Game of Thrones: A New Tale

by ArmedSammy123

50 Years of Glorious Rule under House Targaryen, 50 Peaceful Years, the wheel has been broken but the Game never ends. As Queen Daenerys grows older and the question of succession becomes more pronounced the Lords and Ladies of Westeros plot to further their houses and their own power. Tensions rise and the Kingdoms stand on the brink of Civil War once again.

1. Chapter 1

Game of Thrones:

A New Tale

349 AL (5 Years before Present) ...

Prince Davos Baratheon, son of Robert Baratheon, grandson of Gendry Baratheon...a boy of One and Six, watched in awe as the ships of the Royal Navy began landing the 50,000-strong force of Westerosi Knights, Archers, Crossbowmen, Men-at-Arms, and every other man needed for the army that was landing upon the sands of Freedman's Bay. Two years before the New Empire of Ghis had launched an unprovoked attack upon the Westerosi lands of Freedman's Bay, the former Slaver's Bay that had been liberated by Queen Daenerys Targaryen fifty years before when she first began her journey to the Iron Throne across that Narrow Sea. Now that Queen was coming back to the place where her story truly began, and she brought with her an army to teach the Ghiscari a lesson they wouldn't soon forget. Banners of all the Great Houses, from the Starks of the North to the Martells of Dorne and everything in between fluttered in the ocean breeze as the men rowed to shore before coming back to their mother ships to bring even more soldiers to the sandy beaches. Hours went by before the more 'important' of the Lords began making their way to shore, Prince Davos was among them, wearing his black suit of plate armor with its notorious T-visor helmet he was easy to spot amongst the crowds of soldiers whose armor ranged from studded leather to Lamellar, to Mail, and back to Laminar…each armor different from the next depending on where the men hailed from.

As the group landed on the shores of Essos Davos was amongst the first off the ship and into the soft, wet sand which gave way to his armored boots, something that Davos felt would be a fitting analogy of what the Ghiscari were about to be under the weight of Westerosi steel. The young, confident, boy looked around him as men everywhere gathered supplies and unloaded themselves onto the beach for miles in either direction. Thousands of young men, mostly conscripts who only a year before had been simple farmers before a weapon was placed in their hands, moved with purpose to allow the army to quickly ready itself now for a long march to Mereen after a long trip across the Sea. Maybe half the army was unloaded by this point, Davos estimated, but hundreds more came every minute…it was quite the sight from the Sea, but now that Davos stood upon the beaches it was awe inspiring. The hundreds of ships anchored off-shore, the thousands of rowboats, the tens of thousands of men, horses, and all their equipment…if not for his helmet Davos would be spotted with a mouth wide open in awe.

…But that soon changed at the sound of a single solitary horn in the distance.

Turning towards the inland Davos's eyes widened in shock, banners that had previously been hidden on the hills overlooking the beaches unfurled, upon them the Harpy sigil of New Ghis made itself ever present on the hills followed by the revealing of the Iron Legions of the New Empire of Ghis in lockstep formation cresting those very hills.

"Impossible…" Davos whispered, how did they know where the Westerosi Army was landing, the Royal Navy had claimed superiority of the seas weeks before in preparation of the landings.

Suddenly, many horns blew behind the hills, and an awful sound filled the air...the sound of thousands of arrows being loosed. They soon showed, casting ominous shadows above the Westerosi, before coming back down on top of them. Suddenly the screams of wounded and dying men filled the air along with the horns, some had been quick to raise their shields, others too unlucky not to have any at all, and too many simply stood in awe at their impending doom. An arrow bounced off Davos's armor harmlessly, but behind him he heard one of the members of his bodyguard scream out as an arrow impaled between his neck and shoulder.

Turning to his men Davos shouted out over the chaos "Ready your shields! Get in formation! They'll attack with more than arrows soon!"

The Bodyguard complied quickly, the host of twelve knights quickly filing on both sides of Davos while another began to drag the wounded knight to safety. The group tried making their way forward through the chaos but the Army was in disarray as no one had been prepared to mount an immediate defense of the beaches, men of the various Kingdoms were scattered about and no cohesion could be found. Searching through it all Davos happened upon one of his banners and he and his men made their way through the mess towards it, all the while the Ghiscari rained two more volleys of heavy arrows upon their opponents. All the while the Westerosi were scrambling for cover or trying to link up with their Regiments the Iron Legions began marching in lockstep towards their opponents, giving up the high ground to drive their enemies into the sea. Just as they began making contact with the hastily assembled Westerosi lines Davos Baratheon and his Bodyguard arrived at the Banner to find a hastily formed line of Pikemen and Halberdiers.

The last fifty years had been good for House Baratheon, with many houses destroyed from the War of the Five Kings, Queen Daenerys' Reconquest of Westeros, and the Second Long Night it allowed the newly made Lord of Storm's End, Lord Gendry Baratheon, to centralize power around House Baratheon by taking ownership of these lands and their people directly, making House Baratheon undeniably the richest and strongest military power in the Stormlands. Work had been done over those fifty years to make a standing Army of the Stormlands to act as enforcers of Queen Daenerys rule, this included the creation of standardized munitions armor for Infantry, specifically that of the Almain Rivet half-armor, Gambeson with thick sleeves of padded jack capable of stopping heavy arrows, and leggings of Mail and Plate, all of which painted or colored in Baratheon Black. It also created a range of standardized weapons such as the Pikes and Long Daggers that formed the armament of the Pikemen…the backbone of Baratheon Infantry Formations, and the Halberds, Arming Swords, and Buckler Shields of Breakthrough Companies, or the Massive Great Swords of the double-pay Companies, and finally the Longbows, Crossbows, and Long Daggers of the Ranger Companies. On paper, all of these armors and weapons were supposed to make the Baratheon's Army an unstoppable force capable of breaking even the toughest of fellow lockstep formations…but that was only when they had cohesion, discipline, and most importantly…all Companies and their overarching Regiments organized together…something that currently was not the case as the Ghiscari pushed upon the Westerosi.

Davos took a moment to survey the scene before him, all around him the Westerosi forces were being pushed into the waves crashing onto shore, a few pockets of resistance were holding their ground against the Iron Legions but they were quickly being flanked by the crushing of disorganized lines to their left and right. One of those pockets were the men surrounding him, the Pikes keeping the much shorter spears and their users in the Iron Legions at bay, around him the officers looked to Davos for orders, fear was in everyone's eyes.

Cursing under his breath Davos called out over the screams of men, the clashes of steel, and the sound of thousands of boots marching on sand "Men of the Stormlands! Pull back to the boats! Retreat to the Boats!"

A trumpeter heard this and gave the sound for organized retreat, and just like that the few hundred men Davos was surrounded by began slowly walking back, relying on the pikes to keep their enemies at bay. They walked backwards into the water, and quickly Davos began organizing certain men to begin dragging whatever rowboats were in sight back to the formation which had taken on a backwards U shape towards the enemy. Within minutes men began leaving the line in organized fashion under Davos's careful command, and within ten such minutes the first wave of Bartheon soldiers were on their way back to the fleet anchored just offshore. However, this little victory would be short-lived as suddenly the Iron Legions pulled back by dozens of feet from the scrambling Westerosi, Davos looked around once more and saw to his horror the chaos left behind by the fierce opening fight, the water crashing upon the beaches was stained red with blood and hundreds if not thousands of bodies from both sides were littering the coastline, leaking more of the precious liquid into the foaming waters of the bay. However, despite the breather the enemy had granted Davos and his men, the attack was not yet done as once again those cursed horns in the distance blared again and soon arrows began to litter the sand once again, volley after volley rained upon the Westerosi still on the beaches, entire formations began breaking as they took heavy losses.

The Baratheon men were one of these formations, dozens began falling every volley, some panicked and began tearing at their armor and turning towards the sea to try and escape…even more simply ran in only to find themselves unable to swim and then drown in what they had thought was safety. Davos tried to reestablish order but found it impossible, fear was overtaking the men, and escape was growing more and more in their minds. Swearing loudly Davos drew his Longsword and gripped it tightly in both his hands, moving forward to group with the rest of the men willing to stand, most of whom being the Breakthrough Company based upon their Halberds. Soon the arrows stopped, and the Iron Legions advanced once again, this time intent on finishing the job.

"Soldiers of the Stormlands! It is an honor to stand by you today as your Prince! Seven watch us, now, let's kill these bastards!" Davos shouted to the men around him, and with that he charged, his men a step behind him.

Their Halberds and their Spears were about the same size, with the spears maybe a foot longer, forcing the Halberdiers and Davos to attempt to bash them aside to get close in with the enemy spearmen. Some succeeded…many were cut down in the initial charge, Davos himself battled aside a spear with his Longsword and pushed forward towards the spearman who held it. Attacking with an overhead blow Davos watched the blade cut into the side of the man's neck, being stopped by his spine, kicking his shield Davos watched the man slide off his freshly bloodied blade with some spurts from the mortal wound covering his helmet and armored torso, however as that man fell another took his place and opened with a stab straight for Davos's chest, the tip of the spear slid harmlessly across the breastplate and off to the left, Davos quickly hooked the spear with his left arm and wretched the weapon out of the spearman's hands before closing with a stab of his longsword which only slightly penetrated the man's leather torso armor. Pulling back Davos once again adopted a double-handed grip and swiped at the unarmed man's leg, taking it off in a clean swing, now he was in their line as he stepped forward and stabbed downward into the wounded enemy's face, making sure he stayed down as the man screamed in agony as the blade began going into his cheekbone before a quick twist of Davos's blade silenced him and snapped his head to an awkward angle. Around him most of his men were already dead, taking a few spearmen for every loss…but still being overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the Ghiscari.

Turning to his right Davos swiped at a spearman's midsection, his armor was of lesser quality and quickly allowed his blade to nearly bisect its wearer, yelling out as adrenaline made Davos move faster, see clearer, and fight fiercer he began cutting his way through numerous spearmen with his Longsword, all the while the spearmen struggled to get a clean strike into one of the small unarmored joints of his armor which took blow after blow by sporadic spear thrusts with no harm to its wearer. Davos had finished cutting down his fifth man when finally, a heavy weight smashed into his back and sent him tumbling down into the sand face-first. A spearman had jumped upon him and was trying to wretch the Prince's helmet off, to which Davos responded by rolling over and struggling to grab the dagger on his hip, finding its hilt after blindly grasping for it he took the dagger and stabbed into the side of the man below him, causing the man to howl in pain, which gave Davos the signal to keep stabbing the man over and over and over. After maybe his sixth stab he felt his arm being grabbed by another source and another weight above him…he was being jumped upon by the Ghiscari Legionaries, who were trying to use their weight of numbers to subdue him, they did so when finally, Davos's helmet was torn off and several spears were immediately aimed at his face. Davos ceased his struggles to assess his options, he never got to do that though as suddenly a boot entered his vision and smashed into his face with a sickening crack.

/

351 AL (3 Years Before Present) …

Davos ducked under his attacker's wide swing, it was an amateur move, it was clear to the former Prince that she hadn't been in the fighting pits of Mereen for long. It surprised him sometimes the lack of quality of some of his opponents, though he supposed it was probably due to backroom agreements among the Masters who would invariably try to rig the outcome of these fights to share the winnings amongst themselves. Such a thing sickened Davos inside, how cruel did a man have to be to place his own material wealth above the wellbeing of another person…how evil did a man have to be to see that person as nothing but a piece of meat for him to own and do with as he pleased…the answer of course was already known to Davos, but still it angered and sickened him to this day even after two years of being a slave. Another wide swing and another miss as Davos jumped backwards, goading the woman forward, he was waiting for the right moment to strike unlike her. As Davos ducked, weaved, dodged, and jumped from his opponent's blade he studied her, she was maybe younger than him, had dirty and short brown hair that matched her eyes, and an athletic figure honed by the physicality of fighting.

Davos finally spotted his moment as finally during one of her lunges the woman took an uneven step, with proper footing Davos swung the side of his saber towards her head, she had been too busy trying to stabilize herself to attempt a defense and so a loud crack sounded as the flat of the blade smashed into her temple. The woman fell to the ground, dazed and liking seeing the world spin around her, the crowds of the fighting pit roared in excitement…awaiting Davos' final blow. However, it did not come, Davos stood over the fallen woman and kicked her two curved blades away and out of reach, taking his saber and placing it to her throat…that bit catching her attention fast.

"Yield." Davos said sternly, raising the dazed woman's face with his blade.

The woman just looked at him, there was fear in those brown eyes, that much was plain enough to see…but her face remained stoic and resolved. All around him Davos heard the calls from the crowd to kill her, to chop off her head, to claim victory by spilling blood. Davos was tired of those incessant chants, those disturbing calls, he was tired of these monsters who demanded blood. But he looked towards the pavilion for the Master who ran Mereen for the New Empire of Ghis, it was he who would decide this woman's fate, as much as Davos hated it that much was true. The old bald man with skin kissed by the ever-present sun looked upon Davos and his defeated adversary and then looked around at the assembled people, he held out a hand with his thumb to the side and paused as he let tension build.

"Raise it you fucking bastard." Davos muttered in Westerosi.

The thumb went down, the Master of Mereen had made his choice, Davos's shoulders visibly fell. Raising his blade from the woman's throat, higher and higher until finally it was cocked back for a swing, Davos looked into those fearful brown eyes with shame. He said nothing, neither did she, the crowd silent…and then they were the only thing Davos could hear as blood colored the sand red.

A Few Hours Later…

Davos was in his cell again, above him were the fighting pits with their sand-covered wooden floor, allowing the sounds of distant combat to reach Davos as he sat staring at his hands. For the past two years Davos had found himself doing that more and more, looking at his hands, the hands of a man who had killed the innocent. He knew he had no choice, that if he didn't kill then he would be killed, but that didn't make him feel better or justified…it made him feel like a coward. Some of the other fighters Davos had gotten to know over the last two years, most now dead themselves, had warned him of thinking like that…that it was better to live to fight another day if only to find a chance to be free than to die because of your pride. But for Davos the hope of freedom was gone, he'd been left here for dead by his Queen, by his House, by everyone he knew…to his knowledge no one had even tried looking for him. He was alone in a foreign land of foreign people and foreign customs, foreign ideals and foreign morality…away from his people, away from those who thought like him, talked like him, and lived like him.

So why did he still live? Why didn't he just give up? Revenge, hatred, homicidal rage…these things kept the coward that Davos Baratheon was alive. A promise of a painful, agonizing death for his "Master", and every other Master in New Ghis…a violent fantasy that was the only thing keeping Davos alive.

Suddenly, Davos was roused from his thoughts at the sound of keys jingling in his cell door's lock, he looked over to the door and was surprised to see his owner there with two of the pits' guards and a woman whose face was covered with a veil besides her eyes and whose head and body were covered in a rich white garment which had become popular in this part of Essos for women of status over the past fifty years…something about projecting maidenhood and modesty or something like that.

"Is this him?" The woman asked in Ghiscari to Davos's master, her voice was silky smooth and betrayed her as young like Davos, Davos raised his hardened eyes to her curious ones…and his eyes widened ever so slightly in surprise by their color, it was a color he'd seen only one woman before ever hold…violet, the color of the Queen's eyes.

"Of course, my lady…this is the Stag. My best fighter, he just killed Angora the Wrathful today, didn't even break a sweat." Davos grimaced at the name, he wasn't Davos Baratheon to his Master, just the "Stag"…something he'd been told he'd forever be and had the mark to prove it according to said master.

"Is he docile?" The woman asked, motioning for one of the guards to hand her a torch so she could better see inside the darkened cell.

"He doesn't hurt a fly unless I order him to…he's learned to follow those orders well…" Davos's master stated before seeming to choose to prove it by barking at him "Stag, stand up, this lady wishes to view you."

Davos just looked at the man, and said nothing as he sat there and looked at the man, he didn't know why he didn't obey…but something about the way that woman was looking at him…it made him uneasy.

"Perhaps not well enough." The lady commented wryly before walking over to Davos and instead of looking down upon him she crouched down to consider his eyes at an equal level, the torch between them in her hand illuminated the small cell.

This made Davos uneasy, this woman was acting like a local, she didn't insult him or kick him or deride him at the very least for not obeying orders from his owner…it wasn't right.

"Perhaps another lesson is in order then." Davos's master stated as he took a whip off his belt and approached menacingly.

"That won't be necessary, I like them with a bit of rebelliousness…I'll take him." The lady stated, still staring into Davos's eyes, her violet orbs looking back into his blue.

At that Davos's master paused, he looked confused, and immediately went to argue "Oh my Lady, I'm sorry but he's not for sale, you asked to see my best fighter...this is the potential of all my stock I'm cer-"

The lady cut him off, her silky voice suddenly turning fiercer "I remember asking to see your best fighter…I need the best if I am to train my own stock…would I not?"

"My lady, there are many trainers who are far better at training your stock then a pit fighter. They have their own unique styles and they cannot teach, only act, most of it is instinct for them." The master argued.

The lady stood up and looked at Davos's master, the man looking confident that he'd just dissuaded her, and Davos feeling a pit in his stomach that he was right…and then "I'll learn the hard way then, I'll take him, twice the price of a normal fighter."

That surprised Davos's master, and suddenly Davos could see that his greedy little mind was trying to figure out how much he could scrounge out of the woman before him "Twice the amount would not even pay for a month of what he can bring me in…give me say…five times and I'll consider it."

The woman sighed before saying "Three times, no more. I'm new but I'm no fool."

"Fo-" Again Davos's master was cut off by a very firm reply by the lady.

"Three times Master Norvus, take it or leave it…you and I both know he won't bring that much the way he's going now." The lady stated.

"You drive a hard bargain my lady…very well, three times the normal price." And like that, Davos had a new master, a new owner for a piece of walking, talking, breathing, piece of meat.

One Hour Later…

Once the transaction had been properly noted down and the gold traded for the key to Davos's chains around his wrists and neck, the two had been escorted out of the pits by the guards, and from there men in distinctly Westerosi style plate armor and mail began to escort the lady and Davos to an enclosed carriage drawn by two horses. The lady went in first, followed by Davos at the motion of one of the guards who then shut the door behind him, inside the carriage it was rather regal in appearance, gold was a rather common occurrence along with silks and reds, purples, and blues coloring the interior. But what truly interested Davos was a large chest in the middle of the carriage floor, it wasn't ornate in the slightest, rather it was utilitarian and ugly, contrasting with the beautiful interior. Davos sat opposite the lady who silently watched him, her eyes betraying her curiosity at the man dressed in light leather attire which fit with the present scenery about as well as the chest.

The cart began moving and for a few moments everything was silent inside until the lady finally broke her silence with perfect Westerosi "Davos Baratheon, son of Robert Baratheon, grandson of Gendry Baratheon…a Bastard of King Robert Baratheon, First of His Name…I'll say it's an honor to meet you. I just wish it was under better circumstances."

Davos's mouth was hanging open by this point, confusion evident, after a few seconds he finally remembered to speak and so he hurriedly asked, "How do you know who I am?"

"That isn't important, what is important is that I'm freeing you from the fighting pits…and from bondage." The silky-smooth voice said, Davos had to shake his head at that, there was no way that voice just uttered those words.

"I'm sorry…what?" Davos asked in a bewildered tone.

"You're being freed from bondage Davos Baratheon." The woman repeated, before taking a key out of her garment and taking Davos's large rough hands with one of her own slim, soft ones…sliding the key into her right wrist's restraint before unlocking it, then moving to his left, and then finishing with the clasp around his throat.

The sound of chains and steel hitting the floor sounded in the quiet carriage, and it was followed by stark silence by the two occupants for several minutes. Davos rubbed his wrists, looking at them in astonishment, he felt his throat free of the heavy weight of chains…he saw those chains discarded and useless upon the floor of the carriage. He saw before him what he'd just hours before thought an impossibility, he saw his freedom.

Looking up to the lady Davos opened his mouth but found no words, tears threatened to form in his eyes but he forced them back, looking upon the lady's veiled face…considering her beautiful violet eyes Davos finally asked "Why?"

The woman's eyes were soft and comforting as she replied "Because you don't deserve to live your life a slave. Because you're needed home. Because it's the right thing to do."

Home…he'd almost forgotten what that even looked like, Storm's End…suddenly the idea of being needed home filled Davos with fear, how would they react to his return, would any even recognize him, would he even be welcome? All these things and more ran through his mind, Davos analyzing each possibility before finally looked to the lady and asked her with worry:

"Why am I needed home? What happened while I was away?"

The lady held up a small hand and replied "Your home is safe, for now, but without you there has been a shadow war going on in the backrooms for who will be in the running for the succession to the Iron Throne. With your return the question will be settled, and unsavory elements will lose their chance to steal the throne away. Which is why we're off to port, to get you on the first ship home."

Davos couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief at that answer, it was just succession…not personal tragedy, and so after a few moments Davos asked "What about New Ghis?"

The woman raised an eyebrow at that, revealing it to be silver-white, another feature of the Queen…a woman of Valerian ancestry, nevertheless the woman's voice kept Davos focused on the conversation and not her heritage as she stated "What about it? Queen Daenerys has forged a peace treaty with New Ghis in return for all prisoners they took…of course you're a perfect example that not all Westerosi were sent back. The war is over, it's time to go home."

Davos shook his head "No, it can't be over, the Queen gave me specific orders to wipe out slavery from Freedman's Bay once and for all…I promised her that I'd do so…I gave her my word."

"Your word is counteracted by a treaty, I'm sorry Prince Davos, but Westeros needs you more than ever right now." The lady said.

"My word is my bond, m'Lady…I couldn't go back to King's Landing and tell the Queen I failed her…what Prince would I be then?" Davos questioned before answering "A cowardly prince not worth the space on the throne…the Lords of Westeros would continue plotting even if I return because I will have returned a disgrace."

The lady was silent a few moments before then asking "Then what do you propose to fix that? Take on the entire Ghiscari Empire on your own? Go to the Emperor and ask him nicely to end slavery in New Ghis?"

Davos smirked a little at that, he'd been free less than an hour and already he was as quick with his tongue as he was a sword…despite being a man of few words these last few years, and so he replied, "Something like that last one…"

Late 353 AL (6 Months Before Present) …

New Ghis was a sea of flames. As Davos and his bodyguard moved their horses through the large gates of the city, thrown open by the men who'd assaulted the walls and let in Davos's army of thousands of former slaves, he'd wanted to take part in the initial assault but had been convinced otherwise by his officers…and so now he rode into a city that had promised him it would never fall to his army. Davos sported his familiar black plate armor and helmet with T-shaped visor, on his left hip was his saber, his right hip held a backsword called a Palasz, and on below his left thigh on the saddle was his final cavalry-focused weapon…a nearly five-foot-long, thin with a sharpened point and dull edges, sword called a Koncerz designed to pierce armored opponents while on horseback as a sort of polearm/sword…the cross section was triangular and held no use as anything but a stabbing weapon. These weapons were gifts for Davos, they'd been supplied to his cavalry early on along with long lances built to outrange the spears of the Iron Legions by a nation far to the East, off any Westerosi maps Davos had ever seen, a nation with a vested interest in seeing a large expansionist Empire to its west taken out of the picture. Davos had been lucky to see that nation two years ago, after taking Mereen and holding it against several Iron Legions sent to take it back, guided there by his closest advisor and friend. It was a nation of never-ending plains, mild rivers, and imposing mountains surrounding it all, they called it the Commonwealth of Polska.

The Polskan people had been worried about their Western neighbor, and it had taken months to convince their King, an elected monarch nonetheless, to support Davos and his cause to get rid of the New Empire of Ghis. When the King and his people were finally convinced they gave Davos an entire regiment of trainers and thousands of pikes, cavalry weaponry, horses, swords, axes, and other assorted materials to arm and train an army to beat back the Iron Legions. Since then it had taken Davos two years to take Yunkai and Astapor, and from there use the ships in their harbors and Mereen's to sail to New Ghis and lay siege to it after ambushing their navy off the coast a few days earlier. Now, after three years of hard work Davos had finally broken the last piece of resistance to his plans, New Ghis had fallen and was being sacked. As he rode he took note of the bodies everywhere, they weren't of soldiers, but of Masters. Hundreds of bodies lined the main street he and his bodyguard were trotting along, thousands more would in due time.

A woman screamed up ahead as soldiers in the black leather armor of Davos's forces beheaded what he suspected was her husband, she kept screaming as they forced her on her hands and knees and then beheaded her too. Blood flowed down the streets easily, creating small torrents in the cracks between the stones of the roadway, off to his right more screaming occurred…this of children as they were led away from the slaughter by his men. Davos had been specific, only those of age in the Master-Class were to be executed, Davos would not let the sons and daughters pay the penalty for their parents' immoral ways. The bloodshed in New Ghis wasn't new, it had first been done three years ago in Mereen, Davos personally executing the first one hundred Masters who'd owned slaves before letting the few thousand more be set upon by his army. This had earned him many names, the Butcher of Slaver's Bay, the Stag of Hell, and the Unholy Cleanser of Freedman's Bay…these all meant nothing to Davos, they were words spoken by the scared slaveholders of Volantis further west, and those who'd once lived in the cities he'd conquered.

For Davos, the only name that mattered was Stag, that which his people and the world knew him by…it was the name he'd held onto for the past three years, reclaiming it from a Master he had long since killed. The Stag had freed these people, and the Stag was now letting them have their just revenge, but beyond that he was paving the way for a secure future free from the minds poisoned with the idea of the morality of slavery. Davos smiled at that thought, that in the end the thousands of men and women he had butchered had died for a reason, that their corpses would provide the people of Freedman's Bay the ladder they needed to create their own state free from Slavery. His smile only faded slightly we he watched several women try to escape outside of a building up ahead, their clothing betrayed them as those of the Master-class, and the soldiers that chased after them along with several former slaves confirmed it…as Davos rode past the women they had been caught up to and promptly executed on the spot. For several more minutes he and his bodyguard rode along the street until finally they reached a massive pyramid that dwarfed the city before it and marked not only the center of the city but also the palace of the Emperor.

Dismounting Davos and all but two of his bodyguard, who were told to guard the horses, began making their way up the "Stairway of a Thousand Steps", it was a long walk but Davos knew it was worth it. Above the pyramid, upon the golden harpy that overlooked the city from its perch, was a massive red flag with a black stag upon it…his symbol…his banner. Once they finally arrived inside the throne room Davos took note of the dozen soldiers of his surrounding the room, he looked up at the throne, an ornate golden monstrosity with harpies and whatever else the Ghiscari cared about, and saw it empty. He climbed towards it and turned around before taking a slow seat, relishing the moment he'd waited years for, the room was deathly quiet as the bodyguard and soldiers looked to Davos for orders.

Finally speaking in Ghiscari "Bring me the Emperor and his family, I trust they're still alive?"

A soldier confirmed this and within minutes the Emperor, his wife, and three children were brought to the raised platform before the throne, a platform that reminded Davos of the throne room of Mereen. The five members of the Imperial family looked bedraggled, tired, and absolutely terrified at the sight of the black-clad conquer sitting over them. Davos took a few moments to look them over in their fine dresses of satin and silk, their bright rich colors, the jewels upon them…he looked over them all from behind his helmet in disgust…they were ill-gotten gains off the backs of hundreds of thousands of slaves.

Finally, Davos sat forward on the throne, and began "Emperor Dreznar mo Zhokluq, I have been dreaming of this moment for years, I do hope that my entrance to your city did not disappoint?"

The Emperor, a man with a short-trimmed beard, dark skin, and wearing a purple silk garment looked upon the armored Davos with fear in his small brown eyes, his hands shook as he held his wife and children close and he stuttered as he finally replied "P-p-please spare us."

Davos cocked his head to the side a little like a dog that had heard something interesting, and then he chuckled lowly as he replied "Oh I'm sorry, is that the ancient Ghiscari way of greeting visitors? Begging them not to hurt you?"

The man before him was silent at that, and so Davos answered his rhetorical question for him "It isn't of course, not unless we're talking about that time the Valerians conquered Old Ghis and all her people were enslaved…ah but that was before the Doom…and I'm sure your people have made great advances in both society and culture since then. …Or perhaps not, considering the fact that I am sitting here now and you're about to have your head chopped off tomorrow along with the rest of your family."

"NO! PLEASE NOT MY FAMILY!" The man once known as an Emperor to thousands cried out.

Sitting back and pursing his hands together Davos mock pondered that request a few moments before replying "I think not…"

"Please Stag! Please I'll do anything, I'll give you anything, whatever you desire it can be yours just please don't hurt my family! I beg of you!" The man pleaded, he was sobbing by this point.

Davos got up from the throne and preceded down the steps towards the five prisoners, he looked over them all for several moments before suddenly pulling out the dagger strapped horizontally on the back of his belt and stabbing the Empress in the throat, there were shocked cries from her children and the Emperor tried to pry Davos's hands away from her…earning him a backhand by Davos's armored hand. Davos for his part stared right into her brown eyes from behind his visor, watching the light go out of them as she choked on her own blood, after several more seconds her choking stopped and her eyes rolled lifelessly down. Taking the dagger out of her throat Davos wiped it on her red dress before kicking the body down where it began to leak blood profusely. The four remaining royals all cowered from him on the platform and Davos made his way to the Emperor.

Bending down by the side of the man's head, near his ear, and whispered "Should you denounce Slavery before the headsman's block tomorrow then I won't let your children join you and your wife, denounce it full heartedly, announce your seeing of the light, and pray that your god can forgive you for your sins of owning people before the crowd and your children will live…if you don't I'll butcher them in front of you first."

Standing up over the man Davos then looked to the assembled soldiers and ordered "Take them back to their cells, I'm done with them for today."

354 AL (Present Day) …

Davos looked in the small mirror in his cabin aboard the merchant ship he'd booked passage on, in the reflection he saw a man he didn't recognize, the man who looked back at Davos wasn't the sixteen-year-old boy full of hopes and dreams of grandeur on the battlefield, of bringing liberation to Freedman's Bay for his Queen, he wasn't that stupid and naïve little boy. Instead the man who looked back was indeed a man, with a long bushy beard and long unkempt raven-black hair falling to his shoulders, and eyes far older than the man of two and one who owned them. Davos hadn't seen himself in a mirror for ages, whether because of him wearing his armor, being on the warpath, or simply not having the time to give appearance a second thought Davos didn't know. But now that he saw himself he knew he couldn't go before the Queen like this, and so trying his best to ignore the slow rocking of the boat as it neared King's Landing Davos began to shave his head with his dagger, it wasn't the cleanest or nicest way of doing it but it worked in a pinch. It took him nearly an hour but by the time the ship pulled into Blackwater Bay Davos had been able to cut his hair down to less than an inch in height around his head, though the beard remained, which made Davos frown before he simply shook his head and tried his best to trim it before they docked.

He hadn't been able to have too much success with the beard, but it was at least presentable by the time the ship docked at port and Davos was told it was time to join his fellow travelers and disembark, Davos had brought with him a bodyguard of twelve Polskans clade in near identical black armor and weapons as Davos, with the exception being that they had more bucket-shaped helmets compared to Davos's rounder helmet. All thirteen of them wore cloaks over their right shoulders with an outer black coloring and an inner yellow coloring to signal themselves of House Baratheon, this made it easy for all of them to group up as they made their way to the docks, and it made them easy to spot for anyone looking for something out of the usual. In this case the Gold Cloaks were actually doing their jobs today as two of them approached with hands on the hilts of their arming swords.

One of them was clearly older than the other and he was clearly in charge as he approached Davos and asked "And where do you lot think you're going? You're awfully armed for a stroll through the city."

Davos sighed before stating "We're here on official business from the Commonwealth of Ghis, we're here to meet with Queen Daenerys of House Targaryen, as such I suppose it's less a stroll through the city and more a stroll through the Red Keep."

The two Gold Cloaks turned to look at each other before then looking back to the thirteen heavily armed and armored men, the older one then asked, "Any proof of this?"

Davos reached into a small pouch on the front of his belt and pulled out a sealed letter with the Seal of the Commonwealth, he handed it over to the man and stated, "This was written by King Ryszard, as you can see it is the proper seal, it demands we be given proper passage to meet the Queen."

The older man broke the seal and read the scroll before looking up at Davos and then back again at the letter, the man then looked up once more and asked, "You're the Stag I assume?"

"I am good man." Davos replied.

Nodding the older of the two Gold Cloaks stated, "Right then, let's get you to the Red Keep."

It was a short walk from the docks to the Red Keep, but it felt like millennia for Davos, the last time he'd been here was five years ago…departing with a fleet of hundreds of ships to defeat the New Empire of Ghis…oh how long ago that was. After being stopped at the gate and once again explaining their presence, this time to a Targaryen Man-at-Arms guarding said gate, Davos and his party were rushed to the throne room where they found it packed with nobles from all around and the Iron Throne upon a raised platform overlooking the entire room. Upon the throne of swords was an old woman with pale skin, and piercing violet eyes, although aged her beauty still hung on to her features. Davos and his men approached the sitting Queen slowly from between the aisles on either side of them before stopping before the raised steps to the platform. The Queen looked over the assembled group with interest, her eyes focusing on Davos in particular, all the while a young man to the Queen's side stood and announced who Davos and his men were standing before, rattling off her many titles and accomplishments as way of proving the Queen's greatness to supposed strangers.

Finally, the man was silent, and the Queen then asked herself "Who are you that stands before the Queen of Westeros?"

Davos swallowed before beginning "The Stag, your Grace. I have come to give you a gift from King Ryszard, of the Commonwealth of Ghis, in order to prove the friendship that exists between Westeros and Ghis."

The Queen quirked an eyebrow at that and asked "Oh? And what gift would that be?"

Davos turned his helmeted head and nodded to one of his bodyguard, the man bringing a cloth sack out from beneath his cloak and handing it to Davos, who then took the sack and turned it upside down. First came a richly encrusted and overly ornate golden crown of jewels, a crown of clear Essosi craftsmanship, and after that a bleached-white human skull. The entire throne room practically gasped at the sight of the skull, but Daenerys remained calm and observed the skull patiently before looking at Davos for explanation.

"The crown and skull of Emperor Dreznar mo Zhokluq, these are symbols that Slavery will never again return to Freedman's Bay, for Dreznar denounced the institution prior to my beheading of him before a crowd of thousands." Davos explained before adding "Please feel free to keep either as gifts, to remind you that the lands you once freed are free once again and forever more."

Daenerys gave a slight smirk at the explanation and asked, "I have heard tales that it was you who led the revolts against the Empire in Ghis, dear Stag, and not King Ryszard…I don't suppose you could tell me how you became his messenger and he your King?"

At this Davos smiled underneath his helmet and stated, "He is not my King, your Grace."

At that Daenerys chuckled before asking in a bemused tone "Then who do you serve, Stag?"

"Queen Daenerys Targaryen, First of Her Name, you are my Queen. I was sent to Freedman's Bay five years ago, and was kept in chains and slavery in the fighting pits of Mereen for two years, however I am happy to say that I finally fulfilled my duty to you, my Queen." Davos replied before kneeling before the Queen.

Daenerys looked a little off put by that, after all she'd signed a treaty giving peace in return for all Westerosi prisoners…this man before her was now saying the Ghiscari did not fully hold on to their end of the bargain, and so after a few seconds of awkward silence Daenerys asked, "Who are you Stag?"

At that Davos slowly reached for his helmet, lifting it from his head and holding it beneath his left arm, Daenerys audibly gasped at him along with a few others in the room who recognized his features, however Davos with a smile simply answered, "Davos Baratheon of Storm's End, your Majesty."

/

Author's Note: Well, that's chapter one all dealt with, sorry for the long read but hopefully that'll keep you entertained while I get Chapter 2 finished up. Please feel free to leave comments, suggestions, criticism and the such and don't forget to follow if you liked so you can know when the next chapter is out. Thanks for reading through, and see you next time.