In Blackwater Bay, the Imperial Fleet led by Admiral Thorne had completely blocked off Kingslanding after a quick fight with the Royal Navy. She was aware that they had acquired the designs for the cannons and was even surprised that they made the gunpowder for it, but at the end of the day, their cannons were still crude and not that good compared to the Imperials.
As such, the Royal fleet didn't put up much resistance and were defeated in a single day. Now the city was surrounded from both land and sea.
On land, Alexander and his army were standing in formations surrounding Kingslanding with no siege equipment in view. That was because there wasn't going to a siege for Kingslanding. The city in its current state was unstable and filled with too many problems. The Faith militant were religious fanatics that would resist the Imperial rule until the end, and then there was the people.
Most may be innocent, some may be guilty, but it didn't matter all the same. The decision had been made long ago and this day would go down as one of the deadliest days in Westeros, a day comparable to when the Targaryens had dragons.
From above, Nyxara dived downwards through the clouds and released a sweeping black fire across the city walls. The flames hit the walls and the soldiers standing on top of them, completely disintegrated the defenders, leaving nothing to prove they were even there to begin with. Behind Nyxara, 5 of her children followed suite, laying waste to the city from above.
The chaos that followed was as expected of a city getting torched by dragons. In the Red Keep, Cersei and Joffrey watched the city below them fall into panic. Bells went off, but then fell silent as the tops of the towers themselves melted and collapsed inward. The defenders tried to fire arrows at the dragons, but they were flying too high and too fast for the defenders to reach. Even the scorpion weapons proved useless, especially when everybody was trying to run.
Inside the Throne Room, Joffrey staggered in with a sword too large for him to carry, dragging it on the floor. Cersei followed behind him with the Kingsguard behind them clutching a goblet of win with both her hands. Tyrion was long gone and had managed to flee Kingslanding a few days prior and headed North where he would wait the battle out and then surrender.
"Those damned bastards." Joffrey shouted angrily. "Why aren't they shooting down those dragons. I thought you said those weapons would kill all of their dragons!" Joffrey turned around and shouted at Cersei, his mother.
As much as she wanted to say something, she couldn't explain why none of the city's defenders seemed able to make even a dent in the reign of terror unfolding overhead.
It did not take long. One of the dragons, Nyxiel, landed right in the gardens below the Tower of the Hand, shattering the flagstones and burning through the first two squads of guards who stood to confront it. Some of the most loyal, best trained men she'd ever seen, who'd sworn oaths to protect her son, and they simply vanished like they were nothing.
From the tower's shadow, the wyvern riders appeared next, Imperial agents clad in black and gold, faces hidden, weapons ready. Joffrey ran, but even as he did, Cersei heard the sound of boots on stone outside. She seized him by the arm and pulled him back. The only thought in her mind was to keep what was left of her family alive for one more day.
The Kingsguard made a half-hearted attempt to block the doors to the throne room, but the first group of Wyvern riders simply landed in the courtyard and blasted the masonry apart. The main doors heaved open, and a number of Wyvern riders stormed in.
The Kingsguard stood in their path, raised swords and prepared to fight. The Wyvern riders moved forward and began clashing with the Kingsguard. Cersei and Joffrey were escorted away by 4 Kingsguard as the remaining members stayed behind to block off the Wyvern riders from giving chase. Down the galleries and up the steps they fled, the Red Keep was overwhelmed with the roars of dragons, Wyverns, and the screaming of soldiers as they tried to run.
Cersei dragged Joffrey through the corridors, their retinue of guards who had joined them along the way, started to thin out. Nearby, she heard the sound of what she believed to be a Wyvern landing on top of the Red Keep. From every window, the city below was filled with anarchy: men trampled women, children fled, bells tolled and then fell silent all at once.
Cersei continued to drag Joffrey by the wrist, eventually even causing a bruise to appear in his hand as she was gripping it so tightly. He didn't even notice the bruise as he was more worried about his life at this time. He looked less like a King and more like a child who still needed mommy to protect them.
"Where are we going, mother?" His voice cracked as if he was desperate to flee to safety.
"The Black Cells," she replied, yanking him left at the next turn. But before they could get far, they heard the sound of boots running behind them. "Find the King and Queen Regent!" one of the voices said.
Hearing this, Cersei started to speed up as the Kingsguards who were still with her drew their weapons ready for a fight while also keeping a watch on their back. However, as soon as she turned the next corner, she ran into the chest of a Shadowhand agent causing her to fall down.
Two more Shadowhand agents appeared and stealthy killed the Kingsguard who were escorting them. Joffrey raised his sword looking in front and behind him as he was surrounded. "COME ON!" he shouted. "COME FIGHT ME!"
But as soon as he turned away for a split second, one of the Shadowhand agents delivered a hit to the back of his neck, nocking him out instantly. Seeing this, Cersei began to cry as she pleaded for her and her son's life.
"Please, don't kill my son. Take me instead." The Shadowhand agents ignored her pleas and instead waited on the Wyvern riders who came around the corner a few seconds later.
"Nice to see you guys." Greeted one of the Wyvern riders. Despite the Shadowhand being a secret organization, it was known to a few people throughout the Imperial Union which included Wyvern riders as they are considered high ranking lords.
"We'll leave them in our care." was all the Shadowhand agents said as they disappeared. "Cold as always." One of the Wyvern riders voices as they moved in to grab both Cersei and Joffrey.
Outside of the Red Keep, the rest of the city was completely devastated. The only thing left standing was the Red Keep which was saved for last as Maximus had a different punishment planned for Cersei and Joffrey.
Once the Wyvern riders cleared the Red Keep, the Dragons swooped down and finished it off, destroying what remained of the city. Kingslanding, which had stood for 291 years, was now reduced to a pile of rubble. The corpses that would have remained under normal circumstances were completely disintegrated by the Dragons breath, leaving nothing but rubble and a few hundred or even thousands of survivors who were buried under rubble or the very few structures that still remained.
Landing outside of Kingslanding, Maximus jumped off of Nyxara's back and stood in front of his army. "Today ladies and gentlemen, will forever be a day known as The Day of Ashes, for as you can see behind me, the long tyranny of this continent's old order has ended in fire and dust. No longer will birthright or faithless ambition threaten the lives of common men and women. No more will squabbling Lords and faith-drunk priests burn kingdoms for their own pleasures. Today, we have put an end to that." He did not raise his sword or scream the way the old kings did. Instead, he just let the words sink into his soldiers' heads.
"Now, not all have been killed and there may be a few who survived. As such, I want a search of the city conducted. Any person who survived will not be subject to any more punishment and will be placed under our protection. However, if that person is found to be one of the Faith militant, then they will be killed on the spot. Others, including soldiers who fought under the Royal Army, will be transported to our camp and will be taken care of. Those who resist our help will simply be executed." The soldiers nodded their heads in unison understanding Maximus's words and his intentions. The Commanders issued the orders, and the soldiers executed them without hesitation.
Prince Doran, Prince Oberyn, and the other Lords of Dorne who joined this campaign were glad to have made such a crucial alliance with the Imperial Union. They could only imagine what would have happened to their lands if they tried to stand against such a force.
With this done, Maximus moved to destroy the last remaining houses of the Crownlands who refused to bend their knee to him. Just as he stated, there would be no mercy for those who didn't accept his deal and their ancestral homes and houses would be erased from history.