Shiera V
28AC
As Shiera stepped off the boat, she could not help but marvel at the town she saw from the dock. Her wildest dreams were laid out before her, the ancestral home of the last Dragonlords.
'Dragonstone!' Shiera thought with a giddy joy she hadn't felt in years. She had long since dreamed of coming to this place, to reconnect with her ancestors. Both from her lower Valyrian family and the dragonlords she could trace her descent from.
Her enjoyment was almost enough to forget her seasickness but not quite. She had only ever ridden boats on the Gods Eye and on the Mander. Both of those were much calmer than the choppy winter waters of the Blackwater Bay and Shiera's inexperienced form felt the full brunt of the nausea.
It was over now though, she was on Dragonstone. The island of her dreams. Where her ancestors had arrived just before the Doom of Valyria. Where they had lived for a hundred years after that. Now she was here, though not for that same reason.
She had been very confused when Queen Visenya had barged into her room one day. She had been knee-deep in a fascinating book written by none other than Daemion Targaryen again. But Queen Visenya had told her to pack her bags and prepare to move to Dragonstone for an unspecified amount of time.
As she stared up at the looming castle overlooking the town she felt both a sense of wonder and a sense of guilt pang through her. Maegor had promised to take her to this island and show her around.
The prospect of that and a ride atop a dragon had excited her greatly. ' Especially with Maegor, ' Shiera thought with a sad smile. She had been content to patiently wait for him to return but Queen Visenya had other plans.
Shiera's lack of agency grated on her sometimes. She was forever grateful that Queen Visenya had begun to take more of an interest in her but she dominated Shiera's life. Shiera lived a strict, regimented lifestyle she imagined was similar to that of a soldier.
Queen Visenya had high expectations of her and she commanded her every action. It seemed like everything that Shiera was doing was planned out by Queen Visenya and it was starting to weigh her down. She could not remember the last book she read for leisure or even the last time she left Queen Visenya's manse in King's Landing before this trip.
She could look past the lack of freedom when she got to learn new things and spend time with Maegor but now neither of those things were options.
Maegor had run off to fight in a war, much to her chagrin. Shiera heard his reasoning but the feeling of failure still resonated within her. ' If I had pushed harder, would he have stayed? ' she had thought many a time, and each time she had had to shake her head to get those thoughts out.
' No! Maegor likes you, everything will work out! ' she thought again with a quick slap to her cheeks. Self-doubt had riddled her ever since Alyssa had dropped her. She would not relapse into her melancholic state again, she had too much to do.
"Are you alright, my lady?" one of the guards asked and Shiera was shocked out of her mind.
"Uhm, yes sorry, I am alright," she quickly assured. ' I am not in private anymore, I can't be acting out, ' Shiera thought with a slight blush rising to her cheeks.
Shiera had spent so much time in her room as of late that she hardly spoke with anyone. She imagined little would change here though, Queen Visenya was a brutal teacher and Shiera had very little free time.
' Mayhaps that is why she brought me here, ' Shiera thought with a little hope as she entered the carriage prepared for her and began the climb up the stone path towards the gates of Fortress Dragonstone. Ever since she first read the notes written by Daemion Targaryen, she had been given more and more and more books on magic. Yet the actual practice of it eluded her.
Queen Visenya had sought to teach her many things ever since she fell under her tutelage but Shiera could act on hardly any of it. Shiera had learned from Queen Visenya herself how to rule a domain yet she could not do that. She learned more history than even some maesters could boast of yet she could not use it in her life. She learned more magic than anyone else on the continent save Maegor and yet she could not use that either.
All she wanted to do was actually use what she learned. ' What is the point of learning all of this if you cannot practice it, ' Shiera had thought before and she still believed fully in that thought.
Queen Visenya had sought to test her knowledge on a few things. Besides the still endless stream of petitions she was going through, her more recent knowledge on potions and healing was tested by Queen Visenya but the real applications of magic still remained out of reach. The fire magic that Maegor had shown her, the curses and poisons she had read about in Queen Visenya's very own notes, and all the other magics Daemion had notes about, she had yet to practice any of it.
Queen Visenya had kept her strictly to reading and she had already grown bored of the endless notes written by Lord Daemion. The knowledge he held was fascinating but not being able to act on it was practically torture. It was like having a delectable fruit laid before her but she could never actually eat it.
She hoped that was why Queen Visenya brought her here. She remembered Maegor saying something about not being allowed to use magic on the mainland back in Harrenhal. ' Maybe I can finally get to work here? ' Shiera thought with a small smile on her face.
…
The trek up the long and winding path towards Dragonstone was rather boring. The roads on this island were certainly better than the ones she had unfortunately had to experience in King's Landing but the bumpy ride was still unpleasant. She did not even really get to enjoy the views, the winter weather on Dragonstone normally equated to heavy rainfall and light snow, regardless of which form it was, grey clouds darkened the sky.
Thankfully her trip was not long, the horses were fast and the carriage light, so in seemingly no time at all she was leaving the ornate carriage and stepping out to witness Fortress Dragonstone in all its glory.
A gaping maw met her eyes first. ' Dragonstone lives up to its name, ' Shiera thought with a smile to herself. Even from the docks, one could see the draconic imagery present in the castle.
The next thing her eyes tracked to was Queen Visenya. The queen had departed at the same time as her. Given that she flew atop Vhagar, Queen Visenya had likely been here before Shiera even made it halfway to Driftmark.
"Good day Shiera, Welcome to Dragonstone," Queen Visenya said easily spun on her heel, and departed at a quick pace.
' Right, follow, ' Shiera thought for what felt like the umpteenth time. Queen Visenya had expectations of people and figuring them out was half the battle towards having her like you. Keeping her waiting was very, very high on the list of things not to do.
She followed just behind Queen Visenya and they walked the halls of Dragonstone silently. Shiera's mind warred between averting her gaze or gathering every possible sight she could. Maegor had promised to give her a tour but she could hardly stop her wandering eyes.
"I trust that your journey here went well?" Queen Visenya asked and Shiera was not prepared for the small talk.
"Uhm, yes Your Grace," Shiera said quickly. She was getting better at dealing with Queen Visenya but predicting all of her actions and wants was something only Maegor could do.
"Good, you will start training today then, no need for rest," Queen Visenya said easily and Shiera fought off a sigh.
While the prospect of a break enticed her, she really did want to get to work. If Queen Visenya was really offering to do so, she could not pass up the chance.
As they continued walking along the dark corridors of Dragonstone, Shiera could not help but compare it to her old home.
Harrenhal was a ruin in every sense of the word. The once beautiful stone painstakingly carved and placed by those poor Riverlanders had melted like candlewax under Balerion's unyielding flames and the smooth look it gave Harrenhal was uncanny.
Dragonstone in comparison was similar yet different. It seemed like everywhere she looked Shiera saw a new sculpture of some old Valyrian beast. Wyrms, Sphynxes, and most of all, Dragons.
The endless amount of statues seemed to blend into one as Shiera never managed to spot where one statue ended and another began. ' Maegor was right, you really do need to see it to believe it, ' Shiera thought, almost wanting to reach a hand out to find where one began and another ended.
She never got the chance though, as they apparently reached their destination. A plain-looking black door leading to who knows what.
"Wait here, I will go and fetch some things," Queen Visenya told her flatly and wandered off at a brisk pace.
' Did she think I would be tired? ' Sheira thought with a pale finger on her chin before her mind began to wander again.
She took a long glance at the hallway before her and she could not help but think of Harrenhal again. The idea that this island belonged to Maegor felt weird to Shiera and it brought back some bitter memories.
Shiera hated her brother Gargon as long as she could remember. She had no idea why but her brother always seemed to just grate on her in some way. Mayhaps she picked it up from her father's obvious disappointment but all the same, she detested her brother.
Yet despite his failures, despite his weakness, despite his incompetence, he would get Harrenhal, not her. Shiera supposed that reading so much history of great kings and a few great queens had brought that feeling to the forefront of her mind. She did not know where the feeling came from but a genuine belief that she could do better appeared in the back of her mind.
Yet she would never get the chance to rule a domain of her own. That was not her lot in life, given she was born a girl.
Looking at Dragonstone brought forth both those old feelings and a new feeling. Hope that she may just get the next best thing. If she could actually marry Maegor, she could at the very least help him rule his domain. ' It would even be passed down to our child , ' Shiera thought absentmindedly before embarrassment flooded her again. She was jumping to conclusions, she had to actually marry Maegor first before any of that came to pass.
Shiera deliberately tried not to dwell on anything else while she waited for Queen Visenya to return, thankfully it was not long before she appeared out of a corridor carrying an ornate black box.
A soldier then opened the door and Shiera followed Queen Visenya into the room behind her, the door was then promptly almost shut behind them.
Now the two of them were in a small almost completely dark room, the small vents bringing in no light but they did siphon the smoke coming off the many candles that dotted the walls of the chamber.
"What will I be learning today, Your Grace?" Shiera tried to ask. Questioning Queen Visenya anything was a fifty-fifty shot at getting an answer but the anticipation was killing her.
It seemed Shiera was unlucky this time as Queen Visenya calmly moved towards the center of the room and placed the ornate chest on the ground.
Shiera spied her opening the decorative box, which looked a lot like Dragonstone itself, with countless different carvings dotting the chest. She lifted a black, cylindrical object out of it. The room was dark and the object was black so Shiera had to strain her eyes to see what it was.
"I suppose you are curious about why we moved here?" Queen Visenya suddenly asked an unrelated question and Shiera was quick to answer.
"Yes, Your Grace."
"I am unsure if you know this but practicing magic on the mainland of Westeros is forbidden under orders of King Aegon," Queen Visenya bitterly said and it validated what Maegor had claimed all those years ago. It also made her feel a bit better, knowing he willingly broke the law just to show her some magic.
Shiera said nothing and merely nodded her head. She did not want to risk potentially derailing the subject. She could count the number of magic-related conversations she has had with Queen Visenya on one hand.
"That is why we will be staying here for the next few moons, it is time to truly test you," Queen Visenya said and Shiera had to fight off a smile.
"So what is that, Your Grace?" Shiera chanced again, her eyes had been glued to it since it left its little box and her desire for knowledge was in full swing.
"That is a glass candle, one of the last of its kind," Queen Visenya said with almost a smug tone and Shiera disregarded it to quickly think about Glass Candles.
They appeared infrequently in Daemion Targaryen's notes. All she had to go off of from his notes was that Glass Candles were almost too complex to be explained in writing.
"Forgive my doubt, Your Grace. But are there really so few? I thought the Maesters had some glass candles of their own?" Shiera remembered reading that from a book she could no longer recall the name of.
Queen Visenya huffed but before Shiera could even shrink back, Her Grace continued.
"The Maesters do indeed possess four glass candles, they may be complete fools but at least they can maintain them. There are so few because knowledge of how to use them has almost died out, they are seen as oversized paperweights for most of the world, and it is not like new ones are being shipped out from Old Valyria," Queen Visenya said with what felt like bitterness in her tone and Shiera absorbed all the information she could gather.
"Almost?" Shiera guessed and she managed to catch the small smile that appeared on the Queen's face.
"Indeed, that is why you are here today, you will learn how to light this glass candle."
' Finally! ' Shiera thought with a smile plastered on her face.
"So how do I do that, Your Grace?"
Shiera was bewildered when her question was met with a scoff and a shrug of Queen Visenya's shoulders.
"I am afraid I cannot teach you that, using a glass candle is more of an art than a science, not everyone can even do it. With any luck you will be more capable than my son when it comes to this," Queen Visenya said and Shiera just stared dumbly at her.
"What?" Shiera asked like a helpless child. ' How am I supposed to figure this out if she cannot teach me!? '
"Kneel on the floor in front of the candle," Queen Visenya said flatly, ignoring her question and Shiera instinctively followed the command.
Her Grace then went to each of the small candles that dotted the walls and extinguished each and every one. The room quickly went from dim to darker than even Harrenhal at night.
Before long she could see naught but the slightest bit of light that peeked through the barely opened door.
"I will return by sundown, if you cannot light it, we will try again on the morrow, if you cannot in a sennight, we will give up and move on to other training," Queen Visenya said words like they were familiar on her tongue but Shiera was too confused to consider the implications of it.
Before Shiera could even really grasp her situation, the door was sealed shut and the room was bathed in complete darkness.
Shiera cautiously reached out with her hands and found the box, she could see absolutely nothing and she carefully moved her small hands until she grazed the cold, brittle material which was her objective.
' Now what? ' She then thought with what was surely a dumb look on her face.
…
"Ugh," Shiera exclaimed as she gave up straining her brain once more. She had been clueless about what to do so she just decided to try and bring the candle to light, so far it was not working.
' What in the seven hells do I do?! ' Shiera yelled in her head. She could probably yell out loud but she had no idea who was behind the door she could not see. She had to retain her composure, even if there was a war waging in her mind.
All she had to do was light one stupid candle yet she could not even do that. Her mind was glued to not knowing how to even begin. Queen Visenya normally just told her exactly what she needed to do.
Get instructions, follow instructions, repeat. That had been her mantra for what felt like her whole life yet here she was helpless. She could not even light one measly candle.
Shiera replayed Queen Visenya's words to her over and over again, hoping to find some hidden meaning. ' Is this a test for me or of me? ' she had been thinking for a while now but no matter how many times she thought about what Her Grace said she could not find anything.
Her whole day kept repeating in her mind and finally, something she had not noticed clicked in her mind. Queen Visenya said, "With any luck you will be more capable than my son when it comes to this."
' That sentence! That phrase, there must be some sort of meaning there. Something Queen Visenya intended to convey, ' Shiera thought with the first semblance of hope she had gotten since she learned there were no instructions for a glass candle.
' Could Maegor not light this glass candle? ' Shiera thought staring at where she presumed the top of the candle was. It was hard to believe. Maegor always seemed almost infallible. She learned the truth of what happened during his fight with the Giant, yet Maegor not being able to do something, the very notion seemed impossible to her.
Then, in an instant, it felt like the whole world was revealed to her, as the sun had finally peeked through the curtains.
Shiera had spent so long, ever since she first fell under the tutelage of Queen Visenya and maybe even before that, never really considering what she should do with her life. She was just kind of trudging along, not really aiming for anything.
She had gotten lost after she moved to King's Landing and never really found her path. She lapped up the lessons given to her by Queen Visenya but never really sought to do anything with them. She desired to be with Maegor but never considered what she could even offer him.
It all made sense now, for so long she thought Maegor was nigh perfect, he presented no weaknesses to the world and was always a rock for her. But learning that he struggled with this task? Something that she could do for him. It opened her eyes.
She had been pursuing Maegor but she never really thought about what it would mean to marry him. She would not be some dainty trophy wife, Shiera Qoherys wanted to be like Queen Visenya. Capable, strong, helpful, and most of all trusted.
It put all of Queen Visenya's teachings into a new light. What she studied must have been what Maegor struggled with or what Queen Visenya thought it would be good if she could give advice on.
Shiera cursed her foolishness there and then, on the warm stone floors of Castle Dragonstone. A castle she may one day be the lady of. She had missed the forest for the trees. She had been only taking instead of giving and it was time to change that.
She could tell she was close. Maegor visiting more frequently to King's Landing proved it. She was nearing the finish line now, she just had to get there step by step. The first step happened to be figuring out this damnable candle.
She returned her eyes to where she knew the top of the candle was with renewed vigor. 'I will figure this out, this will not best me!' Shiera thought as she strained her mind once more, willing, no, commanding the pillar of dragon glass to light.
Then, without warning, Shiera opened her eyes to a blinding white light and her whole world went dark.
…
Shiera felt tired, more tired than she had ever felt in her entire life.
Every part of her body ached and groaned with every attempt at moving it. Even her eyelids felt like they weighed more than her heaviest books back in King's Landing.
' What… happened… ' Shiera tried to speak but not even her mouth would move.
After straining for an embarrassing amount of time she managed to peel open an eyelid, only to be met with a blindingly bright light.
It was as if the sun was right in front of her in all its glory. On instinct, her arm was raised to block the light but Shiera noticed something very wrong with her arm. She could see the light through her hand.
She was so shocked at the sight that she did not even feel the light for a moment. Her arm moved on instinct, back and forth over her face yet she could see her arm was there, it was outlined clearly, but it was still see-through, it was as if she had become a ghost.
' What? ' Shiera thought before something at the bottom of her field of view caught her eye. A lone figure kneeling on the ground. Right in front of the blinding mass of light.
' White hair… ' Shiera thought as she craned her neck down with ease and spotted a familiar simple red dress too.
' Is that… me? ' Shiera finally connected the dots and stared in horror at her frozen state.
Her… whatever she was now moved around to look at her face and her fears were confirmed.
She had red eyes, pale skin, white hair, ruby earrings, and a simple gold necklace with a ruby hanging at the base of her neck. The body in front of her was Shiera of House Qoherys.
' What is happening!? ' Shiera recoiled at the sight of her frozen form, still staring at the white light that hovered above the cylinder of black glass.
' If that is me? Then what am I? ' Shiera tried to grab at her new form but her limbs moved right through her body. She would have been hyperventilating but she realized she was not breathing. Thankfully she could see her real body breathing but her current form felt alien.
' What do I do? How do I go back? Why didn't Queen Visenya tell me anything!? ' Shiera thought rapidly before she forced her mind to calm down. Panic in a situation like this would do her no good.
She forced herself into a state of calm and tried to assess her situation. She was outside of her body, yet she was still herself, somehow. Her body looked fine, it was breathing and did not look injured but the blank stare towards the light unnerved her.
Speaking of the light, she was getting a better look now, she was able to see it more clearly now that her, well not eyes but whatever she was using to see right now had somewhat adjusted. It was still unpleasantly bright but she could see the solid sphere of pure white that lay in the center of the fiery mass.
It was directly what her body's eyes were fixated on. ' Is that what did this to me? ' she considered reaching out to touch it but doing something to potentially mess up her situation further seemed like a bad idea, she certainly did not want to die here.
Which brought Shiera to a different conundrum. She had no idea how long she had been in this room. She arrived on the island in the early morning and by the time she got to the castle, it was not even midday. Queen Visenya said she would be here at sundown but she had no idea how long she would wait.
' Is there a chance I could get out and call for help? ' Shiera thought before her form suddenly threw itself towards the now very well-illuminated door.
' sh*t! ' Shiera thought, raising her arms on instinct before she slipped right through the door like it was not even there.
She was suddenly… standing? Shiera looked down and did see her legs, which happened to be similarly see-through as the rest of her body. She was suddenly standing in the middle of the hallway.
' How did I do that? ' she thought, spinning around looking for Queen Visenya, or well, anyone who might be able to help her. At the very least, a guard should be able to grab Queen Visenya if she could just get the attention of one.
She continued looking around and saw absolutely nobody. Not a soul in sight from her position near the door.
Shiera tried to move her legs and walk towards the Stone Drum, yet they refused to listen to her commands. It felt like she was both exhausted and weighed down more than if she were wearing the heaviest armor in the world.
Her mind was racing now, this was without any shadow of a doubt the weirdest thing she had ever experienced and she had no idea what to think. She could fly through doors and walls yet she could barely move her body. ' But I was able to move my arms so easily… ' Shiera thought before her arms stopped listening to her too.
' What the hells? ' Shiera tried again and again, all she could manage was to wiggle her fingers.
She could move her body yet she could not all the same. Shiera deeply wished Queen Visenya had explained something, anything about this to her. She felt lost in a deep sea of mysteries she had no possibility of figuring out.
Thinking of seas involuntarily sent her form rocketing again, she passed through stone and brick and dirt before she flew out above the island, just above the restless waves that broke against the rocky island of Dragonstone.
Shiera tried her absolute damndest not to look down. She was not afraid of heights usually, she had no trouble looking out of the very highest windows of Harrenhal but looking down to see she was even higher than that, with nothing to protect her she involuntarily looked towards the sun.
It was past midday and Shiera grew thankful at the sight. Queen Visenya would surely be able to snap her out of whatever happened to her. In the meantime, she tried to piece together how exactly moving worked.
She could not deliberately move her form. She tried to move her arm again and was met with a similar amount of resistance as before.
Yet all the same, she was able to move throughout the world in an uncanny fashion. She shouldn't be able to move through rock and doors yet she could all the same.
'Is it about thinking where I want to go instead of just plain old moving?' Shiera thought, wondering how she should test this theory.
Shiera stifled her embarrassment when she came up with a decision and enacted her first thought.
' Take me to Maegor! ' she said easily and suddenly her form moved again, far, far, far faster than she had before. She flew off in one direction and before she could even react, Dragonstone was long out of her view.
In the blink of an eye, she was in a whole new area. Grey and dull, like Dragonstone yet not like it at all. The sky was a dull grey and the waves sounded choppy, yet she noticed something then. She could feel nothing. Not the rain falling down on her, not the breeze, not even the ground beneath her feet. She felt nothing at all.
She shook her head to regain her focus. ' I thought Maegor, am I in the Stepstones? ' Shiera thought with a little trepidation. She still had no clue how this form worked. Could people see her? Could the pirates? Shiera had no idea and the idea of meeting a pirate in such a weak form where she could barely move herself was terrifying.
' Where is he? ' Shiera thought, looking around before she finally looked into the cave and she was scared stiff.
The cave was almost as pitch black as the room with the candle back at Dragonstone. Yet there was at least one source of light in the darkness, two glowing green orbs, which seemed to stare right at her.
Shiera returned the stare for a time before she mustered her courage. ' Move forward, ' she thought cautiously and her form complied, inching her forwards towards the two ominous green orbs.
Getting closer revealed the truth of the matter. It was Maegor's dragon. ' Terrax… ' Shiera thought with unconcealed wonder. She had gotten close to this dragon before, Maegor having introduced her to the gorgeous beast back in Harrenhal, but it was still awe-inspiring to see such a creature.
What was slightly concerning was that Terrax seemed to see her too. ' How is that possible? Am I not invisible? ' Shiera thought again before the quiet sound of crackling caught her attention.
' There! ' Shiera thought and her form answered her call again, sliding past the dragon and a small campfire hidden by Terrax's tail revealing what she wanted to see.
Maegor Tagaryen was sleeping against the body of his dragon, lying down on the ash-colored wing of his bonded mount.
She smiled looking at Maegor before something caught her attention in the corner of her vision. The green eyes followed her.
' What? ' Shiera thought, locking eyes with Terrax once more. The dragon had craned its neck to follow her.
She just plainly stared at the black dragon before Terrax opened his maw and let out a loud hiss. Shiera instinctively raised her arms again, fearing a blast of green flames but suddenly her world went black again.
"Shiera!" she heard someone yell her name and shake her shoulders and Shiera felt like she had just woken up from a sorely needed slumber.
"What?" she said groggily and was actually able to move her sluggish limbs. ' Was that a dream? ' Shiera questioned herself before she got shook again.
"Excellent work Shiera!" she heard the distinctive voice of Queen Visenya and hearing genuine praise was an alien sound to her.
"What is happening?" Shiera tried to ask, but her voice was weird in the air. Like she had not spoken in a while.
"Your mind is trying to fit back into your body, just rest. You! Guard! Escort my guest to her room in the Stone Drum," Shiera heard Queen Visenya say and she was still confused. ' Fit back into my body? ' Shiera thought again and she then noticed her pounding headache.
She noticed another thing then. "Queen Visenya… Why can't I see?!" Shiera yelled and then felt a hand clap over her mouth.
"Do not yell, I did not expect you to actually use the glass candle today, you did well. Your eyesight will return with rest. The guard will guide you to your room. Get some sleep and I will speak with you on the morrow," Queen Visenya sounded oddly reassuring.
"Alright…" Shiera said with a little trepidation as she felt the arms of a man lift her to her feet.
"Get some rest Shiera, and do not think too much, your mind is overworked, it needs rest more than your body even," Queen Visenya said again as she slowly waddled out of the room with her guide.
"Yes, Your Grace," Shiera said easily, if Queen Visenya said that rest would restore her body, then she would believe her. The sooner tomorrow came and the sooner she got a proper explanation the better.
Maegor X
28AC
One would think that sitting around a campfire with your friends would bring smiles and laughter but I was experiencing no such thing. Not that I could really blame them, the last few moons of fighting had been exhausting.
"So which island is next?" I heard Jasper ask and truth be told, I had no idea how to answer him. Our expedition had progressed steadily but we were slowing down now.
"Whichever our illustrious leaders decide is next," I heard Ser Gawen drawl out and I would have smiled at his snark if it were not painfully true.
The two overgrown children had only grown worse over time. They were refusing to even meet with each other now. I had to force them to work together more and more often. Only the valor of our men and the fires of my dragon had progressed our forces along.
We had at least managed to secure the northern islands. Bloodstone, Sunstone, Skullhammer, Driftskull, Wreckstone, and Dwarfstone were all now in our possession, along with Grey Gallows. The only downside to that was, we had to garrison these islands. So our already small force, dwindled down via fighting and attrition, was now made even smaller as more and more soldiers were pulled away to garrison what we had secured.
All of this had a cascading effect too. Tyrosh withdrew their support despite my guarantees, as they no longer trusted that we would be leaving at all, given we were setting up fortifications on the islands to better hold them.
Of course, the two fools blamed each other for this turn of events. Ser Osmund claimed that Aethan wanted to conquer the Stepstones. Aethan meanwhile blamed Ser Osmund for putting up fortifications on the islands, which had spooked Tyrosh.
Meanwhile, we were all caught in the middle. With fewer forces to attack each new island and fewer supplies due to a myriad of reasons.
"At least it is not raining," I heard Ser Robin say from behind me.
A chorus of "Ayes" resounded from each of my friends and I had to agree with them. The frequent rainstorms had made getting supplies more challenging and also limited the window in which we could attack the different islands, lest we get blown away by the winds and rain.
Suddenly Ser Gawen turned to me then. "Prince Maegor, how many men can we even muster for another push to take Dark Den on the morrow?" he said with a deadly serious tone.
I was thankful that Ser Gawen was here with me. He was wise counsel and above all else, he had the experience I was hoping to get on this campaign. He did not take part in the conquest but he did fight several campaigns against the wildlings of the Vale. It seemed he had slipped back into the mold of a soldier as he largely dropped the snarky attitude when it was time to fight.
"Hmm, I have a hundred and fifty rested soldiers from Dragonstone I can pull from. Besides that, who knows, I do not even know who to ask to figure information like that out anymore, especially with different lords picking sides," I said, shrugging my shoulders.
The situation in the camp had deteriorated to the point there were basically two separate armies there. Some minor lords, like Celtigars, Masseys, Sunglasses, and Bar Emmons, had basically fallen under the command of Aethan, leaving the army split too.
"Then it is time for you to take command," I heard Ser Robin say from behind me again and I stifled another roll of my eyes. ' This asshole… ' I thought with a little side-eye. I no longer cared for alienating the two pricks, as I had already run out of patience with them but taking over command was still worrying to me. Mostly because I had no idea how to bail us out of our situation.
Tyrosh was still apathetic at best, the army dwindling, Sargoso Saan still nowhere to be found, and I had never led an army before. The situation was bad now but my taking over could just lead to the two morons scapegoatting me if I f*cked up. I did not want to take the blame for this whole operation falling apart.
"He is right…" Ser Gawen said too and I was kind of shocked he sided with Ser Robin. Ser Gawen and I had spoken on this matter several times and he preached caution just like I had thought. He was a staunch ally of my mother and myself so I knew I could trust him. ' What is he thinking? ' I thought with a blank stare towards my former teacher.
Before Ser Gawen could continue, his squire butted in too. "If it will end this campaign, please." he groaned out and I felt his pain. Jasper had not seen his family in over two years, despite the… icey relationship between Lady Stark and Lord Arryn, he no doubt missed his brothers and sister.
I could say the same, this campaign had worn us all down. I missed seeing my mother, my brother, my father, and especially Shiera… I had gone on this whole campaign to hopefully buy myself more time and increase my prestige, to hopefully convince my father to finally listen to me. But all it had done was separate me from those I cared about.
"This campaign will never end with those two incompetents in command. Only you can bring those sh*ts to heel," Ser Gawen sighed and I lowered my face into my hands.
"Can I? I can barely get them in the same damn room," I groaned through my hands and I was glad I could open up more around this group. Having to put up a strong front all the time was exhausting.
"Of course you can. You are a Targaryen, with a dragon, go to each of them and demand they submit, just as your father did," Ser Robin said and his constant badgering had begun to warm me to the idea, if only to get the two to shut up for at least a goddamn minute.
"Ugh, and what if they refuse? I cannot very well kill them, like my father would have during the Conquest, they are not my vassals," I tried explaining to Ser Robin again, his cavalier disregard for the lives of my father's advisors was shocking but I admired his loyalty at least.
"My father will not…" I heard Aeron speak for the first time in a while and my eyes darted to my silver-haired friend. Getting Aeron out of his damn father's ship was a chore and a half but I could at least bring him along to these little impromptu meetings. I had hoped this campaign could be at least a little enjoyable but it turned into a slog, where I barely even saw my friends.
"Explain," I said flatly, Aethan Velaryon was an enigma wrapped in a mystery, he had his hands in many different pies and all I had to go off of him was his haughty attitude and the few words I could interrogate out of my mother about him.
"My father is prideful but not a fool. Everyone with a brain can see it Maegor, you are the only one who can lead us. You are the son of Aegon the Conqueror, a Dragonlord, and well respected. I mean, had you not been here, this campaign might not have even gotten past Grey Gallows," Aeron said easily and I mulled over the information in my head.
' If Aethan submits, Ser Osmund will surely follow, ' I thought with a little assurance. From what I gathered of Ser Osmund, he seemed like a dutiful follower of House Targaryen. ' So long as I do not humiliate the two too badly, maybe it will work out, ' I thought, drumming my fingers on my armored thigh.
"Even if I do… I have no experience leading an army. Let alone one in such a precarious position as ours," I finally decided to explain my caution more. The only people around were those I trusted so I could reveal my hand a little.
"You are acting like you would handle everything on your own. Only a fool leads like that, you are surrounded by experienced and capable lords, just waiting for a chance to earn your favor. You are a Dragonlord , you underestimate the influence you carry," Ser Gawen answered my doubts and I massaged my temples.
"I will think about it," I said before standing up. I had never truly considered it before but it was getting to the point where I may have no choice. Besides, I wanted to see my family again. ' Terrax, ' I thought absentmindedly. I always felt calmer around my dragon, surely being around him could help me make a decision.
As I walked away, I heard the familiar sound of Ser Robin's footsteps behind me. The knight was certainly dutiful, to the point he was brave enough to follow me to my dragon's den. Though he was smart enough to stay outside, especially since Terrax had gotten more uppity.
Terrax had decided to roost on Bloodstone for the last few moons. I had no idea why but my dragon had gotten a lot more protective recently. He was jumpy and restless in his cave ever since the asshole woke me up from my nap with a loud hiss a few moons ago.
The path down to Terrax's chosen cave was easily accessible thankfully, it was closer to the coast than I thought it would be but the cave was big enough to fit him so I guess that was his criteria.
Just as I was about to round the corner and enter the den of my dragon, I heard a low whistle.
In an instant, both me and Ser Robin drew our blades, Dark Sister sang as she left her scabbard. At the same time, I heard my dragon rush to the entrance of the cave too. His loud footsteps shook the ground beneath my feet.
Turning on my heel I was met with someone speaking in High Valyrain, choppy, ugly, and accented but High Valyrian all the same.
"Good day, Prince Maegor! I hope today is treating you well," I spotted the distinctive form of a man appearing from behind a rock face. Silver-Blonde hair, and deep blue eyes were the first features I noticed. ' He is Lyseni, ' I thought with a little trepidation, this man was a pirate.
I did not answer him, just devoting my mental power to calming my dragon, otherwise, this foolish man would long since be on his way to being digested.
The pirate seemed shrewd enough to get the hint and coughed into his hand. "Apologies for frightening you… I was hoping we could speak, I wish to cut a deal," he said with nervous quickness, as my Dragon finally poked his head out of the cave.
"Speak…" I said flatly, this man was an enemy, though I was curious what sort of deal he wanted, I could afford to play a little fast and loose, I had Terrax and Ser Robin here with me. ' If this was supposed to be an ambush, it is a stupid one, ' I thought with a little smirk sent my dragon's way.
"I was hoping for some more privacy so-" he started before I cut him off.
"No, speak here, before I cut you down," I told him flatly, I was not going to let this man just lead me away.
"...Very well, I would like to trade the location of Sargoso Saan for a Royal Pardon from King Aegon and I wish to move my family to Dragonstone," the pirate said after sucking in a breath and I had to ask myself. ' Is this man a fool? '
"And why should I hear you out? Why should I not capture you here and get the information you know anyway?" I asked the foolish pirate clearly.
"It is no secret you are well respected, I was hoping you could show a fellow Valyrian a little courtesy, I do not request much for my information," he said with a calm expression and I nearly scoffed at the "fellow Valyrian" comment, I cared nothing for my "fellow Valyrians" perhaps I picked this up from my mother but I cared only for my family and my friends, I cared not what ethnicity they were.
"Very well, I will hear you out, and you will answer my every question," I decided after a little deliberation, sure I could just capture him and interrogate him, but there would be no way to validate the information, he could just tell us what he thinks we want to hear, sometimes it is better to use the carrot, rather than the stick.
"Of course, if I can answer it, I will," he said with a co*cksure smile but before I could begin my questioning Ser Robin whispered in my ear.
"This is foolish, just capture him," he whispered not too quietly and I gave my bellicose guard another dosage of side-eye.
"I did not ask your advice, Kingsguard, be a good little toy soldier, and don't speak." I was growing tired of this man, I would ask my father for Ser Raymont as my next guard when I returned to King's Landing. He would not harp on me as much.
"You wish to move your family to Dragonstone?" I finally got around to asking this pirate, I would screen him a bit, and try to see if there were any flaws in his story, it could point to him trying to lead us into a trap. I was genuinely curious though, Dragonstone was nice but it was certainly not world-renowned for a place to live. Hearing someone from Lys the Lovely of all Places wanted to move to my gloomy island home was certainly odd.
"Yes, my prince, though I could settle for Driftmark or Claw Isle if there is no space," he said with a smile, he was rather comely for a pirate. ' Perhaps it just comes with being Lyseni, ' I thought with a little smirk.
There certainly was space to fit him. Dragonstone was a sizeable island, with a few small, prosperous farming communities and a large town beneath the castle. I had ordered a census as one of my first actions as Prince, the total population of the island was roughly thirty-two thousand people, with plenty of more room for growth.
"Why?" I decided to chance, I could tell Ser Robin was stirring behind me but I was too curious not to ask more. This could also be my lead, he should have a valid reason to move there.
"You not knowing is exactly why, Dragonstone is safe, has fellow Valyrians, is under the protection of the Dragon King, and most importantly, far away from Volantis," his reasoning rolled off his tongue easily, like he had practiced this spiel numerous times.
There was a lot to unpack there. Sure Dragonstone was broadly safe, mostly because it was home to at least one dragon, two if you counted my mother too. ' Safe from what though? Volantis? ' I thought with confusion. I knew the situation in Essos was different from what I had read in my previous life. But stronger Dothraki shouldn't be threatening Lys of all places.
"I thought Volantis was humbled by the Old King Argilac?" I queried once more.
"Aye, her army was humbled in the disputed lands, but Valyria's Eldest Daughter stirs once more. Especially after Ar Noy fell to the barbarians," he said with a calm expression.
"So why are you approaching me now?" I intended to ask my final question, I was wasting daylight and I knew gathering the two fools would take more time than it probably should.
"Because I am running out of time, my family is poor, if I do not secure safe passage out of Lys soon, my sister may end up in a brothel," he said with a look of trepidation on his face and doubt-colored my thoughts.
' An obvious attempt at garnering sympathy… ' I thought with basic assurance. Yet all the same, some small part of me sympathized with him. I was also running out of time, I could not run away from my marriage forever, I needed to find something out, sitting on these damn rocks did me no good.
"I will tell you what pirate," I said with my most princely tone.
"You will submit to capture by my forces, where you will be held until I can confirm the death of Sargoso Saan. You will give up everything you know about the enemy forces. Should you tell the truth, and my forces succeed in destroying the pirates, I will fulfill your requests, I will ask my father to pardon you and send a boat to secure your family and move them to Dragonstone. Should you lie, and lead us into a trap, you will be tortured to death, slow and painfully," I laid out my own demands and I was shocked at his quick reply.
"Done, pleasure doing business with you, Prince Maegor," he said with a smile and it unnerved me. ' I just threatened to kill this guy, maybe he is telling the truth? ' I thought with a little hope, I wanted this campaign to be over more than anything.
…
Meeting with Aethan Velaryon and Ser Osmund Strong was an annoying affair. First I had to set up a meeting place, generally my own damn tent because Ser Osmund refused to meet on Viper's Veil and I had to maintain at least an image of neutrality. Then I had to send out messengers, or visit them myself in most cases, because the prideful f*cks would waste my time if allowed. Then finally, I had to play peacemaker at every turn when I finally got them in the same room.
I fast-tracked the process this time though, I personally went to Ser Osmund's tent and I sent Aeron down to Viper's Veil to fetch his father. This was an opportunity we could not let pass up. Sargoso Saan had evaded us for nearly eight moons now and I was no longer willing to waste my youth on these damnable islands.
The tent was large enough to fit me, my two esteemed guests, a handful of knights, and finally my new informant, so it was actually less crowded than most of these meetings normally went, nonetheless, the tension between the two was palpable.
"I have acquired information on the whereabouts of Sargoso Saan," I opened the discussion myself, not wanting to let the two descend into bickering just yet.
"Where did you get this information, Prince Maegor?" Aethan asked genuinely, he had been more respectful towards me the last few moons. He was first to acquiesce to my compromises and was content to meet with me in my tent when asked.
"This pirate has agreed to surrender the information in return for a royal pardon from my father," I said, pointing to my new favorite Lyseni. His surrendering to me was a great boon, though if he betrayed me I would make him regret it.
"With all due respect my prince, we are trusting the word of a Pirate?" Ser Osmund asked and I could not really get upset with him. I was doing exactly that.
"Should he betray us, or lead us into a trap, he will be tortured to death," I said flatly, I needed their cooperation, I had already played what I would say in my mind a dozen times to prepare for this.
"Hmm, where might we find the leader of this pirate fleet, and what does he look like?" Aethan asked and I was glad he was staying on topic. The sooner we hashed out a plan the sooner we could pounce on this chance before it slipped away, it was already well past midday.
"Cape Basibosh, there is a small outpost there. Sargoso Saan looks like a typical Lyseni, though with a scar over his mouth hidden by a great beard." my Lyseni Turncloak said and I pointed to the map I had prepared for this. It was kind of genius, our forces had scoured the islands for this Pirate King, and no stone had remained unturned. Yet we could not find him on any of the islands. Not even being in the Stepstones was a play on his part, he could avoid my patrols at least.
"What kind of forces might we meet there?" Ser Osmund said and I had to play translator, unfortunately, Ser Osmund did not speak High Valyrian.
"The fleet was split up ever since the vanguard was destroyed at Bloodstone but the commanders still meet frequently, perhaps fifty ships are there, I left when a meeting was called, instead I made my way here," the Lyseni Pirate said in his floral bastard Valyrian and I continued playing translator.
"Fifty ships… and how many Dornish soldiers do you have with you, pirate?" Aethan asked with a bit of spite in his tone, the pirates had eluded his patrols for this whole war, I could imagine his pride was hurt.
"The Dornish are mostly on the islands, though there should be a decent number in Balibosh, though most of the Lyseni forces will be there, as Sargoso called many of his captains back, around two thousand men at maximum," my informant said with complete surety, he was calm, not skittish in the slightest.
"Why Dornishmen?" I heard Ser Osmund ask and I was slightly curious too. However, if this devolved into a tirade I would send us back on track. We were already burning some serious daylight.
"Because they work for cheap," the pirate shrugged and I raised an eyebrow.
"Pardon?" Aethan asked the question everyone in the tent was thinking.
"They got no other choice, no ladies back home, no lands to farm, no food to eat, King Aegon burned 'em all," he said shrugging his shoulders, and my interest was thoroughly piqued. ' Just how devastating was the Dragon's Wroth? ' I thought quickly.
"That would explain why they were so fanatical in their fighting," Ser Gawen said from his seated position behind me and I pondered the Dornish forces as well, most were older men, so the timeline at least checked out.
"If they are so fanatical, will killing Sargoso even matter?" Ser Osmund asked the question I was dreading, I was hoping for a quick and easy end to this war, if even killing Sargoso did nothing…
"The Lyseni have no obligations to the Dornish, Sargoso is the one keeping all of the pirate captains together, most of them are tired of this fight, they want to seek greener pastures," my prisoner said again and I saw the seeds of doubt appear on Ser Osmund and Aethan's faces.
"How would you know that? Are you a pirate captain?" Aethan asked and I nearly groaned.
"Aye, this man is a pirate, he could be leading us into a trap, or just trying to distract our forces so his pirate captain can escape," Ser Osmund said too and I was practically fuming.
"If he lies! He will be tortured to death!" I yelled and both looked incredulous.
"If Sargoso Saan can hold his forces together under our pressure, he could convince a man to give up his life for his cause," Ser Osmund said with certainty and Aethan actually nodded along.
"We should send a scouting force, should he be telling the truth we can then gather all our forces for a push, if not, we will continue our efforts to root out each and every pirate den," Aethan said and I thought I must be cursed. These two agree in opposition to me.
"We do not have time for that! The moment they see a scouting force, they will move camp to who knows where! This is our chance, even if the weather is relatively clear! We can end this damnable campaign," I said placing my hands on the table. Pleading with the two to see what I saw. ' Do they f*cking like it here or something? ' I thought with a barely held-back rage.
"We also need time to gather the men from the other islands, Prince Maegor. How many men can we even muster right now, maybe two thousand at most?" Ser Aethan preached calm but I was tired of their caution.
"No, we depart as soon as we can," I finally said and I could almost feel the smirk coming off Ser Robin.
Both of the fools looked at me like I had just spoken in some third language.
"Gather as many ships and men as you can, this expedition ends tonight," I said with finality as I left my tent, just being around them made me furious.
…
I was pleased that everyone took my command well. The camp sprang to life and began getting prepared in an instant. My forces required nothing from me so I went to retrieve my dragon. He would be key to any victory we could achieve over the pirates, given we were not attacking at full strength.
Now Terrax was curled up in front of my tent and I was glad I worked with him so much in training. He still disliked people but he could at least close his eyes and pretend they were not there. It helped that many avoided him too.
As I was speaking with Ser Gawen about his command of my soldiers while I would flying, Aeron came up to speak with us.
"Hey Maegor, can I ask you something?" I heard my friend ask and I turned around to greet him.
He was clad in well-made armor, similar in style to all of the different knights and warriors Aethan brought along. Pale steel with light blue colorings.
"Sure, Ser Gawen, go with the men down to the boats, we will be departing soon," I quickly agreed before relaying my commands to Ser Gawen, we would be departing soon and I would not let my section of the army be outdone.
"What is up Aeron?" I turned to my friend once more and it was only then I noticed the slight nervous look he had on him. He was doing an admirable job of trying to hide it but I could still spot the apprehension present in him.
"It's just… do you have any advice?" he asked me and I raised an eyebrow.
"About what?"
"About fighting… this will be my first battle," Aeron said through gnashed teeth. He had privately ranted to Jasper and me about wanting to fight but I guess it was bluster.
' Oh… that is what he means, ' I thought with a straight face. We were strapped for manpower so everyone who could fight would be fighting. We were leaving a skeleton force on Bloodstone and departing with the rest of the forces we could muster. We managed to get word out to the forces on Dwarfstone to rendezvous with us but the remaining forces were too far away or too slow to get to us. The sun was already setting, we did not have the time to waste.
I was unsure of how to answer my friend. My first battle had nearly gotten me killed. ' What advice can I even give? ' I thought with a little worry. Sure I had fought before but our situations were rather different. I had the greatest training the world could offer and I was also a hulking monster. Aeron had neither going for him.
"Stick close to your fellow men, use your training, and your instincts, and try not to get singled out. These pirates are no real army, they should break when met with our soldiers," I finished saying after a moment. Perhaps I could give my friend some better advice in another situation but I had no real idea what to tell him here besides do not be stupid.
"..." Aeron remained silent and he looked apprehensive, like he was deep in thought.
"You have plate mail, a castle-forged steel sword, and seasoned men around you. Try not to overthink this Aeron," I said again, hopefully reassuring him a bit. I could not blame him for feeling a little concerned about his first battle. I was not even sure if Aethan was really training him to fight.
"Right… thank you Maegor," Aeron said with a quick nod and turned to mount a horse, the ships would be leaving soon.
I idled there for a moment, steeling myself for the fight to come. I did not particularly enjoy killing, though it had become a part of life for the last eight moons. Dark Sister must have drunk the blood of hundreds of Dornishmen and pirates by now. Yet I had to steel myself all the same.
I spied the fleet leaving the port from my position near the top of the hill and sighed. Our plan was basically to just rush the pirates, the sun was setting so we should have the element of surprise but even still, I disliked the rushed nature of this battle to come. With any luck, it would not backfire horribly.
Turning to my dragon, I sucked in a breath and Terrax reached out to bump me in the chest with his head. If there was one positive to this campaign, it had brought me closer to my dragon, I was getting better at reading his mood and he was even preempting my commands occasionally.
"Ready for one last battle?" I asked my dragon with a pat to his head and was met with a low grumble. Terrax lusted for combat and I could almost feel his hungry urge to rip and tear course through me.
Terrax lowered his wing and I clambered onto his back. I strapped my legs into the belts and chains meant to hold me to his back and I reached for his reins. I grabbed them tightly in my hands and gave my dragon a quick whip with them.
" Soves!" I yelled and my dragon responded in kind. His powerful legs took a great leap and with several powerful beats of his wings, we were soon airborne.
I climbed higher and higher until I could see the whole island of Bloodstone. I was reminded of how dreary this island looked when I spotted the dull gray peak. Even Dragonstone was practically teeming with green near the shores. The entirety of this island was a dull grey stone color.
With any luck, this would be the last time I had to look at this island. I certainly did not wish to fight another war for a while at least. There was nothing glorious about sitting on these damn rocks.
With another snap of my dragon's reins, we departed southeast, towards Cape Basibosh, where hopefully we could finally put an end to the pirate king.
…
Cape Basibosh bore a striking resemblance to the Stepstones. Gray, windswept, devoid of all life, if the land had not been connected to the lush and fertile Essos to the East I would have assumed it were just another island.
Yet as I flew high in the sky, observing the landmass below, a sense of excitement began to fill me. Not quite at the chance to fight again, though Terrax certainly felt that urge, but at the prospect of leaving the region.
The fleet was perhaps an hour behind me, ships were fast and I had flown slowly to give them time but I would also see if I could clear the way for them. No doubt there were caves and coves we had to clear, minimizing losses to pirates at sea and on the coast would mean more men could be sent into the caves these pirates based out of.
I spotted what appeared to be a small fishing village and I knew that must be my target. The pirates masquerading as fishermen was despicable but not out of the ordinary, it was also somewhat brilliant.
Had I spotted a fishing village on one of my patrols I would not have considered it out of the ordinary. Especially because I was not searching the Essosi coastline, but now that I was flying directly overhead I could tell it was all a sham.
The houses were ramshackle and barely held together, no doubt battered by the constant storm, though the most damning features were the large fleet stationed at its docks and the walls. Perhaps five and twenty ships were docked at the small harbor or just off the coast, much too many for perhaps a dozen small ramshackle houses. The addition of walls also confused me greatly.
I brought my dragon into a dive and readied myself, the sun was at its nadir and I had little light left to use. Perhaps engaging alone was foolish but I at least wished to destroy the ships, I would wait for the army to attack the mainland and the caves.
Our descent was rapid and unseen as I spied the boats floating aimlessly at anchor, no doubt prepared to move to a safer location at the first sight of a storm. Though a different storm would be awaiting them.
" Dracarys! " I roared and green flames spilled forth from my dragon's maw. One of the more exposed ships was bathed in the green hellfire. The screams of men filled my ears but I had no time to waste, I knew that ship was doomed and the rest were no doubt readying their bows and slings.
I banked hard right and flew just above the water, the two ships to my left and right were soon also bathed in fire as Terrax swung his head back and forth. The screams of the dead and dying filled the air like a song as even the green flames illuminated the area.
Each ship burned like a great bonfire. Dragonfire cared not for what it was on, if it could burn, it would, and each of the ships was soon crackling infernos, the wet wood did nothing to deter my dragon's relentless flames.
I urged my dragon skyward to observe the situation and noticed distinctly Lyseni men bailing out from their ships. ' Good, they are pirates, ' I thought with a little relief as I turned my dragon around to dive for another run.
The pirates had not truly developed a means to harm me or my dragon, they sure tried when I fought hand to hand but these raggedy pirates did not the same means as Dorne. Not that they could land a lucky shot again, my mother and I had deliberately made our flying styles more erratic to avoid such a turn of events. Having our dragons turn their heads frequently and trying not to fly in a straight predictable line when fighting.
I noticed the ships spring to life and I was determined to at least destroy the ships at sea. The ships near the docks were no doubt more important but the docks would be valuable for Aethan to more easily deliver men to the shore.
Green flames were expelled from Terrax's mouth once more and two more ships were soon lit like bonfires. The wet wood did nothing to stave off the overwhelming heat wafting off the bright green flames.
Smoke billowed from the smoldering ruins of the ships and I spied the crews of the ships on the docks abandon their vessels, fleeing towards the coastline and the houses there.
I made a few more passes, cleaning up the remaining outlying ships as I patiently waited for the Velaryon Fleet to arrive with the soldiers.
By the time they did, all the ships that remained were at the dock, with all the outlying ships having long since sunk into the shallow sea. I continued circling from above as I spied the first Velaryon ships push up to the shore and the men descend into the water.
It was only then that I decided to continue the attack on Dragonback. I went down for another dive and made a pass at one of the walls of the ramshackle base. The raggedy wooden walls stood no chance and were soon crumbling into dust, allowing some of the braver men to slip through the fires thanks to their armor.
I patiently watched the fighting from atop Terrax in the sky before I saw several soldiers waving me down. ' Is it done? ' I thought with a little hope as I brought my dragon down once more, though this time it would not be for an attack.
I landed my dragon in the center of the ramshackle town and dismounted quickly, hoping to meet with the lords and learn of the success.
"Prince Maegor," Aethan and Ser Osmund greeted me at my dragon and I greeted them in kind.
"Lord Aethan, Ser Osmund, was Sargoso here?" I chanced, hoping beyond all hope for good news.
"We do not think so, though we did capture many prisoners, many of whom claim he slipped into a cave perhaps a few hundred paces from here, should we depart for the cave or should we rest?" Ser Osmund answered and was actually deferring to my command.
"Ready the best men we have, I will not let this Pirate King slip away again," I said as I fully dismounted my dragon and moved to reunite with my soldiers.
…
The deployment of soldiers was still something I was getting used to, unfortunately I had to learn on the fly. Luckily I did not have the most troubling or difficult job this time. I knew where my target was and I had a lot of men to play with.
I was currently sitting outside of the one known cave entrance, along with perhaps three hundred men. The cave entrance was just too small to fit Terrax so unfortunately, this would be like every other cave battle, slow and grinding, especially if my informant was correct about the number of soldiers in this cave. Our tallies showed that perhaps a few hundred were stationed at the forward base we just captured. Which meant there could be thousands scattered in a large cave network.
Yet I was not going to let this bastard flee once more. I had Aethan redeploy his ships all around Cape Basibosh, should they make an effort to flee the caves and get back into the water a Velaryon ship would be waiting for them. I also had Ser Osmund take a force of perhaps five hundred men and lead them further into the mainland, hoping to cut off any escape into Essos.
That led to this cave, which we had no idea of how deep or large it was, though it needed to be cleared all the same. I brought Terrax to the entrance just in case but I was also preparing to lead the men directly inside. The Vanguard would be led by Ser Gawen at his insistence, with my column following just behind his. Meanwhile, we would keep roughly two hundred men outside, resting and ready to fill in gaps or replace tired men.
"Are you ready, my prince?" I heard Ser Robin call out to me and I let out a sigh before drawing Dark Sister.
I nodded to him but also turned to the men who would be spelunking for what must have been the hundredth time.
"Tonight, this war ends!" I yelled and the soldiers all quickly roared too, it was nearing midnight, if we were lucky, this war would truly end by sunrise.
We formed up into a column and then began our march into the sandy caves that dotted this region. Every fifth soldier held a torch and it was the job of people behind the line to look for any hidden passages that could be used to attack us from the rear. This army had dealt with far too much harassment from Dornishmen and pirates and we were too experienced for these tricks to work again.
The front of the column encountered combat nearly instantly and thus began the grueling push. The sound of combat rang in my ears but it was not my job to worry about that, the strongest men were placed up front, and it was our job to look out for ambushes, none of these passageways were mapped and it was so dark that seemingly any shadow could be a hidden passage in disguise.
As the fighting continued we continued to be squeezed through the tight corridors. We finally entered what must have been the main chamber. A sizable space opened up and we could finally spread out, the column quickly flattening into a line so we could bring more weapons to bear, it also meant it was my time to fight.
I was armed in my typical armor along with Dark Sister, though I carried a large shield with me this time. After fighting the Giant I had seen to using a shield too. I did not really need two hands for Dark Sister so protecting myself became a priority.
As we fanned out the fighting only grew more intense, I had no idea just how many pirates were in this small room but they were quickly being cut down. Their leather armor and linen clothing held up rather poorly to castle-forged steel.
I got to taste hand-to-hand action for the first time then. I pushed my way to the front of the line and brought Dark Sister down right into the head of an unlucky pirate. It cleaved him damn near in two as the sounds of gushing blood and violence filled my ears.
It was not long until we pushed them out of the chasm, unfortunately, there were many exits to this place, just like we feared.
"How do you want to divide this?" I heard Ser Gawen call out to me from his seated position. We put some men at each of the entrances to the chamber but we were taking a moment to rest the majority of our troops. Fighting even short battles could be exhausting and we likely still had more caves to clear.
"We send a few dozen men down each passageway, same as before just with smaller columns," I said easily as the sounds of fighting quieted. The pirates were also likely strategizing.
"I meant which do you want? Or do you wish to return to the surface?" Ser Gawen clarified and I sucked in a breath. I would love to return to the surface but I could feel it in my bones. We were almost done.
"I will take the second passage from the right, split up the rest among the lords and commanders however you wish," I said before I stood back up and walked towards the entrance I picked.
It was the widest of the bunch, being able to comfortably fit me and another person to my right or left, which would be useful as fighting in these cramped caves sucked. Dark Sister's shorter length actually helped me here though, she was less likely to get caught on a stray rock than a normal longsword.
' One last push, ' I thought with a resolution before I began spelunking once more.
It seemed I had been lured into a false sense of security as the cave narrowed greatly past the entrance. The walls gradually closed into the point where I could just barely fit with my arms glued to my sides. I held my shield out in front of me to guard my chest but I could no longer swing Dark Sister due to the cramped space.
The yells of pirates to "Kill the attackers!" were an unwelcome surprise as I steeled myself, getting ready to receive the full brunt of the attacks of the men.
I felt something, or more likely someone crash into my shield, and thus began my struggle. I was somewhat thankful for my size then, it led to my current cramped position but it also meant that my shield was basically entirely blocking the entrance way, the soldiers behind me blocked by first my iron-plated shield and then my body.
I responded to the crash with a great shove of my own. I felt the mass on the other end of my shield steadily getting pushed back and I forced my shield forward with all the might I could muster.
Slowly and slowly I pushed forward, more and more weight appearing on the other side and I could hear the constant slashes and stabs at my shield from the other end. Thankfully I was not alone in this test of strength. The men behind me also began pushing and before long pirates were getting trampled beneath our feet.
I took the time to stab each and everyone we trampled with Dark Sister as we continued our steady push forward. Forward and forward we went before we entered another large open room like the last one, the pirates attempting to stop my relentless push being thrown back onto their asses once I was able to push into the larger room.
I brought Dark Sister to my side and began slashing indiscriminately, my men were behind me and my enemies in front so I had nothing to fear. Dark Sister cleaved through leather, cloth, flesh, and bone as I and then several of the other men behind me after they entered the room, cut through the dozens of men crammed into this chamber.
Before long the carnage was at an end and we were met with a view of the aftermath of our slaughter. Bloodied and mangled corpses lay strewn about from our attack. Silver hair and Black, pale skin and olive color. I scanned each of the different faces, looking for any Lyseni that matched the description of Sargoso.
We turned over every Lyseni corpse, looking for a beard and one of my soldiers found something.
"Prince Maegor!" I heard him yell and I rushed over.
A lifeless corpse lay before me, dull purple eyes staring at nothing, his hair was smeared with blood and filth. The most distinguishable feature he held though was a large beard.
"Is this him?" I asked as I pulled his head closer, the soldier brought down a torch and I looked for a large scar on his mouth.
I squinted in the dim light before I noticed the distinctive lighter-colored skin of a scar. ' YES! ' I thought with a triumphant glee as I brought Dark Sister down, separating Sargoso's head from his mangled body.
'The Pirate King has fallen!" I roared with my soldiers soon repeating my chant, it echoed through the caves and I could hear even more soldiers in the main room cheer too.
' I am going home, ' I thought with a smile from ear to ear as one of my soldiers stuffed the damnable Lyseni's head into a sack.
Hello Spacebattles. Sorry for the chapter dump but I want to start posting new chapters here and staggering the chapters over the next few days would be annoying. This story is also posted on Ao3, QQ, and AH. I would love to hear what you think of my story in the comments! If you want to read ahead, you can do so on my Patreon. Have a great day!
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