Chapter 29
The news about the revival of the Dragons would shock the whole kingdom. The magical beasts that had allowed Aegon to forge the tumultuous seven kingdoms into a single realm had been revived. The Royal House had regained the symbol of their power and, in the first display of its might, had crushed the Religious rebellion in one fell swoop.
As Prince Aemon's dragon decimated the sparrows and men guarding Riverrun, the army stormed the castle, slaughtering all those who bore the symbol of the Sparrows. A few loyal guards in the castle saw this and rose up in defiance as well, buying enough time for the army to rescue Lord Edmure and his three sons.
The Princess would kill the false preacher, and free Lord Eddard Stark, and have him taken to the Vale so he could receive the aid of a healer, and then fly away towards the capital to take over the duties that had been assigned to her.
Prince Aemon would hold court on the castle of Riverrun, sitting on the ancestral seat of House Tully. The Crown's position had changed entirely in a single day. While earlier, the Crown was considered to be in a precarious condition, the resurgence of dragons broke the scale and showed to everyone that the brightest days for the House of the Dragon lay ahead, not behind.
Many expected that the Crown would strip House Tully of its Lord Paramountship. However, the Prince would honor his word to Lady Rosalin Frey and let House Tully retain their position. However, there would be consequences: Hostages would be taken, and an edict would be passed allowing the Crown to retain a portion of their armies in the Riverlands.
This move would essentially give the Crown direct control over the Riverlands, hence making them the direct rulers of these lands in all but name. There would be some protest from House Tully about this, though the House would find no support from even the Houses sworn to it.
While the populace in Kingslanding was surprised by the appearance of two dragons, they had missed the third dragon that had taken flight along with the first two.
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SAERA BLACKFYRE
The atmosphere in the tent was somber, and everyone seemed to be looking at each other. None have the courage to voice the thoughts running through their minds. Just a day ago, there had been hope and joy in this tent as they rejoiced in the setbacks faced by House Targaryen.
Yet as the sun for this day dawned, they were bombarded with missives upon missives from their various informants across the Kingdom. Each missive contained a simple message that had sucked out the life from this tent.
"It cannot be. This cannot be true," Harry Strickland, the leader of the Golden Company, spoke up, as he looked around the room. His face was white as a sheet, and it seemed as if he didn't even believe his own words.
"How can dragons be back? How? We all know the last of these beasts died sometime after the Dance. Perhaps, our informants have been compromised, and this all is just a ploy from House Targaryen to demotivate us before the upcoming battle," said the man.
And the desperation and desire for victory compelled her to believe that argument despite knowing it to be false. With this news, it all began to click together. The constant harassment of her late husband, the desire to buy those dragon eggs, and the extent to which the House of the Dragon went to just obtain those dragons.
She looked towards her brother, Daemon, who had an impassive look on his face as the rest of the room looked towards him. The whole room was dead silent as they waited for his response, knowing that he controlled all said informants.
"It is highly likely that the news about the dragon is true," and as soon as those words left his mouth, she felt the temperature in the tent drop as all the leaders of the army looked towards each other.
Her brother stood up, and moved to the front of the table as he began.
"Had it been just our informants, I would have suspected such news as well, but by now, I have heard the same news from all over the continent. So, I believe the news about the dragons is true. Our enemy has somehow revived the legacy of old Vlayria and now has at least two dragons at its command, if not more," finished her brother.
"Then it's over," cut in the commander of the Second sons, shaking his head as he stood up.
"Three dragons, three. How are we supposed to beat them? Aegon the Conqueror forged the seven kingdoms into a single empire with his three dragons, but now we face not just three dragons but a well-trained and quipped army as well. I believe it's ov…."
"Aegon had three full-grown, mature dragons," her brother cut in as the whole room turned towards him as he leaned forward on the table.
"Aegon had three full-grown dragons, while our enemy has three baby dragons barely out of their maturity. And yet here we cower in fear all because of beasts that are smaller than our larger galleys," her brother scoffed as he spat to the side.
"You should be ashamed of calling yourself a man. Disgrace! What if our enemy has dragons now? Isn't our cause pure? Isn't our hunger greater? When we began, they had an army and a navy thought to be unbeatable, yet we have persisted, and yet with the blood and sweat of our men we have achieved so much. And now we sit here disgracing all of them. We should be ashamed!" her brother shouted, and she could see that the atmosphere in the tent was beginning to shift.
"Rhaegar rides towards us, and is less than a day's sail from us. And when he reaches these shores, and if that be on the back of the black dread itself, I shall stand there against him, for I shall not shame myself, I shall fight until my last breath," her brother straightened up at this, and picked up his helmet.
"The question is, will you?" and with that he began to march out of the room, his sword strapped to his side, as he tugged his helmet under his arm, sending the tent flaps flying as the room became quiet.
Of the ten sitting in front of her, she could tell that about eight were convinced enough by his words, while two of the men seemed rather unconvinced. She stood up, moved out of the tent as well, and walked towards aemon, who stood there, looking at the men drilling infront of them.
"It all finally makes sense now," he said as she walked to his side.
"The persistence to obtain those eggs. And the extent to which they went to, it was all because of this. They wanted those eggs to hatch them," her brother commented.
"Yes, I have reached the same conclusion," she said as she looked towards him.
"And was it true? What you said in there earlier, that you plan to face Rhaegar in open battle even if he has a dragon," she questioned, and her brother nodded.
"Yes, there is no other option. The battle today will probably be the last battle of the war. If we are to have any chance at victory, then I must face him tomorrow. Otherwise, I believe everything we have achieved until now, all the sacrifices we have made, will be for naught," her brother said through gritted teeth as she saw his fists ball up.
"He may have a dragon, but that doesn't mean I don't have a surprise of my own," her brother suddenly added and handed her a missive. And she opened it, and her eyes widened as she saw the contents of the missive.
"This came from Euron earlier. Now, we can only hope that he makes it in time for the battle."
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ROSALIN FREY
A thick smell of blood and
Dragon. She had just seen a dragon. According to the rumors she had heard, it wasn't the only one, and House Targaryen had somehow managed to revive the beasts that had stood as their symbol of power.
It was a miracle, and she would have celebrated the blessing if not for the fact that right now, her House faced the wrath of this dragon. A thick smell of blood and fire filled the air of Riverrun as the Royal army showed no mercy to the Sparrows that had risen up in rebellion, slaughtering all of them on sight as the Prince's dragon played havoc across the castle.
And now, with the Sparrows decimated, the rivers around Riverrun dyed in red, the Prince of the realm sat there on the throne as two gruff men of the army held down the man responsible for this uprising infront of the platform. The Prince looked down impassively at the old man, his face devoid of emotion, and his black armor had blood caked onto it, remnants of the slaughter that had occurred earlier.
Her husband, Edmure, stood to her side, thin and pale-faced as he looked on at the proceedings in a dazed state, somewhat still affected by the whole ordeal. Her three children were with the master. Thankfully, they had escaped through the whole ordeal with minor injuries and were fine.
"So, do you have anything to say for yourself?" the Prince's voice swept through the main Hall as everyone looked towards the old man, who had led the sparrows.
"Yes, I do," answered the old man, and she narrowed her eyes.
"How can the Royal family call themselves the protectors of the Faith if you slaughter those who do the very work of the Seven? You deny us the chance to cleanse these lands of heathens and their misguided ways…"
"By killing them!" the Prince cut in angrily, and the old man quieted down as he answered through thin lips.
"By doing whatever was necessary," answered the old man, and the Prince shook his head and stood up, from the throne.
"You and your men are not devouts. You claim yourself to be a devout however, you and your whole sect have been funded by gold that was earned through the most heinous of crimes," the Prince's cold voice cut through the room.
"Slavery!" and she gasped at those words, and the High Sparrow seemed surprised by that as well.
"No!" he tried to deny it, but the Prince shook his head.
"I speak the truth. This so-called Preacher of yours, the man who funds you and your followers, deals in the slavery and businesses of the flesh, exploiting women and even children to build his wealth, his name is Petyr Baelish and he was sentenced to death for his crimes, however he managed to escape and took on the role of this preacher!" and the Prince then turned towards their side of the main Hall, and uttered something even much more horrible.
"Not only that, this preacher was also the man responsible for the death of late Lord Hoster!"
"Impossible," she heard Edmure gasp, as the whole room roared in fury at these words. How did he know that name, and why did it sound so familiar to her as well.
"LIES!" the old man shouted.
"Petyr was doing god's work! And you and your house frames him to make him stop!" the man shouted the High Sparrow.
"I speak no lies, for I have no reason to" the Prince said.
"But that cretin has been dealt with. It is time for me to decide upon your fate," poked the Prince as he reached for his sword, a Valyrian steel sword she recognized. A newer one.
The Guards held down the High Sparrow as the Prince walked behind him, taking the sword out of its scabbard as he began to announce in an icy cold tone.
"In the name of Rhaegar Targaryen, the first of his name, King of Rohonyar, Andals, and the First Men, I, Aemon Targaryen, sentence you to die!" and with that, he swung the sword, and she looked away the only ever sound of a thud and a small gasp.
"And now it is time for the final trial," she heard the Prince speak as she finally opened her and found the Prince looking towards her side of the room.
"Lord Edmure, step forward."
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On the island of Grey Gallow, ten thousand men stood in line, their golden armors glimmered in the rays of the Sun as they stood on the shore, as the island was slowly surrounded by an armada of ships.
And as they stood there their commander stepped forward, wearing black armor, holding a flag with the symbol of the three headed dragon on it. And then the whole battlefield halted, the men held their breaths as suddenly the men from the ships dismounted and another army lined up on the shores and as the men lined up, thousands and thousands of men, lining up in perfect order, their shields lined up as the two armies stood face to face. And then stepped out two men, atop two horses pitch black in color, clad in distinctive armor, one gold and the other silver, yet one man was missing one man.
And then the battlefield halted, men held their breaths, and the very air warmed up as a single sound roared over the atmosphere as the men looked around, and then it appeared. He appeared.
ROARRR!
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