The Chronicles of Valyria,
Book 1 Resurrection
Chapter 4
They hurried back to the courtyard and ignoring the gaping looks of the men that were still gathered there, and ran on to the main keep.
Entering the keep Rhaegar yelled, "MOTHER, RHAENYS," from deep within the keep a muffled cry could be heard and they hurried in that direction. When they entered a long hallway on the third floor, they saw two figures running towards them from the other end.
"RHAEGAR,"
"FATHER,"
The cries from his mother and daughter caused Rhaegar to break into tears and he ran at his only two remaining blood relatives. His mother wore a loose fitting red dress and his daughter was dressed in her bed clothes.
When they met, Rhaegar picked up his daughter in his right arm and pressing her against him, he enveloped his mother in a hug with the other. Tears were shed at the reunion while the rest of the group stood silently a few feet away.
When the Queen released her son, she noticed the others and looked wide-eyed at the armored figures of Aurora and Gabrielle. Looking at her son she didn't have to ask the question to receive an answer. "They are here to help us. With their help Robert was crushed at the Trident without bloodshed and they destroyed half the Lannister army that is responsible for sacking King's Landing. They come from the Ruins of Valeria."
Queen Rhaella gasped at those words and looked awed at Aurora and Gabrielle, who inclined their heads and smiled gently at the queen. "Your Grace," Gabrielle said respectfully, "It is good to see that not all of Rhaegar's kin have been killed."
At those words Rhaella looked at Rhaegar with frightful eyes and he shook his head sadly while saying, "During the sack, two of Tywin's men made their way into the Holdfast. They killed Elia, Aegon, and Viserys, before disappearing. The king was killed by Jamie Lannister, on his father's orders."
Rhaella had tears running down her face at hearing about the deaths of her son, daughter-in-law and adopted grandson. She didn't much care about her brother/husband as there was never any love between them.
When Rhaella finally released her son Rhaegar took her hand and said, "I want you to meet someone mother," he walked towards Lyanna who stood behind Ser Barristan with a hooded cape and took her small hand in his. "This is Lyanna Stark, my second wife."
Lyanna lowered her hood and showed her face to the queen. She bowed before her and said softly, "Your Grace, I'm so sorry for everything that happened. Neither Rhaegar nor me ever wanted this to happen."
Rhaella softly grasped Lyanna's head and made her look at her. "Never apologize for loving someone my dear, love is one of the greatest and most valuable things in this world, and definitely worth fighting for."
She enveloped her in a hug and to the surprise of both, their swollen bellies hit another one. "You're Pregnant," they said at the same time and Rhaegar went wide eyed when he heard Lyanna say it
He looked at the queen and asked hesitantly, "Mother, are you…?"
It was the little girl in his arms who answered though as Rhaenys said, "Grandma is getting a baby, you are getting a brother or a sister daddy."
Rhaella smiled a little sadly and said, "The king decided that he wanted to give me a 'proper goodbye', despite my protests and he has left me with child once again. I hope everything will go all right with this one."
At those words Gabrielle softly cleared her throat and said, "If I may Your Grace," she removed her gauntlets and held up her bare hands. "I have skills as a healer, I can take a 'look' and see if everything is all right with the little one. How far are you along?"
Rhaella looked at Rhaegar and when he nodded she accepted and said, I'm 4 and a half months along as of last week, but perhaps we can better wait till I can lay down and remove my dress."
Gabrielle nodded in acknowledgement and said, "Of course Your Grace. Besides, we have more pressing matters at the moment. Tywin Lannister is sailing here as we speak and we need to prepare the fleet to meet him in battle."
The Queen nodded and said, "We have both the royal fleet, and 40 warships that came from Driftmark with Admiral Velaryon."
In the next few hours they prepared the fleet for battle at daybreak and Rhaegar explained the situation to the garrison who had seen Aurora change. He told them the story that would become common knowledge around the seven kingdoms.
Aurora and Gabrielle had lived in the ruins of Old Valeria since the days of The Doom. Through some kind of ancient magic, they had lived for many thousands of years and gained certain special abilities. They were dragon riders and the dragon that the garrison had shot down was wounded, but still alive and had flown away to safety to heal, but they expected her to return soon.
When the fleet was ready, they set sail towards The Gullet to blockade the exit out of Blackwater Bay. Aurora and Gabrielle quietly snuck out and went back to where the saddle was left on the ground outside the walls of Dragonstone. After they had repaired the cut ropes and lines, Aurora changed again and Gabrielle put the saddle back in its place. Gabrielle mounted the saddle and Aurora lifted off from the ground, flying over the fortress and meeting up with the fleet. The sailors on the royal fleet all cheered when they saw her outline flying above them in the weak light of the full moon.
In the early light of dawn, Tywin was rudely awoken by someone pounding on his door. "Lord Tywin, Lord Tywin, you are needed on the bridge." The panicking tone of the man told Tywin that something was wrong, so he quickly dressed and made his way to the deck of the ship.
As soon as he set foot in the early light of the pre dawn, he saw what had the man so panicked. The sea ahead of them, between the tip of Massey's Hook and Driftmark, was closed off by a massive fleet of ships. It looked like the entire royal fleet from Dragonstone, 160 warships, joined by the Velaryon fleet of 40 warships. However that was not what had his men panicking, the 257 ships they had taken from King's Landing would probably be able to break through the blockade, though not without taking significant losses.
No, what had his man panicking was the beast that hung above the royal fleet. A massive red and black dragon hung in the sky, lazily flapping its immense wings and upon its back, small from the distance but still recognizable, was a rider. They were trapped.
Of the ships they had taken, only 60 were warships and of those sixty only half had adequate firepower to even have a chance at bringing down a dragon. Just as Tywin thought the situation couldn't get worse, the dragon flew towards them dragging the Queen Rhaella behind it. The flagship of the royal fleet was flying a white flag, so they must be willing to offer terms.
Those hopes were crushed however when he saw an eerily familiar, golden blond, young man, strapped to the bow of the Queen Rhaella, they had Jamie, they had his son.
In a matter of minutes, the Queen Rhaella had pulled up next to the Prince Viserys, and a gangplank was laid between. Prince Rhaegar and Admiral Lucerys Veraryon walked across and a rope was tossed down from the dragon that hung above them. A heavily armored figure descended the rope and landed with a clank of metal on the deck of Tywin's stolen ship, before standing on the right hand of Rhaegar.
"Prince Rhaegar," Tywin said with all the disdain he could put into his voice.
"That's King Rhaegar for you, traitor," Admiral Lucerys spat out. "Thanks to your boy over there." He gestured off-handedly to Jamie who was struggling against his bindings.
Rhaegar motioned for the admiral to stand down and he stepped forward until he stood face to face with Tywin. "Right now you have two choices Tywin. If you surrender your fleet and order your men to lay down their weapons, all of their lives will be spared. They will be allowed to return home to the Westerlands, after they have helped to rebuild the damage they have done to the city. You, Cersei, and Jamie will be allowed to take a single ship and go into exile in Essos.
And yes, we have Cersei as well. She was caught by Paxter Redwyne trying to leave Lannisport by ship. Lord Randyll immediately spread the word of your betrayal after the defeat of Lord Mace, and Paxter led the Redwyne fleet to Lannisport. He has your daughter in custody and your son Tyrion has surrendered Casterly rock to him.
If you decide not to surrender, we will feed Jamie to her," he aimed at the dragon while saying this, "before we burn your entire fleet to ashes. I'll leave you alive and have you watch, while the entire garrison of the King's Landing takes your daughter and uses her as the whore that she is. Make your choice Tywin, you have one hour."
Rhaegar turned around with Admiral Lucerys behind him when Tywin moved, he drew his sword with a speed no one would have expected from him, and tried to slash Rhaegar in the back.
His sword never reached its target. The dragon rider caught his sword with one hand and snapped the blade off as if it was a twig.
Rhaegar didn't even look back while he said, "Oh before I forget, she'll be staying here while you decide your fate, and that of your family and your men." Rhaegar calmly stepped back onboard the Queen Rhaella and the crew withdrew the gangplank, leaving Gabrielle behind on the Prince Viserys.
Tywin tried to ignore the silent rider that was watching his every move, and ordered his crew to signal for his commanders to come onboard his ship. It took less than ten minutes for them all to be gathered on his ship and they withdrew to the cargo hold and out of sight of Gabrielle.
"We have no choice but to surrender," Lord Elys Westerling said loudly after they had heard what Rhaegar had told Tywin. "We cannot defeat a dragon, and the combined fleets of the Targaryans and the Velaryons. If we surrender now, we will be spared and allowed to go home, which is more than we deserve." That last part he added in his head and no one heard him say it.
"Nonsense," cried Lord Andros Brax, "If we concentrate all our fire power on that dragon we can bring it down and then punch a hole through the royal fleet and…."
"Did you not see what that dragon did to our men outside the city?" Interrupted Elys Westerling, "I was near the wall, when that beast attacked. Our men were burned by the thousands. I didn't see it again after it landed, but the two who rode on it just barely missed me. We cannot defeat them. They alone killed almost as many in the city, as that dragon did outside.
I for one have already made my choice. I will order my men to lay down their weapons and surrender. We will live to fight another day." With those words Elys Westerling rose from the table and left the others sitting in the cargo hold.
When he came topside he immediately went over to where the rider was standing and drew his sword. He knelt before her and placed the sword at her feet. "I, Elys Westerling, Lord of the Crag, surrender myself, and all those who follow me, to the mercy of the one true king, Rhaegar Targaryan."
The armored figure looked down on him for half a minute before removing the helmet. "In the name of his Grace, Rhaegar Targaryan, first of his name, I accept your surrender Lord Westerling."
Elys was surprised at the gentle and feminine voice that was completely ad odds with the fearsome looks of the armor and he looked cautiously upwards.
Gabrielle smiled kindly at him and continued, "Because you were the first to make the right choice, you will be treated better than the others. Take up your sword, Lord Elys, and return to your ships. Order your men to lower their banners, hoist the white flags and return to the city, you will be awaited by Lord Eddard Stark, he will tell you what to do."
Elys bowed again before he picked up his sword and made his way to a sloop in which he was rowed back to his own squadron. In short order he had his men follow the directions the women had given him and his ship, and the fifteen others under his command, turned around and sailed back to the city.
While Lord Elys was sailing back to the city, the rest of the lords made their way topside and one by one, they laid their swords at her feet and offered their surrender. Last to go before Gabrielle, was Tywin himself.
He had borrowed a sword from one of his men, as Gabrielle had broken his own, and laid it at her feet with the words, "I, Tywin Lannister, Lord of Casterly Rock, Shield of Lannisport and Warden of the West, surrender myself and all those who follow me to the mercy of Rhaegar Targaryan, the one true king of Westeros."
Gabrielle felt not a little bit of grim satisfaction as she noticed the defeated look on Tywin's face. It would appear that the proud 'Lion of the Rock' had finally been brought low. The pain on his face became even more obvious when he ordered his men to lower the lion banner from the mast. He handed it to Gabrielle with the words, "Give this to your king and tell him, he has won."
Gabrielle looked down at the fallen Lion and smiled a grim smile. "Very well. In the name of his Grace, Rhaegar Targaryan, first of his name, I accept your surrender Tywin Lannister."
As soon as the Lannister banner was lowered, the Queen Rhaella rowed back towards them and went aside again. Putting the gangplank between them again, Rhaegar boarded the Prince Viserys and once he stood on the deck, all the lords kneeled before him and Gabrielle handed him the banner Tywin had given her.
Rhaegar accepted the banner, and holding it before him, he tore the golden lion on red in two pieces. The crew of the Queen Rhaella loudly cheered when Rhaegar tore up the banner and the rest of the royal fleet followed their example. Above their heads the gigantic dragon let out a bellowing roar of victory and the Lannister fleet sailed back towards King's Landing. All the lords were brought aboard the Queen Rhaella and put in irons below decks, with Jamie being pulled from the mast and locked up below alongside his father.
Admiral Velaryon was put in command of the royal fleet that escorted the Lannister fleet back to the city, while Gabrielle and Rhaegar climbed back on the saddle on Aurora, before she flew back to Dragonstone to pick up Queen Rhaella, the Princesses Rhaenys and Lyanna, and Sers Barristan and Arthur, before flying back to King's Landing.
It soon became apparent that Rhaenys absolutely loved to fly and she loudly cheered when Aurora jumped up from the courtyard at Dragonstone. Whether it was because of the alleged, 'blood of the dragon', or just pure coincidence, both Rhaegar and his mother shared his daughter's enthusiasm of flying and they were almost saddened that the trip only took half an hour.
When they landed in the courtyard of the Red Keep it was the first chance for the inhabitants of King's Landing to get a really good look at the dragon that had helped save them. It came as no surprise that the reactions varied greatly. The smallfolk cheered loudly in admiration and awe, the nobility were afraid what this new player would mean for their own power in the land, and the Faith spoke of an ungodly creature that had to be destroyed.
As soon as they had landed the passengers climbed down from Aurora's back, before she rose up again and lazily flew over the city towards the great Dragonpit on Rhaenys's Hill where she flew down into its depts. From which she emerged in human form a few minutes later.
People respectfully cleared the way for her, as many had seen the armored behemoth's carve their bloody path through the Lannister soldiers. And since she wore her helmet, no one was gaping at the fact that she was a women, but just showed the respect that they thought she rightfully deserved, regardless of sex, or station.
During the hour long walk from the pit to the Red Keep, Aurora was shocked by the things she saw in the city. Despite, or perhaps because, it was the poorest part of the city, Flea Bottom had stayed clear of the plundering but fires had sprung up none-the-less and large parts of the area were only blackened skeletons of what once were tightly-packed hovels. How many had perished in the flames she didn't dare guess, but it was without a doubt a multitude of many thousands, if not tens-of-thousands.
On the way she passed the Great Sept of Baelor and when she saw the poorest people of the city, often wounded, helplessly pound on the closed doors, she had had enough of this so called, Faith of the Seven.
She pulled aside a patrol of Rivermen and asked the knight in charge, "Where can I find Lord Eddard?"
The man thought for a moment and said, "I believe he is in the Street of Steel my lady, there was a small riot there which he had to solve."
She thanked the man with a nod and said, "Thank you Ser, please gather as many men as you can and surround the Great Sept, make sure no one gets in, and no one gets out."
He knight saluted and began giving orders to his men to spread out and find the other patrols.
Aurora made her way to the Street of Steel and soon she saw Eddard. He was seated on a brown mare with Roose Bolton and Rickard Karstark on either side of him. They were accompanied by three score mounted soldiers and about 300 foot soldiers.
As soon as Eddard saw Aurora approach he inclined his head and said respectfully, "My lady, I had not expected to see you here. I thought you had gone with Rhaegar to stop the Lannister fleet?"
"The fleet has been stopped, lord Eddard, the royal fleet is escorting them back to the city, we expect them early tomorrow. We just returned from the trip and when I came past the Great Sept, I saw something that bothered me. Would you be so kind as to help me out with all the men you can find. We need to remind some people that the King's orders are not to be ignored."
Eddard nodded grimly at her words, the Greatjon had informed him of what had transpired on the steps of the Red Keep the previous day, and he was not surprised when she led them towards the Great Sept.
The men Eddard had brought joined the roughly 400 already present at the Great Sept and together they surrounded the Sept and got the people away from the doors.
When the steps were cleared Aurora walked to the door and banged loudly on it. "IN THE NAME OF KING RHAEGAR, I ORDER YOU TO OPEN THIS DOOR!"
She waited for two minutes but when no reply came she turned her helmet towards Eddard and said, "Keep the people in line, we don't want anyone to start plundering." Eddard nodded once and rode away to give orders to his men.
Turning back to the massive doors of the Sept, Aurora pulled the great battle axe from the holder on her back and started 'knocking'. It took her 6 blows to create a hole large enough for her to enter and she removed the beam keeping the door closed before making her way further into the Sept.
She was soon confronted by five crudely-armed men in black robes each with a seven-pointed star carved into their foreheads and a criss-cross of chains between shoulder and hip.
"Hmm," Aurora mused out loud, "Wasn't the Faith Militant outlawed like, 235 years ago?"
The leader stepped forward and replied, "Our order has never been disbanded, we just went underground. But that does not matter. You have broken into the temple of our Faith, and for that transgression you must die."
At his words his fellow's joined him and the leader struck out with his nail covered mace. He smashed the mace into the side of Aurora's helmet but to his surprise, the wooden hilt of the mace snapped like a twig and Aurora's hand shot out like lightning.
She grabbed the man by the throat and with an almost effortless motion, she broke his neck. The other four started hitting her as well and grabbing her axe with both hands she swung it in a 180° move in front of her, cutting three of them in half. While the innards of his fellows fell from their ruined bodies, the last one tried to run away.
He didn't get far, before he went more than 4 feet the back spike of Aurora's axe slammed into his upper leg. She pulled the man towards her, ripping open his leg in the process.
Tearing the spike out of the man's leg, she slammed the top spike into his shoulder, nailing him to the floor under him. "Okay listen up maggot, we can do this two ways. One, you tell me what I want to know and I'll end your suffering. Or you don't tell me what I want to know, and I'll make it last weeks, before you die."
The man kept his teeth firmly stuck together and refused to say a word.
With a sigh Aurora muttered, "I fucking hate these religious fanatics." She pulled the axe from the man's shoulder and walking past him, she lifted her foot and slammed it down on his head, smashing it apart in a shower of gore and pieces of bone.
Leaving the carnage behind she continued on her way until she came upon a servant who was lighting candles in a small chapel. Aurora quickly entered the chapel and slammed the door closed behind her, startling the young woman in the process. She dropped the candle she used to light the others and tried to crawl away into a corner.
"You don't have to get hurt, if you tell me what I want to know. Where are the High Septon and the Most Devout."
The young woman was stuttering in fear but she said, "Th… th… they… a… are… are… i… in…. the… thei… their… pri… priv…. private… ch… chap… chapel. U… up… the… st… stairs… all… t… t… the way… u… up." she pointed to a side door of the chapel they were in and tried to make herself even smaller.
"Thank you," Aurora said not unkindly but her helmet made it sound metallic and not at all reassuring to the young woman. Leaving the young woman behind, Aurora pulled the door open which lead to a spiral staircase. Taking the steps two at a time, she ran up and on the way she came past a dining room.
The table was literally bending under the weight of all the food on it and the sight alone caused her anger to grow even more. Outside these walls people were starving to death, but here they ate like it was harvest season. Snarling softly to herself she continued up the stairs till she reached the very peak.
Coming from behind the door, at the top of the stairs, were sounds one would not expect to hear from a chapel.
The voice of a young girl could be heard that asked a little frightfully, "Are, are you sure this is the way to salvation your holiness?"
"Of course it is, girl. Now get on your back and spread those legs." The voice that answered belonged to the High Septon.
"The same goes for you, you little sinner. On your back and open those legs, I want to see what offerings you bring to The Father." The third voice was that of the Most Devout.
'KRACK', with a mighty kick Aurora kicked the door off of its hinges and saw a disgusting sight. The two fat men were standing undressed in front of two young girls, they looked like twins and didn't seem a day past 8 name days.
Both had shoulder-length hair, the same color of silver blonde as Rhaegar had and one had deep purple eyes, whereas the other had lavender blue eyes. The one with the blue eyes had a lot of freckles on her face and neck, but otherwise they looked very much alike.
To Aurora's anger, she saw that both girls were naked and the two men were staring at them with lust-filled eyes, until she entered.
"WHO DARES…" but those were the last words the Most Devout ever spoke, as Aurora swung her axe in a downwards arch and cut the obese man in two, from his skull to his groin. The two halves slumped down and the two girls started screaming and crying in fear.
The High Septon seamed frozen in fear until Aurora grabbed him by the neck and threw him down the stairs. They could hear him scream in pain as he made his way down, it was four floors to the next landing.
Turning to the girls Aurora removed her helmet and hung it on a special hook on her belt, before smiling kindly at the children. "Do not be afraid sweethearts, I will not hurt you, nor will they ever again." this last she said with a nudge of her head towards the two halves of the Most Devout that lay in an ever expanding pool of blood.
She spotted a pile of clothing and handed it to the shivering children. "Here, put these on and lets go find your parents. Do you know where they are?"
The two girls started crying again and one of them said softly, "We never knew our father, and the red men killed our three brothers. Our mother told us to hide but when we came out she was dead as well. A septon came by our house yesterday and brought us here. They said that it was our fault that our parents were dead. They said that we were sinners and the gods punished us by taking away our family, and we had to… had to…"
Aurora shook her head and said softly, "Don't say it. They lied to you. You are not sinners. Your parents were killed because bad people were afraid of good people, and in their fear they did horrible things." The girls were sobbing softly while Aurora helped them to get dressed.
When they were dressed, Aurora said, "Now look away kids, you don't want to see this. The kids did what she said and with a single swing of her axe, she separated the two parts of the Most Devout's head from their respective body half, and wrapped them in a robe that lay in a corner.
Standing up again she put the bundle of bloodied cloth in a small net that hung from her belt. After putting her axe back in its holder on her back, Aurora gave each of the girls a hand and asked, "What are your names? Mine is Aurora."
The one with the purple eyes spoke and said, "My name is Silvana, and she is Lissena, we don't have a last name as we don't know who our father was, we're bastards." This last part was added softly while Aurora led them to the door and they descended the stairs.
There were blood spatters on some of the steps and it was obvious that the High Septon's descent had not been a pleasant experience for the fat man. When they came on the landing of the dining room, the girls sniffed hopefully and noticing the hungry look in their eyes she asked, "When was the last time either of you had anything to eat?"
The girls on her left, Silvana, answered saying, "The morning of the day that the red men came. The septons said we had to fast until we had repented for our sins."
Growling softly beneath her breath Aurora led the girls into the dining room and said, "Take whatever you want. You need to eat to keep up your strength." The girls immediately did what she said and for the next five minutes they wolfed down everything they could get their hands on.
When they had eaten their fill Aurora took their hands again and they continued on their way down. When they reached a balustrade that allowed them to see into the Sept below them, they saw at least 2 score of Faith Militant surrounding the entrance to the stairs they were on. On the other side they saw the High Septon lying on a bench, moaning, with several Septas fussing over him and tending to his wounds.
Turning to the girls on either side of her Aurora said, "Stay here girls, I'll deal with those fanatics." With a gentle smile she gave them both a kiss on their foreheads before she put on her helmet again. walking down the stairs she drew the two swords from her back and spun them around in her hands.
When she reached the bottom of the stairs and walked into the Sept proper, she was immediately attacked by half a dozen of the Faith Militant, who died before they even realized it.
Aurora spun the swords faster than the naked eye could follow and the crude maces and staffs used by the Faith were splintered and cut in half as if they were made of reed.
When the first 6 lay dead at her feet, she turned to the others and said in her metallic voice, "Lay down your weapons and surrender, or I'll send you on your way to meet those false gods of yours."
As expected, the fanatics came storming towards her en-mass and soon the floor was slippery and the black steel of her swords and armor was slick with the life-blood of the fanatics. It took her a mere five minutes to dispose of the forty or so, Faith Militant. Had they been proper knights, clad in steel and wielding real weapons, she would have been able to enjoy it a lot more, but alas, you can't have everything handed to you.
When the last of the fanatics had dropped to the ground, his head cut clean off and his guts spilling out of a large cut in his side, she turned her attention to the High Septon.
" And now it's your turn, you fat fucking bastard." She stepped towards the bench, dripping with blood and with the two swords still in her hands, causing the septa's to flee. The poor excuse of a man was whimpering in fear and pain, but couldn't move much, as judging by the splints, he had broken both his legs and arms when she had thrown him down the stairs.
Stabbing one of her swords into the marble floor, she tore the blanket from his sniffling body and started to clean the blade in her right hand. when it was clean she put it back in its scabbard and repeated the process with the second sword. When both were clean she turned her head towards the balcony above and said to the two girls, "Its safe for you to come down now. Don't look at the mess, some people just leave about everything lying around. "
Turning back to the High Septon, she drew a dagger from her hip and started to remove the splints saying, "You won't be needing these anymore. We don't want you to miss out on part of your repentance, now do we, 'your holiness'."
She put as much venom in those two words as she could and only the small hand that grabbed hers, stopped her from ripping the man's throat out when she saw the arrogant, yet pained look of the man on hearing his favorite title.
Lissena had grabbed her left hand and was now hugging her tightly, not looking at the bodies that were strewn all around them. Aurora picked her up in her arms and held her on her left arm, not minding the blood that seeped into the rough wool of her simple dress. Silvana went to stand next to her sister, holding onto Aurora's elbow.
With her right hand she grabbed the left ankle of the High Septon and pulled him from the bench, completely ignoring his screams of pain, and started pulling him towards the hole she had made earlier in the doors of the Sept.
Kicking the doors open with a nudge of her foot, Aurora walked out of the Sept.
