A/N: Hope you guys are all happy and healthy like always!
Things are about to get busier, so I might not have as much time for writing as I did before. However, I will try to update as regularly as I can.
VISENYA XI
Visenya watched as Taenor Rahitheon, a distant relation to Aevor, hammered away in the yard of Ironoaks along with twenty men he requested, all of whom had some experience in blacksmithing. Are all Rahitheons good engineers? I didn't know craftsmanship could be passed down by blood.
Although the scorpions that the enemy obtained had a low chance of hitting their dragons, Visenya was not going to take any more chances after Meraxes was hit. Looking for any solutions to their problem, she consulted with Taenor Rahitheon, who had accompanied the contingent of Rahitheon men sent to the Vale. He suggested that they construct armor for the dragons, but that they could not just use any kind of steel, for the scorpions had enough power to pierce even the finest castle-forged steel based on the designs leaked from Weslar Reyne. She was wise enough to not reveal that name, as Jaenyx told her that the fewer people who knew, the better it was. He only said it was Lord Reyne because he trusts me.
When Taenor suggested Valyrian steel, Visenya was unsure. "Has there been Valyrian steel armor constructed for dragons before?" she asked him in High Valyrian. "There's no record of such armor being built for dragons during the days of the Freehold."
"No," Taenor shook his head. "The Valyrians didn't think that they would need armor, since the dragonlord families had hundreds at their command and never thought that there would be so few dragons left. In addition, building any set of armor is an expensive endeavor, so imagine how much Valyrian steel would have to be forged to make one for dragons."
"And that's assuming that the dragons don't grow any more by the time the armor is finished," Visenya added.
"Dragons could live for centuries and could rival Balerion in terms of size by the time they reach their maximum growth," Taenor said. "What I'm going to do is construct armor components that will cover the important areas of the dragon's body while also taking into account their growth. But as your dragon is the only one nearby, she can be the first one."
"That is fine, Taenor," Visenya was looking forward to seeing Vhagar armored.
"But I need a few things. First, I need as much iron and steel that can be procured. Second, I need a place and some men with blacksmithing experience to help me, as I don't have the time to make the armor all by myself. The last two things that I need have to be drawn from your dragon."
"Her blood and her fire," Visenya already knew.
Taenor nodded. "Just a little bit. And it's not like the enemy could copy the process, as without having a dragon of their own, forging Valyrian steel is impossible to outsiders."
Visenya went to Vhagar, who was resting on the outside of Ironoaks' walls and rubbed her snout. I need something, girl, something that will protect you and the others from the weapons of our enemies. But you might feel a little pain. Will you accept it?
If it helps us from being harmed like Meraxes was, do it, Vhagar told her through an exhale, knowing full well what she was asking.
Okay. Hold still… And Visenya made a minor incision in Vhagar's arms, which was still enough to get some drops of her blood.
After infusing the drops of blood in the melted steel, which was gained from the armor of their Vale captives, Vhagar breathed into the forge, her orange flames heating it to above normal levels. However, it was enough for Taenor and his men to work with and they hammered away for the last few weeks.
Meanwhile, Visenya was updated on the situation elsewhere in the Vale and in the Reach. Longtable had fallen and most of the Mander north of Highgarden, save for Cider Hall, was now in their hands. However, Aegon and Jaenyx couldn't advance further without reinforcements and would now have to secure their eastern and western flanks. The stormlords led by their father and mother were just about to complete their crossing of the Red Mountains and would be in a position to strike at Ashford. Once that castle was secured, the route between the former Storm kingdom and then Longtable would be secured.
Visenya couldn't be prouder of her parents, as they were showing that age was no indication when it came to dragons. If Orys' words were true, then it showed that being bonded with a dragon was indeed the solution to many problems, as their father was enjoying much better health and was more expressive in his feelings for their mother than before.
At the same time, she was worried about how her parents would handle themselves when battle came. Unlike the rest, they had bonded with their dragons mere moons ago and had yet to experience what combat was like. It was as Jaenyx said and they would have to use them in reserve during battle, although even that was becoming unlikely as they needed all of the dragons to participate. Maybe, if the gods allow, we'll show them some quick pointers on how to carry themselves in battle and stay alive.
Visenya then realized that even with those pointers, it would still not be enough when battle came. If the armor that was being forged by Taenor Rahitheon did its job, then she'll commission him to make more. And she was going to be the first one to test it.
Taenor eventually completed his task. She agreed with him that a complete set of armor was not realistic for Vhagar, as she was still growing and would need a new set for every inch she gained on her body. What Taenor did was to forge basic protection for her head, her neck, her torso, and her wing-arms. Another advantage of Valyrian steel was that it was lighter than the other types of steel, so there should be no problems in terms of weight while she flew through the air.
Visenya calmed down Vhagar as they strapped on her Valyrian steel pieces all over her. For the head component, two pieces cover the top of her head and the bottom of her jaw so as to not restrict her line of sight. Leather straps connected both, which could be adjusted to fit her growing head while providing enough protection.
For her neck, Taenor Rahitheon to opted to make chainmail out of Valyrian steel, arguing that plates would restrict her movement. Although it will provide enough protection against large missiles, she would still some pain from their blunt force. Better a bruise than her dead, I suppose, Visenya accepted.
For her torso, particular her undersides, Taenor used a mixture of plate and chainmail, all of which would be tied onto her with leather straps that went over her topside. The very bottom of her undersides would be covered in plate armor, while the sides next to her wings would have chainmail so as to allow uninterrupted and comfortable flapping. The topside was considered the least exposed part of the dragon, so there was not protection given. With all of the armor so far, that might not be necessary, she mused.
Lastly, for the wings, Taenor chose to fit armlets for the largest parts of Vhagar's arms, as those were the closet to the torso and connected the wings to the body. However, when Vhagar grew more, those armlets would have to be replaced before they become too small for her arms.
Once everything was put on her, Visenya marveled at how much deadlier her dragon looked. The sun glinted off of her Valyrian steel armor components, with the occasional clink whenever she moved. To even herself, Vhagar looked like a flying behemoth made of Valyrian steel and it looked as if nothing could truly kill the dragons now.
Visenya could feel that Vhagar was slowly breaking it all in, judging her wiggles and moving around with her arms. It was the same feeling that she had when Jaenyx gave her the dragon coat, as she needed to wear it a few times before she got used to the Valyrian steel plates pressing against her breasts and shoulders. But after getting used to the dragon coat, Visenya never felt more powerful than she did before, with only Jaenyx giving her his mother's ring matching that.
Looking down on her hand and rubbing the ring with her free fingers, the jewel formed from the fire of the Fourteen Flames themselves sparkling from the sun rays, she could only think of Jaenyx and how awed he would be once Cloudwynd was also fully armored.
"How do you like it, Your Grace?" Taenor asked.
"It's… hypnotic, to say the least, Taenor," Visenya answered. "Dragons are powerful by themselves, but if you put armor on them, they truly become the embodiment of the divine, as nothing short of the gods' intervention could stop them."
"I agree with you, Princess Visenya," Taenor was also in awe of what he created. "But if I may, I believe there is only one way to see if the armor would do its job."
"Of course," Visenya nodded enthusiastically. "But before I do that, we must plan our next move. Once that happens, then I'll see how your work holds up. Still, good work. Expect to be rewarded when this is all over."
"Thank you, Your Grace," Taenor bowed his head as Visenya made her way to the hall of Ironoaks.
Waiting for her there was Marlon Umber, Maerys Tarareon, and her other captains. The heirs to the Redfort and Runestone were kept as guests in the rooms of Ironoaks, as well as Lord Waynwood in another chamber rather than the lord's one. Since the Waynwoods surrendered without much loss of life, Visenya was inclined to show mercy. Also, as they captured the last major fortress before the Eyrie itself, Visenya was feeling very good about her position and thus was magnanimous to House Waynwood.
But even with Ironoaks secure, there was still much to take into account. They only secured a portion of the Vale proper, as the Redfort and Runestone alongside other castles like Longbow Hall were still not under their control. Also, a direct assault on the Eyrie itself was likely to result in heavy casualties, even if it came from the direction of Rhaenys' northern advance.
At the same time, their situation had vastly improved in the Vale itself. Visenya couldn't be happier for her sister becoming the fighter that no one else besides her family expected. Due to her use of deception and cunning, she was able to cripple the Vale's northern force and them to retreat to Heart's Home, home of House Corbray. The last message she sent, House Corbray was surrounded and would not last long. Good job, Rhae!
However, Meraxes still needed more time to recover and they spotted a single scorpion in the yard of Heart's Home, so Rhaenys wasn't going to risk her mount. That was when Visenya decided on where she would test the armor. If the scorpion doesn't work, the Corbrays have to surrender, or be burnt, Visenya declared in her mind.
Marlon Umber and Maerys Tarareon, along with their other captains, bowed and curtseyed to Visenya as she entered the hall. Sitting where the lord usually sat, she forgone Lys white wine in exchange for cider. Her belly had grown considerably, and she could more activity from her child. Counting how many moons had passed, she realized that she was near the end of her pregnancy. Good, I long to meet my son or daughter and introduce her to their father, Visenya thought with impatience.
Many had grown concerned, as they knew that same fact, but Visenya brushed them off and reminded them that pregnancy had done nothing to dent her body and her mind.
As she consumed her auroch steak and watched the others eat, she started to consider the various approaches that could be taken when planning the final stroke that will subjugate the Eyrie, any of which didn't involve assaulting it. However, she realized that there were few and none of them had a realistic chance of succeeding. What I need is something… unexpected. Something that they haven't yet seen, or still haven't prepared for.
Chewing on the bits of auroch in her mouth, it suddenly hit her. Visenya had largely accomplished her objective in the Vale, with Rhaenys about to do the same, so what they needed to do now was to follow up with strike against their heart. Visenya called over one of her personal guards, telling him to get a message sent to Longtable.
"Why Longtable, Your Grace?" he asked.
"Just tell my husband that I need the men dressed in black to come here. He'll know what I mean by that," Visenya commanded.
While she waited, she sent more messages to the Redfort, Longbow Hall, and Runestone, asking them for their response to her question: will they stand aside, or will they join her?
The first response came from Longbow Hall. Lord Hunter told her in writing:
"To Princess Visenya of House Targaryen and Belaerys,
I can sense where the wind is blowing, and I shall not commit any more men of House Hunter to serve Sharra Arryn. However, I must respectfully declare neutrality in your war, as the last time a Hunter took sides, we lost much. However, I do hope that whatever happens in the Vale, peace will soon follow, as the weariness among my people has grown to considerable levels.
I wish you and your family good fortune.
Signed,
Morton of House Hunter, Lord of Longbow Hall."
Visenya wrote back a response to Lord Morton, praising him on the wisdom of his choice but also making clear that she was disappointed with his final decision. Maybe he'll side with us another time, but it'll have to do.
The next response came from House Redfort, It read:
"To Princess Visenya of House Targaryen and Belaerys,
I must thank you for your kind treatment of the future of our house. You are the not the abominations that the Starry Sept has painted you as and therefore, I will not commit any more arms against you. However, those arms will not fight alongside you either, as it would be in poor taste for the Redfort to declare for your family after some sworn to me have died at your hands. I hereby declare neutrality, but I also wish you good luck and ask that you return peace to the Vale.
Signed,
The Lord of the Redfort."
Visenya sighed, again disappointed at another house declaring neutrality. Oh, well. One more house declaring neutrality is one less house fighting for the Arryns.
Finally, a letter came from Symond Royce. Eagerly breaking the seal, the letter went as followed:
To Princess Visenya of House Targaryen and Belaerys,
I must thank you for your kind treatment of my son Mychel. He has been the joy of my life and to see him unharmed in your custody brings relief to myself and his lady mother.
I thought about what you said, and I decided that you were right regarding my feelings towards Sharra Arryn. She's an outsider and therefore didn't enjoy the love of the lords, with her birthing sons of House Arryn being the only reason she's still in the Eyrie.
I cannot promise, in good faith, all of my bannermen to fight for you, but I did offer a thousand of my troops to join you out of their free will in exchange for knighthoods and other rewards. Please consider that for them.
I have also kept my promise and persuaded Lord Hunter to declare neutrality. If this pleases you, I ask that you release my son back to my custody and allow him to return home. If you require a more proper ransom, I will gladly pay it.
I also ask that if you succeed in subjugating the Eyrie, please remember my actions.
Please bring peace back to the Vale and end this war.
Signed,
Symond of House Royce, Lord of Runestone."
Visenya read the letter again, making sure that she wasn't misreading or misinterpreting anything. She smiled in satisfaction, as the Lord of Runestone had just promised her one thousand men. It wasn't much admittedly, but it was something that she couldn't ignore, and she was sure to keep in mind when the Vale is fully secure.
Going up to the chambers where Mychel Royce was, she showed him the letter written in his father's hand. "Your father has finally seen the light, Lord Mychel."
Mychel Royce was both happy that he was now secure in his life and freedom, but he was also torn since his father had now broken oaths and the letter was strong evidence of that. "What is to happen to me?"
"You get to go home, Lord Mychel," Visenya took the letter back from him. "I made a promise to your father and I intend to keep it. You're free now."
But Mychel sensed something else. "You have another option in mind?"
"The letter promised a thousand men, and they might need a Royce to lead them," Visenya stated. "If they appear, I would like you to command them."
"You would trust command to one of your foes?"
"Former foe," Visenya corrected him. "If our family turned away everyone for leadership because they fought against us before, we wouldn't have had the stormlords on our side, or the those around the Blackwater Bay. And because they're fighting for us, they will share in the glory and spoils of the war. The question I want to ask is whether or not you want to take part in it also." She then left the chambers to him to ponder on that.
She lastly announced Lord Royce's decision, which got cheers from the hall. The tide has truly turned, and we shall triumph here, Visenya thought confidently.
As they were cheering, through the doors of the hall entered who Visenya was waiting for: Kenzou Haru. Walking up to her, they both bowed to each other. "Thank you for coming all the way here on such short notice," she said to him in nihongo.
"No… problem," Kenzou tried in the common tongue, surprising her and the others.
"Well, practice makes perfect," Visenya told him while patting his shoulder before turning to the others. "After all of you have finished your meals, I would like you all to come to the solar. I believe we have a solution to our problem regarding the Eyrie. But don't rush yourselves, please."
Visenya had the servants bring Kenzou some raw fish, which he cut into thin slices with his own knife. Some of those in the hall were surprised at seeing a man eat uncooked fish, not ever imagining that such a thing was possible. However, Kenzou merely ignored them and carried on with his meal. He drunk wine to mask the taste of the fish, which he complained as being "too fresh." How does he even know how fresh a fish is?
"How is your father, Kenzou?" Visenya asked him.
"Busy," Kenzou was ever terse.
"How are the rest of the men that came with your family?"
"Kajiwara is on the sea with your brother, and half of those are with me right now, the other half back at Longtable," Kenzou answered.
Visenya had heard little of Kajiwara, other than he was the only man who came from Yi-Ti who had any experience with ships. He was never a captain of his own, but he understood how a proper navy worked from being the first officer of many vessels. "I consider my brother fortunate to have a man like Kajiwara fight alongside him."
"And doing very well," Kenzou added. "They just sunk twenty ironborn ships and will move on to more."
Visenya could only smile in pride for her brother's accomplishment. Just a few years before, he was merely their father's bastard son to others and nothing more. Now, he was not only a lord in his own right, he was a great commander in the field and now could add commanding at sea to his growing list of achievements.
"How is your pregnancy coming along?" Kenzou looked at her belly.
"The baby is fine," Visenya rubbed her belly lovingly. "I should expect to meet him or her within the next moon or so."
Kenzou nodded. "If only he knew about where his son would end up."
"Who?" Visenya wasn't sure about Kenzou's words.
"Jaenyx's father," he answered. "Not a kind man, but he knew where his priorities were."
"You knew him?" Visenya had to listen.
"In a way," he nodded. "But I knew his brother better, Gaerys."
"What was he like, Gaerys? I only heard some parts of who he was like as a man."
Kenzou sighed. "Much more of a smooth talker than Jaenyx could ever be. But truth be told, I'm rather glad that he lived and not Gaerys."
"Why is that?" Jaenyx avoided talking about his brother, but it was not out any alice.
"In simple terms, Gaerys represented everything wrong about firstborn sons hailing from noble families. He was charming and quite personable with others, but he was very irresponsible and slothful. And things became worse for him when he failed to bond with Cloudwynd."
"Wait. Gaerys tried to bond with Cloudwynd?" Visenya didn't know that.
"Obviously, it didn't work and Jaenyx became the dragonrider of the family," Kenzou stated clearly. "Him getting his mother's affections, with him being the youngest child and all, certainly didn't help matters. But don't misunderstand. There was no strain in the relationship between the brothers, as Gaerys never mistreated Jaenyx and instead tried to hide his insufficiency with his outgoingness with the rest of the colony, before the red death swept in."
Visenya knew that the red death was a sore spot for many of the survivors, all of whom came with Jaenyx. "His brother died because of Ghiscari pirates, right?"
"That's true. And it was probably the only time that he applied what he learned about combat from my father and Arata," Kenzou sipped his wine. "I was surprised that he even listened at all, for he cut down ten men before that crossbow bolt pierced his throat." Kenzou shook his head. "Poor Jaenyx. He had to watch him bleed out and die."
Visenya knew that Jaenyx came from tough roots, but to hear his tale from another person's mouth was something else entirely. And to know more details about his father and brother was also enlightening.
"But enough of Jaenyx. He's here now and he's making something of himself. I'm sure his mother would be smiling from wherever she is, as she can see that her sacrifice was worth it," Kenzou said wistfully.
"I wish I could've known her," Visenya thought about Jaenyx's family. "I wish I could've known them all."
"And that's something that I couldn't understand," Kenzou said aloud. "The Belaeryses and the Targaryens are the only two dragonlord families left after the Doom and you two could've met earlier. Why did Lord Belaerys elect to remain in the Basilisk Isles and not sail towards Dragonstone?"
"I don't there was any way for them to know that we were alive. After Aenar Targaryen fled to Dragonstone, they must've cut contact with the Freehold, or they with them. But it doesn't matter now. He's here and we're about to be parents."
"I welcome your optimism. It makes very sure that Jaenyx has found the right woman for him," Kenzou smiled, which was a first for Visenya.
"You smiled," she noted.
"After Arata died, I'm trying to be the cheerful one of the family, although I find that quite difficult to do," Kenzou admitted.
"You'll probably have much to discuss with Rhaenys then. I'm trying to work on being light-hearted also, but in that area, I have to defer to my baby sister," Visenya suggested.
"When I see her again, I will be sure to ask her that," Kenzou clinked his cup with Visenya's.
In the solar of Lord Waynwood, Visenya had gathered Lord Umber, Maerys, and their captains. "As I said to you all before, I believe I have a solution to our problem regarding the Eyrie. Lord Kenzou, I give the floor to you," she gestured to him.
"You all remember Haystack Hall?" Kenzou spoke very slowly in the common tongue.
The Lord of Last Hearth cringed at how bad it sounded, while Maerys and the others were much more respectful. "Aye, I've heard of what happened there. But why is that relevant?"
"By surprising them, we were able to secure an important castle and avoid large casualties," Kenzou told him while making very clear that he was offended by Lord Umber's expression. "The darkness of night and scaling the walls of Haystack Hall allowed us to achieve our goal."
"Lord Haru, this is not some regular castle you are speaking of. We're talking about the Eyrie, probably the tallest tower in Westeros besides the Hightower further south. You cannot just climb up that tower and hope to surprise them with your sneaky antics," Lord Umber protested.
"Lord Marlon, I would have thought that you would have had more confidence in our abilities to achieve the impossible. After all, your castle is the closet out of all of us to your wall of ice, which is fantastical onto itself," Visenya pointed out.
"I wouldn't call it a castle, Your Grace, but it does keep us warm during the harshness of winter. But the point I'm trying to make is that what worked in one place will not necessarily work in another."
"And you will be correct, my lord," Kenzou addressed him. "Which is why we combine elements of previous raids into one that will bring us one step closer to victory over all of our enemies."
"Would you care to elaborate on that, Lord Kenzou?" Even Visenya was interested in what he had to say.
"All of you are familiar with our exploits at Casterly Rock. The opening stage was possible because we were able to ride on the dragons, who then flew close to the water where we were able to swim and infiltrate that mountain with ease. You are right, my lord, in that the same methods that were used in Haystack Hall will not work with the Eyrie because we simply do not have that long enough rope to climb up, nor do we have anyone with that strong of a throw. So… I suggest we use either Vhagar or Meraxes or both as transports from which to bypass their defenses and attack."
The captains murmured to each other, doubtful of the plan's success. "You do realize, Lord Haru, that the Eyrie will likely be protected by scorpions, which have harmed Meraxes?" Maerys asked.
"I personally am for the plan. It's bold and ambitious," Visenya voiced her support. "But as you have said, Lady Maerys, we cannot hope to attack the Eyrie directly as long the scorpions are there. At the same time, Taenor Rahitheon had just constructed a set of armor which could be used by Vhagar. The timing couldn't be fortuitous, for I have found a suitable place to test the armor."
"Where, Princess Visenya?" she asked.
"Heart's Home. I will deliberately fly low so that the scorpion can shoot at Vhagar, but not so low that their shot is guaranteed to hit its mark. Once Heart's Home has been taken, we'll essentially cut off all of the northern parts of the Vale from the rest and allowing to strike at the Eyrie."
"That's a risk, Your Grace. Are you sure that your dragon's armor can handle it?" Lord Umber was still skeptical.
"We have to take risks, as you surely understand."
Later that day, Visenya mounted Vhagar, intent on knocking out Heart's Home and House Corbray from the war. She was growing very tired of waiting and decided to use what she did with Ironoaks against them. After leaving both Maerys and Marlon Umber in charge, she patted her dragon's neck, now covered in Valyrian steel chainmail. We'll be all right, girl.
I know we will, she can hear her say.
But before she could give the command to fly, Kenzou walked up to her and handed her a piece of parchment. "Jaenyx asked me to give this to you. He said that he wanted something more… personal to send."
Grinning, Visenya snatched the letter from his hand and stuffed it inside her dragon coat. "I'll be back soon, Kenzou. Make sure to use this time to plan our raid." After seeing him nod, she took off into the air on Vhagar.
By the time that they reached Heart's Home, it was near dusk, but there was still enough light for her to see the small castle of House Corbray. They were not a particularly wealthy house, but everyone one of them produced good warriors. It'll be a shame if they didn't see the light.
Squinting her eyes, she saw the scorpion mounted on the ramparts as well as the rest of the army surrounding it. Vhagar then heard another roar from the ground, which came from Meraxes. She was able to see the silver dragon still on the dirt and then see Rhaenys, who was surprised to see her sister. I'll talk to her later.
Assuming a circle above Heart's Home, Visenya waited as the Corbray men loaded their scorpion. By now, everyone was watching, confused at what she was doing and more so after seeing Vhagar covered in armor. Finally, the bolt was released and it flew from its release. She held onto Vhagar's spines tightly, praying to the gods of Valyria that the armor would work.
Eventually, the bolt collided with her wing-arm, causing a roar of pain from Vhagar's mouth. But miraculously, it was a roar more out of annoyance and the bolt simply bounced off of the armlet. Are you okay?
It hurts! Visenya could only smile in triumph, and be glad for Vhagar not being wounded.
Pointing her dragon's snout downwards, she aimed for the scorpion. "Dracarys!" Orange flames left her mouth, consuming the weapon and anyone who was unlucky to be close by.
Doing one more circle, Visenya saw white flags hoisted over Heart's Home, and cheers erupted from the northern camp. Meraxes roared in celebration, as the weapon that wounded her was now destroyed.
Landing Vhagar near Meraxes, her dragon lowered herself so that Visenya could easily climb off of her. She then saw her sister and Brandon Snow run towards her, awestruck at what she had done.
Visenya noticed a change in her attitude, more evident than the last time they saw each other, which could only be obtained after leading an army through arduous conditions and to victory. No words were exchanged as they finally embraced each other, crying out of happiness in seeing each other again and that none of them were seriously harmed. Brandon stepped back and allowed the sisters their moment.
A/N: I felt that the only way to really counter the scorpions was to give the dragons armor, which I created as realistically as I could. Hope you all liked that approach.
For House Royce, they're not just going to go full-on supporting the dragons, but they will send something, which will really put them on the dragons' good side.
Next chapter will cover more on Rhaenys' and Visenya's reunion, the letter, and how that raid will proceed. See you next time!