Danaerys II:
We had just arrived at Volantis. The Golden Company had been contracted by the Triarchs for a 1 year period in response to increased Dothraki activity in the region. It was taking much effort on my part to acclimatize myself with the climate of the region. It was hot and humid, making me very sweaty and leaving my body with less strength than what it was used to. I had been amazed at the city though. It's walls were high and powerful, a testament to the Free City's strength. I had never been here before, but found it terribly ironic that the Old Bloods considered themselves so superior to Non-Valyrians yet they had never been dragonlords. It was terribly arrogant of them, but most nobles were inherently arrogant, so that was no surprise. Their Black Walls, which were in the eastern portion of Volantis, housed only members of the Old Blood and were something truly incredible. Built two hundred feet high, its walls were so thick that six four-horse war chariots could race around its top, something which was actually done annually to commemorate the founding of Volantis.
We had been invited to Triarch Malaquo Maegyr inside the Black Walls to discuss the contract for the coming year, and I used that opportunity to scope out the Old City. Great resplendent palaces with amazing courtyards were the norm, with each showing off the ostentatious amount of wealth the Old Blood had available. Temples of many gods could be seen here as well. Many of those who lived inside the walls actually still kept to the gods of Valyria, something which frankly amazed me. I had no knowledge of the gods of my forebearers and aside from the section of Old Bloods who worshipped them, the religion was dead to the world. Aside from the temples to the Valyrian Gods there was also a great temple dedicated to R'hllor. Jon Connington had told us that the Temple of the Lord of Light was actually significantly bigger than the Great Sept of Baelor in King's Landing, which was said to be the grandest place of worship in Westeros.
We were lead in to Triarch Maegyr's manse by the tiger cloaks and arrived to see a fairly stout looking man waiting for us. He was about six feet and had handsome features, although they had obviously been tempered with age. He had light blonde hair, almost white in fact, which clearly showed his Valyrian heritage. He greeted us with a snarl on his face, disgust clear in his features.
"Homeless Harry, commander of the Golden Company, welcome to Old Volantis. I honor you with my invitation."
After that he looked around, getting a measure of us, until he looked at me and Aegon, and then his expression changed from disgusted to intrigued. "You two, who are you? You have the Valyrian look." Aegon looked unsurprised at this, but then again he must have been planning it for some time. He had stopped dying his hair blue after we had left Pentos, most likely so he could perhaps gain support from the Tiger faction in Volantis. Aegon looked at me, a confident expression on his face, and then turned back towards the Triarch.
"Triarch Maegyr, I am Aegon Targaryen VI, son of Rhaegar Targaryen and rightful Lord of the Six Kingdoms. This is my wife, the Princess Danaerys Stormborn Targaryen. We come here to fulfill the contract you have hired the Golden Company for, and to negotiate aid in our planned re-conquest of our birthrights." he finished, a confident expression on his face. Triarch Malaquo Maegyr looked impassive at the response and responded.
"You certainly look Valyrian, but what aside from your word do I have as proof of your heritage?"
"I have my family's ancestral sword, Blackfyre. I was raised by Lord Jon Connington, former Hand to King Aerys and close friend of my father Rhaegar Targaryen. I have the Golden Company, full of Westerosi Exiles, behind me in my quest to regain my family's throne, I have many powerful friends and allies in my homeland of Westeros, and I have married my aunt Danaerys, a woman of pure Valyrian stock. Join me and we could ensure Valyrian supremacy in the world once more." he answered cockily. I had to admit, it was certainly a good an answer as any. It did make sense, and once we were restored to our positions we would be in prime position to help the Tigers of Volantis in their wishes of Volanteen power throughout Essos.
"You certainly make a sound argument Lord Aegon, but right now you are nothing more than a commander for the Golden Company. A powerful position to be sure, but no where near a King as you make yourself out to be. Even your troops were originally a Blackfyre army. How do I know you are not one as well?" he asked impassively. I had to admit, I had asked myself that very question, and I had no clear answer. I had reasoned that Jon Connington would not have raised any Blackfyre when he was as loyal to my family as he was. My husband responded with that very reasoning.
"I see your reasoning, and I have been properly convinced, at least for now. Even if you were a Blackfyre you would still be Valyrian, and thus that would be all that matters. I will discuss future plans later, but know that I have decided its in my interests to support you King Aegon. You and your Queen are invited to enter and leave the Black Walls as you please."
"I thank you great Triarch. You honor us with your generosity." he responded while smiling. With that we left the manse and exited Old Volantis. I was left with a feeling of frustration due to how seemingly unconcerned Aegon had been with my opinion. I had not even known what would be discussed, and that greatly bothered me, but I decided against enraging myself further and unleashing my frustrations on him. He had just been inconsiderate.
It had been 3 moons since we had arrived at Volantis. We had recently received word of the events in Westeros. Stannis Baratheon had been defeated and killed in battle in the Battle of the Blackwater. A bloody battle, the Stormlands had lost many men, something which would prove very useful to us once we started our invasion. We had agreed we would begin our campaign with an invasion of the Stormlands. Dorne would support us due to his blood ties with their ruling family, and with the Stormlands weakened and now without a clear heir, it would be easiest to shore up support there. Varys had sent word that the North would be mucked up in the Riverlands fighting the Lannisters, leaving the South open for the taking. We had no plans to try and subjugate the North, having the multiple examples in history which had proved it to be a fools errand, but we were certainly content with having them do our jobs for us.
As ruthless as it sounds, my brother Visery's death had been a blessing. Without the "last" male Targaryen living our House's threat level towards the Royal Baratheons was neglectful at best. With the death of Tommen Baratheon the Iron Throne's forces were soon to be stretched too thin. They would have to be prepared to fight at 3 fronts, with the Reach mostly siding against them after almost 2 decades of misrule and sanctions from Robert and then Joffrey for their loyalty during the Usurper's Rebellion, their fight North and having to guard themselves against any possible Dornish retaliation from the actions of the Sack of King's Landing. The death of Tommen Baratheon had actually not been our agent Varys' doing. We were as stumped as the Stark King supposedly was as well, and our spymaster was working hard to see who had been the one to arrange the assassination.
The Tyrells were tied to the North, but that would hopefully prove to be a non-factor once we landed in Westeros, and Dorne would more than likely side with us too, if only for revenge. The plan was to wait until the war in Westeros was about done and then invade through the Stormlands, gathering support and men while on the march to King's Landing. Varys had sent word that he had been in communication with Prince Doran Martell, who had been receptive of our strategy and would hold off on joining the war until we arrived. Varys had quietly gathered us the support of the Crownlanders as well, which brought us about 15,000 men, which added to the 20,000 Dorne could provide and the 20,000 stormlanders who could still fight would give us a strong host once we arrived, not to mention the men of the Golden Company.
That had been an unpleasant surprise when I had first found out about it. I remember when the Golden Company had laughed us out of their headquarters when they were operating out of Myr, but now they were supporting a Targaryen restoration. It had angered me greatly once I had been informed of their involvement, but at the end of the day I couldn't do anything about it. Objectively speaking they were the best army available besides the Northern Royal Army. They had never broken a contract and were 10,000 strong. 500 Knights and 500 squires, with 1,000 archers and 8,000 infantry men made up this army, and most importantly, they were all professional soldiers, something which would make a difference when placed against a mostly levied Westerosi host.
I finished my thoughts on the war and just started gazing at the fire. The three eggs were still there, and I swore I could feel them more each and every day. It was as if they were alive. I tried to make Aegon feel it, but he just couldn't. We had often discussed why that could be, and we had arrived at the conclusion that since I was more "purely Valyrian" since my father and mother had been brother and sister the magic in my blood was stronger. I had been having dreams as well, visions of things I could not understand. One had definitely stood out, hells I could still remember it.
It started out with me gazing at a Red Comet inside a storm. A Kraken suddenly shot out of the ground, dirt around my feet instantaneously turning into water. I saw a grey wolf swimming towards it, with the Kraken swimming quickly to it and trying to drown it. The vision changed, and now it was a Dragon with black scales. It looked deformed, and I saw it struggling to fly, barely managing to get a few feet off the ground before it had to land again, a huge Horse was charging towards it. The scene changed again. I saw two Stags fighting against each other, with the bigger one eventually coming on top. The bigger Stag was then attacked by a Lion with Stag horns, the result of this being hidden from me by a bright green light. Then I saw a Huge Wolf staring at aggresively at a Lion and proceed to attack it. The scene changed again and I was in the air, a terrible coldness wrapped around my body. I gazed down at the ground and saw a huge grey cloud, with a bright blue light at the front. I felt my body shoot down towards the light. I felt a sense of foreboding as I got closer, and as I touched down in front of the blue light it started materializing into a humanoid figure. Before it ended becoming something tangible the vision stopped and I woke up, panting.
I still remember my confusion and terror at that dream. I had told Aegon of it and he had thought nothing of it, but after the news coming from Westeros they suddenly painted a very different picture. The vision of the Black Dragon brought me lots of questions, some of which I did not want to ask. Aegon had been a good husband. He was kind, a good warrior and overall my best chance at getting back to Westeros. I wanted to believe what he said, but I still had my doubts.
"And so, what did you do next?" I asked Aegon. He laughed, a happy smile on his face.
"After finding Jon in a drunken stupor we knew he would be very irritable, and so we decided that we had no choice but to take advantage of this opportunity." he said laughing. "We took some Pink dye we had bought in Tyrosh and spread it through his hair and beard. He woke up the next day and it took another day and a half for him to notice what we had done to them!" he finished.
"HAHAHA! And what did he do once he found out?" I asked, still laughing.
"You should have seen his face! He was as mad as I've ever seen him! He had to go outside and leave me and septa Lemore with the soldiers due to how big his anger was!"
I laughed again. It was a relatively funny story about a time Aegon had died Jon Connington's hair to a pink color, humiliating him in front of the other Golden Company officers. We had been reminiscing of childhood stories. Naturally he had many more happy ones than me, a product of his childhood being raised by Lord Connington and Septa Lemore. While in the midst of us talking of our past experiences Lord Jon suddenly burst into the room, a frantic look on his face.
"Your Grace, a Dothraki Horde has been seen riding towards Pentos! It has been confirmed that it is being lead by Khal Drogo, the current most powerful Dothraki Khal! Scouts say that the horde is 40,000 strong!"
"SEVEN HELLS! Danaerys, I fear I must leave your presence. I am needed with the officers. Do not leave the manse." and with that he took off, ready for war.
I finally found him hours later, well into the night. He had come into our chambers, a somber look on his face.
"Aegon, tell me what is happening." I said, frustrated at my lack of knowledge and his lack of concern to involve me in important matters.
"Khal Drogo is riding towards Volantis with a horde 40,000 strong. He has apparently been delcared the stallion who will mount the world, and thus seeks to be the first Khal to sack Volantis. We have been organizing the defense to the city, as they are a week away from arriving. Volantis will provide 10,000 of their slave soldiers to fight against the Khals, while the other 20,000 they can provide will be placed inside the Black Walls of Old Volantis. We will have to face them in the field lest we starve ourselves by waiting until they relieve their eventual siege." he answered, frustration and concern evident in his tone.
"I see. This does not bode well for us does it? We will lose men if we decide to fight, but we cannot break the contract, as the Company has never nor will ever do that, aside from the fact that we will lose any support Volantis could provide us should we do that. Tell me Aegon, will I be able to join in on the War Councils? I wish to learn of the Art of War and how it is waged." I asked him. He looked at me annoyed and then answered me.
"Are you serious Dany? Of course not, you're a woman for Seven's sake! You will not join in on any war councils, that is my decree as your husband and King. War is no place for women."
I was incensed. "War is no place for women?! Have you never heard of Visenya Targaryen, who wielded Dark Sister, of Rhaneys Targaryen who rode her dragon in war, hells even of Nymeria, who conquered Dorne! Have you forgotten history?!"
He just looked at me calmly and said: "You are not them now are you? You are Danaerys Targaryen and you have never even touched a sword. It is much too late for you to learn. We will have no use of you there. Enough of this nonsense wife, I tire of this and I need rest if we are to prevail against these savages."
With that, he stripped and layed down on the bed, falling asleep almost instantly. I was left with my unresolved anger and just layed down beside him, trying and failing to fall asleep. Once I did I was plagued with another vision.
I was standing in front of a huge burning pyre, incredible heat coming off of it. I felt this pull coming towards me, urging me to go forward into the fire. I started walking towards it, when suddenly I was able to make out three stones sitting in the center of the pyre, surrounding what looked to be a burning horse carcass. I kept walking towards it until I was right in front of it. It felt warm, like a gentle embrace. I stepped in it and stood over the burning horse. I felt a sense of euphoria while standing there, flames carefully caressing my skin, and once I looked upwards I could see the sky had turned red, a huge red comet going throughout the sky. I heard a crack and— I woke up, feeling out of breath and sweating. I looked to my side, Aegon was still asleep. I walked towards the water pitcher, drank a bit and then sat on the bed once more. I spent the rest of the night waiting staring out of our window, intent on understanding what my vision meant.
Today was the day of the coming battle and I was feeling both worried and angered. I had been forbidden from leaving the Maegyr manse, which meant that I would not be able to see what or how the battle would go about. Aegon had already said his goodbyes, promising me he would return successfully. I knew he was a good swordsmen, well at least in my limited knowledge. I had seen him sparring other knights in the Golden Copmany's employ, and armed with a Valyrian Steel Sword he would be protected much better than most. I still remember what he had said of the coming battle to put my nerves at ease.
"Dany, my Queen. Do not worry, consider this the first test of our forces before we set foot in Westeros. They are light cavalry at best. They carry no armor and no lances or spears. They have no tactics besides charging forward to "slaughter their enemies", since they believe only in pure strength. Our tactics will slaughter them, make no mistake dear wife. Have faith in me and have faith in our troops."
With that he had kissed my brow and walked out, leaving me alone with my thoughts and worries. Today would be the day he proved himself as the King he made himself out to be.
Author's Note:
Boom! What did ya'll think? Honestly I had a hard time writing this chapter (seems I focused too much on Westeros and the Starks in my early planning and I'm kind of paying for it now) but honestly I kind of like how it turned out. Next chapter will be the big battle so stay tuned for that. Please leave a review if you can, it'll be greatly appreciated! I hope you guys liked it, and if not, then thats OK too, I'm always down for suggestions as to how I can make the story better. Thanks for reading guys, see you next time!