History Fanfic / SongOfANorthernSorcerer

* AdaptationalLateAppearance: Shireen contracts greyscale when she is around six or seven instead of as an infant.

** Oberyn may be sexually passionate, but he does have a degree of self control: He doesn't screw everything that moves, and while the idea of stealing a spearwife or several appeals to him, he won't do so without Ellaria's opinion on the matter.

** She orders Jaime to murder a innocent girl ([[spoiler:unaware that the girl is her niece through Tyrion]]) simply for the crime of looking like Myrcella.

** [[spoiler:After being mortally wounded by an assassin, Robert reveals to Ned that he knows Cersei's children aren't his but asks Ned to protect Tommen and Myrcella anyway]]. Ned notes that his friend left out [[spoiler:Joffrey]], though he fully understands why and agrees without another word.

* KarmicDeath: Gerold Dayne is stripped of his knighthood and sentenced to death by hanging, which is reserved for the smallfolk who broke the law. By sentencing him to death in such a manner, Gerold is no noble but a simple commoner who broke the law.
* KarmicOverkill: In-universe example. Septa Mordane had made few friends in Winterfell, but her [[spoiler: brutal rape and murder during the attack at Nox's wedding]] was seen by everyone as far too brutal a fate.

* ParentalFavoritism: Cersei, naturally, favors her eldest, Joffrey, far more than she does her other two children, to the point where Myrcella is afraid of their mother taking Joffrey's side over her and Tommen's. This gets inverted with Robert when he finally starts to be a more involved parent, forming a close relationship to Tommen and Myrcella while Joffrey becomes TheUnFavorite in his eyes.

* YoureNotMyFather: After finding out the truth about his birth, Jon does not have a kind thought to spare about Rhaegar and does not consider him his father. He instead firmly considers Ned Stark as his true father.

** How Jon reacts to the knowledge that he was born of Rhaegar Targaryen carrying Lyanna Stark away. Catelyn Stark is more ambivalent on the matter, as she's obviously unhappy about her husband lying to her and letting her hate an innocent child for nothing, but on the other hand Ned never cheated on her.
** Daenerys eventually learns first from Jon and later Mellario that the Rebellion against her family was caused by her own father and brother's madness and cruelty. On a lesser note, she's also told that, contrary to her brother Viserys's claims of secret toasts being raised for a Targaryen restoration, for the most part, the people of Westeros either hate their family or are indifferent to the prospect of their return.

** Lord Ludd Whitehill tries to offer information about the other conspirators in exchange for clemency. [[spoiler:All he really did was make himself a target]].

** Everyone who knows of Craster and his habits is completely and utterly repulsed. The Free Folk wants nothing to do with him, and the entourage that goes beyond the Wall is absolutely disgusted and revolted, with some of them even wanting to go and straight up kill the man. Oberyn, in particular, states that Craster has cross the line so far that he'd never be able to find his way back.

** After seeing him throw lightning at Pyke's walls to open a breach, the Ironborn are terrified and call him an avatar of the Storm God.
** As he dresses in black hooded robes, wears a featureless mask and brings death to everyone pissing him off in very horrifying ways, people in the South name him the Stranger incarnate.

** Dany, more aware of her family history via Jon and Mellario, has decided to not go back to Westeros but to reform the Valyrian Empire in Essos with [[spoiler:Rhaego and Droga, alongside her three unhatched eggs]], not directly tied to the upcoming conflict.

* MasculineFeminineGayCouple: Lyanna Stark wasn't interested in sewing or poetry, as she wanted to train in the yard with her brothers, hunt boar and deer in the woods and ride her horse all day long. She fell hard for Elia Martell, who was a PrincessClassic and very well-learned in the arts of love and seduction.

** Upon seeing [[spoiler: Anna, who he doesn't yet know is his niece]], Jaime believes that given the awful life she's given, killing her would be a mercy. Subverted when he ultimately doesn't go through with it.

* ParentalFavoritism: Cersei, naturally, favors her eldest, Joffrey, far more than she does her other two children, to the point where Myrcella is afraid of their mother taking Joffrey's side over her and Tommen's. This gets inverted with Robert when finally starts to be a more involved parent: he eventually forms a close relationship to Tommen and Myrcella while Joffrey becomes TheUnFavorite in his eyes.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Downplayed for Mace Tyrell when he learns that [[spoiler:Karsi has given birth to Garlan's bastard son]]. Though his negative reaction seems harsh, it's pretty much expected considering [[spoiler:how most of Westeros outside of Dorne views bastards]]. Moreover, once he learns that [[spoiler:Karsi doesn't want money or titles and has no intention of bringing her and Garlan's son down south, he allows Garlan to visit his son in the North, provided that he's discreet about it so the public doesn't find out]].

** Due to his knowledge about the importance of genetic diversity and in preventing disorders, Nox quickly develops this view of House Targaryen after learning about their practice of keeping their blood "pure" through RoyalInbreeding, taking the madness that runs in the Targaryen family and the end of their dynasty at the hands of the hands of the Mad King Aerys and Prince Rhaegar as proof. A spirit of the former leader of the Archons of the Valyrian Empire later echoes this sentiment upon learning about the Targaryens' conquest of Westeros and eventual downfall, noting how Valyria always made sure to infuse fresh bloodlines into their empire to strengthen their magical abilities, a lesson the Targaryens never learned.

* UnknownRival: Cersei in her paranoia believes everything the Sorcerer achieved in the North is part of his goal to topple the Lannister family. Nox barely cares about the Westerlands as he's more focused on preparing the North to handle the upcoming Long Night. He is aware, though, that Cersei hates him and wants him gone but considers her little more than a nuisance, which is fortunate for Cersei since those who Nox deems actual threats to him tend not to live very long.

** Robert somberly talking with Jon about times past, which alarms him, [[spoiler: then Robert starts coughing violently, after which his handkerchief is covered in blood.

** Hoster Tully might have been a case of ParentsAsPeople in the original series, but it was no doubt that he did love all his children. Here he had no reaction at all to the [[spoiler: scattering of Cat's ashes]], even in the Force. His later interaction with Ned showed little sympathy or kindness to his goodson, with this sort of behavior to not only one of his closest allies but also one of the most powerful men in the Seven Kingdoms not showing no kindness or empathy.

*** Unlike in the books, there's no indication that Robert purposely avoided being involved in the lives of his bastard children to protect them from Cersei.

* AnyoneCanDie: Just to remind anyone that this is still Westeros, [[spoiler Catelyn and the infant Rickon, alongside Vayon Poole and Rickard Karstark, are killed at Nox and Nyra's wedding]].

* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: Naturally as in canon, Joffrey. Also like in canon, this is one trait of his that Robert reacts to violently. As it also coincides with Robert working to snap himself back to his old "Demon of the Trident" self, Joffrey's continued habit of this, and the brutal killing of Tommen's fawn, makes Robert make it abundantly clear to Joffrey that if Robert hears of another incident, he's off to The Wall.

* BaitAndSwitch: When Nox begins Force-choking Janos Slynt to death for incompetence of a near-regicide level, King Robert orders him to stop... so that he can formally strip the idiot of his office before letting Nox proceed with killing him. ''Slowly''.

* BondingOverDislikes: Despite the enmity between their families and the fact that Gerion tried to stab Oberyn's daughter Obara when Nox's expedition first encountered him, Gerion Lannister and Oberyn Martell become friends after the former grovels for mercy after regaining his sanity and then disparages his brother Tywin.

** Domeric's relationship with his father Roose was always rather strained, but it doesn't truly dawn on him just how gruesome his family legacy is until [[spoiler:he's been exiled after his father's execution for treason]]. In a straighter example, due to not having any trueborn siblings, he had always hoped to meet his bastard half-brother, Ramsay Snow. Then he learns about Ramsay's habit of hunting young maidens for sport and realizes Ramsay's no better than the rest of the Boltons.

* CharacterDevelopment: Robert goes from an overweight LazyBum of a king to a somewhat competent ruler who shows a skill for playing the game. [[spoiler:He eventually comes to love Tomman and Myrcella, despite knowing they are not his, and even grows out of his hatred for the Targaryens sometime before his death, though that could be because he's been dying from tuberculosis for a while]].

* CoolSword: Lightsabers, duh. Each Acolytes who passes their trial gets their own.

* CripplingOverspecialization: House Lannister is famous for the large gold deposits on its lands, from which virtually all of their wealth is derived. Thus, when their mines start running dry, Tywin struggles to cover it up until he can find new sources of income.

* DramaticIrony: After the Small Council learns that Daenerys can apparently use magic, Baelish mentions how dangerous she'd be if the sorcerer were to find and take her on as an apprentice, unaware that Nox is doing precisely that through magical glass candles from Valyria.

* EvilIsPetty:
** As true to form, Cersei is this. She orders Jaime to murder a innocent girl ([[spoiler:unaware that the girl is her niece through Tyrion]]) simply for the crime of looking like Myrcella.

** She also insists that Nyra be specifically referred to only as "the sorcerer's whore" rather than by name or title [[spoiler:once Joffrey has seized the throne]].
* EvilLaugh: [[spoiler:The White Walker gives off one of these. Even Nox is put off by it]].
* ExactWords: Overlapping with LoopholeAbuse, Nox tells Balon Greyjoy that whilst Robert ordered that Balon be brought to him alive, he failed to specify precisely what condition Balon was to be in and uses this as an opportunity to torture the wretched man with Force Lightning.

* FamilyExtermination: [[spoiler:The Order of the Guiding Hand attempt to have the entirety of House Stark exterminated after confirming that all of them are capable of magic, initially having only intended to kill off the adults and older children whilst preserving the younger ones to be shown the "correct" path. They only succeed in getting Catelyn and Rickon, however, and aren't able to plan another attempt before the rest of the pack come looking for well-deserved revenge]].

** Yet again the heir to House Stark finds himself accused of a crime he didn't commit and sentenced to death by a mad, inbred royal after a farcical trial. Thankfully, this time it doesn't stick but it remains a close call and severely harms the already fractious relationship between the North and the Crown.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Joffrey tries to humiliate Sansa by ordering her to heal the Hound's facial scars in front of the entire court at Harrenhal, thinking she won't be able to do it. She naturally succeeds, which only boosts her reputation, [[spoiler:and later, this motivates Sandor to abandon the Lannisters and help Sansa and her companions escape King's Landing]].

** Robb isn't much better, as he's left gaping every time Talisa is around.

** House Tyrell is reeling from the Guiding Hand conspiracy and the North's rising power, though they've sought to navigate the latter and mend the former via a successful marriage contract between Willas and Sansa. However, the Tyrells also seek to have a marriage alliance with Margaery and the Iron Throne, and Loras has a close connection with Renly. Tensions in the Tyrells are also rising between Mace and his family, particularly Garlan, which threatens Tyrell unity.

--> '''Nox:''' And while the young woman wasn't touching the food and drink before her, the old man was digging into his meal with perhaps the worst set of table manners Nox had ever experienced in his life. And that included his mealtimes in the slave pens.

** [[spoiler:Domeric gets exiled to Essos after the failed coup against the Starks, even though Domeric didn't know anything about it]]. Downplayed, [[spoiler:as Ned acknowledges that Domeric isn't to blame for his father's role in the coup and is mostly doing this to prevent House Bolton from ever rising up against the Starks in the future]].

** A wedding involving the Stark family turns into a tragedy courtesy of betrayal and refusal to respect SacredHospitality.

* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Besides a few deaths, the conspiracy to [[spoiler:exterminate the Starks and the sorcerer's family]] only made them stronger. Lampshaded by Leyton Hightower.
-->'''Leyton:''' I doubt those fools could've imagined a larger failure on their part. They not only failed to end the line of the wolves and the Sorcerer. And in the end, they only made the Starks and the Sorcerer seem that much more impressive.

** Robert initially distrusts Nox due to the latter's Valyrian-like appearance but soon grows to like the sorcerer, who even inspires him to be a better ruler.

** Like in canon, there's Oberyn's friendship with Willas, whose family hates the former for accidentally maiming Willas in a joust. He later also befriends Willas's brother Garlan after they venture beyond the Wall to deal with a group of rogue Free Folk and [[spoiler:later fight a white walker together]].

* SecretTestOfCharacter: Daenerys puts Jorah through one, asking if he found honor & satisfaction in serving her father. When Jorah answers yes, Dany, who knows of her family's history in the Rebellion, isn't very impressed & warns Jorah that she won't tolerate false platitudes & flattery from him again.

* ShipperWithAnAgenda: Tywin intends to strengthen House Lannister's ties to the Starks through marriage so that he may benefit from the North's newfound wealth and breed magic into his family. He thus schemes to send his bastard niece Joy to Winterfell and has her learn about Northern Houses and traditions, hoping that she'll attract Jon Snow's eye. After Jon becomes betrothed to Arianne and Robb marries Talisa, Tywin settles for Gendry, Robert's bastard son who can also use the Force and will likely soon be legitimized for recreating Valyrian Steel; he even hopes that Joy loses her virture to Gendry so that they can force a betrothal. He also has his nephew Tyrek learn about Northern traditions and orders Joy to tell Tyrek everything she knows about Arya Stark so that he may catch her interest. Tyrion, however, doesn't hesitate to point out that these plans have low odds of bearing fruit since the Starks do not think highly of the Lannisters due to Tywin's actions during Robert's Rebellion, and their allies through Nox are likely to be of the same mindset.

* SimpleMindedWisdom: As Nox's influence grows, Jon Arryn advises Robert to be more wary of the sorcerer and not give him so much leeway in case he decides to make a play for the Iron Throne. Robert just laughs the idea off, pointing out that if Nox really wanted the throne, they'd have no chance of stopping him, so they're better off trying to befriend him and rightfully rewarding his many accomplishments rather than doing anything that may drive him towards their enemies. Downplayed in that Robert is actually [[SmarterThanYouLook much more intelligent than many who know him think]].

* SmarterThanYouLook: Robert Baratheon comes off as just a LazyBum and DumbMuscle of a king, but he's actually a fairly competent ruler and savvy politician when he really tries. He counsels Ned [[spoiler:from his deathbed]] on how to secure enough alliances to prevent Tywin Lannister from seizing power and reveals [[spoiler:he's already figured out the parentage of his "trueborn" children and Jon Snow]].

* ShipperWithAnAgenda: Tywin intends to strengthen House Lannister's ties to the Starks through marriage so that he may benefit from the North's newfound wealth and breed magic into his family. He thus schemes to send his bastard niece Joy to Winterfell and has her learn about Northern Houses and traditions, hoping that she'll attract Jon Snow's eye. After Jon becomes betrothed to Arianne and Robb marries Talisa, Tywin settles for Gendry, Robert's bastard son who can also use the Force and will likely soon be legitimized for recreating Valyrian Steel; he even hopes that Joy loses her virginity to Gendry so that they can force a betrothal. He also has his nephew Tyrek learn about Northern traditions and orders Joy to tell Tyrek everything she knows about Arya Stark so that he may catch her interest. Tyrion, however, doesn't hesitate to point out that these plans have low odds of bearing fruit since the Starks do not think highly of the Lannisters due to Tywin's actions during Robert's Rebellion, and their allies through Nox are likely to be of the same mindset.

* TookALevelInBadass: Nox's various accomplishments and adventures inspire Robert to be a more competent king. [[spoiler:The reveal that the white walkers are returning further motivate him to get back into shape for the upcoming war]].

* AdaptationalBadass: Several characters are revealed to be Force Sensitive.

** After the failure to assimilate the Rhoynar into their empire, the Archons of Valyria opted to try this with the Starks and an accord was eventually struck; the North would remain free and independent and the Starks would retain their titles of the Kings of Winter in exchange for a Stark bride to be wed to the son of one of the most powerful Archons, so as to promote a new generation of potent magic users in Valyria. However, the Doom occured before this could come to be and Aegon the Conqueror refused to honor the agreement when King Torrhen reminded him, much to the anger of the Northmen.

** The Faith of the Seven is pretty hostile towards the idea of magic, making Nox's interactions with Catelyn Stark quite cold and awkward. As his influence in the North grows, Septas and Septons are explicitly stated to not be welcome there. [[spoiler: When Joffrey seizes the throne, his first edict is to declare magic illegal and empowers the newly restored Faith Militant to hunt down and kill all who practice it]].

* AnyoneCanDie: Just to remind anyone that this is still Westeros, [[spoiler: Catelyn and the infant Rickon, alongside Vayon Poole and Rickard Karstark, are killed at Nox and Nyra's wedding.]]

* TheCoronerDothProtestTooMuch: [[spoiler:To ensure that Highgarden's maester doesn't reveal that she knew about the Order of the Guiding Hand, Olenna Tyrell arranges a tragic "accident"... where the man fell out of his tower onto a convenient rack of spears after swallowing every poison in his stock]].

* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: The Dragonlords of Valyria discovered that due to how strong-willed dragons are, binding a rider to more than one dragon will eventually cause the rider to go mad from the dragon's primal instincts, which often results in them becoming an OmnicidalManiac. Thus, they made sure to only bind one dragon to a rider. [[spoiler:Daenerys learns about this from Jon and takes it to heart, hatching only one dragon for herself while setting aside the other three dragon eggs she has]].

** Instead of succumbing to illness, [[spoiler:Doreah is stabbed in the chest by Pyat Pree when the latter kidnaps Rhaego and Droga]].

** Though he dies in similar circumstances to canon, here [[spoiler:Jory Cassel dies in a HeroicSacrifice after igniting a mixture of black powder and wildfire to buy Nyra, Osha, Sansa, Jeyne, and Arya time to escape]].

-->'''Cersei:''' If she truly exists, and if she's still alive amongst those slavers, kill her. I won't stand for a peasant girl, a slave whore child at that, being passed off as Myrcella. Her very existence is an insult to us and our family. And a Lannister always repays those who insult them.

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Jory Cassel and his men stay behind in the Tower of the Hand to face the Kingslayer and dozens of Lannister lackeys in order to buy time for Nyra, Sansa, Arya, and Osha to escape, despite knowing that it will mean certain death for them. Overlaps with TakingYouWithMe as when Jory is fatally wounded, he triggers a final trap of a mixture of wildfire and gunpowder that blows up the entire tower, which Jaime barely escapes]].

** Gerion used to be a latent Force-sensitive, but being stuck in the hellish ruins of Valyria made him trade this potential for the strongest mental defenses in Westeros in order to survive the place.

* {{Irony}}: Ned Stark just won't stop complaining about the Game of Thrones and how he doesn't want to be involved, but it's pointed out several times that he's not a bad player at all once he puts his mind to it. Oberyn Martell actually comments on the Quiet Wolf ''outwitting'' the Queen of Thorns, the Old Lion and the Prince of Dorne when he had barely reached manhood, for the sake of his late sister and infant nephew.
* ItRunsInTheFamily: Force potential has a genetic component, meaning a Force-sensitive has higher odds to produce a Force-sensitive offspring. Nox is extremely impressed by Ned and Catelyn producing ''five'' children with good potential, Stannis' daughter Shireen and two of Robert's bastards are accepted to Winterfell as acolytes, and Tywin suggests for Gerion to take his daughter Joy to be tested since he has a hint of sensitivity. [[spoiler: This gets deconstructed, however, by the fact that it means those who want to get rid of magic target the entire family to make sure]].
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: As Nox is marrying Nyra, he actually feels his late paramour Ashara approving of the event. Sansa actually sees her ghost, even if she mistakes her for the Maiden blessing the union.

** [[PapaWolf Gerion]] doesn't like how his brother Tywin casually talks about marrying Gerion's daughter Joy off like she's just a chess piece. Nor is he happy that he can't argue otherwise when Tywin points out that Joy had a duty to House Lannister, especially after her legitimization, and later that most girls her age and status are already betrothed, if not married and bedded.

** Benjen uses this against the surviving members of the coup as he's about to kill them, pointing out that while they took the Black, they aren't Black Brothers yet.
** Slavery is illegal in Pentos due to orders from Braavos, but the Magisters get around this by arranging for their servants to be heavily indebted to them. When Daenerys sees how much Dorea owes Illyrio, who bought her from a pleasure house in Lys, she notes that not even a noble or wealthy merchant would be able to pay it off.

* NiceJobFixingItVillain!: Besides a few deaths, the conspiracy to [[spoiler:exterminate the Starks and the sorcerer's family]] only made them stronger. Lampshaded by Leyton Hightower.

* OddFriendship: Despite the enmity between the Lannisters and Martells and Oberyn initially wanting to kill Gerion Lannister for trying to stab the former's daughter Obara when the Valyrian expedition encountered Gerion, the two men eventually become good friends. It probably helped that after regaining his sanity and learning about what he almost did, Gerion's first act was to grovel for forgiveness and [[BondingOverDislikes insult his brother Tywin]].

* OnlySaneMan: [[spoiler: Tyrion and Gerion are the only ones on the Lannister side who not only recognize what a spectacularly bad idea declaring war on the North, House Stark and Nox is but openly point this out]].
* PragmaticVillainy: [[spoiler:Grand Maester]] Jeorge talks Robert out of assassinating the pregnant Daenerys on the grounds that it would be too difficult to carry out successfully with how closely guarded she'll be and isn't worth the risk: Dothraki typically wouldn't go anywhere near the seas, let alone sail across them, but they might if they feel the Iron Throne is a threat to their leader's wife and unborn child. Instead, [[DoWrongRight Jeorge suggests Viserys as a more convenient target]] since his death will effectively nullify the agreement Khal Drogo made to invade Westeros and help Viserys take back the Iron Throne in exchange for Daenerys's hand in marriage.

* PsychicLink: Jon develops this with Daenerys through the will of the Force. [[spoiler: This is a dyad in the Force, a very rare form of a Force bond. As explained by Nox, a Force dyad bond between a pair are a singular presence, making them one in the Force. The power of the pair is increased drastically. It is stated that the bond of a dyad is as strong as life itself. Their minds are linked across space and time and can always speak with one another no matter the distance. Such a occurrence is very rare and its full abilities have never been explored. But it has been theorized that the connection between the bonded pair may been potent enough to pass physical items through the aether of the Force.]] Why Jon and Dany have been bonded by the will of the Force has yet to be explained.

* RejectingTheInheritance: After learning he's Rhaegar Targaryen's last surviving child and a potential claimant to the Iron Throne, Jon is utterly horror-struck and wants to stay far, far away from King's Landing and everyone hinting he ought to take the crown.

** [[spoiler: After the massacre at Nox's wedding, he, Ned Stark and the entire North embark on one of these against the ones responsible. By the end of it, three Northern houses are effectively extinct, a fourth is exiled on pain of death and the Order of the Maesters has been gutted.]]
** One of the reasons why King Torrhen Stark agreed to submit to the Targaryens is because he had a Force vision of this being inflicted on the North if they chose to fight; they managed to kill one of the dragons and its rider during the battle, but the remaining two went on to burn every single castle between the Neck and the Wall in response.

* ShipperWithAnAgenda: Tywin intends to strengthen House Lannister's ties to the Starks through marriage so that he may benefit from the North's newfound wealth and breed magic into his family. He thus schemes to send his bastard niece Joy to Winterfell and has her learn about Northern Houses and traditions, hoping that she'll attract Jon Snow's eye. After Jon becomes betrothed to Arianne and Robb marries Talisa, Tywin settles for Gendry, Robert's bastard son who can also use the Force and will likely soon be legitimized for recreating Valyrian Steel; he even hopes that Joy loses her virginity to Gendry so that they can force a betrothal. He also has his nephew Tyrek learn about Northern traditions and orders Joy to tell Tyrek everything she knows about Arya Stark so that he may catch her interest. Tyrion, however, doesn't hesitate to point out that none of these are likely to bear fruit since the Starks do not think highly of the Lannisters due to the latter's actions during Robert's Rebellion.

** Tywin craves magic being bred into the Lannister bloodline and makes plans for one of the Stark children to marry a Lannister scion. When informed of his niece Joy being Force-sensitive, she becomes his favored candidate as the mother to bear potential sorcerers.

** After the failed coup in Winterfell, a Vale knight thought it was a good idea to taunt Nox his wife and stillborn son in the hopes of getting a quick death. It does him ''less'' than good.

* UndisclosedFunds: Dorea is deeply in debt to Illyrio Mopatis and thus his slave in all but name. After Dany receives the scroll detailing how much Dorea owes, she notes that not even a filthy rich merchant or noble would be able to pay it off.

--> '''Robert:''' And who is this man?
--> '''Varys:''' He has given up his name. But before he started wandering, he was a Septon from somewhere in the Crownlands. Though I haven't been able to track down his origins exactly. He has also started to garner quite the following. [[spoiler:Those that follow him refer to him as the "High Sparrow," the messenger of the Seven]].