ateratooc | TD006

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test drive

TD006

Test Drive 006

WELCOME TO ATERAT

Here is our Fifth Test Drive Meme! There are a lot of areas of the city to explore, so please have a look around! In case you need a little help getting started, I've included a few prompts below, or feel free to start your own! Exploration and player initiative are the names of the game here!

Helpful Links to Get Started

Arrival & General Information | Setting & Bestiary | Locales & Businesses | Residences & Housing Info | Rules & FAQ (ask questions here!)

I. Crash Into Me

Not exactly, but close enough. You have just arrived and received a strange satchel from a tiny, strange little man and are left more or less to your own devices (more information on what to expect upon arrival can be found here)! Follow directions to the north and check out the housing, or maybe have a look around the Historium and try to get some information from that giant glowing ball, see what you can waste your meager starter coin on in the Market District, or maybe just meet the neighbors.

II. What Goes Bump in the Night

It looks like Aterat proper has a spirit problem. Maybe you're seeing specters, hearing disembodied voices, your windows rattle when there's no breeze outside. Maybe there are cold spots in your place of business (or your apartment, which is so much worse). Either way, you're 100% convinced you're haunted. Hopefully, someone else believes you, or maybe you're used to feeling crazy.

III. When the Carnival Came to Town?

Take a look at the prompts from our latest event and go to town (or the carnival).

IV. Try the Network

The Tell-Phone allows for text, video, and audio transmissions to everyone else who has one. Give it a whirl!

V. Wildcard

The above prompts are all options, and there's much more to the setting than what they provide. Do your best (or your worst)!

Navigation

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Aye. He has not found his way here.

[ For now. Jon had told her that places like these allowed people from the same world but different times to coexist. So far, they seem to be the only Westerosi in the area... but for how long? What are the odds that she's here with people who are connected to her? What are the odds that whatever powers at play here would bring in Robert next?

It's selfish to think that their world's events revolve around her, but that war had been her fault, hadn't it? It almost doesn't seem fair that she gets to have her son and husband back, after all the lives that had been lost.

Her expression softens further. He's always had that effect on her. ] Are you truly...? [ She doesn't reach out, still afraid that he might disappear if she touched him, but her posture shifts as she turns to face him more solidly. ]

[He wondered about the tower, whether Robert had gone to claim her as though she were a piece of treasure looted in times of chaos. Given the man's frenzy, it wouldn't have surprised Rhaegar. He seemed less a stag and more of a bear. His strength had been staggering, enough that Rhaegar still felt dizzy and a bit of ache in his chest.

She looked well and he had to trust that she kept safe. Her brother would have protected her and given her shelter, so long as he didn't submit to Robert's demands. Who could say with Eddard Stark? He knew nothing of the man, only what Lyanna had told him.

His decisions had lead them here, to this sorrow and to this darkness. Complicated reasons that he doubted the maesters could discern. History would likely say he was foolish and stole a woman from her family. With one blow, Robert Baratheon guaranteed that he would be the hero in the songs and Rhaegar the dark dragon. Lyanna, how could she be blamed? This might have been his own madness, brought on from dragon dreams and prophecy consuming him for so long.

He never expected love interrupting that.

Rhaegar spread his arms, showing her he was standing and well. He didn't have a great humor, but he could poke a little fun, perhaps only in this moment.]

You could poke me with your sword, Ser Knight?

[ She's caught off-guard for a moment by his sudden sense of humor, then she breaks into a laugh, turning a little to the side to show that she does have a sword on her person now. Her father's not here to forbid her from carrying one, after all. ]

Perhaps I just might.

[ She rests a hand on the hilt and starts to slowly pace around him, a little more playful now. There's still caution and wariness, but she's not out of his reach anymore. ]

But I do not think that would be sufficient proof that you are who you say you are.

[He's glad at least to see her carry a sword again, as she had when they first met. It suited her personality and he always preferred Lyanna wildly chasing whatever desire she had.]

What would convince you, my lady?

[His voice is a bit soft again, as it normally was, as though he were carefully meditating everything said. She was wonderfully impulsive, he was far too in his head.

He held out his hand for her.]

[ Playing coy and flirtatiously bantering like a lady are things that don't go with Lyanna Stark, and so she does neither of those things. While she does take Rhaegar's hand, instead she tugs him over to the horse she'd been spending time with just before he'd showed up, taking a moment to call over to its owner and ask permission to take it out for a quick ride.

Rhaegar doesn't disappear, and his hand had felt solid to her touch. Though she tries not to show it, she breathes a sigh of relief.

Clearly she's already done this before, because she doesn't even wait for the man to say yes — though he does shortly after — clambering on the horse and grinning down at Rhaegar. Then she holds her hand out to him. ]

Ride with me?

[She had always been the stronger of the two of them. So much of his life had been enduring his pain and melancholy, shouldering the fate of the world and prophecy, that he felt so exhausted by the time he met Lyanna. She was refreshing. While she wasn't soft and gentle like Elia, she had her own sort of soothing response. Maybe that abrasiveness and strength was what he needed? Someone who could help remind him how to be strong, but also someone capable of helping to carry the burden? He'd been careful not to put too much on her, given what she was suffering by the time they were alone together.

It might be different now.

He smiled, a little tired, but glad to see her smile. He took her head, following up and behind her, setting his arms around her waist so that she could handle the reins.]

It seems you've settled in then.

Not quite yet. But I'm getting to know this place, and the people...

[ How could she resist the call of adventure? She's got a whole new world to explore now, and she seems to have miraculously recovered the strength she'd lost from carrying and then birthing their son. With all that pent-up energy and those months in isolation, of course she wouldn't stay cooped up for long, especially without anyone to tell her what she can or cannot do.

His touch stops her for a moment as she's reminded by the feel of his hands on her body. She looks over her shoulder at him and grins. ]

I'd hold on tight if I were you, Your Grace.

[ She then spurs the horse forward, speeding up as soon as they're in the clear — she doesn't take them very far, but it's a long enough ride that calls the wind to their faces. She laughs, entirely in her element out here. Some did say she was half a horse. ]

[There are small things that he's managed to find from books at the market, but it likely wasn't the same as actually talking to the locals or those had been here longer. Still, he didn't doubt that Lyanna had the advantage. He had never been fully sociable, only doing as he had to as a prince.

Somehow, she never seemed to mind at the Tower. He had been surprised that she was largely content with him and where they stayed, or at least, that was how it seemed.

But seeing her like this, it made him realize how cruel he'd been to choose a tower for their secret home. Lyanna wanted to ride freely, something that helped her thrive and bring her alive. He should have done more for her, thought more of what she needed.

It was a little painful to think that she might truly be happy here.]

Is the horse for sale?

[ Just as he's thinking about her and her happiness, she's thinking about him as well. She's brought them north of the city, slowing down as they slip past the walls. In front of them looms the Mage Tower. It's a library, and the Rhaegar she'd known would've loved it.

She hopes this one will. She's afraid of what might've changed since they'd parted. ]

Do you like her already? [ She gives the horse an affectionate rub. ] She is, actually. I'd had half a mind to one day purchase her and find work as a courier. [ Imagine that, working! She'd never thought about it before, really. Until someone she'd met in the market had told her that ferrying messages and delivering goods were great ways to travel around the city, and perhaps even beyond.

She shifts them so he can have a better view of the Tower. ] Here we are, Your Grace.

I think she suits you. [He had no way of buying her the horse, as he might have in Westeros, but he could do his best to find a way. Earning a living, earning coin, he hadn't imagined what he might do. What he was good at, he had no interest in pursuing. His passions were music and books, it seemed unlikely he could make enough of a living to be comfortable.

He looked up at the tower, knowing well it wasn't like their Tower of Joy, but it still brought back memories. He leaned closer, his chin resting on her shoulder.]

Where have you stolen me to, Lady Stark?

[ She makes a face at him for his teasing, but there's clear amusement in her eyes. For the time being, her melancholy's far behind her, tempered by his presence and their short but refreshing ride. ]

They call it the Mage Tower. There are all manner of books and scrolls inside. [ She has little patience for reading, truth be told, though stories of heroes and legends of the past fascinate her. Her excitement for him can't be missed, though. ] I will have to bring her back soon, but we have time to explore if you're so inclined.

[He smiled at her gratefully, knowing that she never shared his passion for reading, but still encouraged all the same. He did his best to cater to her interests, reading her stories of the knights and heroes she loved. The more mundane, stuffy texts, he kept to himself.

Raising her hands, he kissed her fingers delicately before clasping her hand with his.]

It's been a lifetime since I've seen you. [He grew solemn for a moment, needing to ask:] Do you forgive me, for all I've done to you?

[ Has it been a lifetime? Perhaps. Now that they're together once more, everything that's happened seem like a world and a life away. The feelings, however, are another matter entirely.

She doesn't respond, not right away, guiding their horse to the nearest tree and dismounting. Her expression has turned solemn, too, but at least she's neither angry nor looking like she wants to flee. If anything she wants to gaze at his face as they talk, see if every line and curve is as she remembers them to be. ]

What is there to forgive? [ The ghosts in her head scream otherwise, that it's Rhaegar's fault that she no longer has a father and a brother and a son, that it's Rhaegar's fault that Westeros has been torn apart by war and history will blame her and tarnish the name of her House forever... but how could she be mad at him, when all he'd ever done was love her? If anyone's to blame, it's Robert Baratheon, and blame him she does. ]

[He knows that there might be underlying resentment, whether she knows it consciously or not. He was to blame and for the rest of the time Westeros had left, he would be seen as a villain and lecher. Not mad like his father, but a debaucher that made raped women and made them his whores.

Her father, her brother, they died because of his actions. Hundreds, thousands died because of his actions. Likely his House as well, for who else would protect his father? His children, his mother, everyone's death was on his hands.

But looking at Lyanna, he couldn't blame her. He could only worry she hated him.]

There is everything. [He doesn't need to name the violence.] Your time at the Tower, I should have seen you had more freedom to do as you liked.

Where else could we have gone? [ Neither of their fathers would've welcomed them. Brandon would've torn Rhaegar apart on sight. Even Ned had taken up arms against Arthur, who'd been loyal to Rhaegar until his last breath.

She can't bear the sorrow on his face, however, so while leaning back into the tree might seem like she's putting some distance between them, she holds up a hand to invite him to come closer. Though in the time it takes for him to decide to accept her invitation or not, her face becomes alight with worry. She'd been treating him like nothing has changed, when in fact everything has. Perhaps she should be the one asking the question.

And so she does, after a moment. ] I cost you everything. Do you... do you forgive me?

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TD006

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