History Fanfic / ADestinyOfIceAndSteel

** Edward is sometimes called "Jon Snow the Second" because he and Jon look very similar, apart from the fact that Edward is taller (he’s 6'2" while Jon is 5'8") and Edward has hazel eyes. Edward's also called "Ed" by Jory.

* IShallTauntYou: Edward during his sparring round with Joffrey at Winterfell, mainly to vent his anger at Sansa’s betrothal to Joffrey.

* LateToTheTragedy: Edward and three Stark guardsmen come upon the skirmish outside Littlefinger's brothel, finding Lord Stark wounded and Jory dead.

* NonSequitur: Jon’s section of Chapter 7 is the only part of the chapter that does not take place in King's Landing.

* TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers: Jon’s section of Chapter 7 is the only part of the chapter that does not take place in King's Landing.

* MixedAncestry: Edward is First Men on his father's side and Braavosi on his mother's.

* RealityEnsues:
** Being the eldest child and inheriting no matter what sex you are isn't what it's cracked up to be. [[spoiler:Edward’s mother was the older child of a family in Braavos. The pressures of being heir and the numerous marriage proposals she received proved to be a burden, and after her father died, she left Braavos altogether]].
** When Robb and Edward spar with steel weapons, Robb is unaccustomed to the sword's weight and is put at a disadvantage. Edward notes that Robb typically has excellent footwork.

* {{Acrofatic}}: Ned notes that despite Ser Rodrik’s girth, he's quick on his feet in battle.

* TheBerserker: Joffrey just wildly swings in combat, with little thought given towards finesse or defense. Things quickly turn sour whenever he’s forced to go on defense.
* BettyAndVeronica: Edward fits the Betty type (Sansa’s ChildhoodFriend who is quietly attracted to her, encourages Sansa to go through with her betrothal to Joffrey despite his feelings for her, the Poor Suitor in the RichSuitorPoorSuitor) while Joffrey fits the Veronica type (rich but douchey, ignores Sansa’s affections despite being betrothed to her). They invert the ArrangedMarriage type with Sansa’s betrothal to Joffrey (the trope page lists having the Betty as the arranged partner).

* ContrivedCoincidence: Lampshaded when Edward speculates about Syrio Forel knowing Edward's mother’s brother, since both were the First Sword of Braavos. [[spoiler:It turns out that [[ActuallyIAmHim they are one and the same]].]]

* {{Fainting}}: Some of the Stark guardsmen are not acclimated to King’s Landing’s climate, and collapse while on duty. Ouch.

** Being the eldest child and inheriting no matter what sex you are isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. [[spoiler:Edward’s mother was the older child of a family in Braavos. The pressures of being heir and the numerous marriage proposals she received proved to be a burden, and after her father died, she left Braavos altogether]].
** When Robb and Edward spar with steel weapons, Robb is unaccustomed to the sword’s weight and is put at a disadvantage. Edward notes that Robb typically has excellent footwork.

* TheRival: Theon for Edward, with Theon mocking Edward for his father’s low position while Edward bringing up Balon Greyjoy's failed rebellion. This winds up being small potatoes when another rivalry brews between Edward and Joffrey.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Although Nymeria doesn’t bite Joffrey, she wanders off altogether off-page.

* {{Acrofatic}}: Ned notes that despite Ser Rodrik’s girth, he’s quick on his feet in battle.
* AdaptationalIntelligence: Sansa is fully aware of what Joffrey is like after the incident at the Trident. [[AdaptationalAngstUpgrade This doesn’t make things easier for her]].
* ArcVillain: Harras Harlaw during Rodrik Cassel’s Greyjoy flashback.

* ConflictingLoyalty: Sansa winds up with her affections torn between Edward and Joffrey. By Chapter 11, she no longer loves Joffrey, but she feels that she can’t break the betrothal and taint her honor.

** Cersei makes a remark about [[Recap/GameOfThronesS3E8SecondSons not caring about what someone’s father told them]].

* ContrivedCoincidence: Lampshaded when Edward speculates about Syrio Forel knowing Edward’s mother’s brother, since both were the First Sword of Braavos. [[spoiler:It turns out that [[ActuallyIAmHim they are one and the same]].]]

* DuelToTheDeath: Rodrik fought and killed Harras Harlaw in a duel in Greyjoy’s Rebellion.
* EmpathicEnvironment: The rainstorm at the beginning of Chapter 6 reflects Edward’s sullen mood after his argument with Sansa.

** Edward doesn’t like being called “Ed” by Jory or “Jon Snow the Second”.
** Arya doesn’t like being called “Little Lady”.
* EnsignNewbie: Edward is the youngest member of Ned Stark’s household guard.

** Edward to Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish. Both are of Braavosi descent whose families made their names through warfare (Petyr’s grandfather was a sellsword and his father a wartime friend of Hoster Tully during the War of the Ninepenny Kings, while Rodrik took Harlaw during the Greyjoy Rebellion and slew Harras Harlaw), were brought up in the household of a Lord Paramount, and became attracted to the elder daughter of said Lord Paramount, a lady with red hair and blue eyes, The ladies they were attracted to were betrothed to the heir of a great house. However, Edward has the skill to back him up if he ever chose to challenge Joffrey and (so far) isn't as unscrupulous as Littlefinger.

** House Cassel to House Clegane. Both are houses that are recently knighted; Cassel for taking Harlaw during Greyjoy’s Rebellion and Clegane for saving Tytos Lannister’s life only a few decades before the story started. However, while the Cassels have a reputation for honor, the Cleganes (particularly Gregor) are known for being violent and bloodthirsty. After the fight at the Trident, Edward worries that he could become like the Cleganes: apathetic, resentful, and bloodthirsty.

* GoodScarsEvilScars: Jory has a small scar close to his right eye. It’s used to identify his body when Edward finds the Stark guards dead after the confrontation outside Littlefinger’s brothel.

* HeroicBSOD: Edward does not take Jory’s death well, shutting himself up in his quarters and not eating or grooming for two days.
* HiddenDepths: In Chapter 7, Joffrey appears to have a small amount of conscience as he feels guilty about his actions at the Trident. However, [[IgnoredEpiphany this doesn’t translate into wanting to change his ways]], it just increases his disdain for the North.

* IfIWantedYouDead: When questioned about Joffrey’s injury, Edward tells King Robert and Queen Cersei that if he wanted to maliciously hurt Joffrey, he would have cut off his hands rather than cut his arm.

** Edward is sometimes called “Jon Snow the Second” because he and Jon look very similar, apart from the fact that Edward is taller (he’s 6’2” while Jon is 5’8”) and Edward has hazel eyes. Edward’s also called “Ed” by Jory.
** Edward calls Arya “Little Lady”.

* ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne: Joffrey is mainly unperturbed by Edward’s description of trying to kill him (Edward) and Arya, but what gets him angry enough to attack is when Edward threatens to tell King Robert and Lord Stark.
* JuniorCounterpart: Jory directly compares Edward to Jaime Lannister: an accomplished swordsman who joined a high lord’s guardsmen at the age of 16, the youngest member yet. Edward doesn’t appreciate the comparison.

* TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers: Jon’s section of Chapter 7 is the only part of the chapter that does not take place in King’s Landing.

** As Vice Captain, Edward is Jory’s second-in-command of the Stark guardsmen.

* ParentalMarriageVeto: [[spoiler:Syrio Forel’s intended Melira accepted his proposal, but her father rejected the proposal and had Melira marry another man to spite Syrio]]. Edward fears that Lord and Lady Stark would turn him down if he ever proposed to Sansa.
* PosthumousCharacter: Alyssa Cassel, Ser Rodrik’s wife and Edward’s mother. Rodrik has a flashback to her death, Edward has memories of brushing her hair, and [[spoiler:Syrio Forel is her brother]].

* TheRival: Theon for Edward, with Theon mocking Edward for his father’s low position while Edward bringing up Balon Greyjoy’s failed rebellion. This winds up being small potatoes when another rivalry brews between Edward and Joffrey.

* ShellShockedVeteran: Ned Stark and Rodrik Cassel. Ned has flashbacks to a battle whenever he sees training in arms, while Rodrik doesn’t like to talk about how he got his knighthood.
* ShoutOut: At the end of Chapter 5, the author states “[[Film/TheHobbitAnUnexpectedJourney Home is behind, the world ahead,]] and [[SubvertedTrope there is one Kingsroad to tread.”]]

* TitleDrop: Chapter 6 is titled “A Gentle, Good Lady”. Edward repeats the same sentence when he says his goodbye to her before Lord Stark kills her.
-->“She’s a gentle, good lady. She doesn’t deserve this.”

* WeakButSkilled: Edward isn’t physically weak, but his fighting style banks less on powerful attacks and strength and focuses more on footwork, [[StoneWall defense]], and finding a weakness he can exploit.

* CantHoldHisLiquor: Edward can only drink wine twice before getting a hangover.

-->"Our family words are 'Strength from loyalty, and I never helped her through her struggles, as she had done for me. I had gone against our words, and the Gods sought to punish me for it."

* KickTheDog: After kissing Sansa, Joffrey taunts Edward about Jory's death.

* MasterApprenticeChain: Rodrik Cassel and Syrio Forel r&arr Edward Cassel r&arr Arya Stark.

** Another Stark guardsman named Dorin becomes Edward's second in commander after Jory's death.

** When Robb and Edward spar with steel weapons, Robb is unaccustomed to the sword’s weight and is put at a disadvantage.

* TranquilFury: Edward feels oddly calm when he fights Joffrey at the Trident.

* MasterApprenticeChain: Rodrik Cassel and Syrio Forel &rarr Edward Cassel &rarr Arya Stark.

* MasterSwordsman: Edward is the best swordsman at Winterfell, better than Robb or Jon, and can hold his own against Syrio Forel.

* NumberTwo: As Vice Captain, Edward is Jory’s second-in-command of the Stark guardsmen.

* IShallTauntYou:
** Edward during his sparring round with Joffrey at Winterfell, mainly to vent his anger at Sansa’s betrothal to Joffrey.
** Joffrey taunts Edward about the death of Jory while he kisses Sansa.

* IShallTauntYou: Edward during his sparring round with Joffrey at Winterfell, mainly to vent his anger at Sansa’s betrothal to Joffrey.

* RichSuitorPoorSuitor: Joffrey is the Rich Suitor and Edward is the Poor Suitor for Sansa.

* SoldierVsWarrior: Discussed. Cersei refers to the North as having good soldiers, while Joffrey is a warrior like Robert. Edward refers to himself as a soldier, adhering to logic and honour rather than emotion.