Hey! after seeing your crown of ice and fire, it made me want to see your interpretation of the kingdoms pre-conquest crowns. could be neat to see what you come up with! Regardless please take care!

Here some crown sketches! <3<3<3 Maybe one day I'll do a more thought out series of drawings with the kings of the conquest.

I do not need all of the pretties, I do not not need ALL of the pretties....

An ominous presence in the mountains. He is a silent being, wreathed in the mountains' grey mists. Strangely, some choose to describe him as a more Bigfoot-esque creature. They say he is more flesh and blood, and believe he is a tall, hairy humanoid.

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The Greying of The King by Alex McClelland

Bran Davies is the goodest bestest boy

he also had the goodest bestest dog

I will not be taking criticism at this time or ever

200. The Grey King, by Susan Cooper

Owned: Yes Page count: 124 My summary: In the Welsh hills, Will Stanton struggles to remember his prophecy. There is something he must do, something that will help the Light, if only he can remember. Meanwhile, Bran Davies struggles with his shadowy past and the mother he doesn’t remember, while in the mountain, the Grey King is watching… My rating: 4/5 My commentary:

Grey King is my favourite of the Dark Is Rising books. This much is well-established. I love Wales as a setting, I love it when books acknowledge that King Arthur was a Welsh legendary figure, and I love stories about strange boys finding each other in the middle of extreme situations, particularly when they become as close and as happy together as Bran and Will do here. It's the most homoerotic Dark Is Rising book, that's for sure. But more than that, it also raises a lot of questions about identity, about fitting in, about humanity and being chosen and the nature of evil. It's a really interesting book, and I love it as ever.

So what does it mean to be the Chosen One? Well, neither Will nor Bran are that, really. Will, as is established, is an Old One, while Bran is the Pendragon; neither starts the book as particularly normal, though neither quite realises all of the ins and outs of this yet. And both are questioning the tactics of the Light. Will has been nerfed by an illness implicitly brought on by the Light as a means to get him to Wales. Bran has spent his entire life not being told the full truth about his parentage and his past as a plot from the Light to get him to where he needs to be. It's incredibly manipulative on the part of the Light, and neither boy is particularly comfortable with it. Compounding that is Bran's dog, who is shot by Caradog Pritchard as a direct result of the Dark sending creatures to impersonate local dogs and savage sheep to raise tensions. Bran, reasonably, lashes out at Will and the Light over it, blaming the Light for taking Cafall from him. Though it isn't really the Light's fault, it's still true that, were it not for the interference of the Dark and the Light in Bran's world, Bran would most likely be a lot happier and still have Cafall. It's an interesting issue, though I think the book falls just short of calling its conclusion one way or another, instead leaving the answer to implication.

Bran is also a very credible kid. I like that he's moody and not very easy to get along with, but in a much more naturalistic way. He reminds me of every stubborn and introspective child I've ever met, you know - hell, he reminds me of myself at that age, though Bran is more charming and quirky. Really, this book is about their relationship more than anything. Here's Will, a kid who feels isolated from his peers because of his identity as an Old One, and there's Bran, a kid who feels isolated from everyone due to his unknown heritage and albinism. Naturally, they're going to latch onto each other. Neither is exactly 'normal', neither has anyone they can talk to about the supernatural stuff in their life, and they get along really well from the off. I love their relationship, Bran's sarcasm versus Will's all-knowing Old One schtick. It's a cute dynamic, and very believable.

Next, my first book of 2024!

JOMP Book Photo Challenge || January 10 || Magical Moment:

“It is a comet!' Bran whispered. 

Will said softly back, 'Wait. There's more, if all is well.

'The long flaring tail of the comet moved gradually out of sight, down over the horizon of their nameless world and time. Still in the black hemisphere the stars blazed and slowly wheeled; beneath them Will felt so infinitesimally small that it seemed impossible he should even exist.

Immensity pressed in on him, terrifying, threatening - and then, in a swift flash of movement like dance, like the glint of a leaping fish, came a flick of brightness in the sky from a shooting star.

Then another, and another, here, there, all around. He heard Bran give a small chirrup of delight, a spark struck from the same bright sudden joy that filled his own being. Wish on a star, said a tiny voice in his head from some long-departed day of early childhood: Wish on a star - the cry of a pleasure and faith as ancient as the eyes of man.

'Wish on a falling star,' said Bran soft in his ear. All around them the meteors briefly died and vanished, as tiny points of stardust in the long travel of their cloud struck the aery halo of the earth, burned bright 

and were gone.” ― Susan Cooper, The Grey King

The Grey King is so named because his hair, beard, and eyes were grey as the winter sea, and at the end of his life even his skin had turned grey.

Today’s disabled character of the day is Bran Davies (The Grey King) from The Dark is Rising, who has albinism

Requested by Anon

[Image Description: Cover of the book The Dark is Rising. It features a shadowy figure riding a black horse. The person with wearing a black cloak and has white eyes. The tree around them are green and have no leaves. The ground is covered in snow and in the distance there is a bird flying through the sky,]

HOUSE GREYJOY

The Greyjoys of Pyke claim descent from the Grey King of the Age of Heroes. Legend says the Grey King ruled not only the western isles but the sea itself, and took a mermaid to wife.

For thousands of years, raiders from the Iron Islands—called “ironmen” by those they plundered—were the terrors of the seas, sailing as far as the Port of Ibben and the Summer Isles. They prided themselves on their fierceness in battle and their sacred freedoms.

Each island had its own “salt king” and “rock king.” The High King of the Isles was chosen from among their number, until King Urron made the throne hereditary by murdering the other kings when they assembled for a choosing.

Urron’s own line was extinguished a thousand years later when the Andals swept over the islands. The Greyjoys, like the other island lords, intermarried with the conquerors.

The Iron Kings extended their rule far beyond the isles themselves, carving kingdoms out of the mainland with fire and sword. King Qhored could truthfully boast that his writ ran “wherever men can smell salt water or hear the crash of waves.” In later centuries, Qhored’s descendants lost the Arbor, Oldtown, Bear Island, and much of the western shore.

Still, come the Wars of Conquest, King Harren the Black ruled all the lands between the mountains, from the Neck to the Blackwater Rush.

When Harren and his sons perished in the fall of Harrenhal, Aegon Targaryen granted the riverlands to House Tully, and allowed the surviving lords of the Iron Islands to revive their ancient custom and choose who should have the primacy among them. They chose Lord Vickon Greyjoy of Pyke.

The Greyjoy sigil is a golden kraken upon a black field.

Their words are We Do Not Sow.

Theon could eventually dress up as the grey king. I don't think the people of Winterfell know any Ironborn lore they'd just think he's dressed as some weird old man and he would get frustrated.

Alternatively, Dalton Greyjoy but that would get him mean looks from Lady Stark and Old Nan.

Ohohoh yes I love the Grey king!

Happy Anniversary to the The Dark Is Rising Sequence! How do we feel about the new covers?

Short Take: The Drowned Woods

You could say I have a fascination with Wales. It began when I picked up Sharon Kay Penman’s Welsh Princes Trilogy as a teenager and devoured them. Historical fiction set in 13th century Wales filled with romance, royal machinations and more than one prince called Llewelyn. Totally hooked. Then I finally read Susan Cooper’s outstanding The Dark is Rising series. The last two are set in Wales, complete with a short primer on Welsh pronunciation, and I ate them up. It was in the final book of this series, Silver on the Tree, that I first heard of the Drowned Hundred, a mythical kingdom swallowed by the sea. When I caught sight of The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones, a YA historical fantasy, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was a connection. Indeed, it is set in Wales and involves a heist, so I was definitely in.

Merirad (Mer) is just trying to keep her head down and escape the notice of Prince Garanhir, the man who bought her off her family when it was discovered she was a water diviner, a human touched by the fae and able to manipulate water. He raised her to be used as his weapon but when Mer couldn’t live with the damage she’d inflicted any longer, she ran. Trouble comes looking for her in the form of her old mentor, the Prince’s spymaster. Renfrew offers her the opportunity to get free of the Prince forever with one last job. Together Mer and Renfrew assemble a crew, including a young man touched by Death, the heir to the Thieves Guild and a corgi called Trefor who may or may not be a spy of the “other folk”. Their aim? A magical well on a remote island guarded by an otherworldly boar said to protect the Prince’s kingdom by holding back the sea. Plus all the treasures the well contains. Ruin Garanhir and finance their new lives all in one fell swoop.

Of course nothing is straightforward when magic and spies are involved, and the nonstop action kept me riveted. I listened to The Drowned Woods on audio, a bonus because for once I heard all the Welsh names and places as they are supposed to be pronounced instead of making my best attempt based on that long ago lesson Bran gives Will in The Grey King. Lovers of historical fantasy and fans of Six of Crows will find this a good fit. Lloyd-Jones balances tension with humor, because nothing beats a corgi that sneezes when magic is in play. And for those who have series fatigue, this is a stand-alone. Though if you want more of Lloyd-Jones’ historical fantasy Wales, you can also pick up her previous YA, The Bone Houses. A perfect escape for the end of summer!

— Lori

Fuck a hot girl summer, I'm here to have a Bran Davies summer. I'm here to be brooding, unpredictable, queer coded, and come into my destiny. And still hot I expect.

The Building of The Grey King's Long Hall by Alex McClelland