I have this whole scenario for Dyanna’s death and it’s genuinely kicking me in the nuts.
Dyanna Dayne has a kind of Westerosi Parkinsonism, and it starts after her first birth. At first it’s nothing—just a faint tremor in her hands when she’s tired. Everyone dismisses it as the natural toll of pregnancy.
She has Daeron, then Maerys, then Aerion, one after the other. And she is getting worse. She's slower and stiffer. Her tremors more frequent and harder to hide. Eventually, even she can’t ignore it entirely, and despite her stubbornness and need to brush problems aside she stops. She’s given her lord husband two sons. That should be enough.
Five years pass. The symptoms don’t go away, but they slow, without the strain of constant pregnancy and childbirth. And so Dyanna and Maekar Targaryen decide to try again. She’s older now. Surely she's stronger and better prepared.
It isn’t true, but she pushes through anyway. They have three more children.
She stops holding her babies unless she’s lying down and there are pillows around her, with someone nearby.
They wait three years after Aegon.
When she conceives Rhae, I think some part of Dyanna knows this will be her last child, and that that whatever is happening to her is not just frailty—it’s something that will kill her. Maybe she wants to leave Maekar one more part of herself, or maybe it’s a final fuck you to her own body—proof that it belongs to her and it will only fail her when she allows it to.
Rhae is born and Dyanna never holds her—not once. The cradle and a wet nurse are always there, but Dyanna never trusts her own arms again.
And then there’s the day it happens. It's a beautiful day—sunlight, warmth, one of those rare days where Dyanna feels more like herself, more in control of her limbs.
She calls her children—they’re going to the gardens at Summerhall. For a picnic, just the eight of them, while their father attends to his princely duties.
Daeron carries Rhae in his arms. Maerys holds Aegon’s and Daella’s hands. Aerion chases Aemon, roaring like a dragon while they both laugh.
None of them could ever really explain what exactly happened next—one moment, their mother is there, the next she has fallen down the stairs.
Daeron freezes, trembling, clutching Rhae so tightly she’s the first to cry.
Maerys brings her hands to her face—she’s the one who screams for help.
Aegon buries his face in her skirts. Daella lets out a shrill, piercing scream.
Aemon starts crying because Rhae is crying.
Aerion is still half-wrapped around him from their game, looking confused as blood spreads beneath their mother’s head like a halo.
When Maekar Targaryen arrives, I don’t think the first thing he does is comfort them. I think he yells, demanding to know why no one was holding her hand or why no one caught her.
Why Daeron was carrying the baby when his sister was right there—he’s nearly a man, that’s not his duty, he should have been protecting his mother.
Why Maerys didn’t insist on a septa, on a companion, on someone who would help their mother walk.
Why Aerion was playing at dragons, as if dragons were a child’s game—dragons had protected their family, he hadn't.
And maybe, after, he gathers them all close and holds all seven of them as tightly as he can. But he doesn’t know words of comfort, so those are the words they remember—even as they can feel the regret in him.
• She was a quiet kid. Mostly stuck by Xia Yizhou’s/Caleb's side growing up.
• He was her only friend and companion at the Gaia Laboratory. She doesn’t remember it, but he was always there, comforting her as life faded from her, and there again when she woke, ready to become her brother all over again.
• They escaped the laboratory when the Deepspace tunnel appeared. She doesn’t remember the escape, nor their past, but they became inseparable again in the shelter. Xia Yizhou was very protective of her, and she found comfort in him. They shared a bed, since Fèng Tàibèi was too scared to sleep on her own.
• When Zhāng Sù/Josephine sought her, she refused to be separated from him. In the end, both of them were adopted together.
• Learned to socialize fast once he left for college. Keeps a small circle, but values it deeply.
• Táo Tao/Tara and Shen Xinghui/Xavier are her best friends.
• She is also close with her long-lost childhood friend Zhang Lei/Zayne. Qin Che/Sylus is a kind of mentor figure to her, and she has fun with Qi Yu/Rafayel.
• She doesn’t really speak to her high school or hunter school's friend groups anymore. There wasn’t a fallout—they simply drifted apart after school ended.
• Deeply loyal to the people she cares about. A ride or die.
• Struggles to communicate her feelings directly.
• Observant and sensitive to changes in others’ behavior, even when she doesn’t comment on them—likely an imprint left on her body from the trauma of her time at the Gaia Research Center.
• Alternates between openly affectionate and emotionally withdrawn when overwhelmed.
• Grounds herself with sensory comforts—music; her favorite foods; familiar routines, like taking care of her plants or playing arcade games.
• Very persistent and determined, sometimes to the point of throwing herself headfirst into danger.
• Has ADHD (predominantly inattentive), though undiagnosed—Xia Yizhou’s support masked it for years.
• Got good grades in school, but not effortlessly like her brother; she relied a lot on his help when studying.
• Struggled through high school and preparing for the Hunter’s admission exams without him.
• She never carries keys or a wallet. Her apartment has fingerprint locks and she has phone apps for her cards. She never forgets her phone because she always has music playing when she’s out walking, and it’s how Xia Yizhou talked to her since he moved away.
• Often forgets to eat unless someone’s with her. Eating with her friends helps.
• She has loved Xia Yizhou for as long as she can remember. It took time for her to understand what she wanted from him, but it settled sometime around puberty.
• She acts bratty around him and enjoys the way he spoils her. She craves his attention, needing his focus on her in a way that sometimes feels obsessive.
• She is a poor communicator and tends to give him the silent treatment, expecting him to notice and put in the effort to understand her. She loves that he always does.
• She could forgive him for anything. She has never hated him—not even close.
• Has been skating since middle school and loves riding her motorbike.
• Loves arcades and holds high scores on a few machines. She also loves playing cards.
• Has a growing collection of plushies she’s won in claw machines.
• Keeps her weed vape on her all of the time.
• Really into plants. Has a lot of them in her apartment and a serious green thumb. Xia Yizhou gifted her some harder-to-find kinds.
• Plays the erhu (started lessons thanks to Grandma). Also a good singer. She plays music to her plants while practicing.
• Has been doing kickboxing since she was 13—she genuinely enjoys fighting.
• Insanely good aim. She's a regular at the local gun range.
• Her favorite meal is Xia Yizhou’s braised chicken.
• She has a strong sweet tooth—loves candy floss and fried banana (with ice cream).
• Has a comfortable, grungy, laid-back style. Most days she's wearing riding gear for her bike.
• As a teenager, she dyed her hair in bright colors; now, she bleaches her eyebrows instead.
• Mostly wears black and white, with some muted earth tones. Threw out all her bright-colored clothes after the deaths of her grandma and Xia Yizhou.
• Has a soft spot for apple-themed accessories—only because Xia Yizhou liked them and would point them out.
• She has a lot of tattoos: a phoenix across her back; a star on her right wrist; a diagram-like design on her right upper arm; a sun above her heart; a red apple with a line from a poem (roughly meaning inseparable) on her left upper arm; cyber sigilism in orange on her left forearm.
• A few months after Xia Yizhou “dies,” she adds a chest tattoo depicting two ancient deities, supposedly married siblings.
• After his supposed death, she mourned him deeply. She sought the truth of the Aether Core in her heart in hopes of avenging him.
• Re-listened to recordings of her calls with Xia Yizhou often—before sleeping and when she needs to focus on investigating his and their grandma's deaths. She also kept texting him, to talk about her day-to-day.
• When she sees him again, and sees how changed and unfamiliar he feels now, she takes her time to come to terms with it, feeling like she’s mourning him a second time.
• But with distance between them again, she settles and realizes that he is alive, and that is enough. Whatever parts of him have changed—or were never shown to her before—she wants to know them, and she will love them just the same.
Ok but Maerys — whose favorite uncle was Brynden Rivers. And Brynden favored her right back. She had always been clever, and only grew more so — she always kept her cards close to her chest, and found ways to win the game even after losing it. He saw her potential, or knew it. (With him, those are basically the same thing.)
When Aerys I Targaryen named Brynden Rivers as Hand instead of her father, Maerys understood both sides of it. She understood Maekar’s anger — but she understood Aerys’s choice better. She didn't have her ego cloud her vision.
But then Maekar became king. And when he chose Brynden over her — when she had already been doing the work, already been acting as his Hand before he was even close to being king — she was livid.
And still, somehow, Brynden worked his way back into her affections. By asking her opinion when he didn’t need to, listening to her. He took her under his wing.
He was never soft nor warm in any obvious way, but he gave Maerys something Maekar never quite could (not for lack of love). He was proud of her, recognized her and understood her, and he actually showed those things, in his own way.
When Maekar died, and Brynden called the Great Council, and the Blackfyre pretender Aenys came forward, Maerys agreed with Brynden’s plan — of course she did, it was obvious the pretender had to die before another rebellion broke out, just at the start of her little brother's reign. But she also knew that brother. Egg would never accept it. He was an honorable person.
So she turned her tragedy — her father’s death — into a win for her.
Aenys dies and Aegon is furious. Westeros is watching. And Maerys is right there beside her little brother to shape what comes next: The Iron Throne cannot look weak nor dishonorable. It needs to punish the man who made them look so.
Brynden is sent to the Night’s Watch and Maerys finally becomes Hand. Aegon trusted her, and he knew exactly what she was capable of. She earned her seat at his Council.
But the night before his parting, she went to say goodbye to Brynden with guilt sitting heavy on her shoulders. She did love him like a father. But he wasn’t angry, he was proud of her.
Fajra and Ulbrig are so juicy actually. The Witch and the Sarkorian. The Gold Dragon and the Griffon.
After Fajra turns down Iomadae's offer, they have an argument. Fajra isn't satisfied with how the last one (at the Midnight Fade) ended.
She knows she's his Warchief, will that allow them to be together? She knows her duties as a Knight Commander, but also how they clash with being in a relationship, so where is the line drawn? Can she be vulnerable with him, when in their last argument what saved their relationship was her acting like a Knight Commander instead of a partner?
She chose to keep her powers, defying Iomadae, and going against Ulbrig's opinion, how does he feel about that? Does he feel she's undermining him and his feelings, accepting the power that maybe she controls, but comes from the one person that destroyed his people?
I wonder when, exactly, does Lucanis tell Wenalen he can't do it, can't be First Talon. Maybe when Caterina is starting to go, with her age? When he actually starts to feel the full weight of that title? He never wanted it.
He tells Wenalen, but what does Wenalen have to say to convince him he can choose himself again?
Does he tell Illario? Viago and Teia? Caterina? And if he doesn't say anything, will they resent Lucanis for abandoning them to the mess that will come?
Or do they just gather what they can take, and walk away from Antiva? Maybe to Wycome first, to Wenalen's Clan and family? Or Minrathous, to the Shadow Dragons and Neve?
Ok. I need Fajra to put enough pieces together that she could become a goddess before the Ulbrig reveal (because it'd be uncouth to consider it afterwards ok. when it's already his thing) BUT the Areelu's daughter reveal needs to be after Ulbrig's reveal.
thankfully she has 38 Intelligence (at level 20) sooo?
like, it's very apparent. but in the end her main motivation to ascend is because she can become a sort of bordel patrol for Golarion and the Abyss, repent some demons for Gold Dragon enrichment etc
Some Rook lore, because the handsomest man in Thedas deserves it.
Wenalen is an half-elf from Clan Lavellan, and Terys Lavellan's, the ex-Inquisitor, childhood best friend.
He was born at the exact same time as Terys, and grew alongside her. It was no wonder their Vallaslin were of the twins.
His padre, Alonso, was an escaped Crow, and his papae, Sa'Renan, was the one that found him, in the verge of death after another Crow was sent to kill him, and nursed him back to health.
When Clan Lavellan was attacked by humans and templars, his padre saved their family's lives by pointing a sword at Wenalen.
That image, and the attack, are a scar he still carries. That trauma made him disconnect from himself and latch unto Terys, becoming dependent on her. Once that connection was severed by the Inquisition, Wenalen was left to rebuild himself and find a future where she wasn't a guarantee.
When Wenalen reached Minrathous, he immediately caught wind of a shipment of slaves captured from the city. He had to do something, and was fully prepared to do it all by himself. However, he was joined in by some Shadow Dragons who already had their eyes on these slavers.
Among those captured was Lia Mercar. She couldn't walk, so Wenalen carried her home. The Mercars gave him a place to sleep in their home, as thanks for saving their daughter, and he became like a son to the family.
The Shadow Dragons recruited him immediately, not having any reason to distrust a Dalish, and admiring his courage and skill.
He had drinking problems, verging on addiction, ever since Terys joined the Inquisition. But having found a calling, delivering people from slavery and fighting against the Imperium, and not wanting to ruin his relationship with the Mercar family, he decided to become sober.
The family did notice his withdrawals and helped him, a lot. Especially the youngest daughter, Sarai, who Wenalen dotes over.
Wenalen sends Sarai souvenirs of the places he visits with the Veilguard
After Minrathous was attacked by Ghilan'nain, Wenalen arranged for the Mercar family to stay in Wycome with his fathers. At least until the Evanuris were defeated.
His territory with the Shadow Dragons was the Minrathous' Alienage and surrounding district.
While he tries to exercise as much caution as necessary, he does empty all his anger fighting slavers and Venatori. The aftermath isn't pretty, and stories about him are told.
He kept his full identity hidden from Varric, who would have heard about him from Terys. To the dwarf, he was just some Dalish half-elf, not the last Inquisitor's childhood best friend, and companion.
When he heard about Varric being in town, he started shaving his beard, hoping it'd be enough for him not to be recognized. He kept this habit while leading the Veilguard.
He plays the Dalish Guitar and has a lovely voice. After meals, or when he can't sleep, he'll play Dalish songs for a while. In the Lighthouse, Lucanis often joined to hear him during those sleepless nights.
Wenalen is learning to speak Antivan, since his padre never taught him anything beyond a couple basics. He's also trying to learn about the culture when he can.
At first he was very unnerved by allying with the Crows. But after some time of working alongside them he grew to respect the faction, and even enjoy the company of the Crows (some, or one, more than others).
Lucanis was the first to know his full story, after the dragon attacks. Wenalen told it to the team- after the meeting with Terys Lavellan, who also wasn't aware he was Rook, went a bit sideways.
He is best friends with Neve and Davrin.
Emmrich is like a mentor to him. With his Vallaslin to the elvhen psychopomp, Wenalen feels a connection to the dead, and greatly enjoys learning about the Grand Necropolis and the Mourn Watch.
Taash is like a sibling to him. He feels very protective of them, and can relate to the feeling of living in many worlds.
He gained the scar on his cheek fighting Fangscorcher.
Very friendly and comfortable with Spirits and Wisps, who enjoy his company back. Wenalen loves that when he hangs out with Neve, they also have a bunch of Wisps around.
Stopped shaving to mourn Davrin and Assan, and kept the beard after the team found them both healing with Eldrin, after Elgar'nan was defeated.
