Author's Note:
Hello all again, it has been many years, hasn't it? I have decided that I have more stories to write, however this time for an entirely new Fandom. The following is my Fanfiction, I do not in any way own any of these characters except for the few OC's that I have created. This Fanfic will follow loosely to the world's history with some embellishments and small changes here and there, it does mostly follow the original show for the most part when we get to the place in the storyline.
For now please take most everything with a grain of salt and sit back and enjoy.
WARNINGS: Swearing, Bloodshed, and other MA content you have been warned.
Yours Truly,
icefireSpirit Wolf
A.K.A The Forsaken Author
"Careful with that Sigi!" She heard her father's hushed and anxious voice warn her. She paused, her heart thundering in her chest as she listened closely to the sounds emanating from outside. The clamor of fighting men, and the smell of fire and blood. They were not through the first gate just yet but soon they would be. Moving at a hurried but slightly more delicate pace she packed the last of the precious cargo into a large leather satchel. It would be heavy to carry but she felt she would be strong enough.
Her father peered out the window quickly and swore under his breath, as the sound of wood breaking, echoed up the halls, followed by the sharp scraping of metal on stone as men filled the halls below. Soon they heard the mournful sounds of fledglings being slaughtered, their cries cut mercifully short. Sigligon looked to her father's slumped shoulders, his lives work being destroyed below in the very halls he owned. He moved hurriedly to reinforce the door.
Turning back to her she looked at him. Even in his fearful state he still looked the imposing man, a frame that stood at 6 feet and a quarter hand with a chest filled out from years of controlling and training fledglings.
He ran over to his desk and fumbled with a few drawers until finally with a click a secret compartment popped from below. Sigligon had only seen this drawer maybe once or twice, it was there father kept his most important papers and objects.
From the desk, he pulled a large object covered with a thick cloth. He motioned towards her to come closer, Stepping forward to him he pushed the bundle into her arms.
"Use this and protect it with your life, it holds the secrets of long ago masters." He said quietly and gave her a firm steely gaze. She nodded weakly and then pushed the object into the other satchel that hung to her waist, next to the small dirk that hung from her belt.
The sounds of fervent knocking on the door made both of them jump. "Master Jovarn! Master Jovarn!" the sounds of a small child's voice cried out. Quickly her father unbarred and tore open the door, in one fluid motion he grabbed the figure pulling them into the room and closed and barred the door once more.
"Quiet!" he whispered harshly. It was one of the young Handler Apprentices. He stood against the wall, the sunlight reflecting the horror in his teary eyes. The boy clutched a blanket tightly to his chest, and after a few moments, Sigligon noticed there were fervent movement and noises coming from within.
Her father noticed these too and quickly grabbed the blanket and tore it away, unveiling three small hatchlings that bounced and lay dazed upon the bed. Her father gasped his eyes wide and his mouth ajar before it broke and a wave of happiness washed over it before a slight glimmer of torment crossed his face. "You managed to save them, very good my child," he said his voice choking.
Jovern turned back to Sigligon and the boy, both children held questioning looks unsure of what was to be done. His heart galloped in his chest, every fiber of his being was in defensive mode to protect them all. Moving forward he placed the three small hatchlings into the middle of the blanket and then wrapped and tied it so as to create a small bag out of it.
"We must flee now," he said placing a hand on each of their shoulders. The boy was still crying but looked to him with resolve. " Robert's men will be here any moment, they will want to destroy every last Dragon and artifact they can find, and anyone stopping them," he said darkly making sure both of them understood.
Sigligon looked up at him her eyes wide with fear "Why are they doing this" she said her voice barely above a whisper. He signed and squeezed onto her shoulder tightly. "The king has been slowly going mad," he said bluntly, no longer wishing to hide the truth from them. "The rebellion rose to end it" He continued "I had hoped one of his sons would take the throne before the rebellion came here, but it matters not, now we must run" He quickly got up, checking the door once more before turning and grabbing the sword that leaned against his desk, quickly he strapped it to his side and gathered all he could.
Sigligon watched as her father strapped his sword to his side. When finished his eyes darted to theirs "What was your name boy?" her father asked suddenly confusion on his face.
"Korb...Hills... Sir" was the stuttered reply the boy gave. Her father nodded "Well Korb I need you to be in front, we are going to the East tower, do you know the way?" Korb nodded fearfully.
Joverns head swiveled towards her, "Sigligon, you will be in the middle, I shall be behind you both" He rose than let a small sigh leave him. Walking towards the door he motioned for Korb and for her. Quickly following after him her father grabbed the bag with the dragon hatchlings in and motioned them out.
They stepped out into the hallway, there were no armored men just yet, but Sigligon was not taking any chances as quickly and quietly as she could she scampered forward following Korb, she felt Joverns presence just behind her, it comforted her if only slightly so.
The halls were filled with torches and the mid-afternoon sun shown through the windows giving them a well-lit path towards the East tower, walking quickly and quietly across the stone floor and keeping as much away from the railings as possible so as not to be seen. The sounds of destruction had lessened, though occasionally the sounds of men's laughter and the breaking of wood could be heard.
They made the journey to the east tower without incident, upon reaching the doorway her father pushed his way past them and paused at the door holding his ear to it, listening to see if anyone was behind it. He nodded assuring them all that the room was clear, quickly he threw open the door and ushered them inside.
The room was untouched, books filled the walls and papers lay scattered on the desk in the middle of the room. Quickly her father closed and locked the door and then walked around the room inspecting the contents of the shelves and muttering to himself. "Luckily," he said suddenly "Most of these books are unnecessary" he commented.
He went to the desk and folded up a few papers "These will need to be saved, however" he ushered the Korb over "Take these, keep them safe" he motioned towards Korb.
Korb followed his commands, the fear in his eyes still present but not as strong. The makeshift bag of hatchlings began to stir as the young dragons got their bearings from within. Her father grabbed the thick cord that hung around his neck where hung a wooden object of his own invention. It was a carved whistle that could fit in the palm of one's hand, one that father had meticulously worked on multiple times to get right.
Holding it up to his mouth he blew into one of the narrow openings on the top of the object. A low whirring filled the room, sounding like the low chuffs of a dragon as it calmed the hatchlings. Her father nodded once more than strode over towards a far bookcase searching around for a moment before he spotted a row of books. Nimbly he pushed them aside and reached back behind them Sigligon heard an audible 'thunk' then slowly the bookcase began to move inward into the wall while doing so a few small clicks began to echo as the bookcase than began to swing open like a door, revealing a dark staircase.
They heard the distant pounding of footfalls and clinking armor as men began to ascend the stairs outside the room. With haste, her father ushered the both of them pass the swiveled bookcase and into the landing of the staircase that lies beyond it. Taking care to grab a torch he took one final glance around the room before re-positioning the books back in place and swinging the shelf shut.
It was silent and dark for a few moments. Sigligon felt the cold air from below blow across her ankles. She shivered and tried to peer for her father in the encompassing darkness. His voice now holding a small twinge of relief spoke calmly.
"This is a secret passage, only a select few people know of it, we should be safe now." Just as he finished she heard the sound of a flint hitting the rock. A few small sparks and suddenly a small flame lept to life, growing slowly Sigligon was soon able to see her fathers comforting face.
He looked down at her and gave her a small smile. "Be calm my girl." He said adjusting the bag of hatchlings. He looked to Korb and held out the bag. Korb reached a hand outwards and ever so carefully took the bag from him.
Her father motioned to the stairs, stepping in place behind him they descended together in silence. The air was cold and tinged slightly with damp. Sigligon shivered and adjusted the bags whose staps were digging into her shoulders.
The way ahead was dark, what little light that was emitted from her father's torch only showed blank stone walls that seemed to have been carved a long long time ago. "What will happen Sir" Korb piped up his voice echoing.
Jovarn spoke "The king is most likely dead, as I said I am hoping one of the prince's or the Queen survives. We will hide and secure the future of the Targaryen's Dragons, as is our duty. Once I hear news of a survivor we will go to them, they will be happy to know that some of the precious dragons survived."
Sigligon thought of all the hatchlings, the ones that could fit in your palms, and the fledglings who were no bigger than dogs, they were such curious and playful creatures. Quite a few she had named herself, now all of them dead except the three now with Korb.
"Only three dragons are left?" she asked her father. She saw a faint smile tugging her father's mouth. "No, we have three hatchlings but we still have eggs." Sigligon turned her head questioning and then the realization hit her as to why her bags seemed so heavy on her.
"They are in my bags," she said realization hitting her. Jovern nodded "You carry four, and I have two more in my own, these are the ones I procured on my last trading journey, the people in old Valaria dig these up thinking they are only dead stones, things to sell to nobles as conservation pieces, it's true that most are in fact dead, but to the properly trained ear and eye you can find ones still viable."
"So many!" Sigligon exclaimed renewed hope filling her. "yes this year the miners hit a very viable clutch." her father answered her. Korb was silent. "If we have so many dragons and hatchlings why is there no fully gown ones anymore?"
Her father was silent the only sounds heard was the fall of their footsteps. "The king was a fool." Sigligon gasped, but her father continued ignoring her "Zaldrizes buzdari iksos daor." He spoke sternly in Valyrian.
'A dragon is not a slave' her mind translated for her. This phrase was one of the very first her father taught her when she began learning Valyrian.
Jovern continued speaking answering Korb's question "Fledglings need fresh air, sunlight and good heat source to grow, keeping them cooped up indoors in cold castles with the wrong diet makes them susceptible to diseases I begged the king to let me follow the instructions of the ancient texts, but he would have none of it, but he didn't want people seeing them. He wanted them safe, but in doing so he caused their demise."
Her father shook his head "How many fledglings have I watched grown lethargic and die, how many outbreaks of sickness have I tried to stop but no, clutch after clutch all eventually died or were killed." her father sighed with that last sentence.
Sigligon stayed silent while in thought, Korb did not say anything either. "So these dragons might have a chance to be full grown?" she asked hopefully. She knew how hard her father worked to fulfill their family's duty to their King. So many late nights and early mornings of constant watching and caretaking but no matter what it was for not, eventually one by one the small hatchlings would grow still and silent and her father would painstakingly have to remove them and destroy the evidence of his failed work. Her father looked at her and nodded. He leaned over and ruffled her curls. "Yes, Sigi." He said using her pet name.
"Imagine a full-grown dragon again," Korb said excitedly. Her father turned to Korb. "My boy I think you will see one sooner than you think." He said firmly while pushing forward faster. Sigligon and Korb rushed to keep up with his long strides.
Sigligon and Korb glanced to each other. Sigligon remembered when her father brought the boy here, it was only a few months ago, Jovern had found him in Lannisport, an unfortunate Bastar being forced to work much too hard by the stable master, Jovern took the boy in as an apprentice and helper He seemed to be close to her age maybe eight or nine. He had a head full of dark brown hair with some lighter blonde tones that seemed to stick out in every place imaginable and from what she could tell light blue eyes.
They gave each other a look of confusion and followed Jovern, the hallway seemed to be endless and Sigligon began to think she would never see the sun again. But just as she was about to ask her father when they could rest he stopped abruptly.
She went to his side and looked up to him, about to ask what was going on when she noticed he was staring straight ahead intently. She followed his line of sight and noticed that the walls had widened out and the ceiling had raised and before them was a set of giant stone doors.
The doors were covered in intricate inlaid carvings of dragons flying over a battlefield; in another section were myriads of dragons flying about a torrent of fire. Whoever was the artist must have worked numerous hours to carve such intricate detail, upon close study of the doors she could see individual house sigils on armor, many of them were from houses that were now extinct but some still remained around to this day.
So intricate and so close was the attention to detail and craftsmanship of this door that there were even some men in the carving possessing scars and different facial hair, as well as the detail on the horses, their eyes wide with fear rearing up with delicate but powerful legs.
Sigligon let out a slow breath of admiration and put her hand to the door, it was warm beneath her palm, she felt along the ridges of the door tracing the muscular necks of the horses, the smooth feel of the men's shields and the prickly feel to the dragon's skin.
Her father tapped her shoulder and she moved aside digging into his belt pouch he brought out a large key. With ease, he brought it to the small keyhole that was wrapped with a small dragon around the metal. Turning it she heard the audible click, then a series of louder clicks till finally a large 'thud' that made her jump.
He opened the massive door slowly, its hulking weight proving to be a challenge for her father. Quickly he ushered them through.
It was dark at first, but as the corridor, they had just passed through her eyes began to adjust. She looked around she was in a large oblong cavern reminding her of a cave more than a castle room. All around moss and lichen grew along the walls and floor, as she studied the room she noticed that a thin beam of light was being cast down in the middle of the room, its source to her eyes seemed to be a skylight of some kind however she was too far away to inspect.
Instead, she was distracted by the dull but constant sounds of waves crashing against a shoreline. Sigligon caught Korb's eye and they both walked over to the nearby wall on their left. It was covered in an odd patchwork of moss, the stone that they could see looked to be far older than anything she had ever seen, it was smooth and of a dark gray variety that seems to be worn away by time and the elements.
The crashing of waves grew louder the closer they stood to the wall.
"It's the ocean," her father's voice said suddenly, startling the both of them. "How can that be?" Korb asked turning to him. Her father grinned looking down at the boy. "We walked further than you thought eh?" Korb nodded in shock.
"Come," her father said re shouldering his bag. She heard the faint protest of the hatchlings to this move. "Shouldn't we let them out father?" she asked him. Jovern stopped and stood motionless for a beat before she could see the back of his head shake.
"No, we will let them out when we are in a safe place." Korb piped up "But isn't that where we are?" Jovern turned swiftly a finger to his lips, he motioned to the skylight. "That opening leads up right into kings landing and young voices echo."
Fear took Sigligon once more, they were only a layer of stone and dirt away from their enemy. She whispered out cautiously. "Then where can we go?" Jovern smiled at her, reassuring that she was safe. "Do not worry little one there is a place for us to be safe."
He turned again this time striding over to the other side of the room. Carefully walking around the light from the opening in the ceiling so as not to be seen Sigligon followed him. Jovern handed the satchel once more to Korb who took the satchel gingerly as the hatchlings were beginning to tumble about.
Jovern frowned noticing this. Then once again he reached to his neck grabbing his special whistle to quickly put it to his lips. Taking a quick intake of air he softly blew into the whistle. The noise that it produced hummed softly in the air around them and the bag in Korb's hands slowly began to calm down as several chirps and squawks answered Joverns whistle, once again the hatchlings were quiet and still.
Jovern sighed and turned back to the task at hand. He reached down and pushed at the very ground itself and Sigligon noticed now in the fading light a strange symbol was etched on a stone that curiously had all the moss cut away from it.
Pressing down slowly the stone began to sink, this captivated Sigligon and she stepped closer. Her father turned his head to her and motioned with his eyes for her to step back. She quickly jumped back to the floor in front of the special stone began to collapse. The deafening grating sound of Stone on stone filled the cavern.
Sigligon winced but the sound quickly began to taper off and continued to slide open more quietly. Once again Sigligon was looking down a mysterious dark staircase. Jovern handed Korb his torch and relight it before motioning for them to begin to descend the steps.
The sudden bark of a man shouting overhead made Sigligon freeze in place. Jovern pushed her to the steps. Korb jumped onto the stairs with her. Her heart was pounding as she found herself scampering down the steps without thinking. Jovern stood at the top of the stairs her father looking like a giant from this angle.
He waited patiently his eyes studying what could have only been the skylight. Sigligon heard the muffled sounds of a man talking.
"I heard a noise over here" followed by the clinking of armor.
"Probably some peasants hiding." Another voice answered him.
"You think we should look? Could be somebody worthwhile down there, or a nice big breasted whore to fuck" The man laughed loudly. "Come off it now, we have duties to do, no time to be fucking, especially when that excuse of a sword of yours wouldn't be seen fit for a fish wife let alone a big breasted whore."
"You pig fucker!" the first man said angrily. The sound of a scuffle seemed to break out. The heavy sounds of two men grunting and armor thudding into armor, insults were furiously barked at one another. "Your sister fucks wildings-" "Your mother married a pillow biter-"
"WAIT, MY HELMET!" One of the men roared out as a sudden clanging sound entered the room, Sigligon popped her head up to see what the noise was only to view a large object barreling towards her. She screamed and ducked as she felt the object fly past her head, it clanged loudly against the wall and steps and rolled off into the darkness in front of them.
She held a hand to her mouth in stunned surprise, then fear gripped her tightly as she looked to her father. He gritted his teeth and silently drew his sword. He descended the steps quietly. Whispering quickly through clenched teeth "Douse the light! Hide further down! Wait for me to return!"
Korb doused the light and Sigligon was cast into darkness. She held her breath, her heart was pounding like a drum in her chest. She felt her limbs shaking. She heard the sound of pebbles falling and the grunts of a man, the creaking of a rope straining against heavyweight also could be heard.
She sensed her father move away from her. She wanted to reach out and grab him to tell him not to leave her. A cold chill went down her spine the thought of her father leaving them alone in this dark unknown place was bad enough, but the thought that followed that one was even colder.
A small whisper barely louder than the sound of breathing she pleaded with the gods "Don't let him die, please...he is all I have."
"What in the Seven is this place." A gruff voice spoke out. Sigligon put a hand over her mouth as she listened intently to what was happening above.
"Looks lik' en old part of tha city, I heard from me grand ma once that during the early reign of the dragon kings a lot of cities burned and got rebuilt over." There was a pause where nothing happened from what Sigligon could hear.
"I swore I heard a scream," the one man said next. "Never mind that! That helmet belongs to my Da!" The other once said harshly cursing under his breath.
"Well, how do you expect ta find it in here!" The other man grunted out sounding very annoyed. "You got a torch?" One asked. After some grumbling, the one man spoke up "Your lucky I was on night watch last night."
Sigligon heard a striking of a flint then the sound of a flame spring to life. She crept backward slowly to hide more into the depths of the tunnel. The air was cold and held a salty tang. The noises of the men were muffled now and she could hear the sound of the ocean even louder.
A voice cut through the sounds. "Oi! Who are you?" a man yelled questioningly. "Hands up, drop that sword!" the other barked. Even though she was afraid she began to creep forward again, she wanted to see what was happening, to make sure her father was okay.
"Im...im n-no one sirs" Her father stuttered out. Only his voice was different, it was thick with the accent of a low streets commoner. She knew her father was good at languages, hence why he could read and speak Valyrian, but she had no idea he could do accents as well.
"A no one hiding down here, with a sword like that?" One man suspiciously said. "I'd believe a commoner having a Valyrian steel blade when the Lady of the seven appeared from the sky to give me a good sucking."
This caused both of them, men, to laugh. "So, How about you tell us who you really are, and we will be sure to give ya a quick death, taking that fine blade off you as well, dead men have no need for such finery."
Her dad didn't speak while they laughed. Once they had finished chuckling he spoke. Calmly he said, "I have no quarrel with either of you, and I do not want to have to kill either of you, but you are impeding on my business and I don't really like that."
The men snorted in anger. "Fucker, you think you can take the likes of us? It's two against one!" Sigligon at this time had crept up far enough to be able to peak over the edge of where the stairs had formed.
In the light of the torch, she was able to see that both men were dressed in the Baratheon colors, both seemed to be of average height and weight. They wore simple armor, neither wore family crests not had the refinement of 'Noble' armor. To what Sigligon could see they seemed to be simple foot soldiers. One of them was missing a helmet while the other wore his with the visor pushed up but she could not make many details on either man's face in the light.
She glanced to see her father, he held his sword in one hand and had a large object balanced against his hip and other arms. 'The other helmet' she thought to herself. Jovern spoke, "If you have to claim that your advantage is in number than you are shite at fighting." he said plainly and rather calmly.
With a roar, the one man without a helmet advanced. Jovern took a few steps back. "Hold, I would never fight a man who is not fully armored-" Upon finishing speaking her father grunted as he held the helmet aloft and threw it with a force towards the advancing man.
The man paused only a moment as Sigligon watched as the heavy object was hurled through the brief expanse between the two men before the helmet connected square in the man's face. She winced as she heard an audible crunch as the man's nose was broken.
With a grunt and a torrent of blood, he staggered backward clutching his face as he bellowed out like a stuck pig. Her father sprang into action taking advantage, he leaped forward his sword now in both hands came up in a flicker of blue light and then easily plunged itself into the man's stomach.
Sigligon watched the sword disappear through the armor, it crumpled around the entry point of the sword. The sounds of metal screeching against metal filled the room. Sigligon watched in horror as blood gushed out of the man, soaking his armor he collapsed as her father withdrew the blade in a fluid motion.
It had happened in such a small time frame the other man didn't know how to react, he had enough sense to toss his torch to the ground and to put two hands to his own sword. He was able to bring up his blade to meet her fathers. Jovern pulled away from the other soldier they circled a few paces, the light of the fire and the skylight-lit up both warriors.
SIgligon glanced over at the man her father had struck down. She could see more of his face now in the light. It was mangled from where the helmet had struck him, his nose looked almost caved in, blood covered his mouth and his eyes stared vacantly into her own.
Bile rose to her mouth and tears rose to her eyes. She wanted desperately to turn away but the dead man's eyes held hers and she was trapped, locked by his gaze with no ability to tear her eyes away. A dull thudding began to build in her temples and the world seemed so far away in this moment.
But the sounds of swords clashing brought her back, she managed to swallow her bile and tear her eyes away from the men. Now her father grappled with the remaining man. He attacked viciously striking fast and switching directions of attack with well-trained ease.
Her father now on the defensive, bide his time while he met each of the blows and easily averted them off his blade. The man was panting, he was like an enraged boar, spittle coming out his mouth. He roared and launched into an erratic series of swings, forcing her father to tread backward.
She began to worry she could see the sweat that was on her fathers' brow, the concentration knitted in his face. She bit her lip, her limbs shaking. With a sudden burst of energy, her father blocked the man's sword than brought his whole body forward like a bull in a charge.
This sudden momentum took the man off guard his sword was caught by her father's blade and he couldn't free it. Her father's shoulder met the man's chest as he put all his force into pushing the man across the room.
Sigligon realized that they were coming closer to her she ducked down further so as not to be seen. With a grunt and the sound of metal on metal, her father pushed the man off of him with a burst of strength. The man stumbled backward something her father was not expecting as her father was already in an overhead swing but his swing came down on empty air.
The man continued to stumble backward tripping on the blood of his fallen comrade and the uneven stone beneath his feet. Before she could react the man was at the edge of the ledge. He fell backward, she felt the whoosh of air as his body nearly missed her.
She let out a cry and stepped backward pressing herself against the wall, attempting to make herself as small as possible. The man groaned then turned his head looking right at her. "Well hello little one." the man said his voice deep and exhausted. Siglgion's blood froze as the man's lips parted revealing bloody teeth his eyes seem to glow with a dangerous and unearthly light, petrified by what she was seeing she could only stare and brace herself for her eventual death, she pinched her eyes closed and began to pray.