31

The tall shadow stood in the glare of a yellow rock. Bats flew past him, swirling in the dark. Wood burned to charcoal then crushed under the weight of a hammer. There were caves, and slaves. Torches and rail cars, full of . . . something.

The images cycled in flashes as his sleeping mind battled the balance of conduit and recovery. Sleep, now, served both purposes for Aegon, but the tall shadow kept cycling through. Above the cliff looking down. Inside the cave holding a torch. The flame still couldn't penetrate the shroud around his form. Black shape, buzzing, broad shouldered, smooth headed. His form flowed down, as if in a gown or some kind of tohkar. But there was no color to the shadow. Only dark. An imaged flashed of his whip slashing, the hooked steel tip latching and tearing skin with an audible rip as loud as the painful cry from his victim. The victim's face was clear. He was an elder man, small frame, bronze skinned. He wore his grey and black hair, his hairline receded, in a top knot, tied with a dirty cloth. He wore nothing but a wrap around his waist of tattered wool to cover him to the thing, and his body was littered with old and new scars. The fresh wounds opened up on his back as the whip recoiled back with a yank from the shadow, gushing blood that quickly darkened, mixing with the dirt caked on his exposed skin. As he knelt there, the shadow swung the whip up for another crack at the man, and the image flashed to a boat.

Another Brindled Man, elder, but physically imposing, stood propped up against a table covered in maps and parchment. He stood across from the shadow, with another man or two around the table. They spoke over the table in a language Aegon couldn't place, the images and sounds muffled and hazy. Then another flash to a man, seated at a table, with vials to his left and right. He was mixing three powders together, one black, one yellow, one white, as the shadow looked on over his shoulder.

The next image was the face of the Red Woman. Stills of her face in different sexual expressions flashed in the rhythm of his pulse, her crimson silhouette thinly veiled by a dark silken sheen, flowing from her form with each flash. She flashed before him, reaching out her index finger to his lips as if to silence him. He froze, as she swayed away and lit a flame.

"Fire has no master. The living flames have ruled this world for centuries in one form or another. The Red God R'hllor is worshipped in a way by all, as even the most devout of the seven seeks the flame for its warmth, and on the darkest of nights, even the worshippers of the Black Goat light a candle to see. Fire is a gift for man to use, however he knows how to. You are a prime example. You have learned your own connection to the flames."

She continued sauntering around in front of him, "Yet your foe seeks not only to enslave people, but fire itself, and destroy the lands from Slaver's Bay to Westeros." She turned to walk away. "Seek and defeat your foe, Aegon Velaryon. The known world may rest in your hands."

She drifted away as Aegon watched, still frozen, and perplexed. "The night is dark, and full of terrors." Her voice blew by like a breeze and she vanished.

More images flashed as he struggled to find meaning. The red woman was often on his mind, but never did he think this place was ever part of the destiny she prophesized, except in the ironic sense. The shadow continued to play a focal role in each image, until the image of Nahknani's face flashed, and lingered. It was that playful smile, the one she wore when making a jest at him, peaking over her shoulder as she looked back, walking away. She shook her mane, the auburn ringlets and waves bouncing slowly through the air, as if time had slowed down, then looked back again with the smile still on.

He woke in the dark to a nudge on the shoulder. "Time now pink man," the voice said. "Get up. We go."

He quickly gathered himself and climbed above deck, as Brindled Warriors bustled around him unloading the scant cargo left for them aboard the galley. He pulled himself up onto the deck and looked for someone he knew again. It wasn't midnight, the faint glow from the horizon hinting at early early morning, but it was still dark enough to cover their movements from the water to the brush. A smart call by whomever had assumed command.

The row boat that brought him and the girls to the boat was used to ferry the warriors and cargo ashore, which must have been started while he slept, for almost the entire crew and supplies were already across. He noticed NeeNee ordering a few men, her bow strung to her back, saying something he couldn't understand. Their eyes met and each nodded, neither knowing the other's language, and continued on. Aegon kept with his search for someone he knew.

No one familiar other than NeeNee was on the deck, and no one was below deck when he woke. He casually wandered into the captain's chamber with little expectations of finding anyone to see a few of the leadership around the desk seamen was found on, crude maps drawn on the parchment already spread across it. It echoed his dream in a way, Ootrahk standing across from his two Valyrian speaking warriors with Nahknani across from them. They spoke in their tongue, continuing as he walked in with skipping a word, pointing and scratching at the map with a shard of wood charred at one end.

"The dragon awakes. It is good to see you well, pink man." Said Ootrahk, only shifting his eyes to acknowledge him, then averting them back to the group around the table. Nahknani nodded at him and smiled, suppressing her interactions as if the mute them in front of her newly found uncle. "I heard of dragons flying, but I've never seen one before."

"Normally, we tend to land more gracefully," Aegon responded, then quickly pivoted to inquire about their plans. "Impressive map you have there, where does it say we go?"

"Nahknani was showing us where her father has taken our people. We will meet them there with the men and supplies. We have a total of nineteen steel swords, my arahk, and a few other crates of provisions which we will need when we arrive. My scouts have searched the surrounding woods, and at least as of yet, there has yet to be any confirmed sightings of anyone following us or any groups amassed to ambush us. Once ashore, Ihkneenee and two of my men; Shohoree and Nihktu, will double back to their settlement to see if JaHarle has sent men to retaliate. Their orders are to stay hidden and report back with news. At the new encampment, myself and my men will establish a perimeter and fortify a defense strategy, most likely trenches and pikes. With steel, we can hope to win in direct combat, but eventually, JaHarle's numbers will overwhelm us, so we will have to also make some repairs to this ship in case we need an escape plan."

As Aegon heard the directives from the clan's new leader, and watched as he moved his hands over the map, his shoulders fell in what could only be described as relief. This was what he had meant to do, and the ideal conclusion to his mission was taking shape almost perfectly. At this point, he was out of his depth. He was a novice seaman at best, though successful enough with his newest crew, and knew nothing of war tactics and command strategies. He feared this moment, this responsibility, would fall to him and his inexperience would lead to the death of this entire village of people he meant to help. Though necessary for his own survival, his defeat of JaHarle's guards forced these people into a war he could provide little help as a battle commander.

Now, with Ootrahk and the warriors free, he had a seasoned military officer, familiar with the territory and enemy firmly entrenched and seasoned in command. There was no better way for him to ensure Nahknani's clan's best possible outcome, though he feared even Ootrahk could do little against the impending storm to come.

"It sounds like we are in capable hands. I am glad to have you with us, Ootrahk." Aegon said, extending his arm for a handshake.

"What's this?" Ootrahk replied confused.

"A gesture of trust in my culture." Aegon adjusted his arm and extended it out in the way one of the Brindled people had done with him before.

Ootrahk reciprocated in kind, looking directly into Aegon's eyes and said, "I speak for us all when I say we are the glad ones you have come."

Aegon looked around as they all nodded in respect to him, including Nahknani, though she added a last moment smirk to erase the over the top formality of the moment.

"I think it best you all meet with Ootrihk. I know little of fortifying a camp, so I'll leave this all to you. I was never here to become your leader. I was just thrust into a position where I knew I could help, and I have."

Nahknani interrupted him, "You say you think it best 'you' all meet my father. You did not say 'us.' Is this because your Valyrian is shit or do you mean to leave?"

"I do not mean to leave as in abandon you all, no. But I think we are best served if I travel elsewhere." Their faces looked surprised. None of them expected the pink man to do anything but continue on with them.

"Where do you mean to go? This land has nearly killed you as often as you have triumphed over it. Have you turned craven since the boat went boom?" asked one of the warriors Aegon had never met.

"As I said, I don't mean to abandon you. I have no where to go. No home to return to. I am with you until JaHarle and Xlatan have been turned back or defeated, or we are all dead. But you are all better fit to command, lead, and rule. I provide very little in the form of an obedient ground troop in a company of men larger and stronger than I."

"You provide inspiration and leadership. All these men witnessed you defeat an entire army yourself. You have the fire magic, the purple eyes. You are the Drahkness Kahn, and to have you with us gives the men strength," said the other of the two warriors. "If you leave, whether you say you are or you aren't, the people will see you leaving as abandoning us. Some will lose their fervor. Others will lose hope. To them, it will be as if we already lost just to see you go."

The other warrior continued with, "These people have witnessed you do incredible things that have brought us all to this point. Without you, we would still be exiled and our people would still be enslaved."

"We were not enslaved. It was at worst a civil occupation. Has JaHarle controlled us? Yes, but we were only taken advantage of and dictated to. Never was our freedom taken away," replied Nahknani.

"Never was yours taken away, niece, but you had it best among them all. You were never taken by their guards, forced to work the fields or the cooking pots. You were never expected to do anything other than grow into the future pin that would join JaHarle's line with ours, thus defeating our clan without a single battle. Our people have not been free since the day your mother was taken and your aunt, my wife, was killed." Ootrahk didn't mention his daughter though all in the room felt her saddening inclusion despite not hearing it.

"This has little to do with what our pink friend is intending on doing by himself in the jungle? Again, ser, we ask, 'What is so vital that you will not continue on with us?" The first of Ootrahk's warriors asked again.

"Aegon, before we continue, these are my two top captains; Shevrohn and Chekka." They nodded as Oortrahk introduced them, the first to have spoken was Shevrohn and the second Chekka.

The two were similar in many instances. Both were younger looking. They were toned and muscular, but their full frames had yet to be bulked out like some of the elder warriors like Ootrahk. They were energetic and charismatic, as he witnessed on the deck, easily giving commands that seemed well received by the rest of their crew. They both stood at the same height, a good foot taller than Aegon, and they had a similar coloring, brindled chestnut and teak, their tufts of fur healthy, almost glowing with sheen. Their faces were chiseled and broad, like most of the men, but their eyes were framed with thick eyelashes that gave them more human expressions. The main difference in appearance between the two were the shapes of their noses. Shevrohn's was thinner and angled down. Chekka's was broader and upturned. They looked to be related.

"It is a pleasure to meet you both. Shevrohn, is it?" said Aegon. The man nodded. "I thought the same thing of our foe. What is more important than defeating us that they sent only one boat at us and four east?"

Chekka added, "The boat they sent was a hidden dragon worth more than ten boats. If it wasn't for you, we would have all been destroyed."

"The boat was no dragon, Chekka, ihk ahk lahn boont, don't sound so stupid," replied Shevrohn.

Aegon broke in again, "But what was it? Another question I keep asking myself. Now I know this is going to sound strange, but I dreamt of what it might be. What they are making."

"In your dream, was there a dragon?" asked Chekka to the dismay of Shevrohn. Ootrahk and Nahknani looked back at Aegon with a hint of dismay of their own. Nahknani seemed to be fuming with anger, hidden deftly in the presence of her uncle. He knew because when slightly out of view of her kin, her eyebrow wrenched into a position more appropriate to her current demeanor.

"Enough of the dragon, Chekka, and enough of this talk of leaving. The plan is set and is final," ended Ootrahk, in his mind.

"I'm not abandoning you, but I am leaving. We must know what they are doing." Aegon was not ready to yield.

"The slavers mean us no more ill will. We have defeated them. We must focus on the retaliation of JaHarle and JaHahn which will be as soon as he can find us. We may not have enough time or men to withstand an assault as is. If you leave, the brothers are right in this, we may lose the spirit of our forces." There was some truth in Ootrahk's words, as well as the brothers, but still Aegon knew he had the right of it.

"What's east?" Asked Aegon. "From what we can gather, more of your kind. He is either meeting and joining JaHarle, whose lands are east, or their going to enslave more of your kind, which also dwell east. The way I see it, the slavers mean us no more ill will until they discover we still live. Then they will finish what they've started. It is true enough what you say of the morale of the people, so I will continue with you to the camp. But once there, I will depart with a select few," he quickly adjusted his glance towards Nahknani, hoping she'd get the hint and relax her aggressive stares, "to ascertain their dual purpose here."

"It is my belief," Aegon started before he was cut off.

"From what, this dream?" asked Shevrohn incredulously.

"From many factors, the dream being one of them. It is my belief that the slavers are making the materials they used shatter the ship like that. I saw mines and caves full of forced laborers. I saw a man mixing powders, and we all saw what happened on the ship. I have seen magic. I am magic. What happened today, or yesterday, was not magic. The slavers mean to make whatever that was, and if they can keep making it, is there any martial plan you can drum up that can stop them?"

Silence and blank faces befell the room. He wasn't sure if they were dumfounded in disbelief of what he was saying or in such lockstep agreement they had no more words to contribute. Eventually Nahknani broke the silence with, "Who will accompany you in this task, or are you going to just leave, alone?" Probably the only question on her mind since he'd hinted to her before.

"I would only need a few. I would need someone who knows the land and is well versed in the language. Preferably, I would need someone who could treat with other clans with some authority to help me warn them and mobilize them if the need arises." His description fit Nahknani as much as he could.

"You could have just specifically requested my niece, pink man. If I tell her no, she'd follow you anyway," replied Ootrahk. "Her father will not go for it. Never. But his words hold less weight than they once did, to our people and to her. You can just ask her to join you. We are all men and women grown, we can risk our lives if we so choose."

"I ask that only those that would follow me are commanded to. I do not want to risk another man or woman for my sake or my beliefs," said Aegon, looking directly at Ootrahk, ignoring Nahknani's gaze. "And yes. It makes the most sense for Nahknani to join me. She and I know each other and work together well, she can communicate with me, and she will add credibility if we have to treat with another clan."

"Fine. You would go then, yes?" Ootrahk looked to Nahknani, who nodded. He continued. "That's nice, though I cannot let the two of you journey alone, however well you may work together. I will consult with the crew to see who else will join you. Nahknani, you can bring your women, if you choose."

She responded, "I shall ask, but NeeNee will be scouting for JaHarle's retalitation and Ooklunk wants no part of a long journey. Yunee and Vihktoona want to return home with their family. And the twins are not good for this type of work."

"The twins would be perfect. They move silent as the night." Chekka said, much to the dismay of Nahknani.

"You and I would be perfect, as we can speak with the Pink King. The twins would be useless," Shevrohn butted in.

"I can speak to the twins. They'll be perfect for me," Chekka said with a smirk.

"This is not a sexual escapade you idiot. This is a diplomatic and reconnaissance mission," Ootrahk scolded.

"Then why are you sending the love birds together? If they get to have their fun, why shouldn't I? Seems we're all likely dead soon anyway. I might as well enjoy myself in our romp through the wilderness." Chekka's words angered Ootrahk visibly. His strong brow began to tremble as his expression soured and his teeth grinded.

"I will go. So will my brother. We will bring the twins as well, and I assure you, I will keep my brother's mind focused on the right things," Shevrohn responded, trying to save face with his superior.

"It is not his mind that concerns me. You will do what you must. Gather what things you will need. Once ashore we will inform the group of your departure so that they do not misinterpret this for abandonment. Then you will depart." Ootrahk looked at Aegon and continued, "It is better you and Nani leave before we rendezvous with her father. He will have to accept it once its done, but he would never accept it if you ask."

The four left the captain's quarters and gathered the things they'd need. Food. Water skins. Weaponry. Chekka went to the twins to let them know of the plan. Nahknani hung back to talk privately with Aegon.

"This fire shatter from the boat, you think the slavers can do this again?" she asked, noticeably concerned as they walked the hall to the main deck.

"I can't say I know anything from just a dream, but what I do know is whatever caused the boat to blow like that is a power the slavers cannot be allowed to have. We must stop them from controlling this power if your people are to ever be safe."

As they were about to part to gather their own things, she replied, "Aegon, in this land, no matter how much you do, we will never be truly safe."

He smiled knowing the truth in her words. His brief time here was evidence to that. "That doesn't mean we should ever stop trying."