Dawn comes on the Sunset Sea
is a Fanfic by Bravewolven. It is a crossover between A Song of Ice and Fire and Civilization: Beyond Earth.
The story follows the Confederation of Arctic Nations, an Original Flavor sponsor, as they try to find a new home in Westeros, while dealing with all the problems the world has to offer.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Theon is more isolated in this story, due to the Ironborn engaging in a small bit of reaving in the opening chapters, which turns the North against him (remember that he is being used as a hostage).
- Adaptational Jerkass: Catelyn comes off as this, mostly due to the fact that her interactions with the CAN is through Jon, Ned's bastard son (at least as far as she knows).
- Ambiguous Situation: The Ironborn have been engaging in reaving again as of late, but it's not specified if they are doing so under Balon's orders or are striking out on their own.
- Armor-Piercing Question: During their adventures in the catacombs underneath Winterfell, Marcus bluntly asks Robb if he thinks Theon is suited to rule the Iron Islands. As much as Robb loves Theon, he can only remain silent knowing that the Greyjoy is not really suited for ruling.
- "Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word: Invoked word for word regarding a corrupt Councilor's attempt to hold Jon's true parentage against Eddard.
- Boring Yet Practical: Yes, there's gold to mine in the North but the mines aren't in the Mollen and Hornwood lands. What these lands do have is an abundance of maple trees, which allows for maple syrup exploitation. After tasting the syrup and learning how to use it for cooking, Lord Mollen is perfectly happy with this liquid "gold".
- Break the Scientist: In-universe, the CAN researchers are clutching their pearls and shrieking over the fact that Westeros managed to evolve in such a manner it looks very much like Earth. At least one had a nervous breakdown and another one needed a stiff drink onscreen.
- Brutal Honesty: Marcus gives a lot of this toward Robb in Chapter 14, pointing out, in order, that Theon is unsuited to be the ruler of the Iron Islands, that Theon's relationship with Ros is not love, and that there is a possibility that Robb might not end up in a Perfectly Arranged Marriage.
- Childless Dystopia: One of the things that Ned's scouting party is unnerved by is that the CAN colony has no children among its numbers (likely because children were not allowed on the Seeding mission).
- Culture Clash: Mostly Averted, but there are a few instances where this comes into play, namely that the CAN is lead by a women while Westeros is deeply patriarchal.
- Catelyn is left aghast when the CAN considers trading with House Mallister over House Tully, as the former are sworn to the latter and not making this agreement without the Tully's approval is a major breach of feudal conduct. She's further enraged when the CAN expresses interest in trading with the Lannisters (though given what the audience knows about the Lannisters, this is more forgiveable). Cat ironically makes this worse because, due to what has been taught to her about being a proper lady, she doesn't speak up and try to clarify what Aurora is doing that makes her mad.
- The whole knighting business completely bemuses the CAN as they have grown beyond the Knight in Shining Armor stick. Still, they accept it in order to integrate — only for Marcus to shock Robb by mentioning the Terran knighting involves slapping the recipient.
- The Westerosi mindset tends to consider people as "pawns" — yup, even in the North. Several lords would be interested by an Arranged Marriage with Aurora Everett, and no one bats an eyelash over Ned Stark sending his bastard son to Whitehaven to be a page.
- Westerosi see nothing wrong with punishing (and potentially executing) Theon for the crimes of the rest of the Iron Islands, something that unnerves William.
- Westeros is a society where social class is everything. The CAN believe in equality for all. Even Eddard Stark finds this odd.
- Catelyn assumes Aurora is deliberately mocking her by having Jon greet her at Arkholme.
- Death by Adaptation:
- Septa Mordane, who died in the Winterfell fire.
- Denys of House Druum ends up being killed by gunfire from the CAN naval vessel Arctic Tern.
- Don't Call Me "Sir": CAN colonists tend to awkwardness when the Northmen bestow the title "ser" (for a knight) upon them. It's worse for Aurora — as the Commander, she's designated as "Lady".
- Dramatic Irony: Marcus questioning Robb over whether Theon is fit to rule the Iron Islands becomes this when one considers that Balon had written off Theon as an heir in favor of Yara/Asha, as the boy had spent too much time around "Greenlanders".
- Expy: In-Universe, Aurora Everett is called Nymeria Reborn as she's leading a people of refugees who underwent a long and perillous travel to find a safe haven in Westeros.
- Lilian Ward is an obvious one to Mei Hatsume, down to how she enters the story and her penchant for making her inventions explode.
- First Contact: The North engages in an extremely civil example with the CAN.
- Giving Radio to the Romans: The CAN give certain small advancements to the North as goodwill gestures, though they deliberately avoid giving them technology that is too advanced for them.
- He Knows Too Much: When Ned tells Howland Reed that Aurora knows about Jon not being his bastard, Howland suggests killing her before she tells anyone. Ned tells him no because she has shown him she can be trustworthy and killing her would cause more problems than it solves with the CAN. Howland agrees but still silently promises to kill her against his lord's orders if she gives him a reason to.
- Honesty Is the Best Policy: Eddard, while livid at the revelation of the plot of several CAN councilors to blackmail him regarding Jon's parentage, deeply appreciates Aurora's willingness to immediately march to him and tell him.
- Identical Stranger: Aurora Everett and her brother William are strikingly similar to Lyanna and Brandon Stark, something that deeply unsettled Ned Stark when he first met them. Also, Aurora's Finnish assistant Kalle could impersonate Rhaegar Targaryen with only some minute details wrong.
- Ignored Expert: Not much of an expert, but the spirit of the trope comes up when Luwin asks the wise woman of the little village the CAN helped why she didn't go to a Maester and show him the immense healing abilities of the liquid she'd discovered; it turns out she'd tried that with Sea Dragon Point's Maester, only to be kicked out every time.
- Improbable Infant Survival: A dozen of children managed to hide from the Ironborn raiders that destroyed their village, being taken to safety by the CAN Explorers. One of them later comes down with grayscale only to be fully cured, and barely-a-teen Sansa is rescued from a fire.
- I Owe You My Life: After William rescued his daughter Sansa from burning alive in Winterfell's accidental fire, Ned Stark makes the Starman a knight.
- Light Is Good: CAN uses white and gold in their flag, their Commander is named Aurora, and they want to peacefully integrate with and uplift Westeros.
- Loving a Shadow: Marcus tells Robb that Theon only 'thinks' he's in love with Ros, when really he's just physically attracted to her and that if they were truly in love then he wouldn't need to pay her for her affection.
- Mad Scientist: Lilian Ward, nicknamed Lily. The most optimistic projection regarding her ability to not explode anything in her lab is three days.
- Named Weapons: Aside from Ned's Ice, Denys Drumm, leader of the group of Ironborn attacking the Mormont fleet, carries a Valyrian Steel sword he calls Red Rayne. Maege Mormont initially thinks her daughter Dacey killed Drumm, giving her the chance to claim it, but Dacey confesses that though she was fighting Drumm at the moment of his death, he was actually killed by CAN gunfire. Maege agrees to keep it for them so its succession can be sorted out.
- Nerves of Steel: Ned, as evidenced by the fact he successfully kept his cool even when presented with a dead-ringer for Rhaegar Targaryen, the man who indirectly got most of his family killed.
- Parental Substitute: Jon Snow is hinted to consider Commander Aurora Everett as this. It's made even more poignant by the fact he's actually Lyanna Stark's child and is gravitating towards her doppelganger.
- Pet the Dog: Septa Mordane is rather hostile towards the CAN for being heathens with dangerous ideas, so much that her sincerely praying for a child to recover from grayscale surprises them.
- Poor Communication Kills: Catelyn's hit by this when discussing trade with the CAN, and contrary to her expectations, considers initiating trade with Houses Mallister and Lannister. This is both borne of relative naiveté and pragmatism, since they have are new to the local politics and seeking the easiest and most productive trade routes (the Mallisters control the best non-Ironborn port in the Sunset Sea side of the Riverlands, and they have no idea of what the Lannisters are considered like), and not helped at all by Catelyn's silence.
- Rank Up: After the fire at Winterfell, Eddard officially raises House Cassel to a Lordly House, giving them command of King's Crossing.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Once they hear of the colony being set up in the North Stannis demands that they swear fealty to the Iron-Throne. Renly however claims such a thing is unnecessary, as the colonists aren't exactly squatting on Ned's land. They are paying taxes and trading with the North, which will all go to the kingdoms banks regardless. Telling his brother that they already allow such things with foreign traders and that they shouldn't have to start a war just because the only thing they haven't done is bend the knee.
- Secret Secret-Keeper: Arya accidentally is privy to a conversation in which she learns her beloved bastard half-brother is actually her cousin. She's so stunned by the implications that she decides to keep mum.
- She Is All Grown Up: Part of the reason why Arya enjoys shadowing Aurora so much, as both of them are said to look like Lyanna Stark. Seeing how graceful and beautiful Aurora can be helps the young girl to feel less insecure about her own features.
- Shown Their Work: Marcus mentions that his knighting ceremony included being slapped afterwards. This was a part of certain knightings, with the blow supposedly meant as the final insult the knight could take without fighting.
- Stay in the Kitchen:
- Catelyn unfortunately plays with this role. Since she's used to presenting a perfect, prim lady, she's paralyzed when others' actions don't jibe with her worldview. When Aurora discusses trade with the Mallisters and the Lannisters, which she considers it a violation of the feudal agreement and a terrible idea in general, respectively, she stays silent and seethes (since it's not a lady's role to get mixed up in politics), not realizing that the idea was presented mainly out of pragmatism and a relative value of innocence, respectively, instead of immediately clarifying the misunderstanding.
- Theon's thoughts show that he thinks that the CAN is crazy for having a woman in charge, with his thoughts turning toward the Dance of the Dragons.For those who haven't read the books
- Through His Stomach: Shireen is floored when her infamously dour and grim father smiles after tasting a maple syrup cookie.
- Values Resonance: In-Universe, Jon Snow departing for Whitehaven to integrate within Aurora's cadre is well received by both sides — the CAN see it as recruiting a native to smooth the tensions with the local people, the Westerosi are used to lords making alliances by sending their children as pages or squires to each other.
- What You Are in the Dark: Aurora flatly refuses to use the knowledge that Jon Snow is Ned Stark's nephew to blackmail the Warden of the North, instead confessing her discovery to him.
- You Are in Command Now: Following her father's demise in the botched landing, a dismayed Aurora finds herself the Commander of the expedition.
