History Fanfic / KnightOfTheDreadfortTheBalladOfTheRedKing

* BladeOnAStick: Ser Mark Ryswell was known for his skill with a spear.

* TheyDo: [[spoiler:Domeric and Sansa have sex in Chapter 32]].

* WhatAnIdiot: In-universe, Domeric's opinion on everything Robb Stark's been doing, from refusing to ransom his sister to sending Theon Greyjoy to Pyke to keeping the North relatively undefended.

* OneHundredPercentAdorationRating: Everyone has something nice to say about [[PosthumousCharacter Ser Mark Ryswell]]. Lady Dustin remembers him taking her and her sister Bethany on rides in the Rills and comforting her when her heart was broken, Lord Stark could be moved into telling a story about him, and Robbie says that if Ser Mark had survived the Tower of Joy, he would have been the one to succeed Rodrik Ryswell as Lord of the Rills, who favored him more than his own sons.

* MetaphoricallyTrue: Lord Bolton mentions to Robbie that the war would be over soon. [[spoiler:Didn't exactly tell him how]].

* NamesTheSame: In-universe, Robbie's little cousin Wynton Stout is named after the Night's Watch ranger of the same name.

* CriticalResearchFailure: In-universe. Arya makes at least a couple errors in her cover story at Harrenhal, such as serving under the Lord of Barrowton. There hasn't been a Lord of Barrowton since the end of Robert's Rebellion when Lord Dustin was slain in Dorne.

* PoisonousFriend: Patrek Mallister to Robbie Ryswell. Patrek managed to whet Robbie's taste for women and this seriously damaged Lord Rodrik's opinion of Robbie being a worthy heir.

* DotingGrandparent: Ser Hosteen Frey is apparently one of these, according to Ryella.

"[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/20713007?view_full_work=true knight of the dreadfort (the ballad of the red king)]]" is a ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' fanfic centering around Domeric Bolton, Roose Bolton's legitimate son who was a PosthumousCharacter in canon, and examines the War of the Five Kings from his perspective.

!!Tropes that appear in this fanfic:

* YouShouldHaveDiedInstead: Domeric wishes that Ramsay had died instead of his little brother Bertram.

-->"Don't worry, Dom. You don't have to listen to a fat slattern like Randa. Girls like her, they look at you and they decide you're handsome, and because they're pretty they know you're looking too. A woman’s looks, that's her weapon. Her kisses, her tears, her cunt. They look at you and think, aye, it would be fun to play him for a fool. It makes them feel powerful, to know they can disarm men who could cut them down in a moment. And if they don't want to make you into a fool, they want to marry you, and then they always want something. If you're an heir, they want to be lady of your castle. If you’re not, either you're nothing, or they're some merchant's daughter who wants her children to be noble. They don’t want you for you. You're just a tool to them. A stepping stone. If they praise anything that you do that you weren't born with, it's so they can brag to the other ladies while they're sewing, and act all high and mighty while claiming your accomplishments, when they did nothing at all... It doesn't count if they're your mother or your kin. Jeyne's just a little girl, and Cassie and Jessie are like sisters. Don't mess around with that lady love nonsense, Dom. If you need to get your wick wet just pay a whore and be done with it. You're an heir, you'll need a wife, but you should just put a few sons in her and ignore her."

** "Nan", Lord Bolton’s page at Harrenhal, turns out to be [[spoiler:Arya Stark]].

* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: [[spoiler:Tywin Lannister blames the Tyrells for Sansa’s disappearance, so he had the Vale Mountain Clans prowling the Reach]].

* DidISayThatOutLoud: Domeric is thinking about who Robb Stark would include in a rescue party to rescue Sansa, when the Smalljon shows up next to him shouting "Bolton! So you’ve eyes for a Stark bride, do you!". Domeric... [[ActuallyPrettyFunny gets a laugh out of that]].

** Ser Mark Ryswell, a cousin of the main line who accompanied Ned Stark to Dorne and was killed there by the Kingsguard of Aerys II.
** Robar Royce, Bronze Yohn Royce's second son. He had been Cassandra Redfort's intended, but was killed by Loras Tyrell after Renly Baratheon’s assassination.

-->"The Umbers and the Karstarks, if the Starks said jump, they'd ask how high. They don't know what it’s like in the west, to wonder if the Ironmen will sail in on the dawn tide and take everything you have. Maege Mormont, she knows, but for all she'd counsel the Young Wolf about the threat of the Ironborn, she wouldn't go against him. Sycophants, the lot of them are. None of them stopped him, even though His Grace has wind for brains."

* SherlockScan: Myranda Royce manages to figure out that Sansa's in the Vale just by looking at her. She knows that Danelle Rivers died as an infant, Sansa looks like Lysa Arryn (albeit four stone lighter), and it's so convenient that a red-haired maiden shows up in the Vale just after the Crown reports her demise.

* TheStarscream: Bartimus Bolton tried to take Winterfell during Dagon Greyjoy’s rebellion.

** Domeric when he hears that Ramsay has been named castellan.

* AdultFear:
** Chapter 8 is an exercise in this trope as the Northern soldiers at Harrenhal receive letter after letter of the Ironborn taking castle after castle.
** Roose Bolton left home to fight in the Greyjoy Rebellion. When he came home, both his wife and younger son were dead of fever.
** Ryella Royce lost her siblings before she was 15; her brother Kyle was executed by the Mad King and her sister Kella died of spring fever.

** Sara Glenmore is an interesting case. House Glenmore exists in ''VideoGame/TelltalesGameOfThrones'', but Sara still counts as this trope as Lord Glenmore in Telltales only has one daughter named Elaena and Sara is the younger daughter.

** House Glenmore from ''VideoGame/TelltalesGameOfThrones'' is mentioned when Robbie learns he is betrothed to Sara Glenmore, Lord Glenmore's younger daughter.

* RelatedInTheAdaptation: The marital relations of House Glenmore are unknown in ''VideoGame/TelltalesGameOfThrones''. Here, it's established via Robert’s chapters that they're related to the Ryswells; specifically, Ser Mark Ryswell (the Ryswell who accompanied Ned Stark to Dorne and died there) had a sister named Rybeca who married Lord Glenmore.

* ObligatoryWarCrimeScene: Lord Bolton putting all the Harrenhal servant girls, stripped naked and shaved bald, in the stocks for the other soldiers to rape.

* RealityEnsues:
** Domeric's knowledge of Barrowton makes him realize that "Nan", who claims to be from that area, is lying to him. Compare with Tywin's conversations with Arya in ''Series/GameOfThrones''; Tywin, having never been to Barrowton, wouldn't care, but Domeric would know.
** Domeric's map of the Red Keep, which was made during the days of Jaehaerys II, isn't completely up to date. For one thing the tapestries that are earmarked on the map are no longer there.
** On a meta level, Domeric isn't skilled enough to fight off multiple bandits on the Kingsroad and defend Sansa at the same time (unlike [[OneManArmy the Hound]]), so he travels along the Rosby road instead.

* CriticalResearchFailure: In-universe. Arya makes at least a couple errors in her cover story at Harrenhal, such as serving under the Lord of Barrowton. There hasn’t been a Lord of Barrowton since the end of Robert’s Rebellion when Lord Dustin was slain in Dorne.

* InVinoVeritas: Domeric hasn't spoken about his little brother Roger in years, and the feast where his father gets married to Fat Walda makes him believe that he’s drunken a lot because he winds up talking about Roger.

-->"The Umbers and the Karstarks, if the Starks said jump, they’d ask how high. They don't know what it’s like in the west, to wonder if the Ironmen will sail in on the dawn tide and take everything you have. Maege Mormont, she knows, but for all she'd counsel the Young Wolf about the threat of the Ironborn, she wouldn't go against him. Sycophants, the lot of them are. None of them stopped him, even though His Grace has wind for brains."
* ProperlyParanoid: Domeric and Sansa don’t spend much time in Gulltown because Littlefinger practically owns Gulltown and he could rat them out.

-->"Because their blood is up, boy, he’d said, and they don't care if she says yes or no. She's there, and her feelings are in the way of what he wants. Or because they like the sound of crying, screaming. Some are like that... it's the cries and pain for their own sake. The knowledge that you have the power to cause that in another soul. The cries and pain get their blood up. Or the thrill of the chase, the fear in their eyes. And when the blood is up the need is there."

* RelatedInTheAdaptation: The marital relations of House Glenmore are unknown in ''VideoGame/TelltalesGameOfThrones''. Here, it’s established via Robert’s chapters that they’re related to the Ryswells; specifically, Ser Mark Ryswell (the Ryswell who accompanied Ned Stark to Dorne and died there) had a sister named Rybeca who married Lord Glenmore.

* RippedFromTheHeadlines: Septon Vortimer’s speech was heavily inspired the one given by Pope Urban II when he launched the First Crusade in 1095 C.E..

** In Chapter 35, [[spoiler:Lord Bolton reveals that he's well aware of Domeric’s attraction to Sansa Stark and would have used it to his advantage]].

** Since [[spoiler:Catelyn Stark isn’t killed and becomes Lady Stoneheart]], Aegon "Jinglebell" Frey, Petyr "Pimple" Frey, Merrett Frey, and Ryman Frey live for a little longer.

* TraumaButton: The phrase "We'll be home soon. We'll all come back" is one for Ronnel Stout. He was Lord Willam Dustin's squire during Robert’s Rebellion and that was the last thing Lord Willam said to Ronnel before he went to Dorne to free Lyanna Stark and [[CharacterDeath never came back]].

* UnwantedSpouse: [[spoiler:Arya is less than pleased to learn that she’s betrothed to Elmar Frey, going on a full-blown tirade about how cowardly and inept he is. It doesn't get any better after she’s forced to marry him]].

* WhatAnIdiot: In-universe, Domeric's opinion on everything Robb Stark’s been doing, from refusing to ransom his sister to sending Theon Greyjoy to Pyke.

* WhiteSheep: Domeric and Robbie have different opinions on who the Tully’s White Sheep is, apart from that it’s the only one who isn’t power-hungry (Lord Hoster), foolish (Catelyn), or just plain crazy (Lysa). Domeric thinks it’s the Blackfish after Edmure’s Battle of the Fords, Robbie thinks it’s Edmure given his affability.

** Not directly, but Domeric constantly fears stepping out of line with his father Roose Bolton. For example, a break in his stoic exterior could lead to losing his toes. Disobeying an order could lead to flaying. Robbie asks his father Roger Ryswell if this is the case; Roger doesn’t think so unless Domeric really did something out of line, but Lord Bolton wants Domeric to ''think'' that he will to keep him under his control.

* AdaptationExpansion: One of the Author’s goals was to give the Faith of the Seven a larger role in the narrative and flesh it out a bit more like various rites and even cultural diversity in the Faith.

* AgonyOfTheFeet: Domeric constantly thinks about his father flaying his toes as punishment. Why toes? Because it’s harder to see if someone was tortured if it’s aimed at the feet, perfectly in line with Lord Bolton’s philosophy of not wearing how cruel you are on your sleeve.

* AssInALionSkin: [[spoiler:Robbie puts on a bear skin and pretends to be the bear in the song “The Bear and the Maiden Fair” when he and his wife Sara sleep together for the first time.]]

** Lancel Lannister takes Brienne of Tarth’s place as the one who receives the swords reforged from Ice.

* DomesticAbuse: Domeric notes that Roose would flay any wife of his who made him a cuckold.

* ForWantOfANail: The story was set into motion (particularly regarding Domeric’s survival) because Domeric took a stopover at Lord Overton’s castle and learned what sort of man his bastard brother Ramsay was.

** Everyone says that Ser Mark Ryswell should have been the one to succeed Lord Rodrik Ryswell as Lord of the Rills... if he hadn’t died in Dorne at the Tower of Joy.

** Domeric himself. He’d be in the running to be Lord of the Rills and of Barrowton if it wouldn’t upset the balance of power.

* InVinoVeritas: Domeric hasn’t spoken about his little brother Roger in years, and the feast where his father gets married to Fat Walda makes him believe that he’s drunken a lot because he winds up talking about Roger.

* ItAlwaysRainsAtFunerals: [[spoiler:It’s raining the day after the Red Wedding as Catelyn Stark’s body is cremated in the Trident River]].

* TheMole: Bronze Yohn Royce had a spy in Renly’s army keeping tabs on the Vale Mountain Clans’ movements, a spy who is still with the Tyrells.

* MyGreatestFailure: Ronnel Stout’s is not being in Dorne for Lord Willam Dustin.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:Domeric’s DarkReprise of “The Wolf in the Night” gets used as a signal for the Red Wedding]].

* OfferedTheCrown: The Ryswell family does this as a means of succession; the ruling Lord chooses a successor from his house that he deems worthy. For example, Lord Rodrik would have chosen Ser Mark, whom he loved more than his sons, to succeed him if he hadn’t died in Dorne. The successor nowadays is in flux: of his older grandsons, one grandson (Domeric) is heir to another seat and Robbie has fallen out of favor due to his lusty appetites, so Lord Rodrik is banking on the 9-year-old Rick.

* OldSoldier: Ser Sam Stone has been on active duty for more than 40 years, as a veteran of the War of the Ninepenny Kings. As the Master-at-arms for Runestone, he’s also an OldMaster.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: The normally stoic Roose Bolton appears upset by the news of [[spoiler:Sansa’s death, while not knowing it’s faked]].

** Robert “Robbie” Ryswell, Domeric’s cousin and close friend.

* OutfitDecoy: Domeric fakes Sansa’s suicide by smashing a window and leaving part of a torn dress on one of the panes.

** Robar Royce, Bronze Yohn Royce’s second son. He had been Cassandra Redfort’s intended, but was killed by Loras Tyrell after Renly Baratheon’s assassination.

* PrematurelyGreyHaired: When he’s seen again, [[spoiler:Harrion Karstark]] has more than a touch of grey in his hair after months of captivity.

-->"The Umbers and the Karstarks, if the Starks said jump, they’d ask how high. They don’t know what it’s like in the west, to wonder if the Ironmen will sail in on the dawn tide and take everything you have. Maege Mormont, she knows, but for all she’d counsel the Young Wolf about the threat of the Ironborn, she wouldn’t go against him. Sycophants, the lot of them are. None of them stopped him, even though His Grace has wind for brains."

* TheQuietOne: Domeric isn't known for his abilities at speaking. After a speech where Domeric calls for rescuing Sansa, Donnel Stout remarks that "that’s the most words I’ve heard you string in a row since I’ve laid eyes on you."

-->"Because their blood is up, boy, he’d said, and they don’t care if she says yes or no. She’s there, and her feelings are in the way of what he wants. Or because they like the sound of crying, screaming. Some are like that... it’s the cries and pain for their own sake. The knowledge that you have the power to cause that in another soul. The cries and pain get their blood up. Or the thrill of the chase, the fear in their eyes. And when the blood is up the need is there."

* ReplacementGoldfish: Mychel Redfort is one for Robar Royce, as he fulfilled the Royce-Redfort alliance by marrying Ysilla Royce (Robar was supposed to marry Cassandra Redfort) and received Robar’s lands.

** Domeric attempts to give one as a call to action to rescue Sansa before Stannis can take King’s Landing and force terms on the North. It doesn’t work.
** Ser Sam Stone remembers Jon Arryn giving one to the men under old Lord Royce. He told them what they were fighting for, what Maelys the Monstrous would bring if they didn’t fight, and to fight in the name of the Gods and what they represent.

** In Chapter 35, [[spoiler:Lord Bolton reveals that he’s well aware of Domeric’s attraction to Sansa Stark and would have used it to his advantage]].

* SmallRoleBigImpact: Lord Overton [[TheGhost hasn’t appeared]], but he told Domeric of Ramsay’s true nature and warned him to stay away, making the entire story possible.

** The crannogmen’s defeat of the Ironborn in Dagon Greyjoy’s rebellion thwarted Bartimus Bolton’s attempt to seize the North from the Starks.
** Something (nobody knows what) happened where [[spoiler:Gregor Clegane was not sent to Duskendale and the Fossoways were sent instead. Roose Bolton’s plan was to have Domeric surrender to Clegane and be sent back after the Red Wedding... with Sansa Stark alive and well to be married to Domeric. Instead the Fossoways were sent, Domeric killed Ryam Fossoway, snuck into the Red Keep and spirited Sansa away and framed the Tyrells, the Lannisters try to save face by saying that Sansa’s dead, Domeric’s song winds up in the hands of Pate of Rosby, Lady Stark is angered by the song and she is killed in the Red Wedding (Lord Bolton mentions that she wasn’t supposed to die). So at Chapter 35, Sansa is presumed dead with her siblings, Arya is forcibly married to Elmar Frey, and Lord Bolton is worse off than before because Domeric is AWOL and he has nothing else to keep the North from rebelling, leaving him with only the unreliable Ramsay]].

** While talking to Tywin Lannister, [[spoiler:Domeric sees a scroll marked with a Bolton seal on his desk]]. The results of the correspondence don’t get revealed until [[spoiler:Chapter 33]].

** Robbie Ryswell for Lord Jason Mallister, but he declined knighthood.

** According to Lord Royce, Stevron Frey was fostered at Runestone, which makes sense because Lord Walder’s first wife was a Royce.

** Olyvar Frey was Gyles Rosby’s squire up until a year before the books, but was recalled before being knighted (besides, one can’t really squire for someone in Lord Rosby’s condition). He’s also the frontrunner to inherit when Lord Rosby dies.

** Inverted in Chapter 28 when Domeric balks at going into the ladies’ sewing circle. Not even the lords of the castle go there.

-->"Don’t worry, Dom. You don’t have to listen to a fat slattern like Randa. Girls like her, they look at you and they decide you’re handsome, and because they’re pretty they know you’re looking too. A woman’s looks, that’s her weapon. Her kisses, her tears, her cunt. They look at you and think, aye, it would be fun to play him for a fool. It makes them feel powerful, to know they can disarm men who could cut them down in a moment. And if they don’t want to make you into a fool, they want to marry you, and then they always want something. If you’re an heir, they want to be lady of your castle. If you’re not, either you’re nothing, or they’re some merchant’s daughter who wants her children to be noble. They don’t want you for you. You’re just a tool to them. A stepping stone. If they praise anything that you do that you weren’t born with, it’s so they can brag to the other ladies while they’re sewing, and act all high and mighty while claiming your accomplishments, when they did nothing at all... It doesn’t count if they’re your mother or your kin. Jeyne’s just a little girl, and Cassie and Jessie are like sisters. Don’t mess around with that lady love nonsense, Dom. If you need to get your wick wet just pay a whore and be done with it. You’re an heir, you’ll need a wife, but you should just put a few sons in her and ignore her."

-->''Grandfather Rodrik had always stressed the importance of jealously guarding the blood through deliberate matchmaking. It was the same with men as with horses and dogs. The wrong choice of sire or dam could spoil a line forever. Ryswell heirs sought brides who were tall, strong-boned, and fair of face, with brothers who were tall and broad, muscular and handsome, so Ryswell daughters would be tall and comely to attract powerful husbands, and Ryswell sons would be imposing to command respect. He was glad that for all he had Roose’s coloring, he had inherited the frame and features of his mother’s kin. Like skill in battle and a shrewd wit, comely faces and well-formed bodies were assets in the great game.''

** Harry says that he was Robb Stark, he would have sent Rickard Karstark to the Wall,

* UnwantedSpouse: [[spoiler:Arya is less than pleased to learn that she’s betrothed to Elmar Frey, going on a full-blown tirade about how cowardly and inept he is. It doesn’t get any better after she’s forced to marry him]].
* VikingFuneral: [[spoiler:Instead of dumping Catelyn Stark’s corpse into the river (and having her become Lady Stoneheart, the Freys do a traditional boat funeral and Lord Bolton sets it ablaze himself]].
* VillainRespect: Domeric believes that while his father may scoff at his preferences for poetry, songs and chivalry, he does respect Domeric’s skill at arms, horsemanship, and knowing his way around politics. Going the other way, Domeric has a great deal of respect for his father, considering him the smartest man in the North.

* WhatAnIdiot: In-universe, Domeric’s opinion on everything Robb Stark’s been doing, from refusing to ransom his sister to sending Theon Greyjoy to Pyke.

** Inverted with Domeric wishing he was Ser Mark’s son.

* YoungerThanTheyLook: Sansa is 15, but the Royces are willing to say she’s 17.

* ChildhoodBrainDamage: Discussed when Robbie speculates that Robb Stark was dropped on his head by his mother. Why else would he trust Theon Greyjoy?

* DamnedByFaintPraise: Discussed; when Robbie and Domeric criticize Robb Stark, Robbie says that Domeric would be a better king than Robb Stark, partly because he wouldn’t have trusted Theon. Domeric replies “Robb Stark is the only man in Westeros who trusts Theon Greyjoy. I’m nothing special, Robbie.”

* DeathGlare: Deconstructed. The Boltons have a tradition of being able to do this, but a proper Bolton Death Glare requires the right eye color, nose and chin to get the point across. One of Domeric’s hang-ups about possibly marrying a Frey is that the chin might not be present.

* DragonTheirFeet: On the Royce forces’ journey back to the Vale after the War of the Ninepenny Kings, they were set upon by the Jolly Fellows, a melee where a previous Lord Royce was slain.
* DramaticThunder: [[spoiler:When it’s time for The Hound to be executed, a lightning bolt strikes the gallows, as if the Gods say that he should not be hanged]].

** Domeric isn't going to ruin a maester's work by tearing pages from a book. He also doesn’t partake in the bedding ceremony for Fat Walda because he isn’t going to shame his new stepmother.
** [[spoiler:Harrion Karstark]] makes it clear that he does not approve of his father’s actions by killing Lannister prisoners or promising Alys’ hand to anyone who brought him Jaime Lannister.

* FaceDeathWithDignity: When it’s time for [[spoiler:The Hound to be executed, he doesn’t flinch at the burning gallows when it’s struck by lightning and invites the executioner to kill him.]]
-->”I lived by the sword, I’ll die by the sword. Come, hangman. Send me to the Stranger.”

* FreudianExcuse: Domeric’s less than positive view of sexually forward women was caused by Myranda Royce leading him on before she kissed Lyle Lynderly.

* HistoryRepeats: The War of the Five Kings was not the first time that a Bolton tried to seize control of the North while an Ironborn invasion took place, as Bartimus Bolton tried to take over the North during Dagon Greyjoy’s rebellion only to be thwarted by the Crannogmen.

* InadequateInheritor: Lord Rodrik thinks his grandson Robbie, who’s known for his liking for women, bawdy songs and japes, is unfit for the lordship.