Wow, the first part was very touching, although I do not have warm feelings towards Lenora, but their tenderness could cause me some regret.
Still wondering what Thomas gonna do. Amazing Job, Alter!

> I like the story entry and I am thrilled with the "silver" effect on the skin. Very good.

Awesome chapter!

With a few things, that caught my attention:

Firstly, does Octavia seem like a bad one to anyone else, or was that just me?

To me, she positivly screamed spy/assassine/agent. Even more so, after the scene with the razor. Or, perhaps, Alter is just messing with us...

 

The scene with Lenora was quite something, I must admit. But I am still not convinced, that she will actually end up dead here. I wouldn't be surprised, if the execution would end up as a show, a farce. Where Lenora get's whisked away, at the last possible moment.

 

Finally, the ball setup was very impressive. I could positivly feel the intrique seeping out of every nook, corner and cranny. Very well done. And poor Anneliese seemed to realize, over the course of the conversation, that her head is already on the executioners block. And if she fails with her research, the axe will fall. So, plenty of room for dramatic developments there.

 

 

One question tough: Is the vampiress in the black dress with the very shiny pendant Serana? I don't quite remember, how she looked like, when she last had an appearance here on the blog. If it is her, then I would suspect, that Hakon is lurking somewhere nearby as well.

Edited January 15, 2022 by HM1919

WOW!

What a great story  waiting next episode

This Looks like Harkon.

 

And this looks like an old Replacer for Serana

 

I think  hehe.

 

Really liked the story and atmosphere of this entry very much.

 

Simply Marvelous indeed 

22 hours ago, Crw said:

Wow, the first part was very touching, although I do not have warm feelings towards Lenora, but their tenderness could cause me some regret.
Still wondering what Thomas gonna do. Amazing Job, Alter!

 

Thank you very much!

 

21 hours ago, Evaloves4 said:

> I like the story entry and I am thrilled with the "silver" effect on the skin. Very good.

 

Thank you!

 

21 hours ago, HM1919 said:

Awesome chapter!

With a few things, that caught my attention:

Firstly, does Octavia seem like a bad one to anyone else, or was that just me?

 

To me, she positivly screamed spy/assassine/agent. Even more so, after the scene with the razor. Or, perhaps, Alter is just messing with us...

 

I guess we have to see, but given that Thomas is surrounded by very powerful vampires the main threat is probably not coming from the lower servants. But let's see.

 

21 hours ago, HM1919 said:

The scene with Lenora was quite something, I must admit. But I am still not convinced, that she will actually end up dead here. I wouldn't be surprised, if the execution would end up as a show, a farce. Where Lenora get's whisked away, at the last possible moment.

 

She clearly broke the law so it'll be hard to get her off the hook. Besides her Vasil is also indicted.

 

21 hours ago, HM1919 said:

Finally, the ball setup was very impressive. I could positivly feel the intrique seeping out of every nook, corner and cranny. Very well done. And poor Anneliese seemed to realize, over the course of the conversation, that her head is already on the executioners block. And if she fails with her research, the axe will fall. So, plenty of room for dramatic developments there.

 

Yeah, Anneliese felt just as much out of place for these events as Thomas (neither of them is part of the nobility and interested in these kind of social events), but they are both there on invitation of the queen.

 

21 hours ago, HM1919 said:

 

One question tough: Is the vampiress in the black dress with the very shiny pendant Serana? I don't quite remember, how she looked like, when she last had an appearance here on the blog. If it is her, then I would suspect, that Hakon is lurking somewhere nearby as well.

 

Yes, this is Serana, Harkon is also present as pointed out above. 

Thanks for showing that much interest in my story, much appreciated. 

 

 

13 hours ago, Nonseen said:

WOW!

What a great story  waiting next episode

 

Thank you!

 

1 hour ago, Jay-Omms said:

Simply Marvelous indeed 

 

Thanks 

Really really well done chapter. This one felt very immersive to me. The set up of each scene and shots of all the different characters felt very real. Plus the dialogue felt so natural while setting up a lot of exposition. Idk, this was just really well done. Great work!

I love the atmosphere of this section! The scenery and all the things going on are so well done!
My favorite shots are when the entire assembly is shown - it looks lively and realistic. I have mad respect to you for going big with all the characters positioned at once.

WOW! has Queen Isabella got an upgrade?! she's beautiful! Great work Alter!

> Hmm ... waiting for Trilog and Malicija's comment. damn, where are they?

On 1/16/2022 at 8:43 PM, Collygon said:

Really really well done chapter. This one felt very immersive to me. The set up of each scene and shots of all the different characters felt very real. Plus the dialogue felt so natural while setting up a lot of exposition. Idk, this was just really well done. Great work!

 

Thank you very much!  Means a lot to me, as I really struggled over the years with writing. In the very beginning of my story I didn't want to write much at all and over the years worked a lot on it, watched and read a lot of guides on how to improve etc.

About the contents, yes, this is basically exposition only which are always hard to do and write and make them interesting. 

 

On 1/16/2022 at 10:25 PM, obeymrwalrus said:

I love the atmosphere of this section! The scenery and all the things going on are so well done!
My favorite shots are when the entire assembly is shown - it looks lively and realistic. I have mad respect to you for going big with all the characters positioned at once.

 

Thank you very much! Glad you like it. The big crowed shots are mostly a lot of preparation work, you need to know beforehand what each character is going to wear etc. Once you have all of that you just need a rainy sunday full of time to pose it.

 

 

21 hours ago, xGHoSTx said:

WOW! has Queen Isabella got an upgrade?! she's beautiful! Great work Alter!

 

Thank you! 

No it's the same character I was using in Chapter 4.

 

 

20 hours ago, Evaloves4 said:

> Hmm ... waiting for Trilog and Malicija's comment. damn, where are they?

 

Just coming her for Tirloque's comment ?

 

 

 

 

2 hours ago, Alter Native said:

Just coming her for Tirloque's comment ?

 

 

> If you forgot how she looks like since she doesn't log in often, you can always recognize her by ...

 

Edited January 19, 2022 by Evaloves4

Well ! Quit the refreshing entry I'd say, both by having a male as main protagonist, and by setting a new scene with Highrock's royal court ! Of course, graphically this was quite the treat, though the country scenery was way lesser than the Castle's inside and main room shot's. The lighting, paintings and Thomas' shots were especially great. And so many new characters ! All convincingly outfitted, posed and voiced. Really great immersion on this one ; and I don't think I noticed any typos either (the chapter's menu still appears broken to me however ). Now, it was delightful to get a new load of vampire's intrigues and politics, with Thomas and Annelise embodying the less corrupted individuals of the lot (Thomas' warning and attitude towards Octavia were perfectly in character for me). Who still don't know for sure what await them with, aside from being toyed as the queen's & duchess' pawns. Excellent chapter ! ?

 

« Everyone's very waiting for my expert comment ! So here it is :

 

             You see the gal with the white dress ? Well, she's very cheating about her boobies' size with her corset. It sees compared to the woman's in the blue dress .

 

             So she's very hitting on Thomas, yes.  »

 

On 1/18/2022 at 3:37 AM, Evaloves4 said:

> Hmm ... waiting for Trilog and Malicija's comment. damn, where are they?

22 hours ago, Alter Native said:

Just coming her for Tirloque's comment ?

« Not Tirloque's, no. »

 

20 hours ago, Evaloves4 said:

 

 

> If you forgot how she looks like since she doesn't log in often, you can always recognize her by ...

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

«  »

 

 

Edited January 19, 2022 by Tirloque

What an excellent chapter with so many intriguing events going on! ?

 

I have to agree with the previous comments - Octavia somehow just screams "spy".  Or at least someone who is slightly infatuated with vampires. ?

Also great job with the dialogue between her and Thomas.  I do not know whether it was intentional, but when they were speaking at first it almost seemed like she was talking about Nora being executed (since it was Nora, after all, who killed all those people). It was a great way to build up a sense of suspense which gets resolved once we see Thomas visiting Lenora in her cell. It seems like Lenora has either resigned herself to her punishment (or perhaps the torture messed with her mind as well) or she still has some plan to escape.  I'm really curious to see where the story will lead!

 

That second spoiler tag - gods, it must've taken you an enormous amount of time to position everyone! The result is amazing and it really does feel like a large assembly. I love the little details that you included to show various power struggles and intrigues going on.  Vicar Lucian is the only one not to bow to Her Majesty, which shows his opinion of her much better than any words could. Serana is either finally getting some independence from Lord Harkon or her potentially amorous escapades could be used later on to manipulate him. And of course it seems that we'll finally start learning more about vampiric blood properties in this chapter!

I'm really excited for this story arc!

 

And of course, as always, your screenshots are gorgeous.  Wonderful job, Alter! Thank you for continuing to share your work with us ?

On 1/23/2022 at 8:45 PM, Devianna said:

Serana is either finally getting some independence from Lord Harkon or her potentially amorous escapades could be used later on to manipulate him.

I was wondering myself, who Serana's companion might be. The hand-holding and kissing would suggest, that he isn't just arm-candy (thrall/lowly noble). Since Hakon is present at the gathering, I don't think Serana is doing anything sneaky here. Which leads me to believe, that our blonde friend is REALLY high ranking and therefore has Hakon's blessing to be with his daughter. To me that means, he's either from the Queen's or the Duchess' extended family. Personally, I favor the latter, because of the naughty, secret conversation, that Hakon and Diana had during Nora's trial. The one, where they where speaking in tongues. Sooo... Perhaps Lenora is not the only one with outright dangerous ambitions?

 

On 1/23/2022 at 8:45 PM, Devianna said:

Octavia somehow just screams "spy".  Or at least someone who is slightly infatuated with vampires. ?

Not sure about the infatuated part. But certainly in their employ. I wouldn't be suprised, if she is a direct servant/agent of the queen, similar to Thomas. Send to deliver a "warning" (perhaps painful?) to Thomas. After all, he messed up:

He failed, to take out Lenora about a year ago and lied about it. (That scene in Ch.10/3, where L. caught him in her bed-chambers, and used a very spikey club on his ribs.)

And he got involved with that whole Count Gottfried-debacle. That only happend, due to Thomas' previous failings.

 

Perhaps he was talking about himself, when stating, that those, who are useful to certain people, won't end up in front of a judge, even if they break the law.  Of course, someone like the queen would not need any judge or jury to show her displeasure.

As for Thomas himself: If O. is an agent, then I think, he saw right through her. Which would make his last warning to her ("watch yourself.")  a nicely veiled threat. Sure, vampires aren't supposed to kill the host's servants. But during blood parties unfortunate things happen. And Thomas is a vampire about to attend just such a party. Moreover, he is a vampire, who seems to have little qualms about collateral damage. See the episode, where he killed an entire group of stormcloaks, just to prepare a "blood bath" (a literal one) for Nora.

 

Aside from that, I can see a few more possible scenarios, where O. might be from. But they are even more vague.

1.) Thomas recently solved some "problem" between a city council and a local vampire lord somewhere in Cyrodiil. City was mentioned, but I forgot the name of it. And Octavia sounds like an imperial name to me.

2.) There is still the matter of that other former agent of the queen, that Thomas recently killed during his little trip though the forest with Hanna(?) (The new vampire-girl/former hunter, that lives at Nora's mansion). I mean the big dude with the massive sword (Evan, Ch.9/12) who had some "friends" with him. He and Thomas used to work together. And maybe O. knew him. Or "liked" him, even.

Possibly a combo of the "Agent-of-the-Queen" and the "O. liked big-sword-dude"-scenario.

Let's say, O. and Sword-Dude had some sort of relationship. Queen knew about it, but let it continue. Then Thomas killed Sword-Dude. The queen hears about it. And is now using this information, to give O. the "proper motivation" to carry out her orders. After all, O. seems like a regular mortal. Not the best starting point, when facing a centuries-old vampiric assassine/warrior like Thomas.

 

3.) Something to do with Thomas' lost/hidden sister. This one is only questionmarks so far.

Edited January 26, 2022 by HM1919

On 1/19/2022 at 9:23 PM, Tirloque said:

Well ! Quit the refreshing entry I'd say, both by having a male as main protagonist, and by setting a new scene with Highrock's royal court ! Of course, graphically this was quite the treat, though the country scenery was way lesser than the Castle's inside and main room shot's. The lighting, paintings and Thomas' shots were especially great.

 

Thank you very much!

 

 

On 1/19/2022 at 9:23 PM, Tirloque said:

And so many new characters ! All convincingly outfitted, posed and voiced. Really great immersion on this one ; and I don't think I noticed any typos either (the chapter's menu still appears broken to me however ).

 

Thanks, cubeupload which I use for the menu occasionally has some server problems, but I think the menu should be working again now.

 

On 1/19/2022 at 9:23 PM, Tirloque said:

Now, it was delightful to get a new load of vampire's intrigues and politics, with Thomas and Annelise embodying the less corrupted individuals of the lot (Thomas' warning and attitude towards Octavia were perfectly in character for me). Who still don't know for sure what await them with, aside from being toyed as the queen's & duchess' pawns. Excellent chapter ! ?

 

Thank you!

Compared to many of the other people their they are not used to these kind of circles. They are one of the few that are not part of the nobility of the realm. 

 

On 1/19/2022 at 9:23 PM, Tirloque said:

« Everyone's very waiting for my expert comment ! So here it is :

 

             You see the gal with the white dress ? Well, she's very cheating about her boobies' size with her corset. It sees compared to the woman's in the blue dress .

 

Very sharp observation. 

 

 

 

 

On 1/23/2022 at 8:45 PM, Devianna said:

What an excellent chapter with so many intriguing events going on! ?

 

I have to agree with the previous comments - Octavia somehow just screams "spy".  Or at least someone who is slightly infatuated with vampires. ?

Also great job with the dialogue between her and Thomas.  I do not know whether it was intentional, but when they were speaking at first it almost seemed like she was talking about Nora being executed (since it was Nora, after all, who killed all those people). It was a great way to build up a sense of suspense which gets resolved once we see Thomas visiting Lenora in her cell. It seems like Lenora has either resigned herself to her punishment (or perhaps the torture messed with her mind as well) or she still has some plan to escape.  I'm really curious to see where the story will lead!

 

Thank you!

I don't think at this point Lenora has things under control. 

 

On 1/23/2022 at 8:45 PM, Devianna said:

 

That second spoiler tag - gods, it must've taken you an enormous amount of time to position everyone! The result is amazing and it really does feel like a large assembly. I love the little details that you included to show various power struggles and intrigues going on.  Vicar Lucian is the only one not to bow to Her Majesty, which shows his opinion of her much better than any words could.

 

Thanks and very well observed. The idea was to have a similar conflict to the medieval age, where it was unclear who was more powerful, the church and the pope or the crowned kings of Europe. Since the Vikar is a leading figure of the church he wouldn't bow down to the queen.

 

 

On 1/23/2022 at 8:45 PM, Devianna said:

Serana is either finally getting some independence from Lord Harkon or her potentially amorous escapades could be used later on to manipulate him. And of course it seems that we'll finally start learning more about vampiric blood properties in this chapter!

I'm really excited for this story arc!

 

And of course, as always, your screenshots are gorgeous.  Wonderful job, Alter! Thank you for continuing to share your work with us ?

 

Thank you very much! Glad you liked it.

 

 

 

On 1/25/2022 at 10:54 PM, HM1919 said:

I was wondering myself, who Serana's companion might be. The hand-holding and kissing would suggest, that he isn't just arm-candy (thrall/lowly noble). Since Hakon is present at the gathering, I don't think Serana is doing anything sneaky here. Which leads me to believe, that our blonde friend is REALLY high ranking and therefore has Hakon's blessing to be with his daughter. To me that means, he's either from the Queen's or the Duchess' extended family. Personally, I favor the latter, because of the naughty, secret conversation, that Hakon and Diana had during Nora's trial. The one, where they where speaking in tongues. Sooo... Perhaps Lenora is not the only one with outright dangerous ambitions?

 

A very good observation and this question will be adressed in the next entry of Thomas' story. At this point it was hard to see, but the guy has different eyes than the Duchess but the same eye color than Queen Isabelle, which I try to use to show vampire lineage. In chapter 9 Section 5 for example we already saw a son of the Duchess having her eyes too. Though admittedly I haven't been super consistent with it for technical reasons, especially in the very beginning of blood and pleasure.

 

 

On 1/25/2022 at 10:54 PM, HM1919 said:

 

Not sure about the infatuated part. But certainly in their employ. I wouldn't be suprised, if she is a direct servant/agent of the queen, similar to Thomas. Send to deliver a "warning" (perhaps painful?) to Thomas. After all, he messed up:

He failed, to take out Lenora about a year ago and lied about it. (That scene in Ch.10/3, where L. caught him in her bed-chambers, and used a very spikey club on his ribs.)

And he got involved with that whole Count Gottfried-debacle. That only happend, due to Thomas' previous failings.

 

Yes and this is the whole reason he was invited to this event in the first place, so this question will be answered soon  .

 

 

On 1/25/2022 at 10:54 PM, HM1919 said:

Perhaps he was talking about himself, when stating, that those, who are useful to certain people, won't end up in front of a judge, even if they break the law.  Of course, someone like the queen would not need any judge or jury to show her displeasure.

As for Thomas himself: If O. is an agent, then I think, he saw right through her. Which would make his last warning to her ("watch yourself.")  a nicely veiled threat. Sure, vampires aren't supposed to kill the host's servants. But during blood parties unfortunate things happen. And Thomas is a vampire about to attend just such a party. Moreover, he is a vampire, who seems to have little qualms about collateral damage. See the episode, where he killed an entire group of stormcloaks, just to prepare a "blood bath" (a literal one) for Nora.

 

We'll have to see to what happens with Octavia and Thomas, but if the Queen wanted to threaten or punish Thomas, she wouldn't send a human after him, especially since Octavia appears to be quite naive herself. 

 

On 1/25/2022 at 10:54 PM, HM1919 said:

 

Aside from that, I can see a few more possible scenarios, where O. might be from. But they are even more vague.

1.) Thomas recently solved some "problem" between a city council and a local vampire lord somewhere in Cyrodiil. City was mentioned, but I forgot the name of it. And Octavia sounds like an imperial name to me.

2.) There is still the matter of that other former agent of the queen, that Thomas recently killed during his little trip though the forest with Hanna(?) (The new vampire-girl/former hunter, that lives at Nora's mansion). I mean the big dude with the massive sword (Evan, Ch.9/12) who had some "friends" with him. He and Thomas used to work together. And maybe O. knew him. Or "liked" him, even.

Possibly a combo of the "Agent-of-the-Queen" and the "O. liked big-sword-dude"-scenario.

Let's say, O. and Sword-Dude had some sort of relationship. Queen knew about it, but let it continue. Then Thomas killed Sword-Dude. The queen hears about it. And is now using this information, to give O. the "proper motivation" to carry out her orders. After all, O. seems like a regular mortal. Not the best starting point, when facing a centuries-old vampiric assassine/warrior like Thomas.

 

Wow, you've a good memory of my story .

Octavia is indeed from Cyrodiil, from the Anvil area, but that by itself doesn't link her to Evan or to Thomas, maybe she just happens to be a young women working for the queen? We will see Octavia again, but I'm not really sure what I wrote that could make her a spy at this point.

Also if the queen wants to punish or kill Thomas or whatever, she already has a reason to do so and she has the power (political and actual power) to do so. Therefore that would be no reason for the Queen to send agents and or spies after him.

 

 

On 1/25/2022 at 10:54 PM, HM1919 said:

3.) Something to do with Thomas' lost/hidden sister. This one is only questionmarks so far.

 

Yes, very good point, this will also come up in the chapter  .

 

5 hours ago, Alter Native said:

if the Queen wanted to threaten or punish Thomas, she wouldn't send a human after him, especially since Octavia appears to be quite naive herself.

Agreed. But us, the readers, don't know, if Octavia has some hidden talents. Plus, the way I see it, the queen is definitly not above sacrificing a "pawn", even if it's just for some minute gain. Plus, we don't know how much favor Octavia has with the queen. Sending one servant, who is half out of favor, and therefore even more expendable then normal, to deliver a "slap across the wrist" to another unpopular servant. I could see the queen do that. And if both come out bruised and battered or perhaps even dead, well... that's not a big issue.

 

5 hours ago, Alter Native said:

Octavia is indeed from Cyrodiil, from the Anvil area, but that by itself doesn't link her to Evan or to Thomas, maybe she just happens to be a young women working for the queen? We will see Octavia again, but I'm not really sure what I wrote that could make her a spy at this point.

You wrote nothing, that would indicate that. Or that would link her to Evan or Thomas. But some of the screenshots seemed suspicious to me.

First: Here O. looks like she is holding something back. Something negative. Anger? Hatred perhaps? Don't know why, but that's the impression I get.

 

Second: The Razor Scene.

 

Doesn't this look, like she was about to try and slit his throat? And his "Don't" doesn't mean: "Don't bother with the beard." but rather "Don't bother trying anything funny. Because I could subdue you before that blade even touches my skin."

And yes, I am aware, that this impression may simply be, due to limitations as to how characters can hold objects.

 

5 hours ago, Alter Native said:

Also if the queen wants to punish or kill Thomas or whatever, she already has a reason to do so and she has the power (political and actual power) to do so. Therefore that would be no reason for the Queen to send agents and or spies after him.

Again agreed. But still, why would she limit herself to the punishment, that she can "officially" do. Why not do something "under the table" as well? For example, because the "official" punishment is not severe enough for her.

Let's say the queen really is unhappy with Thomas' performance. But she has to limit her "official" reaction, lest her rivals start wondering, why she is so upset. And yes, I fully expect her rivals to have their own agents in the queens vicinity. And since all of this has to do with "the blood", she certainly would not want anyone, to look too closly. Ergo, she gives T. an "official" slap across the wrist but also has  something nasty done to him "off the books".

Like this little razor thing: Let's imagine you take a good razor. And have some competent bladesmith do some fine silver-wire inlay into the blade. Polish it all nice and smooth. That would sting, even a vampire. For some extra nastiness, coat the blade with a VERY diluted version of "the blood". Although that would be very risky, if anyone outside the queens most trusted agents would get hold of the razor. So, I don't put much stock in that last bit.***  In any case, it would send a message and it would be just the combination of elegant and brutal, that I would expect from the queen.

 

Finally: Yes, I am aware, that I am likely reading far too much into this. I just enjoy speculating/theory-crafting. Plus, I certainly always look for something hidden in your work. And that's on you, Alter. Because you are the one, who's writing these complicated and multi-layered stories.? To be clear: All of the above might be wrong, and I would be fine with it. In fact, it would be good, since it would leave all of the up-coming surprises unspoiled.

 

***Nevermind using a diluted version of "the blood". Just use whatever silver-based poison was used on Lenora. Who, I noticed, grew a new hip and two legs. After the duchess tore her in half. Sooo... If vampires can recover from such injuries, then who cares if Thomas spends the next weeks or months in agony, right? It might be just the type of punishment, that would seem appropriate to Isabella. And we have seen, how "loyal" (read: stupendously dedicated) Thomas is. So, even after severe punishment from the queen, he would be unlikely to break his oath.

p.s. the empty spoiler was an accident. And I haven't figued out yet, how to remove it.?

Edited January 27, 2022 by HM1919

3 hours ago, HM1919 said:

Agreed. But us, the readers, don't know, if Octavia has some hidden talents. Plus, the way I see it, the queen is definitly not above sacrificing a "pawn", even if it's just for some minute gain. Plus, we don't know how much favor Octavia has with the queen. Sending one servant, who is half out of favor, and therefore even more expendable then normal, to deliver a "slap across the wrist" to another unpopular servant. I could see the queen do that. And if both come out bruised and battered or perhaps even dead, well... that's not a big issue.

 

Yes, you are right, this is something she would totally do, but I'm not sure the queen even knows Octavia personally. Also if she were to punish Thomas she would make sure that he knows that it's coming from her, what else would be the point otherwise?

 

 

3 hours ago, HM1919 said:

You wrote nothing, that would indicate that. Or that would link her to Evan or Thomas. But some of the screenshots seemed suspicious to me.

First: Here O. looks like she is holding something back. Something negative. Anger? Hatred perhaps? Don't know why, but that's the impression I get.

 

Second: The Razor Scene.

 

Doesn't this look, like she was about to try and slit his throat? And his "Don't" doesn't mean: "Don't bother with the beard." but rather "Don't bother trying anything funny. Because I could subdue you before that blade even touches my skin."

And yes, I am aware, that this impression may simply be, due to limitations as to how characters can hold objects.

 

Tbh, in that scene I was just try to replicate parts of the Witcher 3 scene with Geralt in the bath tube getting made nice to see the emperor and Geralt also get's shaved there. So to stay true to that source material I have that knife scene in there  .

Also cutting a vampire's throat wouldn't kill them (at least in my world). You need to pierce the heart, burn them or decapitate them. Only other way is to bleed out which would also kill them. But even if Ocatavia could hurt Thomas initially he could easily overwhelm her and heal his wounds with her blood.

 

 

3 hours ago, HM1919 said:

Again agreed. But still, why would she limit herself to the punishment, that she can "officially" do. Why not do something "under the table" as well? For example, because the "official" punishment is not severe enough for her.

Let's say the queen really is unhappy with Thomas' performance. But she has to limit her "official" reaction, lest her rivals start wondering, why she is so upset. And yes, I fully expect her rivals to have their own agents in the queens vicinity.

 

Interestingly this is exactly something Thomas would do, he's working for the queen and working for her directly in business she can't reach via other official ways (like murdering or threatening people). For example it was Thomas who was supposed to kill Lenora initially, because officially she didn't have a way to reach her or move her out of the way. That would be the job of the Duchess then as the Judicator of the realm.

 

 

3 hours ago, HM1919 said:

 

Finally: Yes, I am aware, that I am likely reading far too much into this. I just enjoy speculating/theory-crafting. Plus, I certainly always look for something hidden in your work. And that's on you. Because you are the one, who's writing these complicated and multi-layered stories.?

 

It's always nice seeing people care about the story and my characters. Thanks!

 

1 hour ago, Alter Native said:

Tbh, in that scene I was just try to replicate parts of the Witcher 3 scene with Geralt in the bath tube getting made nice to see the emperor and Geralt also get's shaved there. So to stay true to that source material I have that knife scene in there  .

Hahaha... Then I suppose it's a good thing, that I never played that game. Otherwise I might have recognized the sceen and would not have come up with my little throat-slitting-scenario. Altough, from what I remember from Witcher 2, the Witcher-Universe as a whole is certainly brutal enough for a little "creative shaving".

 

In any case, I am looking forward, to see how all of this develops.?

Edited January 27, 2022 by HM1919