The Chronicles of Valyria,

Book 1 Resurrection

Chapter 6

The following month went by in a blur for most of the inhabitants of King's Landing. As soon as the Lannister fleet had arrived at the docks, the lords and many of the knights were arrested and put in irons, before being led to the black cells where they would await their trials. The exception to this was Elys Westerling, Lord of The Crag.

Gabrielle was true to her word and when the Stark soldiers wanted to put him and his men in irons, she intervened and told them to remove them again. Lord Elys was put in charge of all the Lannister levies and they were given the task of digging mass graves outside the city, before they were put to work on tearing down what remained of Flea Bottom, to make room for the decent houses that would be build there.

The bodies of the four Targaryans who had been murdered during the sack were entrusted to the Silent Sisters to be prepared for their burial which would take place once Elia's brothers, Doran and Oberyn, had been brought to King's Landing. It was decided that Rhaella, Aurora, Gabrielle and the twins would make a detour at Sunspear to inform the Prince of Dorne and his brother of the death of their sister, and to take them to King's Landing if they were willing.

And so it was that three days after the sack, on the afternoon after the Lannisters had been put to work, Aurora, Gabrielle the Queen and the twins, made ready to travel to Dragonstone and search for the secret chamber Rhaella had told them about.

Under escort, they made their way towards the large Dragonpit on Rhaenys's hill and once inside, they took their leave of their escorts before heading towards the large central room in which Aurora had landed the day before.

Once inside the room, Aurora gave a big grin towards the Queen and the twins before saying, "Are you three ready to see a real dragon."

Said three nodded quickly and stepping forward a good three dozen paces, Aurora chanced.

Gabrielle could barely keep her amusement contained and she almost burst out laughing loudly at seeing the flabbergasted expressions of the Queen and the twins.

She lost it however at what the twins did next. They both looked sideways in each other's eyes and slowly there appeared a very big grin on both their faces. Next they started cheering and ran at the giant dragon head that hung before them. Jumping up and down they reached the horns on top of her head and when Aurora lifted her head a little, they went up as well, still cheering loudly.

Meanwhile the Queen had recovered a little and turning to Gabrielle she asked, "How… how…"

With a grin Gabrielle replied, "How this is possible? Aurora and I are the Last of the real Dragons that inhabited most of the world during, and before the Age of Heroes. The Old Gods have given us the ability to change into a human form when the last of our kind died out, a few thousand years ago."

Seeing the question on the Queen's face, Gabrielle explained. "I said we are the last of the real dragons. The beasts that were ridden by the dragon riders of Valyria were crossbreeds between dragons and wyverns. Real dragons are far too aggressive, and too powerful to be tamed, so they crossed them by placing unfertilized dragon eggs in a wyvern nest. The result of that was a creature that looked like a dragon, though smaller and with only two legs, and which was more docile and less powerful than a real dragon."

The Queen nodded thoughtfully and asked, "Then how old are you?"

Gabrielle smiled a little apologetic and replied, "We're not entirely sure. We have been married for more than 5000 years and been sentient for a few years more. But we can remember little to nothing from our lives before we became like this."

The Queen nodded again and let out a deep sigh before she said, "I have to admit, this is far more than I would ever have expected. I thought my family was well versed in dragon lore, but it turns out most of what we thought we knew, isn't true."

With a gentle smile Gabrielle said, "Don't take it too hard. Many amongst the dragonlords removed that little fact from their history and it was not known to anyone besides the first generation of dragonlords."

At that moment their conversation was broken by a loud shriek of fear, followed immediately by a bout of laughter. The twins were still hanging on Aurora's horns and she was swinging them around, a few feet above the ground.

Gabrielle turned to the girls and said, "Girls, if you get down, you can help me put the saddle on her."

Both Silvana and Lissena immediately released their grips and dropped the remaining 2 feet to the ground. They ran over to where Gabrielle and Rhaella were still standing and when they had come to a halt, Gabrielle removed the magical bag from her belt and folded it out on the ground.

The three others again looked wide-eyed and Gabrielle grinned, "Yea I know, it's pretty amazing isn't it. Magic can be used for many wondrous things."

She pulled the large saddle from the depths of the bag, along with three thick fur cloaks. The helmets wouldn't be necessary as they wouldn't be flying that high. With the help of the girls, who were very enthusiastic but got in the way more often than not, Gabrielle put the saddle on Aurora and secured it with the long lines that were attached to it.

Once it was fitted to Gabrielle's satisfaction, Aurora lowered herself to the ground as low as possible, which still put the saddle roughly 18 feet above them, and Gabrielle climbed on first. Using both the rope and Aurora's scaly neck to reach the saddle, she then made a loop at the end of the rope, which she lowered and then used to pull the girls up to the saddle. Rhaella made her way up on her own, and once they were all strapped in securely, Aurora stood up and stretched out her wings.

Seeing as the central chamber of the Dragonpit was too small for her massive bulk to comfortably fly up, she climbed up using the walls as support until she stood on the top of the great dome. Far below them the city came to a halt as everyone gazed up at the awe-inspiring sight of a fully-grown dragon ready to take flight.

Aurora stretched out her massive wings and with a few powerful flaps, she jumped into the air and flew westwards over the city. They could faintly hear cheering and applause coming from the city below them and Gabrielle couldn't suppress the small grin that crept onto her face. It had been a very long time since they had been this popular.

The twins absolutely loved to fly, they cheered loudly when Aurora did a few carefully executed maneuvers, nothing to fancy considering the Queen's pregnancy, but even Rhaella enjoyed it greatly. They flew at a leisurely pace and since it was a clear day, they could see for many miles around them and Rhaella pointed out several castles and towns to the girls, while telling them a few things about them.

When they arrived at Dragonstone it was a few hours past noon and unlike last time, no one was shooting at them so Aurora carefully landed outside the view of the castle and they all dismounted before she changed back into human form.

As a group they leisurely walked towards the great fortress and entered through the large gates, where they were awaited by the castellan. "Welcome Your Grace, we had not expected you back here so soon. How may I be of service to you and your guests?"

Rhaella inclined her head and replied, "It was not expected that I would return this soon, but we won't be here for that long anyway. If you would please gather two score guardsmen, fully armored and armed, and have them stand ready in the courtyard in two hours, I would be grateful."

The castellan bowed and said, "Of course, Your Grace," before turning around and heading to the barracks.

Gabrielle looked expectantly at Rhaella and the Queen thought for a moment before she said, "Okay let's go to the library first, I need to find a book."

She led them into the keep and up several flights of stairs before they stopped at the door to the library. Entering the dimly lit room they found the Maester hunched over a table with his nose buried in an extremely thick book.

The man looked up when he noticed he had visitors and quickly stood up when he saw the Queen. "Your Grace, how may I help you?"

Rhaella nodded slightly and replied, "Would you please bring me, The History of the Citadel, volume III."

The man quickly bowed and hurried out of the library. With a single raised eyebrow, Gabrielle asked, "What do you need that book for?"

"To get rid of him." Rhaella deadpanned. "I don't know what it is, but there is something I don't like about him, so I don't want him to know about this." She next walked to one of the shelves against the wall and reached into it. Apparently she hit a hidden button or lever, as the bottom of the shelf fell open, and when Gabrielle knelt down, she pulled three, thick, leather-bound books from the hidden compartment.

There wasn't a title on the books, but Rhaella quickly motioned for Gabrielle to put the books away and to place the bottom panel back in its place.

Gabrielle handed two of the books to Aurora, who hid them under her cloak, while she herself stood up and put the last one under her belt on her back. She had just put her cloak right again, when the door opened and the maester entered the room carrying a thick book, bound in black leather with golden lettering on the front.

With a small bow, the maester handed the book to Rhaella before saying, "Is there anything else I can do for you, Your Grace?"

Rhaella shook her head before saying, "No, that will be all. We shall leave you to your work maester."

The man bowed again before sitting himself back at the table and resuming his reading of the thick tome they had seen him engrossed in when they arrived. Rhaella led the others out of the library and down the stairs until they reached a large balcony on the side of the tower. She had dumped the requested book in an alcove behind a banner.

Stepping into the sunlight, Rhaella turned to the kids and said, "Would you two like to help me out a little?"

Both Silvana and Lissena nodded enthusiastically and Rhaella smiled before continuing, "Very good. I need you two to go stand on the stairs, and warn me if anyone is coming, can you do that?"

"Yes, Your Grace," the twins said as one, before they hurried back into the tower, with Silvana going up, and Lissena going down.

Turning to the other two, Rhaella said, "Now, if you would get out the books, we can begin. Those books are the personal diaries of Aegon the Conqueror himself. I found them when my father had me clean the entire library because I had skipped my lessons with the septa and went sailing instead."

Grinning at her words, Aurora and Gabrielle removed the books from beneath their cloaks and Aurora handed one to the Queen. "I'm afraid I don't remember where I have read about the secret room, so I'm afraid we'll just have to read through them until we find it."

Aurora and Gabrielle nodded once, before they sat themselves in two of the chairs that stood on the balcony. Rhaella sat herself down in a third, before opening her book and starting to read.

It took a little over an hour until Gabrielle said, "AHA, found it."

The other two quickly came over to her and looked over her shoulder at the section she had indicated.

The time has come, tomorrow morning we will set sail to begin our conquest of the Seven Kingdoms. Visenya and Rhaenys have already gone to bed, but I believe that sleep will not come to me on this night.

Outside I can see our dragons flying around the island, it would seem that they share in my anticipation. Even from this distance I can feel Balerion's anxiousness growing, just like mine, I expect he wishes the time had already come for us to fight our first battle, this waiting is worse than anything I have ever felt.

To my children, should we ever be granted any, if you are reading this, and your need is dire, then know that not all has yet been lost. In the lowest dungeon of the Stone Drum, find the door without a keyhole and light the Dragon's Torch, with Dragonfire. In order to open the door to the treasure I have hidden there, you will need The Dragon's Claw for it alone will open the door.

"That's it," Rhaella exclaimed as she finished reading. "We need to get to the dungeons." But before she left the balcony, her face fell and turning around she asked a little hesitantly, "Are you able to create dragonfire in your human form?"

The only reply she got was both Aurora and Gabrielle raising their hands holding small, yet bright, balls of flame in their opened palms.

"Never mind," Rhaella muttered before she continued to enter the tower. Silvana came down as she heard them coming and so did Lissena. When she saw the girls Rhaella smiled and said, "You did very good girls." Both were glowing with pride at her words. "Now we have found what we were looking for, so let's get going shall we?"

The twins quickly nodded and they each gave a hand to Aurora, who in turn handed her book to Gabriele, and they followed the queen down the stairs.

When they reached the bottom of the tower, they passed the courtyard. They found the guards Rhaella had requested of the castellan and Rhaella motioned for the captain of the guards to follow them.

They entered the central keep, where they quickly located the stairs that went to the dungeons, and headed downwards.

When they entered the dungeons, Rhaella quickly led them to a blank wall that had a, seemingly decorative, arch on it and said to the two women behind her, "This is it. This is the spot he spoke about. The door without a keyhole. Now all we have to do is find the Dragon's Torch."

One of the guards handed her his torch, which she held above her before studying the blank wall. After a few minutes of not finding anything, Aurora said, "If I may, I have a hunch that I would like to try." When Rhaella nodded her consent, Aurora added, "All of you, please take a few dozen paces back, look away and close your eyes. This will be very hot and very bright and may very well blind you forever if you look at it."

Everyone did as she said and when only she and Gabrielle were still facing the wall with their eyes open, Aurora raised her hands to her mouth and held them like a bowl in front of her mouth.

A bright red flame appeared above her hands and taking a deep breath, Aurora blew at the flame, turning it into an inferno that sprayed all over the wall. The immense heat of the dragonfire cracked the stones and soon they literally melted away, revealing a large ornate door.

The door was made of a dark-grey steel with a ripple pattern in it and it was glowing softly in the aftermath of the intense heat it had endured.

When the heat was mostly gone, Gabrielle yelled for the others to rejoin them and soon Rhaella and the twins were standing next to them again. Rhaella studied the door and gasped when she realized what it was. "That is Valyrian Steel. This door alone must be worth more than all the gold in Casterly Rock. There is no way we can get through this without the key. But where is the keyhole?"

Aurora cleared her throat and pointed at a slight indentation, it was roughly at shoulder height and had the shape of a hand-and-a-half sword.

Rhaella cursed softly under her breath while taking the rough measurements of the sword that would fit there. "Seven Hells." She finally exclaimed before muttering. "I should have known."

Both Aurora and Gabrielle looked at the frustrated queen with a raised eyebrow until Gabrielle asked softly, "If you tell us what is wrong, maybe we can help you find a solution."

Rhaella seemed to realize that she wasn't alone and quickly turned around to face her companions. The guards that had followed them were admiring the door and muttering softly amongst each other.

"My apologies. I was so enthralled by this door that for a moment I forgot that I was not alone. But to get to the point, it would appear that the 'key' Aegon wrote about, is in fact a sword. Blackfyre to be precise. Problem is, Blackfyre was lost, 23 years ago, after Ser Barristan slew its last known wielder, Maelys the Monstrous."

Both Aurora and Gabrielle seemed to think for a moment until Gabrielle asked, "How is Valyrian Steel made?"

Rhaella laughed humorlessly at that and said, "If we knew that, we would have an endless supply of it but alas, its secret was lost with the Doom of Valyria. The only thing that we do know is that it involved magic and dragonfire."

At those words, both Aurora and Gabrielle shared a knowing grin and Aurora said, "What would you say if I said that we have access to both those, and we can maybe, maybe melt a hole in that door."

Both the Queen and the two score guards stared wide-eyed at Gabrielle until Rhaella asked softly, "You think you can actually melt Valyrian Steel?"

Gabrielle nodded and replied, "Our own armor and weapons are made of Dragonforged Steel, which is made by melting steel and some other metals, into one and heating them with Dragonfire and magic. I dare to bet that our battle axes can actually break a, so-called, unbreakable Valyrian Steel sword."

As if to prove a point, Aurora drew the massive axe from the holder on her back and with her enormous strength, she slammed the blade of the axe against the door. A loud ringing sound echoed through the entire fortress but when they looked to where the axe had hit the Valyrian Steel door, they were all aghast. The axe was stuck in the door and the blade had sunk in a good two inches deep.

Silvana's soft whisper of "Wow," was all that was heard in the deafening silence that followed the noise of axe meeting door. The twins were staring with adoration at Aurora until Lissena cried out, "Do it again, do it again."

Aurora and Gabrielle both burst out laughing at the girls' enthusiasm and to please her new daughters, Aurora wrenched the axe free from the door before slamming it in again. She hit the exact same spot and this time it sunk even deeper into the steel.

Both Silvana and Lissena were cheering loudly until Gabrielle asked to Rhaella, "But what of it? Do you want to wait until we might find Blackfyre, or do you want us to try and open this door, probably destroying it in the process?"

The queen thought about it for a minute until she said, "Do what you have to, but try to open this door."

Both Aurora and Gabrielle inclined their heads and Gabrielle said, "Then we shall do our best, but be advised it may become very, very hot in here, so it would be best for all of you who are not fire-proof to leave this area."

Rhaella agreed with this and turned to the captain of the guards, "Captain, please take your men back to the courtyard, I will call for you when it is safe again. Myself and the girls will stay, as it has been proven that all three of us share the same resistance to fire as the Ladies have."

The captain bowed once, before turning around and leading his men out of the dungeons.

When they were sure that they were alone, Rhaella turned to Gabrielle and asked, "What are you planning to do, I don't think you can change in here, it is far too small to fit your other forms."

"We don't have to," was Gabrielle's reply, "if we join our flames, they will burn just as hot as if we did it in dragon form." They put her words into action and placed their right hands onto the surface of the door. Aurora put hers over Gabrielle's after entwining their fingers and they both took a deep breath.

As they released their breath, a bright light engulfed their joined hands as red and blue fire joined together to form a bright purple flame. The heat became almost unbearable, even to the fire-resistant Valyrian blood. But it did work.

A small hole, about an inch wide and three inches high, was burned straight through the door. Over the next ten minutes Aurora and Gabrielle repeated the process of breathing in and breathing out to create the purple flames that could melt through Valyrian Steel.

The rectangle they cut into the door was two feet wide and four feet high. Once they burned through the final part, the cut out piece dropped on the remaining part and Aurora quickly gave it a kick, so it fell inwards, instead of on them.

Looking back at the Queen, Aurora asked, "Do you want to call the guards, or shall we continue without them. Keep in mind that there could be treasures hidden within that could drive men mad with desire if they would lay their eyes upon them."

Rhaella nodded thoughtfully before she said, "We shall see what lies within, before we call the guards."

Aurora nodded in acceptance and taking a torch from the wall, she extinguished it on the floor, before relighting it with red dragonfire, while Gabrielle did the same with a second torch. To the surprise of Rhaella and the twins, the newly lit torches burned much brighter and illuminated a far greater area than they had done before.

They saw that behind the door there was a dark tunnel of smooth volcanic stone. The tunnel was round and the tips of the spiked crowns of Aurora and Gabrielle were only two inches below the ceiling.

Aurora grabbed a sword in her right hand and carefully tapped the step in front of her, to search for any traps that might have been left behind. In this manner they slowly descended the many steps and to their relief, they didn't encounter any traps. A few of the steps had been broken by the eruptions of the Dragonmont, but otherwise the stairs were completely intact.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, they had made it deep into the volcanic stone and the heat had slowly been building up in the air around them. When they passed the last bend, a natural light could be seen ahead of them and Aurora and Gabrielle motioned for the other three to wait for them to check it out.

They slowly went around the corner and gasped in surprise, they saw a thing that they had never believed to be possible.

They stood on large balcony on a giant cliff of volcanic stone. 3000 feet below them, they could see a lake of molten magma, they were literally standing at the edge of an active volcano. When they turned to look around they saw a massive treasure trove surrounding them.

Gabrielle slowly walked back to the stairs and said loudly, "It is safe, and you have got to see this."

The other three quickly descended the remaining stairs and just like them, they gasped in amazement and wonder.

The balcony they were standing on was roughly 100 feet in any direction and the ledge was a true treasure trove. All around them were large chests, overflowing with gold coins. Large golden and silver bowls were filled with all kinds of precious stones. Rubies, Sapphires, Emeralds, Diamonds and gemstones of every other kind were piled high on tables.

There was a wall covered in hooks, from which were hung crowns, necklaces, tiara's and all kinds of other jewelry.

Against another wall stood half a dozen mannequins, each mannequin was fully equipped with dark grey, heavy armor with a rippling pattern and steel encased wooden shields. It looked remarkably like the armor worn by Aurora and Gabrielle, only theirs was black instead of dark grey, and theirs was covered in spikes, whereas the armor on the mannequins had a more streamlined design.

But the greatest treasure, was carefully arranged in a nest made of Valyrian Steel, which stood on the very edge of the ledge. There, in the nest, lay 7, large, eggs. 1 was black, 1 was red, 1 was blue, 1 was green, 1 was white, 1 was gold, and the last was a deep purple.

Rhaella and the twins were staring in awe and wonder at everything around them, until they saw the eggs. It was as if they were drawn to them and step-by-step they inched closer to the nest until they were standing right in front of it.

As if in a trance, they all reached into the nest and removed a single egg each. Rhaella chose the green one, Silvana chose the purple one and Lissena took the blue egg.

Once they had each picked an egg, they stepped back from the edge and it was as if the trance was suddenly lifted and they seemed to regain their senses. Rhaella shook her head and stared in awe at the egg in her hands. The twins did the same but they looked slightly guiltily at Aurora and said as one, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to…"

But Aurora raised her hand to interrupt her and said, "Don't apologize, this is fate, or destiny however you want to call it. You were clearly meant to have these eggs and if my guess is correct, then those other four are for Rhaegar, Rhaenys and the two little dragons that are on the way.

"Are, are you saying that we should hatch them?" asked Rhaella a little disbelieving.

Aurora nodded her head and replied, "Yes, I believe that these eggs were put here for a reason, and whatever reason that may be, it is obvious that you three were meant to have these."

Gabrielle nodded in agreement and added, "May I feel the eggs."

Rhaella immediately stepped towards her and carefully handed her egg to Gabrielle. She took the egg with care and held it in the bowl of her hands, before pressing it to her lips and breathing on it through her nose.

They could all hear a soft noise, similar to that of the wind blowing through the trees, and a soft glow seemed to envelop the egg. She handed the egg back to Rhaella without saying a word, before repeating the process with the eggs chosen by Silvana and Lissena.

After handing Lissena the blue egg back, Gabrielle looked up and said, "For the next 15 days, it will be your job to ensure that the eggs do not cool off. Keep them warm at all times, or the hatchlings will go back to hibernation and we have to start all over again. The best way to do this is by placing them in an open fire, both in the morning and in the evening, for at least half an hour."

All three nodded slowly, still staring in wonder at the now warm eggs in their hands. "So, does this mean that we will become dragon riders?" Lissena asked softly.

Both Aurora and Gabrielle nodded and Aurora said, "It sure does sweetheart, and if you are going to become dragon riders, then you will need to be equipped as such." She gestured towards the wall with the mannequins before it and led them towards it.

When they stood before the wall, the twins noticed something that they had missed when they first saw the armor suits. Behind the mannequins, the wall was adorned with weapons. They ranged from small daggers to great swords and even a battle axe and large war hammer could be found, all made of Valyrian steel.

Rhaella's eyes were drawn towards a greatsword with a handle and scabbard of red leather, and with a large, golden lion-head as pommel. The cross guards were also shaped like lions-heads, with clear rubies set as eyes.

Seeing her look, Gabrielle carefully took the egg from Rhaella, so that the Queen could walk to the wall and remove the sword. Once she had, she drew it out of the scabbard and started grinning loudly. On the blade of the sword were engraved three words, 'Hear me Roar'.

"O Tywin is going to lose it when he sees this. His family has been searching for this blade since at least a century before the War of Conquest." When she noticed the unrecognizing looks of Aurora and Gabrielle, she added, "This sword is called Brightroar, and it is the ancestral blade of House Lannister."

Now both the other women were grinning as well and Aurora said, "Oh, now I really wish Rhaegar hadn't promised Tywin that he would let him and his children live, I would love to beat his son in a trial by combat, while using that sword."

With a glint of amusement, Rhaella said, "Well if I know Tywin, he will do whatever it takes, to regain his lost power. So perhaps one day you will get the chance to do just that." She placed the sword back on the wall, before Gabrielle handed her back the egg.

With a toothy grin, Aurora turned back to the wall and said to the twins, "And girls, have you found anything that catches your fancy?"

The twins both nodded and said, "Yes mom." When she heard them call her, 'mom', for the first time, Aurora couldn't contain a single tear from dropping from her eyes. That little word meant the world to her.

Looking back at the twins, Aurora saw that they each pointed at their weapon of choice. Silvana pointed at the war hammer and Lissena indicated a pair of short swords, which Aurora identified as two falchions.

The war hammer was roughly 5 feet long with a spike covered square on one side, and an axe blade on the other, it would be a truly fearsome weapon in the hands of someone who knew how to properly use it.

The falchions each had a blade of 3 feet long and 4-inch-wide and 1/3rd of an inch thick on the unsharpened side. Both were stuck in sheaths of dark grey leather and attached to a thick black leather belt.

Removing the chosen weapons from the wall, Aurora inspected them closely before observing, "Hmm, we'll have to rework these a bit. The war hammer is not properly balanced for the hands of a woman, and the falchions don't have a proper cross guard. But that's a problem for later. First we'll have to teach you two how to use these."

The girls were glowing with anticipation until Gabrielle turned to Rhaella and asked, "You don't mind if we take these, do you?"

Rhaella softly shook her head and said, "No, after everything you two have done for my family, it is no less than you deserve. Also, I strongly suggest you also choose two of those suits of armor, if you can rework those weapons, I expect it won't be too hard for you to rework them to fit the body of women, instead of men."

Gabrielle inclined her head in agreement and said, "You are correct, that would indeed be fairly easy, but we'll wait with that until they are fully grown."

Seeing as the armors were all of the same design, Gabrielle just picked two and stored them in her fold-out pouch, along with the war hammer and the falchions. Turning around they gave the treasure trove a final look-over and Gabrielle spotter a closed chest, underneath a pile of gold bars.

Walking over to the chest, she removed the gold bars and pilled them next to the chest, before opening the lid. It revealed many scrolls of parchment. Picking one, Gabrielle grinned softly to herself and said to no one in particular, "Anyone interested in an accurate map of the Valyrian peninsula, from after the Doom."

Rhaella quickly snatched it out of Gabrielle's hands and unrolled it before her eyes. She studied it minutely and said, "If we can find the legendary Forges of Valyria, we may have a way to recreate Valyrian Steel. With your knowledge, and those forges, we can outfit the finest army in the world."

This caught the attention of Aurora and Gabrielle and Aurora asked with a hungry look in her eyes, "Let's say that, if someone was to be looking for the finest soldiers in the world, where would you send them?"

Rhaella thought about that for a few minutes until she sighed and said reluctantly. "To our enemies. If you're willing to deal with sellswords, you'd have to look for the Golden Company. They have by far the best reputation and they are the most powerful of the sellsword companies. They are 10,000 strong, but in the past they have often fought for our enemies, the Blackfyre Pretenders.

If it is discipline and absolute loyalty you want, then you need the Unsullied, slave soldiers from the city of Astapor. They are trained from boyhood and they know no other life than combat. Their training is unspeakably cruel, but it is very effective. During the legendary, Battle of Qohor, 3,000 unsullied stopped a khalasar of over 50,000 riders, and killed more than 12,000 of them, while losing 2,400 themselves. The Unsullied are used all over Essos as city guards and as household guards by the richest families."

Both Aurora and Gabrielle looked intrigued by the Queen's words and Aurora muttered half to herself and half to the others, "Well then, it seems that we're going to make a trip to Essos when all this has been dealt with."

Gabrielle nodded in agreement and Rhaella said cautiously, "I'm not so sure whether it is wise if you two were to leave, so soon after Rhaegar is installed as king. You may be needed to ensure stability during the rebuilding of the city."

Both Aurora and Gabrielle shook their heads at that and Gabrielle said, "No Rhaella, it is important that we are not present to ensure stability. If we are flying around everywhere, the nobles could accuse him that the only reason the realm is stable, is that we are there to install fear in everyone who might disagree with his decisions. Rhaegar needs to prove himself as an effective ruler, without our help, if he is ever to be given the respect and loyalty he deserves."

Aurora nodded in agreement and added, "We shall leave you with a way to contact us, should it be necessary, and if the maps I took from Rhaegar's mind are accurate, we could be back here within a day or two."

When the words left her mouth, Aurora realized she said something wrong, as Rhaella suddenly looked up and said with suspicion clearly noticeable in her voice, "What do you mean, 'the maps you took from Rhaegar's mind? What exactly are you doing here. Because I know you are not what you say you are. You may have fooled the smallfolk and the nobles, but you didn't fool me."

Aurora and Gabrielle both went red at her words and Gabrielle finally said with a sigh, "You're right. We did not come from the ruins of Valyria. To be honest we have only been in this world since the night before the dual at the Trident. Aurora and I are something you could call demigods. We are send by the Old Gods, the real gods of this world, to help Rhaegar in preparing this world to face the forces of Death and Darkness when the Long Night returns.

We have done this on more worlds before. About 5000 years ago, in our life, we were born on a world called Earth. There we were trained, and changed into what we are now. When our lives there came at an end, the gods of many other worlds made us an offer. We would be granted a form of immortality and great powers, if in turn, we would take up the job as the Gods champions.

Whenever things go wrong in a world, the gods of that world can call on us and send us to intervene on their behalf and to help the people of that world to make things right again. In every world we are forced to come up with some false back story to make our presence believable to the common people. In this world, only Rhaegar, Ser Barristan and Ser Jonothor know part of the truth, since they witnessed our arrival, and only Rhaegar knows all of the truth. I hope you can understand the need for secrecy, and if you don't believe me, I can show you that what I have said is the truth."

Rhaella looked very skeptical but once Gabrielle grasped her right hand and showed her a few of the memories that proved her story, Rhaella relented. "I… I understand. I don't like it, but I understand why you are here and what you are trying to do. I just wish you wouldn't have had to come."

Aurora and Gabrielle both nodded sadly until their solemn mood was broken by an amazed voice belonging to Silvana, "Wow, so our new parents are gods, that is so cool."

They couldn't help it, all three women burst out laughing at the amazement of the two girls whom they had nearly forgotten were with them.