The Chronicles of Valyria,

Book 1 Resurrection

Chapter 20

It was silent for a minute until Ferrego and Tycho looked at each other and nodded once. Turning to Aurora and Gabriele, Ferrego said, "Whatever you need, just ask. You have the full and unconditional support of both the city of Braavos, and the Iron Bank."

Aurora and Gabrielle inclined their heads in gratitude and Gabrielle said, "We thank you wholeheartedly for your support and you can rest assured, we will not betray the trust you have given us. For now though, let's talk business."

The two nodded and they went back to the desk where they retook their seats, though the looks of Ferrego and Tycho were repeatedly drawn towards Silvana and Lissena who were playing with their dragons on the expensive Myrish carpet.

Gabrielle cleared her throat and once she had regained the attention of the two men, she began. "Right now we are planning a trip to north of the Wall, we want to find the giant tribes and try to persuade them to join us in our campaign. If we can get say, two dozen giants, dress them in heavy plate steel and teach them how to use swords or war hammers, we have the ultimate shock troops.

In the meantime, we would like to ask you to use the time until our return to equip a fleet with everything we will need to rebuild Valyria. Mainly food and tools, as natural resources like wood and stone are plenty on the island. We would also welcome any and all volunteers who would want to help us. We have great need of good craftsmen, especially carpenters, blacksmiths, miners and stone masons. Of course, soldiers are always welcome to join in our campaign, and if those Bravos of yours want to get some experience in a proper fight, just send them our way and we'll turn them into real soldiers for you."

Both Ferrego and Tycho nodded and Ferrego said, "I'll see to it that the ships are ready when you return, and as for craftsmen, I'll send my men into the city to look for volunteers. I have no doubt that there are plenty young men and women willing to leave the city in search for a fresh start in a legendary country. Soldiers will be easy to find I think. I'll tell Syrio to spread the word amongst the Bravos, as I have no doubt that tales of your deeds this afternoon have already spread throughout their ranks."

Tycho nodded and said in turn, "I will report to my fellow Keyholders at the Bank about our agreement and I'll see to it that all expenses made by the Sealord will be paid and that the rest of the sum will be waiting for you upon your return."

Gabrielle inclined her head and Aurora responded, "Thank you. And if your fellow Keyholders start complaining, then you tell them that we will pay them back the full sum, within ten years. I do not know the exact market value of Valyrian steel, but we have plenty of it to repay our debt with." And as if to prove her point, she withdrew a long small sword from beneath her cloak. It was the same style as those used for the Braavosi fighting style called Waterdancing.

"This is Windcleaver, consider it the first repayment of our debt. I think it should be worth about one million gold pieces, don't you agree Sealord?"

Ferrego looked with greedy eyes at the blade and said hastily, "You are absolutely right my lady." Turning to the man besides him he added, "Tycho, I'll have the gold transferred to the bank later today." When Tycho Nestoris nodded in acceptance, Aurora handed the sword to Ferrego and he accepted it with an awestruck expression.

Standing up he drew the sword from the richly decorated sheath and swung it around a few times to test the balance of the blade, which was perfect. "This is amazing, where did you get it?"

Aurora grinned and replied, "I made it myself. We happened to find a lot of raw Valyrian steel, and we melted it down to forge into swords, the first one of which you now hold."

One of the projects they had undertaken in the months before the invasion of the Stepstones, was removing the Valyrian steel door from Dragonstone and cutting it up into more manageable pieces. Enough of the pieces were entrusted to Tobho Moth for him to create seven swords out of it, one for each member of the Kingsguard. They weren't sure if Ser Arthur would accept as he was already wielding Dawn, but in that case, it would be kept for his eventual replacement. The rest of the pieces Aurora and Gabrielle had kept with them, to be forged into something useful when the time came.

Now that he knew it was newly forged, Ferrego was even more amazed and asked, "But where did you learn how to re-forge Valyrian steel, I thought only a select few of the blacksmiths of Qohor knew how to do so, and they do not share their secrets with outsiders."

Aurora grinned and said, "It is not a big secret how to re-forge it, the secret is how to make it. The only difficulty in re-forging it lies in the rarity of one crucial ingredient, dragonfire. The blacksmiths of Qohor have somehow kept their forges burning for centuries, giving them access to dragonfire, but we have a limitless supply, ready on hand."

"So, those two dragons have helped you to forge Windcleaver?"

Ferrego's question seamed to amuse them immensely and Gabrielle responded, "Good heavens no, their fire is not nearly hot enough yet. It takes an adult dragon's fire to melt Valyrian steel, but since we didn't want to cause mass panic in your city, we left the big ones in the hills beyond the forests."

"So, there are more dragons?" Tycho asked disbelieving.

Aurora and Gabrielle nodded and pointing at Saphirus and Violet, Aurora said, "Yes, how do you think we hatched those two? The mother dragon breathes on the eggs to hatch them. The dragons my wife and I ride into battle are many times larger, and I doubt the main hall of your palace would be big enough to house even one."

Now both Ferrego and Tycho had gone ashen-faced and Tycho asked hesitantly, "So, are those big dragons the reason the Targaryens won the war?"

Both women nodded and Gabrielle said, "Maybe we shall show them to you when we return, depends on whether they are needed in the war against Tyrosh or not. We gave orders not to attack the city in our absence, but that does not mean that the Tyroshi won't attack us either."

Tycho nodded and Ferrego said, "Please keep the dragons away from our city, I'm afraid the population will not take kindly to seeing the beasts that helped to enslave their ancestors, even if they are now fighting on our side."

Aurora and Gabrielle nodded and Gabrielle said, "I have one last request, if we are to be able to transport giants, we will need more ships than we currently have with us. Would it be possible for us to borrow a few cargo ships, as we only have warships which don't have adequate room to hold giants."

Ferrego nodded and replied, "I'll see to it that five galleys will be waiting for you when you set sail tomorrow, furthermore, I'll have them loaded with food and two dozen horses, to aid you on your journey."

Both women nodded in thanks and Aurora and Gabrielle stood up. "We shall take our leave then. Is there an inn you can recommend us to use for the night?"

Ferrego thought a minute about Gabrielle's question until he said, "For the safety of those two," he said pointing at Saphirus and Violet, "I'd suggest returning to your ships and spending the night at the Arsenal. No one will disturb you there and I'll send word to the Arsenal that they should double their patrols tonight, we can't take any risks."

Aurora and Gabrielle nodded again and Gabrielle said, "That is an excellent suggestion, we shall take our leave then, we had wanted to see a bit of your city now that it is still light."

Ferrego walked around his desk and said, "I'll have a guide sent to you to show you around, it is easy to get lost in the city." Taking something from a cabinet along the wall, he handed it to Aurora who saw it was a golden medallion on a chain, displaying the Titan of Braavos on one side and a broken chain on the other. "This medallion shows that you are under the protection of the Sealord and are granted unlimited access to the city, don't lose it."

Aurora nodded and hung the medallion around her neck, before shoving it down into her breastplate where it would be safe. Silvana and Lissena had managed to get Saphirus and Violet back into their cages and Gabrielle whistled on her fingers. The door opened and four of the Forlorn entered, who picked up the cages and waited till the twins had put the covers back over, before walking out the door where they waited with the others.

The group of three women and three girls all said goodbye to the Sealord and to Tycho Nestoris, before taking their leave and joining their guards in the hallway. They made their way back to the entrance of the palace, where they were awaited by Syrio Forel who made an elaborate bow and said, "I have the honor of being your guide for the duration of your stay in our great city. Just tell me where you want to go, and I'll take you there."

Aurora and Gabrielle nodded in acceptance and Gabrielle said, "Please take us to markets, specifically the cloth market, as we need to buy some silk." She looked at Ashara, who was still carrying Elia in a piece of linen, that was no longer white.

Syrio nodded and led them out of the palace and back towards the docks, where they boarded a barge which was swiftly rowed away into one of the many canals. It took them about fifteen minutes to reach a large open square, covered by market stalls and yelling merchants.

Aurora turned towards the Forlorn and ordered, "Stay on the barge, allow no one on board and if you are attacked, defend those cages with your lives."

As one the dozen men saluted her and with their heavy axes at the ready, they spread out around the barge and took up guard positions. Aurora nodded content and she and Gabrielle led their company off of the barge and onto the busy marketplace.

Syrio led them without faltering and soon they stood before a stall with all kinds of fabrics, in the most spectacular colors and designs. Gabrielle helped Ashara to pick out something she liked while Aurora kept an eye on the girls, who were likewise admiring the many rolls of soft silk and velvet the merchant had to sell.

When Aurora asked the man for black velvet, he produced a thick roll of soft midnight black fabric and they started bartering. They finally settled on 50 gold pieces for the entire roll and after Aurora handed over the money, the merchant produced a few lengths of rope to help her carry it around her shoulder.

Ashara had finally settled on a piece of bright violet silk, decorated with fine silver embroidery and she paid the merchant 3 gold pieces for the 15 feet of fabric.

They moved on to another stall which sold thread and needles and other similar items, and Aurora besieged the merchant for several balls of gold- and black thread and a few dozen needles. After some bidding back and forth, they settled on a price and the merchant handed the items to Aurora, after putting them in a linen bag.

Having bought what they needed, they just strolled around the market, looking at the many different stalls and stopping here and there when the girls wanted to look at something more closely.

They briefly stopped at a bakery stall that sold fresh sweets and bought some lemon cakes for everyone. While the girls were occupied with their cakes, Aurora snuck off to a nearby stall and came back soon after, without the girls having noticed anything.

While they were making their way back to the barge, as it was nearing twilight and the merchants where closing their stalls, they noticed a disturbance in the direction of the docks. When Silvana and Lissena suddenly became agitated for no reason, Aurora and Gabrielle looked up in concern and Aurora stormed ahead towards the harbor, while Gabrielle stayed with the others and followed as fast as they could.

Aurora shoved her way through the crowd, though most fled automatically when they saw her approaching and soon she had reached the docks. She found nearly two dozen men, all of whom were clearly well beyond the point of piss-drunk, who were trying to board the barge. Obeying her orders to the letter, the Forlorn had formed a half circle around the covered cages and were halting the men's attempts to find out what was hidden in the cages.

"This is your last warning," one of the Forlorn said on a dull and emotionless tone. "Step back now and disperse, or we will use force."

One of the drunkards was clearly not impressed by his words, and picked a stone from the ground and threw it between the shoulders of two of the Forlorn. It hit one of the cages and Aurora could hear Saphirus roar when the stone hit the cage. "L… l… look guys. It's a… alive." And he bowed down to pick another stone from the ground.

Throwing again, he now hit the breast plate of a Forlorn and said soldier stepped off the barge to prevent him from throwing again. He pushed the drunkard away from the docks and said on the same emotionless tone as every other Forlorn, "Go away now. If you do not listen we will be forced to resort to using violence." At that moment, something happened in the crowd of drunkards. They all seemed to suddenly sober up and knives and swords were drawn while they threw themselves at the soldier.

One of the men stabbed his dagger through the eye-slit of the Forlorn's helmet and killed him instantly. The crowd screamed in panic when the lifeless body fell into the water and the rest of the former drunkards stormed towards the barge.

If they hoped that the death of one of their comrades would cause a panic amongst the Forlorn, then they were sadly mistaken. They immediately closed ranks and hefted their heavy axes in preparation to fight.

Cursing loudly Aurora forced her way through the panicking crowd and tried to reach the barge while she saw the Forlorn cutting down one assailant after the other.

By the time she reached the docks, the Forlorn had already cut down 16 of their attackers, while they lost 3 of their own number. The arrival of Aurora immediately ended the fight. Making two wide strikes with her massive axe, she cut down 6 of the remaining attackers and the last 2 tried to flee, until she drew two daggers from her boot and threw them in quick succession, hitting one in his neck and the other in his shoulder.

While the Forlorn dragged their wounded back behind their line and closed ranks again, Aurora hurried to the man she had hit in the shoulder and turned him around so she could look him in the eyes. She removed her right gauntlet and slammed her bare hand against the man's head, breaking into his mind and searching for the relevant information. When she had found what she was looking for, she withdrew from the man's mind and pulled the dagger from his shoulder. In an almost casual move, she cut the man's throat and calmly watched as he choked on his own blood.

Wiping the dagger clean on the man's clothes, she put it back in her boot before pulling the second dagger from the neck of the other man and doing the same with that one. Walking calmly back to the barge, she knelt down besides the trio of Forlorn who had been cut down. Inspecting their wounds, she found that two were already dead while the third could be saved, so she stemmed the bleeding and waited for Gabrielle to arrive and fix him up. They may be nothing but criminals, but that did not mean that they would just throw away their lives, they were much to useful for that.

It took a few minutes for the others to arrive and when they did, Ashara had to throw up when she saw the massacre at the docks. The great axes of the Forlorn had inflicted horrendous wounds on the assailants. Two of them were still moving weakly, until Gabrielle put an end to their suffering by driving the top spike of her axe through their skulls.

Keeping the head of the second man down with her armored boot, Gabrielle pulled the spike from his skull with a sickening sound, causing Yara to also throw up her Lemon cakes. The twins had hurried up on the barge and where now trying to calm down Saphirus and Violet, who were extremely agitated by the sounds of fighting and the smell of blood in the air.

They were blocked from sight by the remaining Forlorn so they partially removed the covers and spoke softly and calmingly to the two little dragons but it was of no use, until Aurora let out a low growl, which shut them up immediately.

Meanwhile Gabrielle had come on board and was now observing the wound of the wounded soldier. Working carefully, she heated the point of one of her daggers and pressed it against the open veins in the man's side, stopping the bleeding and giving her a clearer image of his injuries.

Taking a curved needle and some strong thread from her pouch Gabrielle carefully stitched the wound up until all that remained was a long thin line running from his belly button to halfway past his side.

When she was done, the man tried to stand up again, since they had removed their ability to feel pain the only reason the man had fallen was blood loss, but his legs would not support his weight, so Gabrielle ordered him to stay down, which he did without a word.

In the meantime, Aurora had removed her cape and her weapons, and removed a long piece of rope from her belt. Tying one end of the rope to the barge, she kept the other end in her hand and without saying a word, she dived overboard and swam straight down. The canal was surprisingly deep, and it took her almost half a minute to reach the bottom, even with her armor pulling her down.

She searched the bottom of the canal for the body of the Forlorn who had fallen in the water and located him soon, just as with her, his armor had pulled him almost straight down. She tied the rope around his chest and gave a few hard pulls, drawing the attention of the people above water who pulled him up.

The weapon was a bit harder to find, but since she could hold her breath for ten minutes, that wasn't a problem. She soon found it and when she tried to pull it from the bottom, she found it was stuck. Bracing herself against the bottom she pulled on the axe until there came a little movement and to her surprise, she dragged up a chain. Making a quick decision, she put the axe between her belt and pulled on the chain.

One side came loose but the other led deeper into the canal. Deciding to come back, Aurora swam to the surface.

When she resurfaced, she was a dozen yards away from the boat and quickly swam towards the barge. Gabrielle saw her coming and asked, "Did you find something?"

Aurora grasped the railing of the barge and pulled herself up before replying, "Yes and I need some help to find out what it is." Gabrielle nodded and wordlessly began to remove her weapons and cape until she was dressed the same as Aurora.

They jumped overboard again and quickly swam to where Aurora had left the chain. Upon further inspection they saw that it was made of silver, which was surprising as the shackles were each the size of two joined fists. They followed the chain as it led further into the deep of the canal until it went straight down into the muddy bottom.

They searched quickly until they found some large, thick planks, probably fallen from some barge, and placed them over the mud to prevent being sucked into the bottom when they pulled on the chain.

It took all of their not inconsiderate strength, but slowly the chain rose from the mud until they finally saw what they were pulling up.

A perfectly preserved, pitch black dragonhead, was pulled up from the mud, with no doubt the rest of the corpse still being hidden under the mud. The chain was connected to the dragon's harness, which in turn still held the partially decomposed remains of a rider.

Looking in surprise to the other, they both realized that there was no way they would be able to pull the carcass from the mud and sand beneath the water in their human forms. They decided to let it stay where it was for now and only took the end of the chain with them towards the surface. They bound the chain to the underside of the docks, before rising back above the surface.

They climbed back on the barge and without explaining what they had been doing, they picked up their weapons and their capes and put them back in their proper place.

The barge was released from the docks, after Syrio had explained everything to the captain of the city watch who had come to investigate the disturbance. They were brought to the Arsenal where they said goodbye to Syrio and the captain of the barge, before making their way to their ships.

They were pleased to see that work was progressing smoothly and the repairs to the damaged ship were nearly halfway done, while the other two were floating again, the work on them being completed already.

Aurora chose three of the Forlorn to take the places of the three who had been killed, which was why she had recovered the corpse of the third man, as they used their armor to outfit their replacements, after repairing the damage.

They made their way back onboard the two ships that had been completed, and Saphirus and Violet were quickly brought below deck where they were released and made themselves comfortable on a pile of loose rope.

Aurora and Gabrielle waited until it was completely dark to return to the canal, which they did with just the two of them. Ashara had put the girls to work with the fabric and cloth Aurora had bought on the market and they were making tabards for the dozen bodyguards to wear over their armor. Each tabard proudly bore the sigil of House Valaris so they would be immediately recognizable to anyone who knew it.

Just as this afternoon, they removed their weapons and capes and left them in their cabin, before diving into the water.

The water of the main lagoon was spacious enough for both of them to change and they did so without any problem. Underwater they swam back to the place where the dragon carcass lay. They were careful not to move too much, as their bulk left large ripples in the water if they weren't careful.

They reached the place without incident and found the chain where they had left it. Deciding to leave it where it was for now, they traveled along the bottom until they came upon the place of the corpse. Using their immense claws, they removed much of the mud, decomposed plants and other things, that covered the dragon and they had the body cleared in no time. They found the corpse of the rider still strapped into the saddle, though they made no illusions about the state of the human corpse.

While Gabrielle carefully picked up the dragon corpse, Aurora changed back into human form and released the chain from the docks, to prevent it from pulling down half the docks if they pulled it loose.

When they were done Aurora swam back to Gabrielle and held herself on one of the spikes around her head, while Gabrielle swam back to the lagoon, still carrying the dragon beneath her. They swam back to the ocean beyond the great statue of the Titan and secured the dragon to a large boulder on the seabed.

Aurora removed the remains of the rider from the saddle and taking it with her, retook her place on Gabrielle's head, while she swam back to their ships.

When they got back to their ships, Gabrielle also changed and after Aurora climbed onboard, she dropped a rope into the water to which Gabrielle secured the remains of the rider. While Aurora pulled the body on board, Gabrielle climbed up herself and soon they were both standing on the deck. Dripping with seawater and with a half-decomposed dragon-rider between them.

They were careful not to draw any attention from the docks, the Forlorn paid them no attention until they ordered them to do so, and made their way into their cabin.

Once in their cabin they placed the body on the floor and started to inspect their find. It was obvious the body had been in the water for centuries if not more, but it was remarkably well preserved. Not as good as the dragon was, since dragon corpses didn't decay, but still.

It was immediately clear what had killed the rider, as a two-inch-wide hole could be seen in the front of the armor and after closer inspection, Aurora pulled a heavily rusted tip of a javelin out of the body of the rider.

Gabrielle carefully removed the helmet, noticing that it was made of Valyrian steel, just as the rest of the armor, and revealed the face of the rider. Not much was left of face, as small fish had gotten into the helmet and eaten most of the flesh. They did notice something remarkable about the bone color, It was not white anymore as with normal people but had a soft black hue over it, giving it the effect of shadows.

They continued to undress the corpse until only some ragged scraps of clothing were left. The flesh of the body was white with a greenish hue, but it was a miracle there was any flesh left on the body. They saw that the rider had been a women, as her breasts were still somewhat present, but otherwise there was no identifying mark as to her identity. The mail of her armor had been colored bright blue and her belt buckle held a trio of stars over a bonfire, not that it told them anything, but still.

When they were done with their rather un-tasteful job, they dressed the body in a clean dress and wound it in several layers of sailcloth, before hiding it in the hold of the ship, they would find a suitable place to bury her on their way north.

The next morning Aurora and Gabrielle were woken by Silvana and Lissena, who barged into their room saying, "Momma wake up, the Sealord is here to see you and he says it is urgent."

They rubbed the sleep out of their eyes and groaned loudly when Saphirus and Violet jumped onto their bed and started to lick their faces. Giving the two dragons a shove, so they got off of them, the two women sat up in bed and stretched themselves out. They dressed speedily, deciding to leave the outer armor and just wore the padded leather and mail, and made their way out of their cabin.

When they got topside, they saw that a luxurious barge had been moored alongside their own galley and the Sealord was waiting patiently for them to arrive. When he saw them Ferrego stepped forward and said, "It is good to see you are unharmed after yesterday's attack, I must say I had not expected an attack in broad daylight. Have you any idea who was behind the attack?"

Aurora nodded and replied, "We have, but it might be prudent to have this discussion within the safety of the Iron Bank, as I'd like to prevent any eavesdropping. And besides, it is about an attack on a subject of a very substantial investment by them, so I have no doubt they want to be present as well."

Ferrego nodded acceptingly and said, "I'll send a message ahead to the bank, so they know they can expect us. If you want to finish dressing, I will wait onboard of my barge." He turned around and went back onboard his ship, while Aurora and Gabrielle went back below deck to put on the plate parts of their armor.

When they got back topside, they saw that the ships Ferrego had promised them the day before had arrived and were surrounding their own three, all of which were finished with their repairs.

Aurora turned towards Ashara and the trio of girls and said, "Keep Saphirus and Violet below decks, stay in the middle of the harbor and whatever you do, don't leave the ships." They all nodded and Aurora turned toward the trio of Forlorn they had named captains, and were in command of the ships. "Put everyone on high alert, prevent any boarding activities and protect our family with your lives."

The three men saluted and two of them returned to their own ships while the third went below decks to gather the crew and pass on Aurora's orders.

Aurora and Gabrielle joined Ferrego on his barge, accompanied by their dozen guards, and the boat immediately set a course back to the city, where they docked half an hour later at the same place as they had the day before. On their right was the palace and on their left was a large, fortress-like building made of dark grey stone.

Dozens upon dozens of heavily armed soldiers were patrolling on the battlements and around the building, some of the groups had large, fierce-looking, guard dogs with them. Ferrego led them into the building where they were met by Tycho Nestoris and two others, both of them carrying similar richly decorated keys around their necks.

"Welcome to the Iron Bank of Braavos," Tycho said with a bow, before indicating his fellow Keyholders and introducing them. "May I introduce my fellow members of the council of the Iron Bank, Bessaro Reyaan," the man on his right was dressed in richly decorated red velvet robes and was incredibly fat.

"And Noho Dimittis," the man on his left was dressed in a sober dark blue robe decorated with a single silver griffin on the right shoulder, and was rather slim, with a long face and thin graying hair.

Both men made a short bow and Tycho led the group towards a large marble room, heavily decorated with iron ornaments and iron furniture. At a snap of Aurora's fingers, six of the Forlorn stayed outside of the room and blocked the door, while the other six entered the room and went to stand on either side of the double door.

The six members of the main group all took a seat on the round iron table and the four men looked expectantly at Aurora and Gabrielle, who shared a single look before Aurora took the lead.

"As you all undoubtedly know, yesterday afternoon our guards were violently attacked by a group of armed men, posing as drunkards. This attack resulted in the deaths of three of our guards and all of the attackers. They were after our two little dragons, which they luckily didn't see or touch, as we're not sure what the two big ones would have done if any harm came to them."

The four men all swallowed at Aurora's words, they didn't know how big the big ones were, but Aurora's words were promising enough to make them a little anxious as they had heard what had happened at King's Landing.

Aurora's next words left a deathly silence in the chamber. "The reason I requested this meeting to take place here, is because I know that one of you was behind this attack."