the room begins eating, but William is now fully invested in impressing his aunt and thus while eating his eye remains on Amber. Watching her closely he waits until she is done eating and then getting up from his table he goes to the other table and asks Lord Heard for a chance to show Amber the gardens, and Benjamin Heard quickly gives him permission. William takes Amber by the hand and leads her to the lift while the rest of the room watches he leads her to the lift. Getting on the lift he sees Draco smile at him and as the door shuts, he watches Catherine smile as well from her seat. Amber and William talk as they travel from the lift to the gardens, and William reveals his love for the gardens with Amber and William bonding over their love of the quiet solitude of the gardens. The two speak for an hour before Catherine, and amber’s mother Amber the elder arrive and tell her its time she goes home. Amber and William share a smile goodbye as she leaves with her mother leaving William and Catherine alone. Catherine and William talk for a time, and he tells Catherine that he will try his best to make the most of this opportunity and Catherine thanks him for doing his best despite how sad she knows he is over all he’s lost. William leaves the garden and going to the gate to have a guard accompany him to Blake’s house he stops as he sees a flower that Amber had talked of during their time together and realizes he wants to try and be better. Turning around he makes his way back to the tower where he plans to go to the library and read instead of going to Blake.
Coming Home
“We need to go home Edward. Whatever the cost we pay going home isn't anything compared to what were paying being away.”
— Hilary Swift
With the city of Hogwarts in chaos following the Tri-wizard tournament its Hilary, and Edward that can get out of the city without being stopped making their way out of Hogwarts. They made their way to Fudsatan where the Kirin Tor contingent had retreated to following the destruction of the Portal Network of Hogwarts. Arriving at Fadustan they found the city was crowded as thousands were fleeing into the city from the area trying to escape the roving bands of Death Eaters recruiting and terrorizing the landscape. The Kirin Tor contingent was outside the city in a small camp where they were working to summon the Magical portal that would take them back to Kirin Tor and entering their camp it was Cerin Menathil that greeted them. Cerin agreed that she would take them with her back to Kirin Tor to assist them in returning home, and with this Hilary and Edward went about helping them summon the portal. As they finished summoning the portal it was the Death Eater Cyprus Nightshade that arrived with a group of soldiers from House Nightshade. Cyprus offered the Kirin Tor great treasure and reward if they assisted the Deatheaters in fighting with them in the now expanding civil war. It was Medivh Flowers that would reject this offer sending Cyprus and his soldiers away, and when Cerin asked him why he rejected the offer it was Medivh that told her that you never made deals with demons. The portal was eventually completed, and the group all went through the portal returning to Kirin Tor. Arriving at Kirin Tor the two were amazed at the scope of the city, and despite wanting to stay in Kirin Tor and see what the fortress had to offer they both knew they needed to go home, and thus said goodbye to Cerin and left for Lucerne. Using their Magi abilities, they would fly towards Lucerne using a Kirin Tor flying wagon travelling from Kirin Tor towards Lucerne. Flying through the day and night the pair would sleep in the wagon as they travelled with wagon travelling automatically to the marker the pair had made north of Brill. Most of the trip the pair is silent as Hilary is deep in reading while Edward is overcome with the trauma of what happened to him in the graveyard. Edward and Hilary stop in Brill first where they meet with Hilary's family of whom have not seen her for many months, and Edward watches as the Swift family is overjoyed to see them. Spending several weeks in Brill its Edward that wants badly to return home but knows that Hilary needs this time with her family and thus doesn’t rush her. During this time its Edward that gets to know Hilary’s sister Taylor Swift of whom has many questions about William, and Edward believing that Taylor is just crushing on the prince tells Taylor things about William which allow Taylor to form an even more close connection with William within the Fade. After two weeks at Brill they leave Hilary’s family in a tearful goodbye and make there way once more by the wagon to the city of Gulltown where Hilary’s father has arranged for them to travel to Lucerne with House Shephard.
“I should have known from how Hilary's family had met her at the gates of Brill that when no one was waiting for me that things had changed. I honestly just thought I would be coming home to the same home that I left.”
— Edward Cullen
The two arrive in Gulltown where they are greeted by several members of House Shephard of whom will be accompanying Edward and Hilary to Lucerne where a member of their family will be going to the school. Moving northward travelling by boat down the Kilgor River, and then moving to the Great Royce River it was the group that made quick movement towards Nortbug where they would then travel by carriage to Lucerne. Edward, Hilary and Claire Shephard arrive at Nortburg and while Claire is greeted by several members of House Shephard and friends at the gates no one is waiting for Edward outside the gates which shocks him and brings about the first pangs of fear about his position returning to Lucerne. Saying goodbye to Claire it is Edward and Hilary that make their way now from Nortburg to Lucerne and arriving at the city they are met by a large shanty town located just off the road. Shocked at so many people basically homeless Edward is made even more confused when inside the city through the massive tunnel of Lucerne and moving inside the city he can't help but notice it appears more worn down then when he left, and the number of homeless people have gone up immeasurably from when he had left. Traveling to the Lucerne Hold he is once again shocked when he sees the Gate to Lucerne Hold has turned into a fortress and going to the guard there, he is unable to get inside Lucerne Hold as he doesn't have papers proving his residency but is able to convince a guard who he is and the guard leaves to get his father.
Sitting together on the ground across from the Lucerne Hold gatehouse Hilary tries to console Edward of whom is coming to quickly understand that things had changed for him, and after an hour his father arrives with several men at arms and Floronius Sentius of whom Edward remembers fondly as a man that raised him far more then Carlisle ever did. Carlisle, and Floronius can get Edward and Hilary through the gate and take them back to the Cullen Estate as despite Edward wanting to see his friends its Carlisle his father who tells them that won't be possible tonight. Arriving home he finds Blake Cullen his twin sister waiting for him, and while at first she appears kind and gentle once Hilary is taken to her room to go to sleep Blake takes Edward outside to the gardens and slaps him the face before the two argue as it is clear that she has a lot of bitterness towards him, and as their argument continues she begins lashing out describing all the cruel feelings of his former best friends and eventually overcome with sadness over what his sister says to him he retreats to his room where he hides himself under the bed. Hiding there he begins crying while realizing that his entire life may have fallen apart and makes a wish for the night that things will get better for him tomorrow. The next morning Edward gets up before his sister can say anything to him and accompanied by Floronius and another man at arm of House Cullen. Edward is alarmed by this, but Floronius tells him that he cannot go out alone right now with the recent riots in Lucerne Proper. The group makes their way towards the Cloud Tower where he is excited but also very nervous to meet his friends again. While walking he and Floronius discuss the riots with Edward learning the situation is as dire as it looked when he entered the city yesterday but when Florononius is pressed on what has caused all this change he gets silent, and Edward doesn't push him. Arriving at the entrance to the Sky Towers Edward once again sees signs of the times as the once lightly guarded walls of the Sky Towers have doubled in height and the number of guards is remarkable. Going to the gate guard he suddenly realizes he is going to struggle to get in without anyone remembering him, but this fear is misplaced when he is recognized by Draco Highmore and brought inside the gates. Edward doesn't have any time to prepare as he finds William, Jasper, Leven, Dylan, and Emmett playing Dopelkaf a card game.
Losing Home
“With tanya unwilling to even talk to me I found depression for the first time. Hostella was my life line. She was the only person who seemed to truly love me. Look what I did to that.”
— Edward Cullen.
Edward wakes up and getting up slowly from his bed he looks around his room and picks up one of the books sitting on his table and begins to read. A servant brings him food, and he eats it in his room not even attempting to leave the room. A knock on the door brings Hilary to his door and seeing his friend he lets her in but feels shame as she sees the way he has been living. From his conversation with Hilary, it becomes clear that it has been two months since his horrible reunion with his friends. They talk of how Tanya left the city shortly after his return with her refusing to even see him before she left, and with the city on lockdown he has been unable to leave and see her. They do talk how despite him and William seeing each other several times it’s clear that even that relationship has been damaged. The only positive thing other than William and Hilary in his life arrives at the door in the form of Hostella Hale who comes inside and kissing him its revealed that when Tanya refused to see him in his depression, he grew close to Hostella and the two are now a couple of sorts.
Trip to Arryndale
Death of Hostella Hale
Main Article : Death of Hostella Hale
“If I had known she was going to follow me I would have held her hand. I would have carried her the entire time to keep her safe. Frankly I would have carried her away knowing how afraid of the water she was. Sweetness was the final straw for her, and it still breaks my heart that the world lost such a pure soul. She deserved life. She deserved love. She deserved a lot of things.”
— Edward Cullen
The only time the two go outside of the house is when they travel to see William at the lake, but with William having left the city to visit the town of Arryndale with his betrothed and the Shadow Council it was Edward and Hostella that visited the lake by themselves. Hostella for her part could not swim but would read on the beach while Edward was swimming and the two had a good time just being with each other. It was this closeness that was noticed by Byron Arryn II. Byron was by this point increasingly distant from the Shadow Council as following the events of the Pendant of Cleansing he had become emotionally changed leaving the other members of the Shadow Council to find him strange to be around. For his part Byron did not understand this feeling as his pariah Magi powers had changed him and thus, he was left confused by this isolation but following the return of Edward Cullen he came to blame Edward for this isolation. Watching this constant trip to the water it was Byron that waited until William and the Shadow Council returned to the city and with their return, he put his plan in place of damaging Edward even more in the eyes of his friends. Byron would arrange for the Shadow Council to come to the beach, and they agreed readily wanting some time to rest after their trip to Arryndale and having gotten the Shadow Council to come he went to Edward to complete his plot. Speaking to Edward for the first time since his return from Hogwarts its Byron that manipulates Edward into believing they are friends again, and this leads Edward to not coordinate with William on the beach and thus he goes early in the morning while William and the Shadow Council are going to go mid-day. Edward and Hostella go to the beach together and spending the morning together its Edward that begins to get nervous about where all his friends are, and Byron tells him its fine leading him to go for a swim to calm himself. While Edward is swimming its Byron that leads Hostella to one of the hot springs on the back of the cave and while there he violently attacks her before drowning her in the hot springs. After killing Hostella its Byron that leaves the beach and goes to get William and the Shadow Council from just outside the walls where they were waiting and bringing them inside, he leads them towards the body as Edward is coming out of the water.
As Edward swam out of the water he found her lifeless body in the water and his screams alerted the crowd to the situation. Jasper arrived with Dorna, and Dylan and seeing her fallen body being carried away by guards of House Hale who had arrived first he demanded his friend tell him what had happened. Sobbing with tears Edward told him that he was swimming and she must have attempted to come see him and drown trying.
The Valley of Lucerne - Conversation Incoming
I have spent my entire life trying to do what was right. I have fought for a king I loved. I have fought for a friend I trusted. I have watched my family grow around me...I have watched all this and in my heart I knew everything would be okay. I knew this because I believed in you. You were the foundation of my faith. The boy I knew would have never done the things you have done. You have allowed this...this...thing to take over everything you are. Everything that happens now is up to you. You choose what path you go. I have nothing to say in my Kill me now for seeing you. Seeing what you have become makes me realized I have nothing left to believe in. Take me from this world, and free of me knowing what you have become.
They carried her away and I don't know when but I fell to my knees. I felt an arm go to my shoulder and looked to see my father gently rubbing my shoulder trying to make me feel better. It didn't work. I wanted to die. I wanted to escape all the pain of it all, and I wondered briefly looking at the water if Hostella had it right. She was free of it all now.
Looking around I saw the shocked onlookers all wanting a look at the poor dead Lady that had perished in her persuit of love. They all stared at me and it brought me back to how Harry must have felt back in Hogwarts. Everyone staring at you, and as they do you know in your heart they are split in why. Some hate you. Some love you. This split broke me into pieces in this moment, and he dealt with it every day of his life.
I watched as the crowd parted and through the opening one of my closest friends in the entire world stepped out in Jasper. Holding his cousin Dorna by the arm I saw the hope leave his eyes as he saw them carrying her away. I suppose everyone wants to believe in that moment that their loved one has somehow survived the fate that awaited them. Noone runs to these scenes believing their loved one is dead. Jasper walked painfully towards me and I brought him into a hug as he cried.
It had been so long since we had been anything other then enemies, and seeing him so broken made me realize how much we all had meant to eachother. Leaving had lost me everything, and seeing the four of them now showed me how truly departed from the group I was. He cried for a few minutes while my father ushered people away, and then suddenly he pulled back staring me while wiping the tears from his eyes."Why was she here?"
I knew what he meant as he spoke the words.
He wanted me to explain to him why his beloved cousin was dead following me to the lake. Everyone knew she was afraid of the water, and everyone knew she was quite smitten with me.
"What the hell was she doing here." He moved closer to me, and I didn't need to know him well to know my anwser wasn't going to mean much.
"She must have come to see me Jasper."
"And where were you."He held back a tear as he spoke the words, but I could see his hands clench by his side. I saw Emmett come into my vision and where I should have felt comofrted by a friend arriving, I had little illusions where Emmett would side if the chips fell.
"I didn't know she was here."
"You should have though."
"Yes." He didn't wait another second. Didn't ask another pointless question. He just punched away with all the anger and resentment that I could feel he had been struggling with.
He was strong. The first punch knocked me to the ground and I felt my shoulder twist as I hit hard against a rock. Jasper moved in and hit me again one more time before my father stepped between absorbing another strike meant for me. After that the people around were able to grab him and pull him away.
I wanted to stand there and take it. I wanted him to beat me until we were back to what we were. But life doesn't always give you what you want, and as the two of us stared at eachother both crying he was dragged away all the way still screaming at me with every ounce of hate I knew he felt for me.
The two would get into a fight which was broken up by the onlookers but Jasper yelled every painful thing he could think of at Edward. Dylan who was also on the shadow council with Edward would become very hateful towards Edward as a result of this event and the two would never really recover from this.
Dylan and Laera
“She was beauty beyond anything I had seen before. I loved her from that moment, and I will continue to love her for all the rest of the moments of my life.”
— Dylan Steinmare
As the fight broke up it was Dylan that would remain behind with Fredrik Highmore, and while they were guarding the scene with many other men at arms they were approached by Emma Bell of whom brought several of her friends of which one was Laera Griffin. Emma Bell, and her friends were able to convince Freddie to tell them what had happened, and after this Freddie said they would escort the girls back to their homes, and Dylan followed him, but veered off to take Laera home personally as she was staying with the Scarlet's and their home that she was staying in was in Lucerne Proper. Walking and talking they got along well, and she made sure to let him know that whenever she saw him she expected he would speak to her. This relationship would grow quickly over the next weeks from simple friendship to a sexual relationship of which obviously because of their non-marital status never was fully consummated, but they were both openly talking about a marriage between the two, and they both planned to tell their parents while their parents visited them at the earliest moment. As they waited for this Dylan would be forced to deal with a situation where his supposed twin sister Erica Steinmare was being harassed by a young noble named Dolan Tarbeck, and just as he was about to fight him over it he watched as Liam Greymane II. would step in and knock out Dolan Tarbeck with a single punch, before taking Erica away from the scene and leaving behind a crowd of hollering young nobles.
The Words of the Dragon
“I don't know what I expected about my return. I knew they would be angry, but I never thought I would have been completely hated by some, and irrelevant to others.”
— Edward Cullen
Emotionally destroyed Edward stays in his room for days and its several days into his self isolation that Lyanna Starke a member of the Cloud Council arrives at his room and the two have a long conversation where Lyanna is able to convince him not to give up on life preaching about the value of life thorugh her eyes as a Dragonoph Priestess. Lyanna Starke who had been on a seven day prayer meeting at the Dragon Temple of Lucerne had returned to find about the death of Hostella and talking with William Lovie III. the two had discussed how basically no one had even checked on Edward with all energy and emotion being given to Jasper and how he was doing and the two realized that Edward needed someone, and with William unwilling to go to Edward due to his own pride they would agree that Lyanna would go. Emotionally destroyed by what has happened Edward had been staying in his room for days and thus its several days into his self isolation that Lyanna Starke arrives at the House Cullen estates. Initially she is blocked by Blake Cullen from entering as Blake has come to take the side of the others and has been purposely keeping people from seeing her brother including Tanya Cullen of whom has come almost every day, but with Lyanna she is unable to stop her due to her friendship with William and thus Lyanna is able to get into Edwards bedroom where she finds him curled in a ball on his bed.
Look at the world father. You were born into this land. You grew up here. These people swore their lives to you. How could you have done all of this? Look at everything you have done. You destroyed a city. Killed hundreds of good men out of fear. Is this how you want to be remembered father. Is this the world you want to leave behind? I know you were a good person once. Don't end it all here. Don't do this. For me father. For everything I supposedly mean to you. Don't do this.
"Hey Ed." I looked up from my hands to see Lyanna standing in the doorway with Blake standing behind her.
"Hi Lyanna."
"I'm so sorry for what happened. I know how much you cared about her."
"I should have been watching her."
"Everything in this life happens for a reason. I don't know why Glaurung took her, but he had a reason." I felt Lyanna put her hands around me and returning the hug I cried into her shoulder. "She is in a better place now."
"Where have you been Lyanna?"
"I was praying."
"For how long?"
"Seven Days."
"We ate and drank throughout you fool."
"Foolish of me."
"You know its going to be okay right Ed."
"I should have known from how Hilary's family had met her at the gates of Brill that when no one was waiting for me that things had changed. I honestly just thought I would be coming home to the same home that I left."
"You can still get everything back."
"Hostella is dead Lyanna."
"She's in a better place now."
"Your better place isn't going to make Jasper move forward."
The two have a long conversation where Lyanna is able to convince him not to give up on life preaching about the value of life through her eyes as a Dragonoph Priestess, and while Edward doesn't come to truly believe in the Dragon anymore then he already did he believes her. Feeling better after the conversation he speaks with his sister of whom attacks him verbally but during this conversation she lets slip that Tanya had been coming to the estate every day trying to see him. Edward demands to know where she was now and Blake laughs that she had been sent back to the Denali Holdfast after the last attempt several days ago, and with this Edward storms out and gets on his horse and leaves Lucerne traveling towards the House Denali estates.
Starting to Make Things Right
“I'm sorry I believed it. I'm sorry I didn't respond to any of your letters. I read everyone of them. I read them all and it just made me so confused about why you could say all those things and yet still want to leave. I'm so sorry Edward.”
— Tanya Cullen
Leaving through the gate of Lucerne he takes only his broom and heads into a small clearing outside the city range and gets on the broom taking off and heading towards the Denali Holdfast located west of Castle Cullen, and making the journey gives him lots of time to think on his feelings towards Tanya. Arriving at the Denali estates he sees Tanya walking the courtyard and they quickly notice him and he lands in front of them, and without a second thought Tanya runs into his arms giving him a hug. The two talk things out with Tanya revealing the truth that Edward had not known until now in the form of the reason everyone was so mad at him when he arrived was that they believed he had chosen to leave due to not wanting to be around them all.
Look at the world father. You were born into this land. You grew up here. These people swore their lives to you. How could you have done all of this? Look at everything you have done. You destroyed a city. Killed hundreds of good men out of fear. Is this how you want to be remembered father. Is this the world you want to leave behind? I know you were a good person once. Don't end it all here. Don't do this. For me father. For everything I supposedly mean to you. Don't do this.
"I wrote to you every month Tanya."
"I know."
"Why didn't you write back?"
"I was really angry with you. I believed what was being said."
"What was being said?"
"That you chose to go to Hogwarts. That you just used your father as an excuse to get away from all of us."
"What are you talking about?" The moment the words came out of her mouth I understood. Understood exactly why everyone had been angry with me. They all thought I had chosen this.
"I'm sorry I believed it. I'm sorry I didn't respond to any of your letters. I read everyone of them. I read them all and it just made me so confused about why you could say all those things and yet still want to leave. I'm so sorry Edward."
Edward Fights with Mathew
“You killed the women that was to be my wife. There can never be anything but hate and violence between us after that.”
— Matthew Clegane
Edward and Mathew's hatred is now legendary but at the time they didn't know eachtoher and it would be their interaction that would create the hatred. This hatred begin when during his time at the Lucernian Academy he flirted openly with Blake Cullen to a point that Edward eventually told him to step back from her and his arrogance made him at first believe that this person was nothing compared to him and thus he chose to ignore Edwards threat. As he reangaged in a relationship with Blake Cullen Mathew's friends there told him that he shouldn't get invovled with Edward as his best friend was William Lovie and that would be a fight you could not or would not win. Despite these warnings he refused to heed their words and thus he was discovered by Edward after he flaunted his romance with Blake in front of Edward's face while he was in the courtyard training with Jasper Hale. Edward at the time had a sword and it took a silent movement by Jasper to take the sword so that Edward didn't use it to kill Mathew, but the removal of the sword only made the two fight with fists, and before long they were full out fighting in the courtyard. As teachers were unable to intervene it took the silent arrival of one person to silence the entire crowd when William Lovie entered the courtyard. After a moment of silence William who at the time was still argueing with Edward about what he had returned for, and said to him but this changed nothing about harming Edward. After William, Jasper, and Emmett picked up Edward they were unable to stop him from challenging Mathew to a duel which he was honor bound to accept, and with that the duel was a forgone conclusion. The outcome of the fight would forever change both men as they both believed that without intervention they would have been victorious, and this remains a point of open contention between the two.
Britney Hemsworth
When she had properly recovered from the birth of her son she decided to return to Lucerne and present her and Williams son to her beloved. She silently boarded a stage coach with their young baby boy and travelled her way to Lucerne, and while she rode for those days and in between caring for her baby she wrote a letter to William in which she told him all the things that she felt for him. When she arrived in Lucerne she ran into one of her friends, and thus she was quick to hide the baby with her handmaiden Janna Coates of whome she told her friend was the mother of the baby. Through her friend she learned that William had gone into a coma and had only recently gotten out of it. This news was something she was obviously shocked by and when she asked her friend where Alice was, her friend gave her a shocked look like she had no idea of whome Alice was. At first Britney was confused but she quickly adgusted and realized that something strange had happened to Alice and that she had been given a gift from the dragon through her departure. As she and her handmaiden travelled into Lucerne Hold they were spotted by Jasper Hale of whome remembered all the trouble that she had caused for him. He immediatly approached her on the street and she at first smiled at him but when he roughly grabbed her arm and pulled her down a side street she realized that this was not a pleasent get together. He demanded to know why she had returned, and it was as he
was acusing her of things that he noticed the baby in the hands of Janna and when he looked a the baby he immediatly knew that the baby was William's. Britney watched as Jasper put it together and she was at first happy to let someone know what a miracle she had created but she then watched the anger in his eyes and he again grabbed her by the arm and ordered his men to take hold of Janna and the baby and follow him. They took Britney to the House Hale estate where he put them in his room and locked the door. When night came he returned with his men and he made it very clear that she was returning to Arnor immediatly, and no matter what she said Jasper wouldn't hear it and thus she was wisked onto a stagecoach and set off to Arnor.
The Duel on the Steps He was a monster. He needed to be treated like a monster deserved to be treated.
“I watched him carefully after I fed him the poison. I had to make sure in his madness he didn't try and harm William. I wanted him to kill Alice, but in his madness he filled his days with raping whores. After he had killed three of them I decided to lower the dose a bit.”
— James Lovie
In the early days of his teenage years Tristan Lovie continued to feel rejected by the lack of relationship with his brother William, and his father James, but as his father became increasingly lost it was Tristan that found hope with his relationship with Lauren Garrn. Outside of this growing love with Lauren the only other relationship that seemed to have any balance for Tristan in his own mind was the one he shared with his sister Alice Lovie. This relationship would come to be the only true relationship that Tristan had in his family, and while he grew to love Alice in an entirely brotherly way, Alice was hiding a growing fear towards her brother due to the manner in which he begin to act. To the outside world and even to Tristan the two appeared close, but for Alice she was hiding the fear deep within herself and refusing to tell anyone about it including her beloved brother William as she feared what William would do to Tristan if he knew how lost Tristan was truly becoming. Unfortunately as they both aged, Tristan's desires for Alice only increased and as he was also becoming increasingly deranged due to a near constant abuse from his father he was very poor at hiding his desires and over the course of time many in the capital began whispering about Tristan having unnatural feelings towards Alice. In his loneliness Tristan made several attempts to befriend William but due his long isolation and the abuse from James he had little skill in social settings and embarrassed William each time leading to William and him become estranged even further. Seeing the growing issues between Tristan and William, and feeling his own resentment towards Alice, James began forming a plan to remove Alice of whom he begin to blame for everything wrong in his life. James would approach Tristan with his plans and demanded that Tristan take part in them, but to his surprise Tristan refused to harm Alice admitting his deep love for his sister. Following this refusal it was Tristan that was placed within the Tower of Solace by James and the rest of the city and family was told that Tristan had been sent to Castamere to squire for a few months. As Tristan toiled in the prison that was the Tower of Solace it was James and the Circle of Magi that begin work on a specialized spell that they would name Cruciamen or The Butcher's Nails. This spell would be designed by James and the Circle to increase the level of violence, and hate within the heart of Tristan and realizing that Alice was the person that Tristan thought the most of he believed it would lead to a violent encounter between Tristan and Alice. The main issue that James and the Circle had not take into account for was the fact that Tristan already harbored some very dark thought's and so while working by increasing his violent thoughts it also caused Tristan to become nearly completely unhinged sexually. At first it was just Lauren Garrn that was brought around him as he was fed darker and darker images through the Fade which haunted his dreams, and while there love did some to help him he was increasingly lost to the derangement eventually leading to him raping Lauren.
“I watched him carefully after we conjured the spell. I had to make sure in his madness he didn't try and harm William. I wanted him to kill Alice, but in his madness he filled his days with raping whores. I did everything in my control to put him within range of Alice, but each time he just kept killing more whores. After he had killed five of them I decided to change my strategy.”
— James Lovie II.
James Lovie watched him the entire time that he basically lost himself in his madness, and during this time he used his power to make Tristan and Lauren be around each other as much as possible and in order to protect William he forced William on a trip to Nortburg which kept him away during the madness of Tristan. As per the spells effect Tristan felt a massive pull to kill, and eventually no matter how hard he tried to resist hurting the one thing he truly loved eventually the pull for violence became too much. Unwilling to kill Lauren he fled the Tower of Solice where the Circle would bring him to the side of Alice of whom was the real target all along. He stalked her for days each night he found it more and more difficult to resist the pull he felt to kill her, but each night he used the massive amount of love he had for Alice in order to not kill her. As the days went by and he continued to not kill Alice, it was James that would begin to pick fights with him and have other guards insulting him which would lead to Tristan having a breakdown which caused him to go to a local brothel, and followed in this movement by Carlisle Cullen, and Kieth Schwartz he would sit in the brothel stewing in violent thoughts but still unwilling to go across the moral line, and it was at this point that Kieth Schwartz would push him over when Kieth paid one of the whores at the brothel a large amount of gold to seduce Tristan and then be rough with him during the time together.
Alice Lovie would become the target of James Lovie for murder, and it was his own son Tristan that he would mold to target her.
Kieth would on short notice set up the two to be able to come back to what she was forced to say was her place but in fact was nothing more then an abandoned home in Lucerne Proper, and everything was prepared in the house to have Tristan murder the whore and hopefully for Keith to push Tristan over the edge. The prostitute would seduce Tristan through the help of Carlisle Cullen of whom advised her to call herself Alice and upon this happening Tristan would follow her back to her home where he tried to be gentle with her but believing he wanted things rough due to the manipulation of Kieth Schwartz she would be rough which escalated the violence and Tristan would let out his pent up anger and murdered the girl brutally. Feeling that one kill would not be quite enough Kieth Schwartz would have his brother Fadril Schwartz bring a girl from the same brothel to the house where she too was paid a large sum of money and then was let into the house by Fadril directly after the murder of the first girl by Tristan and seeing what had happened the girl tried to run but found the door blocked by Fadril, and Tristan now completely unhinged would kill her too. Waking up the next morning to find the two girls dead and knowing exactly what he had done Tristan's moral compass was destroyed and over the next two days he would kill two other girls before becoming obsessed with having more violence and extending what he was enjoying.
Testing the Limits
“It was a dark path that Tristan had fallen down into, and unfortunately for Amalia Page she had walked into the path of a demon. Her only saving grace was the fact that she was a believer, and whatever was in Tristan had lost that a long time before that moment.”
— Unknown
As Tristan Lovie was escalating it would be his interaction with Amaliaa Page that would completely push him over the edge and lead to his first true demise. Amaliaa Page would join her family during an attempt by her father to meet the king and when she did she stepped right into the lions den when she was seen by Tristan Lovie as she walked with her parents and two brothers. Something about her called to Tristan and he begin stalking her for days after this chance meeting and he finally caught her when she went south of Lucerne to a vineyard with two guards of House Page. Watching them from afar Tristan was overcome with rage that she had been accompanied by guards and thus he moved ahead of the group and set traps for them as they passed the road. One of the guards stepped on a trap immobilizing him, and when the other guard went to help him Tristan was able to secure her after he went about killing the two guards. Stabbing them repeatedly to death would allow Amaliaa to briefly escape but he chased her down, and then knocked her out allowing him to kidnap her and take her to a forest cave he had turned into his home base, and there he prepared to torture her for hours.
“The pain and degradation was one thing, but the main thing I felt was helpless. I didn't want any of this, but no matter how much I wanted it to stop the thing I realized most was the fact that I had no control over it.”
— Amaliaa Page
While being nearly continuously raped by the monster, she never allowed Tristan to see her fear, and throughout would recite the words of the Dragon of which caused Tristan immense rage. Most of this was unseen by Tristan though, and when it finally ended he was preparing to kill her when he found her eyes still without fear and her saying Dragonoph prayers and all of this made him hate her to the point that he he planned to break her. At first Tristan took this as a challenge and each time he returned to her he attempted to up the ante in the belief that he could simply frighten her into giving him what he wanted. As his attempts failed time after time, he found his control slipping more and more, and only the desire to defeat her resistance kept her alive. Believing he needed to make her suffer more emotionally he tried this by Showing her two other girls in the form of Roslin Reyne, and Sophia Faraday and then he forced her to watch as he broke the two girls emotionally, and physically. Over several days leaving the two girls with Amalia they grew close, and thus it was devastating when two days later he killed Roslin after she gave in, and then a day after this he killed Sophia when she did the same. With the two girls dead Tristan became overcome with hate for the girl and was prepared to kill her the next day but wanted to find the perfect weapon to destroy her with. Luckily for her that next day Tristan was overcome with rage over her resistance and would flee the cave he had built to return to Lucerne where he believed in his heart he needed to see Alice and everything would be alright again. Amalia uses the sword at her feet to escape the restraints placed on her, and following this she takes the badly mutilated bodies of Sophia, and Roslin out of the cave and hides them in the hills before she returns to Lucerne through the forest. Hiding herself in a robe she does not return home instead going to the Great Dragonoph Temple where she meets two Dragonoph Priests there in the form of Lena Weigl, and Sabina Edrenn of whom take her into their care and nurse her back to health over some time. Revealing to them what had happened without revealing the name knowing if they knew who it would just put them in danger the two priests deliver her to several Dragonoph Knights training in the courtyard and there they are commanded by the Priests to train her in the use of the sword to defend herself.
The Spark of Madness
“It was all so much in that moment. It didn't matter that I shouldn't kill him. It didn't matter that there would be some serious consequences in my life if I killed him. None of that mattered for even a second because each and every second my eyes were open I couldn't shake the image of Alice in pain.”
— William Lovie III.
It was late at night when Tristan returned from his failure with Amaliaa Page, and looking for his sister he saw Alice walking the balcony of her room in nothing but her nightgown, and seeing her in this sexualized position was too much for him and he charged through her door and attempted to rape her. The two scuffled for a time, and the noise they made during their fight woke William of whom Tristan hadn't even checked to see if he was home in his madness induced rage, and coming to the sounds William charged into the room. Seeing the situation and now no longer able to pretend his brother wasn't a monster William quickly beat Tristan, and unable to accept that he had hurt Alice, William started to kill Tristan by strangling him. As he was strangling Tristan it was Alice that put her hand on his shoulder and whispered for him to stop. Every ounce of his soul wanted to kill his brother in that moment but he looked to Alice and saw tears streaming down her face, and he couldn't bear to add more pain to her, and thus grudgingly William Lovie III. did stop and Tristan ran out of the room. William would hold Alice tight as by this point guards had entered the situation, and James came to room feigning confusion over what had happened but quickly in order to keep the support of William he commanded Draco Highmore to put Tristan in chains and lock him in the bottom of the tower of Solace. It was in this moment that James saw his daughter in a different light then he had ever seen her before, but the voices in his head would keep him from revealing anything real to his children and he would eventually leave without honesty.
Look at the world father. You were born into this land. You grew up here. These people swore their lives to you. How could you have done all of this? Look at everything you have done. You destroyed a city. Killed hundreds of good men out of fear. Is this how you want to be remembered father. Is this the world you want to leave behind? I know you were a good person once. Don't end it all here. Don't do this. For me father. For everything I supposedly mean to you. Don't do this.
"Take him away. Lock away the monster, and I will see to his judgment.". I watched as my command was quickly heeded by Draco of whom assisted by two of the other guards grabbed Tristan and took him towards the elevator where he would be locked up on the bottom floor.
As I turned back though I saw her. Maybe this was the first time I had ever really seen her. I don't know what it was about her face when I looked back into that room. My mind was filled with the endless lies I had told myself to say to William to make him see my truth, but as I walked in and saw her for a split second I saw something. Hidden beneath her eyes was something I recognized. I almost fell down, and it was only the arm of Hayden holding me up that kept me from falling to the ground. My heart pounded, and I felt this sort of despair that I couldn't place. William looked at me with a confusion that made me feel worse because it was built on the fact that he couldn't understand why I was sad about Alice being hurt. My son had been so corrupted to who I was that he thought that little of me.
"My king are you alright?" Hayden's words knocked me from my daydreams, and forced me to level my head at him.
"My brute of a son has made a mockery of this home." I stopped for a moment and looked at William while I struggled with all my power not to look at her. "He will pay for this my son. You have my word that boy will pay very dearly for this." I knew for the first time how pathetic it sounded to be trying to care for my son while my daughter...I think that was the first time I had instinctively called her my daughter. I guess I always knew she was my daughter, and when formally required I've said it before, but never in my own mind.
"Your daughter is lying here broken by your actions, and all you can think of is making me feel better." I felt worse by the fact that I wasn't more hurt by the hatred in his eyes then I was by the actual look he gave me.
"Son I had nothing to do with this. I was on a completely..."
"You did this to him. Whatever he was, or could have been you ruined with your hatred. At what point do you sit back and just admit to the world the damage you have caused."
"Son..."
"Just give me an answer for once in your life!" He got up and if her life would flow away without him holding her she got up alongside him still cradling him. "Just one time in your life just tell the truth!"
I could have said something. Looking at him with all that raw emotion I could have made things different for us in so many ways. But in the end it came down to the simplest of truths. If I told my truth then he might understand but he would hate me. For me I just couldn't live with the fact that if he knew the complete truth the monster he thought I was would pale in comparison to the monster I actually am. So I did what he probably knew I would do. As I turned my back to the situation and walked out of the room I could just make out the sobs of Alice, and yet again I felt the desire to help her. But yet again I did nothing.
William would stay with Alice the entire night letting her sleep in his bed for the night to keep her calm, and then in the morning his aunt Catherine Bell arrived at the tower at his request and watched over her as William needed to deal with Tristan. Leaving Alice crying with his aunt William told Hayden Percy to take him to Tristan, and Draco would tell him that this wasn't the time and that judging from what just happened James wouldn't want him to do that. William would upon his failure to convince Hayden attempt to convince Draco, but despite Draco wanting to do this he was hamstrung by his honor to the king of Lucerne. William would let it rest for a night because even in his hatred and anger towards his brother he knew that the beautiful sister that he loved so deeply needed him more then his vengeance. Returning to Alice she fell into his arms as soon as she saw him, and Catherine left them to go and find her brother and try to learn more, and the rest of the day the two would talk, and Alice would tell William yet again how much she wanted their father to just reach out and say something to her. Alice was very open to revealing that even indifference would be preferable to the way he treated her now, and this feeling only made William hate his father more.
The Duel
“He was an embarrassment to our family, and I would make him see just how embarrassed of him we truly were.”
— William Lovie III.
William knew that Tristan would just try this again so he decided that he needed to so greatly shame Tristan that he would leave the city. Speaking to Jasper Hale, and Emmett McCarty about what had happened they would come up with idea of him challenging Tristan and following through on this William went to the town crier the next morning and sent out a decree for Tristan to duel him the next day. William never believed Tristan would show up considering how skilled with a blade that William was, and the fact that Tristan had little to no skill at the art of battle. But when the day did come he stood on the steps of Lucerne surrounded by a massive crowd, and saw Tristan walking down the road towards him wearing the armor that he remembered had been given to Tristan by Maron Scorpian as a gift on his twelfth birthday. As Tristan walked towards him with a look of pure fear in his eyes Alice begged William to not give Tristan the gratification that this fight would give him. She knew that for Tristan the hatred of William meant that he was probably willing to give up his life so that William would have to carry the title of kin slayer around with him for the rest of his life. William wanted to listen to his sister but when he saw the scarf on her neck he remembered the fear he had that his sister was dead or raped and could not. Tristan and William would argue for several minutes discussing all the things that had went wrong between the two, and after Tristan continued making sexual comments about Alice William exploded on him and the fight went basically as everyone had assumed it would as William and his vastly superior fighting skills brutalized Tristan throughout the fight eventually knocking him to the ground. Despite being beaten quite badly and bleeding from cuts on his face Tristan would charge forward grabbing a sword from a guard and threatening to kill William, but would be stopped when William got under his guard and knocked the sword away before Tristan would trip and fall down the steps hitting his head.
“My dear daughter. You should have left well enough alone. Because trust me little girl, if you tell Andrew anything about this and I'll kill him.”
— James Lovie
In the aftermath of the fight between William and Tristan, Alice was visited by James Lovie, and in this meeting he set out exactly the future for Alice as by this point James Lovie came to understand that there was no relationship possible between himself and William as long as Alice was in the picture. After telling her father that she was sorry any of this happened he proceeded to charge her and beat her quite badly. After several minutes he stopped and realized the extent of what he'd done. Her father threatened to kill William if Alice told William about the beating by him - an obvious bluff since nothing was more important to James then the uplifting of his prized heir - and this threat shocked Alice to her core. In fear that James might kill William, Alice lied to him about how she was beaten up, and was forced to continue the lie two months later when he attacked her again. After the second time she threatened James that she was going to tell William, and that he would kill James. In that moment Alice's fate was sealed, and James went about creating the spell that would remove Alice from the memory of all who knew her.
The End of Alice Lovie
The End of Alice Lovie There is an ache in my heart father, and I don't know how to fix this pain. Tell me what is wrong. Tell me why I feel like I've lost everything. Tell me what is wrong with me. Tell me the truth.
“From the moment I had met him, despite his constant socially proper behaviors. Despite the fact that he had done nothing that might have aroused any kind of suspicion, I felt uneasy around him. The way anyone feels I suppose when surrounded by a predator. The way anyone feels around the man responsible for so much evil.”
— Amber Heard II.
The beginning of the end of Alice came in the aftermath of the Duel on the Steps, and with this confrontation it was James that had made the decision to rid himself of Alice Lovie. Initially the thought was to simply kill her but as this planning begin it was the Dovah Lornax, and Vlarenix that learned of this plan through their agent Anna Kendrick and knowing the importance of her to William they would intervene. Lornax would appear to James in the appearance of Lisa Tyrell and the struggling James would be convinced by Lornax to not kill Alice but instead simply remove her from the memory of people. Despite Vhloraz attempting to push James to kill Alice he would use what power he had left to resist this and with Vhloraz still in a somewhat weakened position he allowed James this slight victory and did not push back. It became the idea of Kieth Schwartz to create a spell that would manipulate the Fade to create a variable reality where in people would not remember Alice, and with this plan in mind they would need an anchor for this in the form of someone with a strong relationship with Alice. Going through the list of people with this relationship they were unable to find anyone that wouldn't create suspicion if they were missing or killed and thus they went to Ellia Targaryan who was friends with Alice but was also a member of the Circle of Magi.
“I didn't want to believe that everyone in my life was lying to me. I just wanted to believe them. I'm sorry that I failed you Alice.”
— Ellia Targaryan
Ellia was tricked into believing that the spell was an attempt to turn Alice into a Magi user, and that they needed her as she was the only one in the Circle who was close with Alice, and although Alice was warned that this was a lie by Er-Khadgar Morgrave she decided to listen to her uncle and take part. In the days preceding the casting of the spell, and during this time the Circle of Magi would travel across Lucerne placing wards that would limit the scope of the spell, and the people affected by its actions. Knowing that the Magi users of Lucerne were divided and he controlled the only organized Magi users he knew he could escape notice, and thus moved to set the first of the runes in place in William's room. As James was going to do this it was Amber Heard that was waiting in his room for him to return when she had a truly horrifying encounter with James Lovie of whom came into William's room and at first he didn't see her in the room so he had a perfect almost molded smile on his face. He walked around William's room for many minutes simply speaking out loud in some sort of chant like speech that she couldn't understand but for some reason the tone in his words scared her directly to her core. He continued to chant and then abruptly stopped before sitting on his bed for a second before he chanted again and then laid down on the bed. She watched from the corner as the King of Lucerne appeared to be in some sort of stupor, and something about the change in him as time went on told her that for her sake he had best not see her, so while he laid there she moved the blanket she was under farther up her body so that it completely covered her.
“I watched this man I had known for so long speaking in tongues that I didn't understand and I felt fear. Fear for what the purpose of his actions were, and most of all fear for the future.”
— Amber Heard II.
He would continue to chant, and then as this continued a cloaked man (Khadgar) walked in carrying a stone and she looked him dead in the eyes and he saw her, but he didn't say anything and just passed the stone to Bill before giving her one last look before leaving the room. Bill would go to his knees and begin praying before the stone, and as this went on it begin to glow blue, and then disappeared into nothing, and despite this James continued to kneel down praying. He eventually got up when Carlisle Cullen walked into the room and told him that William was returning, and in that moment he simply got up without a word and left the room. She sat motionless in the corner still covered by the blanket as William walked into the room, and unlike his father William immediately saw her in the corner, and went to her and embraced her in a tight hug. He held her close as if he somehow understood what had happened to her, and as she cried into his shoulder she fell so deeply in love with the boy holding her that she simply held him close for what might have been hours. William would leave the room to say goodnight to Alice, and Amber was hell bent on telling him what had happened the moment he returned, but a moment after he left the door to his room reopened and Carlisle came inside. Carlisle would confront her on telling William as he lied to her that in truth Carlisle was leading a rebellious movement in the land, and was just waiting for this moment to strike. Amber would tell Carlisle that he had a day to get his affairs in order before she would tell William, and Carlisle knowing the spell was being cast the next day would agree to the offer, and when William returned Amber didn't tell him.
“There were so many things I wanted to say to him. So many things that I know if I had been able to say his heart, and mind would have coped better with my departure. He was everything to me. He was my father, my brother, and my best friend and the thought of losing him wasn't something I was ready to accept but if it meant I could have protected him I would.”
— Alice Lovie
With the secret kept due to the lies of Carlisle Cullen the Circle of Magi would come together in summoning the spell, while James Lovie stood at the top of the Cloud Tower and focused the spell itself. Dozens of Circle of Magi would be spread throughout the valley of Lucerne making sure that the spell spread to the distance of the wards, and that any attempt to work against the spells power were turned on. In a moment that would change the fabric of Lucerne, and most dangerously would completely shatter both Tristan, and William Lovie their father James completed his spell that would erase Alice from the world. As the spell finished, and there was nothing that could stop it from enacting itself James was overcome by his hatred of Alice, and in a fit of blind rage ran into Alice's room in the middle of the night and laughed at her because he was about to remove her from William's memory. For a moment Alice wanted to run and get William but still the fear of his death was too much for her to bear, and so she remained calm as her father verbally attacked her. After exhausting himself screaming at Alice he was interrupted by Draco Highmore of whom came at the sound of the screaming, but was sent away on the command of James. For a single moment Draco looked to Alice as he had enough of looking the other way, but she wiped the tears from her face and nodded that he shouldn't do anything. As James left Draco would return but as he attempted to comfort her she commanded him away, and ran to Williams room where she buried her head in his pillow. Alice then spent the rest of the night waiting for her beloved brother to return home but he was out with Amber Heard and he didn't return until nearly the morning and when he went into her room to check on her, he found her cradling the doll that he had given her as a child and dried tears running down her face. The sight broke his heart and he laid down beside her and held her close as he too fell asleep. James Lovie would enter her room in the morning to find his two children knocked out by the power of his spell but even in that moment his arms were wrapped protectively around her, and he had to get Carlisle to come in and assist him in releasing William's grip on her. But his grip was released and they put Alice into a sack, and put her into a wagon where she was to be brought to rest in Forks and then dumped on the side of the road.
Unforeseen Consequences
“It was like looking at a picture you should know, but just not quite understanding why. Everything in my life was both familiar and strange. Nothing felt real.”
— Alice Lovie
Alice Lovie was dropped off at the outskirts of Forks by the Circle in Magi second in command Kieth Schwartz following her going into a coma following the spell. James Lovie's loyal knight Caius Elvorix III. would convinse his brother Flavius Elvorix II. of the purpose in joining the Circle of Magi and while Flavius would not officially join he would work for them when he would murder the owner of a tavern in Forks taking control of the tavern himself and there in giving there plotting the location to dump Alice while they planned on her future. Through this work James had set her up with a job in Forks, at that local tavern - he silently hoped she would be killed while working there - and on top of this he created back stories for her where in her parents were killed, and she had left Lucerne because of this. For the three children of James Lovie who were the closest people in the world to Alice the cost was quite heavy on them. For Alice she was knocked out, but due to her lack of Dragonborn Magi abilities she did not fully enter the Fade and thus was able to wake up. Tristan was also very slightly Dragonborn and thus woke up. When Alice awoke in her small room on the ground on the side of the road her head was in horrible pain, and so debilitating was the pain that she was unable to move for almost two days. She just barely managed to pull herself into the ditch at the side of the road which saved her from being run over by the constant wagons that crossed the roads. When she was finally able to move she went towards the city where she could find things in her mind that told her she worked at a local tavern. When she arrived the tavern owner who had been paid by Bill Lovie went about punishing her for her lateness, and then on Bill's orders prepared to make her life a living hell. As Alice was broken in spirit and mind by the departure from Lucerne and her beloved brother she was not alone in this feeling as back in Lucerne her brother William would suffer deeply as a result of her departure.
“She needs to die Carlisle, surely you see that. Everything went exactly how it was meant to and the only reason he remains still asleep is because she lives. Send the entire army to Forks, and don't have them return until shes dead and the entire city burns around her.”
— Bill Lovie
For William though his powerful Dragonborn Magi and his near constant use of the Dream Fade with Taylor Swift had left him dangerously at risk to the consequence of the spell. While both Tristan, and Alice had woken early the same day of the spell being cast, William had not woken over the entirety of the day, and had to be watched by Carlisle and James of whom by this point were growing more worried about why he hadn't grown up. As hours passed without him waking James begin to scream that Alice needed to be killed, and that was the reason he hadn't woken but this was ignored as his more evil of lackeys were away and those near were loyalists to the Kingdom. That night Amber would arrive at the Cloud Towers to try and find William, as she had discovered she was pregnant, but when she arrived she was told that William wasn't seeing visitors, and she was forced to leave. James commanded the Cloud Tower to be locked down, and thus they continued to send Amber, and then the Shadow Council away, but on the third day Draco Highmore would secretly tell Jasper that William had slipped into a coma. While this was happening it was William that had entered the Dream Fade where like he did most nights his soul on earth remained completely unaware of what was happening as it awaited the return of his Fade soul, but as William's dreaming ended he attempted to wake up but as his Fade soul could not recognize his soul on earth due to the changes in memory done by the spell he was unable to wake.
“William I need you to stay with me. If you give into despair. If you allow your mind to wander then you will die for real. No Sovngard. No us. Just darkness.”
— Taylor Swift
With unable to wake from the Dream it was Lornax, and Vlarenix that became aware and immediately entered the Fade where they discovered to their horror that he was lost within the dream Fade. Realizing that they only had a short window to work with before he would be lost to madness and despair as his attempts to wake failed they would immediately contact Taylor Swift. As a part of their plotting it was Taylor that had been engaged in an affair with William within the Dream Fade, and thus she was quickly told of what was happening to William and told to keep him from drifting within the Fade and thus dying. Taylor entered the Fade and found a panicked William who was already drifting, and only her timely arrival would keep his panic from causing him to drift completely out of the Dream Fade. Taylor warned him about what was happening and realizing that
End of Amber Heard
“William you need to wake up. I know that right now is not the right time for this but...I love you...I love you more then words can say, and you need to come back. This world is scary without you. You told me once that you would always be there to protect me, and I really need you to open your eyes right now and keep that promice.”
— Leven Martell
The Shadow Council, and Amber Heard II. would enter the Cloud Tower using the help of Draco Highmore of whom risked his life in his desperation that perhaps the return of his friends and Amber Heard would force him awake. Leven, and Amber would collapse emotionally into his arms as he lay on the bed, as he was bedrock for the two emotionally, and both loved him, and eventually the group was discovered by James of whom summoned Draco to see him. Draco would go to the King assuming he would be killed, but instead James wanted to use this as a chance to get the information out about his son's coma, and he planned to blame the affair on some of the more rebellious elements within the Kingdom including the Swan's, and Starke's. As it was discovered that William was in a coma the entire Kingdom went into hysterics as the silent hope of the Kingdom was that when William came of age he would save them from the madness of his father, but with his demise that hope was slipping through their fingers. Thousands begin flocking to the Sky Towers to pray for his return, and all attempts to disperse the crowds ended with failure.
“How do I leave him? How do I leave that which has my heart. My everything. The thing that keeps me tethered to a world that I increasingly believe has lost its soul. I wanted him to smile when he heard that I had given him a child. I wanted it all to mean something more then it ended up meaning. I just wanted the man I love to know that the reason I left wasn't because I didn't love him. It wasn't because I was scared of his father harming me. The reason I left the man I love was to save him the only way I knew how.”
— Amber Heard II.
During this coma Amber remained by his side the entire time, as she had realized only two days before his coma that she was pregnant with his child. During this time Jasper, Dylan, Leven, and Emmett attempted to stay in the room as well all camping out for several nights before James Lovie had them all sent away with his Circle of Magi guards except for Amber of whom he believed perhaps could rouse William due to his affection for her. When Amber's presence didn't wake William James came to blame her for the coma his son was in, and in this way he began threatening her on a daily basis. At first it was completely shocking and Amber didn't know what to do but eventually he started to become violent and she pleaded with him to stop. The end came when he entered the room with a knife and threatened to kill William if Amber didn't leave the city. Following this confrontation he left her to be with William knowing he had shaken her to the core, and during the night she spent one last night at his side.
Look at the world father. You were born into this land. You grew up here. These people swore their lives to you. How could you have done all of this? Look at everything you have done. You destroyed a city. Killed hundreds of good men out of fear. Is this how you want to be remembered father. Is this the world you want to leave behind? I know you were a good person once. Don't end it all here. Don't do this. For me father. For everything I supposedly mean to you. Don't do this.
I walked up the hallway commanding Ser Narose Scorpian, and John Shephard to wait for me and not let anyone pass under my authority. Walking forward I looked through the slit in the wall and saw Amber sleeping on his sleeping form and felt a great amount of pain for what I knew I had to do to her. She loved my son of that there could be no question, but I saw his feelings for her the same way I saw his feelings for the Numenorian girl. He cared for her but...but he didn`t love her enough to marry her. My earlier threats had led to nothing as she stayed by his side night and day despite threat of death, but I knew who she was, and I knew how I could control her.
She didn`t wake up as I walked into the room, and I made my way to his side and kissed him on the forehead. When I raised my head I saw she had woken, and she looked at me with shear terror in her eyes. It was clear that when I threatened her life, and those around her she was frightened but she loved him more then herself. ``I believe the last time we spoke I told you what would happen if you remained here.`` She made an audible gulp and moved her hand towards Williams enveloping his hand in hers. I would have done anything in the world to make him wake up, even if that meant he did defend her to my punishment, but when I looked at him there was nothing. His eyes didn`t open at her touch. She was in danger, and he didn`t wake. That had to mean she was irrelevent to him. That had to mean I was right. ``So you ignore your kings commands, and now you must pay the consequences.`` She looked away from William for a moment and looked towards me.
``My king please I love your son, and I...`` I didn`t let her finish I just lashed out with my hand striking her across the face and releasing her from William`s hand. As she fell backwards she pulled William somewhat off the bed tumbling his one side nearly to the ground. I let out a scream, and as I ran around the bed to get him back to his position I felt her try and help me get him back onto the bed, but feeling her touch me made me angrier then I may have ever been.
``Don`t touch me you stupid whore.`` I stared down at her walking towards her as she crawled backwards away from me. ``Do you know what happened to your parents Amber.`` There was nothing in her eyes but confusion so I assumed the Arryn`s had kept the Plague story going for her. ``You see there was the group of people that believed they could do whatever they wanted. Included in these things was the belief that they could kill me and take the crown from my family. Your parents were one of those people Amber.`` I grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her up standing her infront of me. ``Your cousins as well.`` When the first tear fell down her face I continued. ``I killed them all. Your cousin Martin put up a fight but my men slit his throat. Your cousin Thomas was dragged before me and I pulled out his tongue and left him to bleed out in a cell. Your parents you see they were dragged from their beds and burned alive. You ask how you live. You wonder why I killed everyone else but you. Search your mind as to where you were when your parents died. You escaped death because you were in Hillsbrad far from my reach. Had I of known where you were in those days I would have had them smash your pretty little face in with a rock before I ever let you near my son.``
``Why do you act this way.`` I let out a laugh as she attempted to find anwsers. ``Why hurt me all it will do is drive him further away from you then he already is. Don`t you understand that all your children just want you to love them. Just be the man they want you to be and...`` I slapped her again and she started to fall down the wall before I held her back up.
``The anwsers you seek are no where to be found. Now we need to move forward. My son is gone. I feel his presence leaving this world, and I cannot bare to see him like this. I only wish to leave him in peace in this room alone.`` I thought I had seen fear in her eyes before, but now I knew what fear looked like. She knew in that moment that I was threatening William, and that was all together to much for her to handle. ``If you do not leave here. If you do not travel home to Forks then I will put a pillow over his head until he is gone away.`` I nearly cried myself speaking of his death, but I used everything I had left to speak the words I knew I had to say to make her leave.`
``You wouldn`t...You couldn`t...Why would...``She was crying but her face kept looking to William for rescue. Even in these final moments she still believed in him as strongly as I did.
``You embaress his memory by staying near him. I would put my beloved prince out of his misery if you do not leave here. Do not doubt the things I would do to protect his memory.``
The next morning before Bill had returned to send her away for good Catherine Lovie came to his room to see both William, and Amber, and during this time the two would hold each other and she begged Amber to leave as she had heard through her own spies that Bill was preparing to have her killed. When Amber told Catherine that Bill had threatened William's life she was shocked beyond anything as Catherine had believed that William was the one piece on the board that he would never risk damaging, and realizing William was threatened the two understood that Amber needed to leave, and she loved him so deeply that she couldn't bear the thought of his death and she agreed to flee the city.
William, and Alice Awaken
“It was years before I finally understood why I woke up. Years before Khadgar let me know that he was the bravest man I've ever known.”
— Bill Lovie
It was as William continued to not wake and the departure of Amber Heard II. alongside the banishment of the Shadow Council that the only sane remaining member of the Circle of Magi in the form of Khadgar would decide to take matters into his own hands. Khadgar would sneak into the room of William and finding Bill passed out in the corner he would silently take the blue stone from Bill Lovie of which kept the world from remembering Alice Lovie, and he would damage it slightly causing the spell to weaken somewhat. The following day with the spell releasing somewhat to the point that the two siblings would begin to dream of each other it begin to spark an awakening of William, and Alice which led to the two waking up three days after Khadgar damaged the blue stone. Khadgar having made his silent choice to support William's rise would send his most trusted Magi Eberhard Schnabel to go to Forks and protect Alice from what Khadgar knew would be an eventual attempt to have her killed.
“It wasn't so long ago that my beloved son was in a constant sleep. Never opening his eyes I remember spending nights screaming at him after I sent the bird away. I thought to myself that perhaps he would never wake. When he finally opened his eyes there was a terror there. It was hidden behind strength, and all the layers of hate, but it was there. I could see it, and it made me hate my daughter even more.”
“He was a troubled young boy that many were beginning to think would become nothing more then his father with more charisma. When I looked at him I saw something different. When I looked at the young prince I saw someone who could change everything that was wrong with this world. I saw someone that was destined to be the greatest of his line.”
— Alistair Irons
Following his coma he would be clearly lost without Alice though he didn't know that it was her loss that troubled him, and in this way his father would bring in Alistair Irons of his loyalist House Irons who he thought would put William back into line with what he was before. When Alistair arrived he attempted to at first get a lay of what was happening by talking to people around the young prince of which the principle person he spoke to was Draco Highmore of whom told him of how skilled in every way the young prince was but for whatever reason he couldn't put it all together. Alistair watched the young prince from afar as he spent all his time with the group he called the shadow Council, and when he wasn't with them he was constantly finding different girls to spend his nights with. When he finally approached the young prince the two would have the following exchange.
Look at the world father. You were born into this land. You grew up here. These people swore their lives to you. How could you have done all of this? Look at everything you have done. You destroyed a city. Killed hundreds of good men out of fear. Is this how you want to be remembered father. Is this the world you want to leave behind? I know you were a good person once. Don't end it all here. Don't do this. For me father. For everything I supposedly mean to you. Don't do this.
I ran away from Leven jumping over a chair laughing before I felt her leg catch me causing me to fall onto the ground causing us all to laugh. Leven let her hand out to help me up, and still laughing I let her pull me up which when I was moving upwards I saw a fully armored man walking towards us, and immediatly looked for my sword. Before I could find it he stood straight between me and Leven. When he did I saw Jasper nearly vault between me and the man followed shortly after by Dylan, and Emmett. "Is this what you plan to do for the rest of your life?" I was shocked hearing the man talk to me this way. Surely he was a noble by the armor he carried that much was clear. He must have been approved to see me or else he would be a pile of bloody armor due to Draco Highmore. "Did you hear my question son, or you too busy being a spoiled little brat to answer anymore?" That was too much for me, and without thinking I pushed the man backwards, and despite pushing him as hard as I could he barely budged.
"You had best watch your tongue old man, or I shall remove it." My friends laughed around me, and it was in that moment I started to feel more confident as I knew I had their support. So I did the only thing I could think of at the time and I slapped him across the face. The moment I did Jasper lunged at me, and I was just able to throw him aside before I stood over the young prince who was holding his face.
"That's not pain son. Look around you and you'll see pain. You have a city filled with pain, and yet you do nothing. This isn't the prince I heard of when I was younger. The prince that tried his hardest at everything he ever did. This isn't the kind of person you want to be and I know that." In that moment while his face was hardened and he was ready to attack I saw a spark in his eye that told me he wanted a way out. He wanted to be better, and that was the only indication I needed. "Your better than this, and if you don't believe me then give me the chance to prove it to you."
Following this exchange William would have a silent respect for Alistair Irons of whom would take him south of the city to the House Lovie esate alongside his Shadow Council for an entire month. During this time he would teach the young prince about what it truly meant to be a leader. He was finally able to get through to him that he needed to step forward and start actually making things better instead of just talking about theoretical changes he might make or believed would work if he made them. Alistair would take the four of them along with Levan Martell back to Lucerne where he made them understand that they needed to stick together no matter what, and that only they could make sure that they were all the people they needed to be. So instead of turning William back into the playboy prince that his father had wanted returned Alistair was able to reinjuvinate the young prince into rebecoming the man his sister always thought he could become.
The Journey Sometimes to see what the world looks like, you simply have to go outside and look.
“You can choose to keep being the wandering playboy prince of the Valley. You could spend every year until your father dies doing just that. Trying to rebel against your father by squandering your potential, is only hurting you. Be the man your mother. Be the man I see you can be. Save these people. Save your people from the hell that your father hed led them into.”
— Catherine Lovie
William Lovie III.'s coma had caused him to have no memory of his sister and anything to do with her which left him suffering headaches and finding his happiness in sleeping with other noble girls in the city, and this behavior continued to spiral out of control until the arrival of Lanna Lannister. Lanna Lannister had been a romantic partner to Jasper Hale, but had also slept with William several times including mothering a child with him in the form of Termin Jest of whom she believed was Jasper's but in fact was William's child. Lanna arrived in Lucerne with her mother Cersei Lannister of whom was visiting for a trade negotiation and would only be in the city a few days but wanted to see Jasper so came with her aunt and tried to see him but discovered from Rosalie Hale that Jasper had left for Nortburg with his grandfather and thus unable to see Jasper she went to see William of whom was at the pools with Edward Cullen, and Leven Martell. William finding her as beautiful as he remembered he talks to her after she is unable to find Jasper, and seducing her she follows him to his fathers throne room where he demands everyone to leave and then sleeps with her on the floor in front of the throne. Lanna and William have a long discussion about their respective lives and the discussion of her child comes up implying for the first time that her son Termin Jest could be Williams, but this is laughed off by William and following this the two sleep together but are stopped during this by Catherine Bell his aunt of whom he has a serious conversation with about his life. Disgusted with himself for this he listens to his aunt and goes to Edward and the two come together to decide its time to truly change thus marking the beginning of the Journey as William could no longer take the person hes becoming alongside the increasingly depressing dreams he suffered from each night and was forced to attempt to deal with them through finding the places in his dreams of which a common place was a tavern in Forks.
Look at the world father. You were born into this land. You grew up here. These people swore their lives to you. How could you have done all of this? Look at everything you have done. You destroyed a city. Killed hundreds of good men out of fear. Is this how you want to be remembered father. Is this the world you want to leave behind? I know you were a good person once. Don't end it all here. Don't do this. For me father. For everything I supposedly mean to you. Don't do this.
"Where are you taking me Will?"
"If I told you then it wouldn't a surprise."
"Does Jasper ask about me Will?"
"Not that I recall."
"You know his son is almost three."
"He know's that."
"He's just willing to ignore it."
"You know his grandfather."
"Tarnide is a monster of a man."
"That he is. I always think of him as a lesser version of my father, and that does not say anything good."
"You two were always bonded by your hatred of those two men.""Tell me Will why aren't you married yet?"
"Amber left would be the easiest answer."
"But whats the real answer."
"It's gotten really easy to not have any responsibility."
"Don't you want a family?"
"I want it more then anything in this world."
"Then why don't you start your family?""Your twenty years old Will. There is talk that your infertile you know."
"When did this talk begin?"
"Its been going on for some time Will. How many girls have you slept with and how many children bastard or not do you have?"
"You had a child."
"That child is Jasper's."
"Perhaps it is mine. You and I were sleeping together at the same time. Why could it not be mine."
"Would you want it to be William?"
"If it was I would be a father to him."
"You taking responsibility wasn't my question. If Termin was your son would you be happy marrying me and being the father of my children knowing where my heart lay."
"I see your point."
"William I'm not disappointed with you." "No one is disappointed with you. Everyone just sees you as being capable of so much more then sleeping around for a living."
"You think I don't know that. Every day I get up and there is this hole in my mind. This giant gap of memory and it tears away at me."
"Memories are just that Will. They are glimpses of something that has already happened."
"That doesn't make it hurt any less."
"Life hurts my love."
"It shouldn't hurt this much."
"Just because something hurts doesn't mean you should stop living."
"Tell me what I should do?"
"Find anwsers. Find love."
"I can't remember anything more then a blurred image, and the girl who I love ran out on me when went into a coma."
"You know thats not what happened with Amber William. That girl loved you of that there is no question."
"Then tell me why she left?"
"If she left I believe there was a good reason." "Find out that reason."
"Lanna sent she went to Forks."
"Then go to Forks."
"Father won't even let me leave Lucerne Hold."
"Make him." "Your twenty years old William. You are the prince of the Valley of Lucerne. When my brother dies you will be king. You do not need his permission to leave the city."
"I will have to tell him something more then me wanting to find Amber."
"You'll think of something. Talking people into doing what you want has never been something you struggled with."
"Thanks Catherine. For...for being the mother I wish I had. For being there for me when I didn't deserve anyone by my side. Thank you...Thank you for loving me through it all."
"I love you William. You never have to thank me for that."
Confronting his father James would at first completely reject any idea of him traveling outside of Lucerne, as James understood that he was beyond hated outside of the capital, and that worried him for what people might do to the prince. In the end though he realized that William was not going to take no for an anwser and relented by sending an elite troop of soldiers with him, including Carlisle Cullen of whom William had lost all trust in.
Middle gate of Lucerne
“It was the first time in many years that I had seen the outside of the Lucernian Mountains, and it felt so different. Like a feeling in the air everything felt tense out in the valley.”
— Edward Cullen
William Lovie III. left the city of Lucerne with Edward, Leven, Lyanna, Rachel, Marcel, Jasper, Emmett, and a guard unit of sixty men led by Carlisle Cullen of whom had been commanded by James Lovie II. to attempt to maintain his position, but both knew this was nearly hopeless. When they arrived outside of the city they were met by Levan Martell sisters and Ellia Snow of whom joined them with four more men from House Martell, alongside Joshua Jackson and Hayden Percy of whom brought twelve more men with him. Hayden was confronted by Carlisle about why he was there as he had not been commanded by James to do this, but Hayden was evasive and when the two had a moment of privacy he said that he worried someone would try and assassinate William during the journey. The group headed towards the safety of the city of Forks on horseback, and as they neared Nortburg William revealed that he had larger plans in mind and that they would be meeting several others in Nortburg. As they passed Norburg they were met by Radlet Scarlet, Dylan Steinmare and their accompanying four men of which further expanded out the group of those joining William on his journey.
“He had an apologetic look across his face as he spoke to me, and I couldn't help but hate him and feel sorry for him at the same time. I didn't doubt whatever secret he kept he only did so with the greatest of reluctance.”
— William Lovie III.
On the ride their William and Carlisle engaged in the first of what would become many heated arguments between the two on the journey as William saw Carlisle as little more then a hand of his father. William desired to know how it was that James his father was so reluctant to allow him to leave Lucerne as for what reason would anyone have for wanting to harm him. Carlisle berated him about being unwilling to have done something like this before, and that he wasn't mature enough to understand what he was going to find in the cities. The engaged in a long argument in which it became clear to William that Carlisle was deeply aware of a number of important lies that were being told by his father, and that he had no intention of telling William. As Carlisle told William lies about the dislike the people had for him it was Hayden Percy that stopped the party and told William that actually the people were deeply in love with William and he was the only thing they did like about the ruling king.
“It was obvious to me that he was a liar. The only thing I wanted to know was whether he was just a really honorable liar, or the kind of liar that had to be dealt with immediately.”
— William Lovie III.
Eventually when William realized that Carlisle wasn't going to break his father's confidence he stopped talking to him and the younger men, and Leven just socialized the rest of the ride to Forks. This silence between Carlisle and William didn't go unnoticed and Carlisle attempted heavily to reengage the young prince in conversation to no avail. Carlisle was stuck in a terrible place as he knew the scope of terrible things that James Lovie had done, and knew that the moment William arrived in Forks he was going to be told by Charlie Swan of the destruction of Tree Hill, and that alone would spark a quest of discovery which would only end with the discovery that James was responsible for the violence. Carlisle would at this point realize that there was no hope of protecting his old master in the way he had been commanded too, and thus he begin to hope for the success of William so that James would be removed and while he understood this would end him as well he knew he had to do the right thing for once. Arriving at Runestone (Castle) it was the group that picked up more people when it was joined by Robar Royce and a group of twenty Runestone troops who also wished to support William's journey. Traveling further the south the group reached Gulltown where they met with the leadership of the large city and were able to quickly gain many ships for their path to Forks although it was made quite clear during this stop in Gulltown that the truth south of Gulltown was something William should be prepared for. As they reached the area just north of Forks they stopped the boats at the small castle of Saint Relouste where they would stay for the night with House Relouste in preperation for moving by land to Forks. During that night William would meet with the people he trusted most and after this discussion including advise from Hayden Percy he would send Levan Martell and her party back to the river in order to make their way towards Stormwind so that she could tell the Starke`s and Lannisters that he was moving, and that he would be making his way east after he had visited Forks and Charlie Swan. Along with Levan he also had Radlet, and Martin travel westward towards Hillsbrad where they would tell Lord Genn Greymane of their intentions and make him aware that they would attempt to travel to Hillsbrad after they had visited Stormwind. Finally he would send Rachel Lee to her family at Nighthold in order to both find out the truth of what her family was doing at Nighthold but also to gain their support, and at this request he was originally told by Rachel to not trust her family but he put his faith in her to change them despite this.
Look at the world father. You were born into this land. You grew up here. These people swore their lives to you. How could you have done all of this? Look at everything you have done. You destroyed a city. Killed hundreds of good men out of fear. Is this how you want to be remembered father. Is this the world you want to leave behind? I know you were a good person once. Don't end it all here. Don't do this. For me father. For everything I supposedly mean to you. Don't do this.
"I need you to do something for me Leven."
"You know I will do whatever you need Will."
"You won't like it."
"Spit it out Will."
"I was writing letters back and forth for several weeks with Eddard Starke. In these letters we discussed our meeting, and he told me that if I went to him that he would support me in my search for answers, and what came after."
"What do I have to do with this?"
"Carlisle can't know that I'm meeting with the Starke's. My movement in the east must be done by someone that I trust without question."
"Why me William. My place is by your side. What about Jasper, or Emmett, or Marcel. What about anyone but me, I don't want to leave you."
"I don't want you to leave me either. You are the one that I trust more then anyone. I love you." I reached out and took her hands in mine. "If I could trust someone else to get this done, then I would send them. I trust you most. I need you for this."
As the group moved towards Forks it was the Circle of Magi that worked without leadership from James Lovie II. as the king had locked himself in the Sky Tower and refused to be seen leaving the situation to be handled by Kieth Schwartz. Kieth would command a raven be sent to Forks and the Circle of magi forces in the city led by James Nighting, and his son James Nighting II. and the raven detailed that they were to deal with Alice in whatever way they saw fit but there ultimate goal was to not let the two siblings meet in Forks when william did arrive in the city. Kieth at this moment was truly only conserned with assisting the rise of William Lovie III. and thus understood that despite telling them to make all attempts to bring Alice to Berne that this would most likely be ignored by James the Elder in favor of attempting to kill her. The Forks cell would discuss this and while James the younger would push to kidnap her and get her to Berne as was the command of Kieth, it was James the elder that overruled him and did as Kieth feared when he decided to attempt to kill her.
Attempt on Alice Lovie
“It was obvious to me that he was a liar. The only thing I wanted to know was whether he was just a really honorable liar, or the kind of liar that had to be dealt with immediately.”
— William Lovie III.
Following the failure of Laetorius Pilatus and his group to kill her while at the gardens it was James the Elder that commanded his son to murder Alice using his relationship with her to trick her into leaving the Swan Keep. Having watched the two for the entire time that they had both been in Forks it is clear that James the elder knew what sort of emotional effect this request would have on his son but James the elder felt that this was the only way to bring his son back into the fold of House Nighting.
“Don't do this James. I love you.”
— Alice Lovie
Alice would be listening at the window as James the elder and James the younger would argue about things and thus when James the younger entered the tavern it was Alice that was there prepared to comfort James over what he had been arguing with his father about. After some time talking Alice realized that James was there with orders to kill her and realizing this the two argued over this with Alice playing to his emotions and eventually causing him to come to the realization that he would not be able to kill Alice, and with this moment his father James the Elder smashed the door down using Magi knocking down his son and leaving him unconscious. Alice would see this and rushed to the side of James the younger where after seeing that he was alive she and James the elder spoke for some time with James the elder hinting that her brother was on his way to the city but was unwilling to reveal his identity despite the fact that he was going to kill her. As James the Elder prepared to kill her with a killing curse it was james the younger that gained consciousness and stopped his father by stabbing him through the back killing him instantly and leaving James the younger emotionally broken. Alice would attempt to console him but he refused her touch and picked up his father preparing to take him away but before he left he forced Alice to promise that when the time came she would lie and say that she had killed his father after he had kidnapped her from the tavern and taken her to a forest. Alice would follow him riding on the horse with him as they took his fathers dead body out of Forks and into the forest west of Forks, and it was here at a small cabin that James would take her to stay for a few days to make the story make sense. While Alice slept that night an emotionally distraught James Nighting II. would leave her without a word riding southward towards Tree Hill where he planned to return to his family and try and find some kind of peace over what he had done.
“It was the first city I had ever seen outside of the surrounding area of Lucerne, and I don't know what I expected. From all the talk of my father I guess a burned down husk of a town screaming for my death wouldn't have suprised me at all.”
— William Lovie III.
When the group arrived at Forks the four of them simply sat and looked down at a massive city that for most of their lives they had not even known had existed. Each of the group spent a moment describing what they knew of Forks, at least what they had heard, and the simple fact seemed clear that they had all been fed a lot of lies over their life to keep them from leaving Lucerne. William told them all a story about how his father had told him that in Forks he had once been forced to put down a rebellion that started after the city wanted to kill him, and his brother. Jasper told him that his grand-father as well as clearly taken the party line and had told him and his sister that the city was a haven of criminals and rebels. Leven told the group that her father had refused to speak of Forks, and she realized now the reason was because he was ashamed to have to lie to her so he just simply didn't. At the urging of Carlisle they begin heading towards the town, and they would reach the great castle bridge of which Hayden Percy would travel ahead of the group with twenty men and have the way prepared for them and he did his best to try and keep who they were as something he only told the top commanders of the castle. After Hayden was able to get them through they made there way towards the city itself, and by this point guards from the castle had reached Forks and had begun spreading word that Lucernians were there, and they were of some high level nobility. As they entered the massive gates of Forks they didn't get twenty feet before the very well known and expensive armor of the Lucernians was seen on them which caused the people to begin swarming the group in the hopes of finding out who they were.
West Side of Forks
“You could hear the roar of the crowd from everyone within the city, and like a tidle wave everyone within the city simply moved like they were automated towards the prince they had always dreamed of seeing.”
— Charles Swan
William didn't know how nearly mythical the Lovie's had become so he simply attempted to calm the crowd by telling them their prince and his best friends were on a journey to visit the Kingdom and that Forks was their first stop. If he didn't know before he knew after everyone in the crowd fell to their knees and remained deathly silent in their awe of the prince that they all hoped would become their King. Before five minutes the entire city learned of the coming of William Lovie, and a large group of Lucernians, and it took William begging the people to get up before they would finally stop kneeling to him. With the people back on their feet William and the group waded through the crowd that all attempted to touch the armor of their beloved Prince, and as this was happening Jasper, and the rest of the group followed very closely trying there best to keep an eye out for danger. As the groups of people all attempted to touch the armor of the prince the gaurd of House Swan, and his bannerman arrived on the scene to clear out the crowds and allow the prince through, but it took some time before they were able to get moving again. The arrival of Ser Richard of the Swan Guard would finally calm the crowd enough that he was able to line his Swan Knights along the side of the princes entourage, and from there walk them towards Swan Keep.
Alice Learns the Truth
“That lady Alice is prince William Lovie III. He's going to be the king some day.”
— Nerio Swann
Arriving at the cabin at night it was Alice and James that discussed everything that had happened and Alice attempted to get James to forgive himself, but she would fail and despite both describing their love for the other it was James that left her to sleep alone while he told he would be in the main room and they could talk the next day. While Alice slept that night an emotionally distraught James Nighting II. would leave her without a word riding southward towards Tree Hill where he planned to return to his family and try and find some kind of peace over what he had done, but he did leave behind a letter that detailed how much he had loved her and his involvement in what she would eventually realize was her memory loss. Alice would wake in the morning and discover he had left and after reading his letter she would ride back to Forks on the other horse where as she arrived she was stopped by a troop of cavalry led by Nerio Swann and Nerio knew her as Alice was a friend of Bella Swan and thus he revealed to her that the prince of Lucerne William Lovie III. was the leader of the group that was being surrounded by the people of Forks, and as she looked down into the group and saw him she felt a wave of memories crash over her which caused her to pass out. Alice would wake up back in the tavern where she was being held by Rosalie, and Bella while Donnel Swann stood at the doorway, and upon waking up Rosalie and Bella both started crying as they were both afraid that Alice wasn't going to wake up, and after calming down the two it was Alice that told them that she remembered who the boy from her dreams was. Before she could tell them that she knew the boy was William she was overcome with a terrible headache as the memories overwhelmed her and while she hid the severity of the pain it was Flavius Elvorix II. that came to the door and ordered Rosalie to return to work and despite Alice attempting to stop this he overruled her and then demanded them leave Alice's room which again they did reluctantly.
Golden Haired Boy
“His beauty was painful, but it was the way he allowed everyone to touch his armor, and never once did I sence that he hated this or wanted these people to just leave him alone.”
— Bella Swan
While the crowd was clamoring for their prince it was Bella Swan that was in the tavern waiting for Alice to feel better when she heard all the noise outside. Joined by Donnel Swann she scaled the stairs of the tower of Trelly she looked out of the tower and finally saw the reason for all the commotion, and in that moment she was overcome. While she would never admit it to anyone even to this day during that moment she felt a pull towards the golden haired boy that she had never felt in her entire life. Her mind wanted with everything in her to return to her father's side where this knight was obviously heading to but instead her mind won the battle and simply stared love struck at the beautiful golden knight. After five minutes the group had barely moved due to the crowd sheer size and Bella remained in the same spot as she had been. Her only movement came when Rosalie approached from behind her and she fell startled by her friends arrival. Falling down before getting back up the two watched the group finally make it out of the crowd after the Forks guard, along with the House Swan honor guard moved in and created a barrier so that the prince could move through the thousands now lining the streets.
“Watching them grasp for my hand. Watching them cry out my name. Watching them do everything they did to try and make me see them was the first time I ever really understood who I was. I always understood I was powerful, but it wasn't until then I knew what I could accomplish.”
— William Lovie III.
William and the rest of the group would make there way now with the help of the Swan Knights and footmen of Forks through the crowds and made there way towards Swan Keep where they would arrive at to the site of Charlie, and Brodie Swan bowing to them while dressed in beautiful blue Swan adorned armor. Charlie would declare himself and immediately William gave him the respect he deserved as an Arch Lord of Lucerne, and after giving him bread to signal that he was under guests right he alongside the Shadow Council and Hayden Percy would enter the Swan Keep. Carlie Cullen would attempt to follow them but Brody Swan would hold him back on the command of Charlie before following the rest of the group inside and leaving Carlisle outside with the remainder of the group. Charlie would tell William the first of what would become an ever increasing amount of bad things about his father, and Charlie told him that he was beyond happy to see that he had a chance to meet him before he perished in whatever the next plot of James Lovie was. William would be somewhat defensive of his father at first, but Hayden Percy would vouch for many of the things said, and this shocked William as he believed Hayden and couldn't believe that his father was causing so many problems. Charlie told William that Brody would take him on a tour of the estates while Charlie prepared things for William to see, so that he could understand what Charlie believed he could do.
Chance Encounter
“Looking back the fear I used to have was just so palpibable. It was as if I would litterly die if I went to see this man that people were calling the most perfect thing they had ever seen. I should have been at his feet praying like the rest of them, but my fear kept me back. Considering how it ended I can't say I regret not going.”
— Bella Swan
Bella would continue to stare at William throughout the entire time he was surrounded and still in view, and as she did she brought on the questioning of Rosalie of whom also felt something for one of the men with William in the form of Jasper out there but attempted to bury that within herself by asking Bella questions. Bella escaped the questioning and badgering of Rosalie that she go to see the prince, and instead made her way to the blacksmith of her father's loyal banner house House Black to basically hide out. She entered the blacksmith and admittedly spent the next few hours simply walking among the seemingly endless stable that surrounded the overall blacksmith. She was about to return home when she heard a commotion from the front of the blacksmith, and when she came out to see what it was she saw that the prince was in the next room talking to Arthur Black the brother of the House Black patriarch. Bella would watch as two other men entered the room in the form of Jasper Hale, and Joshua Jackson, and she watched as the prince laughed with them, and they seemed to love his presence. Arthur Black, and Jasper Hale would leave the area for a few minutes leaving William and Joshua to talk among themselves, and she watched as once he believed he was alone William appeared worried and talked in hush tones to Joshua of whom seemed to attempt to reassure him.
“Seeing him like that was such a shocking thing, that I felt immobilized in awe. I had wanted to run away, and hide in a hole so deep that noone would ever find me. I had wanted to do anything to get away, but I couldn't move. The moment his eyes met mine, all the remainder of my resistence just flowed away.”
— Bella Swan
As the two continued talking Bella found herself transfixed on the prince in front of her. She was so nervous that she wanted to run away and hide in the stables for the rest of her life, but before her cowerdess could allow her to do this she was spotted by Arthur who brought her presence to the prince of Lucerne.When the two locked eyes Bella had to hold onto a railing to keep herself from falling, and while William had a lot of experience with women he couldn't bare to not touch this girl in a way he couldn't understand. William thanked Arthur, and told Arthur to take Jasper and Joshua and show them the remainder of the Stables, and Arthur quickly removed himself to the pain of Bella whose head was filled with crazy thoughts of love, and marriage. At first Bella was nervous and shy as she was with everyone, but William unlocked something inside herself that had been dormant since the death of her brother Jacob Swan, and she begin opening up to him. Bella would take him to the more secluded spot of the Stables, and it was there that the two talked for hours and came to know each other rather well, with both telling eachother things they hadn't told anyone else before. This closeness was interrupted by the fact that it was well past midnight and so he had to return her Swan Keep, and then make his way to the Tavern that they had taken over as a residence or Jasper was going to explode from worry. William walked Bella back to Swan Keep before the two parted but made plans to meet the next day at the tavern. As William went to leave her though Brody Swan would come out and whisper something to her which caused her to give Brody a kiss on the cheek before she ran back over to William and told her that she was going to join him since she knew friends at the Tavern. Several Swan Knights joined them in order to make sure Bella would be able to get back safely, and thus arm in arm they walked towards the Tavern with Bella leading them.
The Tavern Meeting
“So much happened in that small run down tavern, that whenever I return to Forks I feel like I have to return there. Had we of stayed at a different tavern I'm sure that eventually I would have found my sister again, but it would have been longer. It would have meant one more minute away from my sister, and that was too much.”
— William Lovie III.
As the Lucernians spent time in the Swan Keep it was Alice that recovered from her headache and now having regained her memory rejoined her friend Rosalie Hale, of whom was known as Rosalie Woods due to her supposed bastardy birth, in her pursuit of learing more about why William Lovie III. who she now knew as her brother was in Forks. As they attempted to leave the tavern the it was Flavius that slapped Alice in the face and forced her and Rosalie to return and not allowing them to leave for Swan Keep where they knew they could get Bella to tell them more. This physical abuse wasn't uncommon so Alice just moved about her business, and acted as if nothing had happened, but inside she now knew that she was a princess and feeling the shackles getting closer to being removed she felt hopeful for the first time in years as she knew that William would save her. Alice would watch as the man she knew now as Carlisle Cullen entered the tavern and went to Flavius and after talking briefly it was Flavius that would rush out of the tavern. Shortly after this happened it was her brother himself that entered the tavern flanked by Bella and Jasper on each side of him.
“When I saw the gleaming armor of the prince's men I couldn't help but stand in awe of these men. So much was spoken of Lucerne, and since I had never been there I was left to my imaginations. They just seemed so polished, and downright perfect.”
— Alice Lovie
After at first being overwhelmed by attention by the tavern dwellers they were spared further harassment when Rosalie yelled throughout the tavern that they were going to close if they didn't leave the Lucernians alone. Alice spent the rest of the night watching as the group of Lucernians spent time in the corner, and she made the arrangements when a man named Carlisle Cullen introduced himself and basically said that the group needed lodgings for the night and they would prefer if they could simply take all the rooms in the tavern. As Alice moved about the business of moving their things to their rooms she came to be helped by a silent young man who introduced himself as Jasper Hale. The patrons of the Tavern were slowly removed as the men that guarded all these noble young men begin to take up the spots and guarded the door making sure the tavern was now safe for the royals to sleep in. As the two shook hands on Jasper's insistance they both felt a shock as if something inside them was kismat, and that they recegnized the feeling. They went about their work, but following the hand shake no more words were shared between the two. As Jasper returned to the table he returned to conversation with Emmett, and Edward where he revealed that he felt a connection with the young barmaid. Emmett was far to lost in his lust over the beautiful blond to pay attention to Jasper but Edward was completely listening and had never seen his friend with so much certainty in his eyes since before he had left. For the first time since the death of Hostella Jasper was actually talking to Edward, and this continued for several minutes until the emotions wore off for Jasper once Alice had his eye sight and he realized he was talking to Edward and would from that point on ignore Edward and only talk to Emmett, and Joshua of whom entered shortly after. As they continued to talk Emmett simply got up from the table without a word and walked over to the counter where once their he begin talking to the blonde barmaid. Edward and Jasper were shocked that the extremely shy Emmett had been capable of something so obvious, and once again a member of the group stepped out of his comfort zone and did something they were not used to doing.
William Returns
“Bella said that she was best friends with two of the girls that worked at the tavern, and when I asked how she a noble got to be friends with barmaids she just laughed and shrugged her shoulders. Her nervousness in that moment just made me love her all the more.”
— William Lovie III.
The flirting between Rosalie, and the conversation between Jasper, and Joshua ended the moment the front entrance to the tavern opened and walking through the doors was William Lovie, and on his arm was Bella Swan. When Alice watched her normally dower friend walk in smiling while holding the arm of what she could only assume was the most handsome man in the kingdom she couldn't help but do a double take on the two. For the boys this was nothing new as Jasper and William had girls on their arms all the time, but the way he held her hand was something they hand't seen before as usually it was a more physical connection that William was after. The tavern was at this point basically at full copasity with all the guards and other members of their party so it was difficult for William, and Bella to see where the group was. As he looked around the tavern for his friends so that they could meet Bella his eyes scanned a tiny brunette girl standing behind the table and for a moment he was completely lost in thought. His mind went back for a moment and he had a hallucination of dreams he had been having flooding through his mind. Every dream he had ever had about the girl suddenly flashed back to him, and he nearly fell over if not for Bella holding his arm, and keeping him steady.
“I didn't know what it was but when I caught a look at her it was a moment I cannot explain. I felt a sence of longing that I didn't know existed but it wasn't in a sexual way it was something elce. It was as if this was someone I hadn't seen in a long time and now I was getting a chance to see her again.”
— William Lovie III.
Seeing Alice awoke something in William, and at first Bella watched him as he looked at Alice, and she felt nervous that she wasn't good enough but as if he felt her nervousness he tightened his grip on her hand and looked down at her smiling. The smile he gave her wiped away the fear she had, and brought her back to the happiness that she was feeling the moment before. Across the room at the bar Alice nearly dropped the jug of liquid that she was holding and stumbled her way back into the store room to calm herself down. At first she was horrified that she might be attracted to her best friends date, and thus she decided to hide herself away in the storeroom. As William held Bella's hand and walked towards his friends who he had finally spotted he spied the blonde sitting on Emmett's lap and smiled at his friend who appeared to be smitten. He locked eyes with Edward who gave him a knowing smile, and for the first time in a long time he returned Edwards smile, as he believed Edward was happy for him. Jasper and Joshua would both say hello to Bella and the group got into a fresh, and lively conversation only interupted by sporadic kissing between Rosalie and Emmett.
The Storeroom Meetings
“I sat alone in the storeroom hiding in the corner behind a box. I wanted with everything in me to go back out there and talk to the boy that had sent electricity through my arm just through a touch. I wanted to know more about who he was, and whether he could ever like a girl like me. But the only real though that flew through my mind, was speaking and seeing the prince again.”
— Alice Lovie
As the group talked and spent time together Rosalie, and Bella both wondered where Alice had gone too, and Jasper said that she was probably still busy like before. Bella got up from the table and went to see where she might be, and like always her noble stance meant that she was able to walk into the back where she found Alice sitting in the corner of the store room. Bella walked up to her, and sat down beside her and tried to find out what was wrong. Alice lied to Bella and told her she was nervous about seeing Jasper again because she thought she was having strong feelings for him and what was the point of getting involved since she was nothing but a barmaid. Bella looked her in the face and said she was so much more then that, and the group out there would never look at her as just a barmaid. She knew Bella was right but she wasn't ready to see the prince again so she told Bella to ask Jasper if he would come see her in the back room. Alice would hug Bella and tell her she loved her before Bella left to tell Jasper.
“I didn't want Jasper to leave and think I was unhappy or didn't like him, so I thought the only way to see him without involving the prince was to get him to come to me. I'm guessing this would be the first time he chased a girl into a storeroom in his life.”
— Alice Lovie
Bella would return to the table, and say that Alice was in the back room because the tavern owner had forced her back there so not to bother the customers, and that she wanted to apologize to Jasper in person. Jasper would immediately go to the back to see her, and he found her now standing against the wall waiting for him. The two would talk, and eventually they would kiss against the wall before things got more heated, and they would make love. As Jasper and Alice were in the storeroom the group outside continued having a great time, but in the back of William's mind he continued to think of the brunette barmaid that he had seen at the front, but like Alice threw herself into Jasper, William threw himself more and more into Bella. The two continued to talk lovingly and didn`t know when Rosalie, and Emmett left to go to her room William decided the time was right to take Bella home, and he said goodbye to Edward and left a goodbye for Jasper before holding Bella's hand and leaving with her. Emmett and Rosalie would spend the night talking but for the first time in her life Rosalie had found someone who didn`t just want her body, and this led to the two to become quite close very quickly in.
“For whatever reason as I walked with her the world just seemed clearer again. Memories seemed clear for the first time in the longest time, and looking at her smiling face as we walked hand in hand down the pebbled street I knew it was her. She was releasing me from whatever darkness had befallen me. She was the one to release me back into happiness.”
— William Lovie III.
Taking Bella`s hand and walking her down the street he was painfully aware that despite the appearance of being alone with her in fact he could make out Ellia Snow, and Hayden Percy following behind them keeping enough distance to remain private, but still close enough to move forward if something went wrong. William would enter the Swan Keep with her, and when the guards indicated that her father was away from the keep meeting several just arriving nobles from Fogtown he would take her back to the stables where they had originally met, and the two talked there for almost another hour, before the arrival of Charlie Swan, and a large troop of Fogtown men would cause them to depart each other. As the shy Bella Swan was preparing to leave his side he would kiss her, and the two lost themselves in the kiss for several minutes before Hayden came into the barn to tell them the lady had to leave before they were discovered. William following this would meet with the Fogtown force whom led by Natalie Highport would swear themselves to his side and thus joining the army that was gathering in support of William.
The Return
“I had found my escape in Jasper's arms but even he wasn't enough to keep the constant thoughts of the prince out of my mind. I wanted nothing more then to just escape with him, but even after making love I still found myself thinking of him. I knew I had to go out and see him, and thus I took Jasper's hand and followed him out to the table.”
— Alice Lovie
As Alice and Jasper finished they talked about things, and Alice frankly asked him where he saw this going, and Jasper who was trying to be a good guy after everything he had done in the past told her that he would like to see her again. Alice was skeptical because he lived in a different city, and was a completely different kind of person in terms of importance but looking into his eyes she believed him. This didn't take away from the fact that Alice couldn't get the prince out of her head, and thus when Jasper extended his hand to take her back inside she took his hand and prepared to once again see the prince. When they entered the hall again she noticed the table was barren except for Edward who sat alone at the table drinking his water. When they arrived they learned that William had left with Bella, and Emmett had left with Rosalie, Joshua had went to bed, and with this Edward said that he too was going to bed, and said goodnight. Alice in that moment was sadly sort of happy that nothing was expected of her with Jasper and walked hand in hand with him as he escorted her to her small room four floors up the tavern. Collapsing into her bed she attempted to fall asleep but the screaming headache she suffered from was the worse she had ever felt before and she wanted to cry out in pain, but bit down on a pillow for longer then she would have liked to admit.
Ending a Marriage
“Im sorry that this is coming as a shock to you Taylor. I never wanted to hurt you. I wanted to spend our life together. I wanted to love you. I wanted to love our children. That's all gone. The moment our little girl died I knew I couldn't stay in that castle for one second longer. If you have any shred of love for me, then you will let me go.”
— Kate Denali
Following Taylor Shephard leaving with a small troop of men for the Journey it was Kate Denali that would go to Edward Shephard and with his assistance she was able to make her way northward meeting with the main Lucernian army and her father at Forks. As the army was preparing to leave for Forks time was sensitive and thus Kate wasted no time and told her father the truth of what was going in Vorhelm and hearing this an enraged Emerich Denali would travel to the Shephard forced and meeting with Taylor it was a shocked Taylor who saw Kate and then was verbally attacked by Emerich. As the acusations rained down on Taylor swords were nearly brought out but this was stopped when Kate stood between them feeling a hidden desire to protect Taylor despite everything he had done, and she was able to get him to agree to speak to her alone. Speaking together alone it was Taylor who realized that he had truly hurt Kate and that there relationship was dead from the side of Kate feeling no love for him, and with this he agreed to have their marriage ended without resistence.
Arriving in Stormwind First we saw Forks and were shocked at how many people there were. Looking at Stormwind you couldn`t help but feel the same. Everything my father had told me was a lie. That became clear the moment I looked through the Great Eye of Stormwind.
Gathering Storm
Arriving in Stormwind
Rosalie Hale would join Alice Lovie in traveling to Stormwind as the situation deteriorated there was increasing worry from William Lovie III. that his father of whom he now no longer knew what he was capable of would use these girls to punish William.
“We went by boat as by this point I understood the gravity of the situation in the valley. This was no longer simply me travelling the land, and getting to know my people. I was discovering destroyed cities, and a growing rebellion. This wasn`t the kind of trip I took by horse anymore.”
— William Lovie III.
Leaving Forks by boat the group now numbered nearly a dozen ships worth of men, and nobles all traveling with the prince of Lucerne, and for many this was people drawing lines in the sand. For the part of James Lovie this was the worst case scenario and he begin to try and find ways to stop William from realizing the truth once he reached Stormwind by trying to have his agents assassinate Eddard Starke, and in this way he commanded several of Ezio Ederiz's agents to go to Stormwind and kill him.
Return to Lucerne
“I don't have the full story yet father, but I need to do this. Let me repair the damage that every single piece of evidence I've seen show me that you caused.”
— William Lovie III.
Alice Rises
Alice greets the arrival of Emma, and Hanna Bell of whom are accompanied by a heavy contingent of men-at arms and knights of House Skane, and House Scarlet and she discovers that they remember her. Also among the group arriving is Adela Aven of whom has been brought to become the lady in waiting for Alice, and the two talk briefly with Adela showing herself as a kind girl who is clearly very happy to be a lady in waiting for the princess of Lucerne. Finding herself basically in a moment having gone from a tavern girl to the princess of Lucerne she remembers her times with the two sisters, and they spend the day together, which is joined by Fredrik Highmore of whom seems to be quite close with Emma Bell. Leaving behind Emma for a time she and Hanah go to the palace grounds where she meets with Charles Swan of whom has basically become the driving force behind the northern Lucernians joining William at Forks, and the two form a quick friendship as Charles is beyond happy with what they have agreed to join him in. Following her meeting at the Forks Palace she meets with Charles, and Daniel Faraday of whom have asked for a meeting with her, and realizing once again her power now they ask for Emma's hand in a betrothal and she sees the value in this but asks that they allow her a chance to speak with Emma about it with both of the Faraday's are very accepting of. Returning to Emma she finds her cousin all smiles and when she presses her cousin on what she believes to be a relationship with Fredrik Highmore of whom has been flirty with her throughout the day, and she tells Emma about the offers from Charles Faraday about marriage and is surprised when Emma agrees to this betrothal. While this is happening she also is flirted with by Dylan Steinmare, and when the two are alone she questions him on this and he tells her they were quite flirty before she left, and apologizes to her, but she begins to remember him and instead of accepting his apology she gently rubs his hand. While speaking on the rise of the west to Williams side due to the movement of Franklin Brent she receives a raven from William asking her to travel to Stormwind and see the city, and she takes Emma Bell with her. In the letter they are asked to be escorted by men of House Scarlet and Martell of which it is determined should be Saiden Scarlet, and Wilheim Martell. She does not realize the main reason she is recalled is the fact that William believes she will be killed if left alone in Forks after hearing so many bad things about his father.
Third Battle of Minus Tirith Tomorrow is the moment we stand as free men of Europe and say in one loud voice the truth that we have always known. We will scream out our truth, and when were done the Dark Lord himself will know that the men of Europe will not stand for evil anymore. Tomorrow we strike. Tomorrow he will know pain.
“My father had relented despite his strong vocal anger towards what I wanted to do, and with his resistance no longer present the few forces of Lucerne that were not involved in some way begin to come out of the word works. I don`t forget loyalty though, and those houses that only came after the choice was gone are not the ones who I trust in the same way as those who joined me when it was still in doubt.”
— William Lovie III.
With Aragorn`s success in gathering the forces of the Sindar Elves of High Forest he would send word to William Lovie III. of whom had succeed in gaining his father`s permission to lead the forces of Lucerne into Gondor and drive away the Mordor Orcs so that they could then relieve Tree Hill. In terms of the Sindar Elves of High Forest they would travel by boat from High Forest to Osgiliath where they would land north of the port city and meet with the overall forces in the area just north of the Battle site itself. The Orcs for there part had recently sent a smaller force through through the Morgul Pass of which had been moving southward towards the fortress of Narvine of which they would as usual most likely raid the already barren farmland north of Narvine and then retreat when they were opposed. William Lovie III. would lead the Lucernian army alongside his main commanders in Lucerne in the form of Charlie Swan, Renault Scarlet, Jack Shepard alongside many others of whom the main ones they would be meeting east of Stormwind in the Rhunian province.
Eddard Starke led the eastern forces alongside the Lannisters of whom were behind the attack surprisingly even before the acceptance of Bill Lovie and these two massive forces would send most of their forces to Lamedon but the leadership remained at Stormwind where it would meet the main army as it came through. The western forces of Lucerne led by the Greymane would lead their forces as well eastward with their army being the furthest behind but using ships from Highgarden, and Fogtown the armies were moved eastward towards Lamedon. The Gondor forces would begin to marshal under the command of Aragorn Elessar III. and while the vast majority traveled to Osgiliath to prepare a smaller force traveled to Lamedon where they would meet William Lovie III. once his army had gathered and was preparing to cross into Gondor.
“This is all about faith young prince. On one hand I see the future of my Kingdom ending unless something is done about the monsters at my door. On the other hand despite everything you`ve done I have heard that your father was once honorable and just. You decide the fate of Kingdoms and Men with the decisions you will make in the coming days so make sure you are better then your father has been.”
— Aragorn Elessar II.
Aragorn Elessar II. would watch with silent fright as the nearly sixty thousand Lucernian troops would mass themselves on the west side of Lamdeon, and it was only upon the arrival of the flags of House Lovie signalling the arrival of William Lovie III. that Aragorn crossed the bridges of Lamedon and met with the Lucernian leadership. William Lovie III. would be awaiting him alongside nearly his entire leadership of whom had arrayed themselves as much as possible inside a massive tent that had been brought for this very occasion, but knowing the importance of this conversation noone outside of William was to speak and it was in this way that Aragorn entered the tent of the Lucernian King and the two would speak one last time before going to war.
Look at the world father. You were born into this land. You grew up here. These people swore their lives to you. How could you have done all of this? Look at everything you have done. You destroyed a city. Killed hundreds of good men out of fear. Is this how you want to be remembered father. Is this the world you want to leave behind? I know you were a good person once. Don't end it all here. Don't do this. For me father. For everything I supposedly mean to you. Don't do this.
``My prince the King has entered the camp and will be here momentarily.``
``That is good. Thank you Ser Percy.``Despite my fears Hayden Percy was one of, if not the most loyal man I knew and he deserved to be treated with respect.
I could hear them through the tent, and it made me sick. I could remember the days when it was me that made him feel that way, and I hated her for it. Sometimes I thought to myself in moments like this how different my life would be if I had gotten pregnant during one of the hundreds of times we were together, but for whatever reason the gods didn't want that for me. I would be in that tent right now holding him close, and knowing with every fiber of my being that I was loved. I was noble born, and on the same level as Bella, and yet she had so easily eclipsed me in so little time that it just didn't seem fair.
I felt a hand touch my shoulder, and immediately grabbed for my sword before laughter slowed me and Emmett's head appeared from beneath the helmet as he pulled up the helmet. "I didn't mean to startle you Levia." A fool wouldn't have believed him as he continued to laugh and I struck him in the chest right beneath his breast plate, causing him to stop laughing. As he stopped laughing the sounds of Bella from within the tent grew momentarily louder, and I couldn't stop myself from looking at the tent for a second before answering.
"You didn't startle me." I felt his hand go back to my shoulder as I stared at the tent, and as I looked back to him I saw the understanding in his eyes, but also I could feel pity and that was something I didn't want. "It's fine Emmett." His eyes didn't believe me for a second, but I didn't have time to deal with this right now. "I'm going to catch some sleep make sure he doesn't stay up too late we have to be ready for the morning." I said it more harshly then Emmett deserved, and as I walked away from him leaving him with nothing more then a nod of my head I felt terrible.
Emmett just wasn't a person you should ever be rude too. Born of commoner blood it was his kindness that had pulled him into our group, and it was that same kindness that had led him to becoming the gentlemen he was now. I would have to make a point to bring him something as an apology after the battle, but I couldn't think on that now I just needed to get away from that tent that I wanted to be in more then anything.
I found myself searching hopelessly for Obella when I overhear a Starke man talking about how Robb Starke is with her. Going to the Starke part of the camp I see her sitting with him outside their tent rubbing the hair of that giant wolf of his, and as I watch them I feel happy for my sister. She deserves that kind of happiness, and I know that Robb Starke will treat her well. I turn around and walk to my own tent, and as I move through the seemingly endless ranks of tents, and men that we have gathered I feel a sense of dread wash over me.
I have never been in a battle and yet here I am walking through camp thinking on Will, and hoping for a good life for my sister, and yet I ignore the fact that tomorrow we wade into the unknown with nothing more then a hope. I'm glad that me and Jasper will be by Will's side tomorrow, as I don't know how I could handle the fear of not knowing what was happening with him throughout the entirety of the battle.
I reach my tent and open the flap revealing my sleeping sister Dorea within, and I smile as she jumps up holding a small dagger. "There is no threat from this direction dear sister." She put her dagger away with a smile before sitting up in the bed.
"You can never be too safe. Uncle told me once that when your surrounded by enough men you need always keep a dagger near you lest you find yourself pierced by things other then steel." She laughed as she said it, but I saw how hard she had clenched that dagger, and I knew her well enough to know that she was afraid. I didn't blame her for fear, for I was afraid too.
"Oh my god Dorea when did Oberyn tell you that?" I didn't need to even think on which uncle would tell her such a disgusting thing.
"It matters not for Oberyn always speaks the truth of such things." She smiled at me once more before laying back down, and pulled the blankets up to her shoulders. I moved to take off my armor and piece by piece put it on the stand. Each piece of armor had been intricately crafted, and designed for the every whim I had when I was thinking of my armor, and yet looking at the armor now I wondered whether I had ever really thought I would be in a situation where I would need it. "Levia?" Looking to the sound of Dorea she looked so small under the blanket, and I went to her now clothed for sleep and sat at the edge of her bed.
"Whats wrong Dorea?" She shrugged at me, and the way she did it reminded me of how truly young she was. Less then sixteen name days and here she was standing on the edge of the world sleeping one more time before we entered a battle with strange monsters. "There is nothing wrong with being afraid. I would be scared for your mental health if you weren't afraid."
"I'm not scared to fight tomorrow." I tilted my head at her, and she pushed me playfully. "I'm not I swear...its just."
"Just what sister?"
"I just wonder about something Melessa Vaith said when I was leaving."
"What did she say to you?"
"She didn't say it too me, but I know it was actually about me." I nodded at her to continue. "She was talking about Elize Scorpian. She was saying how no man would ever want to marry Elize because she was constantly armored, and that men hated that." The moment she said it I felt terrible for her. Here she was on the eve of battle not afraid of dying, of which I'm sure she was, but she was more worried about her marriage possibilities if she did fight.
"Let me tell you a story Dorea." She grabbed my hand and I rubbed her hand with my thumb as I begin. I knew the story wouldn't hold up to close examination, but as I watched her eyes close and open I knew her sleepy mind wouldn't put it together. "Once there was a prince of a great kingdom, and this prince was beloved by all that he met. He had ladies fawning over him at every turn, and yet one day the tough lady of another land came to court, and he looked at her with a smile that melted her heart. This lady thought as Melessa did. She believed that her love for swords, armor, and horses would turn him away. But the prince smiled at her, and each day he saw her he smiled again. One day the lady would be walking with her horse by the stables when the prince appeared in all his beauty and splender, and once again he smiled at her. The lady was lost in his eyes, and the smile he gave her melted her heart away. The prince told her she was a beautiful girl, and took her hand walking alongside her and the horse." I looked down as I felt her move her head onto my lap, and I watched her fall chest move up and down, and felt such peace watching my sister sleep. I don't know why but I felt the need to keep telling my side of the story. I didn't want to wake her so I begin whispering it to her, and perhaps it was selfish but I wanted to hear it for myself. "From that day forward the two shared a secret smile between them, and whenever he smiled at her she knew in her heart that he loved her. It didn't matter that they didn't marry, and it didn't matter that he was promised to others because she knew she was loved."
After speaking together it was Aragorn that would lead the Lucernian army across the bridges of Lamedon and the Lucernian marched eastward towards Osgiliath and the eventual battle that everyone had been waiting for. The now combining forces of Gondor, and Lucerne would meet at Osgiliath with their two forces gaining immense numbers after aligning together, and this led to a serious escalation in belief on specifically the side of the Gondorians of whom had been spending years watching the Orcs overwhelm them. With both forces combining plus the eventual assistance of the Sindar Elves they had almost ninety thousand human troops and nearly ten thousand Elven troops of which would be opposed on the other side by the main orcish army of more then one hundred thousand.
The Attack
“I was shocked that they didn't even check their flanks. I was shocked because all I knew of Orcs was that they wiped us out at Leon, and at Tree Hill. Were those Orcs somehow more intelligent then the idiots we met on those fields?”
— William Lovie III.
The two armies crossed the river and made their way to the hills west of the location of the Orcish Army, and from there pieces of the army begin to separate and move to their positions with heavy cavalry moving into the south, and north while the forces of Cair Andros, and Dal Imnil met them south east of Pelagir in the forests that the Sindar Elves had hidden themselves in adding another five thousand troops to the alliance. With one night before the assault the Shadow Council would meet and spent time together, and throughout the night they were joined by other young nobles that William had befriended, and this was the way they spent the day before the assault. During the night the armies would move into a closer position to the Orcs with the Gondor Army arraying itself directly before the Mordor Orcs in an attempt to get their full attention while the Lucernians and Sindar Elves would hide themselves as close as possible and once battle was met they would charge. At this point the besieged forces of Gondor inside Minas Ithil still had no idea that relief was coming and it had been decided that they would not make any attempts to alert the defenders as it was possible the Orcs might intercept the attempt and then everything would change dramatically for the plans of the attack. By this point the Magi Commander of the Lucernian forces in the form of Edward Cullen would group together with the Gondorian Istari and would discover to their great happiness that Ren the Unclean the Nazgul commander of the Orcish armies was not present on the battlefield. Despite the the fact that Ren the Unclean was not present the Kingdom of Orthanac was present with a force some five thousand troops and led by the Magi Sa-Uluos Thelvhian of whom also had some five other Magi with him and thus realizing they would be facing a significant Magi threat Edward Cullen would gather the Magi in the Lucernian army and alongside the Gondorian Istari would prepare a plan to attack the Orthanac forces and crush the Orthanac Magi swiftly.
“I was shocked that they didn't even check their flanks. I was shocked because all I knew of Orcs was that they wiped us out at Leon, and at Tree Hill. Were those Orcs somehow more intelligent then the idiots we met on those fields?”
— William Lovie III.
With the forces in place the armies of Gondor, Lucerne, and High Forest moved into their positions in their corresponding areas, and prepared for light to signal what they hoped was a blind charge by the forces of Mordor into the Gondor army. The day would break and at this point as the Gondorians had moved into the open of the field west of the Orcs they were noticed quickly, and it didn`t take more then a few minutes before the Orcs did exactly what was believed they would do. The Orc commander Urgreek Madd ordered his forces to charge the Gondor soldiers and in this way the entire Mordor army except the few thousand archers that moved in behind the charging Orcs. The Orcs that were sieging the city itself would remain mostly still there but there was a sizable amount that broke from the siege upon seeing the larger army fighting and were now moving away from their position outside Minus Ithil, and towards the Gondorians, which meant the plan was going perfectly. The Gondor archers opened up on the orcs but the numbers were immense, and the Orcs kept coming and coming. When the orcs finally reached the lines, the Gondor soldiers used delaying tactics and simply held the Orcs in place. Aragorn and his leadership would fight like men possessed in the center and Aragorn himself during the early moments of the Battle would kill two of Urgreek`s sons of whom had both wanted to sway their father by killing the King of Gondor but found him out of their league. Also during the initial assault Ildarion would be struck by an arrow, and despite this fact he would remain in the battle and for the rest of the battle had an arrow sticking out of his right shoulder. While the moment the Orcs had moved against Gondor the Lucernians, and Sindar armies had begun slowly moving it was the moment the orcs engaged with the army of Gondor the Lucernians and Sindar launched their full out attacks.
The Ambush
The Lucernian Cavalry preparing to ambush the Orcish forces. The Lucernian forces were decided into two main parts attacking from both the north, and south and hitting all over the rear, and flanks of the completely exposed Orcish army.
“After they charged it was a simple ticking of the clock before we massacred them. Though they didn't know it yet the Orcs were dead the moment they entered that field without looking. It was almost disappointing to see these creatures of tales, and nightmares be so foolish.”
— Jamie Lannister
With the Orcs embroiled in combat with the Gondorians they were completely focused in front of them and missed the Lucerne army, and they definitely missed the High Forest trees as they charged out as well. The first signs the Orcs had that things were changing was when the cries of battle appeared behind their lines, and the Lucernian cavalry along with the Ents of High Forest slammed into their rear, while accurate archery fell into the core of the Orcs. During this initial assault Jamie Lannister and the Lannister cavalry would overrun the center of the Pitghost Tribe and during this overrunning of the Pitghost Tribe their overlord Ghorgauth, and all his warchiefs would be killed leading to a complete route of the Pitghost tribe who fled eastward. Moving past the Pitghost tribe the camped army was cut down in their hundreds during the initial assault the forces of Gondor as well would switch themselves and become more aggressive as they realized the trap was on thus the Orcs felt pressure from all sides which only increased the desperation of the Battle. William Lovie III. alongside his Shadow Council and many other noble young men were in the thick of the main cavalry charge and William himself got into a fight with a large Troll of whom had killed several others around him including Lord Osgood Elbertson, and Davin Percy II. and fighting against the Troll he was pushed back and nearly killed by the Troll before his personal guards would mass around him and murder the giant Troll.
Ugreek did not have a lot of strategy to himself but he did clearly understand that the battle was turning into a massacre and would make a straight line for the command flag of the Gondorians trying to end the battle in one fight.
“I was pulling my sword out of the last Orc to fall to my blade when I felt the air around me calm, and then the subsequent slash towards my head had me flying backwards to avoid it. When I turned around I saw what could have been an Orc, or could have been a giant staring at me. In the end it mattered not what it was, because it had to die.”
— Aragorn Elessar II.
As the Orcs realized they had become caught in a trap Ugreek Madd would meet with overlord Ugled of whom with his warchief Ghaddish rallied their elite troops and followed Ugreek Madd as he looked along the battle line for the commander of the opposing force hoping to end his enemy and route the army in one fell swoop. Ugreek would become distacted by the arrival of several Sindari Elven wareagles and thus Ugled led his Nightshred elite guard alone towards the Sindari lines abandoning Ugreek. Fighting his way through the Sindari lines Ugled would come to face to face with Taflarion Stormrage of whom accompanied by the Treekin Ashthorn would resist this charge and after a brief duel between the group Ashthorn would crush Ugled and with Ugled dead Ghaddish would retreat from the field of battle alongside the remainder of his forces. Located near the front lines Ugreek would see Aragorn Elessar the king of Gondor slashing and killing all along the line, and would smile before making his way towards the King. Ugreek had been alive for many many years and as an Orc this meant that he had grown to impressive size and his power was something beyond which most had ever faced. The two would come face to face, and despite Aragorn's superior skill he was pushed back and fell to the ground seemingly defeated. As the men around him watched their King seemingly defeated the entire battle line just stopped, as the men and Orcs watched the titanic fight between
Aragorn would be nearly killed by Ugreek but the battle would end with Aragorn Elessar II. Killing Ugreek and cutting the head off the Orcish army
these two amazing fighters.
“Like every Orc in history his downfall was his arrogance, and stupidity. Had he of kept the advantage up instead of laughing and hollaring he would have killed the King of Gondor and most likely routed the entire force in one fell swoop.”
— Aragorn Elessar II.
But as Ugreek reached him and raised his mace, Aragorn suddenly lunged up and stabbed the Orc through the chest before swiping across and nearly cleaving him in two. Ugreek coughed out blood before falling backwards dead. Aragorn looked around at his men who seemed to be still shaken, and without another second thought he screamed out a battle cry and flew back into the Orc lines followed by the rest of his force behind him. The Orcs for their part were now broken as a force, and all along the line begin to realize they were defeated. A renewed cavalry charge led by Jamie Lannister alongside the Reynes would finally smash the only surviving leader in the fourth and only surviving child of Ugreek leaving the army completely leaderless.
Massacre
“I had told Arwyn I would come home. I had promiced her in all truth. The real truth was that in my heart I thought it would go wrong. I thought perhaps the Lucernians would betray us, or perhaps the Orcs were tipped off like at Lyons. It didn`t matter what actually caused our defeat I just truly believed we would lose, and yet here I stood on the field of battle and all the eye could see was the corpses of dead Orcs.”
— Aragorn Elessar II.
With the Orcs realizing they were surrounded and Aragorn having killed the Orcs leader the nature of Orcs led them to a full scale retreat. The defeat was hopeless as they were utterly surrounded, and as they ran they were cut down in their thousands by the vengeful attackers, and those that managed to break the line were taken down by the accurate fire of the Sindar Elven archers. The few hundreds of Orcs that managed to escape the main battle found themselves cut down by the Lucernian and Gondorian cavalry of whom had attacked the besieging Orcish army and had been preparing to assault the remaining Orcs.
“This was the moment where my great gambit would either be revealed as genius, or madness. Would Gondor now honor there part of the arrangement and join with High Forest and our own forces to destroy the Orcs that had overrun Tree Hill. If they made an excsue ”
— William Lovie III.
Nearly fifty thousand Orcs were destroyed in the battle with the loss of just under fifteen hundred in the Gondor Army, and less then five hundred in the Lucernian Army meaning the battle was far more then just a victory. The Battle cemented the alliance between the three nations and in this way led to the continuation of the Journey which would not lead the alliance towards the Lucernian city of Tree Hill where they would lead their army in the liberating battle of the Second Battle of Tree Hill.
Commemorating the Losses
“I did not know your father as well as I should have Varian. The Orcs have taken so much from us, but it is the loss of these great people that darkens our hearts the most. We shall have our vengeance against these monsters. We shall have our vengeance for every conversation that goes unspoken because of these beasts. Our vengeance will brighten the sky. Our vengeance is coming.”
— William Lovie III.
Second Battle of Tree Hill Today my brothers we right a terrible wrong in the history of this kingdom. We all know what happened here, and there isn't a thing that we could do to take it back. We may not be able to change what happened, but right here and right now united together we can make sure the people of Tree Hill are finally given the rescue they have long deserved. Today don't fight for vengeance. Don't fight for revenge. Fight to save the lives of the innocent. Fight so that a betrayed city may finally awaken.
The armies of the alliance would land around all sides of Tree Hill intent on retaking the lost city.
“For a warrior waiting years for something to happen, he didn't seem to care much that the army he was waiting to arrive got destroyed.”
— Saiden Scarlet
As the Lucernian/Gondorian/High Forest alliance destroyed the Orcs that had held the Gondor siege of Minas Ithil for many years immediate plan became the movement of portions of this army towards the besieged city of Tree Hill. Jurden over the decade of the siege had become obsessed with maintaining his own power, and had basically become uninterested in actually ending the siege through conventional means. Alongside this he also had a growing belief that the humans were completely useless and for all of these reasons Jurden Hardaxe made no effort to double his scouts or anything that might have assisted him in stopping the coming ambush. And if all of this added up wasn't enough he was also still being whispered to by Morrigan who was telling him that the crisis was the other Orcs in the area. Following the gathering of the forces of the alliance in the area they would organize themselves into seven main armies. The 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 7th armies would travel towards the port of Klausburg. Landing at Klausburg they would meet with the local leadership there and made their decisions on the direction of there forces. The 1st, 3rd and Fourth would move up the Oakheart River and land near Castle Prennig where they would move from there towards Tree Hill. The 7th army would be sent up the Bresklo River where it would land at the ruins of Glendt Hold. The seventh army would be joined in this campaign by forces mobilized from House Brentfurd as well as House Winklebock. The 2nd army would land at Vinterbold Hold north of Tree Hill and joined by forces from the area they would prepare to move to Castle Interbold and then to the north side of Tree Hill. The 5th army led by the Westerlands Arch Lord would land at Castle Hackenholt where they would move against Tree Hill from the west. The final army in the 6th army would be formed from the southern vassals of the Stormlands and led by House Crane they would move themselves to the city of Leiblinshire where they would attack towards Tree Hill form the south.
The arrival of the vast armies of William Lovie III. would have major effects on those forces already around the Stormlands. The first major effect was following the news of victory at Minus Ithil. House Guntbold who had been named the Arch Lord of the Stormlands following the collapse of Tree Hill realized that with the goals of William becoming clear they were going to have to pick a side in the coming conflict. It was Lothar Guntbold that would push his nephew Edric Guntbold who was at the time the Arch Lord of the Stormlands to see the error of the side they had picked and to call a council of House Guntbold. Following this call it was Lothar that left Guntbold Hold to return to Lucerne and be at the side of his friend James Lovie II. The council would be attended by all members of House Guntbold except for Winfred Guntbold, and his wife Ophellia who remained at Klausburg but sent their son Winfred Guntbold II. to act in his stead. At this meeting it was decided that House Guntbold would change sides to William Lovie III. and would send both Winfred Guntbold II. and Athilda Guntbold to William Lovie III. to open this dialogue. The pair would take a ship from Guntbold Hold and travel along the rivers of the Valley of Lucerne where they would eventually stop at Vindale Hold which they knew would be the eventual crossing point of the armies of William in their move back west. When the fleet of William arrived Vindale Hold it was Athilda and Winfred that would meet with the leadership of the army revealing details of the area.
“For a warrior waiting years for something to happen, he didn't seem to care much that the army he was waiting to arrive got destroyed.”
— Saiden Scarlet
The night was spent with Athilda meeting with William, and members of the Shadow Council and it was during this meeting that Edward Cullen discovered her Magi abilities and confronted her on why she did not reveal this before meeting with the prince. Telling them her fear of reprisals she was forgiven by the group and continued to tell them about the situation in the Stormlands. Athilda would let the group know that the Guntbolds were willing to assist William despite what was a top-down command from King James Lovie II. to not assist his army in the movement against Tree Hill, but she wanted assurances that the Guntbolds would not be punished following the campaign. Needing more forces, and not wanting resistance from human forces as they moved against Tree Hill it was William that made the decision to agree to this arrangement. With this agreement in place, it was Winfred Guntbold II. that would travel back to Guntbold Hold with the Guntbold ship to tell the Guntbold leadership about the agreement. Athilda would remain behind in part as a hostage of sorts but her good impression on the Shadow Council had led to her joining them as an advisor of sorts.
Clearing the South
“Three kingdoms working together for the common good. It was inspiring to finally have a king I could believe in. For my entire life I have followed a king who while he may have been good once, I don't think I even remember that. From this moment forward son I will die to protect William Lovie III.”
— Eddard Starke
Clearing the West
Clearing the North
Clearing the East
Retaking the Capital
Leven Martell arrived on the field only a day before the battle would happen with a large force of House Martell and her father's writing of support.
“The closer we got to night the more I came to understand that the world would be much different after I liberated Tree Hill. Without a single doubt in my mind I now understood that my father had done this. My father was responsible for all of the wrongs in Lucerne, and once this happened there would be no more quests to keep me from the simple fact that he had to die. My father had to die for what had happened here.”
— William Lovie III.
Waiting for the night to come William would be able to watch for the first and last time the Orcs setting off their massive drums and horns in order to force the defenders to be unable to sleep during the night and thus exhausted during the day. Hearing this many among the attacking army grew even more angry at the fact that the defenders had been forced to endure this for all this time without anyone helping them. William would spend the night with Leven, Jasper, Emmett, and Edward as the Shadow Council as they were not openly to each other calling themselves spent a few last hours with each other before they all knew everything was going to change. Finding themselves greeted throughout the night by every lord who not wanted to speak to William they couldn't help but see how different things had become for the naive group. During one of these meetings he would talk with Charles Swan who by this point he was beginning to view as a father of sorts, and discussing with him his relationship with Isabella he would bring up the idea of a betrothal. Charles was happy about this and agreed on the spot, and following this agreement it was Charles and William that would meet together with many of the remaining nobles and this betrothal was brought up during many of these meetings thus spreading word of its agreement. The Orcs by this point had no contact with their scouts, and yet they still remained completely unaware. Morrigan would at this point make her final step towards sealing the fate of Jurden Hardaxe when she would convince Jurden to host a large party for his Orcs which made them all drunk and even less prepared.
The Massacre
“I hope they felt in their final moments all the pain of those who they had so cowardly killed years before, and tormented for years since. I hope they face an eternity of pain an anguish for what they have done.”
— Charlie Swan
As the night neared the Orcs would begin their party and the loud noise would alert the alliance that this was underway, and also awake most of the defenders of Tree Hill of whom were prepared for what many believed was the final attack. The party continued, and the alliance moved itself completely into position against the now scout less Orcish force, and pushed in many places all the way against the wall with the entire Orcish force within the city itself or dead outside. The night came and the army would move on their predetermined signal of which moved everything forward. The infiltration of House Scarlet into the under tunnels of the city begin as Saiden Scarlet led a large force of hundreds into the tunnels in the goal of reaching the estate of House James and once the attack was underway they would spring upon the already ambushed Orcs. From the west the forces of House Greymane, and House Ordos would move themselves through the broken shattered western gate and encountered hundreds of Orcs in differing stages of drunkenness and the fighting wouldn't spark any concerns from the Orcs as it was all believed still to be a part of the party. Seeing the ambush was underway it was at this moment that Morrigan finally ended the charade and came upon Jurden while he was standing in his residence.
“Sometimes Brooke you play the long game. You see if you lie to someone for so long he eventually believes that it is truth. For how could anyone keep up a lie for as long as you do. Once they no longer believe you lie, they believe everything that you say. You can whisper the most dangerous of things to them, and they will drink everything you give. Then finally when the moment is complete you may spring. Spring the final trap on the fool who allowed himself to die.”
— Morrigan
Aftermath
“Its one thing Leven to win this battle. Once we win this battle, because I believe we will. Once that happens the time to return home is upon us. You know what we will find in Lucerne. You know what victory here means. It means the death of my father.”
— William Lovie III.
The battle would end with the complete destruction of the Orc army and the liberation of Tree Hill. When the armies of Lucerne and Gondor entered the remains of Tree Hill, they found the sad remnants of a once truly mighty city. Food, aid and supplies were rushed to the city, but before the true rebuild could begin Andrew Lovie would take the reigns of the King of Lucerne following a duel with his father.
Rise of the King William Lovie III. Father it is time. You must come with us. This is the only way the Kingdom can ever truly heal.
“It was a sad sight to see the father that had never loved me or gotten to know anything about me fallen so far. He was broken to the point that there was barely anything remaining that resembled humanity.”
— Alice Lovie
On the days following the liberation of Tree Hill news begin to filter into the city that William Lovie III. was on his way to Lucerne and was planning on removing his father from power. While during this time James Lovie made no effort to control the city watch so that they would defend the city, his young son Tristan Lovie did attempt to stop his entry. The liberation of Tree Hill was the moment that Tristan Lovie understood that William would return to Lucerne and attempt to remove his father, and most likely kill him as by this point there was no scenario where William couldn't have known the truth of what happened at Tree Hill. This wasn't something Tristan could allow so he begin ordering the guards of the city to prepare the defenses of the city in order to make sure that William had no way of entering the city. He mainly was giving these orders to Tavin Flynt of whom had always retained the belief that he was loyal to House Lovie first and then the Kingdom thus he made the choice to stand beside Tristan Lovie, and the King James Lovie. This decision was met with rumblings throughout the city watch as most wanted William to be victorious but Tavin had a lot of control over the top echelon of the City Watch, and most believed he had the support of his brother Janos Flynt of whom was the most influential member of the city watch. As William Lovie III. moved back towards Lucerne following the victory at Tree HIll it would be Janos Flynt that was in a position that was only a step beneath his brother Tavin Flynt of whom was running the city watch as the commander.
“This is what I have trained you all these years to do.”
— Vlarenix
As everything was happening it was Dovah Vlarenix, and Lornax that would make the decision to use their long hidden devise known as the Circlet of Aerene to weaken Vhloraz's hold over James just long enough that James could gain complete control and stop Vhloraz from doing anything to harm William or slow what they wanted to happen. Using Anna Kendrick to communicate with James Lovie II. they would convince James to have Michelle Trachtenburg recalled for the purpose of abusing her for what James was tricked into believing was the sin of attempting to assassinate James (of which was a pure lie). With Vhloraz at this point having near complete control over the body of James the demon was more then happy at the chance to abuse someone without James resisting and thus commanded that Michelle be brought to him immediately. While Michelle Trachtenberg was traveling to the Sky Towers she would be given the Circlet by Taylor Swift who was convinced by Vlarenix that this would protect the boy in her visions and thus not knowing what she was truly doing, it was Taylor that took part in this. Entering the Fade Taylor would travel to the carriage carrying Michelle to the Sky Tower and slip the Circlet into the pocket of Michelle before whispering to her in the Fade which led to her waken body taking the circlet and putting it on her wrist. Michelle arrived at the Cloud Towers unknown to her mother Catherine and taken to the room of James she was terrified but found some peace given to her by what she thought was the Dovah Aerene but was in fact just Taylor who had followed her in an attempt to find out what she was actually being ordered to do by Vlarenix. Having given Vloraz control it was James that would take out all of his anger on the poor depressed young girl but as the assault begin the Circlet made its work done and created a block around James which while in no way permanent allowed James clarity and the ability to block out Vloraz for a time. Without the threat of Vhloraz or the other demons it was Lornax that went to him under the guise of Lisa Tyrell and told him what was happening as much as she could. Realizing what he needed to do he apologized as best he could to Michelle who didn't understand anything that was being said but listened when her uncle sent her to Whitehaven Castle and told her not to say a word of what she had seen her to anyone. James would also hand over control of the Circle of Magi to Kieth Schwartz and during this time James made it clear that he was not to have any members of the circle stay in Lucerne that might listen to the words of Tristan. With this command in mind it was Kieth that left behind Khadgar, and Medivh who he knew to be not loyal to James and then commanded that the remaining members of the Circle of Magi retreat to the safety of Orleans.
“You lied during your vows brother. What changed that made you lie?”
— Alice Lovie
While William was unknowingly to Alice engaging in a sexual relationship with Brooke Scott in Tree Hill it would be Alice that was pushing forward with plans for the wedding of William Lovie III. and her best friend Bella Swan. William would depart Tree Hill planning to go to Forks and reveal the truth to Bella but after he arrived at Forks he was met first by his sister, and Alice would be so excited that despite not wanting to marry Bella anymore he is unable to disappoint his sister of whom loves Bella deeply. Unwilling to hurt Alice William decides to goes through with the wedding despite everything in him wanting Brooke more. Attempting to find a way to not betray his promice to Brooke its William that attempts to delay the wedding, and while at first this is successful and the army of Lucerne prepares to leave for the capital. This delay is thwarted when Bella reveals that she is pregnant, and this basically forces William to marry her in order to keep from having a bastard. Thus due to the pregnancy Alice is able to delay the departure of William in order to have the wedding before he arrives in Lucerne, and thus join House Swan and House Lovie together before he leaves for Lucerne. During the wedding itself Alice watches him lie during the Vow to protect and love her for the rest of his days and following this while everyone else is screaming in excitement Alice is in a fog of which is noticed by Edward Cullen of whom holds her hand and walks with her out of the ceremony as they follow William and Bella who now married are heading towards the wedding feast. Following the ceremony she walks out and sees Lanna Lannister talking with Jasper Hale of whom is gently rubbing her arm, and following this she looks for Dylan Steinmare of whom she finds and takes him away from the party and kisses him. As they become more heated she pulls away leaving him behind, and returning to the party where she takes her seat beside William of whom holds her hand as several prominent members of the Kingdom of Lucerne say nice things about the married couple.
Tristan's Failed Attempt
“I had the commanders in my ear. I had the men on my side. I thought I knew who my brother was. I guess that was the only part of the equation that I had wrong.”
— Janos Flynt
Following the wedding of Bella Swan, and William Lovie III. the situation deteriorated even further as they were only a few weeks away from Lucerne but had a truly massive army with the entire Grand State of Forks behind him following the marriage. While James was absent from the leadership of his loyalists it was Tristan that continued to take the lead and while he had the support of some members of Jame's council the majority of the Circle of Magi had fled to Orleans leaving only Khadgar Morgrave, and Fredrik Gurse as Circle members in the city. House Jestife, and House Nighting remained with some strength in the city but even they saw the writing on the wall and begin shuffling their troops and people through the Hale Gate and out of Lucerne leaving the loyalists increasingly isolated inside the city. The only other power player in the city that seemed willing to listen to Tristen was Cersei Lannister and in an attempt to gain her support he would travel to the Fortress of Einhelmer. Upon reaching the fortress he saw the walls were lined with troops, and although he was let inside the walls there was some serious question as to whether they were going to fire on his party as they approached the walls. Meeting with Cersei Lannister, Bendrin Reyne, and Birgitt Mander Tristan is shocked when Cersei barely lets him speak before she rejects his call for assistance and then has her guards remove him from the fortress with a demand that he never return. Following Tristan being embarrassed at the Lannister enclave he leaves accompanied by a group of his personal men from his Order of Saint Tristan and as Ezio watched him he was screaming in anger at what happened in the Lannister enclave. Ezio would follow him and discover that he was heading towards the Fortress of Schnabel where he planned to enter Lucerne Proper and then he planned to begin killing several prominent nobles he knew were William loyalists. Ezio was able to get to these people first as he was able to use the Fortress of Theiner but each of the people he searched for appeared to have already been warned and had traveled to the numerous William aligned areas of the city. As Tristan finds those he searched for already hidden he realizes the situation and travels to the Cloud Tower to meet with his father and try to find out what he should do.
“I'm so sorry Khadgar. I didn't realize how far I...”
— Fredrik Gurse
With Tristan Lovie taking the lead on the attempt to resist William he would gather to him the few remaining loyalists including Fredrik, and Polina Gurse. Fredrik, and Polina Gurse would be commanded by Tristan Lovie to gain control of the Fortress of Theiner which in the case that William was able to get through the main gatehouse they would be able to hold him off while Tristan believed his fathers allies would come to support them. With loyalists not remaining in the city in any real number it was Polina, and Fredrik that were able to gather only a few dozen men for their attempt to take the Fortress of Theiner, but Polina planned to have their Magi turn the tide. It was as they prepared to assault the fortress that Khadgar was warned of what was happening by Ezio and hearing about what his adopted son Fredrik was planning the two rushed to the fortress where they warned Lord Marwin Theiner about what was coming for him. Marwin raised his forces bringing nearly two hundred men at arms into the fortress to supplmenet the hundred already inside the walls, and with his son Florian Theiner in command of the main gate, and his daughter Lena Theiner a Magi sensitive they believed they were well prepared for the coming assault. Polina, and Fredrik arrived at the fortress and discovered that the defenders had been warned and upon seeing a fully garrisoned wall, and Marwin screaming at them from the walls it was most of the men with Polina and Fredrik that laid down their weapons and surrendered. Polina for her part did not surrender instead she begin firing Magi missiles at the gate while Fredrik used magi to shield her from the arrows and spears that were thrown at them, while their troops ran. As this happened Khadgar, and Lena would have Florian open the gate and the two would then go outside and after a brief conversation they engaged in a four way duel where Fredrik was mortally wounded and Polina used Magi to portal herself away. Khadgar would hold Fredrik as he died, and the two who had been so close for so long were able to say goodbye as Fredrik finally understood how far he had fallen.
“I'm so sorry Khadgar. I didn't realize how far I...”
— Fredrik Gurse
Following the fight at the Fortress of Theiner it was Ezio that made his way to the Fortress of Schnabel where Tristan was gathering what little forces he had at due to the loyalty of Lord Adalbert Schnabel to James Lovie II. Entering the fortress using the stream of soldiers already entering he was able to find Alfred's heir Alfred who was being kept locked in his room due to his loyalty to William. Ezio would release Alfred who then gathered to him the leadership of the house that was not supportive of what Adalbert was doing and with Ezio's assistance they were able to take Adalbert into custody keeping him locked in his room while Alfred took control of the fortress.
“I had the commanders in my ear. I had the men on my side. I thought I knew who my brother was. I guess that was the only part of the equation that I had wrong.”
— Janos Flynt
Meanwhile while this was happening the City Watch was becoming the main remaining battleground. Janos Flynt had by now gained the support of the vast majority of the city watch when he approached his brother with the idea of doing what was right and allowing William Lovie into the city. Janos was shocked when Tavin revealed that he was going to remain loyal to James Lovie II. and would command that the defenses resist any attempt by William to enter Lucerne. The two brothers would argue back and forth for the next week and a half with Tavin unwilling to budge and Janos becoming increasingly desperate to stop what his brother was planning. As William was several days away from Lucerne Janos Flynt would approach his brother and attempt one last time to talk him out of his decision, but despite pleading with his brother and being accompanied by the entire leadership of the city watch outside of Tavin he was unmoved. Tavin following this rejection discussed how he was preparing under the orders of Tristan to not only bar entrance but to first allow William into the tunnel where they would kill him and anyone else in the tunnel at the time. Hearing this was too much for Janos of whom begged his brother to not be insane and think of the entire Kingdom but Tavin refused him and enraged that his brother had seemingly turned on him he called on men of his guard to arrest Janos for treason, and when he did this Janos realized that there wasn't going to be any convincing him, so before he was put under arrest from the guards he unsheathed his sword and slashed his brother across the neck killing him almost instantly. At the death of Tavin the guards stood down and basically switched loyalties almost immediately, and as Janos had been the second most powerful within the City Watch he was able to cover up the death of Tavin for a time while he moved on to making sure the Watch followed his commands.
“I had the commanders in my ear. I had the men on my side. I thought I knew who my brother was. I guess that was the only part of the equation that I had wrong.”
— Janos Flynt
While Janos had gained control of the City Watch it was Cersei Lannister that moved from the Fortress of Einhelmer with a large force and took control of the several areas in Lucerne Proper that were resistant to William and held them under her control awaiting the arrival of William. Following this Janos would go throughout the various city watch commanders and make sure everyone was with him, and when he was sure they were he gave the command for William to be allowed into the city. William would enter through the vast gates of Lucerne alongside his force, and Tristan Lovie would watch from the first gate as his brother approached a position he believed was blocked to him. Tristan ran to the city watch command and demanded to see Tavin, but found information that Tavin had been murdered and Janos was now in charge of the city watch. Realizing he had failed to resist the entry of William Lovie he fled to the Sky Towers again forced to use the Fortress of Schnabel as the Fortress of Theiner was now under the control of William loyalists outright. Reaching the Fortress of Schnabel he found that Lord Adalbert Schnabel had been removed in favor of his heir Alfred Schnabel in what was clearly a move made due to Adalbert being pro-Tristan. For a moment there was nearly a fight but not wanting to make a move without the command of William it was Alfred that allowed Tristan inside without bloodshed, and a now very isolated Tristan moved to the Cloud Tower. Arriving at the Cloud Towers he found half the garrison was gone and only the Praetorian Guard remained at full strength and they were under the command of James and thus could not be used by Tristan. Tristan at this point placed the Order of Saint Tristan under the command of Florian Brickner and commanded that Florian attempt to get them out of the city so that they would not all die in what Tristan believed was going to be his death, with this marking one of the first moments of Tristan's life where he showed care for anything other then himself.
Entering the Sky Tower
“I knew William my whole life, and I had known Tristan Lovie my whole life. Both of them were who they were, and the problem for Tristan was that he was a terrible human being. The time for honor was later, I needed to protect William.”
— Barrett Ahren
The prince would continue making his way through the city of Lucerne, and as he did this William would gather thousands of supporters to his army marching like a massive horde towards the Sky Towers where the hundred strong garrison would prepare for their coming. Those loyalists for William who had went to the different strong points while Tristan was searching for them would come out in numbers as well joining him as he travelled through Lucerne Hold and towards the Fortress of Theiner. Reaching the Fortress of Theiner William discovered the first visible signs of the fighting that had spread across the city during the weeks preceding his arrival and meeting with the Theiner leadership he learned what had happened. Moving from there they made a direct line towards the Cloud Tower where Tristan Lovie gave the House Lovie forces the command to stop him at all costs but by this point no one was listening to him, and the order wasn't accepted by the head of the House Lovie Cloud Tower guards in Barrett Ahren. Tristan discovered that they too were unwilling to stop the prince from coming, and begged his father to tell him how they were going to get out of this but his father just sat at his desk waiting for William to enter the room. As they waited the two would have a final visitor in the form of Bill Thalmer of whom arrived with two stones and gave the stones to James before taking out a third and disappearing into nothing, and at this Tristan attempted to discover what they were but before he could they heard the sounds of the elevator as William arrived on the floor. When William entered the room he did so flanked by Leven, Alice, Hedrik, Franklin, Edward, Jasper, and Emmett and they found his father sitting at his desk writing on papers, while Tristan stood in the corner of the room looking very uncomfortable. William would accuse James of treason and make him very much aware that he was now the King in everything but name, to which James Lovie stood up and responded with the following.
Look at the world father. You were born into this land. You grew up here. These people swore their lives to you. How could you have done all of this? Look at everything you have done. You destroyed a city. Killed hundreds of good men out of fear. Is this how you want to be remembered father. Is this the world you want to leave behind? I know you were a good person once. Don't end it all here. Don't do this. For me father. For everything I supposedly mean to you. Don't do this.
My brother held for a moment holding the door, and as he stood their transfixed on the door handle I put my hand to his arm. Feeling my hand on his he looked back and smiled back at me before pulling the door open to reveal the contents of the room I had never been allowed to enter in my entire life. My father sat behind a massive desk, while the pathetic image of my brother Tristan leaning in the corner of the room looking like a small child. Tristan looked like the same pathetic boy he had been on the last day I had seen him, and it pained me to remember now all he had done. On a scale of evil he was up there with the worst monsters, and yet somehow when you looked at him now he looked so small.
William entered the room flanked to his left by Jasper, and Hedrik, while on his right Edward, and Emmett moved forward. I stood transfixed staring into the room until finally Franklin gently grabbed my arm and led me into the room to stand behind William. If he noticed that I had entered he didn`t make any signs of caring he just stared at William. Tristan on the other hand saw me and a twisted smirk moved across his face to the point that I moved closer to William looking for the protection that he offered me.
``My victorious son returns with his brave Lords. I rejoice at your great victory at Tree Hill son.`` My father was anything if not a brilliant manipulate of men, but even that seemed foolish. My brother`s victory left him in a position of little hope, and yet when you looked at his face he did look genuinely proud to see his son.
``The time for your lies is long past its end. I have learned the truth about what you have done father, and the time has come to pay for crimes.``
``So you come as a guardian of the realm then.`` He rose from the desk and moved in front of it to sit gently on the front. Seeing him closer he wore the armor of his father James, and even his madness you could see the royal look he carried.
``I`ve come for justice for the thousands of people you have either killed or terrorized. I come to avenge the wrongs you have done to this Kingdom. I come make you pay for everything you`ve ever done.``
``And yet your point is sullied by bringing that bastard girl.``
``You will never speak of her again do you hear me.`` William stepped forward and I grabbed at his cloak to keep him close while Jasper and the others also stepped forward to protect their prince. I actually couldn`t believe it still hurt me to hear the disdain in his voice towards me, but it still hurt my heart to be so unloved by my father. A tear fell down my cheek and I grabbed again at his cloak and he turned as if realizing I was crying. Gently wiping his hand on my face he smiled at me conveying the love he held for me, and how much he was capable of I felt safer.
``That will be your undoing my son.`` The words from my father turned William back towards him, and as pathetic as it was I moved closer behind him nearly hugging his back.
``What do you blather on about now.``
``Your love for that girl is going to be the one thing your enemies will use to their advantage. Don`t you understand that I sent her away because she was weakening you.`` He spoke as if it was the most honorable act he could have ever done, and yet the sheer scope of what he had was beyond grasping.
``Use whatever excuses you want but this ends here. Your time here is at an end murderer.`` The moment William said murderer it was as if James had been struck with the most painful strike in the history of mankind. Falling back onto his desk he looked back with a horrified look on his face.
"I’ve seen horrors. Horrors that you’ve seen. But you have no right to call me a murderer. You have no right to call me a murderer. You have a right to kill me. You have a right to do that, but you have no right to judge me...It’s impossible for words to describe what is necessary to those who do not know what horror means. Horror. Horror has a face, and you must make a friend of horror. Horror and moral terror are your friends. If they are not, then they are enemies to be feared. They are truly enemies…" It was the sad ramblings of a man with nothing left, but as the tears flowed from my father`s face I felt a tinge of empathy for the sadness that must have driven this once great man to fall so far as to hate his children, and turn the Kingdom into a hellish place.
``The time for your talking is over. Jasper, Hedrik please take my father into custody and Tristan it is...`` Before he could finish my father broke out into hysterical crying and fell to his knees before William. Moving that close to William Jasper grabbed a hold of him almost immediately and shielded William.
"There they were in a pile, a pile of arms, and I remember, I...I...I cried, I wept like some grandmother. I wanted to tear my teeth out. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. And I want to remember it. I never want to forget it. I never want to forget. And then I realized like I was shot, like I was shot with a diamond, a diamond arrow right through my forehead. And I thought, ‘My God, the genius of that. The genius. The will to do that. Perfect, genuine, complete, crystalline, pure. And then I realized they were stronger than me because they could stand it. These were not monsters. These were orcs — trained warriors. These orcs who fought with their hearts who have families, who have children, who are filled with lust for battle – that they had the strength, the strength to do that. If I had ten divisions of those Orcs, then our troubles here would be over very quickly. You have to have men who are moral and at the same time who are able to utilize their primordial instincts to kill – without feeling, without passion, without judgment – without judgment. Because it’s judgment that defeats us." After that madness filled rant Bill recoiled from Jaspers grasp and ran behind the desk.
``There`s nowhere to go...its over father.``You could tell this was breaking William as he watched the man that had been his father for his entire life fall apart. This wasn`t like it was for me or Tristan as father had never loved or cared for us in any real way, this was true pain. For his entire life his father had loved and cared for him, and now was the final moment of his time with him, and I felt his pain wash over me.
``The day may come son, when this is at an end. I see my end in the stars son, but know that while it is my blood that lays the final blow, it will not be you. You will be far far away when I finally get the judgement that you wish of me.``He stopped for a moment and looked briefly at Tristan, and then William before stopping at me. ``I`m sorry that my plan failed in the end. I`m sorry that every time I looked at you I couldn`t find any feeling but resentment. He always loved you in a way that he never did me, and I...I just...I just hated you for it. I see now that you were never my daughter in the end. I see now that you William were the only child I was ever meant to love...and I failed even that.``
``It's time father. Take him away...``As he finished James took a blue stone out of his pocket, and with another look at his children he clasped the blue stone and disappeared into nothing. Too shocked to say anything we were knocked out of our shock by Tristan stepping forward holding a green stone. Tristan stared at William laughing and as William lunged forward at him Tristan too clasped the stone, and disappeared into nothing.
“It was a sad sight to see the father that had never loved me or gotten to know anything about me fallen so far. He was broken to the point that there was barely anything remaining that resembled humanity.”
— Alice Lovie
Bill went on a series of rants and William rejected this logic, and prepared to arrest James and place him in jail, when all of a sudden Bill broke out into historical crying. After breaking down and crying for nearly a minute James finally begin blabbering about different things of which none appeared to make sense until finally James begin discussing the Battle of Lyons. James told William of how there were piles upon piles of bodies, and he knew that the Orcs were greater then he was. With that speech done James took out of his pocket a blue stone, and told William that the day he might bring justice against him would come at some point but it wasn't today as today he was going to leave to the safety that the stone provided. In a single moment James disappeared and teleported to the location the stone sent the user. With James gone it was just William and Tristan and the two stood transfixed at each other, and then as suddenly as a man shot with an arrow dies, Tristan went to his pocket and pulled out a green stone and then disappeared into nothing.
“This is the moment I have been waiting for since your father came back from France. I always knew that you were the one to save us. This is your time now William.”
— Catherine Bell
Nortburg Tournament of 5125 Look out there Alice. Did you ever imagine we would be hosting men, Dwarves, and Elves for what is quickly becoming our honeymoon.
“A tournament signals that the reign of the new king will be one of great success. I know that there is much to do, and no one understands that as much as I do. But we must also look to consolidate our holdings. You have a lot of goodwill and this will only help us later your grace.”
— Jacob Vorn IV.
Following the crowning of William Lovie III. as the new King of Lucerne he met with his council within the Lucernian capital and they went bout devising there next steps of action. Following some of the more extensive plans he met with the Shadow Council, and Jacob Vorn IV. of whom now stood as the King's Archbishop and the group would decide they needed to know more about the regions around them and also repair damage and they would do this by planning a tournament at Nortburg and invite foreign dignitaries to the tournament alongside the most influential of nobles of Lucerne. Also invited to the Tournament would be the Trachtenberg family of whom were the blood cousins of William Lovie incluing his uncle Frank Trachtenberg, and two cousins Michelle Trachtenberg, and Kristen Trachtenberg all of whom William wanted to repair relationships with most specifically with Michelle who he came to understand had been treated quite terribly by his father. The Trachtenberg side of the family had become distant due to several instances, most notably the imprisonment of Bill Lovie's cousin Katia Lovie the Matriarch of House Trachtenberg in the city of Berne.
True Sons of Lucerne
“William you need to understand that Berne is hell itself. Your brother is losing control more and more every day. We are attempting to control the situation but its a tinder box waiting to explode.”
— Hanna Arryn
A large force under a white flag and led by Kieth Schwartz, and Alistair Bedregen arrives at the tournament ground carrying also the flag of the True Sons of Lucerne. The arrival of these True Sons would cause William himself accompanied by the Shadow Council and Charlie Swan to confront them and while at first wanting to bar them from the tournament as they were basically traitors the arrival of Hanna Arryn, and Aria Arryn would lead to William speaking privately with Hanna and Aria. Speaking to the two alongside Leven Martell, and Charlie Swan he would discover that the situation in Berne was growing completely out of control and that was why they had agreed to all the demands of Sean Lovie and had come here. Seeing that his friends were in grave danger he would agree to play along with the plans of the True Sons and allowed Danzal to take part in the tournament. Following this meeting with Hanna and Aria he would meet with Kieth Schwartz who was like an uncle to him during his childhood and the two would talk over everything that had happened with Kieth admitting to everything and for the first time giving William a true glimpse at what Bill had been going through and why he had chosen to do all the things that he had done. Another of the members of the group to come under the flag was Harrold Hardyng of whom as a dire hard member of the rebellion against Sean Lovie would sneak himself into the force with the help of Alistair and when he arrived he met with Teri-Jacob Vorn IV. and together in secret the two worked out steps for Harrold to take to help with the eventual retaking of Berne.
Look at the world father. You were born into this land. You grew up here. These people swore their lives to you. How could you have done all of this? Look at everything you have done. You destroyed a city. Killed hundreds of good men out of fear. Is this how you want to be remembered father. Is this the world you want to leave behind? I know you were a good person once. Don't end it all here. Don't do this. For me father. For everything I supposedly mean to you. Don't do this.
"Tell me about Amber."
"She is safe but misses you dearly."
"I know you may not feel the same way, but I want you to know how truly amazing it is to see you again Will." His face rose with a smile as he looked at me and it brought me back to thinking about the man who had helped teach me how to swim when I was a boy. He was a constant throughout my youth taking on my fathers role for those months when he could barely leave the tower.
"You know I cannot same the same. And you know why."
"I want you to know that I am sorry. I want you to know that he is sorry."
"Do not speak of him here or this conversation will end."
"That hatred that you feel. That's what drove him William."
"I know my friends would never let me do the things you let him do."
"Your friends love you. As your fathers love him."
"Love doesn't mean you let those you love go mad with no attempt to stop them."
"You look at it now and believe that if you started talking about killing your own daughter that what Jasper would stop you. Leven would stop you."
"They would. As you fucking should have!" I knew I was being too loud. The tournament was not even close to starting so the numbers here were low, but this was all so fresh. I could not be seen as being my father.
"They would do as we did. They would speak to you like I spoke to your father. I told him of the madness of what he was thinking. I told him that he had lost himself in that damn book. I did everything your friends would do. The only further step I could have taken was the one thing I could not do."
"They would."
"Look me in the eyes William and tell me that you truly believe that one of those people hovering outside this tent would ever raise a sword against you."
Following the conversation between Kieth, and William Kieth would leave the tournament as he was a soldier of Bill Lovie and not Sean Lovie and did not care if the plan of Sean succeded or not, and thus he would return to Orleans where he would report to Bill Lovie about the conversation that he and William had. With the departure of Sean Lovie the remaining elements of the True Sons of Lucerne were mainly William loyalists and in this way he would meet again with Hanna but this time she introduced them to House Krinner and House Dorin of whom led by Harrold Krinner, Trailen Dorin and accompanied by prominent heirs in Danzal Krinner, and Trailen Dorin II. they would be shown to be loyalists who were more then ready to assist when the time came to destroy the forces of Sean Lovie.
The Riverlands
Meeting the Elves
Following the Second Battle of Minus Ithil the Elves of High Forest would come to understand that the alliance between Gondor, Lucerne, and High Forest was something that they should work towards and as they followed the Lucernians into the relief of Tree Hill they would also send a large force to Nortburg to celebrate at the tournament. Alongside sending a force led by Taflarion Stormrage, and his wife Helian Stormrage, and their daughter Tonlia Stormrage, alongside her husband Cadwyr Winterdew the High Forest government back in the capital would also make several large movements for advancing the alliance itself when Malfurion Stormrage would contact the forces of the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas, and the Atmer Empire and told the two forces that they needed to send forces to the tournament as the new king of Lucerne was someone who truly was willing to try and change things for the better. The Sindar Elven Kingdom of Quel'Thalas sends representatives in the form of Alleria Windrunner, and Marinda Oakwhisper to the tournament as well with the purpose of arranging a stronger relationship with the Kingdom of Lucerne's new King. The Atmer Empire would send members of the Atmer Elven great house in the form of the House of Finwe to the tournament and these Elves used Magi portals to enter the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas and then travelled into Lucerne alongside the force led by Alleria. These Atmer Elves would be the first of the High Elves to enter the Kingdom of Lucerne in an almost uncountable time and led by Elendil Finwe III., his daughter Alais Finwe, and sons Talais Finwe, and Anar Finwe IV. of whom have come to discuss an alliance with William and Lucerne. The Elves appear very honorable about their intentions and the talks go well, with Hedrik Clegane III. leading the negotiations with the High Elves, and despite eventually leaving it would be so successful that William would make his intentions known to them by inviting the Elves to found a small settlement in Frosthelm. The Elves like the idea and Elendil sends his sons back to Ulthuan to make the arrangements while he will accompany William for the next while.
End of a Betrothal
“He's a monster.”
— Sansa Starke
The Starke's had come on mass to the Tournament of Nortburg and during this time it was believed that Sansa Starke, and Joffrey Lannister would get a lot of time together to get to know eachother, and while this was true with Joffrey, and Sansa going on a walk together and having a good time, this would alter dramatically later that night.
The Manderlys
As the tournament is only a few days from starting the final invitees arrive in the form of the Manderlys of whoom William meets with several representatives of the Manderlys who control the White Knife and during this conversation he and his father in law Charlie Swan are able to arrange a marriage between Winfred Manderly, and Miley Black. In this arrangement he and Charlie Swan decide that they will send Lucas Scott of whom is deemed by many to be the hero of the Siege of Tree Hill and thus someone they want to remain close too, but also William has become obsessed with Brooke Scott and thinks on her constantly believing that this will give him a chance to see her again.
Arrival of Brooke Scott
“Our being together was not a mistake William. Our being together has led us to this moment. No matter what way you look at this our child will be amazing. Our love guarantees that.”
— Brooke Scott
Following the end of the tournament William and the group prepare to return to the capital where they will plan out the reconquest of Berne, but this changes with the arrival of Brooke Scott of whom breaks down crying in front of him as he stands with Leven, and Jasper and William quickly takes her away from the two into a back room where before he is able to say anything she reveals her stomach showing she is nearly four months pregnant from the time they last saw each other. Realizing in that moment she appears more pregnant then Bella he ponders the consequences of this but she doesn't demand anything just wishes him to help her with her grandfathers funeral.
The Rise of the Second Queen of Lucerne Grief is like the ocean; it’s deep and dark and bigger than all of us. And pain is like a thief in the night. Quiet. Persistent. Unfair. Diminished by time and faith and love. I didn't know Lord Scott, but I’m jealous of him, because I see how his absence has affected the people who did know him. So I know he mattered to them. And I know he was loved. People say that Earl Scott was a great Lord: honorable, just, fair, kind. They say he made this city what it was. Today we celebrate his life. Today we celebrate a great man, I wish I knew.
Funeral of Earl Scott
“As the fires stopped burning my mind returned to the grand-father that I had loved so much back then and could't help but think how much he had been forgotten. He died so that all of us could live, and yet my father cared nothing about it. The funural was about remembering his life and the way he died. It was about showing him somehow how sorry I was.”
— Brooke Scott
When the fires had stopped burning and William had returned to Lucerne to deal with his father, Brooke was left with the fact that now she was safe but at the same time she had lost so much. Her friends were dead, her family was in tatters, and the one person other then Haley and Peyton that had loved in her in the form of her grand-father was dead. She asked her mother if they had found any sign of her grandfather but she said that by this time there was nothing to find. When she asked if there would be a funeral Karen said that Dan didn't think it was appropriate and was making efforts to make sure that Earl Scott's name was forgotten from the memory of Tree Hill so that he alone would be celebrated. At this news she left her mothers side near tears and made her way to her grandfather's room where she discovered servants tearing into the room. For a moment she just watched them as they tore her grandfather's room to pieces, and she just really didn't understand the world in that moment. When she went to ask them what was going on, her father came up behind her and told her that Earl's room was being turned into a resting room for Karen. When Brooke told him that she didn't want him to get rid of her father's things, he looked at her for a moment before grabbing her roughly by the arm and pulling her into a side room nearby. Inside the room he proceeded to verbally attack her before pushing her roughly into the wall. At the sound of Brooke being pushed into the wall her brother Nathan and several servants approached the room and saw her on the floor with Dan clearly the reason for her being on the ground. Brooke at this point with tears in her face looked to her brother Nathan for some kind of help, but instead Nathan just turned around and walked back the way he came, and after this the servants quickly followed suit. At this point Dan would verbally assault the nearly broken Brooke and the two would finally have what was in a lot of ways a long awaited confrontation. Dan would reject anything that Brooke was requesting in regards to Earl as Dan was extremely hateful towards Earl Scott of whom despite being his father he had always believed had favored Kieth and for this reason had been complicit in the ambush that had killed his own father.
Look at the world father. You were born into this land. You grew up here. These people swore their lives to you. How could you have done all of this? Look at everything you have done. You destroyed a city. Killed hundreds of good men out of fear. Is this how you want to be remembered father. Is this the world you want to leave behind? I know you were a good person once. Don't end it all here. Don't do this. For me father. For everything I supposedly mean to you. Don't do this.
Brooke Scott: Please father I never ask you for a thing...why can't you just do this one thing for me...please father.
Dan Scott : Just sit on the ground and remember your place in all this little girl.
Brooke Scott : And what is my place father?
Dan Scott : The bottom of the food chain.
After saying that he would walk out of the room leaving a broken Brooke lying on the ground for sometime before her brother Nathan returned into the room looking severely disappointed in himself, and perhaps worried about Brooke more then she thought he ever would. Brooke didn't know what to say to her brother so she ran out of their and ran away past the cries of Haley who noticed her running away, and finally made her way to the glades west of Tree Hill where she and her grandfather had spent a lot of time. While she spent the time alone she knew that her grandfather needed to be remembered and if her father wouldn't help her then the only person left to go to was her mother.
“I had never been particularly close to my mother, and while that made me sad sometimes I understood her. I knew that she loved me in her way, but she had lost herself somewhere along the road. I can't blame her for loving someone, and then following that love even when it didn't make sence.”
— Brooke Scott
When Brooke left the glade she went to the home of Margeary Tonsvale of whome was the matriarch of House Tonsvale, and the women that her mother spent most of her days with filling out the boredom. She barged into the estate being allowed past the guards because they knew who she was, and when she reached her mother she grabbed her by the arm and pulled her outside. Outside she tried to make her mother help her, but she quickly discovered that her mother was exactly as far gone as she appeared when her mother not only refused to do this, but also moved to side with her husband against her daughter. This was too much for Brooke and knowing the debate between House Scott was over she knew the only person that could help her was William Lovie III. Returning home from this she begin her plotting about what she should do next, but a major event was going to happen that would both accelerate and change her planning.
=====Pregnancy=====
“Riley was the most beautiful thing I`d ever seen in my entire life. He looked just like his father, and from the moment he was born till the dat I die I will never waver in my devotion for him.”
— Brooke Scott
It wasn't more then two months after William had left the city, and the beginning of their affair that Brooke begin having trouble keeping food down early in the day, and soon after she realized that she hadn't had her bleeding's during that time either. Thinking she knew what it was but wanting to be sure before she sprung this potentially horrible news on William she went to see Haley, and when the two met she created the first lie between the two when she told Haley she had become involved romantically with a Gondorian soldier. After going through the list of things that had happened to her and seeing that the situations were the same Haley indeed validated her pregnancy, and with the knowledge that William was coming to Tree Hill in less then a month she became increasingly worried about what his reaction would be. William and her were still writing each other nearly every other week and although these letters were heavily vague in their wording the two seemed to understand each other already and there growing love for each other only grew stronger through this communication. During this time waiting for Maergary Tyrell to return from Highgarden she spent her days and nights with Haley of whom by this point no longer had any real relationship with her brother Nathan and was increasingly obvious about her affections to Lucas Scott. With her best friend Margeary Tyrell the only person who truly knew about William she became hysterical when she saw Margeary a week later upon her return from Highgarden.
“You keep a secret for long enough and the only thing that keeps you from madness is the knowledge that eventually you'll be able to tell someone. You tell more lies except this time you tell them to yourself. You tell yourself that all these secrets, and all these lies are only temporary. I knew they weren't but I did it anyway. Don't you see what I do for you my Dragon. Your everything for me, and I would lie to Glaurung himself if it would protect you.”
— Brooke Scott to William Lovie III.
Brooke told Margeary of her pregnancy, and her friend attempted to talk her down as in her heart she knew that William could very likely simply end the relationship and turn Brooke into a single mother with very little prospects for the rest of her life. Despite these constant and powerful pleading by Margeary it was Brooke that was completely unwilling to accept a world where she didn't have his baby and thus she begged Margeary to assist her in finding a proper excuse as to how she could be pregnant. Despite the extreme misgivings that Margeary had about the decision she was still her best friend so together they came up with reinforcing the earlier lie about a Gondorian soldier and her had become romantically involved following the liberation and she had become pregnant during these intimate moments. She and Margaery decided she needed to tell her family and she did this a few days later when she asked them all to meet for a dinner. When she told her family she was accompanied by Maergary Tyrell of whom held her hand the entire time and while Dan Scott was furious and Nathan disgusted they all appeared to believe her except for Lucas who had come to understand what had happened between Brooke and William, and in that moment when he figured it out he went to his sister.
“He walked into the room after I told everyone and had planned to hide out in my room for the duration of the pregnancy. He didn`t say a word just walked up to my bed and sat down on the side and rested his hand on my back. As he looked at me in the eyes I knew he knew and I nearly immediately begin crying. To his credit he sat there with me and rubbed my back while I cried.”
— Brooke Scott
As Brooke finished telling her parents she retreated to her room as she was basically pulled along by Margeary. When they arrived back in her room she was shocked when no one followed her, but she could hear yelling from the living room so she knew that they were still arguing over what was happening. It would be hours before the yelling finally stopped and she heard the shouts of her father before watching Dan, and Nathan storm out of the Keep and into the city proper. When after everything had seemingly calmed down Margeary left and when she did she was followed behind by her brother Lucas who had known about the tryst that she had with William Lovie after he had admitted it to him because of their bond. He did not say anything but she had always suspected that he knew, and the look he gave her just made it all the more real for her. After she cried for what felt like hours she and Lucas discussed what she was going to do, and she made it very clear that she was not going to give up the baby under any circumstances. Neither of them knew but there entire conversation would be overheard by Dan Scott of whom had come back inside the Keep after getting into a fight with Nathan and planned on getting his anger out by coming in and making sure that Brooke knew how much of a disappointment she was. This all changed when he heard her whispering to Lucas in the room about the true father of the child growing inside her. Knowing the importance of this later on, and realizing neither of his two children would ever tell him the truth or help him willingly he hid himself in an adjacent room and listened to everything they said about the situation. As Dan realized that Brooke was involved with not just a secret man but actually the King of Lucerne he became unstoppable in his desire to make this union the most important moment in House Scott since the fall of House Targaryan.
“When I realized that most forgotten child was secretly carrying around such a secret I was beyond shocked. She had always been the runt of the family but I guess this would be her shot at proving herself.”
— Dan Scott
The moment that Dan heard that Brooke and William Lovie were together he had finally come to terms with her usefulness. In Dan's mind he would be able to use Brooke to gain the power base that he required. He stayed silent with his knowledge for a time as he continued to built up the plans he knew he would need in order to blackmail the king of Lucerne. When finally he had gained the foothold into the whole thing he came to believe that he could force Brooke into making William leave Bella Swan and thus make Brooke the new Queen of Lucerne. If this failed then Dan would unleash the fact that Riley Scott was actually the first born son of William Lovie thus creating a serious competitor to the throne of House Lovie. All of Dan's plans would come to a head when William arrived in Tree Hill for what was described as a mission to oversee the reconstruction that was underway in Tree Hill, but was actually William just needing to see Brooke. As William arrived in the city he was silently watched by Dan Scott's men who Dan wanted to find proof that William and Brooke were actually together. As William entered the city he found himself unable to even contemplate being official and instead of first visiting Dan Scott he made his way to the carefully prepared Order of the Red Dragon compound run by Marcel Lovie within the ruins of Typhon Castle where Brooke was awaiting him. The two would basically lock themselves in the compound for many hours as he could barley imagine his life without her in that moment.
“For a time despite the fact that I knew my place was tenious I felt fine. I was okay because I had him to myself in my heart. I didn't matter to me that she got to be the one who claimed him in the eyes of the people, because I knew in my heart that she could never have him the way that I did. He loved me in a way that she just couldn't compete with.”
— Brooke Scott
As William hid himself within the Order of the Red Dragon members of Dan Scott's forces attempted to infiltrate the compound but were captured by Ezio Ederiz of whom had traveled alongside his king. With the men captured Dan realized that he might be found out before he had even had a chance to tell Brooke about what he was doing, and thus he moved to assassinate the men he had sent to the compound. As the prisoners were taken north their convoy was ambushed by forces of House Scott of whom targeted the prisoners and then fled the scene. Back at Tree Hill it was William that finally moved on from Brooke for a moment and went to visit with the Order of the Grey Dragon that were constructing the cities most important elements, and while he did this Brooke returned to the House Scott estate as her father had summoned her and with William away she could not exactly refuse the command of her father. Her father having seen the protection around William and Brooke took this as the proof of the reality of the situation and thus would create a plan where he would lead Brooke to go to William for help with both the pregnancy but also the funeral of Earl Scott which he would continue to resist in order to get Brooke to go to William. When Brooke arrived her days of happiness were taken away almost immediately when her father berated her with insults and when the conversation got the funeral of Earl Scott it was Dan that once again pushed back resisting any attempt, and then also confined Brooke to her room as he wanted separation between William and Brooke so that when Brooke went to William next she would be visibly pregnant.
Begging a King
“The city was massive. Gleaming white as you entered its walls but when I did get past the walls the whole city was alive with the sounds of cheering, and laughter. After living so many years just begging to live this was a new thing for me, and knowing that he was responsible for all this happiness didn't surprise me one bit.”
— gd
With her attempts to escape her confinement meeting with failure Brooke watched from the castle walls of Scott Keep as William attempted several times to come to the keep and see Brooke but each time he left, and watching this broke Brooke's heart but also increasingly motivated her to rise above being controlled by her father. When finally William left Tree Hill to return to Lucerne it was Brooke that begin plotting her next move to get herself into a position where she was no ones servant. Unable to get her family to do what she wanted she risked a lot by deciding that she needed to see William. Following his departure from Tree Hill it was William Lovie III. that had left his cousin in command of the city and as William had nearly publicly embarrassed Dan Scott it was little question that Marcel was not someone who would work with Dan Scott and Dan had been making it clear that anyone who turned on him would be greatly punished once he had regained power. Making her choice that she would turn on her father completely she made her way to Castle Typhon where Marcel Lovie II. has made his garrison centered out of and asking to speak with Marcel she reveals her pregnancy to Marcel and trusting in the words of William that Marcel is a trustworthy man she tells him that William is the father. The two would discuss things and Marcel Marcel would be the man that William had said he was and assigned a troop of soldiers to her protection and then sent her north in a carriage to Lucerne to see William. Arriving at Lucerne the carriage driver explained that William Lovie had taken control of the Kingdom and was now the King after he had thrown Bill, and Sean Lovie out of Lucerne. Accompanied by the guards she made her way to the Keep where she hoped to find Jasper, Edward or Emmett because William had told her that of anyone alive those were the people he trusted next to his sister. She would have gone to Alice but she worried that Alice would be on Bella's side and wouldn't help her. If she had thought that she was given ample proof of that when she arrived at the Keep and wasn't greeted by one of his best friends but instead by Alice Lovie of whom stood in the Gateway staring at her through the garb as if she had somehow known all along that she was coming.
Look at the world father. You were born into this land. You grew up here. These people swore their lives to you. How could you have done all of this? Look at everything you have done. You destroyed a city. Killed hundreds of good men out of fear. Is this how you want to be remembered father. Is this the world you want to leave behind? I know you were a good person once. Don't end it all here. Don't do this. For me father. For everything I supposedly mean to you. Don't do this.
I could hear her voice from within the tent. I had spent only a few days with Brooke and her voice was like a siren to me and with the siren now within range I left my conversation with Alice without a word and left the tent going towards her. I saw her immeidatly as I left the tent, and she looked to be in an argument with Leven, and Jasper of which Jasper was holding her by the arm in what looked to me as an attempt to stop her from falling over.
"Lady Scott." I had reached her and she saw me letting out a smile when our eyes met. She curtsied and I took her by the hand.
"My King if it is possible I need a word." There was a desperation in her voice and despite the looks from everyone around me I ignored them.
"Of course milady." I turned towards the tent to see an enraged Alice who was glaring at me. "Sister we shall finish our conversation later."
"As you say." Alice walked right by me hitting me in the shoulder as she left, and while usually Emmett would have laughed at such a childish display there was no laughter to be found. Without another thought of the stupidity of being so brazen in my behavior I led Brooke into the tent closing the flap behind us.
"You couldn't stay away." Turning around from closing the tent I regretted the words as Brooke had tears flowing down her face and rushed into my arms. "Tell me whats happened?"
"What is it Will?"
"I was talking with Hanna Arryn."
"I fear I have been out of the loop for too long. I don't know the name."
"She was a friend of mine during school. She came here as a sort of measure of what I would lose if I don't stop moving against Berne. She was a threat of sorts."
"Your brother has not realized the end is at hand?"
"He still clings to the idea that he can somehow win this."
"This threat doesn't change what you have to do."
"Its more then just Hanna. She came and told me of Amber Heard." I didn't wait for any recognition from Brooke as how could she possibly know of Amber.
"Your former betrothed?"
"How did you?"
"I've been doing my research on you my king."
"She is in Berne too."
"Do you still care for her."
"We were children when we were betrothed. We played the married couple, but we were children."
"You fear for her?"
"Hanna told me that our childish playing has resulted in a child. Amber Heard is locked within the walls of Berne with my firstborn."
"She had your child?"
"Apparently. And now this poor child lives under constant threat of being discovered. It is not enough that my childish behavior with his mother has led to him now living a life as a base born child. No now I have put his life in danger by not stopping my brother a long time ago."
The Funeral
“Grief is like the ocean; it’s deep and dark and bigger than all of us. And pain is like a thief in the night. Quiet. Persistent. Unfair. Diminished by time and faith and love. I didn't know Lord Scott, but I’m jealous of him, because I see how his absence has affected the people who did know him. So I know he mattered to them. And I know he was loved. People say that Earl Scott was a great Lord: honorable, just, fair, kind. They say he made this city what it was. Today we celebrate his life. Today we celebrate a great man, I wish I knew.”
Following the Journey Jasper became more and more worried about the safety of the royal family following the constant succesful meetings that Bill was able to have with Andrew. If Bill was this able then a trained assasin could sneak in as well. With this in mind Jasper joined the Order of the Golden Dragon, and once joined he moved towards creating the Belarian Gaurd with his personal House's wealth. Creating this personally undermined the leader of the Order of the Golden Dragon Bernd Von Yernese, but Jasper was more worried about the safety of the royal family then he was with the actual politics of the Order of the Golden Dragon.
As Jasper grew the Belarian Guard he found great difficulty in gaining recruits through the actual Order of the Golden Dragon as it appeared that Bernd had made commands that noone was to join the Belarian Guard. Jasper approached Bernd and attempted to make a peace with him but it ended with them staying bitter and thus Jasper begin recruiting solely from the House Hale Honor Gaurd, and over the course of the year he had basically taken most of the House Hale honor gaurd and recruited them into the Belarian Guard.
The Start of the Faraday Conflict My brother is dead. I demand justice from the royal family.
“It was the most painful death I've ever seen. This man was clearly lost in his own sadness to such an extent that only death could release him. I wish someone could have saved him. I wish I could have saved him.”
— Emma Bell
It was around the time that Freddie Highmore and Emma Bell were beginning their full fledged secret relationship that Joseph Faraday and his own personal level of depression would cause a massive problem that would eventually spread into a household rivalry. Joseph Faraday had been betrothed to Emma Bell for a time but this had ended after Emma had become smitten with Fredrik Highmore and had convinced her mother to end the betrothal. Unable to tell the Faradays the real reason they had offered their younger daughter Hanah Bell of whom while younger was still a prime match, and for Charles Faraday this was seen as a fair trade, but in the case of Joseph Faraday this was a terrible insult. By this point they had begun to discuss the idea of telling Emma's beloved cousin William of whom was also Freddie's friend, but at that point had not fully worked up the courage to say anything yet, and it was under these pretents that they went to a tavern in Lucerne proper to be alone together. The two were having a great time until Freddie went to the tender to ask for a refill of the drink that Emma had come to enjoy and when he did the situation would drive out of control. When he left Joseph Faraday would use this moment of departure to attempt to seduce Emma Bell of whom he had been watching for some time from across the tavern. Where once his natural looks had allowed him to get any manner of girl that he wanted, as his reputation had spread so to as a result had the number of women interested begun to dwindle. As he had become used to resistance he had also become used to forcing his way on girls and using his noble birth, and money to bribe off any trouble after the case, and thus when Emma told him she was with Freddie, and that she was noble born he saw this as the same rejection and he started to get more forceful in their meeting. When Freddie came back to the table and found the situation he attempted to remain calm and simply advise Joseph who was much older then him to back away. This calm approach did not go over well and Joseph reacted with laughter before punching him in the face knocking Freddie momentarily down, but he quickly got up and following this the two would become involved in a scuffle of which Joseph would lose causing him to request a duel with Freddie Highmore.
“Your Grace I only saw the end of the fight, but what I saw was clear. Lord Faraday attacked Lord Highmore, and despite Lord Highmore disarming him and attempting to end the fight...despite these attempts Lord Faraday would attempt to kill your cousin my your grace. Only Lord Highmore moving quickly saved Lady Bell's life.”
— Emma Bell
By this point Paulo Snow entered the tavern after finally catching up with Joseph, and by this point he found Joseph tauning young Freddie into a duel, and because of the large crowd Freddie was forced to go into the duel even though he knew that Joseph wouldn't stand a chance. Joseph Faraday would taunt him into the street and then took out a sword threatening Emma of which caused Freddie to sadly take out his own sword, and the two fought although with Joseph nearly falling over drunk it wasn't much of a fight as Freddie knocked his sword aside and shouted for him to surrender. Joseph refused and charge Emma with a dagger forcing Freddie to stab him through the back to stop him, and killing him nearly instantly. Paulo took out his sword and tried to attack Freddie of whom he was able to fight breifly before guards from the nearbye House Elbertson led by (Ser) Underian of House Elbertson would step in and stop Paolo of whom watched screaming as Freddie left the scene carrying the crying Emma Bell.
Whatever secret that Freddie and Emma had hoped to hide ended the moment that he went on trial.
Following this Emma would wake up the following morning surrounded Alice Lovie, and her aunt Catherine Lovie of whom let her cry and held her before finally telling her that a trial had been demanded by the Faraday's over the death of Joseph Faraday. At that point she begged to know where Freddie was and they said he had been taken and placed in the Lucernian dungeon awaiting his trial, but when she became irate that he was in jail for basically defending her they revealed this had been decided only after he had returned to the House Highmore estate and the Faraday's had attempted to kill him in the courtyard leading to Desmond Faraday also being imprisoned awaiting trial. Dressing quickly she accompanied Alice into the courtyard where they were met by some twenty House Lovie guards including Giblert Fouline, and James Junnsworth of whom escorted the group to the King's Keep where Bella Swan was preparing the court for the arrival of the group. With King William in the Port of Stormwind celebrating the foundation of that city while this was happening it did fall to the Councillors of Lucerne, and the Queen to determine the court, and under these circumstances Bella would prepare ahead of the time and had recalled many of the most influential in the Lucerne Court. The trial would have five judges as was the way in Lucernian courts in the form of Cersei Lannister, Bella Lovie, Brandon Starke, Liam Greymane, and Mace Tyrell of whom would listen to the words of the plaintiffs first in the form of Desmond Faraday who had been released from jail alongside Freddie. Weaving a tale of lies he argued that Freddie had killed Joseph in blind rage using Magi and trickery. The Faraday's brought forward several men who were not present at the fight of whom told the court that Freddie was a well known pedophile and had also been found killing children in Nortburg years before, and while Brandon Starke on the council would openly laugh at the truthfulness of these stories, it wasn't until the defense led by Lysa Highmore called as their witness Underian of House Elbertson that the case was completely ended. Underian as a witness and a knight testified that he saw Freddie attempt to stop the fight and even after defeating Joseph attempted to resist hurting him, but Joseph had brought death upon himself when he tried to kill Emma Bell of whom took the stand next and as a princess of Lucerne her words would end the trial when she agreed with Freddie, and Underian.
“This case was a farce, and you Lord Desmond Faraday should be embarrassed that you wasted our time in this manner.”
— Mace Tyrell II.
Following Emma Bell's words the judges would briefly speak together before Brandon Starke spoke giving the words of the judges in the form of stating they had come to terms with the fact that Freddie Highmore was innocent of murder, and then proceeded to verbally attack Desmond Faraday and several of the Faraday retainers who had wasted their time with this hearing. Desmond would at first remain silent but then responded with great anger shouting and trying to get to Freddie of whom stood stoically as the House Lovie guards took Desmond away where he would spend the day and night in the Lucerne Dungeon. While Desmond was imprison again Bella Lovie, and Alice Lovie would take up court at the Keep and would summon Charles Faraday of whom they would have a long conversation with about the events of the day. Charles made it very clear that he was demanding consequences against House Highmore and that unless there were consequences there was going to be reprisals against House Highmore. Once Desmond was released his father was told by James Junnsworth that until William Lovie III. returned and he was on his way that nothing more would be done in the matter, and grudgingly Desmond agreed as he believed that the King would punish Freddie. Following the departure of Charles Faraday she would meet with Cersei Lannister and the two have a nice conversation before Cersei unknowingly slips that Lanna Lannister had traveled to the Port of Stormwind and realizing that Jasper is a liar about not seeing Lanna anymore she says a quick goodbye to Cersei and goes to find Dylan Steinmare. Finding him talking to Emmett she has him excuse himself and following Alice the two return to the Cloud Tower where without any real words of what she is thinking she seduces Dylan and the two sleep together. Following this the two discuss there futures and Alice all but pleads with Dylan to tell her to not marry Jasper, but despite proclaiming his love for Alice he knows he cannot divorce Laera Steinmare who he loves as well, and she must marry Jasper Hale for her brother, and although she has come to hate Jasper she knows this is the case. It is following this decision by Dylan that an angry Alice would begin the plot to have Dylan removed from Lucerne and sent back to Castle Steinmare as she had lost faith in him.
Return of the King
Despite the trial of House Faraday's lasting effects the truly major develpment of the return of William Lovie III. was that Alice was finally able to convinse him to end things with Brooke Scott which would put into place a series of increasingly dangeorus events.
“This is a kingdom of laws Lord Faraday. The High Court of Lucerne has put forward a unanimous decision on the matter. What would you have me do?”
— William Lovie III.
Following the court decision the situation remains in a holding pattern as the Faradays await the return of the king of whom they strongly believe will reverse the decision and they will get their vengeance. When William Lovie III. arrives back at Lucerne following the debacle that was the death of Joseph Faraday and trial of Freddie Highmore, and upon his arrival he is met at the gates by Alice, and Bella of whom accompany him back to the Cloud Tower where upon their arrival they tell him about the trial and he is quite shocked but is proud of his wife, and sister for their handling of the event but despite agreeing with their decision he is forced to meet with Desmond, and Charles Faraday of whom ask for punishment against Freddie Highmore. Tired from his trip he tells them that the law is concrete and there is no changing the decision, and unknown to him the Faradays take this as meaning that he is saying they must get justice themselves and while disappointed they see this as an opportunity to get their own revenge on House Highmore. Following his conversation with Desmond, and Charles he returns to the Cloud Towers and has a long conversation with Alice, but despite wanting to and Alice pressuring him to reveal the truth of Brooke he refuses to and the two siblings say goodnight and William goes to his room with Bella where he sleeps with her. Waking up after sleeping with Bella he is overcome with sadness over being apart from Brooke, and despite having Bella's arms around him he feels no better, and leaving his bed with Bella he goes to Alice's room where still overcome with emotions over being apart from Brook he finally reveals the entire truth to Alice that he is in love with Brooke. The two siblings argue for some time as William reveals the true scope of the relationship, and only after this does Alice truly come to understand that William's feelings are more then just lust. Revealing the scope of the relationship leads Alice to go through the endless list of potential problems it creates, and emotionally exhausted and unwilling to let his sister be mad at him he agrees to Alice's demand that he break things off with Brooke.
Removing Dylan Steinmare
“I see now that I am the other woman. I allowed myself to become the kind of girl who sleeps with a married man. I cannot have him here one more minute.”
— Alice Lovie
With Alice stressed about everything that was going on between William, and Brooke she would allow her anger towards Jasper to grow, but without any way to resolve that her anger turned on Dylan Steinmare. Dylan had failed to be the escape from Jasper that she had wanted him to be and thus in her anger she begin a plot to have him removed from the capital despite his close relationship with William. Another growing part of his removal was due to the relationship that Alice begin to have with Laera Steinmare, who Alice begin to become quite close friends with. This friendship made Alice feel worse becasue she had betrayed Laera and slept with Dylan. With all of this in mind Alice would send a letter to Fenrick Steinmare of whom in the letter she asked to send for Dylan and then begin arranging for the why when she had Dylan named to the Order of the Red Dragon and made a general in the order with a plan of founding the 7th Waffen Steinmare Division. As a part of this move it was Alice that conspired with Edward Cullen in order to block what Alice knew would be the eventual attempt by Dylan to have William step in and stop Dylan's removal, and with Dylan being openly hostile to Edward it took little convincing to gain the assistance of Edward. As Alice plans the removal of Dylan she decides to bring Edward into the plot as she knows the two are at eachothers throats and also wants to make Edward loyal to her and not fall into loyalty of anyone else leading her to summon Edward to speak with her at the Cloud Towers. Edward arrives that night at her summons and the two have dinner in what is an all but empty cloud towers and Alice plays on the lonliness of Edward to gain his assistance in the plot against Dylan making it out to seem to Edward that it is more Dylan than Jasper that is responsible for Edward's isolation. When Dylan was told of this he attempted to resist this assignment seeing it as little more then exile, but his attempts to until William returned to the capital were opposed by Edward Cullen of whom confronted Dylan. During this conversation it was the two long time rivals that finally bared their true anger with Edward revealing the extent of the plot against Dylan and the invovlment of Alice which was a shock to Dylan. The moment that Alice's involvement was discovered it was Dylan who understood that he was without real options and accepted that he would be going to Castle Steinmare and also that he had possibly ruined things with Alice of whom he had true feelings for.
The Battle of Berne This is where this divide ends. After we take this city there is nothing stopping the Kingdom of Lucerne from becoming exactly what we always dreamed it would be.
“The fact that Sean was able to escape was a black eye on the Kingdom of Lucerne, and no matter what anyone said as long as he lived there would be no improvement for us. He had to die or else we would be nothing more then a joke to the rest of Europe.”
— William Lovie III.
With the valley clear of Bill, and Sean Lovie, William went about attempting to gain control by eliminating those that were loyal to his father, but most of all he declared war on his father's supporters and very soon after doing this he came to understand that Sean Lovie had taken control of the city of Berne which he didn't even know existed. Under Alistair Bedregen the loyalists loyal to William were sending word to William outside Berne for the first bit of the control by Sean and thus for this early time they knew many of those loyal to Sean or at least to afraid to resist Sean. With this knowledge William rallied the Order of the Red Dragon, alongside a large force of House Lovie and sent this large force to besiege Berne. When his forces arrived there he they saw that Berne was a death trap, and that while they could feasibly attack the city the casualties would be horrendous and on top of that they might not even succeed. Knowing this William ordered them to dig in, and make sure no assistance came from land, and they were forced to live off the small parcel of land within Berne, and to burn through their internal supplies. With the front door shut for the moment William went about his plan to take control of Berne which would revolve around building a tunnel from Lucerne into the rear of Berne and fighting inside from that direction, while also hoping to starve out the defenders so that they would surrender. As William devised his plan where they would complete the underway in its route to Berne and thus they would break in behind the defenses and take the city from within, the Order of the Red Dragon begin having difficulties holding the main entrance as the Orcs in the region were a constant problem. Knowing they needed to be somewhat quick with their siege they were in trouble as unfortunately the tunneling behind Berne would take some time, and so he needed to block the front of Berne without having his army sitting there for the four years the underway would take to complete.
“The Kingdom of Quel'Thalas could either close the gap that existed, or leave it open. It all depended on the whims of Elves, and they had never showed themselves to be willing to take chances in order to help others so I wasn't exactly betting on their assistance.”
— William Lovie III.
In order to do this William sent emissaries from the Order of the Green Dragon to meet with the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas whose forest extended close to the boundaries of Berne and thus would be able to assist in blocking them in if they so chose to do. The Order of the Green Dragon was sent and led by Demi Hill of whom was accompanied by Franklin Brent and his wife Karyl Reyne who led a force of some six hundred House Brent forces alongside three hundred men led by Dexter Hill to act as guards for the mission. When his emissaries arrived they were greeted by Legolas, and Alleria Windrunner of whom were accompanied by nearly three hundred Sindar Elves, and they would greet them with friendship and take them to Darnassus. Traveling through the woods of Quel'Thalas its Franklin, Karyl, and Demi that discuss the current situation in the area and discover that the Quel'Thalasian Elves are not the only major Elven power in the area as Alleria tells them about Lothlorian. While being there to make an alliance with Quel'Thalas its Demi Hill and Franklin that both make mental notes to discuss also furthering the Lucernian presence in the area by also forming a relationship with the Kingdom of Lothlorian. In Darnassus they would be treated to a beautiful feast and Alleria took Franklin and his wife around the capital before they would have the meeting later that night. Seeing the size and beauty of Darnassus, and the kindness of the Windrunner siblings Franklin would have a very high opinion of the Sindar Elves, and he took this opinion into the meeting that night. At the meeting they found that Quel'Thalas was willing to do this in return for an alliance with them which Demi Hill was quick to give them, as William was more then willing to make an alliance with the Elves. Not just happy with an alliance the it was Alleria Windrunner that would offer Franklin and the members of the Lucernian entourage a chance to visit the Dor'Danil Barrow Den where they would be able to enter the Emarald Dream if they so choose.
“Enter the Emerald Dream, and discover who you really are.”
— Tular Windswift
After discussing what would happen there its the groups decision that they will all accept this gift except for Demi Hill, and outside of Demi they are then taken by Clintar Dreamwalker of whom is the Arch Druid of Quel'Thalas, and Saelar Dewwalker of whom is the Guardian of the Claw and leader of the Dor'danil Barrow, to the Dor'Danil Barrow Dens which are located on the edge of Darnassus. While the group spends several days in the Barrow Dens a letter arrives from William stating that a revolt has broken out in Hillsbrad and since they are closer Franklin is tasked to travel there with all speed and end the revolt. The Quel'Thallasians reveal that they can portal Franklin and a small group to near Hillsbrad as there is a forest there with a way stone and Demi Hill agrees that once he wakes from the Emerald Dream he will go there through the portal and gives the letter to Alleria who will give it to Franklin. Following the agreement its Legalos that would lead a force of some two thousand fighters to a forward forest that they would fortify and from there they would be able to adequately block the Orcs from being able to interfere in any real way. So with the front door closed his forces returned to Lucerne while a small contingent remained along with a larger force of the Elves of Quel'Thalas. Franklin Brent and his group wake from the Emerald Dream and with Alavanna holding a visablly shaken Franklin of whom is in tears as he wakes from the Emerald Dream, and taking him by the arm she leads him to a meeting room where Clintar, and Nylindia wait inside. The group sits together and as Franklin slowly recovers from waking from the Emerald Dream they discuss that Tular, and Alavanna will be joining him as he travels not back to Berne, but instead travels through a portal formed for them in Darnassus taking them to a small forest east of Hillsbrad where Franklin is told William Lovie III. has sent him a letter which after reading Franklin nods and asks for them to take him to the portal. As Demi Hill was leaving to return to Berne it's Alleria Windrunner that said that she would be joining them with some two hundred heavily trained and equipped Sentinels at the main Lucerne camp, and this was once again quickly accepted by Demi Hill.
“There were two option when it came to Ezio Ederiz. Option one was that he was a trap. Sean had sent him to make us believe him and we would be caught in a trap of his making. Option two was that he was telling the truth. If this was correct then we couldn't just ignore him, but the real question was how would we ever know until it was too late to turn back.”
— William Lovie III.
As things were happening outside the city and making the siege move positively inside the city there was chaos as Sean Lovie lost his mind and was the source of madness and chaos for the citizens. Ezio after saving the life of Thomas Lovie and watching Allison Arryn die would decide to move aggressively to allow William into the city, and thus would make his way to the western tower and prepare to send a message to the Lucernians sieging the city. Ezio enclosed in the message the entirety that he knew about the defenses of Berne, and a message that the city was ready to be joined with William's forces. He had hoped that if he gave as much information that William would still attack even if he didn't believe Ezio, but he also understood the distinct possiblity that William wouldn't believe him and would just continue to siege the city. Ezio waited at the tower for some time alongside the rebels that he had gained control of, and waited patiently for a response. He got his anwser when a Lucernian messenger approached the tower, and sent a letter up to Ezio. In the letter William told Ezio that he needed to come down from the tower so that they could discuss this, and that no harm would come to him if he did this. For all Ezio knew William had become his fathers son since the last time he had seen him, and thus suffering from the same madness as his brother, but he knew he had to do something so he trusted the devil he didn't know over the mad man that he did. Ezio gave command of the tower over to his top man in the form of Martin Arryn of whom had snuck his way into the tower and convinsed the men to join the rebellion.
“I felt fear being pulled alongside those golden armored men. This whole thing just reminded me why I didn't get personally involved in these political matters. As I regretted my decision to put myself in this kind of danger I remembered the brave look in Amber's eyes as she surrendered herself to save her child. If she could have that kind of strength then I could, and would do everything in my power to save her.”
— Ezio Ederiz
When Ezio got to the bottom of the tower he was grabbed by some five men all clad in golden armor, and these men escorted him to the Lucernians camp. One of the men identified himself as James Junnsworth and told Ezio that if he planned to harm the king he would be doing it over all of their bodies. When he arrived at the camp he immediatly knew which one William was when he saw the golden haired boy walking up to him in his magnificant armor. Restrained by the men around him he saw how little he was trusted by the arranged forces, but he wasn't bitter as he could understand their fear. He spoke as best he could and told William of what was happening inside the fortress, and that every day they delayed the citizens inside were being killed in ever increasing numbers. As the conversation continued Ezio accompanied William inside his tent with Jasper, Leven, Marcel Lovie II., and Draco Highmore and then spoke openly of the murder of Allison, the rapes, and for Andrew the most horrifying news that Amber Heard was captured and now held in a cage beside Sean's throne. Ezio would at this point tell William about much of the things he had done for his father, and would make William understand that he had done all he could to help him after he had learned how brilliant and how much potential William had. Leven would suggest that during their initial attempts to clear the gatehouse that much of what Ezio suggested he did made sense as to why they found it so easy in certain places to get what they wanted.
Infiltrating the Tower
First Tower of Berne Peak
“For whatever it was worth I believed him. I looked in his eyes and it told me that he was being truthful. In this world you really have to trust your gut, and my gut was telling me to go all in on this.”
— William Lovie III.
With Ezio done telling him what was happening William told him he needed some time to think and that while he trusted him, he needed to plan on the best way forward. Ezio told him that he had control of the first tower, and thus he could get some of William's men inside that tower if that would make him feel better about the whole thing. William liked this plan, and it was then that he asked whether or not Hanna Arryn, and her sister Aria were safe inside the city, and Ezio told him that House Arryn was now in hiding in the city outside of Byron Arryn who was being forced to sit and watch Allison's body be violated by Sean Lovie. Andrew was thankful that Hanna was fine, and because of this he told Ezio that he would have his anwser in an hour. With that William called in his commanders and they discussed their options about how to move forward. After talking for some time it became clear that they needed to gather more troops, and especially Andrew wanted to have some of his up and coming leadership involved so that they would feel important to him. He planned to travel to Forks where he would meet with these leaders and make them aware of their involvement and then they would launch the attack. He got Ezio back in the tent, and he told him that he needed to allow his men to take control of the first tower, and that this would amount to his test of loyalty. Ezio agreed without hesitation and left with Jasper, and Leven to make the arrangements of which Franklin Brent would volunteer to command the first forces into the tower. Emmett was left in command of the siege while William was gone alongside the commanders, and this would be the situation that was left as William left for Forks. Franklin Brent would lead a force of men alongside his friend Dexter Hill, and several others of whom they would enter the first tower using massive ropes hung down by the loyalist Arryn rebels within the tower.
Meeting in Forks
“It took days to travel to Forks, and days to travel back to Berne, and thus it's hard for me not to wonder what might have been had we of just moved against the fortress with just House Lovie's forces. Atleast I got to see Bella, and it was in the comfort that she offered me that I knew exactly why she was the one for me.”
— William Lovie III.
After talking to Ezio and having silently infiltrated the first tower with his help William accepted that this was the only plan that had any quick hope of success, and he now felt incredibly rushed due to the threat to the people inside the city of which there were many that he cared for on a deep level. In order to do this he needed the most elite force he could get, so he begin calling his banner houses in, as well as commanding several houses travel to Forks to meet him. All the houses that had been called clearly had to send representatives but when they arrived this mission clearly could be seen as a silent attack that didn't require huge numbers. House Crane, House Swan, House Scarlet, and House Lovie were the houses that would be leading the attack along with leadership from many other houses in Lucerne. Alongside this House Skane, and House Starke were sending numbers led by Robb Starke, and Torgon Skane of whom would join the other forces in entering through the main courtyard once the towers had fallen, or in the worst case even if they didn't fall. As William waited for Bella to arrive so that he could see her, he spent many hours talking with the leadership of the houses that were going to be involved of which included Orival Crane of whom he wanted to one day be a very important figure in the Kingdom of Lucerne, and he made this very clear to Orival as they talked. The Arrival of the reinforcements also brought news that House Jestife had started a revolt taking control of Brill, alongside a spreading rebellion elsewhere which were being handled by loyalists in House Clegane, and House Tyrell. In his talk with Orival Crane he and Hedrik discussed how William was trusting heavily in this traitor of the True Sons of Lucerne, and also discussed how his older lover Amber Heard had been captured likely as a last minute threat to William in order to make him turn back. It was late when Bella arrived in Forks, accompanied by Freddie Highmore, and Wilhem Martell - alongside a large force of House Martell, and House Shephard of whom were also sending forces to join the attack - and when they did he said his quick hellos to Freddie and Wilhem before he and Bella made their way to stay in room in the House Swan estate of which he was technically a member of House Swan. After being together romantically he talked openly about how scared he was of seeing Sean there, and also he feared that he was going to be made to make a choice in that final room between killing Sean and keeping his old friend Amber alive. Bella already knew of the old relationship between the two, as Alice had told her of this long ago, and because of this she understood that he didn't simply care for this girl, but he in fact loved her. Bella tried to make him feel better about it, but there really wasn't much you could say to that horrible of a situation so she just held him while he went through it all with her. That night he left Bella who was sleeping and went outside to speak with Leven of whom brought him a response letter from Brooke of whom had quickly sent a letter after William's had reached her. William would read the letter with Leven and Brooke sent her emotional support and told him how much she loved him, of which Leven at that moment didn't believe but didn't want to upset William.
Discovery of Betrayal
“I saw you once Your Grace. It was at the Battle of Minus Ithil. You were slashing and stabbing at the monsters and for a moment I stopped. Just stopped and watched you. All the fighting surrounding me and there I was watching you move like a god. I knew then that you were my king.”
— Edric Nighting
It was at this point that Edric Nighting would arrive in Forks where he had made the decision to turn against his family and reveal the plans of his family. Edric Nighting had several weeks before this begin hearing talk from his father and older brother that they planned to rise against House Scott and murder the Scotts in the city before taking control of Tree Hill itself. He would watch his brother in secret as his brother James Nighting II. followed Brooke Scott watching her movements, and watching her himself he discovered that she was the mistress of William Lovie III. through listening in on a conversation between Brooke and Haley Scott. Learning of this relationship between William and Brooke the loyal Edric Nighting would depart Tree Hill by horse with his friend Hanzal Grightling heading towards Forks where they had heard William Lovie III. was meeting with his wife and the leadership of Forks. Arriving at Forks the two would quickly gain an audience with the king of whom was surrounded at the time by Charlie Swan, Leven Martell, and Bella Swan, and seeing how influential the group was Edric would immediately tell the king what he knew which horrified the group of whom had already rallied their forces and was planning to move out the next day to Berne. Realizing the main forces still needed to go to Berne he would command Jasper Hale to lead a secondary force to Tree Hill in order to defend the Scott's once the Nighting's moved against them, and after discussing it was decided that Jasper would move south through the province of Rosten where he would summon a force from that province's lord in House Elric alongside Northern Tree Hill's lordn in House Guntbold and then lead them southward to Tree Hill.
“Tell me Jasper how it is fair that your love for him is more valuable then my own. He doesn't love you any more then he loves me. So tell me the truth why you must always stand by his side?”
— Leven Martell
Following the breaking up of the meeting Jasper, Leven, and Bella would follow William back to his tent where Jasper would convince William to take him with him to Berne and instead send Leven to Tree Hill. Making up excuses about why she needed to go instead of him Leven was left shocked by what Jasper did and thus limply accepted this change of plans, and with a kiss to her forward she and William would say goodnight and following this Jasper and Leven left the tent. Leaving the tent Leven would follow Jasper trying to get him to explain himself, but he refused until she became quite agitated leading to an argument between the long time friends. Fighting loudly forced Jasper to take the argument into his tent where he would reveal that he did not trust her abilities to protect William considering how in love with him she was, and following this she would punch him in the face before returning to her own tent. The next day William, Jasper and the larger force from Forks would leave the city leaving Leven and a few hundred men at arms and knights to move south towards Castle Elric where she would go to defend the mistress of her beloved.
Sneaking Inside
“This was the moment thousands had been waiting for. The moment my brother's madness would finally come to an end.”
— William Lovie III.
When William Lovie arrived back at Berne flanked by the forces of House Swan, Scarlet, Crane, Starke, Martell, Skane, and many of their vassals he entered the command tent and prepared alongside his commanders the method by which they would do this. Ezio told them that the only real way into the valley of Berne was to take control of the towers defending the passes, and this was possible since they controlled the first tower. From the first tower they would attack the second tower, and then the third, and fourth control towers which would allow them to bring the entire army into the Valley where the defenders would be unprepared for their entry. Once this was achieved they must take control of the fifth tower which was inside the City of Berne itself and was connected through a long tunnel which could be locked from the inside meaning if they failed to take it before they were noticed it would be shut and they would have to attack the main walls.
“I felt fear being pulled alongside those golden armored men. This whole thing just reminded me why I didn't get personally involved in these political matters. As I regretted my decision to put myself in this kind of danger I remembered the brave look in Amber's eyes as she surrendered herself to save her child. If she could have that kind of strength then I could, and would do everything in my power to save her.”
— Ezio Ederiz
With this plan in place William Lovie would send the forces of House Scarlet led by Darion, and Saiden Scarlet to enter the First Tower where they would push their full forces and they alone would be responsible for working alongside the rebels in order to take control of the towers. They would be assisted by the Order of the Golden Dragon of whom was forced to follow William Lovie of whom was going to assist here alongside Edward Cullen and several members of the Order of the Blue Dragon, as well Orival Crane would convince William to let him join the forces attacking the towers. Entering the tower and joining the Arryn loyalists, and Franklin Brent and his forces that had initially taken control of the tower from the rebels and had held it while the main forces gathered. At that final moment Robb, and Jon Starke joined the assault group and this would force William to also take Wilheim alongside with him as Wilheim now wouldn't take no for an answer.
The Battle
“The Towers all held so many moments where everything could have gone terribly wrong. It was by the shere luck of the dragon that we were able to sucede as easily as we did.”
— Saiden Scarlet
With the main force now preparing to enter the first pass into Berne they only needed to see the response from the second tower to know when to move in, and they would get that call the first night as they would be signaled by a flag hanging from the wall set out by the tower forces. The Tower forces would wait until night, and that night as they moved forward the few guards meant to make sure such infiltration of the towers were not possible were rebels and thus they allowed the tower forces to infiltrate the towers, and within they found the mercenary forces of Sean Lovie in the form of the Stormblown. The fight for the tower was swift as with most of their forces asleep the few on sentry duty found themselves being attacked by a huge number of troops flooding into the tower. As the Stormblown moved to raise the alarm they found the alarm room locked, and when they finally broke inside they found inside several rebels of whom killed the Stormblown that tried to enter the room. With the tower taken Orival Crane would raise the flag thus giving the main force the safe call to enter the first pass. Torgon Skane alongside the other commanders would move their forces alongside the Elves and reached the very edge of the first pass as the attack move forward, and during this they also moved forward with the siege machines that everyone hoped they would have no need of using. At the third tower they would basically be allowed in as the rebels had taken complete control over this tower, and the few members of the Stormblown that were present inside the tower were barely able to get out of their beds before they were killed by the vengeful rebels and the incoming Lucernians.
“I watched each flag go up and each time a piece of me felt better as I knew my king was safe for yet another moment. It was his bravery that made people love him, but in these moments his braveary was horrifying for those of us who were forced to watch from afar.”
— Joshua Jackson
The fourth tower was the true test of the attack as while it was held by the forces of House Krinner who was a member of the rebellion the tower held the largest contingent of the Stormblown outside of the city itself. Robb Starke, and Wilheim Martell alongside Robb Starke would lead a contingent of forces east of the tower to cut off any kind of relief once the main attack went forward, and with that the main assault could begin on the fourth tower. As the Lucernians made their way into the tunnels approaching the fourth tower they were spotted by a Stormblown soldier of whom alerted the rest of the force to a betrayal, and with this becoming clear the forces of House Krinner would assemble under the command of Danzal, and Benjamin Krinner of whom defended the tunnel route heading towards the fifth tower so that none of the Stormblown could warn their comrades, and inside the tower House Krinner under the command of Oskar Kinner the defenders would block the gate into the alarm room thus preventing for a time the forces of the Stormblown from gaining entry to the alarm. A fierce battle would commense between the defenders in House Krinner and the Stormblown. As the forces of Lucerne attempted to enter the fight they were forced to attack through defended barriers quickly set up by the forces of the Stormblown in order to resist the attackers. During the fighting here Darion Scarlet would become famous for defeating the Stormblown second in command in single combat after they entered the last room of the tower and it was held by the Stormblown second in command. With his death the rest of the Stormblown slowly surrendered, and with that the flag was raised and the main army understood that the way into the valley was clear.
The Final Tower
“The Sound of that horn going off could have meant the massacre of our entire force. It could have meant the deaths of thousands but the bravery of the three Arryn brothers. They could have stayed hidden and not risked death but instead they did what was right and resisted a tyrant and they saved thousands. History may say that I won that day but I know the truth of who was responsible for our victory.”
— William Lovie III.
As the main army moved into the valley silently in the darkness of the night the tower forces moved into the tunnels approaching the fifth and final tower. Ezio had told them that they had to get to the other end without being stopped or else the way would be blocked and there would be no way in except a truly viscous fight for the valley. As they entered the tunnel and were only two minutes away everyone including the main force heard a massive horn go off, and the rebels told William that someone had set off one of the alarms of the towers. With this all sense of stealth went out the window and the tower force charged into the tunnel in the hopes of reaching the gate controls before it was shut. As they ran down the tunnel they watched as the massive portcullis gate was slowly shutting, and then suddenly as they were getting closer it slowed and then stopped and they could hear the cries of battle at the other side, and as they reached it they entered a brutal battle between members of House Arryn and the Stormblown who were trying to shut the gate. With the entry of the Lucernians the battle went away from them, but the Stormblown survivors were able to retreat in good form and make their way towards the Berne Keep where they would blow the alarm horn again and the Stormblown throughout Berne would retreat to the keep alongside those still loyal to Sean Lovie although that number was very slight now that House Arryn was in full rebellion. With the stormblown in full retreat the defenders that were on the wall moved completely into the rebellion allowing the main force to enter through the front gate, as the rebels opened the gate letting them inside. The rebels, and the tower forces would move throughout the city, and kill or capture anyone still flying the colors of the Stormblown and as well as this making sure that everyone knew that the city was Lucernian again and they had nothing to fear.
“As the Stormblown mercenaries, and the other True Sons were pushed back more and more the call from Sean was not for them to pull completely back, but instead it was for them to attack the estate of House Krinner where much of the women and children alongside nearly all of the nobility of the city had fled too. Thousands fleeing into the estate were never under the belief that they would be under threat, but that was proven wrong the moment the forces appeared near the walls.”
— Paul Arryn
As the Lucerne forces took the final tower before the wall there were some who suspected something was wrong, but all orders were that everyone stayed inside so no one was allowed to leave the inner fortress to investigate, and in order to occupy the forces he had at alert (and in order to further make sure the defenses failed as was hinted at by Sean Lovie during the final duel with William) Sean would command that they attack the House Krinner estate of which was the site of the retreating nobles of Berne. While the commoners and the vast majority of the population had fled into the deeper sections of the city, and to the walls where the more Lucernian houses guarded it was the nobles that fled into the estate of House Krinner. Other then the nobles and politically far more important then that was the fact that Alistair Bedregen had retreated into the Keep alongside Thomas Lovie of whom was the true target of Sean Lovie this late in the fight. News reached them late that Alistair had gone there following the attempt on his life and Thomas and when it became clear this was where he was Sean would send basically everyone available including most of the defenses of the tunnel in order to try and kill Thomas. The estate itself was a sort of mini castle that was built into a large cave deep in the northern section of the city and was defensible from one large tower that covered the entire entrance, and from the ramparts built into the gatehouse.
“Massing on the walls I could make out the hundreds of attackers that swarmed all around the courtyard. I knew what they would have to do to take us, and I just prayed we were strong enough to resist.”
— Paul Arryn
It was this spot that the forces of the Stormblown, and the other True Sons loyalist houses would move towards in heavy numbers in order to try and complete the commands of Sean Lovie. Some three hundred Stormblown (including many of their most elite members, and two of their top three commander) alongside some four hundred more True Sons loyalist (of which only the fifty from House Ignirt would actually take part in the battle while the rest simply miled about faking interest in the siege. House Ingirt would be this only truly loyalist element due to the fact that Lord Beren Ingirt's daughter Lia Ingirt, and heir Harren Ingirt were captives of the prince and he was basically blackmailed into supporting Sean Lovie's forces out of fear for his two children. The forces of the True Sons would charge out from the shadows and attack without even a call for surrender, as they were commanded to destroy them and thus no surrender was neccessary or warrented. Charging the walls they suffered accurate and deadly archer fire from the large tower that surveyed the courtyard, and the archers on the ramparts. During this charge Lord Beren Ingirt would fall with an arrow to the neck and with his death the forces of House Ingirt fell under the command of Beren's brother Brandon Ingirt of whom would silently slip away with most of the relief forces moving them towards the prison where they would take part in the taking of the prison. With no cover the Stormblown and others got to the walls much diminished but still with high strength, and once at the gate they bashed at it with quickly made battering rams and climbed the sides of the wall to get to the ramparts, while hoisting a large ladder against the tower.
“I could see Trailen Dorin`s heir, and Danzal Krinner standing on the ramparts, and from their position they were able to shoot anyone that came up the ladder to the tower without any cause for fear from the ground. On the tower they were just massacring those on the ground with a nearly endless stream of arrows into their ranks. At the gate I stood with my shoulder against it alongside my men as we tried to buy more time for the archers to thin their numbers even more.”
— Paul Arryn
The men attempting to get up the ladders and climbing the walls suffered terribly as the tower was able to hit the men climbing with ease while the ramparts were hitting the men climbing for the tower, and thus it all came down to the gate. During this initial fighting the defenders on the walls were joined by Alistair of whom desperate to make sure that Thomas survived would take a bow and fight on the walls where despite his age he would fight bravely before being hit by an arrow from the ground, and fell dead at the age of nearly seventy three. It was near this point that Vaedin Stormblown`s next brother Sordin Stormblown was also shot through the chest by Danzal
Danzal Krinner would make a further name for himself during the battle as he led the tower in its attacks and coordinated the fire very well.
Krinner of which led to the final Stormblown son in Tolin Stormblown fleeing the field, and taking several other high level commanders with him as well. By this point the other houses of which had been milling about watching the siege, would retreat and pull back to their respective estates of which they decided was the only logical thing they could do as they would be most likely targeted by the Krinner estate for their believed betrayal. The battering at the gates was shattering it, and it was only a few more minutes before it finally came crashing down. Moments before it went down, Paul Arryn would gather with his most elite men, and forces of the loyalist houses, and prepare for a charge out of the gate. Warning the wall and tower that they were charging out, they opened the gate and smashed into the unsuspecting attackers outside the wall. Pushing them back the force fell back and was cut down from behind, killing nearly the entire force attacking but the loyalist forces returned into the keep to repair the gate and didn`t persue believing the larger force was incoming. At this point as the line melded together Hanna, Aria, and other noble ladies would move into the front and do their best to relieve the men by bringing water, and other supplies while helping to repair the gate.
Taking of the Prison
Hunting a Beast
Morrigan would serve for the final time Bill Lovie in his command of her to go to Berne and murder Forder Braxton and stop him from killing several of the prisoners. By this point she was till under the directive of Flemeth to assist Bill Lovie and using this directive she would be more then happy to serve Bill Lovie who was beginning to attempt to silently assist his son one last time before he lost himself to madness completely.
“I don't have much time before my mind is taken over again by the monster. Go to Berne and stop Forder Braxton. The monster in my mind has ordered him to kill as many people as he can in Berne, and I need you to stop this from happening.”
— James Lovie II.
It would be Forder Braxton, and his son Markus Braxton that would be sent to Berne by James Lovie II. to represent the dealings of the Circle of Magi and a believed loyalist faction, although Bill Lovie had no intention of ever assisting Sean as he wanted William to gain victory, but this was not known by Fordor of whom arrived in Berne to find the city in Chaos and surrounded by the Lucernians. Traveling into the city through Magi he would meet with Sean Lovie and at this point he would join the upper tier of the leadership of the True Sons of Lucerne executing several loyalists alongside his son, but it would be only a few weeks before the city came under assault by the Lucernians. During the battle Fordor and Markus would wander the city of Berne killing at random as was their command by James Lovie if/and when the city fell, and reaching the prisons hoping to kill as many valuable hostages as he could before leaving Forder would be shocked to find Morrigan his old Circle of Magi partner waiting in the gallows before the prison entrance surrounded by the dead bodies of the Stormblown mercenaries guarding the prison.
“You think you understand what Bill Lovie truly wants of you? Do you think you even have the slightest idea what that madman wants of you. This great king of yours killed hundreds for doing nothing more then asking why they should serve a madman. You stood by...I stood by as he murdered these men, women and children, and then we did it again...You come here because of reasons you could not even hope to understand. He commanded you to come here and murder innocent men, and women, and children, and at the same time he ordered me to come here and stop you. What kind of king do you follow? What kind of man do you worship at the feet of? What kind...I'll tell you now that you shouldn't follow a man who gets your son killed...”
— Morrigan
Confused why Morrigan was resisting him he told her he was only doing the work of James Lovie, and at this she would retort saying that so was she and then launched a killing spell at Markus, but it was deflected killing the two guards accompanying them, and then fighting Forder, and Markus who barely managed to resist her strength. As the three fought Forder, and Markus were no match for the more powerful Morrigan and Forder dropped his wand surrendering, but after surrendering he expected to be allowed to leave but Morrigan instead slew young Markus and then prepared to kill Forder but he unleashed a Magi blast at her and was able to escape through hidden tunnels.
Duel with Sean Lovie
William carrying Amber
“Forgiveness is never easy. Bitterness is easy. Hatred is easy. But forgiveness, that's a tough one. Sometimes, people say things they don't mean or do things they can't take back. Sometimes we do things we can't take back. So we feed ourselves to starve the pain. I have to believe that's what happened to Sean.”
— William Lovie III.
With the civil war all but over the moment had come for the final confrontation with his brother. There wasn't really a doubt in anyone's mind who would win in a fight the difficult part of the coming fight was the fact that Sean had the emotional advantage through his capture and hostage taking of Amber Heard the first love of Andrew. The room before the throne room was gaurded by James Nighting II. of whom laughed at them for not realizing that House Nighting was truly on the side of the True Sons of Lucerne. James and the three House Nighting men that were with him charged William and his group, and after a brief fight the four were killed by the far superior forces of William. Jasper held James down, and with a wave William commanded his death and Jasper ended his life. Surveying the rest of the room there were bodies stacked in the corner, of which not all were adults, and the the scope of the atrocities in this city were becoming clear. William before entering the throne room ordered Wilheim Martell to return to the camp at all speed and send word that House Nighting had betrayed them. They all knew that if House Nighting turned then who knew what sort of alliance might be present outside of Berne and with a large quantity of the loyalist forces besieging Lucerne they could be open for a betrayal.
Amber Heard never thought she was going to survive to see William again, and the sight of him caused her to leap up and great pain as the chain around her neck kept her stationary.
Before entering the final room William would also command Robb, and Jon Starke to lead forces to make sure that no holdouts would cause them any problems, while he briefly met with Alleria Windrunner of whom would wish him the best in the next room as she knew something about fighting siblings. She attempted to one last time make sure he understood that his brother had made his choice and that no amount of sympathy from his side would change what Sean had become. When Andrew entered the throne room of Berne flanked by Jasper, Edward, Emmett, Faye, and his elite guard they found Sean standing alone with nothing but the bound and strapped form of Amber Heard keeping him company. Looking around the room briefly he could see the ruined corpse of what he assumed from the words of Ezio was the poor Allison Arryn, and all along the wall he could see broken corpses of men and women that had obviously fallen victim to Sean's madness.
“He sat the way you would expect any psychopath to be sitting when they were idle. He just had nothing in his eyes, and I had to try to force my mind to even remember a moment that he didn't look that way. My brother was gone. He was lost into madness, and no matter what he said he couldn't leave this room alive. After all the years and the pain he was going to pay for everything he had ever done.”
— William Lovie III.
As he entered the room Sean remained silent but the look on his face told Andrew that Sean had a plan and whatever happened this plan was something he believed could work. Amber Heard never thought she was going to survive to see William again, and the sight of him caused her to leap up and this led to great pain as the chain around her neck kept her stationary. Laughing at what had happened to Amber through the fact that she was crying and holding her neck the situation turned as William charged forward only stopped by Sean holding his sword to Amber`s neck.
Look at the world father. You were born into this land. You grew up here. These people swore their lives to you. How could you have done all of this? Look at everything you have done. You destroyed a city. Killed hundreds of good men out of fear. Is this how you want to be remembered father. Is this the world you want to leave behind? I know you were a good person once. Don't end it all here. Don't do this. For me father. For everything I supposedly mean to you. Don't do this.
``Really brother. If I were you I would take a couple of steps backwards.`` Everyone stopped as he held the sword to Amber`s neck. I held my hands out to make sure he knew I was willing to atleast talk this out. As I did I noticed the windows in the corner of my eye which I noticed had archers in them. ``Thats right you listen to me now.`` Everyone just stood in place and I hated having him control even an ounce of anything in this world. ``Now that I have your attention tell everyone to leave. This is between me, you, and the bird.`` I looked behind me at Jasper and his eyes told me there was no way he was going to leave, but I knew he had to if I wanted to try and find a way into his mind and to somehow save Amber. Knowing about the windows I had to hope that there was some kind of back entrance into the throne room, and from there perhaps they could infiltrate the windows and gain the upper hand. Moving closer to the men I whispered to the group so lowly that poor Emmett with his poor hearing was forced to come nearly to kissing level.
"We need to do what he says.``Seeing the rejection in their eyes I stopped it immediatly. ``There are windows all along this room, and I need you to get in them so that we can get a handle on this. Emmett, and Edward I can`t tell you what to do. If you want to go with Jasper and the windows then so be it. I would prefer if you saved as many innocents as you could. The rest of you wait in the last room and give those poor souls a cleaner end....they deserve better then to be piled in the corner like garbage. If I should fall.``Edward stepped forward``If I should fall you all must make sure under no circumstances does he leave this room. He cannot be allowed to survive this no matter what happens. Now go. We have little time.``Relunctantly they begin filtering out of the room to the sound of laughter from Sean behind me. ``Yes Sean you have us exactly where you want us, now tell me what you want.`` His laughter was the first thing that happened before he grabbed a key from behind his back and undid the chain around Amber`s neck. Pulling her farther away it took everything in me to not move forward and attack him on the spot.
``I don`t want anything brother. You see that`s the trick. You had the same repository of books that I did, and let me tell you something about the villians in a story. Sometimes the villians want something. They want gold to build a mighty castle. Or maybe they want a women." He swayed as he spoke flayling his arms about like a mad man. " In the end brother It doesn`t matter what they want, it just matters that they want something. You see its important that they want something because for this reason these villians you see, they can be bargained with. They can lose.`` Knowing where he was going I interupted him.
``And let me guess. Your the kind that wants nothing.`` Standing up taller before he spoke he pulled Amber closer to him, and I could see the tears flowing from her eyes. I tried my best to comfort her with my eyes, and her eyes followed suit with mine, and I could tell I had calmed her down. He pushed her to the ground holding the sword so close to her neck I could see a bit of blood fall before raising his face to me again with a twisted look to his face.
``I don`t mean to interupt your longing towards the Arryn whore. " He stared at me clearly trying to make sure that I got the message. "Good. Now that I have your attention again I'll tell you the secret." He looked so excited to say it, as if its was some secret. "I'm not the villian brother. That honor is for you.``
``In what twisted world do you live where your not the villian. You are the same man who sits on a throne covered in the innocents that hes killed. Your the same evil that tried to molest his own sister, and now dares to threaten such a innocent as Amber Heard.``
"Its all a matter of perception." He pulled Amber back up to stand in front of him, and he begin to pet her hair causing a whelp from her. It took every piece of my control not to burst forward and kill him where he stood for touching a hair on her head.
Controlling my increasing rage I spoke to the monster standing before me. "And what perception is that?"
``The perseption that comes from knowing the anwser to this question." He stopped and stared at Amber before looking back at me. "What makes her innocent my brother. Is her innocene borne from the fact that she opened her legs for you whenever you pleased...``
``How dare you...``
"It is an honest question. I want you to tell me how this girl. This piece of meat. I want you to tell me right here, and right now what makes her innocent. "
"She hasn't harmed anyone. She hasn't done a thing in this world other then be a good person."
"And that makes her innocent, does it?"
"Yes it does."
"Your a fool."
"You wish to brandish words around like a bunch of fish wives then do it your way. Or do you want to finally become a man and face what you've done."
``I get this moment brother. You forgot through your youth, that unlike you the rest of us out here in the world have things happen to them. Your the villian along with this whore because of what you have allowed to happen. One does not blame the virus for infecting its victom. You blame the monster who created the virus, and you my brother are the reason I am the way that I am.``
``You want to find a way to escape the person that you are you need to find someone who cares for even a moment for whether or not you live or die.``
``There it is right there. Don`t you see. It was that uncaring neglect. Outright hatred at times that left me utterly alone.``
``You don`t get to blame becoming a monster on the fact that you and I weren`t best friends.``
``I have the sword. I have the damsel. Those mean I get to say, and do whatever the fuck I want to do. Do you understand what I`ve done. Do you have any idea the scope of the things I`ve caused.`
...Continued
Death is the End
“As the minutes went by my brother fell into a darker and darker place, and despite knowing I should be pulling him back, I hated him so much in that moment that I basically pushed him off.”
— William Lovie III.
Watching his brother implode in front of him, and basically throw him in front of the bus for everything that had ever gone wrong for him in his life, wasn`t something that William was able to accept. William would begin badgering Sean and insulting him to the point that his brother begin to reveal to him certain darker acts then anything anyone had ever thought he was possibly involved in. Sean told him how he had become obsessed with seeing the death of this particulary noble girl of whom he refused to name but said she unimportant in the grand scheme of things, and that this obsession had followed him for years. Finally one night he had been invited to dinner for the first time in months and was told by Bill to not criticize anything throughout the meal or else he was never eating with them again. Tasting something horrible in the meal he ignored it and kept eating, and following this he said that a dark entity would offer him assistance and when he accepted he begin hearing terrifying voices in his mind. After going through all the terrible things he had done throughout this time he finally got to Berne where he told William that he just wanted to die. He just wanted to
Amber watched as Sean appeared to fall apart in front of her, and all she could think was that she just wanted to live. She just wanted another chance with William. It didn`t matter that he had remarried. She just wanted to be with him again.
escape all the pain that he was constantly bombarded with, but that as time went by nothing he seemed to do incited anyone to kill him, and this annoyed him even more. Sean would tell him that he had broken and abused Hedrik Clegane's now wife in Rachel Wood, and that he was responsible for the rape of countless other noble girls, and that he was specifically attempting to escalate it so that he could die, but no matter what he did he continued to escape justice. Sean would reveal to him how that night he had attempted to kill Alice it was as if this voice in his head was literally screaming, and it was screaming to ravish Alice. He had honestly been incapable of stopping himself, and despite trying he found himself constantly moving towards her room, and he had been glad that William had assaulted him. He told William that he had been forgotten by their father when he made the spell removing Alice and that he had followed her to Forks where he had watched her for months but was stopped by men of Bills from revealing anything to her.
“I watched the first archer fall and in that moment I saw Jasper nod at me from the window followed by Emmett standing in the window with his own bow prepared to launch an arrow at Sean, but foolishly I believed I could talk him down. I also knew that any attempt to fire at Sean would most surely end with Amber`s death as Sean was too much of a coward to go down like that. I did know one thing though, with the one window down, it was only a matter of moments until the other three went down as well, and when that happened their would be an opening.”
— William Lovie III.
William watched as Sean devolved and saw Jasper kill one of the archers in the window thus revealing to him that they had found a way into the windows. Seeing there were only three other windows he waved away Emmett`s offer to kill Sean from the window as he knew it would end with Amber`s death. Sean seeing the look on William`s face would demand to know what was so interesting that his brother was ignoring him, and when William could not appease him enough Sean slashed Amber across the shoulder with a blade narrowly missing her head, but still causing serious damage. Seeing this Sean would pull a lever behind him which the moment after he did all the windows slammed shut with Stone portcullis, and the gate they had entered from also was barred with portcullis. Rushing to Amber he knocked Sean to the ground, and picked up Amber. Picking her up he realized instantly how bad the wound to her shoulder was as it had cut far too deep for anyone there to heal her, and he panicked knowing she was going to die. She held him tight, but he could feel her grasp on him loosening as her life left her. Closing her eyes he let out a cry as he believed she had died, and he held her tight crying into her shoulder before kissing her hard on the lips and then gently laying her down before moving towards Sean who was slumped against a post nearby.
“As I walked to him, I knew this was the end. He would die in this moment. I didn`t expect him to be crying.”
— William Lovie III.
Grabbing Sean by the shoulders he found his brother crying, and Sean grasped onto Williams arms as if to try and hold onto him. There was no resistance, and as William held the sword to his chest he held a moment and looked into Sean`s eyes waiting for his last words. Sean in that moment would tell William that Bill still lived and had gone west to France, and would begin to start an apology when William stabbed him through the chest and covered his mouth with his hand. Looking behind him at the lifeless body of Amber he would proceed to be overcome with rage and strangle Sean as the last of his life left him. Getting up he walked back over to Amber, and ignored the sounds of crashing as his men attempted to break there way through the gate, and the windows. Kneeling beside Amber he ripped some cloth from his tunic and covered her wound not wanting her to be seen like this. As he wiped her wound her arm would move up and grasp onto his, and her final grasp for life would continue and it gave the two former lovers one last chance to talk to each other.
The Rise of Lucerne I saw the destruction of the world, and knew I had to stop it. There was nothing left to do but become bigger then everyone else. The Empire was never going to be the beacon the world needed it to be. Westros was on fire. The Bretonians had reached for the stars and been burned. And the old shadow of Numeron was fading far too quickly. It was left to us in Lucerne to change the fate of all those who wished to reject darkness. We were the last hope for a world who had long since given up on believing.
I could almost feel her leave me as there was a lifelessness to her eyes, and when I did I gently let her down to the ground. I left a kiss on her lips before closing her eyes and taking a moment to stare at the girl I had loved first in my life. She was the innocence of youth. The kind of person who is always the victim of monsters like my brother and that sad fact just left me more angry then any other death I had seen in my life. I had seen good men die in battle, but to look down at Amber and realize that she was just innocent, and had still died hurt me deeply.
Hearing a sound come from Sean I gave one last kiss to her lips before letting her go, and turning around to find my brother. He had moved himself into the corner and was shaking while holding onto a large flag. As I went towards him I couldn't make out what he was saying, but to be frank it was not going to matter what he said. Sometimes men are just guilty and words cannot escape that fact.
Reaching Sean I grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him to face me, while I took out a knife and held it to his throat. Turning him had revealed what the noise was as his face was covered in tears, and the sight of the sword made him pull himself towards it.
``Please William. Kill me now. I cannot live the things in my mind anymore.``
``You murder someone as innocent as Amber and you dare to look for pity now.``
``No pity brother. I want mercy.``
``You do not deserve mercy. The things you have done are beyond imagining.``
``Then punish me William.`` At these words I threw the dagger away and a look of sadness went to his face, before being quickly replaced by understanding when I pulled out my sword and aimed it towards his chest.
``No punishment in the world would ever be far enough to be justice. You deserve so much worse then I could ever give you.``
``You are right brother.`` Sean begin to shake, and I swear I saw somesort of cloud come from his body towards the roof above us, and as it did he looked up at the roof of the room and a look of peace went over his face that just horrified me. I didnt want him to feel peace while she lay dead. He didnt deserve to feel anything even close to that. The things he had done were too much. ``I think its gone.``
``No more talk.``
``Perhaps just one more thing brother.``
``Say your last words and be done with it.``
``Our father went west. He went into the ruins of France.``
``I will find him and give him the true death I will soon give you.``
``I hope that you do William. I hope that you avenge everyone who has been hurt by him.`` I felt such overpowering rage as I looked at him that my eyes must have been showing it as he looked at me with a realization that it was over and he closed his eyes. ``Goodbye Will...``
Before he got the words out I stabbed him through the chest piercing his armor between the plates and he let out a sigh before going limp in my arms. I let him down with a loud bang as his body hit the floor, and leaving behind his body I went towards Amber wanting to just hold her one last time. Kneeling at her body I pulled her closer and held her tight to me.
As I held her in my arms crying into her hair I felt her arms clasp themselves around mine and I looked into her face hoping beyond hope that she would live. I held her face with my hand and begged her to wake. My other hand held her wound with everything I could trying to somehow stop it. I pleaded with her, and I watched as her eyes flickered open. I hugged her tight knowing in my heart that I would want to always remember the feel of her life, as she was perfection, and it was a tradgedy that it had taken all of this for me to realize that. ``William...
``It`s alright my love. Just rest my sweet, Edward will come and...he will...he`ll find a way...``I hadn`t realized that I was crying until I couldn`t see from my eyes anymore, and I felt her hand wipe across my cheek clearing me of the physical signs of my sadness.
``William I love you...Thomas is your son.`` I didn`t understand. She had left, and no one had ever said a word. How many lies had been told to keep this from me. ``It was my doing. Don`t blame anyone but me for keeping it from you.``
"They all lied about where you had went...I loved you with everything in myself. I would have protected you from everything.`` Her eyes closed as the pain must have overwhelmed her. Looking at her shoulder the blood was smeared all across my hand as it was too large a wound for me to keep from gushing.
``I thought I could protect you. He told me he would kill you...he held a knife to your throat and bid me to leave. I`m so sorry William. I`m so sorry you never got to see him grow.``She stopped and coughed out blood, and I knew she was going quickly. The shoulder just kept bleeding through and I couldn't even bear to look at it knowing there was just nothing to fix this. ``You must promise me that you will protect Thomas from everything. Protect him the way I never could.``
``He lives Amber. You saved him. My brother would have killed everything to have killed any son of mine.`` I kissed her on the lips gently carressing her hair before looking into her eyes again.
``I tried my...`` Her eyes closed and her arm went slack for a moment before I shook her gently and she opened her eyes again. ``It doesn`t hurt anymore. You have to promise me William. Promise me.``
``I promise you Amber I shall protect him. I shall love him, and cherish him as the son that he is. He shall never know pain, or anguish, or sadness. I shall love him as I love you.`` Her eyes begin to once more close, and I selfishly shook her again.
``Stay with me Amber...just hold on please...``I shook her again, but this time her eyes didn't reopen and just staring at her I could see that I had failed to save her. She coughed one more time and her eyes opened somewhat and she looked at me again.
``I`m so sorry Will...I`m so sor...``Her eyes remained open, but she just never blinked. Holding her I couldn't feel anything as I knew she had died. I would never hear her voice again. I would never know her touch again, and I let out a scream which I could barely control.
Following her grasping of his arm the two would talk briefly as she bled out but she held on for long enough to make sure William knew that Thomas was his child, and the two would heart sadly say goodbye to each other before finally she bled out from the horrible wound on her shoulder. It was several minutes of banging on the door with William crying into the hair of Amber before the rest of his men were able to get into the throne room, and by this point the Battle of Berne was over with the remaining forces of the True Sons of Lucerne either dead or having surrendered, but for William it felt increasingly like a hollow victory. As Faye, Jasper and Emmett tried to console him and help him with Amber he would refuse without words picking her body up and carrying her out of the throne room before collapsing outside of the inner keep where he would be helped up by Faye. He whispers to Faye that he needs to take her out of the fortress so he can bury her, and Faye goes ahead clearing the gatehouse, and letting the front gate open where William carries her all the way out of Berne and reaches the Valley of Berne where the large Lucernian army awaits and it is at this point that Alice meet him and he finally surrenders Ambers body to Jasper and breaks down in Alice's arms.
Meeting a Son
“You are too young to understand my son, but know that I have loved you, and I will always love. The world will be tough on you because of how you were born, but understand this. You shall always have a place at my side. You will always be a member of my house. You are my son. You are our son.”
— William Lovie III.
With Thomas sleeping William gathers with the Lucernian army leadership and following a long discussion on their next steps he commands his friend Hanna Arryn be brought to him, and then the meeting breaks up and joined by Jasper, and Edward he returns to his tent where saying goodbye to them he goes into the tent and finds Alice sleeping on his bed holding a sleeping Thomas. Looking at the scene in front of him he starts crying as he thinks about the loss of Amber, and at the sound of his crying Alice wakes up and gets out of bed gently leaving Thomas in bed and the two siblings hug. Thomas eventually wakes up to the talking of Alice and William and Thomas at first only wants Alice, but William goes to him and talks to him about his love for Amber and when Thomas reveals that Amber had talked about William to him almost every night William tells him the story of how he met Amber of which was a story that Amber had told him a thousand times before.
Control of Berne
“I would name you the Arch Duchess of this place if you would let me.”
— William Lovie III.
Meeting with Hanna Arryn the two old friends discuss a more personal view of what happened in Berne, and Hanna reveals to him the depths of some of the things that happened, but also refuses during their conversation to come with him back to Lucerne telling him that Aria needs her more. Discussing Aria, and her father Byron it becomes clear that he needs to speak with Aria and asks Hanna to bring her to him something she agrees to if William agrees to be lenient on her father of which William agrees to out of love for Hanna. The conversation ends with Aria and William agreeing that in one month it will be the leadership of Berne that will travel to Lucerne to meet with William and the Kings Council who will decide the future of Berne. William Lovie III. leaves Berne with the majority of the army but leaves behind several thousand as a garrison of the city under the command of Dylan Steinmare, and this garrison is under orders to further the control of the crown over Berne who at this point there is still fear may be mixed in its loyalties.
Learning Hard Truths You think that you know everything, and then he comes back and shows you how wrong you were.
Learning Hard Truths
“I should have been used to the lies by this point. At some point he just became a sort of running joke in my life constantly appearing and telling me something else he had failed at or caused to go wrong.”
— William Lovie III.
James Lovie had by this point come to accept the death of his son Sean Lovie, but became in his isolation saddened by the fact that his bastard children with Esme Portmane were stuck in Lorderon far away from the growing Kingdom of Lucerne. With this in mind James would concoct a plan to infiiltrate the city of Lucerne, and the Cloud Tower specifically so that he could tell William the truth of his extended family. Late at night James Lovie used all of his power to summon himself as a spirit into Cloud Tower bypassing the light defences of the Blue Dragon members that were in Lucerne. In this form William Lovie was approached by James Lovie who told him that he had fathered other children with a women named Esme Portmane in Lorderon, and that he was sorry for doing this. James in this moment apologized to William for creating all the damage and evil that he had created in his time, but he wanted William to know that whatever he thought this meeting was it wasn't the end because James was now completely gone when it came to morals.
The Rise of Lucerne I saw the destruction of the world, and knew I had to stop it. There was nothing left to do but become bigger then everyone else. The Empire was never going to be the beacon the world needed it to be. Westros was on fire. The Bretonians had reached for the stars and been burned. And the old shadow of Numeron was fading far too quickly. It was left to us in Lucerne to change the fate of all those who wished to reject darkness. We were the last hope for a world who had long since given up on believing.
I was awoken by a crash near the bed. Despite the loud crash I looked beside me and Bella remained asleep, and looking over I saw Ashley playing with the rattle hanging from above her bed smiling as if the most happy thing in her life was right before her. Getting out of bed I went to where the noice had come from and discovered nothing, but again I heard a noice. This time the noice came from outside the room, and I walked through the door finding darkness outside of the few candles that remained flickering. Following the noice into the next room I walked inside and nearly fell down when I saw my father sitting in a chair.
"Do not scream son I mean you no harm." Everything in me wanted to scream. Everything inside my soul wanted to lash out at him and kill for everything he had done. Back when I last saw him I knew only a sliver of what he had done. The massacre of a plague, the destruction of Tree Hill, the attempted destruction of Gondor, it just kept going and going.
"You give me one good reason why I shouldn't slash your throat and bury you beside the son you forced into madness, and made me kill." Seeing him brought up everything that had happened at Berne. I thought of poor Amber lying broken beneath me as I carried her fallen body back home. I thought of my poor son Thomas who would now grow up never knowing the love his mother had for him. I could tell him as much as I wanted but it wouldn't change the fact that she was gone. For whatever reason though with him sitting in front of me I thought of my broken brother. In his final moments I had seen him for he was. A scared little boy who had just wanted to be loved, and when he realized he couldn't have that, he broke.
"I'm sorry you were forced to deal with that, but I am not to blame for the madness in his soul." It was always an apology to me. Even as Alice was brutalized it was me he apologized too.
"He just wanted you to say one nice thing. How much different would he have been if you had said one god damn nice thing to him." For a moment he flickerered as if battling within himself, but in barely any time the battle ended and he continued.
"I didn't come here to talk of that boy. I came here to discuss more of the mistakes I have made. This is nothing but a spirit in the myst that I now inhabit, and already I have been senced by men better then I ever was. In the end I must tell you of things I have done wrong that you will never know if I do not." The vision of my father walked closer to me and insticively I stepped back, and the look on his face was momentarily quite sad, but he pulled that back and remained resolute.
"Thats a list too long for any man to keep track of." He had destroyed and entire city. He had killed hundreds upon hundreds of good men in the event many still believed was in fact a plague. He had created a spell to remove my sister from my life. All of this and I felt a chill at the thought that perhaps we had only scratched the surface of his failings.
"Perhaps it is, but I love you son and you deserve to know." I had never doubted his love for me, and that was the worst part of all his betrayals. I know that somewhere in his mind he honestly believes he's doing what's best for me.
"Say it and begone from here spirit."
"Long ago. While you were just a baby I visited Lorderon briefly on my way to the wars in France. During this time I met with a women. This women has three of my children. These three children do not have the shame of knowing who I am, or what I have done, and for that you must keep in mind. Find them in Lorderon, and make them whole. Do not make the mistakes I made with our family and hate those who deserve nothing of the kind."
"It never ends with you does it." He looked pained as he continued speaking.
"This will be the last time we speak son." His vision turned away from me and he rested briefly against a table, and I used that moment to loosen the strings on the dagger that I had hidden in my shirt." I know that may not pain you but for me that's the most painful thing to imagine in my entire life. I watched Kingdoms die. Watched armies destroyed in front of me. Those things don't even compare to the love I've had for you since the moment I first saw you. The first time I held you I knew you were it for me. You were the thing that would drive everything in my life, and I truly with everything inside of me wanted nothing more then your happiness. I know it all went to hell, and after this I'm going to be completely consumed by the things in my mind that are wrong...but I just want you to remember that you have a family now and you must protect it the way I never could. You must protect House Lovie. You must."
After this William would wake up his wife, and sister and as they talked his cousin Emma Bell came up as well telling them that Edward had arrived with several Order of the Blue Dragon members in order to see what had entered the Cloud Tower. Telling them what had happened there was shock around, and Edward reluctantly left not wanting to intrude as the Lovie's discussed the issue. They would all agree that the fault did not lay with these children as they were far away, and that they should make attempts to connect with them.
Finding Family
“It was a no brainer in reality. While I had some fear of what there involvement in the family meant, these were my blood. Blood is everything in this world, and if we abandoned them then we were no better then the father we hated so deeply.”
— Alice Lovie
With the decision made William took his sister Alice, as well as his cousin Emma Bell to Lorderon where he planned to welcome his half siblings into the family as well as welcoming this women that had given birth to his father's children. The group would be joined by many others as the King of Lucerne travelling to a province so far from home would bring about all manner of problems. House Lovie would enlist nearly three thousand men from the personal levies to travel with the force and Oberyn Martell was placed in charge of the defence of Lucerne while they were away. The Shadow Council would obviously also join with the trip and Leven and William would ride together for much of the trip while Edward would ride with Jasper of whom was cold to him for most of the trip. They would be joined at the gates of Lucerne by Hedrik Clegane III. of whom had left immediatly when he had gotten the raven about the summoning from William, and thus would join them as well. When Alice asked William how he was going to se easily let these new people into the family he anwsered her with the following.
“For whatever reason Sean never got along with anyone. I know in my head that there isn't a single kind word or accepting invite that I could have given to him that would have changed that but...my heart tells me not to make the mistake again.”
— William Lovie III.
As they made the trip the group found themselves nervous about what kind of people they would find as their new family. Emma Bell wondered outloud many times whether this was some sort of trap that had been carefully planned by his father, but when this was discussed most discarded it due to the belief that of all the things he had done James had shown no ability under any cercumstances to actually harm William. Travelling along the road they took boats waiting for them in Lole from the growing fleet of the Order of the Red Dragon. The group is forced to travel through the Trident where Walder Frey demands double the rate of usual passage from the Lucernian fleet as payment for the insults that Robb Starke had supposedly layed on them. Wishing to meet with Walder aboard the ships they were told he was to old to do this but William could land and meet him inside the castle. This was rejected diplomatically and the group continued without further interuptions to Lorderon where they arrived in the port to much happiness.
Meeting Family
“The idea of meeting them was one thing. Now we were actually there and had to actually meet these people who shared our blood.”
— Alice Lovie
Arriving in Lorderon they were met by Arch Lord Arthas Menathil, of whom many who had met him previously were confused by the shocking change in his appearance. Where before he was clean shaven and his eyes clear he now appeared to be ragged, and his eyes had changed in appearance to a near mennacing look. William would alert Jasper, and Leven to this change, and as this happened Edward saw that he was not consulted and was hurt deeply. The group doesn't notice as Edward is left behind and travels to a tavern, and they make their way to the palace where Arthas apologizes for his wife's absence but he cannot find her. Arthas has a fit that appears to be a siezure, and is taken away by several retainers, and following this they meet with Imlad, and Calia Menathil sister, and cousin to Arthas of whom would make arrangements to meet with Esme Portmane. Esme lived in the palace with her daughter and son while the remaining daughter lived in Arnor as a princess they were told. Esme arrived with Jamie, and Diane Portmane and the rest of the non Lovie members would leave the room as they discussed things. Esme immediatly knew what this was going to be about as she obviously knew who the father of her children were, and Diane also was aprised to the situation so it was only Jamie that they had to explain things to. Jamie would be clearly hurt, and William took him out of the room to talk as the girls all hugged and got to know eachother. Jamie and William would discuss many things, and eventually it came to his future and William said that he still had to prove himself but if he did he would be the eventual Lord of House Portmane and since it was being made into a cadet house of House Lovie his power would be heavy. Asking how this was possible when he was a bastard William made it very clear that he was no longer a bastard, and William's younger sibling and sole remaining brother would hug him so suddenly that Jasper nearly sliced him in two before realizing it was just a hug. The family would stay for several days before finally departing for the west where Diane returned with them while Jamie was left in command of House Portmane but would visit with Esme some time in the future. During those days they stayed William would also remain because he and Edward talked and he learned of the talk with Jaina and Medivh and he wanted Edward to look into this which he did with the help of Leven Martell.
Meeting with Medivh
The Tunnels beneath Lorderon were expansive and it was here that Leven would follow Edward.
“Noone trusted Edward anymore they just refused to speak of it. He was lost in his own little world, and here I was convinsed to follow him into some dark tunnel. Doing things for old time sake isn't a good enough reason to risk your life.”
— Leven Martell
With William travelling with his wife and family Leven had some time to herself, and found herself in her room trying to get some sleep when a knock at the door brought Edward into her presence again. She and Edward hadn't got along since he left for Hogwarts and his declining status within the Shadow Council had become clear to all, and this had led to him becoming more distant to the members and thus even more reason for Leven to not be happy with him. The two would talk and he would eventually convinse her for old times sake to help him with something as there was noone elce he trusted to come with him, and he wanted someone with him.
The Rise of Lucerne I saw the destruction of the world, and knew I had to stop it. There was nothing left to do but become bigger then everyone else. The Empire was never going to be the beacon the world needed it to be. Westros was on fire. The Bretonians had reached for the stars and been burned. And the old shadow of Numeron was fading far too quickly. It was left to us in Lucerne to change the fate of all those who wished to reject darkness. We were the last hope for a world who had long since given up on believing.
He refused to tell me where we were going the entire time I followed him through the corridors. I knew we had time, but I wasn't used to being so out of the loop, and despite my long time as a friend of Edward there was a tinge of fear as we entered the increasingly dark tunnels beneath the palace. Finally he stopped at a door that had the sigil of an eye. "Do not fret Levia the secret shall soon be revealed." He went to open the door but I stopped him.
"I do not like keeping secrets from William, and in your current position I would think you'd be more careful of being seen as keeping secrets." I knew it was harsh, and from the hurt in his eyes I regreted saying it, but he had hit at a gnawing piece of me that worried what Edward's plans were. Had he come to the conclusion that with Jasper and myself as the right and left hand of William that he had lost his place, and that perhaps made him dangerous. Since he had joined the Blue Dragons he had been even more distant. I know he kept talking to William but I had barely seen him, and I know Jasper barely recegnized him anymore.
"Were not keeping secrets from William. He knows what I am doing, and he has blessed my mission."
"Then why all the secrets." I said it louder and more rudely then I had meant to, and I could tell he was torn by what to say, but after a moment he continued.
"The secrets are because the man were going to meet would be placed in great danger if anyone knew where we were going. I kept it a secret because here in Lorderon." He stopped and moved closer to me. "Were in a place none of us fully understand. This place is old. Older then anything elce we have dealt with, and I'm not alone in thinking that age may have corupted it." He turned back to the door placing his hand on the handle. "Do you not feel the darkness here. This place has darkness I have not felt since Berne." Without another word he opened the door and I followed him inside, and without meaning to as soon as I did my hand grasped my sword at my side. It disapointed me more then I thought it would in that moment that I still didn't trust Edward.
"I'm glad to see you Lord Cullen." I turned to the voice and saw a man sitting at a table in the corner nearly consumed by a large hood. He got up from the table removing his hood and looked directly at me. "You must be Lady Martell." He held out his hand, and not wanting to be rude despite my reservations of this situation I took his hand in return. "There is no reason to be frightened of my intentions Lady Martell, I mean you and Lord Cullen no harm." Noone frightened me. Certainly not this man. He had a sullen look to his face despite the smile that covered it. On his left cheek was a scar that stretched to his ear, and it looked like no sword or weapon I had ever seen as it nearly glowed blue. Whatever this man wanted, or whatever he was capable of he did not intimidate me.
"You do not frighten me Ser." He laughed before walking into the room and towards the back of the room. Looking back at me he waved at us to follow him.
"I am no Ser my Lady. I am Medivh a german just like you who happened to be born with the abilities as your friend Lord Cullen. I joined the Kirin Tor when I was young."He stopped for a moment and a splash of hurt went across his face clearly remembering a pain in the past, but he moved on walking further into the room as he continued talking. "Think of the Kirin Tor as the Lorderon version of your Blue Dragons, except for the fact that we serve no king. We serve Lorderon and the people that live within it. That means there are times. Times like now where our duty is to make those who are able to do something about problems, aware that these problems exist." He spoke with an aura of regality that made me think he was either noble born, or been around them long enough know how we spoke and what manurisms worked best in conversations.
"And what sort of problems exist here?"
"I still cannot believe that you don't feel the darkness here. Something evil lurks in this place, and I'm hoping that by working with Medivh we can destroy the evil." He looked at me as if I was some sort of alien for not being able to feel it, and it made me mad. Who was this man to bellitle me and what I could or could not see.
"I feel nothing." I said it with no emotion and turned my face from Edward as quickly as possible not wanting him to get anytthing from me.
"Be happy you fell nothing Lady Martell as the pain I feel when near him is unbearable." Stopping at the table he held his head down in a sort of ashamed look.
"You never mentioned it being a person before this Medivh." I felt a sence of relief that atleast I was not the only one out of the loop.
"I'm sorry for the lieing Lord Cullen but I had to make sure your Kingdom continued down the path of taking control of Lorderon this way."
"Who is this man that causes this darkness." Medivh raised his head an bid us to sit down which Edward did but I remained standing. I never liked the feel of a chair in these sorts of situations. Locking myself in just felt reckless, and I was anything but reckless.
"He was once a noble man. The people spoke of him in barely restrained whispers. They loved him, and his german bride from Kul Tiras. He defeated bandits learned his craft and everything was fine. " He stopped and looked to be in heavy thought for a moment. A smile crossed his scarred face as he must have remmebered the good times of this man. "Then one day, and I saw one day because I do not know what day, or what transpired. One day he was just gone. As if another had taken control of his body and replaced him with a demon. I was approached back then by several Magi from the Kirin Tor of whom said they had felt a terrible presence when near him, so I travelled to Lorderon to see for myself. When I did the two men had been executed for crimes created against them, but the truth they had told me remained. Walking near him was like walking near an empty space in the world."
"Who is this man you speak of Medivh."
"I know him as Azsharion Menathil, but in the toghnue of the germans he is known as Arthas Menathil."
The two would exit the tunnels with a new fear of Arthas Menathil of whome they had clearly been told by this Medivh was someone of extreme danger. Edward believed him without question, but Leven saw this Medivh as a misguided Magi that was clinging to fear and dillusions in his old age. Both of them though would meet with William and discuss the realities of what they had heard.
Invasion of Westbridge The Fall of Westbridge would shake the entire continent to its core.
“I understood that Karl was far more hawkish then I could have imagined. In my view the only way to deal with a hawk is to take out everything around it, and watch it flop around. Soon Karl was going to see that trying to intimate the Kingdom of Lucerne would be getting a lot harder to do.”
— William Lovie III.
The invasion of Westbridge was a plan that William finally finalized in his mind followed his meetings with Karl Franz through the Magi stones known as the Meeting of the Dragon and the Griphon. The meeting had started with a lot of promise but following the initial talks it became clear to both of them that they shared some serious ideological problems, and on top of that where William had believed there would be talk about the survival of Arnor when Arnor was brought up it was as if it was a forgone conclusion that Austria would take control of Arnor, and that wasn't acceptable for Lucerne. On one side of things he knew he had a sibling that was now queen of Arnor and thus he could not leave her survival to chance. On the second part he knew that if The Empire struck against Arnor and took it then the bottleneck they had for centuries would be gone, and they might spread south without resistance. When he looked at actually being able to intervene in Arnor and what that possibility might lead to his commanders and strategists would all suggest that would be foolhardy and would have little chance of success. What wouldn`t have a slight chance of success was if they could take Westbridge as a position to hold against the potential invasion of The Empire. In order to stop this William went about planning the invasion of Westbridge which he believed would create the defense position from which even with the fall of Arnor which he now believed was a certainty Lucerne could hold on against The Empire. In order to launch this main assault House Lovie would bring with them nearly all of their vassals including everything not part of western Lucerne of which would be remaining behind.
Many houses from the region would send nearly their entire force, and in this way this was a large gamble in many ways as the way of the Orcs coming through the pass would be only defended by the forces of House Greymane of whom were commanded to not send anything into the Invasion of Westbridge and would remain behind to defend the pass. The main army would also be supported by several smaller but still significant mercenary, and volunteer forces including a mercenary group in the form of the Tarried Men sent from the Yairns and led by Jaerenor Aerareon of which was kept completely in the dark but moved north with the force in what they were told was a rebellion in the Riverlands.
Making Camp
“It was the deciding day. All across the line we were breaking them, but one mistake and it would all crash down.”
— William Lovie III.
As the main land force moved northward into the Riverlands it was idea that directly before the two major towns of southern Westbridge that the main army would make one last major stop, and allow the fleet to be in position north of Kul Tiras, and allow House Scott, and House Shepard to marshal their forces to attack Westian, and Braedin. Arriving at Riverrun the main army would meet with significant forces from Lorderon led by William Lovie III's brother Jamie Portmane of whom would accompany the main army in its movement north. The Martells fought beside the main army as it moved towards the southern gateway of Westbridge, and as they camped out during the day in the forest Leven got the chance to see William Lovie again for the first time in a long time. During most of the day the men were resting so that they would be ready for the night attack, but William was constantly on the move visiting the different house leaders and finding out all the things that were going on with them. The visits with many of the Lords went smoothly but his arrival in the camp of House Scarlet really showed him a true side of his vassals. Entering their part of the camp he was met by their members of whom all spoke kindly, and inside the main tent they revealed how many men they had brought of which was far more then he had believed they would have been able to mount on such short notice. Saiden, and his brother Renault led the meeting as they promised that anything that was needed of House Scarlet and their vassals they would gladly do, and Nicoli Machievelli would tell William that he would stay behind and discuss more things with the Scarlets. Meeting after House Scarlet with House Swift of whom assembled in a long line upon the arrival of William Lovie III. and his entourage. William Swift, and his brother John Swift both stepped forward and led William and his force into the center of House Swifts forces where they met with the Swift vassals of whom Joshua, and Emile Hirsh also stood up and made themselves known to the King of Lucerne.
“Leven had always been there for me in a way that few people in this world would ever truly be there for you. She was beyond just someone I counted as a friend, and other then Jasper and Alice she was the be all for me. A person you shared everything with, and of whom never judged you was too much to ignore, and seeing her then made me realize how much I had ignored it.”
— William Lovie III.
One of his final meetings would come with House Martell of whom was one of the premier houses of House Lovie`s entourage and also Leven Martell a member of the Shadow Council was with the Martell forces. Leven Martell would be waiting all day for the arrival of her best friend, and their actual meeting took place when William came to the Martell part of the camp to meet with Doran Martell who he assumed would be leading the force, but when he arrived at the command tent to find the three Martell sisters looking over the battle plans and talking furiosly over the plans. When they finally noticed that he was their flanked to his right by Jasper Hale, and to his left by Draco Highmore they watched panicked for what his reaction would be to the realization that Doran wasn't leading the force but instead it was his three young daughters. Instead of anger he looked to his two friends and begin laughing before walking to the table and discussing with them the upcoming battle. As the group dispersed, Leven stepped forward towards William and she made a note of how quickly Jasper moved to shield the prince from what he must have deemed as a hostile gesture from Leven. Instead of hostility she wished to speak to him, and he was basically done for the day so he said that she could follow him to his tent and they could discuss old times.
“I wanted to have everything with him. He was supposed to be my future. It should have been me he marrid and fathered children with. I just couldn`t let go of that belief, it didn`t matter that he had married and had children with someone else I just couldn`t move past him.”
— Leven Martell
As she followed him back to his tent she had a moment to watch how much he had changed. Where once he had been wild and charismatic in a way that made you feel used but at the same time want to, he was now kinder, and his charisma was a gentle thing that seeped off him and instead of feeling like their was a nefarious reason behind the kind words now he seemed to truly care. She watched as he greeted everyone that he walked by, and when they finally reached his tent they moved through the numerous gaurds, and entered his inner room. Inside the room she wondered what would happen but she was suprised when he let out a sigh and slumped down on a chair. She laughed at the moment before joining him in the seat beside him, where she gave him a moment to relax before they begin talking. They laughed and joked and the feelings that Leven had for him returned just as strong as they had once been, and as the conversation got later she begin to plan to attempt to seduce him. This plan changed when they begin discussing his children, and when she heard him discuss them she realized just how far he had come. Despite the fact that she wanted him. Despite the fact that she was still in love with him, she knew that she couldn't do it. Even if she believed that she was capable of seducing him she didn't have the heart to do it to him considering everything he had become. So without that in mind she ended up falling asleep in his room with perhaps the first true friend she had ever had.
The Rise of Lucerne I saw the destruction of the world, and knew I had to stop it. There was nothing left to do but become bigger then everyone else. The Empire was never going to be the beacon the world needed it to be. Westros was on fire. The Bretonians had reached for the stars and been burned. And the old shadow of Numeron was fading far too quickly. It was left to us in Lucerne to change the fate of all those who wished to reject darkness. We were the last hope for a world who had long since given up on believing.
"Your Grace please follow me." I bowed my head at the young heir to House Swift, and followed beside Jasper as we filed behind John Swift. He led us through row after row of tents all emptied as seemingly all of the occupants had left their sleeping to take time staring at us as we walked by.
Of the vassals under my command I knew little of the Swift's and their vassals outside of the meetings I had with John during the time in Gondor. He had seemed honorable, and Nicoli had told me how he had been knighted alongside many of his vassals following the freeing of Tree Hill. I could tell we had reached our destination when the large tent colored in the
Standing kneeling before the largest tent stood two men in green armor. Two guardsmen stood to the right and left of the two men and their shields told me they were of House Hirsh. As we reached them the smaller of the two men stood from his bowing and bowed his head before me. "Your Grace it is beyond an honor to finally meet you."
Before I could speak in turn, William Swift stepped from the tent and made his presence known. "Yes it was a pity that House Hirsh outside of your brother Emile, and some of his men were absent from our king's great Journey."
"Our father felt that the great King of Lucerne would need our strength later." I watched as William went to speak again, but silenced him with a raise of my hand.
"My Lords please let us speak in private." The two shared a glare briefly before bowing once again and entering the tent. I would have to remember to speak to Nicoli about what sort of problems existed between House Hirsh, and House Swift, but for now I had one last meeting before I got to see Leven.
~
I walked with Jasper, and Jamie passed the orange tents of the Martell`s and had a tinge of excitement as I knew I`d see Leven. She was a truly great friend, and the fact that I hadn`t seen her for some time gave me pause as to why I seemed to always treat her that way. She was one of the Shadow Council, but in a lot of ways she was the forgotten member. Treated as an outsider without every really saying it out loud.
Jasper constantly questioned to me whether the feelings that she held for me were reciprocated, and it was never really something I had been forced to deal with. When we were young and sleeping together I had pushed it aside because I was angry and bitter, and she was one of the few that loved me to such a level that in the back of my mind I knew I could treat whatever way I wanted. I would never be able to apologize enough to her for what I did to her back then, but she had never asked for an apology which honestly just made it worse.
Shaking hands, and saying my hellos to the knights along the way I was stopped by the fat lord Mavin Vaith of whom was a good man, but my uncle had always joked he loved his pies and cakes far more then he did anything else. When I questioned how I could trust such a man Emmett had joked that I should simply send him cakes and pies as often as possible. Jasper would sacrifice the time of Emmett so that we could move past, and I could just make out the look of anger that he shot at Jasper who just laughed in return. Walking into the Martell`s main camp, I saw Leven, Dorea, and Obella on one side of the table, flanked by Wilheim, Mandon Moore, and Maryn Trant who were on the other side. As I got closer I saw a young boy that looked the spitting image of Maryn and despite never knowing him I assumed it was his heir in Ian Trant, and the boy despite his youth would immediately know to bow on my entrance. ``My Lords, how goes the planning.``
I shouldn`t have been suprised when Leven was the first to anwser. ``My King the Martell forces are well ready for anything asked of them.`` You would hardly know that we were best friends with the dutiful way she spoke, but I knew even if I told her not to she wouldn`t ever speak to me outside of privacy in anyway other then extreme class.
``My cousin is correct my King. The final elements of House Trant arrived just this morning bringing our entire force to bear. We are now completely ready for the assault.`` Wilheim would bow as well after speaking, and pointed towards the different elements on the papers they were looking at, showing how strong in number they were.
``Excellent. I must continue my rounds as I still have the Faraday`s and their most likely desire to see me hand the Highmore`s over as a good luck charm for the battle to deal with.``There was laughter in the tent, and it went that way for a good ten minutes longer until Emmett came into the tent with a less then happy look on his face telling us that we had to retire for the night. I bid the commanders get some rest before the night got to late, and gave Leven a nod of my head a brief smile before shaking each of their hands and kissing Dorea, and Obella`s hands and then moved out of the tent. As I walked following Jasper and Emmett who were by this point arguing about Jasper`s joke on Emmett I felt a hand on my back and went to see what Draco wanted, but when I turned and looked it was Leven smiling at me. ``Leven, its good to see you.``
``I`ve missed you too my King.`` I wanted to force her to call me Will like she did when we were in private, but I knew it was a lost cause so I just moved forward.
``I`m sorry I had to rush out like that I hadn`t meant...`` She smiled at me before raising her hand as if to say for me to stop. She had always been far too kind for me, and it was true shame and a boon to have a friend as pure as she was.
``Nothing to apologize for my king. I was just happy to see you. Its been...Its been a long time.``Her saying it brought me to the realization of how long it had truly been since I`d seen her. She had allowed her hair to grow out, and her orange tinted armor was a masterpiece that I know she took very seriously. When we were young there wasn't a moment that I was training that she wasn't nearby. There wasn't a time that I was bettering myself that she wasn't right beside me making herself better too.
"It's been too long." I meant it more then I could put into words. The problems with Edward had left me understanding how fragile relationships were. I wanted to make sure that Leven perhaps my greatest and most loyal friend didn't become an Edward so I acted. "Leven are you available?" Her eyes lit up clearly realizing or at least hoping I was going to ask her to join us.
"If you have need of me your grace I am available."
"Then follow us we have some Faraday, Highmore feuds to hear about." She laughed before looking around and making sure noone had seen before smiling back at me. "Come on milady lets go."
We walked through the paths leading to the Faradays and reaching the edge of their part of the camp we were met by Daniel Faraday of whom shook hands briefly with Dylan Steinmare before leading us towards their main tent.
It felt like hours listening to the Faraday's go on and on about how monstrous the Highmore's were, but it probably wasn't even fifteen minutes. Finally when I saw even Jasper beginning to look upset about the way they spoke of Freddie I told Daniel that we needed to leave, but there support was of vital importance. When Daniel Faraday seemed to get upset at my abrupt departure I looked to Jamie of whom nodded back to me and spoke to the Faraday's that the King needed rest but he would remain and discuss further issues. Daniel smiled faintly, but while once I might have called Daniel the sane member of House Faraday now I saw that same glint of madness as I shook his hand before walking from the tent.
The night was final at an end with the Faraday's being the final house we had to visit, and thus as a group we walked back towards the Dragon's Tent as they were beginning to call it apparently around camp. Jasper led the way surrounded on his flanks by Dylan Steinmare, and Ser Hayden Percy. Looking to my left I saw Edward and further left of him some six guards of whom only Seth Green and his House Green guard did I actually recognize.
To my right stood Elia Snow, and Leven of whom I knew to be great friends, but walking me back to my tent I would have thought they never knew each-other by the way there steel locked eyes kept their gaze constantly moving. Emmett held the rear with Marcel making some joke to him causing the big brute to laugh quickly before a look from Jasper stopped him.
When we reached the tent Jasper spoke first."Well, my King I shall go now and speak with the Arryn's. You need to get some rest now." He said the rest bit with a small smile and I knew that was as close to a joke as he could get while in his official role.
"And what of your rest Jasper? When pray tell me will you take your rest?"
"Not tonight my King." He bowed his head and grabbed Emmett by the arm before walking off with Marcel in tow as well as a few guardsmen. Edward looked at me with a look that told me he was uncomfortable, and I wanted to say something to him to make it better, but in that moment there was just nothing to say.
After it was clear to him I wasn't going to speak he bowed his head and went off to the Cullen part of the camp and causing me to be filled with a great feeling of disappointment that I had allowed one of my best friends to walk away like that. Before I could think anymore about my failings I felt Leven's hand on my shoulder and turning to her I saw a smile that would have made me follow her anywhere.
I didn't wait for her just moved in front pulling her gently by the hand within the tent. The moment I closed the tent door behind her I heard her laugh causing me to turn back towards her.
"How many different ways can such a small group describe how they hate something." She was laughing as she said it, and her laughter and beautiful smile forced me out of my contemplation and into a laugh. "William, I have no idea how you were able to just stand there and listen to that. Desmond spent five minutes describing how he felt Draco's armor was an insult to your house. I wanted to stab him in the chest." She laid her sword down as I unclasped my shoulder armor and rested it on its hanger. My gloves came off with some difficulty and I had to remember to have the armorer look at them before I went into battle.
"Please don't do that Leven. If you do then I'll have to hear about the orange armor of murderous Leven Martell and how I should send you into the mountains to live on goats." The Faraday's were embarrassing themselves, and I don't know whether they cared enough anymore to change it. Perhaps there hatred over the death of Joey Faraday was so strong now, that nothing could stop it until one side was dead. It seemed to me that death was the only way out of this mess, but when the Faraday's wanted the death of an individual that was months away from being a member of my own house they seemed the only candidates to die.
"What fools the Faraday's are." She pulled off her final piece of chest armor and rested it on the ground revealing a light shirt that left barely anything to the imagination. It was difficult not to look at her sexually, as she was a walking temptation. We had spent more times intimately together then I could count so it didn't take much to imagine what I could do to her. A girl who loved me as deeply as Leven did, and of whom looked like that was nearly a sin to not touch, but I had committed far too many sins of late to add one more so easily.
"I'v truly missed you Levia." She stopped taking her armor off for a moment and looked at me with a smile so wide it didn't seem possible.
"I've missed being called Levia." She left her lower armor on and moved to sit beside me on the bed, and again the temptress tempted me.
"Your sisters call you Levia."
"Obella has been away with Robb in Stormwind, and Dorea has been in the north visiting High Hrothgar." She said it with such sadness, and lonliness that I knew in that moment how much hurt I had caused her. I hadn't meant to send her away for so long, but she was honestly the only one other then Jasper that I could truly count on.
"I'm sorry I sent you away I just...Its just you guys are my only sure things." I wondered if I still counted Edward amongst that number. Was my bitterness towards him ever going to go away.
"Why not Emmett, or Edward then. I don't mean to be rude but I missed you. Your my best friend, and I felt like you just sent me away like I was nothing." A tear fell down her cheek, and I wiped it with my hand and as she fell into my hand I caressed her cheek.
"I am truly sorry Leven. I have taken you more then any other person in my life for granted. I love you, and I guess I thought in my mind that you and I were just...just so close that I could take advantage of you. Does that make sence." It was the truth, and if there was one thing I wanted to remain it was our honesty. I never wanted to skirt around eachother the way we all did now with Edward. It was a fate for us worth then the ending of our friendship.
"It does, but please don't anymore. We are better off close to eachother. I don't mind leaving every once and awhile, but that was a long time."
"Never again, unless the world is ending and its the only way to live." She laughed and rested her head on my shoulder. "Lets pray it never comes to that Levia."
I was awoken by a sound at the tent entrance, and looking out I saw Jamie moving to his bed on the other side of the tent. You could tell he was trying to be quiet but his armor just didn't allow it. Luckily for him Leven was not startled and stayed fast asleep against my shoulder, and looking down at her I couldn't help but think about what Brooke would think if she saw me with Leven like this. At the same time it said something that my first thought went to Brooke and not my own wife Bella though.
"No need to sneak around brother" I whispered it trying to make sure Leven stayed asleep.
"'I never was very good at sneaking around Will." He moved closer to me sitting down at Jasper's bed which was as close to mine as you could get. Once he had sat down I saw his eyes and I could almost feel his pain from the four feet that separated us.
"What's troubling you Jamie?"
"Do you remember the girl I told you about when we first met."
"Tamsin if I remember correctly."
"She remains on my mind."
"They never leave us Jamie. These great loves of our loves they just claw at our minds when they aren't around. These great loves are the one thing that time cannot heal."
"Who is yours brother?"
"An excellent question, and perhaps one day I will know the answer to that."
The two falling asleep together was noticed by Jasper Hale of whom was sleeping in the same tent as William as his main bodyguard and while Jasper never discussed seeing this he noted it for himself. While William and Leven went inside the tent to get ready for bed Jasper knew he had one last visit to make in the form of House Arryn. During this he was accompanied by Emmett who believed that he could make the situation less uncomfortable and actually get something done. Arriving in the Arryn part of the giant camp he discovered that Bryan Arryan hadn`t made the trip and had sent Paul Arryn in his stead. Knowing Paul was a skilled fighter he discussed with them what would cause Bryan to not come for such an important event and heard for the first time about how weak willed Bryan was beyond what he already knew about.
“Sometimes you looked at Byron Arryn and just thought...this man is far too pathetic to be real.”
— Jasper Hale
Leaving the Arryn tent he visited House Krinner, and Dorin of whom he would count upon to take up a significant portion of the attack, as House Arryn would be launching against the keep to the west of the main gatehouse. While the main force attacked the gate castle, the forces of House Arryn would attack the small port/town of Vlasnia that harbored to the west of the gatehouse. A relatively heavily defended section of Westbridge this was of supreme importance that this be taken quickly by House Arryn otherwise the heavy artillery that was in place inside the port. Because of the damage taken by House Arryn's leadership caste it was the decision of Byron Arryn that he not lead the force and thus House Arryn and its vassals were being led into battle by Martin, and Paul Arryn, as well as his son Derek, and his niece Spencer Arryn of whome was known to be there by Martin but most others thought she was a mercenary hired by the Arryns to offset their losses. Jasper would spend much of the night discussing the plans for the next day with the Arryns and he would find a surprising intelligence in Derek Arryn, and he would make a note in his memory to make sure that William knew of this mans potential. When this was over he and Emmett would leave the command tent of House Arryn and return to their respective Houses where they would be leading their respective attacks. For Jasper that meant he would be fighting alongside his best friend William Lovie as a member of the Praetorian Gaurd, while Emmett would be truly bringing the growing forces of House McCarty to the forefront with his assistence.
The Beginning is the End
“If there has ever been a more coordinated assault in the history of man, I`ve never heard of it.”
— Wilheim Martell
While the Invasion of Westbridge was split into many different sections with the forces of House Scott, and House Shephard attacking the two major towns south of Westbridge in Westian, and Braedin. While they did this House Lannister, and House Starke prepared to invade the main island by use of the Lucernian fleet in the dark of night, of which their attack would corespond with the attack of the main force on the south gate, and the Order of the Blue Dragon on the northern Gate. With all this in wait House Swan would invade Yerness which would block any relief from coming south from the Westbridge forces north of the town, as well as stopping Voldermorte from coming south by boat. While this happened House Lovie moved north towards the Westbridge town of Margrove which had before the battle had started been assumed to be a minor town controlled by the wealthy House Pollen but relatively undefended. Rebels in the area though would discover differently and thus information flooded into the high command that Margrove had been fortified by House Pollen and it would now be a major obstacle for the movement northwards. The High Council got together and discussed their options briefly, and William knew that he didn't have time to besiege the city so after Saiden Scarlet volunteered he left behind House Scarlet and gave them the charge of taking Margrove and then holding the town until the Invasion was over. The vast army would then surround the completely unprepared city, and once the defenders knew how many were around them they hunkered down for a siege and waited for reinforcements. Only a few hours after surrounding the city and under cover of darkness House Lovie and the majority of the force would depart and leave House Scarlet, Mien, and House Fraizen, alongside a force of Riverlanders led by Amory Justman and House Justman, and House Keath alongside House Keath's vassals in charge of continuing the siege. All of this coordination which would have been near impossible before the coming of the Magi for Lucerne was all made possible through the heavy use of the Magi Stones of Lucerne of which allowed the different sections of the army to communicate with the main army and this made sure that everyone attacked at the same time and thus the element of surprise was at its most extreme.
Final Moments
“I had this feeling of calmness that washed over me that final day. It was a feeling I had not felt the entire time we were planning, and moving...it was the calm before the storm.”
— William Lovie III.
During the next day their was an almost awkward silence that fell over the massive army, and nearly the entire command structure of the attacking force as everyone understood that night would signal the attack they had all been preparing for and obsessing over for the past week. During the day House Arryn would silently march its way out of the main camp alongside House Heard, House Krinner, and House Dorin where the would prepare for their invasion of Vlasnia the town located just west of Westbridge's main port. With their departure William Lovie begin to create a buzz as he once again spent the afternoon visiting as many of his troops and commanders as he could, and it was during the final few hours that he would order the beginning of the attack. When dusk hit he ordered that House Martell led by Wilheim Martell would move forward and hidden in the forest they would move to the east of the fortress and prepare to board the boats they had made for the purpose of their attack behind the lines. As the Martells left William Lovie would be prepared to say one last goodbye to his friend Leven Martell, but when he finally found her he heard her talking to Emmett about how excited she was to be so close to the Shadow Council again and he would change his mind keeping her with his personal guard. House Lovie, House Skane, and House Faraday alongside the Order of the Red Dragon, and the tens of thousands of men of the Lovie vassals would form the main attack along the castle while the forces of House Jackson, House Cullen, and House Vaith would attack along the flanks of the castle using heavy artillery to shield their troops who would mainly be using ladders to assail the walls. Alongside this attack would be of course the House Martell attack which would be assisted as well by the Order of the Violet Dragon who had been busy at work infiltrating the southern gatehouse keep with rebel troops, as well as murdering watch commanders so that the walls would be sparsely defended giving the attackers the most time possible to get on the walls.
“The fear of Lord Volermorte arriving was palpable across the entire force. Everyone of us had been told that this man may be no longer mortal, as his power made him nearly a god.”
— Edward Cullen
As the armies of Lucerne massed in the valley the Order of the Violet Dragon moved northward in their entire strength and silently over the course of a few days infiltrated the city of Westbridge. The Order already had sympathizers in the city as House Malfoy was extremely unpopular in Westbridge and as such it wasn't hard to find people that were loyal. With roughly a month before the army of Lucerne was to arrive the forces of the Order of the Violet Dragon went about changing schedules for the defenders so as to weaken sections of the wall. Those who it was planned to survive the conflict were basically given vacations on the day of the conflict so that they would not be caught up in the conflict and all those who were not were either killed if possible or allowed to go about their normal routine and thus die in the attack. As well as this they begin setting up a rather sophisticated, and well equipped rebel army that on the day of the invasion would be completely focused on taking control of the southern gate. This rebel force was made up of the forces in the villages and towns of northern Westbridge, and led by Ser Polliver Grouillin of whom had watched his household lose all influence and led the forces south of Westbridge in betraying their neglectful overlords in House Malfoy.
“When the stone begin to glow I ran inside the nearest building followed closely behind by Benjamin, and Dama. We went into the basement before I finally let myself feel the stone with my bare hands. Watching the vision of the king spread from the stone was a sight I never stopped being in awe about. As I waited for him to tell me the time was night I could barely control the tingles along my arm. This was the moment all our planning finally came to fruition.”
— Ezio Ederiz
Inside the city Ezio Ederiz stands with a large grouping of Order of the Violet Dragon in an abandoned house where they await word from the Magi stone telling them that William is ready for the true chaos to begin. After hours of waiting past when they thought it would be Ezio, Benjamin Bradfoot and Dama plan to go into the street and make sure there are no increased preparations from the defenders, and while in the street the stone activates and they are forced to answer it inside a merchants store that is luckily closed for the night.
The Attack
The Griffin Assault would bring about the fall of the already weakened tower, and keep defences of the southern gatehouse.
“All the planning, all the effort we had done, and it all came down to this moment. Either we beat them, or they beat us. It was that simple.”
— William Lovie III.
The moment that dusk settled on the skies above the army William Lovie gave the order to begin moving to attacking positions, and then quickly had his messengers alert the other sections of the attack by Magi Stone's that the attack was now moving forward. The siege machines were pushed forward in case the siege didn't work according to plan and they were forced to bash their way through while at the same time the hundreds of ladders, and dozens of siege towers were silently pushed forward as well by dozens of oxen. The siege towers were the main thing that might be noticed and thus they were covered with trees and it was hoped that the darkness and the lack of real defenders on the walls would allow the towers to get nearly to the walls before noticed. As the army pushed forward it was the Griffins of House Griffon and the Order of the Red Dragon that first hit the defenders as hundreds of Griffin Riders landed in the towers and within the keep of the southern gate and made a mess of the defenders. Led by Tristifer Griffon the forces of House Griffon would cause near complete collapse of the defenders on the wall, and as the attackers reached the walls and climbed through the siege towers there was only a few that actually fell to the defenders as they had been devastated. By the time William Lovie III., and the other members of the main force had reached the gate Clarke Greymane, and Garrett Elbertson had placed the flag of Lucerne on the largest tower, and the front gate was being opened by other Griffin Riders.
“It was the first time we had truly used the Griffins in this role, and they provided more then I think even we thought they could. I worried they would be shot out of the sky, but they were able to move quick enough and come from a high enough angle that the enemy was blind to them until it was too late.”
— Tristifor Griffon
Tristifer Griffon and his Griffon Riders had broken the defenders and opened the gates allowing the massive force inside the walls, and they proceeded to mop up the remaining defenders of the southern gatehouse. Leaving the southern gatehouse and making their way towards the bridge spanning the mainland to the real city of Westbridge William would stop the army momentarily and await the flags of the rebels to go up on the other side of the bridge. When the flags didn't go up initially there was fear it had failed for the rebels, but a few minutes later the flags went up and the entire main force begin moving across the bridge spilling into the main island.
“I looked forward and ”
— Tristifer Griffon
The defenses were by this point collapsing all across the line, and they were greeted by the sights of the rebels holding hundreds prisoner all across the main island. During their movement though William and his center would come under assault from a fanatical group of Deatheaters of whom came directly for the king hoping to kill him. The many lords and knights around him fought at his side as they fought against this final counter assault, and one by one the Deatheaters fell dead as their Magi was muted by the defenses on the runic armor of William, and the several Magi around him. William would as they pushed forward make his way with most of the main army towards the holdings of House Labeouf where they would make sure they were safe, but he sent Joshua Jackson, and the forces of House Skane, and their vassals towards the final holding of Lucius Malfoy of whom they wanted to capture but if he died it would also be fine.
Death of Lucius Malfoy
“The town was burning around me, and it seemed hopeless to believe we could survive after the arrival of Severus, and the members of Hogwarts from within our ranks. Nothing to do but wait. Nothing to do but wait and hope my family surivived.”
— Lucius Malfoy
With the fall of the final gatehouse into the main city, and the quickly debarking marines from House Starke, and House Lannister the forces remaining under the command of Lucius Malfoy waited for his command, and he ordered them to retreat to the Malfoy Keep for what everyone believed was a last stand. At this moment more then half the remaining men under his command would under the command of Peter Arnault who had joined the forces of the Order of the Violet Dragon days before, would lay their swords down instead of follow what Lucius wanted to do which was a last stand. Peter Arnault realizing in this moment that Lucius was not a terrible man, just a man who was under the leadership of a monster would offer Lucius a chance at survival but quickly discovered from Lucius's response that he no longer wished to live anymore. So without the majority of his forces and unwilling to spill anymore of his own people's blood Lucius traveled over the bridge with less then thirty men left and ordered the men to prepare for the final attack. He was reported to by a messenger that the Hall of the Deatheaters had just fallen, thus meaning their final means of escaping the city was gone as the forces of Hogwarts alongside the Order of the Blue Dragon had teleported directly inside the building after the wards had been destroyed by traitors within the Malfoy forces. With the means of escape gone, and not fearing a return of his brother he knew that the city had fallen to the forces of Lucerne and in this Lucius saw this as his chance to finally die. As his remaining men prepared to die in the last stand, he knew he had to make sure that his son Lucius wasn't going to make the same mistakes that he did. Returning across the bridge with his men Lucius first went to his youngest son in Draco Malfoy, and the only one left in his family who he felt had any morals left and told him the following.
Lucius had finally come to the end of resistence and understood it was all over for him.
“You must listen to me son. What has happened here was for the best. We are morally bankrupt, and the pain we've caused must be paid for, and I plan on making the first deposit. No matter what happens son never allow vengeance to consume you or else you will make the mistake my brother made. I love you son. I love you son. Be better then we were.”
— Lucius Malfoy
Following this he took out his sword and walked to the center of the bridge connecting the main island to the palace, and stood waiting for the forces of Lucerne to come. His men waited around him horrified but still remaining loyal to the end, and in that moment he ordered them to lay their swords down, and return to stand with his family. After a few minutes Joshua Jackson arrived on the bridge with his men, and told Lucius to stand down and accept the surrender of the city. Lucius just laughed at them and said that his time was over, and if they had any compassion they would end him. Joshua knew something about compassion for the weak, and he ordered his men to stand down while he engaged Lucius in a duel, of which both knew how the duel would end. By this point Draco had escaped the grasp of his mother of whom had been holding him back and Draco would watch from the tower overlooking the bridge as the two fought and as Draco watched on Lucius was killed by Joshua Jackson, and then released gently into the river.
“You just never think your hero is going to die. You always assume after reading books, and hearing stories that the hero lives. Either everything I'd ever read, or heard was a lie or my father wasn't the hero. And if he wasn't the hero that means he was the villian. And if he was the villian what does that make me?”
— Draco Malfoy
Joshua would lead his men across the bridge and find the remaining members of House Malfoy and their vassal aristocrats lying on the ground with their swords thrown away. Seeing this he ordered his men to take them into captivity until they knew what to do with them. As the House Jackson men moved to do this, Draco finally came to the conclusion that would change everything. Draco would rise from the rest of the surrendered troops and stand up, and seeing this his mother would yell at him to lay down, and think about his wife who was in another part of the city, but he had to escape and so he ran from the group and climbed to the top of the House Malfoy keep. Chased by the men of House Jackson, and the now arriving House Lovie forces, and the shouting of his mother he would jump from the ramparts into the water nearly thirty feet down barely missing the rocks. Hitting the water he stayed under as long as he possibly could before hiding under the outcropping of rocks so that none could see him. The Jackson men believed he was dead, and thus he managed to escape but left behind much of his family and his wife and young son.
“My King we have control of the city. Its truly happened Will, you took Westbridge.”
— Leven Martell
With the death of Lucius, and the the capture of the remaining resistance within the final Malfoy keep the city of Westbridge was well and truly fallen into the hands of Lucerne. Following this news and dealing with the Meghanna issue William would meet with the commanders of the attack at the center of town, and already news had filtered in about the fall of Yerness, and the numerous towns south of Wesbridge having fallen as well. Realizing he had a true victory William would command to have the Labeoufs, along with House Arnault, and House Hartrian brought to the center of the town where he would have a meeting with them in order to tell them of the direction he saw the city now moving towards and to make sure they knew they had nothing to fear from him the way they must have feared the Malfoy's.
The New Order
“It is the very things that made me keep this invasion secret from you that are the reasons I wish for you to lead this city. Lord Labeouf your family is known for their loyalty, and I know you are aware of what morality exists within me. I do not come here as a craven. I come here to defend my people, and in the process you can make this city something truly special.”
— William Lovie III.
The meeting of the leadership of the Lucernian attack, and the remaining nobility of Westbridge would happen in the Palace grounds of Westbridge outside in a large amphitheater where William could speak openly to the entire leadership of Westbridge. While this population of the town was brought forward, and from there he named House Labeouf the new Arch Lords of the Grand State of Westbridge, while Harry Labeouf would stand as the Arch Lord. Promicing to assist in rebuilding the city, the people would cheer as the Malfoy`s and their madness was pushed out and the new Lucerne-Labouef union began.
Morrigan Corupts Going to Westbridge proved to be the greatest moment of my life. I went there thinking I was going to have to kill my great nephew, but instead I came away with the knowledge that I could resist her. I could change my fate. I could finally make her pay for everything she had done.
Morrigan Corupts
“It took her telling me to make me see what she had been doing. I had thought she had just wanted to travel northward so she could be with me, but the truth was much darker. Her goals were filled with lies, and thats all I see when I look at her now.”
— Lucas Scott
Following the capture of Westbridge it was Morrigan that made her way southward from Westbridge and waited north of where Lucas was camped waiting for him to travel northward as she knew he would. Morrigan would find herself crying on the road waiting for Lucas, as she had been commanded to infiltrate the Lucernian camp and get close to William Lovie III. where she would then have to kill him. She did not want to do this, but her control over herself was still weak as the corruption had only been somewhat drained by Odin, and thus she believed she would be forced to do this act no matter what she actually wanted to do. Lucas had been placed in an inferior role to his brother now that the siege was over, and he attempted to help with meetings but he was told he was unneeded, and thus he was basically just guarding the camp east of the town. When he grew tired of garrisoning Westian he would take a small troop of soldiers and make his way northward where he came upon Morrigan who was waiting for him on the road, anad she told him that she had come to pay her respects to the King of Lucerne. She would join him, and used her Magi to make him convinsed as to why she was coming northward, and why she was waiting for him. Morrigan would speak to him during this trip northward about the happenings in Tree Hill, and she would openly lie to him when he asked her how his sister was doing, as Morrigan knew the truth that Brooke Scott was far from okay, but she lied believing still that she had no choice. Arriving at the Lucernian main army camp just south of Westbrige she would pull him towards where she could feel Edward Cullen was, as she enacted the next step of her plan.
“She was holding my hand, and then like lighting it was gone. Her hand bolted from mine the moment we got into range of Edward Cullen. I hated him in that moment, as I thought she was interested in him romantically. I should have warned him, but my jelousy made me childish”
— Lucas Scott
Inside the camp Morrigan would quickly find Edward, and she used the coruption she had been using against Lucas to make Lucas convinse Edward to spend time with Morrigan. For Lucas he had no idea why he was doing what he was doing, but he was helpless to stop the words that flowed from his mouth. Leaving behind a nearly comotose Lucas Scott Morrigan would walk with Edward of whom she attempted to persuade to get him to take her to meet with William. Edward himself powerful in Magi he was found himself feeling the desire to listen to her, and would take her into Westbridge proper, all the while the two being followed closely by Lucas. Edward was able to easily bypass all the checks and other gaurds that stood before the king, and got to his location in the main keep of Westbridge where he was finally stopped by Jasper Hale, and Leven Martell.
The Rise of Lucerne I saw the destruction of the world, and knew I had to stop it. There was nothing left to do but become bigger then everyone else. The Empire was never going to be the beacon the world needed it to be. Westros was on fire. The Bretonians had reached for the stars and been burned. And the old shadow of Numeron was fading far too quickly. It was left to us in Lucerne to change the fate of all those who wished to reject darkness. We were the last hope for a world who had long since given up on believing.
I could just see Edwards back, but everything about his stance told me that the moment he saw Jasper he had grown weak. The golden armor of Jasper made him look angelic, but the look on his face when he saw Edward was more demonic. The two were supposed to be best friends, and thus seeing him looking at Edward with such distain wasn`t something I expected.
``What brings you here Edward.`` There was such Malice in his voice that the reason behind it must be bad. You don`t speak with that level of hate, unless the true reasoning for it is something beyond just a simple argumement.
``Jasper please. The King wishes for you and Edward to remain civil, please do not make this uncomfortable for our guest.`` She said the guest part as a question wanting Morrigan to anwser who she was.
``I am Morrigan of the Order of the Blue Dragon, and my friend Edward here was taking me to meet the King.`` Jasper clearly didn`t like this and stopped looking at Morrigan and turned towards Edward.
``I`m sorry Leven but how am I to remain calm in his presence when he brings strangers to see the king. I am sorry Lady Morrigan but I know nothing of you, and here you stand prepared to meet the King of the Valley.`` Edward remained unmoving, and I felt bad for him as I watched him. The Edward I had met earlier had been like the Edward I had met when he was with the army that had relieved us in Tree Hill, and just like then he was confident, and personable. He wasn`t this weakened man that I saw now with shoulders slumped looking asleep while standing.
``Lord Hale it has been a dream of mine since the kings heroic saving of Tree Hill to meet him. I promice you that I mean you no harm.`` Jasper didn`t smile just sort of stopped moving for a moment. He looked briefly pale as he stood motionless, and Leven looked at him wondering just like I was why he was standing so still, and then before Leven could say anything he shook his head and became remade.
``I believe...I know you say that milady but there are lots of things that many people would say to try and get close to the king. That is why we do not let random people meet him at random times. If you wish to see him then make arrangements to do it when we have returned to Lucerne. But now it is...``Jasper telling Morrigan to leave was interrupted by the tent opening to reveal William in soft black armor. Nothing like the golden dragon armor that he had worn into battle this armor was clearly meant as a sort of stylized protection while he was not in battle.
``Edward it is great to see you.`` He smiled at his friend for a moment waiting for him to speak but when he didn`t William went to speak again but was interupted by Morrigan.
``Your grace it is...your grace it is an honor to finally meet you in person.`` William looked away from the still silent Edward and rested his hand on Morrigan`s shoulder.
``Please milady rise. You are Morrigan of the Blue Dragon I have heard through the thin walls of this room.`` He looked over at Jasper clearly proving that he had heard the argueing between the two, and Jasper smiled briefly before returning to his stoic face of no emotion.
``I had not meant to cause this level of problems my grace, I had just always wished to meet you in person and thank you for all you had done for the people of Tree Hill, and if I may say. All the things you did for me when you saved Tree Hill.``
``You were in Tree Hill during the siege.`` I didn`t blame him for not knowing every soul he had saved in that city. The ruins of Tree Hill were just so large, that it hid the fact that so many had been still inside all those years. All manner of people had fought there way together during that time, and Morrigan was just another shadow on the wall as the city burned around us all.
``I was your grace.`` She said it with a softness, and even from this far I felt her pain. Her family was non-existent to me, but she had never mentioned losing anyone during the siege, or even having anyone. Her mystery became in this moment very real, and I wondered why I had never asked her before.
``A terrible thing that happened there, and I must apologize that it took me so long to undue the damage that should have never happened.``
``For a few minutes of your time all is forgiven your grace.`` He laughed along with Leven as she said it, and then despite the glares she was getting by Jasper he waved her in followed by Leven and then Morrigan followed in behind. After Jasper shut the door behind Morrigan I watched as he called two more gaurds to stand at the door, and then walked away followed behind by Edward of whom walked with more raised shoulders now.
Met at the entrance to William's tent Morrigan, and the more hidden Lucas Scott would watch on as Edward was berated by Jasper Hale for his reasoning in bringing Morrigan there despite her unknown nature and the fact that she was a Magi. As he was attacked verbally by Jasper the argument begin to get more personal as Edward had little explanation as he had been tricked using Magi to let her come, but Morrigan did her best to explain her reasoning making Jasper understand that she was a member of the Order of the Blue and just wanted to meet her king. Jasper was despite her attempts of Magi manipulation utterly unable to be corrupted, her which was shocking Morrigan, and just as she was about to be sent away William came out and told Morrigan to come inside. Jasper pulled Edward aside, while Morrigan followed Leven and William into the old throne room of Westbridge. Jasper would drag Edward away from the tent leaving behind Ellia Snow, and Pontus of Lucerne to guard the front entrance of the tent. Jasper taking Edward into the building where Lucas was hiding would begin fighting Edward of whom was unwilling to hit him back and in the fighting Lucas Scott would begin to hyperventilate, and fell through a window into a room nearby where he would begin to have visions through the eyes of Morrigan.
“My King the time has come for us to finally meet. I have waited many years to see you, and now that I am hear the purpose for my originally meeting escapes me. Its a funny thing meeting idols. Meeting people you admire. By the time you finally see them you forget what you wanted to say in the first place.”
— Morrigan
Morrigan now in the room alone with William, and Leven she begin to hear terrible whispering in her mind from Flemeth of whom begin to try and conjure a dagger in her hand so that she could assassinate William. As the whispering begin to get through to her she felt her hand forming a dagger, but as that begin to happen another voice begin whispering to her in the form of Odin of whom was able to push away the presence of Flemeth and free her from this mission and thus saving William. Without the corruption Morrigan became herself in that moment and spent the time getting to know her great great nephew. William would be captivated by her kindness, and Leven would also come to like her during this conversation, and William gave her an invitation to come stay with them at Lucerne and act as a sort of steward to them for the Order of the Blue. During their conversation it also became clear that Leven, and William were beginning to have feelings for each other and Leven left the tent to prepare to return to her own tent, and alone in the tent with just William Morrigan would advise him to not ignore his love for Leven, and this would be a crack in his armor towards Leven.
William Meets a Vampire Understanding what you are in your soul with be something that is of great interest to me. I do not judge anyone based on anything more then who they are from the moment I meet them. Prove yourself a loyal member of the Kingdom of Lucerne, and trust me when I tell you that I will keep your secret until such time that it need not be a secret anymore. I have protected far worse things then you.
The Vampire and the Dragon
“Do you have any inclination of what you are protecting prince Labeouf?”
— Wilheim Martell
Meghanna had left the city of Lucerne to return to Weerhousen briefly to lie to Queen Angelica Neferata about what she had done in the city, and it was while she was half way to Weerhousen when she would feel a terrible fear within her as the Lucernians would at this point Invade the city of Westbridge. Returning to the city at the fastest possible speed she infiltrated the entire city and reached Shia only to find him safe and being uplifted by the Lucernians, and thus she watched him safely from the tops of the buildings, and she remained watching him for many days before she was finally sure that he was truly safe among these new people. She contemplated attempting to see him, as she felt an obsessive pull to be near him, but she knew there was no way she could explain how she had gotten into the city without unleashing the knowledge of what she was to him. As she tried to get back out of the city she was captured by the forces of House Martell who were about to kill her when she was saved by Shia Labeouf who had sensed that she was nearby. When Shia saw Meghanna surrounded by the men of House Martell, and Wilheim Martell preparing to kill her - because he knew her to be a vampire due to her eyes - Shia broke into a sprint and stood in front of Wilheim who upon seeing the young man stopped his sword. With Shia now in danger the situation was broken up by Lucas Scott who while he was nearby knew that William had large plans for Shia and thus he couldn't allow him to fall and because of this he grabbed a hold of Meghanna and bid Shia to follow him to the tent of the king. As they walked Shia held Meghanna's hand and attempted to make her feel better, but she understood for the first moment that she was about to lose the shield that had protected her from being seen for what she was, and without her shield she was sure that Shia would abandon her
“Do not harm her King William. I beg of you to understand how much I love her. I beg of you to give me the chance to show you that she can live with us and not hurt anyone...Please show mercy Your Grace.”
— Shia Laboeuf
William though was forced to deal with an incident as the forces of House Martell under Wilheim Martell had captured a women of whom did not appear to be completely human in the form of Meghanna, and despite attempts to get her to speak she refused begging to see Shia Labouef of whom she told them she needed to see.
"Death"
"It was like looking at the most horrifying creature imagineable in your mind. It had no face that I could understand other then the hate filled eyes that just stared back at me. He whispered to me in my mind telling me darker and darker things. I begged him to leave. I pleaded for him to just tell me what he wanted, and when he told me I wished I had never asked. He told me I had to die, and that he wouldn't ever leave until I was dead. Needless to say I knew I had to see William. He would save me."
-Brooke Scott
When Brooke returned to the alchemist three days later she found the potion ready for her, but as she walked out of the house she ran into a man clothed completely in black robes, and wearing a mask that showed nothing but the outline of his pure red eyes. This scared her, and she screamed to the crowd for them stop the man, and the crowd couldn't see him so they attacked a man that was just standing by her, and nearly killed him to protect Brooke. As she watched the Dark Man just stood there and watched. He followed her home, and she attempted to get him away but as she did this she realized that she was the only that could see him. She knew that if this was Magi related the only person who might be able to help her was Morrigan so she ran to find her all the while being followed by the Dark Man. When she arrived at the home of Morrigan she could clearly see him, but Morrigan played it off as if she couldn't and this sealed the fate of Brooke's sanity.
"When Morrigan couldn't see him, it was like an alarm went off in my mind that told me what I had feared all along. I was insane. Somewhere along the line I had lost my mind trying to kill Bella. I knew in that moment that this was once again something I could overcome. I could ignore him. I could accept that he wasn't actually there, and I could move past this."
-Brooke Scott
She from that point on refused to accept he was there and went about her next days attempting to ignore him, but he begin to threaten those close to her, and she became scared once again to the point that she fled from him as fast as she could before she would take a carriage northward. She at first thought she had gotten away from him, but when she arrived in Lucerne she saw him waiting in the center of the gate, and knew that her time was almost gone. She entered Lucerne and when she reached the Cloud Tower she was met at the entrance by Alice Lovie of whom had had heard of her arrival in the town, and had moved to keep it a secret. Alice would take Brooke into the Sky Towers, and the two would finally get another chance at attacking eachother. The two would at first trade jabs at eachother verbally but as the fight continued and Bella arrived the fight became physical as Brooke physically attacked Brook the point of all of her rage. As this happened Emmett McCarty barged in and was able ot get Brooke under control, and got her out of the Skytowers, and towards the Kings Keep where William was.
Brooke would have one last time with William before she accepted her fate.
"I thought that when I found him he would take out his sword and kill the Dark Man. I believed that the Dark Man would be gone once I found him, but when I opened my eyes and saw him I realized how wrong I was."
-Brooke Scott
As she arrived at the Kings Keep she found William standing at a table surrounded by both Jasper Hale, and Robb Starke. As she approached completely in tears he took her into his arms and took her into a side room. In the room she continued to cry, and he couldn't get her to explain what was wrong, and it was as this was happening that she opened her eyes and saw that the Dark Man was in the room with them. This time when she saw him she didn't cry out or try and get away from him, she just accepted that she was gone. In that moment she looked away from the Dark Man and back to the William, and she would smile at him before kissing him on the lips. The two would be intimate one more time, before she said her goodbyes to him, and when he tried to follow her, he was stopped by Alice Lovie of whom didn't want him to get in trouble with the people if they saw what was happening. Watching her walk away was one of the toughest things he had ever done, but what happened next would be far more painful to not just William but to many people throughout the valley.
"I left the Kings Keep and just walked. I walked through the gates of Lucerne, and into the fields beyond. I don't know how long I walked before I finally saw him again. When I did he made a movement that told me to follow him. When I did follow him he took me to a waterfall I had heard William tell me about once before. He didn't have to tell me what to do I knew already. I don't remember quite what I said in my final goodbye to William but as I punged over the side of the waterfall I felt free of the Dark Man for the first time in a long time."
-Brooke Scott
Brooke would leave the Kings Keep and walk for nearly an entire day before finally the Dark Man brought her towards a waterfall where he waited beside her for her to kill herself. Brooke in that moment took off the necklase that William had given her all those years before, and held it close to herself for a time before she finally set it down on the ground beside what she assumed would be the site that they would believe she jumped from. When she finally did jump off the side she carried with her the curse he had done to her, and in this moment she became a "Daughter of Flemeth".
Wedding of Hanna Arryn
Wedding of Hanna Arryn You truly look beautiful my friend. May the dragon always shine down on you as he does today.
“William needed to get away as he had stopped living after Brooke died. While anyone around him might have not noticed any difference for those that truly knew him they knew he was a shell of himself. ”
— Alice Lovie
With the death of Brooke Scott, William had been forced to deal with it in silence until his break down with Alice, but since then despite promising to talk to her he kept it inside, and he fell into a secretive depression. During this time the only person he discussed any of his emotional problems with was Leven Martell of whom at this point he begin to become somewhat more then just friends with again, but despite this emotional shift between the two of them it never changed physically. Alice wanted her brother back, and tried many things to get him back, but when they did not succeed she found the perfect opportunity when their old friend Hanna Arryn prepared for her marriage to Harrold Krinner, and in order to support one of his oldest friends she was able to convince him to travel westward. Returning to the scene of so much death would have been more painful but nearly every member of House Lovie traveled west alongside the whole Shadow Council outside of Edward Cullen of whom was in Lorderon dealing with the Arthas situation. Travelling westward wasn`t such a huge deal for many of them but for Thomas that was the last place he had been alive with his mother, and returning there with his family was a huge moment for the young man. When the group reached the outskirts of Berne the army he traveled with would camp outside the gates and inside the internal valley before they entered the city. Greeted by all the lords and ladies of Berne and the entire province William and the rest of the group would smile and share great love once more when Hanna Arryn, and her sister Aria exited the gate and made their way to them. Hanna, and Aria led them inside the city, and they all marveled over the rebuild that had went on inside the city under the leadership of Aria Arryn, and it was then that they would begin mingling leading to William being pulled away from Alice and taken to meet all the leaders of the city.
The Rise of Lucerne I saw the destruction of the world, and knew I had to stop it. There was nothing left to do but become bigger then everyone else. The Empire was never going to be the beacon the world needed it to be. Westros was on fire. The Bretonians had reached for the stars and been burned. And the old shadow of Numeron was fading far too quickly. It was left to us in Lucerne to change the fate of all those who wished to reject darkness. We were the last hope for a world who had long since given up on believing.
I watched from afar as he stood on the balcony, and watching as my brother the king walked with several of the lords of Berne. My brother was planning the expansion of Lucerne`s assets into the west, and Lord Byron Arryn was no where to be found. I had heard from Hanna that he was now called the scared bird by those that served him when he was not around, and in a truth so horrifying it was almost laughable Benjamin Krinner had called him Lord Veregnst Arryn which meant scared bird in old German.
``Is it true that they call him the scared bird.`` Aria was a loyal girl, and intelligent beyond nearly everyone I had met, but I thought she would speak the truth to me. We had known eachother back in Lucerne, and our relationship was such I could trust her.
``It is true Alice.`` There was shame as she said it, and that pained me.
``I heard he was absent, and perhaps even pathetic during the time of my brother here, but to see him this way is sad.`` It was now legend how he had abandoned his dying niece, and then not even lifted a finger as Sean had stabbed his own wife. What sort of man can stand and watch that, and do nothing.
``My father is not a brave man. Not the type that instills love or adortion from his lords, or anyone really. My mother was perhaps the last one that loved him. Loved him truly for who he is.``
``What do you think could be done in terms of fixing the situation here.``Her honesty was something I truly valued, and despite not knowing if she could actually affect change I would listen to her advice and pass it on to William if he didn`t already know.
``I have spoken to my father of stepping down. Of giving up his power.``I stood up from the chair as I no longer saw William through the window and wanted to find out where he was going. As I did she stood up as well and we walked to the door where hearing us move Draco opened the door and followed us as we walked. ``I told him to move on because his people didn`t respect him anymore.`` That was a brave thing for her to say to her father. I knew from my own relationship with my father that when I resisted him I was put into a spell and had my memory wiped, so there were consequences for resisting those above you.
``What did he say to that.`` We reached the end of the corridor and I followed Aria as she led me towards the cathedral sized building that William had entered.
``He doesn`t believe me. He believes that he loved. He thinks the people have forgiven him, and anyone who tried to tell him otherwise he either ignores, or tells himself they are joking. There is no getting through to him I fear.``
``My brother plans to speak to him, and let us hope that has the effect of making him see what the truth is.`` I know that William knew it would be nearly impossible to remove Byron as he was still loyal, and despite his incompetence it would set a horrible presedent and despite hating their lord it would bring anger amongst far too many vassals around the valley and beyond. Power my brother said was precarious, and if he brought down Byron Arryn every single lord, and Lady in the Kingdom would wonder if the tyrant king was coming for them next.
``If anyone can convinse him to do what is right, it is the King.`` We reached the door and were greeted by the handsome Paul Arryn of whom had his wife Lucie Krone on his arm. Both bowed as was expected, and led us into the cathedral with a greeting.
Walking into the giant room I saw William arrayed against a massive group of nobles, with Jasper and Emmett directly around him and Jasper looked absolutely cold hearted seeing William surrounded. Leven walked towards me with the young Sansa Starke, and her new husband Harrold Hardyng. The two would bow before, me along with Leven of whom gave me a quick smile before standing beside me. ``Princess Alice it is a true joy to have you in our remote city. Your family has brightened this land in more ways then I can ever truly appreciate.``
``Hanna was one of our most dear friends growing up, and we wouldn`t have dared miss a chance to see her wed. The city has certainly been turned into quite the jewel since I was last here.`` I had never imagined myself returning to this place, but William couldn`t stay in one place anymore. He was losing himself more and more each day, and unless I could change the path he was on he was going to kill himself trying to see her again. It seemed so long since he was carrying the lifeless body of Amber from the city, and I couldn`t believe he had the strength to return here where so much bad had happened.
``Terrible business Princess. I never met your late brother, but I know that despite what he became in the end he was still your brother, and I`m sorry for your loss.`` I felt bad that I had never met her before. When we had travelled to Stormwind she was in Winterfell, and while I had met nearly all the Starke`s she and her brother Rickon were one of the few I had not had the oppurtinity to meet.
``I appreciate that Lady Sansa you are too kind. My brother did more damage to your husbands people then we can ever repay, and I`m beyond happy to see things becoming positive here.`` She smiled at me, and as she did I noticed how young she was. I had thought she was of similar age to me, but it was clear she was somewhat younger, and from the way she held Harrold`s hand she was very nervous. ``How have you come to like Berne Sansa.``
``It is the same sort of climate as my home in Winterfell, and with Harrold at my side I have been very well taken care of. I will honestly be sad to say goodbye to Berne.`` As she shared a smile with Harrold, I felt out of the loop. Where was she to go that would force her to say goodbye to the city. As if sensing my confusion Leven spoke up.
``The Kingdom will be very proud to have Harrold as the Lord of the new western province. I know that Alice was one of the most strong supporters of your rise Sansa.`` The young Sansa Starke looked shocked, and again I realized how distinct I was from even her scale of nobility. It would never really matter how high up the power tree someone reached, me and my brother were always going to be somewhat seperate from them.
``We decided to name the new city Greengarden, and I promice your grace that we shall turn it into a fortress against our enemies.`` His armor and tone made him seem quite the brave young man, and I wondered if the ruins of the west would claim him, or whether he would prove himself correct.
Meeting with the elements of House Arryn it did not take long to notice the absence of Byron Arryn of whom in public excuses were made in regards to his sickness, but once the required entrance was done and William followed Hanna, and Aria Arryn into the Palace Grounds of Berne the truth would quickly come out. William would during this time convince the Lords of Berne to begin an expansion into the western lands, and would bring in several allied Elves of the west of whom promiced their support in this action. When determining of whom would be the new lord of the state being formed westward it was determined that Sansa Starke and her new husband would form the leadership under House Hardyng. As the final days before the wedding came about William travelled the city with his family and Hanna as the night came he would make love to Bella but once they were done he left her asleep in bed and went to find Alice. Finding Alice he told her that he didn`t feel the same way for Bella that he had, and he didn`t know how to get it back as he loved Brooke. Alice and William would speak for nearly the entire night, and she was able to convinse him to not do anything rash, but once again she knew that he was sitting on the edge of a knife without Brooke, and for the first time she worried he might not actually be able to move past her death.
Hanna Arryn and William would sit for a time together and he told her about what had happened to him, and she saw the depths of love that he had for Brooke.
The actual wedding went by without problem, and following this Alice would accompany William and Thomas as they walked the ramparts of the outer tier of Berne. Walking along the walls William, and Alice held Thomas's hand as William told his son about the bravery of his mother during the siege of Berne, and for the first time in his life Thomas learned the whole truth of what had happened to his mother. Continuing to talk William discussed with Thomas his place in the family, and while Thomas was young he was old enough to understand that his father was telling him that he was not a base born bastard as William had legitimized him. The talk would brighten William somewhat as after Thomas left Alice was able to convince him that if nothing else he needed to be strong for his children, and grudgingly she included the two he had with Brooke in that number as well.
“So much had changed since we were children, but the simple fact remained that one of my best friends was gaining a husband and that was a moment to stop and thank the world around us.”
— Alice Lovie
Following an argument with Jasper it is Alice that goes to find Marcel Lovie II. and together the two stand on the balconies of the Arryn estates and discuss their relationship and how close the two have gotten over the years. As Alice goes to leave for bed Marcel gives her a gift and taking it back to her room she opens the gift discovering a tiny stone and beside the stone a note that detailed that the small stone was a magi device that allowed the two to communicate no matter how far apart they were and as she touches the stone which is attached to a necklace she feels Marcel's thoughts as if they are her own. Before leaving Alice would watch as Hanna and William discussed his affair with Brooke, and how he loved her so much that it felt painful just getting up anymore. William would also mention for the first time to her that he wanted to find the Dragons, and that he thought with everything inside himself that if he did then Lucerne could survive.
Arrival of Hillsbrad
“I thought for a very long time that I would inherit House Brent. I see now that was foolish. You have your heir, and I'm not content to sit here quietly as his knight.”
— Franklin Brent
It would be following his taking part in the defense of Castle Stragnarax that a emotionally devastated Franklin Brent would return to Marburg where his wife Karyl Reyne is waiting for him alongside their son Davin Brent, and seeing her waiting for him he collapses into her arms utterly spent by the feeling that he got nothing from all his years of devoted work for his father. Sharing a moment together he tells her he is done running errands for his father and wants to rule something himself leading to him telling her that he was going to go and find his father and tell him that he needed to let him go and find his own lands. Meeting with his father his father would reluctantly send him to Berne where the wedding of Hanna Arryn was looking to be the beginning of what rumors were saying would be William's desire to expand into the lands west of Berne forming a new province there. Travelling to Berne with a small force and his wife he is met on the road by Dexter Hill of whom continues to be disliked by Karyl but their friendship leads Franklin to invite Dexter to join him on the road to Berne though in order to make his wife happy he travels at the front of the force while Franklin and his wife stay in the middle.
“I saw your coming in the water Franklin Brent. You and I were destined to meet here.”
— Franklin Anikka Salburg
Delayed by a collapsing portion of the path through the Dragon's Pass the forces of Hillsbrad under Franklin Brent would arrive following the wedding of Hanna, and Harrold, but did meet the forces of the royal family on the road.
A Desperate Gamble
A Desperate Gamble Something has to change here. Were dying a slow death unless we do something out of the box.
“Everything was looking up from what people saw. They saw us taking the Riverlands, overrunning the bridge. But all I saw was the goliath in the north. They sat destroying everything and anything they wanted seemingly at will. How long could we last in that conflict. How long could all of our strength hold out against the endless fanatasasim of the Teutons. I had to change things. I had to make it different.”
— William Lovie III.
Following the continueing growth in conflict with the Kingdom of Bolten William Lovie begin to come to the conclusion that he had to do something drastic or he risked watching all the good he'd done come crashing down around him. He had been constantly reading the diaries of his ancestors and from the writings of his great grandfater William Lovie I. he learned that the Dragon had changed everything. He came to believe that the success of House Lovie in the beggining was based on more then just the skill of William and that he needed the same trump card. William Lovie would summon from the Order of the Dragon Taylor Swift of whom he knew through Edward Cullen, and he grilled her for the truth on what the Dragons were really doing in the mountains. Taylor Swift would reveal to him that only the most senior of the Order had ever actually seen a dragon, and that she would summon a man of whom could tell him the truth of what they were. When he went to the shadow Council and told them that he planned on going to the Lucernian Mountains and attempting to meet with the Dragons, and from this he would bring them back into the fold. At first the others were so shocked by what he had said that they didn't take it seriously but when he didn't laugh along with them they begin to understand the truth that he in fact wasn't joking. At first noone spoke or even moved but after minutes of silence Jasper got up from the table and begin to become very angry that Andrew would even contimplate something so stupid.
Bella Swan would be unwilling to accept his decision as she believed this had to do with William missing Brooke.
“What could possibly be gained with your suicide? I honestly want to know what frame of thought your going through that makes you think you can just check out on us.”
— Jasper Hale
After the argument of the Shadow Council Jasper went back to his room with Alice where he begin throwing things around the room which obviously brought about the attention of his fiance Alice Lovie. When Jasper told Alice about what was happening she immediatly knew that she was partly to blame for this as she had told him during the trip back that he was as great as William Lovie, and that anything he had done would pale in comparison to what he would eventually be remembered for. Realizing this she immediatly left the room with Jasper - who was shocked that Alice had just up and left - and went upstairs to Andrew's room where she walked in on Andrew and Bella in the middle of having sex. Seeing this was the first of what would become a growing problem for Alice as she begin to accept some simple truths in her life that she had never allowed herself to accept before.
Telling Alice the Truth
“What do I say to him. How do I make him see that he need not die. For longer then I could remember I had seen my brother do anything he ever put his mind to, and thus was this one of those impossible things that maybe he could accomplish. If he was succesful the postives were unending...but...but if he failed.”
— Alice Lovie
When Bella had removed herself from William and they were properly clothed she sat down on the edge of the bed and apoligized to William for telling him what she had, and she begged him not to go through with the Dragon plan. Bella stood beside him, but she to wanted to know why William would be so absolutely reckless. Bella went through the lists of things that gave them an advantage in any upcoming conflict, and by this point Alice was tearing up but still attempting to help Bella by also saying all the positives of a future conflict with the Empire. William explained to the two of them that the situation was hopeless in the long run unless they did something drastic and he could only think of doing this. He had taken out cities, and annexxed half of western Westros but he still was nothing more then a peanut in comparison to the power of the larger Empires in Europe. The three of them argued back and forth for some time and finally Ashley would appear at the door and she had a bad dream, and wanted them to get her a drink. Bella would leave to help Ashley with that, and when she did William reached for Alice and pulled her into a hug and whispered to her the words that force her to take his side of the coming debate.
“I love you sister. I love you more then words could ever acurately state, and once upon a time I made a promise to you that I would keep you safe from everything in the world that could ever do you harm. For me this is the purpose. I can't keep you safe anymore without taking risks. The days are running short, and I can't fathom a world where I have to even contimplate your fall. I won't ever allow that to happen. So the next time you question my resolve or wonder whether you can talk me out of it remeber this. I go to the mountains not so that I can ride some dragon, or build a greater reputation. I ride to the mountains because this is how I keep you safe.”
— William Lovie III.
With the words said by William there was a sence of understanding between the siblings and she would help him to convinse Bella of the reasonings behind the decision, and despite wanting to believe that her husband could sucede where it seemed noone could Bella was not willing to accept his death and refused to agree but would support him. Bella would return carrying a sleeping Ashley of whom they laid in their bed, and then went out to the balcony. The three of them would talk, and this time Alice now supported him, and after basically being double teamed for many minutes William went inside to check on Ashley and Bella and Alice spoke, and Bella wondered what he could have said to her to make her agree to this. Alice refused to tell the truth, and instead simply made excuses for William and Bella left frustrated.
The Mountain
Keenclaw would be the only one of William's companions that followed him into the mountains.
“I flew to the top of that peak with nothing but a prayer at my back and the hope that a legacy only written about was true.”
— William Lovie III.
With the decision made and everyone basically giving up on resisting him outside of Jasper who was following him night and day in an attempt to atleast join him, William knew that the time had come. He simply needed Taylor Swift to come through for him and bring the man of the Order of the Dragon to tell him where he needed to fly to in order to find the Dragons. Days after the arguements and of Jasper following him, and Taylor arrived back in the city this time bringing Valian Kone of whom would meet with William after he commanded Draco Highmore to create a brief task for Jasper that would give William a few moments to meet in secret with the man. Once Jasper was occupied he would make his way to the Sky Towers esates where he met with Valian, and Valian would reveal to him the truth of the mountains. Valian told him about how the Dragons were barely ever seen but they had several nesting areas, and Valian would tell the king the location of two of them of which would allow William to find them, but he did warn him not too. William would convince Levan to trick Jasper into believing that William was going somewhere else when in fact he was leaving. The moment that William watched Levan take Jasper away from the Sky Towers he left a letter behind with Hayden Percy for Alice, Bella and Levan along with the Shadow Council before he got on Keenclaw and begin his flight to the north. His letters had told him that William Lovie had once travelled to the home of Stragnarax on his back and had said that the markings for the home of the Dragons of the mountains was marked by a large monolith some sixty feet high and glowing black.
Brooke Scott returned under dark reasonings, but in her soul she and William's love allowed her to pass through the Magi defences erected against her kind.
“There she was. She was just right there, and yet in that moment my mind still told me that I was seeing things. I had to be mad. Had to be crazed. She had fallen into darkness and now this was my mind creating what I believed she would be in this way.”
— William Lovie III.
As he flew he thought back over all the things that he had done, and contimplated the last minute decisions he had left in the letters and finally as he flew he saw a Black creature flying to him. In the distance he didn't know if perhaps this was one the dragons, but everything he had read and when Jacob had discussed them they were clearly white creatures. Seeing it coming closer he saw it to be a sort of horse with wings, and it carried a female rider clothed in robes. As they got closer he was horrified and shocked to see the rider to be Brooke Scott, he let go of the reigns in shock. Keenclaw kept steady as they flew upwards into the sky without William guiding Keenclaw, and the Griffin in an angry snarl trying to attack the Black pegasus that Brooke was riding on. Seeing Brooke nearly shattered all the control that William had been building up since her death, and as he reached out for her she calmed him with gesture. William nearly wept at the sound of her voice as they spoke, and she revealed to him that she wasn't just coming this one time but in fact he could find her again, and that all he had to do was think about where she might be in the mountains.
The Rise of Lucerne I saw the destruction of the world, and knew I had to stop it. There was nothing left to do but become bigger then everyone else. The Empire was never going to be the beacon the world needed it to be. Westros was on fire. The Bretonians had reached for the stars and been burned. And the old shadow of Numeron was fading far too quickly. It was left to us in Lucerne to change the fate of all those who wished to reject darkness. We were the last hope for a world who had long since given up on believing.
She looked just like herself but different in a way. Her spoke to me in a way that said that she was changed in some unspeakable way. "Brooke...how...could this...are you really here?" I didn't know what else to say in that moment. She continued to fly beside me and she looked at me with what seemed like the weight of the world on her shoulders.
"I'm here William. I've never left you, and I never will." She said it but even in her eyes we both knew it wasn't the way it was. This was a dream my mind created in what I must have felt were my final moments. How could this be true. She was dead.
"Its all so impossible without you Brooke...I don't want to fight anymore without you." The world was fighting against me at all sides. It was one thing taking the Riverlands, and dealing with the constant rebellions of that land, but when I took Westbridge it just opened us up to so many enemies. Now at war with the Boltens I just wanted to hold her and feel better.
"You have to William. You don't have a choice you need to fight. You need to fight for what we were." The past tense of it all just burned me. I wanted to change everything and was quickly realizing that the hopes of a child.
"I'm not just fighting one thing anymore. Its everyone now. All around me are my enemies and without you I just don't see...I just can't see anything of hope anymore."
"You are fighting for me Will. You are fighting for my memory every single moment you resist. Our children live only while you fight."
"They are so beautiful Brooke. Every time I look at Riley I see only you. He is a constant reminder of what I threw away, and sometimes....sometimes it takes everything in me not to send him away to remove the pain of seeing you in him."
"I'm still here William."
"Then stay with me. Prove you are here by staying with me now."
"It won't work that way Will. I will be here for you, but not that way."
"But its all so hollow without you here." I saw a tear fall down her cheek, and the moment it did I noticed its red tinge as if it was blood, and the moment it fell her hand recoiled to her cheek and the Pegasus begin thrashing about causing her eyes to panic. As he calmed herself the residue of the tear remained on her cheek as she spoke again.
"I'm sorry I had to leave you and I'm sorry I can't stay longer but know that this is what you need to do, and know that I'll be here for you." Her Pegasus started to pull away before I could ask her why her tears were blood or why she looked so scared, and my hands seemed unable to move to find the reigns so I yelled to her.
"How will I find you again?" In that moment there were so many things I wanted to yell but that seemed the most prudent.
"Search your mind William and you'll know the place to find me." It seemed after she responded my eyes closed with little control from me, and when I was able to open them she was gone as if she was never there.
As Brooke flew away the world seemed to snap back into focus as instead of feeling sad that she was gone, he felt the hope from the fact that she had said that he would see her again, and even if he believed her an illusion of his mind he somehow was okay with that. What man or women wouldn't want to see their loved ones again even if they were gone he thought. By this point Jasper realized that the things Leven had sent him to do were completely trickery and William wasn't where she said he would be, and the two would come together and get on their Griffins and attempt to find William before he was too far out.
The Monolith
“The collapsed Monolith would turn out to be quite the forshadowing for the Dragon culture that I would find at the end.”
— William Lovie III.
So caught into his own thinking was he that he only barely noticed the large black monolith the writings had spoken of. The Monolith was knocked down as if spit in half, and as he landed he sat for a moment on the ground before getting up. As he walked followed by Keenclaw he was alerted by Keenclaw to the arrival of Jasper and Levan who flew in behind him on their griffins. Wondering immediatly about whether his meeting with Brooke had been noticed this fear went away when Jasper responded that they had flew with all speed and only saw him finally when he was sitting on the ground. Realizing that he wasn't going to be able to convinse them to leave and silently happy to have his friends with him they walked forward towards very likely death. Jasper scouted ahead accompanied by Brightclaw the littermate of Keenclaw. While he scouted ahead Leven would try to get William to tell him what had happened, and despite his reservations about being thought to be insane he told Leven about seeing Brooke and despite the fact that she didn't think Brooke was actually there she held his hand as they walked to make him understand that she was there for him. He would give her a tender kiss as they walked and despite knowing why he had done it she couldn't help but wish it was for the romantic reasons that she wanted to kiss him
The Mad God
Main Article : Conversations
William had truly from the very beggining believed that if he was able to find the Dragons then everything would be alright. He had not taken into account that for centuries they had been being targeted by humans, and their particular dragons had been brutally betrayed by John Lovie.
“You never think that the thing that you have held so high in your praises will turn out wrong. A society. A culture. A Kingdom. An entire people spent their entire history worshipping at the feet of a memory. That memory turned out completely wrong when confronted with the reality.”
— William Lovie III.
As they walked forward holding hands they walked over the hill and saw Jasper flying towards them chased by an absolutely massive Dragon. Falling back over the hill they ran the other way only to find another dragon fly behind them and cut them off. The sides were then closed by more human sized creatures that were weaponized and didn't have wings but looked distinctly dragonoid. Falling back into a small circle they were joined by Jasper, and they watched the dragons approach them, and waited when the largest amongst them steps towards them and demands to know why they are here before they are killed. As Stragnarax nears them he visably recoils as he relizes that William Lovie's ancestor is amongst them and demands to know what kind of horrible taint William has since he is a decendent of the one that killed the honorable William Lovie I. William attempts to convinse him of his honor but Stragnarax throughout the conversation shows signs of madness and is unable to be convinsed and is unable to be persuaded to let them live and prepares to kill the group when Lornax arrives and stands between his father and the group. Not willing to kill his son he roars to the sky before flying away leaving Lornax, Flarnax and many Draknoids.
Conversation Incoming
Fairmarket. The Riverlands. Lorderon, and Kul Tiras. Westbridge. All had fallen to our might. All had sworn the sword to the Valley of Lucerne. All that power, and yet I looked north and saw a great demon the likes of which I could not hope to resist. The Empire was the reason for growth. The Empire was the reason for everything we did. The Empire was the land that should have done great things for the world, but instead of this they did nothing. They allowed chaos to breed amongst them, and in that weakeness and failing they threatened to ruin the entire continent.
We stood in a triangle trying to make sure we covered all sections, but looking in front of me a this massive creature I couldn't contimplate survival. Its wings flapped and they had to go almost for ever, and the cruel look in its eyes made me question everything we had ever been told about the Dragons. As I stood staring at it I held my hands in the air to try and show it I meant no harm. Seemed prudent to tell the monstracity in front of me that I wasn't capable of hurting it but this was all I knew I could do. As I did this the Dragon's head which was twice the size of me fell back and a booming sort of laughter came out. Looking around the more human appearing dragons did not move or make any sign that they were going to so I spoke outloud. "We mean you no harm. We are friends of the Dragon." The Dragon stopped its laughter and moved closer to me staring almost as if it knew me. Leven nudged at my cloak, and I knew what she was suggesting so I grabbed onto my back and pulled off my cloak which held the sigil of House Lovie in the form of our dragon. "You see my family honors you with your image on our sigil."
Seeing the sigil the dragon made a step backwards before speaking. Its voice was frightening in its scale but at the same time if you closed your eyes you would have barely known it wasn't human. "I know your family well human. I suppose the man one destroyed the images of me while he destroyed everything else that was good of your people." Moving closer I felt a gnawing at my mind before I heard his voice in my head. "I know who you are William Lovie third of his name, son of Bill Lovie. You are the great-grandson of the man that murdered my child." Saying those words I knew immediatly that despite the imposibility of what he was telling me this was Stragnarax the ancient mount of William Lovie my original namesake.
"My great-grand father was a mad man...and I cannot believe that you would think we are all like he was. You Will..."
"You shall not speak his name. He was beyond anything you could ever understand. Perfection in everything he did, that man simply wanted his family and friends, and the people he protected to have the best of everything he could offer them. And what did that get him and his son. Death. Their honor got them death from your blood. You stand here and it is as if I stare at the ghost of William himself. It is a travesty that someone as tainted as you should have his looks."
"All I can say is that the mistakes of my great-grandfather are beyond apology, but I would like to have the chance to prove what I am capable of...what together we could be capable of." He gave another throat-ed cough, but this time he looked behind him and though I saw nothing he clearly did as he shook his head.
"I swore the day your blood killed mine that I would never enter that tainted city again unless I was going to burn the entire city to the ground." It was a common question among the scholars of my people. Why had the great Stragnarax not intervened and stopped John? Why had he not taken revenge? Why had he not done so many things.
"Why didn't you?"
"Every ounce of my being wishes to destroy everything in that blighted city but...but a man I trusted and loved made me promise once that I would never harm it. He made me promice to protect Lucerne, and to never cause it harm. He never made me promice to protect you though. " A mighty chill went down my spine as I was threatened by a creature that William had wrote had been alive for the creation of our world itself. Old beyond counting was this creature and I was in its sights.
"I am a part of Lucerne."
"A destructive and cruel part." Leven had ahold of my shoulder and I knew she could feel that Stragnarax was not going to see reason. I knew she wanted me to look back at her, but a part of me couldn't believe it would end this way.
"You cannot know that." I wanted to believe that I wasn't destructive but in my short time as King of Lucerne I had done my share of destruction. It had a purpose, but it was destructive none the less.
"I have seen gods. I have watched demons blot out the sky. I have seen extinction of races, and the near destruction of my own. I can see your mind human, and I see death."
"I'm sorry for everything that..." I felt the gnawing at my mind and he returned to speaking to me mentally.
"Its over human. Its time to meet your Glaurung and see what your capable of in the afterlife." I wanted to say something. Say anything really. Try and make him stop, but looking into his eyes you could just see how lost he was. Completely lost in bad memories, and regret and there was nothing I could do to repair what had been done to him in the past.
He opened his mouth and I watched as the fire billowed out of its mouth and came towards me, and looking back at Leven, and Jasper I smiled knowing I was surrounded at the end by loved ones. As I waited for the end a massive crash came in front of me knocking me onto Leven and flinging us into the snow. Getting myself up I checked to make sure Leven, and Jasper were alright before turning around and seeing another dragon between us and Stragnarax. You could still see Stragnarax behind him so large was he, but this new white dragon was still massive in its own right.
Stragnarax moved forward attempting to get by the smaller dragon, but the smaller one pushed his wings out pushing back Stragnarax who let out a hiss of a noise which forced us to cover our ears it was so loud.
For minutes they circled each other. No noises but the occasional hiss from Straganarax, but from the way he had talked before I believe they could somehow choose who they were speaking to in some incredible way. And then suddenly from behind us another Dragon dropped from the sky and without a sound moved to stand beside the other Dragon that was seemingly standing between us and certain death. With the arrival of the second dragon I felt clawing in my mind again and saw Leven fall to my right as she held her head.
"Leven!" I grabbed her by the shoulders holding her up.
"I feel something in my mind William." Jasper came and held her up as well, but he showed no signs of feeling anything, although knowing him he could be in any kind of pain and we would never know the difference.
"It's alright Leven. It's the Dragon." I'm not sure that was comforting but at least she knew now why the feeling was happening. I was shook by the feeling of flapping as Stragnarax smashed his wings on the ground before pushing the two smaller dragons out of the way and standing right in front of me.
"Your here for death human." His face moved so close to mine that I could see the scales all of his face, and the way crystals somehow dotted pieces of the scales making him look like some expensive merchants garb.
"I am here for this valley. I am here to keep us all safe from anything that would harm us." He hissed again at me.
"Your murderous great grandfather once thought the same way. I thought he was a good person as well. I thought he wanted to keep everything in the valley safe. I was wrong with him, but I will not watch as trusting another of your kind gets my people murdered."
"We need each other. Surely you see in this new world we can work amazing things if only we work together for the common good."
"I will give you this warning because my children have so foolishly deemed you worthy of protection." Looking around him at the two smaller dragons at least I knew who they were now, and which side they were on. "If you return here I will kill you. If you return here I will burn your body and drop you over the city I watched your ancestor build."
I wanted to say something. Once again I found no time though as the moment I had opened my mouth his massive wings pushed out and he flew into the sky moving deeper into the mountains.
“I had spent my entire existence hearing about the humans madness and violence but in this young human I saw nothing but hope. He was what would bring us out of the darkness and back to the light.”
— Lornax
Lornax and Flarnax would attempt to better understand the reasoning behind why William had risked everything to come here, and why they should listen. William was able to come to a sort of understanding with the curious Lornax of whom he convinced he was no harm too and he simply wanted to regain what had been lost between the Dragons and the humans of Lucerne. Flarnax would make the argument that the days of the dragon were sliding away and if nothing changed they would be wiped out. Lornax would agree and they both said that if the time came for trouble or they needed help then they would be able to count on the White Dovah by their side. William as they were leaving made Lornax and Flarnax aware that the Dragons were rising in the east under the Empire of Dragonstone, and that these dragons appeared to be of the Red Dovah but were not led by a very large dragon as the White were. Lornax was shocked that the Red Dovah were reintegrating with the humans and this would lead to even more discussion of the need for the White Dovah to join with Lucerne, but both Dragons made it sadly clear that it would take time for the relationship to return to what it was, but the two of them were with Lucerne.
“I had known him for basically my entire life, and the ghost I had seen since she died was something different. Since Brooke Scott had died he had smiled just as much, but the smiles were not the true smiles of the love of my life. He smiled out of memory. He smiled because that's what he knew he was supposed to do, and not because he wanted to. But standing here holding his hand as he looked at me smiling I saw him again.”
— Lornax
Conversation Incoming
Fairmarket. The Riverlands. Lorderon, and Kul Tiras. Westbridge. All had fallen to our might. All had sworn the sword to the Valley of Lucerne. All that power, and yet I looked north and saw a great demon the likes of which I could not hope to resist. The Empire was the reason for growth. The Empire was the reason for everything we did. The Empire was the land that should have done great things for the world, but instead of this they did nothing. They allowed chaos to breed amongst them, and in that weakeness and failing they threatened to ruin the entire continent.
I had known him for basically my entire life, and the ghost I had seen since she died was something different. Since Brooke Scott had died he had smiled just as much, but the smiles were not the true smiles of the love of my life. He smiled out of memory. He smiled because that's what he knew he was supposed to do, and not because he wanted to. But standing here holding his hand as he looked at me smiling I saw him again.
Return of Riley Scott
“Taking on mistresses. Sons coming home. The love of my life returning. What a confusing time.”
— William Lovie III.
William travel to Forks on their way back to Lucerne from Fairmarket. On the boat ride back after a long talk with Morrigan, she takes matters into her own hands and finally reveals to William that she wants him in what ever way she can have him, and despite his marriage he sleeps with Leven. Arriving in Forks they are met on the docks by Charles Swan of whom they talk with for a time, but this ends when Riley Scott arrives alone on horseback, and wishes to return with them to Lucerne for a time. Riley reveals to him that Dan Scott is conspiring to make him and heir and he loves his family and doesn't want to see them come to harm through the menipulations of Dan Scott. Leven goes with William as he talks with Riley, and after Riley leaves with Thomas for a while he tells her that he is amazed at the changes in his son, and as they watch as he spends time with Thomas, and longs to see his three oldest sons become friends. Leven once again talks to Morrigan of whom congratulates her on gaining William in the way she did, and Leven shocked to know Morrigan knew begins to take Morrigan into her confidence revealing the arrangement she offered William and he seemingly agreed to.
Meeting a Daughter I am so sorry my daughter. I would have never abandoned you had I of known.
Meeting a Daughter
“Roslin do you think my mother is sorry. Do you think when she looks back at what happens here she will look back at it with sorrow. I wonder Roslin if she will look upon any of this as anything other then an annoying setback.”
— Lucie Lovie
Following the attempted Coup in Stor Roslin Stor XII. would return to the capital with Lucie Lovie of whom told her everything she could about her life, and everyone was called to a council where they were told that they had the oldest child of the King of Lucerne in their hands. Following this discovery there were many in the council who begin saying they should barter her to the Lucernians, and this charge would be led heavily by Terad Ereham who had been implicated in the Coup attempt but had returned to the fold after its defeat. Roslin argued that if they did that William had shown he would never forgive the slight, and the weak willed Terad wilted under the pressure of Roslin's words and agreed with her idea of simply giving Lucie to the Lucernians asking nothing in return. The failure here of Terad to gain anything would further poison the mind of his son Tristifer Ereham III. to his father and would be the final straw which led to Tristifer turning completely on his father and taking control of House Ereham.
“My King I have a letter for you. My King the letter is said to be from a High Lady of Stor. She says shes writing in regards to your daughter Lucie.”
— Jasper Hale
While Lucie Lovie was being sent to Storhold and the letter was on its way to Lucerne the situation in Lucerne would be quite peaceful as the royal family prepared for the birth of another child of the main branch through Bella Swan and William Lovie, but as this was happening the lessening of the corruption of Morrigan would lead to a major reveal.
William
Arrival in Westbridge
“I looked out over the side of the boat to the docks and saw a crowd larger then anything I had seen in a long while. Nobles, and their men all crowded around, and my first thought was what they were doing. My first thought was never that they were there waiting for me. It just didn't make sence.”
— Lucie Lovie
Running From a Monster
“You have to die.”
— Viggo Vortisson
Arrival in Fairmarket
“When we return Lucie I want you to understand one thing above everything else. Our distance. The time we spent apart. I wish that I could take it all back and you could be right by my side. The people you meet in Lucerne, they are by and large good people, but they all have their own wishes and desires. Some will see you as a marriage target. Some will see you as a threat. Whatever happens, and whatever is said I want you to know one thing. You are my daughter. You are my daughter and I love you.”
— William Lovie III.
Leven and William await with many of his children as the boat of Lucie Lovie pulls into the Fairmarket dock, and she consoles him as he gets nervous about seeing her. As she arrives before he can say anything of any real substance she is taken into a hug by Ashley Lovie of whom is followed by Thomas, and William also hugging her but Riley stands back beside William and is unwilling to hug this new claim to the throne. William decides on the advise of Lucie that they will return to Lucerne as quickly as possible and Leven and William stay the night together and then after that returning by caravan back to Lucerne. The second half of the chapter is their journey back to Lucerne.
Return to Lucerne
Death of Bella Swan
Death of Bella Swan She was the queen. You murdered the queen of the Kingdom. What am I to do with you?
“I have loved her since the first time I laid eyes on her sweet sister. But the truth is. The truth of the matter is that I love others. It took me a long time to understand that doesn't diminish what I feel for my wife. It doesn't diminish what I had with Amber, or Britney. It doesn't take a thing from what exists between you and I. Its really quite simple sister. I love them all.”
— William Lovie III.
William Lovie III. would first be warned of the danger to Bella Swan early in her pregnancy after she became very sick and would have died had not Edward Cullen been able to intervene, but this was believed by William to be an attempt on her life by assassins of the Order of the Raven so he put his energy into stopping them believing he knew who was at fault.
Bella Dies
“We have another child soon my sweet king. This child will be a beacon of hope for the people of this land, and I love you so much Will for loving me this much.”
— Bella Swan
With the pregnancy coming quickly Bella would be taken into the birthing room, and while she was in the birthing room Riley would make his last visit to her. While William, and the others were briefly out of the room meeting with her father Bella would ask Riley to give her some water and when he obliged he would put more poison into her water and with noone in the birthing room she would drink the poison not knowing the consequences of drinking.
Confronting the Truth
Coming to the realization that Riley murdered Bella he is forced to confront his son alongside Alice and the two are shocked when Riley admits to the murder right away.
Conversation Incoming
When I was a young man I thought everything in my life would go a certain way. I would squire for a great knight, and he would put his sword to my shoulder one day and tell me I was now a true dragon knight. I would marry a beautiful girl that loved me, and together we would have a happier family then the one I remembered most days. I would rule the kingdom as a fair king, and the land would prosper. I was never squired because my father kept me in Lucerne for my childhood. I married a beautiful girl and had children with not only her but three other girls of which ultimately led to her death. My rule had definetly prospered the kingdom, but as the tally of my actions grew I begin to question how fair I am.
I walked with William and he held my hand as we moved down the hallway. Moving my hand to the door I looked back to see Will had followed me and it took only a small nod of the head from me to make him turn back. In my heart I didn't want to believe what was being said. I didn't believe it but just in the tiniest bit of reality that it was true I didn't want Will to have to stand there and watch his brother become a monster. My own brother had tried to rape me. Tried to kill me. My own brother had done that and William had still yet to recover from the damage of knowing what Sean was capable of. I couldn't let junior carry around that pain the way my poor William had too.
I must have been staring at the door handle longer then I thought because William's hand reached down gently holding my hand and moving it out of the way before turning the handle and opening the door to whatever this would turn to be. Walking down the hall I had this terrible feeling already, but the moment I saw Riley sitting at a chair reading something in me just knew.
"Son I need to ask you something." Riley must have been so enthralled in his book that William speaking caused him to jump a bit before a smile crossed his face at seeing William, and he turned to his father. "I need you to promise me son, that when I ask you that you will be honest. You will be true. And you will not be offended by the question."
There was no hesitation in Riley in answering William. "Of course father." William pulled a chair up from behind Riley and sat beside him before placing his arm to Riley's shoulder. I was well back, but I honestly felt in the moment this calm wash over me. Riley was so peaceful that this must just be some mistake.
"Do you know anything about what happened to Bella?"
"Of couse I do father."
"Riley tell us what you know."
Riley looked so confused as he stared at William. He looked briefly to me as if I would provide him some anwser to whatever was causing him confusion, but now I knew the truth and I was horrified. "I thought you already knew."
"Knew what son?"
"I made her go away."
"Made her go away?"
"I made it as pain free as I could." I could feel it all fall apart as I just lunged at him. I felt my hand connect with his face, but before I could strike him a second time William was on me holding me close to himself.
I was screaming. I don't really know what, but I was screaming. But as everything fell apart and I felt William's arms tighten around me holding me still I caught a look of Riley. He was so confused. He just didn't have anything on his face that said that he knew what he did.
The New Queen
Following this he is forced to banish his son Riley to Lorderon and following this he discovers Leven is pregnent with his child causing him to marry Leven in order to not father a bastard child, and the two are married shortly afterwards only weeks following Bella Swan's death.
Return of the Dragons
During the weeks following his marriage to Leven Martell Lornax the White Dovah arrives in the city and gives him one dragon egg for each of his children although there are two extra which confuses even William of whom does not know these two children and becomes fanatical about finding them.
2.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
9.jpg){kind=link}
