~~~King's Landing, Chataya's Brothel~~~
~~~First Moon, 278 AC~~~
"The king left them ten days and ten nights under the sun and water, they say they were only fed to keep them alive, when they were freed from the poles they were tied to, well they looked like dry branches of a tree, though that no doubt was the best part of it all, after that..."
In Chataya's brothel, one of the best known on Silk Street and certainly the most upscale of the date, a group of men were engrossed in the brothel's common room, their conversation muted by the music played from the bagpipes by the old man at one end of the room filled the atmosphere, while the strong but sweet smell of incense wafted through the air.
The man who had been speaking suddenly lowered his tone, as his gaze was lost in the incense smoke in the air, apparently disturbed to continue relating what he knew. "You're a faggot!" Another man, this one much younger than the other, young, but already adult by Westerosis standards, lashed out at the other group member.
"The king was all bloodthirsty, he sent no one to the Wall, instead, death claimed them all, but not before pulling their teeth, the hair from their heads until they bled, their fingernails, they cut off everyone's nipples, the men had their balls crushed, the women had their lady parts ripped off, it was butchery, they even say the king got a man from the Boltons of the North, it is said he skinned Lord Denys and his family, including his whore wife of Myr, then burned them together with some green flames."
A sharp chill filled the air among the group of four men, which made them bristle and even shiver slightly, the mental image of what the young man was saying replayed in their minds over and over again, the thought of living through what those people had to go through, they certainly wouldn't wish it on anyone,
"Well, that happened to them for holding back the prince; what did they expect would happen? They know what Tywin Lannister did to the Reyne, they even made a song of that, it's safe to make one of what the king did at Duskendale as well."
"It'll be glorious," one of the guys said, with a nervous laugh.
Conversations like this were not uncommon, only five days since the events of Duskendale had passed, and still all anyone talked about was the cruelty, called by some, as the taking of justice by others, of King Aerys, who had made Duskendale an answer, a wake-up call to all those who thought it was okay to mess with the dragon.
A way of showing that the might of the Targaryens, while it lay in the ferocious beasts they rode and with which they once roamed the skies, was also in their motto; Fire and Blood, and above all, in the cruelty that could be aroused by rounding up the dragon, as well as Aegon I, Maegor, Aemond and now Aerys.
No doubt something that sent ripples throughout the kingdom, so much so, that even in the Vale, where a silent civil war was raging over the succession of the Vale, calmed down, proclaiming Elbert Arryn, nephew of Jon Arryn, as Lord of the Vale, while Denys Arryn, he who also disputed the carved throne of Weirwood of the Eagles Nest, distant relative of the ruling house and husband of Jon Arryn's niece; was placed as keeper of the Gates of the Moon.
So much was the impact that the realm seemed to enter a fragile but harsh peace based on shock and uncertainty, the fear of being next accentuated the grumbling and wailing, and now, the realm joined in silent obedience, obeying the one command Aerys scattered to all the Lords of the realm.
To gather their levies and their fleets, to head for Lannisport as soon as possible, for they would raze the Iron Islands stone by stone until there was nothing left, regardless of Prince Rhaegar's life, for according to Aerys, Rhaegar had died at Duskendale, and now Viserys was the heir.
~~~Red Keep~~~
~~~Valka Levou~~~
The stench reached here, even when I was dozens of feet off the ground, that was something I couldn't get used to, years of fighting in the biomes may well have made me stronger, faster and smarter to slay anything that posed a threat to me and mine, but now, that strength haunted me.
Having enhanced senses was one of them, being able to smell a lot more of the damn smell of this city was tormenting me, and I was about to go insane, and thank Notch that our stay in this damn place was about to end. Because I might as well steal one of the Wyverns from one of the Blood Riders and get the hell out.
"You're uptight again, you might as well pass for a Golem instead of my wife, or well, future wife." Azrael hugged me from behind, resting his arms on my shoulders as he placed his chin on my left shoulder.
The act made me smile, I liked knowing that even amid obligations, duties, and dangers, there was still room for calm, "it's the smell, my sense of smell is... Stronger, and with it, the smell becomes even more unbearable."
"Hm-hum," Azrael cleared his throat, "I'm sorry, I didn't think of that, so the other witches will surely be suffering likewise." Oh no, now I would start to think that was his fault, "it's not your fault that this capital attempt smells worse than spider shit, besides, as strange as it sounds, the case with the enchantments stops the smell, apparently it's good for that too." I said laughing, it was something that surprised me, it's not something I had been able to know before, those artifacts were only used by the players, so I never knew much about them.
"But they also stop the smell of the city," Azrael said thoughtfully, "we might as well sell them to the city's wealthy and make a fortune." The mere thought of seeing all those people wearing helmets for war just to avoid the city's stench made me laugh, "They would look ridiculous, I assure you."
"Hahaha, so it seems," he said, smiling, the kind of smile he only shared with his Blood Brothers or the people closest to him, "knock knock!" A knock sounded on the bedroom door, and with it, all warmth vanished, replaced by Azrael's stoic countenance, as my face took on a cold, calculating look.
"Come in," I said loudly but with a calm tone, watching as the oak door opened and Cakoqqo made his presence known, "My Khal, Khaleesi, a parrot keeper, says he brings news of the Royal Fleet," the Blood Rider spoke in Dothraki, to prevent as much information as possible between us Xandarians from escaping between the walls.
"Send him in," I commanded, with Cakoqqo nodding and stepping aside, allowing a middle-aged man to enter the chamber, carrying a messenger parrot on his outstretched forearm. "My Khal, Khaleesi, the Royal Fleet has arrived at Hardhome." The man explained lightly as he beckoned to the animal.
"My Khal, I am Valerius, captain of the Imperator, the Royal Fleet has reached the shores off Hardhome, we have been able to spot a certain amount of people in the ruined city, and every period of hours more arrive, we have not made contact with the Northerners until we know how to proceed, until then, we have the rations and space to accommodate over four hundred thousand people, but such looks like it will not be enough."
The parrot fell silent, implying that his message was finished, "Get your things ready Valka, we will leave immediately for Hardhome, a plan must be made to receive all those people, until the nearby fleets can arrive and serve as the means to get all those people... Giants and children of the forest to Xandar." Azrael said, and I nodded, knowing it would only be a matter of time until we left for the North.
"I have my bag ready, my Khal," I said, and he looked at me and smiled a little, "very well, come on, we need to meet with Aerys before we leave, for modesty's sake at least." With that, we dispatched the parrot keeper, as Azrael and I began to walk through the halls of the Red Keep, with Onno, Essino, Zirqo, and Cakoqqo behind us.
"King Aerys is in the Godswood, Your Majesty," a servant girl answered Zirqo when he asked, which caused us to change our route.
"If the creature that has the Blood Raven in fear gets wind of what the man is doing, he may act, releasing his army of the dead or deciding to attack the ruined city himself, and the nearest fleets capable of providing aid are in Volantis, the Summer Isles or Lannisport," I commented, years of fighting terrors every night, made me able to understand to some extent how the monsters thought, especially since I was one.
So if we interfered now, and that thing found out, if not already found out, it would surely do something to stop us, and it would be imperative to hurry to get as many people out of the reach of those things as possible. Azrael paused for a moment, looking at me carefully, "You're right, the Night King is smart, very smart, surely he must already be aware of what's going on."
"We'll have to think on the fly, for the moment let's say goodbye to Aerys and leave immediately, time is against us," I said softly, unfathomable to walk again, arriving to the Forest of Gods, place where Aerys was together with Queen Rhaella with her swollen belly and her son Viserys sitting on the ground, on a blanket while a wet nurse attended him.
"Oh, Azrael, how good you are here!" Aerys greeted Azrael warmly, though a detailed looked closely, and I noticed how tired his eyes looked, dull, his skin looked pale, paler than normal, an unhealthy color.
"Aerys, Queen Rhaella, we come to take our leave. We must take care of some things in the North that need our attention. Once that is done, we will fly to Xandar. We have been away a long time, it is time to return." Azrael explained at length, which caused Aerys to frown.
"Now? Rhaegar is still missing, we have not been able to find him, you have not kept your word, you said you would rescue Rhaegar, and in return, I allowed you to go North of the Wall to take those Wildlings with you." What he said, the way he said it, made me tense up, as I waved my hand to stop the Bloodriders from doing anything to complicate the situation, as I watched Aerys speak to Azrael.
"I did, the deal between the two of us was specific, I would give you something with which you could have your son back, and that I did, I gave potions to three of your Kingsguard, with which they brought the city to its knees, as for Rhaegar, it was not my fault that he had not been in the city but that he had been kidnapped by the Iron Sons, in any case, that falls under your responsibility, not mine."
"You," Aerys pointed his finger at Azrael's chest, which made the four Bloodriders rest their hands on their Arakh, "my love, please," Rhaella put her hand on Aerys' arm, which made him frown, but something in Rhaella made him calm down, "yes, yes, it's alright, you can go, go." Aerys finally said, which made my blood boil, that the very idiot thought Azrael was asking his permission, which made me want to cut his head off.
"Valka," Azrael's strained voice brought me out of my musings, and looking at him, I saw his serene look, the one that said we would talk later.
So nodding, I looked at Aerys and Rhaella; "Your Grace, Queen Rhaella, it was an honor to meet you, hopefully we can meet shortly." Without waiting for an answer, I turned around and started walking next to Azrael. In the direction of the Central Bank Branch.
"His head could have been ripped off his neck with a simple command. How is it possible for him to turn to you like that, even after you've done enough for his son to be rescued?" Halfway through, I decided to get out what I was thinking, though evidently in Dothraki, while I may have used High Valyrian, there may have been some who could understand or speak it; instead, Dothraki was less well known.
"He is very affected by his son, he thinks it is his fault that Rhaegar ended up like this, had he not left him, none of that would have happened, indeed, he must even be thinking that he should not have taken him in the first place, no doubt he is grieving, and so far the responsibility of the Iron Throne keeps him still, keeps his mind occupied, had it not been for that, he might well have exploded days ago."
It was understandable, but I wasn't thinking as a friend, we weren't even friends, I was thinking as Xandar's Minister of Intelligence, likewise as his future queen and Khaleesi, and to see how a man, as much as he had suffered, insulted Azrael, me king, made me provoked to kill him.
"I know what you think, and you won't kill anyone," Azrael commented with a serious tone, which made me look at him, but seeing how he tried to keep his seriousness, only made me laugh, ending up laughing together as we continued.
.
.
.
~~~~~Azrael Jaesyrian~~~~~
"Hello friend," I said happily as I saw the big guy, Endoxes was lying in a large courtyard on the hill of Rhaenys, inside the Bank walls, "we're leaving now, I know you didn't like the place, no doubt Xandar is calling us all, but we won't go yet, I have something to do first."
While the thought of being seen talking to a fire-spitting beast, as perceived by the people here, would seem crazy, and no doubt they would call me crazy too, it made me just laugh, since I couldn't care less. 'It's about time, this place sucks like shit'.
The strong presence of Endoxes appeared in my mind as I listened to his voice and the way he complained; lately, he did it often; no doubt, he didn't like King's Landing, but well, the question was who did.
"Come on, the sooner we get out of here, the better," I said exasperated, and a little anxious, as I took Valka's things and strapped them to Endoxes' chair. "Goodbye, King's Landing, see you never," Valka said with a chuckle, as she let out a sigh.
"You meant that a long time ago, didn't you?" I said with a chuckle, watching as she grimaced, but holding back a smile. "Alright, come on buddy," I said to Endoxes, as the boy rose from his slumber, shaking the earth a bit, and in one sharp but firm motion, his leathery wings propelled him off the ground, and us with him.
With four more flaps, we were now over King's Landing, and from above, the city didn't look ugly, it even looked pleasant, "who knew it smelled like shit", Valka commented softly, while the strong wind made the locks of hair that were not fastened to a braid shake.
Behind, my Bloodriders were following us, not so close that the Wyvern were uneasy with Endoxes, but not so far behind that they were lagging. "There's a change of plans, the ships from Volantis will arrive in a month, that's a long time. Instead, if the Royal Fleet picks up those people and takes them to a nearby location, they can return in short order to pick up the others."
"But, the Northerners won't accept any Wildlings in their lands, let alone their castles," Valka said confused, not understanding what I was telling her, though maybe I wasn't explaining myself, "Moat Cailin, that's what I'm talking about, I'll go there first, I'll rebuild it, no .... I will demolish everything and make a city there, to be able to receive the Wildlings and all that comes with them from North of the Wall, in the same way I must build Moat Cailin, once everything is ready, we will go North of the Wall to look for the Blood Raven ourselves."
"It's... It's okay," Valka agreed, although I noticed she wasn't happy, "I know it wasn't what you expected, but at most it will take me a few days, then we'll go to Xandar, just like that, we'll get married and focus on making Xandar bigger than it already is, okay?"
I received no answer from her, which gave me time to look ahead, as the hours passed, we flew over the clouds, and strangely enough, the lack of oxygen did not affect me, I just felt the peace that the sky offered, away from all the madness that was happening on the ground.
From time to time the green could be seen between the clouds, as well as many rivers, some bigger than others, "Riverland", I said out loud, it didn't seem like we were going very fast, because I didn't feel the speed so much, but it seems that Endoxes was fast, well, it was necessary, to keep a lot of speed to keep his huge weight in the air.
"Dude, let's go down, we are getting close to the place, we have to be lower to be able to see Moat Cailin", I asked Endoxes, and the big guy agreed, folding his huge wings a little and starting to descend. Looking at the sun, it must have been more than six hours, but we were getting there.
Moat Cailin was waiting for us.
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