A/N: Hi, people. Hope you all are doing well. Went through some more stuff, but I am managing.

Anyways, here it is.

Bran felt himself connected to the weirwood tree again, guided by Bloodraven himself, or the Three-Eyed Raven as he introduced himself as. The day was quite sunny, with only a smattering of clouds that could be seen against the blue sky. Bran could feel the warmth upon him, but as he looked around, the area seemed eerily familiar. He knew that what he experienced blended between dream and reality, but it was real in the sense that what he was seeing had happened before. Looking around, Bran saw a tall weirwood tree right in front of him, and he was in awe, for that weirwood tree looked like a blessing from the old gods themselves. Before him was the same tree resided in by the Three Eyed Raven, the one who was guiding him in his journey as a greenseer. What was now the frozen and desolate frontier that he was stuck in was once a beautiful, grassy plain filled with flowers, animals, and other features that indicated the great health of nature.

Bran noticed that the animals were not the only creatures scampering around in this beautiful landscape. Arranged in a semicircle around the base of the tree were a group of children of the forest, each holding a glowing gem. A single child stood in the middle of the semicircle, facing the tree.

And tied to the tree, fighting against his restraints and the gag tied around his mouth, was Caedman Stark, the ancestor of all of House Stark and the father of Brandon the Builder himself. Bran remained in awe of his ancestor, the one who started it all, but here, he was confused at what he was seeing.

Bran noticed that Caedman Stark was older than the man he had seen in his previous vision, which was about the Stark ancestor's younger years running wild and free in the lands that would become the North. His cropped hair was thinning, his skin marked with the scars of a hard life that Bran had not noticed before. But why was he here? Why did the children tie him to the sacred tree? All sorts of questions were passing through the mind of the second son of Ned Stark and Catelyn Tully Stark.

But to his horror, Bran started to see why Caedman Stark was tied in such a manner. Stepping forward, face hardened with the task before him, the child of the forest removed a shard of dragonglass from his belt, resting the tip against Caedman Stark's chest. Muffled by the gag, Bran could still hear the blood-curdling cry erupting from Caedman Stark as the child of the forest drove the dragonglass shard into his heart. And yet there was little blood, only a small pooling around the wound. A sudden chill draped over the landscape. The pained screams died down as the bound Caedman stilled while eyes transformed from grey into a malevolent ice blue, beginning his transformation into the one that would afflict the world in the Long Night.

Eyes flying open, Bran felt a coughing fit overcoming him. His heart was pounding from the vision of his ancestor. "Here, drink this." He looked up to see Leaf putting a cup of water in his hand. He downed it, calming his throat. "It's not common for the great one to come across a vision this unpleasant."

Bran stared at Leaf as if she sprouted three heads and belched wildfire. "You did it." Anger swelled inside him. "You turned Caedman Stark into the Night King!" His ancestor, the first Stark, he was the one commanding the armies of the dead against the living north of the Wall. He should have known that things would not be so simple, but he never realized that he and the very one who was seeking his death had a connection by blood.

Back turned to the crippled Stark, Leaf refused to face him. Bran hoped that it was because she couldn't. "The First Men were wiping us out. Cutting down our forests, turning them into fields for farming, hunting us down when we, hungry, tried to eat their corn and grain. We weren't a warlike people, and it cost us." Shame crossed her face, as strong now as it was all those millennia ago. "Our spiritual leader found a way to create a weapon. A protector that would beat back the invaders."

"And yet you created an uncontrollable monster."

"It wasn't my call!" she yelled back. Quickly, the defensiveness withdrew. "But it doesn't matter. It happened, and we were all culpable."

Silence descended over the cave for what seemed like an hour. "If you created him under your control and direction, why did he turn on all life?"

The memories of that dark time were still fresh in her mind. "He was strong willed. Missed his wife and child, as he believed them to be dead from our actions. They weren't, but his belief drove out the last bit of his sanity. He broke from our control, and sought his vengeance upon the living world." She closed her eyes, tears in them. "I can still hear the cries of my brothers and sisters…"

Not able to do anything but watch as the ancient being broke down quietly, Bran felt the cold creep up on him. The Night King was a Stark, the first Stark. Torn away from his wife and son. Driven insane from the ultimate evil, the ultimate power, and the ultimate loss. From the mistakes of those not on this earth anymore, having departed long ago, Bran knew that there would be many more screams before this nightmare would end.

"But that's not all, is it?" Bran knew that there was something more from all of this.

"No," Leaf shook her head. "In his grief, Caedman turned to darkness. And I do not mean the darkness that he was experiencing. He sought help from the very essence of darkness itself."

"What do you mean by that?"

Leaf took in a breath. "It is too complicated to explain in the time that we have, but this world did not come out of nowhere. Like everything else in this world, this earth was one of many created by those that control reality itself, whose names have been lost to us by time."

"Reality itself?" Bran asked.

"We have the old gods, the Valyrians have their gods, the Andals have theirs, all of them having a certain interpretation of how the world came to be. But only recently, a few thousand years ago, did I discover that the gods we worshipped were above those that controlled reality itself, the ones who made the world and everything else as it was. The gods we know handled the details, but these beings were on another level. You could not hope to alter the world if it meant going against these beings."

"Who are these beings you talk about?" Bran pressed.

Leaf gulped. "As I said, I do not know their exact names, but I believe that the names I gave them accurately describe what they do and why they are part of itself. To put it simply, these beings are primordial, which means that they existed before the beginning of time itself. To many others, they are mysterious and powerful beyond even our own comprehension, and us children of the forest have difficulty sometimes acknowledging that they still exist. However, others have long held them as myths to even the oldest species in any world out there. For the sake of simplicity, there are four beings that make up the fabric of reality: Darkness, Decay, Infinity, and Eternity.

"Decay came into being at the beginning of time along with his father Eternity, who was born from his flesh. The only purpose Decay has for his existence is destruction. This purpose pits him in a constant and never-ending struggle with his father Eternity, whose goal is creation. But together, they keep the cycles of creation and destruction in balance and keep each other in check."

Bran felt his head hurting. Even though they still maintained the existence of the old gods, the revelation of beings higher than the old gods made him aware that there were still a great many things that he did not know of the world.

Leaf continued. "As we know, Eternity came into being at the beginning of time along with his son Decay. Eternity's purpose is creation. He was the one that created everything, including this world, and sent for agents that took on forms that life could understand so that he would not miss any details. However, his purpose for creation has put him in a constant and never-ending struggle with Decay, whose goal is destruction. But just as destruction keeps creation in check, creation keeps destruction in control. Together, they are able to maintain a balance that is central to the continued existence of our world."

"I have one question. How do you know Eternity is the father of Decay?" Bran had to ask on the relationships Leaf mentioned.

"It is a relationship that others have informed me about after they obtained an idea on who these primordial beings, and it makes the most sense since how else can you explain such a conflict between two forces who are important to balance?"

"I see," Bran voiced his skepticism. But Leaf had to continue.

"The third being is Infinity, which represents all space around the world. Infinity and Eternity are in constant competition with Darkness, who attempts to reduce life while Infinity and Eternity expand life. She is the sister of Eternity. And here, we come to the being most active in this world: Darkness. Unlike the other three, Darkness is not a man or a woman, but it embodies decay and can possess the soul of a living being when it has to. Often taking the form of a hooded figure, Darkness can manipulate reality, time, and space, and came into existence at the same time as Entropy, Eternity, and Infinity. Only those with immense power are immune to Darkness' ability."

"And why is Darkness important?"

"Because Darkness is the very being responsible for completing Caedman Stark's final transformation as the Night King. We might have pierced him with the dragonglass, but being seduced by Darkness is a choice and whatever that being said to him turned out to be enough."

Bran was still angry with Leaf and the other children of the forest, but for Darkness, a being that was part of reality itself, to have been involved in his ancestor's transformation as the dreaded Night King was frightening. And it made him heartbroken to be aware that Darkness itself knew what to say to Caedman for him to make the final transformation.

"Is there any way that we can stop Darkness?"

"We can't," Leaf shook her head. "We cannot stop a being that has existed before time itself. As much as that being is responsible for the woes we face, that being is also part of how this world is. And an unavoidable truth is that light cannot exist without dark, so what can we do about that?"

Bran sighed in frustration. "What do we do now? We're doomed, then."

"Not necessarily. We have to keep moving and we have to continue to find answers. It took me a long time to understand that only together can we stop the second coming of the Long Night and we have to do so. Otherwise, Darkness will reign over this world once more."

Bran sighed before nodding. "Where do we suggest we go?"

Benjen rode as quickly as he could, with Jon, Ghost, Lim, and fifty men. The situation at one of the checkpoints had deteriorated rapidly, as an angry mob formed there and one of the sergeants ran to him, who requested on behalf of the company captain stationed at that checkpoint for reinforcements. Benjen asked which checkpoint they were at and once the sergeant told him, he knew that he had ride towards there immediately. This is not good.

That particular checkpoint, located in a relatively calm part of the capital, was manned by reserve soldiers who were called back to active service. The danger about them was that many of them were past their prime and had to refamiliarize themselves with army weaponry, but most seriously, they were out of the army long enough to not remember how to act with the utmost discipline in challenging situations and that would cause them to act with a certain lack of control. That was why Benjen had informed his nephew, niece, and his trusted lieutenant and brought them along, in addition to fifty men from the firearms unit.

But by the time that Benjen arrived, the mob was much larger than he had anticipated. Expecting only a few dozen, he and the others were surprised at seeing hundreds of them. All of them were cursing at the troops in guanhua and shouting words that essentially said: "Give us food! Stop the beatings!"

Benjen glanced at Jon, Arya, Kaijin, and Lim in alarm. Lord Buko's extreme methods for controlling dissent had only succeeded in making the people angrier, which was frankly the logical response if the provosts and the constables started to beat people at random for no reason at all. And given that the people had to live with checkpoints still, they wanted their lives to go back to normal and that was being denied to them. And here was their anger, apparently manifesting after judging that they had enough.

Dismounting his horse, Benjen approached the captain in charge. "What's going on here?"

"I count three, probably four hundred of them," the captain replied frantically. "For now, they're shouting at us. But who knows what might happen if this continues to go on?"

"You afraid of them, captain?"

"General, I only have thirty men here and we're outnumbered by hundreds, even with the men that you brought with you. The chances of this ending peacefully do not look good."

Benjen patted the captain's back. "Calm yourself, captain. I have informed Prince Kaijin and Prince Joon of the situation. Reinforcements should be on the way."

"That's not what I mean, general. I think that someone is going to die here."

"What makes you think that?"

"Even if we bring more weapons and more men, the mob is not going to disperse. They will just get madder, and their numbers would increase."

"Good point," Benjen nodded. "Tell your men to stand their ground, but do not give them any reason to attack you."

"I shall try, general."

Benjen went back to Jon and Lim. "This does not look good. Unless Prince Kaijin comes here with reinforcements, this will end badly."

"I agree," Lim answered. "And I can tell that these troops are not used to holding the tanegashima from how their hands are shaking."

"Should we try to talk to them?" Jon nodded to the mob. "Perhaps the presence of Ghost and a dragon prince might make them stop in fear."

Benjen shook his head. "I do not believe that they are angry with you. It is Lord Buko that is causing all of this mess. He wants to turn this empire into a military state and look at how they are responding. They are much too angry to be reasoned with."

As if on cue, Benjen heard a rock land behind him. Turning around, his eyes widened as the mob got bold and began to throw whatever they could find at the checkpoint guards. Rocks, plates, and even animal shit were being used, and the guards protected their faces and their heads as best as they could, with some hiding behind the structures for cover while still aiming their weapons.

Panicking, the sergeant that ran to Benjen ran forward and raised his hand-held tanegashima, which he shot into the air. "Disperse now!" he shouted.

The crowd were temporarily surprised at a firearm going off, but they went back to their shouting and throwing refuse at the guards once they saw the sergeant reload. Sensing the danger, some of the reinforcements from the firearms unit ran forward in support of their comrades and aimed their weapons at the crowd. Before Benjen could run forward to stop them from firing, Lim did that exact thing.

"Hold your fire! Hold your fire!" Lim shouted while making the men point their weapons down at the ground. "Do not shoot at these people!"

Benjen wasted no time as well, as he and Jon also told the others to not do anything rash. "Steady, men! Find your courage! Keep still!"

But just as Lim was able to get the troops in line despite them braving rocks and other refuse, one of the rocks landed on Lim's head. It was a large rock and it must have struck him hard, for he was stunned and fell on the ground, with blood seeping from the back of the head.

"Lieutenant Lim!" Benjen ran towards while referring to him by the rank that he held when he first met him. He brought up his head and saw that he was unconscious. "Come on! Wake up!"

But that was the last straw for the guards and the reinforcements. Upon seeing one of their commanders struck in the head after trying to calm the situation, they had lost all sense of discipline. It quickly resulted in one of the troops losing his nerve and he fired his tanegashima at the crowd. As the firearms unit were good shots, one of the mob, an old man, was hit in the chest.

"Hold your fire!" Jon shouted and repeated in vain as the others' weapons discharged, killing more of the mob such as women and children. The mob, clearly not expecting for the troops to actually fire on them, ran away in fright, trampling those unfortunate enough to be slow.

But that wasn't the end of it. The guards, who had endured the mob's abuse for long enough, wanted to exact their revenge and went after them by firing at their backs, beating them with their empty tanegashima, and drawing their close combat weapons such as axes, daggers, and even swords to continue their killing.

Benjen, upon seeing the troops getting out of control, directed two sergeants to take Lim to a physician before he ran to try to stop the troops. "Stand down! Stand down!" His orders fell on deaf ears, or rather ears that could not hear him above all of the screaming, the shrieking, and the utter pandemonium that was taking place in the quarters. Turning to Jon, all he could say was, "We have to stop them! They are killing everyone!"

Jon nodded. "Let me get Dany and the dragons. We should stop them that way." He, along with Ghost, ran back to the palaces to get both Meleys and Drogon.

"Hurry up!" Benjen called out to him.

However, the situation had quickly taken a turn for the worse once Benjen saw large groups of provosts and constables appear at the scene, all of them armed with a mixture of sticks, clubs, swords, spears, and tanegashima. They joined the guards and the part of the reinforcements who had fired on the crowd in killing those that were running or those that were stupid enough to put up a fight against trained men. Bodies started to fill the streets while any who managed to survive the first initial volleys were being cut down or beaten to death.

The sensible thing for Benjen to have done was to wait for Prince Kaijin and the reinforcements, as he was in no position to stop them by himself and he knew from his time on the Wall that bloodlust was uncontrollable once unleashed. However, Benjen wasn't going to sit by and let the very men he was partly responsible for finish their descent into murder and madness. How would Ned, Brandon, Lyanna, father, and mother think of me when they see that I did nothing as others were dying right before my eyes?

Running through the city, or the parts that were now being set upon by the beasts, Benjen saw one of the provosts forcing himself on a woman, holding her down while he was getting his trousers down. Acting quickly, he ran towards him and pushed him off. "Stand down!" he shouted. But that soldier made the unwise decision by drawing his decision. With no choice left, Benjen had to decapitate him with his sword. Turning to the woman, who was shaking at what she was about to face, Benjen picked her up and pushed her away. "Go! Now!"

Benjen ran some more, and the all too familiar scent of blood began to blanket wherever he went. He had been through bloodshed in his lifetime, but this was something that he could have never experienced, as the smell was thick and the ground were becoming red. His boots started to become soaked because there was blood wherever he went. Monsters, he thought.

However, as he moved through another part of the quarter, Benjen saw a group fighting off a group of provosts. Well, fighting was a generous term, as the group was killing all of the provosts that were trying to charge at them. Squinting his eyes, his eyes widened when he recognized Mingyu and the same group that was trying to kill him earlier. What in the Seven Hells is going on here?

But then, Benjen saw another provost, this one armed with a tanegashima, and he aimed his weapon at Mingyu. By instinct, he ran towards him. "Stop!" Judging that he would be too late before he could stop that provost from firing, he took out his own tanegashima, aimed at him, and fired. Fortunately, the shot hit his side just before he fired, resulting in him firing upwards slightly. As the provost fell to the ground, Benjen moved to where he slumped and saw his eyes. The provost eyes seemed to ask, "Why?" But Benjen couldn't answer, for the light soon left that provost.

Looking back to Mingyu and her group, Benjen saw that they had managed to kill off the last of the provosts that were attacking them. Mingyu and Benjen locked eyes with each other, with the former making it obvious that she saw what he did. And Benjen, despite the conflicts he had with her, had just saved her without thinking.

Approaching her, Mingyu stood straight while the group around her kept their swords raised. "What are you doing here?" Benjen asked her with a hard tone.

"I came back from the jungles, where I killed the prime minister and have captured Prince Sumeng."

Benjen did not expect that. "Really?"

Mingyu held out her hand, with which one of the group gave her a sack. Opening it, Mingyu bid Benjen to look inside, and he was surprised to see Prime Minister Shu's head inside. "And let me introduce you to Prince Sumeng."

Now that Benjen could see more closely, he remembered that one of the group was not fighting and was only being used as a counterweight against those who had managed to come too close to the group. Taking off his hood, he was surprised that it was indeed Prince Sumeng.

"How did you get him?"

"Is that important now?" Benjen nodded at her question, causing Mingyu to answer with, "I will explain to you later."

"And what about these men? Are they here to kill me?"

"For now, we have no reason to kill you. Let us say that your lover has purchased your life for something you cannot give."

Benjen looked at Mingyu, confused. "What does he mean by that?"

"Please. I did not have to come here to this city, but I did. All I ask is that you hear me out, or am I wrong to believe that you saving me was by accident?"

Benjen sighed, frustrated that he couldn't answer that. "Come with me then. Just stay close and I will get you to the palaces safely."

As they went through the streets, Benjen could not stop thinking, What is she up to?

Sam knew that the rationing of cereals and price control of other goods would cause a lot of anger among the populace. Lord Buko reasoned that the army and other troops that ran the checkpoints throughout the capital and in other cities of the empire needed to have a reliable and regular supply of food, but his measures would inevitably affect how people would get fed. And his measures on how much the merchants could sell and in what quantities could they sell did very much in causing an uproar among the merchant community, especially those whose livelihood depended on unrestricted enterprise.

But then, Lord Buko's solution to any unrest was to send the constables and the army provosts to deal with the problem and the results were practically expected. Armed with clubs and other blunt weapons, they smashed up any meeting places where dissent or anything labeled as such was being discussed, charged whoever was arrested with sedition, and had them tried before military courts, where they were not allowed to speak in their own defense. Sentences passed by the judges ranged from ninety days in military prison to receiving one thousand strikes with a stick in public. Sam was amazed that one of them managed to survive the latter sentence, for it was usually a fatal one. Seven hells. They're making my father look kind in comparison.

Then, Lord Buko made the very unwise decision by banning any public gatherings beyond five people, with anything more than that to be subjected to a heavy fine of one hundred silver taels or five hundred strikes with a stick. Of course, those terms started to become loosely interpreted by the constables and provosts, as they started to enter food establishments and teahouses and demanding free meals and tea. When the owner refused, they then arrested the owner and all of the patrons. The only reason why Sam and his love Meiying Yoon were not subjected to such a harsh treatment was because Sam showed them his official seal, proving that he worked directly for the military council. Bastards, he thought as he watched a few provosts kick and beat a helpless old man in the teahouse that he frequented.

Given how much abuse and harshness was going on, it didn't come as a surprise that an angry mob had formed at one of the checkpoints in the capital. The mob began by shouting curses and verbal abuses at the guards, which then prompted more of them to show up. Shouting was followed by rocks and whatever objects the mob could find, and the guards tried very hard to avoid them. But as the guards were not armed with tanegashima as they deemed the area around that particular checkpoint safe, all they could do was charge and beat them with their sticks when they had enough. Only problem was, they couldn't tell the mob from other people that was just standing by and many bystanders received severe wounds or were beaten to death. What a mess.

After that, Lord Buko decreed that all guards were to be equipped with tanegashima, swords, spears, and other weapons no matter how safe they thought their respective areas were. He also brought in reinforcements from other areas of the empire, which included reserves from the south. And it was those reserves that would fire upon the crowd, who had enough, and cause a massacre throughout the city.

Sam had to cover his nose as he walked through the streets to survey the damage for the military council, as he still had to get used to the smell of burning flesh. He might have seen the dragons burn Jon's and Daenerys' enemies, but this was different. This was the result of soldiers getting out of control and going on a rampage through the lower quarters of Yin, and the only reason why they stopped was because Jon and Daenerys stopped with their dragons and with Ghost tearing apart a soldier who was about to shoot a little boy. Bastards, Sam had to say once more.

Sam reported to the military council, who had called for an emergency meeting in light of the riots.

"Do you have your report, Secretary?" Khiara asked him.

"I do, Your Highness." Sam opened his journal, in which he recorded the casualties, the value of the properties destroyed, and the notes he took from his inquiries of the people, all of which were mixed with the common tongue and the various tongues of the empire. "I count… twenty thousand dead, eighty thousand wounded, and essentially half of this capital made homeless since their homes were burned by the retaliatory strikes of the provosts."

"And how many of our soldiers have died trying to put down this mob?" Lord Buko was increasingly getting more obstinate, which added to his unpopularity among the council.

Sam cleared his throat. "One thousand dead and two thousand wounded, and the dead are mostly because the mob managed to break into one of the armories and obtain firearms. They didn't know how to use them well, but they were able to inflict some damage."

"You see that?" Lord Buko addressed the council. "This is what the mob is capable of, and that's only with one armory. Imagine if they had access to all of our armories. The casualties among our soldiers would be in the tens of thousands."

"And why do you think they wanted to access those armories in the first place?" Admiral Okamoto inquired, but it was clear that he was angry with Lord Buko.

"They do not respect the rule of law and because they know they would not be able to defeat our troops with farming tools and whatever they could find, they decided to steal our weapons."

"But why do you think that they would want to fight our troops at all, even if they knew that they were outmatched in terms of ability and weaponry?" Benjen still had his face blackened from the smoke and he didn't bother to wipe the blood from his beard and forehead, making it clear to all where he was when the whole bloody affair occurred.

"As I said, they don't respect the rule of law."

Khiara tapped her hand on the phoenix throne. "If we can proceed." She nodded for Sam to continue.

"After talking with the affected families and surveying the damage done, it is my conclusion that the riots occurred because the people were not happy with how heavy-handed the actions of this very council were. They didn't want to be beaten for no reason by the provosts and constables, they are not happy with the continued establishing of the checkpoints even though Yujin Bu and the Prime Minister are dead and with Sumeng Bu currently housed within these walls. They believe that it is time for normality to come back."

"And they're not alone in thinking that," Quartermaster Shin added. "I told everyone in this council that we must return to normal government as soon as possible and who knows how much more unrest we'll face if this continues longer?"

"Also," Sam wrote down one last note that he had to say. "They believe that this very council doesn't represent the best interests of the empire and thus believe that…" Now that he was actually saying it, he regretted it.

"Go on," Prince Joon urged him.

"They believe that only the cruelest form of punishment is most fitting for such 'mean creatures who dirty their uniforms and subvert the authority divinely given to the phoenix throne.'"

The council members whispered amongst each other, all except Jon and Benjen.

"Now do you see what your measures have done?" Minister Zong pointed his finger accusingly to Lord Buko. "You let substandard soldiers run amok on our streets and you've stoked their anger to the point where they were forced to take drastic measures to ensure that their grievances were heard?"

"And you would believe the words of the mob over the conduct of our soldiers?" Lord Buko spat back.

"Why don't you go down to the affected areas by yourself and see just what your commitment to law and order has resulted?" Benjen growled. "And while you're at it, announce who you are, although I don't think that will be necessary in your case since people will not forget the very one who signed the orders."

"Are you questioning me and my wisdom, you white devil?"

"Hey!" Jon stepped in. "That's my uncle you're talking to. You will show him respect."

"Enough!" Khiara shouted, getting everyone's attention. "It seems that tempers are high at the moment and that further discussion will be marred by emotion. I suggest another time for another meeting when our heads are calm, and our passions soothed. All in favor?" Everyone, except for Lord Buko, raised their hand. "Very well. This council will meet again at a later date."

After the council was dismissed, Sam was about to hand his notes to Khiara before she signaled for him, Jon, Benjen, and Joon to follow her, as well as Daenerys, who was allowed to continue her attendance in the meetings. Sam found himself in the personal rooms of the emperor, which Khiara had taken for herself.

"Do you know why I called you all here today?" Khiara spoke in the common tongue.

"Is it to talk about the words of Lord Buko?" Daenerys knew what was going on after Jon told her.

"Exactly. All of you should know that he is a bad influence on this empire, more or less this council, and his stubbornness to what he thinks is right is becoming a liability."

"What do we suggest we do about it?" Jon asked.

"Well… perhaps it is time that we begin to consider ways that we can remove him and his ilk from power before he does any more damage."

Sam shared glances with Jon, Benjen, Joon, and Daenerys. "Remove him, Your Highness? You mean to say that we should kill him?" Joon asked.

"I didn't say that," Khiara denied. "But there is only way to ensure that Lord Buko's poison no longer becomes a concern to this empire and to its halls of power. And what Lord Buko represents is very dangerous, as what he espouses is the very thing that will subvert all of natural authority and overturn the order of things. He might not have ambitions to wear the imperial crown or sit on the phoenix throne, but he does have plans and they include putting himself and his supporters in positions of power. For all that we know, he could be doing that same thing already, courting commanders and preparing his next move."

Sam knew that sooner or later, Lord Buko had to be dealt with. But he himself didn't have the stomach for what Khiara was suggesting. "Even if we do eliminate him, someone else might take his place. You can't ignore that for all of his extremism, Lord Buko does bring up valid points on how things were done while your father was alive and many of his supporters came to him because they shared his concerns," Jon pointed out.

"Indeed. But there are ways to do things and ways not to do things, and an empire ruled by the generals is not a solution. Rather, it's simply granting the powers of an emperor onto one man without a crown. And you should that such a thing is incredibly dangerous, as the old order will be ended and chaos will reign since the traditional way of passing authority onto another's shoulders will be replaced by those who have the most men and might. Is that really the kind of situation that you want happening?"

Sam knew what she was thinking, and he couldn't decide whether it will be a good option.

"What do you propose?" Daenerys asked her.

"You do this right, you'll everything you ever want."

I really don't like it when someone says that.

Rhaenys read the response from Robb Stark, who had received her letter. The letter written from the hand of Robb Stark went as followed:

"To the one calling herself Rhaenys Targaryen,

I must admit that I am at a loss, if you really who you say you are. I have heard stories about what my father experienced during the Rebellion and unfortunately, our families' history is not one that ends well. Your grandfather burned my grandfather and uncle alive and almost killed my father, but the old gods were able to protect him, and he was able to live long enough to sire me. And I must admit that no one in Westeros is in any hurry for you and your family to retake the throne, even though Aegon the Conqueror did create it out of nothing.

And yet, despite the blood spilled between our families, perhaps what you're offering has allowed the both of us to be useful to each other for a change. You claim that the one calling himself Aegon Targaryen is not the genuine article and if that is true, that will greatly be beneficial to the ones who have sided with me. However, I have learned long ago to not trust one's word alone, as that had costed me dearly. And here I am as an exile just trying to go home the same way you are trying to.

So, in the interest of our common cause, I have a proposition for you. Currently within the vaults of the Great Pyramid of Meereen are two dragons, whose names are Rhaegal and Viserion. Rhaegal is green with bronze markings while Viserion is creamy white and adorned with gold markings. Nobody knows the exact location of the one called Drogon, the biggest one anyone has seen and one many predict to be the Black Dread Reborn.

If you are who you say you are, then you should have no problems being able to claim one of these dragons as your own. If you indeed have dragonblood, you can mount it and anything else afterwards will be believed. If not, you know the consequences.

Now, you must be wondering why I am asking you to do this. All I know is that I have no better options and you are probably the most potent potential ally that we have right now, and it's best to not look at the gift horse in the mouth. And because you have common cause with us, having proof that you are a Targaryen and a dragonrider will be what we need to survive the coming onslaught. And if the one who you claim as an imposter is not a true dragon, then he will die from dragonfire and our enemies will splinter.

And if you do accept this proposition, I am sure that you can find a way to Meereen. In fact, just as this letter was sent, we have a boat waiting outside of Yunkai, where we know that you and your supporters have set up your headquarters. The boat will wait for three days and will leave whether or not you come, but we will know your answer after three days. You can find the boat that has a red sail on it.

After you read this letter, please burn it. I know that Varys is with you and that he will most likely look through your contents. Do not give him any indication on what my offer is.

Let us hope that you are true.

Robb Stark.

As instructed, Rhaenys burned the letter with a candle, and she did not need long to make her decision. She was aware of how risky it was, but anything that meant that she would be able to get away from Varys and the one who dared to use her baby brother's name was preferable. "I have to get to the red-sailed boat."

Getting her Dornish spear and scimitar, Rhaenys then cloaked herself and moved as quietly as she could through the manse. She had to hide herself at times, as the guards made their rounds through the halls. After seeing that no one had detected her, she was able to move out of the manse and into the city of Yunkai.

At the same time, Rhaenys had to keep it in the back of her mind that she was being watched by Varys somehow. Just as Varys had many years to know her, she took that time to know him. In fact, she had to assume that she was being watched by one of his little birds and that he or she was following to see where she was going. However, she could not let that little bird know that she knew that she was being followed, as the little bird would simply make it difficult for her to find out who it was and deal with it. Nothing is ever simple with Varys.

Rhaenys could not waste time, as the harbor was nearby, but she could not make it obvious. Having obtained a basic layout of Yunkai, she went in various indirect routes. She turned right onto a street, turned left at a shop, went forward when she should have turned left, anything to confuse her potential follower or followers. She also learned to not walk in a straight line and instead moved from side to side, as that was the easiest way for her to avoid anyone who wished her harm from closing the distance and ambushing her.

Finally, after feeling that she had been walking in circles deliberately long enough, Rhaenys went straight for the harbor. It did not take her long to find the red-sailed boat, for it stood out among the other boats docked. All right. Just get on that boat and I will be off.

"Where do you think you are going, Your Grace?"

Rhaenys turned around and saw a masked man, or rather a group of people wearing the harpy mask and approaching her menacingly. "Of course. He would have figured out that I knew that I was being watched."

"You should not be out here, Your Grace. These streets are not safe," one of them said.

"Why is that?"

"We mean no harm. Let us return to the manse and forget that you went on a little trip through this city."

"And why is my little trip, as you say, so concerning that you needed to follow me?"

"Why did you burn that letter?"

Rhaenys groaned. "Right. You have seen that."

"What is in that letter that you had to burn it?"

"I am not telling you that."

"Please, Your Grace. Lord Varys only has your best interests at heart, and we mean you no harm."

"Then why do I see that your hand is going for your dagger?"

The leading harpy groaned. "All right. I was hoping to do this the soft way, but I am all for carving you up and making you incapacitated for as long as necessary."

"You would dare do that, to the sister of the king you follow?"

"He is no king of ours. We only follow him because he will ensure that the dragons leave Slaver's Bay, forever. As for you, we do not have to kill you. We just to ensure that you never fight again."

Rhaenys gulped, for this was indeed her very first actual fight. And this time, whoever was fighting her would not hesitate to do her harm.

Without warning, the harpies immediately attack her. Rhaenys retreats, panting, trying to regain his center, as she tried to unsheathe her scimitar. However, the group of harpies close the distance and managed to strike her sword out of her hands. They hurl at her, hands and fists attacking from every angle, stabbing and grabbing, groping for any hold as Rhaenys blocked, twists and kicks like a dervish, desperate to keep them from grabbing onto her and pulling her back to the manse.

Rhaenys thrashed at the surrounding frenzy like someone in a cloud of locusts. A crushing kick opens the space around her for a moment and with a heave, Rhaenys is able to bring up her Dornish spear. Wishing to send Varys a message, she held off using her spear head and whipped it around him like a club, cutting huge swathes of space away, enough for the harpies to stagger back while those unfortunate to be close to her felt hard polished wood striking against bone and muscle.

But while she is able to hold them off, Rhaenys spun around in time to see more harpies pouring from a nearby alley. Where did they come from? A man and a woman scream as they try to avoid the horde of harpies coming their way, but they are run over. Soon, the space near the harbor is overrun by the seemingly endless mob and their relentless attack begins to overwhelm Rhaenys. A series of incredibly fast blows, each one coming with blurred fury, ends when a slash opens Rhaenys's hand. For a moment, everyone is too stunned to move, unsure if to believe it until blood dots the dirt. Wiping it away as she got back up, Rhaenys rose and said to herself, "Oh, that's it." Her jaw tightened, indicating that she was no longer going to spare them.

They charge and this time she backflips. Landing, her hands immediately reorient themselves on the spear, summoning everything that she had learned from all of her years of training. She let herself go and allowed her instincts to guide her. It was now Rhaenys that was attacking and the harpies that were fighting for their lives. Through that cut, she became an unrelenting fury which started to lay waste to anything foolish enough to get in her way.

She saw a hand come off, a chest pierced, head spilt, and legs cut. She was not paying attention to what she was doing, but all she was thinking about now was how to get out of this mess. She needed to leave and there was only way for it to end.

After what seemed like an eternity painted in red, Rhaenys regained her senses and saw that a balded man with a harpy mask was the last to fall. Rhaenys turns to the leader of the harpies who were trying to get her, and he or she seemed ready to go at her once more. However, the harpy made the wise decision and ran off.

Wiping the blood off of her face, Rhaenys ran straight to the red-sailed boat after picking up her scimitar. Finding who appeared to be the captain of the boat, she asked, "Where are you from?"

"Nowhere," the captain replied.

"Do you know Robb Stark?"

That got the captain's attention. "You Rhaenys Targaryen?"

"Yes, I am."

"Get on board. We have a few days ahead of us." The captain cut the ropes that tied his boat to the dock and sailed away. As he flew colors that belonged to those who came from Volantis, none of the Volantene ships stopped him.

But as Rhaenys settled in, she looked at her bloodied hands and realized just what she had done. She never killed before, but it was easy for her to do so. However, unlike those who would not demonstrate fortitude in such circumstances, Rhaenys shrugged it off. "I do not what is so… impactful about killing. I really do not." She did not know if that was a right thing to talk about, that killing for the first time would not have an effect on her, but she had seen so much of the darkness in her life that she would not be as affected as everyone else.

What should I do, then? Rhaenys thought to herself.

A/N: With such expansion, I essentially took cues from Marvel's background of the Cosmic Entities, which I think are more scary than Thanos.

That massacre from Benjen's POV is influenced by others such as the Boston Massacre, Amritsar, Gwangju, and Bloody Sunday. And Sam is now becoming privy to the secrets.

And man, that was a tough scene to write, as fight scenes have to be done carefully. But I hope it was good and you all have some idea on Rhaenys' abilities now.

Until next time!