Yo!
It has been a while, again... I already apologized for it a few times, but I might as well do it again... So I would like to apologize to those that waited a long time for this chapter or even voted for it on pat-reon. IRL and my thesis defense decided to fuck me over and took almost a month out of my life. Thankfully, I managed to push through it all and pass everything I had to. I'm done now and I hope that in the nearest future I will be able to accomplish everything I planned in writing.
This chapter is the last one that hung over my head in the last month. With this published, I'm once again caught up and can begin releasing chapters as they are chosen on my pat-reon. This week's poll already ended and Grimm's Evolution will be the one updated in the span of the next few days, but anything can happen in the next poll that will be up on Sunday.
Anyway, I hope you will enjoy this chapter.
PS: Links for my discord server, pat-reon, and my original story will be available at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 22. Shadows inside the walls.
Doran often wondered if it was his fault that Dorne experienced so many tragedies in the last fifteen or so years. Elia, his dear sister, was betrothed shortly before Doran came into power as Prince of Dorne and so he could do nothing about the incoming marriage. Not that he had any reason to. Back then Rhaegar was a highly respected Crowned Prince of Westeros and no one, literally no one could have predicted his idiotic actions a few years later.
And yet Doran couldn't help but think that he should have done more... anything to save Elia and her children from their horrifying fate.
He should have kept constant contact with her. Ask about the ongoings in the Red Keep or how her new husband treated her. But he didn't. Doran was too busy with his new positions and trying to adapt to his new lifestyle to check on his sister more often than once every few cycles... A mistake that would haunt him forever...
Not that Doran believed himself guilty for Elia's death. Maybe he could have done more, but in the end, it wasn't his fault. No, both he and Oberyn knew very well who was responsible for this tragedy. Lannister's dogs, two of them in particular. Tywin Lannister, the bastard who probably gave the order. And finally, Rhaegar Targaryen, the traitorous Prince himself. Those were the people who had to die before House Martel's fury could be sated.
One of them was already taken off the list, his chest caved in by Robert's war hammer. Not exactly the way Doran wanted the Prince to die, but at least his death was painful if the current King was to be believed. And taking into consideration Robert's supposed "love" for the Stark girl, Doran could somewhat trust that the Baratheon didn't spare Rhaegar any pain.
And now only the old Lion and his dogs were left to deal with. Something that Dorne couldn't handle after Robert's rebellion. Not with Lannister's now being probably the most powerful House in Westeros, as much as Doran was loath to admit that. As such to reach this goal and raise his House above the others, Doran and Oberyn came up with a plan. Something that could backfire at them spectacularly if found out, but also something that could give them all they wanted if executed perfectly.
Doran shook his head, his weary eyes watching the vast Water Gardens below him... Of course, the plan backfired. They had been too proud, thinking that the two exiled Targaryens would solve Dorne's every problem without any work done on their side. But no more, Doran vowed.
His eldest son died due to Doran's stupid decision and he almost pushed Arianne towards a path of no return. Truly a mess that Doran feared Dorne would never recover from. And yet they had to try again, for Elia, Rheaenys, Aegon, and Quentyn. Their deaths wouldn't be forgotten and instead would give Dorne the strength they needed to raise and burn their enemies.
Because we are Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken.
The Lannisters would die. The Stepstone pirates would drown. And the Seven Kingdoms would once again recognize Dorne's power, just like Aegon the Conqueror and his wives did when they failed to defeat Doran's ancestors.
"Here you are, brother," Doran closed his eyes momentarily when the booming voice broke him out of his thoughts. Turning his head away from the gardens, Doran watched as his younger brother approached and leaned against the railings of the small balcony, his long black hair waving in the wind.
"I came as quickly as I could, even if you once again cut my time with Elaria short. If this occurrence keeps repeating, I might begin to think that you are doing it on purpose. You wouldn't do that to your dear brother, hmm?" Oberyn added, his smirk gloating Doran to take the bait.
Doran sighed, very well used to his brother's antics. As much as he loved Oberyn, his personality was an acquired taste. A taste that even then was only healthy in small doses and considering Oberyn's constant company in the last few cycles, Doran was beginning to reach his limit.
As such he left for Water Gardens, ready to rest for a few days and then go back to Sunspear when the time was right or Oberyn decided to go on another trip. Something that obviously didn't happen as Doran was forced to call his brother after he received a very intriguing letter from one of his informants. Truly if it wasn't that he trusted the sender, he would have just laughed and thrown the letter into the fire.
Reaching into his robe, Doran retrieved the said letter and handed it to Oberyn. "Read," he ordered.
With a frown on his face, Oberyn snapped the letter out of his hand and unrolled it. In the meantime, Doran watched his brother's face without a single blink, waiting for some sort of a reaction. As expected, Oberyn released a loud chuckle, his eyebrow raised as he tossed the letter back to Doran. "You believe in any of this?"
Doran nodded, "I wouldn't have called you if I didn't. This person never failed me before and I won't doubt them now, nor matter how outrageous their claim is." Narrowing his eyes, he added, "And shouldn't you be the one to believe in such things after everything you had seen in your travels?"
Oberyn snorted. "Shadowbinding, controlling fire, or even blood magic is one thing, but this?" he extended his hand towards the letter lying on Doran's lap. "This is beyond anything I had ever seen or heard of. Magic like this exists in stories that old crones spread after they lost their minds... Clearly, your informant did too."
Doran pinched the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes. He really couldn't fault Oberyn's reasoning. A single man moving an entire battlefield with his magic and consuming his enemies with the earth they fought on? Doran wouldn't have believed in it either if it wasn't for the years of loyalty of his informant. The man was never wrong and if it wasn't for him, Doran would have never found the Targaryen siblings so quickly in the past.
"I don't care if you believe it or not. As you have read, the letter says that the proof of his words still stands near the walls of Myr so we can easily check the truth of his words." Doran finally said, looking straight into Oberyn's eyes. "What matters now are the possibilities this Sorcerer opens for us. They might as well be the missing link that we need for our plan to succeed."
The hum of water filled the silence as the two snakes of Martell held each other's gaze, neither ready to give up. Doran, even as the cripple he was, still possessed a raging fire burning within him. For all those years it grew as Doran plotted the demise of his enemies, and now that another chance showed itself, he wasn't going to give in, not even to the Red Viper himself.
And so the two continued their staredown as seconds flew by. Then in an instant, a smirk grew on Oberyn's lips as he nodded, the hidden message not missed by Doran. "Alright, brother," he chuckled. "I take it you have a plan. Well, let's hear it."
Doran shook his head as a small smile blossomed on his lips. It was just so like Oberyn to test his resolve when it came to avenging their sister and House. Though considering how close Elia and Oberyn were, it was expected.
"As you mentioned, we need to confirm the existence of this sorcerer," Doran began. "No matter how much I trust my informant, I have to know who this mysterious person is and how they operate. Normally I would have waited for more information, but I think we both know that you need to see the so-called 'Sea of Death' for yourself."
Oberyn nodded, "So another trip, eh? Sure why not, I have been getting restless anyway and Free Cities always have some entertainment ready for me." His smirk suddenly became feral, "Besides I'm curious about this magic-user."
"You are not seducing them, Oberyn," Doran growled, his brother's smirk only growing larger. "At least not yet... Now tell me what do you know about the current situation in Myr."
Oberyn frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. "Lovely city, but I didn't visit it the last time I was in Essos, only heard some rumors," he stated and Doran nodded, expecting such an answer, still he waited for Oberyn to continue. "Something about a new Magister that is apparently trying to stop slavery in Myr. An honorable attempt though I doubt anything will come from it. Apart from that, I didn't hear anything specific. Unless you want to listen about the wonderful women I remember from my last visit," he finished with a grin.
Doran sighed, ignoring the comment. "The Magister's name is Sirius Black. He appeared a few years ago and ever since he managed to eliminate most of his opposition. Currently, only three other Magisters are still in power, though I doubt it will remain so for much longer," he explained, not even trying to hide the small bit of awe that seeped into his voice. After all, Magister Black accomplished so much in a few years while Dorne only suffered under his rule.
Oberyn's eyebrows raised. "Truly?" he muttered. "And how did he accomplish that? I met some of the Magisters and those are not the kind of people that give away their power easily. No one is."
"I don't have the details about his movements in the past, brother. But I know for sure that he won't have any problems with securing Myr for himself, certainly not with Sorcerer on his payroll," Doran stated, finally giving away the last piece of information.
Just like that Oberyn chuckled, only for his booming laughter to follow. "Oh, now I see. You want an alliance with the new Magister, the new rising power in the Disputed Lands... With the tension growing between Lys and Tyrosh, who knows what else Black will do after he is finished with Myr. This is an occasion that we can't waste. I'm impressed, brother."
"I'm crippled not stupid, Oberyn," Doran growled. "Now listen carefully. You have three days to prepare for travel. Take whoever and whatever you want with you. Once you arrive there, I want you to make contact with Black and observe him. Try to become familiar with him, fish about his thought on a possible alliance, but for the love of gods please act like proper Prince of Dorne. There is no time for games Oberyn, we need this."
Oberyn's fists tightened, "I'm well aware of that. I will do everything in my power to secure this alliance." His eyes narrowed, "And what about the Targaryens, or the drunkard in King's Landing?"
"If everything goes according to the plan then the Magister might as well help us with the two dragon siblings," Doran smiled. "As for Robert? The Spider and Lannisters can tell him whatever they want, but what's stopping us from securing just another trade agreement?"
"Well played, brother," Oberyn chuckled. "Well played indeed."
Harry had been on it for days now. Well, more like nights than days, but who cared anyway. He slept and further practiced his abilities during the days and once the darkness had fallen over Myr, he transformed into his animagus form and went to work... No matter how tiring the process was.
The first two days were spent on scouting the mansions of the two hostile Magisters. Harry liked to say that he learned from his mistakes — not that it stopped him from making stupid decisions — and so he decided that maybe checking security measures around and inside the buildings could prove useful.
The number of guards, their patrol routes, time of the day when the guards switched, Harry checked it all. Hell, he even faked a small break-in to check the response he would receive just in case someone caught him in human form. All things considered, the guards were pretty fast, that much even Harry could admit. Though with his new wand, his capabilities in messing with the human mind finally increased a bit, and now Harry could perform some weak confundus charms.
Nothing too strong as the targets always realized quite quickly that something was wrong, but Harry would take even that. At least now both he and Sirius could use the spell in case something very bad happened. Truly the mental capabilities of normal humans in this world are unfair...
After discovering every security risk he could, Harry began his real operation. An operation that quickly became one of the most daunting things he did in his life. Really listening to the Magisters spew no sense in every meeting got old very quickly. And even if Harry managed to collect a small list of individuals that had to be dealt with soon, he didn't find anything that could help Sirius with his plan.
Oh, there were plenty of files lying around the Magisters' studies, but most of them only mentioned legit deals. No matter how much Harry wanted to prosecute those people for human trafficking, slavery was still legal in Myr and so he had to push his burning anger into the back of his mind.
At least tonight Harry hoped to finally gain some worthwhile information. There was no way that the two Magisters decided to meet and only talk about business when a few days ago Sirius practically threatened them... And so the small falcon known as Harry sat on the highest bookshelf in the Magister's Ormah study, hidden behind various artifacts the man collected.
If it wasn't for the need to keep his magic controlled, Harry would have taken a nap as he waited for the two idiots to arrive. At least an hour passed since he landed here and even if it was just a transformation, Harry barely felt the rest of his body. The small space between some kind of a skull and a shining helmet really didn't help in this area.
If they don't arrive in another ten minutes I'm leaving, Harry grumbled internally, craning his birdy neck.
A deep rumble boomed inside his mind. "Calm down," Ralnor said as his laughter died down. "We might have seen them traveling here, but we both know that they might have taken a detour to one of their favorite businesses. It certainly would fit everything we learned about them in the last few days. Who knows they might even proceed with their conversation there.
Harry snorted. They wouldn't risk it. Those might be their businesses, but I wouldn't be surprised if a random whore or client decided to pass any information they hear to Sirius. After all, nobody enjoyed their presence... Besides, we even heard them talking about coming here so let's just hope that I didn't waste my time.
And indeed Harry both found a massage about the upcoming meeting and listened in on a conversation between Ormah and Bahoris after the two met up in the outskirts of Myr. At first, Harry thought that the weird meeting place was chosen for secrecy, but instead, the two just wanted to meet on neutral ground before going to one of their mansions to discuss things. Stupid? Maybe, but Harry learned long ago to not question such things.
Then just when Harry's time limit was almost over, a soft groaning filled the room as the door slid open. Not even a second later heavy footsteps followed, a loud chatter reaching Harry's ears.
Finally... Now please, give me something so Sirius can get rid of you, or I will kill you myself. Maybe it was a bit too strong a reaction, but Harry's patience was thinning with every passing day. That was why he directed a nasty glare at the two Magisters and promptly ignored Ralnor's laughter as he tried to focus on the ongoing conversation.
And that's it for today's chapter.
Again sorry for the long wait and quite a short length, but I with everything that's going on and my own problems with this story, I really had to push myself to write this chapter. Hopefully, it will go better with the next one.
Also, I want to say one thing. Every time I write this story nowadays, I wonder what the hell was wrong with me when I decided to choose Game of Thrones as the crossover universe. Really, I like GoT and everything that's happened in the story (Season 8 excluded), but this universe is heavily reliant on politics and quite frankly I am the farthest from what you would call a political prodigy. Some things are interesting, but too much of it and I'm bored almost instantly. That's why I'm sorry if all of the political suaves out there won't like my take on it. I will try my best but don't eat me if I fail, I'm trying...
Anyway, thank you all for reading and if you want to support me, vote on the next updates, join my community or just read my original story, I have all the links you need below. Be it discord, royalroad, or pat-reon.
Stay safe and have a good day/night.
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