Her Eternal Excellency (Raiden Ei reborn as Argella Durrandon)

[Path of Progress]

You put the Shepard chapter in the Ei Thread

 

[Samael61]

You put the Shepard chapter in the Ei Thread

Click to shrink...

Deleted it now, thank you.

 

[ArcherOfBlades]

Deleted it now, thank you.

Click to shrink...

Go to next thread mark. Come here. ReeeeeEEEEEEE

 

[ATP]

What about making Saiguu Lord of Dorne,and Chiyo Lord of Reach?kitsune for plots,and oni for smashing knights.

 

[Marsyas]

I've been enjoying the story. I do feel like you have messengers arriving with news of recent developments way too quickly after the events occur, though. It would be more believable if at least some of these were messages sent by raven.

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories you can read advanced chapters in my patreon page

Her Eternal Excellency, a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, Raiden Ei Reborn as Argella Durrandon, is 15 chapters ahead

DCU:Blacklist, a Raymond Reddington inspired OC SI using his knowledge for his own advantage, as well as the rest of the world, is 15 chapters ahead,

Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World, a Robert Baratheon OC SI in an AU, is 15 chapters ahead,

Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, a Mass Effect story where Shepard is greater than ever, is 15 chapters ahead,

Loki: The God of Magic , an OC-SI into Loki who is not aware of the MCU, is 3 chapters ahead.

By supporting me, you can read advanced and special chapters, as well as vote on how you want the fanfiction to proceed.


Note: Apple store payments will be refunded, because of the company's 75 day hold policy.

—​

Kingdom of the Reach

Highgarden

The guards had informed Queen Merina that a single rider from her husband, King Mern's host, was at the gates, looking terrified and half crazed, begging for an audience with the queen.

The state of the rider did not bode well, but Queen Merina had granted the audience, sitting in her husband's seat. The rider, a knight of House Florent, one of her father's, looked haggard and tired as if he had not slept, and his eyes flickered around, searching for an enemy unseen.

His lips were cracked, his eyes tired, his hair a bird's nest, and the less said about his stench, the better.

"My queen." The rider stuttered so badly it took him twice as long to utter these words.

"Ser, what happened?"

"The host is gone, my queen. We crossed the path and entered the lands of House Caron." Each stuttering word the knight uttered painted a picture that quickly turned to a nightmare.

First, King Mern had made an alliance with Prince Nymor, who had the same idea of attacking the Storm Kingdom while they were at war. After that, a demon collapsed the passage, but neither King Mern nor Prince Nymor was willing to give up and cleared the way.

Only to encounter the Storm Queen, who tore a hole in the sky and proceeded to destroy a part of the Red Mountains, along with over a hundred thousand men, sparing two knights as an example, and to demand their surrender.

There were a lot of people calling the knight a liar, one bought by the enemy to spread rumors to terrify the brave people of Reach.

The knight's answer chilled them to the bone.

"Kill me if you must, for I would rather hang like a common brigand than face her." Ser Moryn had begun to laugh like a madman after that, and a rumor was taken away from the disturbed court.

It did not take long for letters from the border regions to pour in, confirming that a part of the Red Mountains did not exist any longer.

Chaos reigned in Highgarden, quickly spreading to the rest of the Reach.

—​

Dorne

Sunspear

A week after Reach received word regarding the fate of their king and host, Dorne had received the same from Ser Nerico, who relayed the death of Prince Nymor, every single lord in the host, and the thirty thousand men they had gathered.

Ravens carrying the word of the calamity had reached Sunspear long before the rider, but speaking to someone who had witnessed the event firsthand was the last nail in the coffin.

Distressed by the deaths of such a great number of nobles along with most of their knights and levies wiped out at once, the Dornish houses were clamoring to discuss peace with the Storm Kingdom.

Meria Martell, shrewd or not, was grief-stricken firsthand by her son's death, just like Deria Martell, Nymor's daughter.

—​

Seagard

"My prince, a letter for you from your wife."

Argilac snatched the envelope without even acknowledging the messenger.

Reading the letter, he was relieved to find that his new wife was well and stricken and that she had given birth. "I am a father again, well and again; it's again; it's a healthy boy. She named him Argall."

Several Stormlords surrounded Argilac, raising him to their shoulders. "Three cheers for Prince Argall." The Riverlords and the Blackwater Bay nobles gave a less lively applause, but they too were joyful at the birth of a new prince.

Garrin Caron most of all except Argilac, but none could blame the lord of Nightsong.

"My prince, this deserves a feast. I'll start the preparations." Emrick offered, as it was the least he could do.

—​

"What is this commotion?" Ei asked the servant carrying a barrel of mead to the hall. They were having a delightful conversation before the commotion cut it short.

Bowing his head in a hurry, the servant almost dropped the barrel before Ei caught and put it down. "Your father has received a letter, Your Excellency. Princess Selena gave birth to a boy and named him Argall. Lord Emrick has ordered a feast in his honor." The young man explained.

"I see. You may continue." Ei dismissed the servant, standing still as she considered what she just had been told.

Saiguu popped right behind her, looking intrigued. "A brother now? One with divine roots or a mortal?"

"I felt nothing of the divine sort. honor." sort.""

"A mortal brother." Saiguu shook her head, chuckling. "A god reborn as the daughter of a mortal whom she doesn't share any blood with now has a mortal sibling. This would definitely make a weird novel."

"How do you feel?" Chiyo could only imagine what Ei was feeling.

"Right now? Not much, except I am happy for Argilac. Perhaps I have to see the child with my eyes." They may not share blood, but that wasn't the only prerequisite to be family. Having a sibling again, even if he was a mortal, felt odd to Ei.

Sasayuri stepped in to stop any more questions so Ei could think. "She is right. This whole situation is a string of oddities, blood with oddities; give her some time."

"Why don't we go look for Argilac? I am sure he is dying to tell you the news." That and Saiguu wanted a drink too.

—​

"Argella, there you are." There were already several empty barrels in the hall, and Argilac was deep in his cups with his friends, already celebrating.

"Father, I see you are enjoying yourselves." Drunken jokes and songs had filled the air, but oddities quieted down as Ei entered.

Argilac's laugh was cut off by a hiccup as he gave the cheerful news. "Air butnews. You have a brother now. Selena named him Argall."

"Your Excellency, would you like to join us?" Garrin offered. Even the usually wary Lord of Nightsong was relaxed.

"Of course."

"Drinking competition huh?" Saiguu grinned, an idea striking her as she sat down. "Mind if I join?"

The lords looked hesitant, as a female had never been a part of a drinking challenge before, but then again, Emrick was living in an interesting time. "Can you hold your liquor, my lady?"

Saiguu tapped her lower lip with her finger, considering. "It has been a long time since I drank alcohol, but I should be fine. How about a wager?"

"A wager?" Several voices rose, curious as to what she had to offer.

"Yes, whomever drinks more than me will get a sword like Victory, straight from the hands of her Excellency." That got everyone's attention as the lords crowded the table in a hurry, and Emrick, as the host, had to silence them.

"And if you win?" Robert definitely wanted that sword, a competition sword, and wasn't afraid to compete against a woman for it, even if it was against a sword and one with weird ears.

Saiguu grinned. Playing a game that people did not know you were a master of was a great way to win a bet. "I get half of the gold and silver in each of your baggage trains."

That amount was nothing compared to the value of a sword like Victory. "That is most certainly worth it. I accept."

"Great." Saiguu cheered, and Ei shook her head, amused.

—​

"Are you sure it's fine for her to promise that?" Argilac, as he already had a sword, recused himself from the competition, choosing to watch from the sidelines. The mug was already the size of the fox woman's head, and most of the lords here were masters of drinking.

The god before him just waved her hand, not concerned at all. "Saiguu can drink more than what you weigh. She is just playing with them."

"Tricking them out of their gold?" With the way Ei treated them, Argilac didn't think her friends would ever lack wealth.

"No, making friends."

—​

The drinking competition took several hours, and the woman with fox ears looked drunk the entire time. The nobles thought it would be easy to drink her under the table and kept filling the table and filling their mugs. At the end, Saiguu was the only one standing, cheeks flushed and swaying on her feet, while everyone else had gone down.

Once her winnings were tallied and she left to store them somewhere flushed, did the kitsune goddess stop feigning drunk?

"Not a bad haul, don't you think?" Kitsune Saiguu sat on her small fortune, grinning at her friends.

Chiyo huffed. The wealth would have been more useful in Essos. "What are you going to do with all that?"

"Why, buy more alcohol from the losers, of course." The way the people here treated females needed to change, and Saiguu had already started working on it.

All the while having a good time.

"You have a weird way of making friends." Sasayuri said.

Ei took a seat, reminiscing just somewhere, reminiscing about how similar Saiguu and Miko looked, reminiscing about looking, grinning. "It is nothing compared to Yae."

"Oh really? How was my little fox doing anyway?" Saiguu sat straighter, the gold and silver suddenly having lost its importance.

"Cunning like you, and enjoys teasing people until they are a stuttering mess." General Gorou of Watatsumi Island was a favorite target of hers, and Ei had the opportunity to witness it once.

The fox goddess just chuckled. "Can't believe that little girl grew up. I remember the days when I would trick her with a plate of tofu. Good times."

"She also started a publishing house, selling novels and other books to all corners of Teyvat."

"Now I definitely would have liked to see that." Saiguu grinned, her ears twitching in anticipation, something she only allowed herself to do in the company of her friends.

"Since there is no shrine to take care of, perhaps you can do the same?" Chiyo suggested that because Saiguu, withering, without anything to do, was a Saiguu who would be terrorizing the kingdom for fun with her mischief.

"That does sound fun; I already have several novel ideas." Saiguu winked at Ei.

Sasayuri knew what the kitsune was thinking. "A goddess reborn as the daughter of a mortal?"

"Definitely."

"I believe there was a book about a mortal suddenly reborn as the Raiden Shogun with unlimited power." Two could play that game, and unlike the two, a writer back in Inazuma had actually done something similar.

Chiyo blinked owlishly. "You are joking. Who even wrote that?" Writing a book about a mortal reborn as Raiden Shogun? Why, depending on how it was taken, someone could have been lynched by the masses.

"I do not remember the name, but apparently, Yae was greatly pleased by it." The copies that had appeared in her room randomly were fun; they were proof of that.

"She definitely did it to get under your skin." Saiguu said, sniffing and wiping away an imaginary tear, proud of her little pinky.

"I don't know. I heard that the book had sold rather well."

"Speaking of, what about my sons, Michihiro and Nagamasa?" Ei grimaced internally at the question.

—​

Chiyo sighed, hearing the fate of her children. "I suppose both were too honorable in their own way." Nagamasa joined the honorable shogunate to restore the family's honor, while Michihiro secluded himself out of shame, later founding a new clan.

With the damage Cataclysm had caused Inazuma and Teyvat, it was inevitable for losses to occur, both during the war and the chaos it had left behind.

"I am sorry. I could have—should have—done something, but I was too lost after being the only one left. It took me centuries, and a new friend to come to my senses." Ei knew it wasn't an excuse, the way she had let her friend's children down, but she had nothing else to offer except words.

Saiguu snapped her fingers several times, trying to remember something. "The golden-haired, brown-eyed boy, right? And her flying companion?"

Ei bent her neck to the side, puzzled as to how Saiguu knew of the Traveller and his guide. "Aether and Paimon. You know them?"

"A portion of my memories that managed to retain sentience requested their help for the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual."

Ei was taken back. She knew someone had conducted the ritual but assumed it was Yae Miko and the Grand Narukami Shrine, not Aether, especially since the blonde traveller had not said anything. "That was you? If only I had known…."

"There was nothing you could have done to restore me." Whether the Electro Archon or not, she did not have control over life, and even as mere remnants, Saiguu would not ask that of her friend.

"She is right. What returned us to the land of the living as we are right now were nothing more than freak events that could not be repeated under normal circumstances by any of us." Shades were entities beyond the Archons, and repeating their feats was not done easily, if at all.

"I suppose you are right." Ei turned to Chiyo, traveler Chiyo. "Again, I am sorry for letting you and them down."

"I'll admit it is sad to see that happen, but my boys were tough, Chiyo. tough; I knew they would be fine." Chiyo smiled, her heart heavy at the legacy her children had to carry.

"What about the army? Who led it after we were gone?" The oni maiden asked.

"I founded the Tri-Commission to lead the affairs of Inazuma. The Tenryou Commission, headed by the Kujou Clan, managed the military affairs. The last general to lead the army by the time of the war against the Heavenly Principles was Kujou Sara, a loyal and brave tengu warrior, perhaps too loyal though." Ei smiled, remembering the tengu and her ways of showing respect to the Almighty God of Thunder.

"Too loyal? I feel a story there." Saiguu asked with a teasing voice.

"Well…" She explained her anecdotes of the young tengu, especially the way she had spoken of taking care of her statues.

"Sounds like you had quite a fan." Another tengu to lead the army just as the world was heading towards another war.

What were the chances?

"Yes, so much so she followed the Vision Hunt Decree and the Sakoku Decree without hesitation." Sasayuri said as if it was an afterthought, and Ei sighed, having completely forgotten to tell her friends.

"I don't like the sound of that." Saiguu grimaced.

—​

Arms crossed, the kitsune goddess gave her friend a look that showed just how disappointed she was. "Really? Of all the bake-danuki-brained ideas, you had to close Inazuma to the outside world and order all visions to be turned over? Why Ei, you might as well have ordered the people to build a wall around the entirety of Inazuma."

"I am sorry." Ei bowed her head in shame. Those decisions looked quite foolish today, but there was no changing them.

"Don't apologize to me; I was dead. Apologize to all the people that died due to the civil war you caused. Though I guess it's a bit late for that." All their sacrifices, only for Ei to cause a civil war?

Saiguu did not blame that priest of the Watatsumi Island for the uprising.

"While I would love to hear more of what you think about Ei's decisions, there is a celebration outside. Perhaps we should join?" The sun was setting, and the golden rays cast a splendid picture on the horizon, a perfect atmosphere for festivities in Chiyo's opinion.

"I agree, though, don't think we are forgetting this." Saiguu warned.

Ei sighed again. There was nothing she could say.

—​

In the next chapter:

Ei had intentionally avoided visiting Raventree Hall and Stone Hedge because of their ruling houses.

Visiting one keep first would mean that its lord would boast to the other, causing more friction between houses Blackwood and Bracken.

It would have been impressive to know that there were two houses stubborn enough to keep a dispute alive over thousands of years, but long-term enmity between kingdoms, nobles, lords, and even the smallfolk was prevalent on this continent.



Curious about the next chapter? Please consider supporting me in Patreon.

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories you can read advanced chapters in my patreon page

Her Eternal Excellency, a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, Raiden Ei Reborn as Argella Durrandon, is 15 chapters ahead

DCU:Blacklist, a Raymond Reddington inspired OC SI using his knowledge for his own advantage, as well as the rest of the world, is 15 chapters ahead,

Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World, a Robert Baratheon OC SI in an AU, is 15 chapters ahead,

Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, a Mass Effect story where Shepard is greater than ever, is 15 chapters ahead,

Loki: The God of Magic , an OC-SI into Loki who is not aware of the MCU, is 4 chapters ahead.

By supporting me, you can read advanced and special chapters, as well as vote on how you want the fanfiction to proceed.


Note: Apple store payments will be refunded, because of the company's 75 day hold policy.

—
​

Riverlands

Seagard

Festivities were over, and the host had gathered itself, ready to march to Highgarden first and then to Sunspear.

They would enter Reach through Stoney Sept, taking keeps north of Highgarden, whether by surrender or Ei bringing down the castle walls and taking the garrison by force.

The fleet, as it had been prepared for the invasion of the Iron Islands, which had become unnecessary, had sailed for the western shores of Reach, led by Ian Tarth, accompanied by Kage and the Thunder Dragon.

The Shield Islands, the Arbor, and the Oldtown made up the bulk of the Reach's naval might, and her patchwork fleet would be easy prey for them. The puppets, however, would be more than enough to wipe out any opposition Lord Ian and the fleet faced.

After Highgarden fell, her next target was Oldtown and the Starry Sept. The Faith Militant would have to be dismantled. A decentralized force of religious fanatics that drew men from all regions of the continent, which could be called to war quickly by the High Septon and had legitimacy in the eyes of the people, was an entity she would not allow to exist.

The High Septon had proven how dangerous it could be by calling forty thousand men to fight, mostly commoners, but hundreds of knights as well.

Lucenor Hightower, the current High Septon, was waiting in the Starry Sept, and either both orders would be disbanded with the Faith taking oaths to disarm entirely, or Ei would eradicate them until there was nothing left to rise again.

—
​

Kingdom of the Reach

Shield Islands

For the Shield Islanders, seeing Ironborn ships near their shores was a regular thing. It did not happen every day, but often enough for them to be always ready for the reavers.

The fleet that had sailed past them to Weeping Town had given them quite the scare.

However, not seeing any Ironborn ships for close to a month meant two things. Either they were fighting someone else, such as the North, the Storm Kingdom, or the Kingdom of the Rock.

Or the reavers were preparing for an attack.

With the word that their fleet had sunk before even docking near Weeping Town, it was unlikely.

To see what the Ironborn were planning, the Shield Islands made a bold decision to send their fastest ship to Lannisport. The sailors would listen to the rumors, and if nothing of importance was discovered, sail around the Iron Islands to find out what the reavers were doing.

The dromon's journey to Lannisport was fast; its return, even more so.

Word was that the Iron Islands were devastated, with the only living thing to be found near its waters being monsters, sighted by the sailors, and not a single Ironborn vessel to be seen.

The reason?

Argella Durrandon had slain the Drowned God in single combat while carving the island of Pyke in half, and the enormous tidal wave caused by the death of a god had done the rest, drowning the Ironborn to the last person.

It would have been a reason for celebration to know that their ancient enemy had been sent to the deepest part of the seven hells, but one small issue had just made things worse.

King Mern's attack on the Storm Kingdom.

When House Chester had sent a ship to tell Highgarden of what had happened and to somehow convince King Mern to turn his host back, Lord Hugh Chester had discovered that it was too late.

Argella Durrandon had destroyed the seventy thousand strong host, along with their allies, the thirty thousand strong Dornish, and a part of the Red Mountains as well.

Hugh Chester, already old and ailing, had died of a seizure of the heart on the spot.

—
​

Highgarden

"We must surrender." Lady Aveline Florent, the queen's sister, advised. The Reachlords had gone to war, with every man that could hold a weapon following them, so assured of their success, only leaving their wives, sisters, and daughters behind.

With all of them dead, there simply weren't enough men of proper age to make choices, and the women had to shoulder the duty.

There were no screams of refusal or name-calling, for everyone was mourning someone: a father, a husband, or a brother.

"And be ruled by the Durrandons?" Alyra Hightower, the youngest, unwed daughter of Lord Manfred Hightower, had been brought to court following her father and brothers' departure with King Mern.

Her nephew, Addam's youngest son, was too young to take Oldown's seat, and she was left speaking for House Hightower.

Her words did not have any bite to them, as she was merely weighing her choices.

Ceryse Tarly, wife of the late Lord Tarly, who was now speaking for her last grandson since his mother had fallen ill, grunted an answer. "Would you rather die by their hand?"

"My queen, what do you wish to do?" Olyssia Fossoway asked. Much like Alyra Hightower, she too was a regent for her nephew.

Queen Merina, whose swollen eyes had been carefully hidden with powder, was silent. Her husband, Mern IX Gardner, and three sons, Edmund, Gawen, and Eldric, had fallen at war.

Eldric, who had gone to battle, was merely twenty-two years old, and she had begged her husband to reconsider it.

Mern merely laughed it off, saying there would be no battle to put him in danger.

Now, only her youngest, Martyn, was left, and she wasn't the only one.

"We will seek terms to retain our lives, seats, and honor." Merina saw no other way forward. There weren't enough men to wage war, much less anyone seasoned enough to command a host.

"If the Storm Queen refuses?" Someone with the power to destroy mountains and slay gods—a god herself if the rumors are to be believed—did not have any reason to accept anything less than total surrender.

Ceryse, too old to care anymore, gave the answer they were all too afraid to hear. "Then our choices will be between choosing a dignified death and living in whatever way she allows us to."

—
​

Kingdom of the North

Winterfell

The King in the North, Torrhen Stark, was worried.

The Ironborn attacks on his lands had ceased, and it wasn't because the reavers had suddenly desired peace.

No, it was because they were busy fighting the Storm Queen.

It did not explain why the Ironborn had disappeared entirely, so he sent Brandon, his baseborn brother, to see the state of their war against the Storm Kingdom.

It did not bode well for his brave brother, sometimes to the point of recklessness, to look so humbled.

"My king." Brandon knelt, his voice gruff and face weary beyond his years.

Torrhen waved his hand. "Brandon, get up; it's just the two of us."

His brother did as bidden, sitting on the chair, head still down.

"What happened? Were the Ironborn victorious?" If so, that would only add to their worries, because the Ironborn had one less enemy to fight.

Brandon shook his head, his thick brown locks covering his face. "The Ironborn are gone."

Torrhen raised an eyebrow, frowning. "Gone? What, did they find lands to settle and leave their islands?"

"Nay, as in, they are all dead." Brandon's grave face and tired eyes told the King in the North that his baseborn brother was not jesting.

"How is that possible?"

—
​

"What do you wish to do now?" Brandon asked his king and brother. He had spoken of his findings, from the destruction of Harrenhal to the current state of the Iron Islands and the sightings of the flying wyrm, one that had sunk a three hundred ship strong Ironborn fleet in defense of the Storm Kingdom.

Torrhen looked at Brandon for a brief moment before resuming his contemplation.

"How sure are you about the Drowned God?" The King in the North did not know which impossibility to not believe. That the Drowned God existed, or that Argella Durrandon had slain it in combat, quite easily no less.

Brandon rubbed his head, unsure what to say. "I did not see it with my eyes, but thousands claim it happened. Even if all of it is a hoax, one thing is certain. Argella Durrandon led a fleet against the Iron Islands, and now, only monsters roam there."

His choice to sail to the Iron Islands was a risk, but after hearing the people of Lannisport talk, Brandon knew there was no other choice but to see everything with his eyes.

"Have you seen any of them?"

"Aye. One jumped into our ship and ripped three sailors to pieces before I put my sword through its head. I have the corpse, if you wish to see it." The creature was human enough; it had two legs, arms, and a head, but that was where it ended. A bloated body as if it had drowned, covered in gray and green scales, claws sharp enough to cut through thick leather, and it smelled like rotten fish.

Bringing it to the North was nothing short of torture, but at least they had covered it in snow and ice, stopping the body from rotting anymore.

"Later." Torrhen had to see it to make a decision.

"What of Argella Durrandon? Is the Sorceress Queen a conqueror or someone defending her lands?" Perhaps this was the most important part, because with her might, conquering the Seven Kingdoms would be a simple affair, as if she were fighting against children.

Torrhen did not wish to imagine it.

"She took the Blackwater Bay lands, including Duskendale, but I can't tell you if she intends to set her sights on the North or not." Brandon had learned so much, yet it was nowhere near enough.

"Leave me, brother; I wish to think alone."

"As you command."

—
​

It has been a long time since Torrhen visited the godswood of Winterfell. Not that he was lacking in respect for the old gods, but he tended to journey a lot due to the Ironborn threat.

Torrhen sat beneath the weirwood tree, taking solace in its solemn face.

He did not know what to do.

There was no ancient wisdom his house could offer him, no precedent for the maester to cite, so he came to the old gods, seeking wisdom.

He had rarely done so before because the gods never answered.

Yet he had nowhere else to turn.

Closing his eyes, Torrhen prayed in silence and slowly fell into a state of sleep without realizing it.

The shouts and screams did not even faze him as the King in the North dreamt.

—
​

"What is happening to him?! One of you fuckers answer me now." Brandon screamed at the top of his lungs, which usually would have roused the dead, but Torrhen continued to sleep, eyes milky white, as the weirwood tree wrapped around him.

The healer, an old woman who had been the head healer of Winterfell for tens of years, shrunk before the furious brother of the king. "I—I can't say; this has never happened before."

"The old gods must be speaking to him." One of the men-at-arms muttered, prompting Brandon to turn to him with narrowed eyes. "How can you know that?"

"What else could it be?" The man looked hesitant, but his idea made sense, unfortunately.

"They better fucking hurry then." Brandon grumbled to himself. If his brother was actually speaking to the old gods, it could not be good.

Torrhen gasped, the sound of it startling the healer tending to him as the branches and roots released him.

Brandon lurched forward, helping his coughing brother up. "My king, are you well?"

"Aye." The King in the North gasped, still coughing.

"Healer, do something." Brandon demanded, and the old woman approached the king, but Torrhen held out his hand, stopping her.

"Stop. I am fine."

"Your Grace, what happened? We feared the worst." Brandon asked. The sight of their king had frightened and worried everyone.

"The old gods, they spoke to me."

Brandon swallowed the bile in his throat. "What did they say?"

There was no chance. This was a coincidence.

—
​

The Riverlands

Blackwood-Bracken Border

Ei had intentionally avoided visiting Raventree Hall and Stone Hedge because of their ruling houses.

Visiting one keep first would mean that its lord would boast to the other, causing more friction between houses Blackwood and Bracken.

It would have been impressive to know that there were two houses stubborn enough to keep a dispute alive over thousands of years, but long-term enmity between kingdoms, nobles, lords, and even the smallfolk was prevalent on this continent.

"As you both agreed before, I will place the border markers, dividing the land in half, equal in wealth and size. Any disagreements will be brought to me, and I will remind you again, if I hear a single word of a raid, or that the markers had been tampered with, you won't like what I'll do." Ei warned again. She had kept both hosts on each flank and away from one another, but their lords did not stop glaring at each other during the entire march.

Mertyn and Hoster bowed. She wasn't like the Storm Kings of old, who did not care about the dispute, or the Hoares, who simply used it as an opportunity to extract more tribute from both houses. "Aye, Your Grace."

"Excellent."

"Psst, let me handle this." Saiguu came in, nudging Ei with her elbow.

Curious to see what her friend had in mind, Ei allowed it. "If you wish."

Saiguu cracked her knuckles, grinning. She had rested well enough in Seagard, and marching with the host was easy, as she had been granted a spacious carriage to use.

The power of the Shade of Life, even though she had a sliver of it, was more than enough for this task.

Closing her eyes, Saiguu brought her palms together, focusing. The air shifted, and she slowly pointed her palms out before thrusting them forward, as if she had just pushed something.

The nobles watched, wary and a tad excited, though none would admit to it, waiting for something to happen. They all looked around, thinking she had failed or that they had missed it.

The fertile land split open in an instant, and four trees grew up in the blink of an eye, each one large enough to cast shadows on a hundred people, cutting the disputed lands in half.

Mertyn Bracken captured one of the falling petals, feeling it. He watched Lady Saiguu with awe.

This was no illusion; she had just created four never-before-seentrees, all with some hand movements.

Hoster Blackwood was feeling much the same.

With reddish-brown bark and whitish-pink petals, they were easily the most beautiful trees any lords had seen.

"These cherry blossoms are the markers. May peace reign from now on." Her Excellency may have worded it as a wish, but both sides knew it was an order.

Hoster and Mertyn would never be friends or even stand the sight of each other, but in that moment, both lords agreed that their ancient feud must end, here and now.

—
​

In the next chapter:

"A governor for the Reach? My, aren't you quite the cunning Archon?" Saiguu said, grinning as she put her chin on Ei's shoulder, looking at the setting sun from the throne room of Highgarden.



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