Post by Tynian Lannister on Sept 15, 2013 15:30:45 GMT -5
A faint smell penetrated his mind, pungent and unpleasant. His nostrils flared as he caught a brief whiff of it and then received a much stronger one as it was placed under his nose. His stomach roiled and he cursed as he came fully awake. He tried to move his right hand to bat away whatever it was but found he could not. At that his eyes snapped open fully. In the faint light offered by the covered lantern to his left, he could make out the slight form of his son, Tynian Lannister, as he straightened. In his hand he held a small bottle containing the foul smelling liquid which had woken him. Still groggy, he looked around the small room in which he found himself.
It was a dingy, cramped room he didn't recognise and he caught a faint smell of the ocean on the breeze. He was either at the docks or somewhere near the sea. He looked down and saw that he was tied to a sturdy wooden chair, arms bound behind him and his feet tied to each chair leg. He strove to recollect what had happened and vaguely remembered sitting in his study and enjoying a glass of wine before everything went black and he awoke here. He growled and shook his head to clear the cobwebs and looked at Tynian. “What the hell have you done, boy” he snarled and tried again to break free of his bonds but, no matter how strong he was, discovered he was unable to do so.
Tynian smiled, an ugly smile filled with malice. “Why father, I have just invited you to finish our conversation from the other day” he leaned in further and Gerion could see the mottled bruises on his face beginning to yellow as they healed. “After all, we have so much catching up to do”.
“Untie me this instant, you little…” Gerion replied. Before he could finish the sentence, Tynian stepped forward quickly, slapping him hard across the face. Gerion’s eyes widened with rage. “HOW DARE…” another slap followed, harder than the first. “Now now Father, I don’t believe I had finished speaking. You must learn not to interrupt me”. “YOU DO NOT…” this time Tynian’s blow was from a fist and so hard that it snapped Gerion’s head back and his mouth filled with blood as his teeth clacked together and he bit his tongue. “I think you’ll find I’m the one giving the orders tonight, Father” Tynian said in a soft voice “And if you interrupt me again, I’ll give you cause to regret it” he continued, slowly easing a thin dagger free from his belt and holding it in front of Gerion’s face.
At that, Gerion went silent though his eyes burned with fury and his hands clenched and unclenched behind him. Tynian gave a small nod and carried on speaking “Now, I never got the chance to discuss with you what I learned at my time in the Eyrie” he scrapped an empty chair along the floor and placed it a few feet opposite Gerion and sat in it, smoothing his garments fastidiously so that they did not bunch up under him. “Well, first of all I discovered that some parents don’t beat their children when they make mistakes” his eyes caught his father’s and glared at him. “Secondly I learned that I'm never likely to be a warrior. I'm afraid the Vale master-at-arms had as little luck turning me into a knight as you did. But I also realised that there is a whole world of information to be acquired and analysed out there and I took to reading and studying about it as much as I could” he carried on in a monotone voice. “Now I know that you never cared much for maester’s and their ilk, seeing their profession as not befitting a noble’s attention but I realised that you were wrong – about a great many things of course, but that much in particular” he examined his nails nonchalantly. “As I studied, I found that there’s a herb which can send a man into unconsciousness for several hours and which has very little flavour” he paused “That went in your wine, in case you were curious” he smiled at Gerion. “But that is just scratching the surface of what I understood and I'm here to share what I learned with you tonight”. He stopped and looked at Gerion calmly, waiting for his response.
“You have made a terrible mistake” Gerion replied with a snarl. “Once I get out of these bonds, you’ll be bound for the Traitor’s block or the Wall if you grovel long enough to me. I am not only your father but your liege lord! You will untie me right now and perhaps I will be merciful” he said coldly.
At that Tynian barked a short laugh. “Oh, you haven’t been my father for 10 years and I could care less about the consequences right now. You see, this is your last night Gerion” he said pointedly. “I don’t know which of the Seven Hells will welcome you, but you will beg for death before you receive it, that much I can promise you. Scream if you like, we’re so far from any other dwelling along the shore that no-one will hear you but me, I assure you of that”. He stood and walked to a small table in the corner of the room. He slowly folded back the blanket covering it, revealing a series of small knives and unguents. “You wouldn't dare…” Gerion said, but his face paled as he began to see what danger he was truly facing and he started to frantically saw at the ropes binding him, tearing at his skin and yelling for aid as his chair rocked slightly, but it was too heavy for him to move it much.
Tynian hummed a little tune as his hand danced around above the selection of knives, before settling on one which was a stiletto; long, narrow and pointed. He turned and smiled at Gerion and walked towards him. “Another book I read was on anatomy. Do you know that there’s many minor nerve clusters in the human body?” he asked and then paused “Actually” he said, waggling the blade as he pointed at him “You probably do, don’t you? As long as it was about hurting people or wrestling you paid attention. So it’s probably no news to you that there’s a particularly sensitive cluster just here” he said as he jabbed swiftly at a point midway between Gerion’s neck and shoulder joint. Gerion screamed as agony suddenly blossomed within him. A small bead of blood eased out of the tiny pinprick wound but the stiletto’s blade was coated up to about 4 inches, demonstrating just how deep that focussed wound had bit within him. His shoulder burned and his eyes watered in pain as it seemed to worsen. “Oh, and you’re probably already feeling the effects of the ‘Wolfsweed’ poison I put on the blade. It’s an interesting concoction; it increases the senses as well as coagulating the blood. Useful for when you want to make lots of wounds, but don’t want the victim to fall unconscious or die from blood loss” he paused and grinned at Gerion happily “I hope you’re starting to see the value of a good education now?”
Gerion’s mouthed opened soundlessly a few times as the pain began to worsen. “Y-you’re no son of mine!” he spat. “Oh, you don’t know how pleased I’d be if that were true” Tynian replied caustically and jabbed down again, this time in the join between right leg and groin, giving the blade a vicious twist before he removed it from his squealing victim. “I suppose it’s all a moot point right now as I’m about to become a half-orphan” he returned to the table and picked up a different dagger, with a thicker blade and serrated edge. He turned back with an evil smile on his face as he turned round and saw Gerion’s eyes wide and terrified as he came back towards him “Now, which finger do you like the least…?” Tynian asked as he came in, knife glinting in the low candle light…
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Many hours later, Tynian exited the shack by the seafront and stretched. The front of his robe was black and slick with gore and the inside of the dwelling wasn't any better. Not that you could tell who it was in the chair anymore, as the face and body had been heavily mutilated and various fingers, toes and organs had been meticulously harvested, as well as any rings or identifying objects removed. Now he needed help to get rid of the bloody corpse which remained. He turned and walked into the sea, letting the surf wash over him. As he dived into the swells and emerged from waves he felt born anew and chuckled. Perhaps the Ironborn were onto something after all. He discarded his bloody & damp clothing into the ocean and changed into the new clothes he’d left in the saddlebags, uncaring about his nakedness considering the remoteness of the location and the time of night. He glanced up at the stars and quickly figured out that it was around 3 o'clock in the morning now. He locked the door securely behind him, mounted up and trotted back to his home.
It was a dingy, cramped room he didn't recognise and he caught a faint smell of the ocean on the breeze. He was either at the docks or somewhere near the sea. He looked down and saw that he was tied to a sturdy wooden chair, arms bound behind him and his feet tied to each chair leg. He strove to recollect what had happened and vaguely remembered sitting in his study and enjoying a glass of wine before everything went black and he awoke here. He growled and shook his head to clear the cobwebs and looked at Tynian. “What the hell have you done, boy” he snarled and tried again to break free of his bonds but, no matter how strong he was, discovered he was unable to do so.
Tynian smiled, an ugly smile filled with malice. “Why father, I have just invited you to finish our conversation from the other day” he leaned in further and Gerion could see the mottled bruises on his face beginning to yellow as they healed. “After all, we have so much catching up to do”.
“Untie me this instant, you little…” Gerion replied. Before he could finish the sentence, Tynian stepped forward quickly, slapping him hard across the face. Gerion’s eyes widened with rage. “HOW DARE…” another slap followed, harder than the first. “Now now Father, I don’t believe I had finished speaking. You must learn not to interrupt me”. “YOU DO NOT…” this time Tynian’s blow was from a fist and so hard that it snapped Gerion’s head back and his mouth filled with blood as his teeth clacked together and he bit his tongue. “I think you’ll find I’m the one giving the orders tonight, Father” Tynian said in a soft voice “And if you interrupt me again, I’ll give you cause to regret it” he continued, slowly easing a thin dagger free from his belt and holding it in front of Gerion’s face.
At that, Gerion went silent though his eyes burned with fury and his hands clenched and unclenched behind him. Tynian gave a small nod and carried on speaking “Now, I never got the chance to discuss with you what I learned at my time in the Eyrie” he scrapped an empty chair along the floor and placed it a few feet opposite Gerion and sat in it, smoothing his garments fastidiously so that they did not bunch up under him. “Well, first of all I discovered that some parents don’t beat their children when they make mistakes” his eyes caught his father’s and glared at him. “Secondly I learned that I'm never likely to be a warrior. I'm afraid the Vale master-at-arms had as little luck turning me into a knight as you did. But I also realised that there is a whole world of information to be acquired and analysed out there and I took to reading and studying about it as much as I could” he carried on in a monotone voice. “Now I know that you never cared much for maester’s and their ilk, seeing their profession as not befitting a noble’s attention but I realised that you were wrong – about a great many things of course, but that much in particular” he examined his nails nonchalantly. “As I studied, I found that there’s a herb which can send a man into unconsciousness for several hours and which has very little flavour” he paused “That went in your wine, in case you were curious” he smiled at Gerion. “But that is just scratching the surface of what I understood and I'm here to share what I learned with you tonight”. He stopped and looked at Gerion calmly, waiting for his response.
“You have made a terrible mistake” Gerion replied with a snarl. “Once I get out of these bonds, you’ll be bound for the Traitor’s block or the Wall if you grovel long enough to me. I am not only your father but your liege lord! You will untie me right now and perhaps I will be merciful” he said coldly.
At that Tynian barked a short laugh. “Oh, you haven’t been my father for 10 years and I could care less about the consequences right now. You see, this is your last night Gerion” he said pointedly. “I don’t know which of the Seven Hells will welcome you, but you will beg for death before you receive it, that much I can promise you. Scream if you like, we’re so far from any other dwelling along the shore that no-one will hear you but me, I assure you of that”. He stood and walked to a small table in the corner of the room. He slowly folded back the blanket covering it, revealing a series of small knives and unguents. “You wouldn't dare…” Gerion said, but his face paled as he began to see what danger he was truly facing and he started to frantically saw at the ropes binding him, tearing at his skin and yelling for aid as his chair rocked slightly, but it was too heavy for him to move it much.
Tynian hummed a little tune as his hand danced around above the selection of knives, before settling on one which was a stiletto; long, narrow and pointed. He turned and smiled at Gerion and walked towards him. “Another book I read was on anatomy. Do you know that there’s many minor nerve clusters in the human body?” he asked and then paused “Actually” he said, waggling the blade as he pointed at him “You probably do, don’t you? As long as it was about hurting people or wrestling you paid attention. So it’s probably no news to you that there’s a particularly sensitive cluster just here” he said as he jabbed swiftly at a point midway between Gerion’s neck and shoulder joint. Gerion screamed as agony suddenly blossomed within him. A small bead of blood eased out of the tiny pinprick wound but the stiletto’s blade was coated up to about 4 inches, demonstrating just how deep that focussed wound had bit within him. His shoulder burned and his eyes watered in pain as it seemed to worsen. “Oh, and you’re probably already feeling the effects of the ‘Wolfsweed’ poison I put on the blade. It’s an interesting concoction; it increases the senses as well as coagulating the blood. Useful for when you want to make lots of wounds, but don’t want the victim to fall unconscious or die from blood loss” he paused and grinned at Gerion happily “I hope you’re starting to see the value of a good education now?”
Gerion’s mouthed opened soundlessly a few times as the pain began to worsen. “Y-you’re no son of mine!” he spat. “Oh, you don’t know how pleased I’d be if that were true” Tynian replied caustically and jabbed down again, this time in the join between right leg and groin, giving the blade a vicious twist before he removed it from his squealing victim. “I suppose it’s all a moot point right now as I’m about to become a half-orphan” he returned to the table and picked up a different dagger, with a thicker blade and serrated edge. He turned back with an evil smile on his face as he turned round and saw Gerion’s eyes wide and terrified as he came back towards him “Now, which finger do you like the least…?” Tynian asked as he came in, knife glinting in the low candle light…
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Many hours later, Tynian exited the shack by the seafront and stretched. The front of his robe was black and slick with gore and the inside of the dwelling wasn't any better. Not that you could tell who it was in the chair anymore, as the face and body had been heavily mutilated and various fingers, toes and organs had been meticulously harvested, as well as any rings or identifying objects removed. Now he needed help to get rid of the bloody corpse which remained. He turned and walked into the sea, letting the surf wash over him. As he dived into the swells and emerged from waves he felt born anew and chuckled. Perhaps the Ironborn were onto something after all. He discarded his bloody & damp clothing into the ocean and changed into the new clothes he’d left in the saddlebags, uncaring about his nakedness considering the remoteness of the location and the time of night. He glanced up at the stars and quickly figured out that it was around 3 o'clock in the morning now. He locked the door securely behind him, mounted up and trotted back to his home.
Hope you all are well and happy.