Land of the King
Chapter 59: Armistice
"Peace is only an armistice in an endless war"
-Thucydides
"Mother? What are you doing out on the balcony, you should come in."
"I saw you racing with your siblings on your dragons earlier," her mother said.
Jaenara was changing out of her racing breeches into a more comfortable dress and replied, "Did you? It was so amazing Mother! I could feel the wind all over my face! It was exhilarating. It's a pity I didn't win, but Terrax is quite big and slow and I'm quite inexperienced so they said it was fine."
"Yes, a pity," her mother said as she beckoned Jaenara to join her on the balcony.
"But next time, I'm sure that you'll win," her mother encouraged.
Jaenara wasn't so sure. "Maybe… I'll have to practice more."
A vision of her mother jumping off the balcony split into her head for a moment but Jaenara looked back and saw her mother near her and relaxed. It wasn't true, of course her mother wouldn't leave her… right?
She hadn't even realised what happened next. One moment her mother was standing on the balcony with her and the next she was jumping off the railing.
Jaenara screamed, shocked and confused before reality shifted again and she was on Terrax, begging for mercy.
"Please," she begged him, begged for any single shred of mercy Aelyx might have, thinking of every memory, both good and bad, that they had shared together in her desperation.
"Jaenara," her brother said.
Hope filled her heart when she saw her brother's remorse and hesitation writ all over his face, but as soon as it came, it was burnt away when she saw a single tear escaping from his eyes, his gaze becoming cold and ruthless. She knew then that she would have no mercy from her brother.
"Fall."
She slipped out of the last chain keeping her tied to Terrax and the world slowed. Every second was like an eternity as she plummeted from the sky, seeing the cold merciless look in her brother's eyes as he and Arrax tore Terrax apart. As he watched her fall to her almost certain death.
As gravity dragged her down, Jaenara could think of only one thing. Her brother's last word to her, 'Fall.' And she did.
Picking up speed as she fell, Jaenara hardly noticed it when a spout of water rose to barely break her fall, as she felt several of her bones breaking and her chest almost rupturing.
Her mind could hardly process what had happened, overtaken entirely by a single minded desire to survive as she desperately tried to stay afloat, pushing through the agony of her broken bones to try and swim.
Suddenly, a massive carcass crashed into the sea and a huge wave almost sent Jaenara under before she managed to desperately cling to something, anything that floated, her pain-addled mind not quite realising that she was clinging onto a piece of her dragon's wing.
As the adrenaline rush dissipated and the pain and exhaustion took over, Jaenara could feel herself slipping into unconsciousness.
"It hurts…"
Slowly, Jaenara awoke to a decidedly familiar ceiling. She was back in her room in the fort, lying on the bed and dressed in a white dress. Her left arm and both her legs were bound and set in casts, and her entire body hurt. Not a sharp unbearable pain, but a dull ache that could not be soothed. Even trying to move hurt, enough to incapacitate her and leave her right back where she started.
"Don't strain yourself," Jaenara's eyes moved to see Túrin, seated in a chair by the side of her bed.
As she gave up and laid her head back on the pillow, she could hear Túrin sadly chuckling, "This feels very familiar doesn't it? You were unconscious last time too and I stayed by your side until you woke. At least I actually managed to help back then."
"Túrin… it wasn't," Jaenara rasped out, her voice weak from disuse, but she was cut off by Túrin giving her a firm but gentle hug, being mindful of her injuries but also holding onto her for dear life, as if he was afraid she would vanish if he let go.
"Don't you ever do that to me again Jaenara. I forbid it, and as an Arnorian, you are duty bound to obey me," Túrin demanded, though his princely demand was more like a plea as he showed his vulnerability. "Please don't leave me again," he whispered.
Jaenara's shocked wide open eyes narrowed in understanding as she reciprocated, moving her good arm to wrap around Túrin.
When he finally broke their embrace, Túrin drew back, letting Jaenara get a good look at his bloodshot eyes. Had he been… crying? For her?
"How long…," she began to ask.
"Two weeks."
"So that dream… it wasn't really a dream then. My brother really… Terrax is really…" Jaenara choked out, her voice breaking, from both grief and disuse.
She was comforted by Túrin's hands in hers, "It's alright. You're safe now."
Jaenara looked right into his eyes, her amethyst orbs staring straight into his storm grey irises.
"Where is Terrax?"
Túrin's face was grim and dark.
A while later, Jaenara, unable to walk at the moment due to her injuries, had to be helped out by Túrin who pushed her in a wheelchair. It was grating on Jaenara, the lack of independence and freedom as her injuries forced her to depend on another to move. It made her feel vulnerable, weak. She did not hold it against Túrin however. It was not his fault. He was the one going out of his way to help an injured woman. No, Jaenara blamed herself, she had lost and gotten injured. It was all her fault, because of her Terrax had… he had…
In the back of her mind, she knew of course that Terrax was dead, but she hadn't been able to really come to terms with it until now. Sprawled all over the beach in front of her was the bloated remains of her beloved dragon, the carcass already beginning to rot.
"Even in death, the old dragon's loyalty and faith saved you. Our ships picked you up, holding onto a piece of his wing for dear life. Most of the rest of his body washed up ashore a few days later and I ordered that nothing should be done until you woke to pay your respects."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better about it?" she asked bitterly. "I've failed him, and even despite of that, even in death he saved me…"
"He would be glad to know you lived, Jaenera. Don't ruin it by stewing in useless regret," Turin tried saying appeasingly.
"Don't you see that's the problem?" she asked, barely holding her tears. "He did that because of me. It was my fault. Terrax served me loyally for so many years, more so than I ever deserved. He trusted that I knew what I was doing, and because of that he's now dead," she said, unable to stop a few tears from escaping.
At that Turin didn't seem to have what else to say, so instead, he just pulled her into a hug, which did more to comfort Jaenera than words ever could. Finally, after a long time, Jaenera broke away from the comfort of Turin's arms, and turned towards Terrax's body.
"Burn his body. It's tradition to burn the bodies of our dragons once everything of use has been taken from them. The water has spoiled his hide and scales and all that need be left of him now is bones and ash."
"Understood. I'll call the men. We'll put Terrax to rest Jaenara."
As the flames devoured her beloved mount, Jaenara turned to Túrin again. "What happened to my sword?"
He grimaced, "It was lost when you fell. We haven't been able to find it. It's probably at the bottom of the sea by now."
"I see," she said as she turned back to watch the flames. The loss stung, just another bit of salt rubbed into the open wound.
They remained there for a while… until the flames had burned out and devoured all of Terrax's flesh, leaving only the bones.
"Shall we go back to the fort Jaenara? It's getting dark."
Jaenara did not answer, her eyes still fixed on the last embers of the flame as the garrison began carrying the dragon bones into the fortress.
In her mind's eye, she recalled the day Terrax had chosen her as his rider. It had been one of the happiest days of her life.
"Jaenara…?"
"Yes. Let's go Túrin."
Goodbye, old friend.
His sister was alive. He knew that the news wasn't supposed to comfort him, and yet it did. No matter what else, at the very least he was no kinslayer. Of course, he knew they had been and would continue to be enemies. Jaenera was now Arnorian, and while the sham of a peace deal was now in force, he and many others would not accept it. In peace or in war, Arnor was the enemy, and the peace treaty would not change that.
If anything, it made it worse. The Treaty of Tyrosh was a humiliating disgrace, a complete and utter betrayal of Valyria by the Senate. Arnor had demanded to keep all of the lands they currently occupied, the Stepstones, Pentos, and Myr, in addition to taking the whole of Andalos, Tyrosh, Lys, and the fertile farmlands and hinterlands on the Heel of Essos under Myrish, Tyroshi, and Lyseni administration as far as the Kiros River. Furthermore, they had demanded that Valyria recognise the Braavosi control of Lorath and formally cede the colony to Braavosi annexation.
And the Senate had just accepted it. They had lost the war, and yet it wasn't the enemy that his wrath turned against. Your enemies were supposed to oppose you to the bitter end after all. No, it was the Senate that drew his ire, the Senate that had proven to be a bigger hindrance to Valyria than Arnor itself.
With the stroke of a pen, Valyria had lost almost an eighth of its territory, lands that had been under its control for hundreds of years and what did the Senate do? Nothing. The ambassador sent by the Senate was but a carpet for the Arnorians to walk all over and he had given nothing more than a token opposition when the Arnorians had demanded territory they did not even hold.
"What shall we do?" Valaena, one of the three heads of their army asked, as the three of them sat and read the fine details of the treaty.
"What can we do?" Viserys asked, his voice just as bitter as Aelyx felt. "The ink is dry on the… peace treaty," he spat those words as if they were poison. "What can we do against something like that? The Senate stabbed us in the back, aye, but what could we ever do against them?"
"Stab them back…" Aelyx said softly, almost afraid of what he was saying.
"Aelyx, what you're suggesting is treason," Viserys replied concerned, yet he could sense no real reproach in his tone, just brotherly concern.
"And was what the Senate did not treason?" Aelyx asked enraged. "Was stabbing their own people, their own country in the back not treason?"
"It was treason," Valaena said firmly. "And yet we both know the punishment if anyone ever heard those words."
"And what shall be the Senate's punishment?" he asked. "For betraying their kin, for deserting the cause of their people and for making cause with our enemy, what punishment for them?"
"None," Viserys admitted defeated. "The vermin of the Senate shall remain in power after this. Sure, some may lose some positions, but Senate membership is for life, and so they'll keep their power."
"What if we were to change that?" Aelyx asked, finally putting into words what he had been thinking ever since the first words of peace talks had reached them.
"I'm listening," Viserys said, seeming to pick up on his meaning.
"The army is not yet disbanded. Together we control over seventy dragons, the core of what remains of Valyria's strength. Even if all the other dragon riders were to oppose us, which I doubt, together we would incinerate them without any issues. We have the biggest dragons and the most experienced and battle-hardened veterans. It wouldn't even be a fight. And the army will follow us. Together the three of us command more loyalty in the army then the Senate ever will."
"You're talking about overthrowing the Senate," Valaena said, though he could hear the interest in her voice.
"Maybe. Or maybe purging it or simply curtailing it. I do not know for sure, but what I do know is that something needs to be done. We cannot allow this ignominy to continue."
"I may have a solution," Valaena replied. "The three of us are obviously going to be the leaders of this potential movement. And there are always three Triarchs…"
"Much as that arrangement could work short term, I think the disunity of the Triarchs and their limited power is one of the reasons why we ended up here. What we need is a firm hand."
"Well, if we are actually doing it, there are a few easy changes. First we rotate duties."
"As in?" he asked curiously.
"Too long the triarchs have stepped over each other. Make it so that now each month one of them is in charge, with them alternating the roles, each one being in charge once every 3 months. Thus, we will be able to have more power. We should also concentrate more power in the Triarchs and cut the Senate from as much as possible. They should retain some veto power and law-making capacity, but not much else."
"I like it," Aelyx said. "We shall naturally be the first Triarchs of this new government…"
"And for the interim, I think we should serve for life. Elections should happen after us once the new system is in place."
"Works well enough for me," Viserys replied. "Supposing we do that. We reform the government, we purge the Senate and install ourselves as Triarchs for life, what will we do about Arnor?"
"Prepare for vengeance. Backstabbed though we were, the amount of fight Arnor managed to put up was nothing to sneer at. We may not have lost on the battlefield, but neither did they. I say that if we want to defeat them, we must learn to be more like them," he said, the words like bile in his mouth, and yet he knew them to be true. To defeat the evil of Arnor they would have to embrace some of their practices.
"Well," Viserys begun, "for a start, we will need a professional army and a navy while we're at it. Arnor has both and it showed. We are nearly as rich as the Arnorians, and yet we do not have one, despite having the means to pay them. A professional army would do much and more for us. We cannot depend on our dragons alone; the war has shown us that quite clearly."
"Speaking of dragons, we cannot allow our riders to fall to where they were before the war," Aelyx put in.
"I agree," Valaena replied, "it took us losing half our numbers to have actual trained and skilled riders. We cannot allow that to happen again. Alongside a professional army, our dragon riders should be professionally trained for war."
"And with that, I think we should take after the Arnorians and tighten our grip on the colonies. Volantis, Norvos, Qohor, the Rhoynar and Slaver's Bay can no longer be allowed their autonomy. We will integrate them more fully with the Freehold and use them to fuel our revenge. I doubt any of us will live to see it, but with any luck, our children, or their children, will carry out our revenge. Valyria will have its due one day'."
"To our revenge!" Viserys said, raising his glass of wine, "and to the new Valyrian system and it's Triarchs," he said. And for the first time since the war began, Aelyx had hope for what tomorrow would bring. This isn't over Arnor. You may have beaten us for now, but Valyria will rise again, Aelyx thought to himself.
As they sailed into the harbour of Tyrosh, now restored to its Arnorian name of Peluicarnë, Jaenara could still barely believe the war was over. A peace treaty had been signed, the Treaty of Tyrosh, and Valyria had withdrawn all its military forces along with any citizenry who wished to remain a Valyrian subject from the lands that had been handed over to Arnor.
Despite knowing the Arnorian war aims from the start, Jaenara had not expected just how punishing the treaty was. Valyria had lost huge amounts of territory, some of which had not even been Arnorian-held at the end of the war. Some Arnorian hawks had wanted to demand more and ask for reparations as well, but the King, perhaps knowing Arnor had no strength to make those demands, had refused.
That the treaty could have been even worse would be no comfort to any Valyrian and Jaenara knew that they would be seeking revenge eventually.
Jaenara and Túrin had been summoned to Tyrosh by King Arahad for the official celebration of the end of the war and the rechristening of Tyrosh as Peluicarnë once more. For the both of them, Tyrosh held only painful memories but they had obeyed, it was to be a joyous occasion after all.
Even after two years, Outer Tyrosh had never recovered from the devastation wreaked upon it, and Jaenara knew that Túrin was being dragged into the past as he looked around. Knowing she needed to ground him, she held his hand and tightened gently, reminding him of where and when he was. She was thanked with a warm smile that made her heart skip a beat.
After the grand ceremony that night, Túrin had asked her to follow him for a private conversation away from all the loud and raucous celebrations by the Arnorians.
"The last time I was here in this palace, was the night I decided to save you," Jaenara mentioned casually, feeling uncomfortable with the silence as Túrin led her away.
"And to this day I'm still grateful that you decided to save me," he answered.
At the end of their walk, Jaenara was quite amazed to find a balcony, overlooking the beautiful palace gardens with the gentle silver light of the full moon shining on them from above. It was strikingly beautiful.
"Do you like it? I wasn't sure if you had seen it the last time you were here, but the view from this balcony is amazing," Túrin said.
"I didn't and you're right. You can see everything from here, not just the gardens but the whole city and the sea. If I'm not mistaken, those are the Stepstones to the west as well right?" Jaenara asked, pointing to their right towards a chain of islands in the distance."
"Yes, they are."
He turned to her then, gently guiding her face to look at his.
"I love you Jaenara."
She felt as if her heart stopped in that moment. She had begun to hope, with how close they were becoming after her fall, that they could be something more, but never had she expected him to confess so soon.
"Since… since when?" she asked, not able to help her curiosity.
"Since Sothoryos I think. Even back then there was something, but I just couldn't realise it, even though my father and brothers could. For the five years we were separated, you didn't leave my mind. I was always wondering, thinking what could have been if you had joined me. And then in my darkest hour, you shone a light to guide my way, leading me to safety.
For two years we fought together, bled together, and confided in each other, and I could feel my feelings growing, but I told myself to wait. You weren't in the right state of mind, and neither of us had the time or energy for a romantic relationship. And then I saw you fall from the sky, and I had never been so scared, not even when I thought I was waiting for my own death. Seeing you fall from Terrax, seeing you almost die, it was the worst moment in my life. It proved to me once and for all that I couldn't bear to live in a world without you."
Jaenara's heart and mind were racing, she didn't know what to do or how to answer, until a voice in her head screamed 'kiss him!' and she obeyed. She leaned up on tiptoes to raise her lips to Túrin's own and kissed him gently.
"I love you too," she answered when they finally broke the kiss.
"Could… could we do that again?" Túrin asked, still a bit stunned by their first kiss.
Jaenara smirked and kissed him again.
Things were… a little awkward when Túrin had announced their relationship to his family the next day. King Arahad only raised an eyebrow but Túrin's older brothers…
"I knew it! Pay up Ciryaher," Aragost said as he turned to his second brother who grudgingly placed a few castars in his hands.
"Hey! Were you guys betting on when we would get together?" Túrin demanded, his face red.
It seemed no matter how old you got, one was never above being embarrassed by their brothers.
"I think the whole army was. There was even a bet wondering if you would realise you had actually been in a relationship this whole time. And by Eru Túrin, you couldn't wait a week longer?" Ciryaher answered.
"Why you!"
What followed was a rather amusing playful scuffle between the two princes until their father broke them up.
"Alright now, break it off. Ciryaher, Túrin, you are Princes of Arnor, not rowdy peasant boys. Conduct yourselves in a manner befitting that title," the king said, trying to act stern and strict. "But Ciryaher is right Túrin, you really couldn't wait a few more days?" he asked before the façade dropped entirely and he too grudgingly passed a few coins to his eldest.
"Father!" Túrin complained.
"I knew you had it in you, little brother! Thanks for making me a little richer!" Aragost preened.
"Aragost, we should double our own efforts. It mustn't be had that our little brother managed to marry a girl before either of us," Ciryaher suggested overly seriously to his elder brother.
"Agreed Brother," Aragost replied.
"As the First and Second Princes of Arnor, neither of you should have any difficulties finding a girl to wed and if you don't I will have no idea what to say!" Arahad rebuked his eldest sons, though from the smirk on all the brothers' faces, Jaenara could tell the king was only half serious.
"Yes of course, Father," Aragost and Ciryaher answered as one.
King Arahad sighed, "See what you're getting into girl? I do hope you know what you're doing, choosing to court one of my rascal sons."
"I do, Your Majesty. And while he may be a rascal and quite annoying at times…," Túrin's sputters of offense were ignored, "… he is my annoying rascal, and I would not trade him for any other."
The king smirked, "Well said."
"Your Majesty, I did not only come here with Túrin to tell you of our relationship but also to ask what your plans for dealing with the next war will be?"
In an instant, the cheerful and teasing mood that had been prevalent was evaporated. With a single question, Jaenara had turned all of the men in the room back from a father and his sons to a king and his heirs, sombre, solemn, and with hearts heavy with responsibility.
Though she hated to ruin the good mood and remind all of them of the war they had just been through, Jaenara needed to know if the king was aware that there would be another war eventually, a war that all of them would definitely live to see due to their longevity.
The king's expression became guarded, "The next war… what makes you so certain that there will be another?"
Jaenara had a feeling the king already knew but she answered anyway.
"I was once a Valyrian Your Majesty. I know Valyrians, and I know how they think and how they feel. Their pride would never let them accept this peace forever. I read the treaty and let me tell you, this is not peace. It is an armistice for a hundred years."
"What do you recommend then?" he asked.
"Rest and recover from the first war. And then prepare. Ready the armies for anti-dragon warfare again. Secure the new borders in Essos and fortify them best as you can. Strengthen the alliance with Braavos and sell them more anti-dragon weaponry. Reach out to the Rhoynar and maybe help them gain their independence from the Valyrians so they can become an allied buffer state. Do everything possible to ensure that the Arnorian economy, people, and military, are prepared for another war. Because when the Valyrians return for another round, they will be coming for us with a fury," she finished, hoping she wasn't right.
4292 E.L
A ship was moored in the Dark Harbour. Of course a ship being moored in the city of Morlond was nothing strange, hundreds, if not thousands of ships moored in that city every single day. Yet this was no ordinary ship.
Though the Arsarothod had been sunk at Tyrosh along with much of its crew, the schematics of the ship had been kept safely in Túrin's possession in Annúminas. From those schematics, a new ship, near identical to the old had been built, christened the Vinarsarothod. Those from the old crew that had survived the war had joined them, eager to return to exploration over war.
Jaenara stood on the prow of the ship. Behind her, the sailors untied the ropes and freed the ship from its moorings as its sails were dropped and slowly but surely, the ship began to sail out of the harbour.
Túrin walked up beside her, interlocking his hands with hers as both of them stared out at the sea.
"It feels good to be on an expedition again," Túrin said calmly.
Jaenara did not answer at first, deep in thought. It had been so many years since the last time they had been on an expedition. Back then, the world had been so much simpler. Arnor and Valyria had been at peace, and Terrax, Allard, and so many others had still been alive. Yet those times were gone, and all that was left now was to push into the future.
"It is. We have centuries to adventure together. I for one, can't wait to get started." Jaenara answered with a smile.
In their youths, both of them had been told that they had the hearts of explorers, not warriors. Though memory of the war would forever haunt them, for now at least, they had the peace and freedom to explore to their heart's content. The world was theirs, and they would see it all.
Author's Note: So ends this arc! It has been a long journey, but alas it is time to say goodbye to Túrin and Jaenara… or is it? Stay tuned for Annals IV to find out! And also once more thanks to my amazing beta GeekyOwl (and Wiwerse too when he has the time to more thoroughly proof read).