The Chronicles of Valyria,

Book 1 Resurrection

Chapter 24

The trip back to Braavos took them just over two and a half week, as they were burdened down by the extra passengers they were carrying. Ygritte had quickly wormed her way into the hearts of every member of their little family and her spirited and carefree nature was their main source of entertainment during the long days spent crossing the narrow sea.

Aurora had named Yara temporary captain of the Chain Breaker and she spent most of her days at the helm, ordering the Forlorn sailors around. Silvana and Lissena spent their days either doting on Ygritte, or being taught by their parents about a wide range of subjects, from healing to strategy to politics.

Ashara and Elia spent most of their days in their cabin, as Ashara had caught a cold in the harsh winter weather and they wanted her back on her feet as soon as possible.

When they approached the Great Titan of Braavos, the giant statue roared into the early dawn, welcoming them back to the greatest of the Free Cities.

When they rowed out of the canal and into the lagoon, they were surprised to say the least. They had been gone for nearly seven weeks, and it was obvious that the Sealord had not been idle for their cause. Every ship they saw in the lagoon was flying flags decorated with the coat of arms of House Valaris, and there were well over a hundred ships.

"Well, looks like Ferrego has been busy," Gabrielle deadpanned while she and Aurora were silently counting the ships.

When they were done counting Aurora replied, "Yea, you can say that. That's a fleet of 138 ships, add our own to that and we have 145 ships." Gabrielle nodded softly and they stared out into the lagoon until the twins snuck up on them.

It was something they had been doing for the last week, trying to sneak up on their mothers and catch them by surprise. So far, they were unsuccessful. "You're still breathing to loud girls," Gabrielle said with a smile on her face.

Silvana and Lissena sighed disappointedly before they squeezed themselves between their mothers and the railing they were leaning on. The twins looked out into the lagoon and studied the ships ahead of them. As soon as they saw the flags on the ships around them they looked up and Lissena asked, "Mom, why are those ships flying our family's flags?"

Gabrielle looked down at the girl between her arms and said, "Because they are our ships. I think this is the fleet the Sealord would build for us. They are going with us to Valyria."

The girls looked up with excitement in their eyes and Silvana asked with a small grin, "When are we going to Valyria?"

"As soon as we have met with the Sealord, and everything is settled here, we leave for the Stepstones. Then we take Tyrosh and afterwards we make for Valyria to…." Aurora's answer was interrupted by a loud horn blast coming from a familiar boat.

The barge of the Sealord was rowing towards them and even from the distance they were at, they could see him standing on the bow of the barge. Ferrego was wearing a vest of some rich blue fabric and behind him stood Syria Forel and Tycho Nestoris.

As soon as they came alongside, Aurora ordered the Forlorn to drop a rope ladder and the three men climbed onboard. Tycho had a little trouble with climbing onboard, since he was wearing a long silvery-grey robe of soft silk, but he managed.

When the trio stood on the deck, Aurora and Gabrielle welcomed them aboard and Gabrielle said, "We can see that you have not been idle Ferrego. How did you manage to do all this?"

Ferrego gave them a full grin and said, "When I asked for volunteers to join in an expedition to colonize Valyria, there were a whole lot more than I initially expected."

"How many?" Aurora asked curiously.

A proud grin spread over his face while Ferrego said, "7,000 fighters, mostly unemployed sellswords, 5,000 sailors and 10,000 colonists, amongst whom are, around 400 blacksmiths, maybe 1,000 fishermen, a few hundred carpenters, several hundred shipwrights, and about a dozen other kinds of craftsmen. All in all, you have enough people to populate a medium sized city."

Aurora and Gabrielle let out an identical impressed whistle, before Gabrielle made a few calculations. "That will be a very tight fit though, there are 138 ships, so that would be more than 150 per ship."

Ferrego did nothing more than smile before pointing towards the Arsenal. There they saw each of the eighty-or-so docks was occupied by large war galleys. "Behold the official contribution to your expedition for the Free City of Braavos and the Iron Bank. I'm sending an armada with you to help protect our investment. They will be sailing under your banners, they will obey your commands, and fight on your behalf, but they will not settle in Valyria with you."

Now a wicked grin spread over the faces of Aurora and Gabrielle, these ships when added to the Iron Fleet, and all others waiting for them at the Stepstones, gave them almost 1.000 ships, more than enough to transport their entire army to Tyrosh in one go.

In a never before seen sign of respect, both Aurora and Gabrielle removed their arms from around the twins and made a bow of gratitude towards Ferrego and Tycho. "Thank you," they both said sincerely and Aurora added, "This is more than we ever could have hoped for, how can we ever thank you enough for this."

Ferrego nodded in acceptance of their gratitude and said, "Thank us by doing as you promised, put an end to the despicable slave trade, and restore peace and order to Essos."

"We will, I swear it."

Ferrego nodded and Tycho took the word next. "We have taken the liberty to load the ships to the brim with everything you might need. Of your loan of 20 million, half has been used for purchase of the ships and the supplies you needed. In addition, the gold you received as recompense for the traitor Bessaro's crimes is added to the remaining sum, leaving you with just over 14 million gold pieces in cash. The gold is being loaded onboard of the war galley's as we speak, and once that is done, your fleet will be ready to set sail."

The two women nodded again in acceptance of his words and Gabrielle said, "We shall leave in the morning then, we would like to spend one more day in your beautiful city. We do have a small request though, is there a flat-decked ship that we can buy, for we have found something very interesting off the coast and we would like to take it with us, but it is too heavy to put onboard of any of the already laden ships."

Tycho looked with a mild curiosity at them and Ferrego said, "I'm sure we can find something to accommodate your needs, but pray tell, what have you found?"

They shared a look before both women turned back to the men and Gabrielle said, "We found a dragon's corpse, which, from the looks of the surroundings, has been laying there since a few centuries before the fall of Valyria."

Both men stared at them with a slack-jawed expression until Syrio asked curiously, "What are you going to do with a decayed dragon corpse. There can't be that much left of it if it has been at the bottom of the Narrow Sea for that long."

The ladies grinned at him and Aurora said, "You'd be surprised Syrio, a dragon's body doesn't decay when it dies, so it still looks exactly the same as the day it crashed there. And to answer your question, we are going to be using the corpse. Dragon scales make excellent light armor and their wings are fire-proof, making them ideal for capes and the like. The bones can be carved into weapon parts, a dragon-bone bow can outshoot everything, even a Goldenheart bow from the Summer Isles."

"Hmm," Syrio mused, "I would love to see that."

With a grin, Aurora replied, "We'd be happy to have you with us, if the Sealord can spare you. A man of your reputation would make an excellent ambassador for the Sealord and the City of Braavos."

Syrio looked up with surprise and not a little bit of curious interest on his face. "That would be a truly wonderful experience, if my Lord can spare me." He turned towards the Sealord and didn't have to ask the question, as Ferrego was already pondering it.

After a minute or two he seemed to have reached a decision and he said, "Syrio, pack your belongings, I am naming you the official ambassador of the Free City of Braavos. You will be stationed at the court of House Valaris. I will make Qarro Volentin your replacement as First Sword of Braavos."

With a wide smile plastered on his face, Syrio made an elegant bow and said, "By your will Sealord, I shall start packing the moment we return to the palace."

Ferrego nodded contently before turning to Tycho Nestoris. "Maybe the Iron Bank would like to send an envoy as well, to look after their investment."

Tycho nodded curtly and replied, "The council of Keyholders had already decided on that. My brother shall be going with them as representative of the Iron Bank." Turning to the ladies he added, "My brother, Tychel Nestoris, is currently overseeing the loading of the gold, he shall join us this evening at the feast the Sealord is hosting in your honor."

Both Aurora and Gabrielle nodded in acceptance and soon the Sealord and the other two left the Chain Breaker and returned to their own barge. Aurora ordered the Chain Breaker to be rowed toward the Purple Harbor, as the Sealord had given them permission to use the, otherwise Braavosi-only, port.

Once they reached the Purple Harbor, Aurora had the men secure the ships before giving them the rest of the day for themselves, thought they wouldn't leave the ship to do the things normal sailors did when docked after a long sea voyage. Aurora, Gabrielle with Ygritte on her arm, the twins, Ashara and Elia, and Yara left the ship to go explore the city, with their standard entourage of the dozen axe-wielding Forlorn spread out around them.

Saphirus and Violet were secured in the hold, not that it would hold them for much longer as their strength and size kept increasing rather rapidly, but Gabrielle had sedated them for the time being, and hopefully they would not wake up again before they had left the city the next day.

They spent the whole afternoon walking through the city, browsing markets and visiting the many different temples in the city. Aurora and Gabrielle never cared that much about temples, as from personal experience they knew it wasn't how you acted in a temple that pleased the gods, it was how you were in everyday life. Being kind to others and helping those less fortunate than yourself were more important things than making sacrifices in some temple, or praying to some effigy of a god they knew for a fact not to exist. Usually, they just limited themselves to the faith of whatever god, or gods, brought them to the world in question as their power was undeniable for them.

The only thing of note that happened that afternoon was an unknown lowlife who tried to rob them by grabbing Yara and holding a knife to her throat. The situation was quickly resolved when Yara elbowed him in the stomach before turning around and kicking him in the groin. They left the man in the hands of the new city watch who had come running at the first sign of trouble.

An hour before dinnertime they returned to their ship to change for the feast Ferrego had prepared for them. Silvana, Lissena, Yara and Ashara wore the same dresses they had worn during their first audience with the Sealord, and Ashara had made a cute little dress for Elia. It was lilac-colored, like the background of the coat of arms of her own house, and the chest piece was embroidered with a grey dire wolf head, showing that she was a daughter of The North as well.

For Ygritte, they had bought a dress, as there had been no time to make one in time. It was a shade of red that matched beautifully with her fiery hair, but it was the first time she was wearing a dress and she felt very uncomfortable walking around without trousers. Finally, Gabrielle put her at ease by allowing her to wear a pair of summer leggings beneath the dress.

Aurora and Gabrielle still refused to take off their armor, but Ashara had found a middle ground. They were still wearing the silver-colored mail, but it was covered by a dress made of nearly transparent silk. It was the same black of their armor so the contrast they normally wore was still present, but it looked a lot more elegant than the heavy Dragonforged plate.

To finish it off, Ashara had the both of them wear a thin silver circlet to hold their hair in place, while it hung loosely over their backs. It was obvious that Aurora and Gabrielle were just as uncomfortable as Ygritte when it came to wearing dresses. So even though she would have liked it if her two protectors were dressed a bit more to their station, Ashara took what she was handed.

The evening was spent with excellent food and meeting various important people that would be coming with them. The admiral in charge of the armada, a man called Uthero, he was rather short and wiry, but he had the looks of an experienced sailor.

Tychel Nestoris, Tycho's brother and the Iron Bank's envoy to their expedition. He looked a lot like his brother but he had a completely different personality. Whereas Tycho was very serious and organized, Tychel had a very exuberant personality combined with a very sharp mind.

The officer who was elected by the fighting men to lead them into battle, a bear of a man called Orus, he stood 6 foot 6, was broad shouldered and his body was covered with muscles. He had a large scar running along his left arm and he had several golden teeth. Like most of the fighting men who were joining them, he obviously favored the way of the broadsword, instead of the Braavosi Waterdancing style.

They feasted and had a good time for hours until the girls became too tired to keep going and they excused themselves. They informed Ferrego that they would be setting sail at noon, and he promised to be present to see them off.

When they returned to the ship, they found Saphirus and Violet still snoring contently in the hold, and the twins took the bed that was placed nearby to ensure they were present when they woke up.

The next day they awoke three hours before noon. Aurora and Gabrielle were woken up by the twins and their dragons, Saphirus and Violet bounded up their bed and started jumping up and down on top of the blankets.

"Get off me you stupid lizards," Aurora growled when Violet jumped down straight on her stomach, to the immense glee of the twins.

"Get up mom, get up," Silvana said excitedly.

"The whole city is getting ready to see us off," Lissena added. "Ash and Yara are already awake and Ygritte is terrorising the upper deck. We need to get ready."

"Uhhh," Gabrielle groaned as she stretched herself out under the blankets. "Why did we take kids again?" She asked half-jokingly to her wife who was also getting ready to get out of bed.

The twins looked scandalised at her words until Gabrielle grinned and Aurora said, "Because we love them." She threw the large blanket of off the bed, catching the two dragons by surprise and causing them to fall on the ground, all tangled up in the blanket.

The girls grinned as they watched Saphirus and Violet try to untangle themselves while their mothers started the process of putting on their armour.

Just as they were putting the last belts and sheaths in place, the door opened again and Yara came running in. "The Sealord is coming, and he is bringing half the city with him by the looks of it."

"Great," Aurora muttered, "no better way to wake up than with an audience." Turning to the others she said out loud, "Well let's go face the music, I'm sure we'll survive for a few more hours."

The others all agreed and Aurora and Gabrielle led their group to the deck, where they found Ashara, with Elia tied to her chest, watching Ygritte running around. The little girl was being chased by her babysitter, a young Free Folk woman of 20 name days called Willow, or Will for short. "Get here you little monster." Ygritte laughed gleefully as she evaded her grasping hands by sliding between the legs of a passing Forlorn, and straight into the arms of Gabrielle.

"What have you been up to, you little rascal."

Ygritte giggled in reply to Gabrielle's question before she said, "Will wanted me braided, I don't."

Gabrielle chuckled and said, "Why don't you want your hair braided, it would keep your hair from blowing around once we reach the Narrow Sea."

Ygritte pouted a little before replying, "But I like it blowing around."

Gabrielle put a quick kiss on the girl's forehead before setting her down. "If you let Will braid it now, then you can let it loose once we reach the Narrow Sea, okay?"

Ygritte thought for a moment before nodding and running back to Willow, telling her, "You can braid me."

Willow rolled her eyes before taking the girl's hand and walking her towards a chair. She sat Ygritte on the chair and began to braid her hair, while Aurora and Gabrielle walked towards the railing, awaiting the Sealord to come on board.

Ferrego boarded the Chain Breaker accompanied by Tycho, Tychel, Syrio and an unknown man who they assumed to be Syrio's successor, Qarro Volentin. Following them were half dozen men carrying large boxes and crates they took from a cart which held more.

When they stepped on the deck Ferrego and his party tipped their heads in greeting, a move that was mirrored by Aurora and Gabrielle, while the twins, Yara and Ashara made a proper curtsy.

Syrio was the first to speak and he asked, "Is there a place for me to store my belongings during our journey?" he motioned to the men carrying the boxes and then to the cart which held the rest.

Aurora nodded and replied, "I'm sure we can find a place for them." She snapped her fingers and the ten nearest Forlorn dropped what they were doing and stood at attention, waiting for orders. "Help those men unload the cart and store everything in the hold." The ten soldiers saluted her and marched off of the ship to get the rest of the boxes.

Turning to Syrio Gabrielle said, "You can follow the twins Syrio, they will show you to your cabin." Syrio nodded in thanks and followed the girls below decks, to drop off the chest he himself was carrying.

When they had left, Aurora and Gabrielle turned their attention back to the others and Gabrielle addressed the Sealord, "Everything is ready for our departure," turning to Tychel she added, "We did not know where you would want to stay, but we have prepared a cabin for you on the Emerald, seeing as Syrio is now occupying the last free one we had onboard."

Tychel smiled and made a small bow before replying, "That is very graciously of you my lady, but all of my belongings have already been stored on the Titan's Pride, the armada's flagship, and I have a cabin onboard there as well."

"Very good, then we shall transfer you to them as soon as we reach the lagoon." She saw the Forlorn come back on board with the last of Syrio's belongings and turning to Ferrego she said, "I believe the time has come for us to depart."

He nodded and replied, "I believe you are correct, let us make for the Arsenal, I have a last surprise waiting for you there."

Looking surprised at this Aurora said, "Even more surprises, that is not necessary Ferrego, you have already done so much for us."

Ferrego grinned and replied, "I know, but this surprise is not mine."

This intrigued them to no end and Aurora quickly gave the order to remove the gangway and to prepare the ship for leaving port. To the surprise of their guests, Yara immediately took command and they watched in awe as the ten-year-old ran across the deck, issuing orders and helping the Forlorn where she could before taking control of the wheel."

Every order was followed without delay or hesitation and the Chain Breaker was quickly rowed out of the purple harbor and towards the lagoon where the rest of the ships were waiting for them.

Once they were out of the canals they headed for the Arsenal and docked on the only remaining free pier. There Ferrego, Tycho and Qarro left the ship and Tycho went quickly into the fortress, only to return a few minutes later. He was followed by a dozen men, each carrying a heavy chest with a large wrapped object laying on top of it.

Turning to Aurora and Gabrielle he said, "The council of Keyholders would like me to present you with this gift. We know you yourself have no need for armor, as yours is the best anyone can get. Your guards however are not as fortunate, as became clear by Bessaro's treason. So, the Council would like to offer you this gift." At his signal the twelve men set the chests down and opened them to reveal their contents.

Each of the chests held an exquisitely made set of armor. It was pitch black in color, the same as the plate of Aurora and Gabrielle, and consisted of leather-backed mail, covered by heavy plate. The chest plates were decorated with their sigil and the full helmets were engraved with dragon scales. A silver colored cloak finished the set.

Next the men unwrapped the objects they had set aside while opening the chests and revealed twelve identical battle-axes. Each axe was identical to the next, double bladed, with a long handle made of ironwood. The blades were the same color as the armor and were engraved with a dragon wing motif. The motif was inlaid with silver to make it stand out, resulting in a beautifully made looking weapon.

"The best smiths in Braavos, some are amongst those travelling with you, have worked on these for over a month, I hope that you are pleased with them." At Tycho's words, Aurora and Gabrielle both approached the chests and carefully inspected a full set each.

When they were done, they each picked up an axe, and spinning it around their hands, they tested their balance and handling. The handles were oval-shaped and wrapped with leather to offer a better grip. The end was covered by a solid black spike, which served as both a counterweight and an additional point to attack with.

Standing up, Aurora and Gabrielle bowed slightly before Tycho and Aurora said, "This craftsmanship is amazing, please convey our gratitude to the Council. This will serve our guards very well in the battles to come."

Gabrielle nodded in agreement and snapping her fingers, she summoned the dozen Forlorn that served as their personal guards. She ordered them to change into their new armor and with the help of the men who had carried the chests, each of their guards was soon dressed in exquisite sets of heavy armor.

When the cloaks were put around their shoulders and the helmets placed upon their heads, each of the Forlorn knelt down before they were handed one of the axes by either Aurora or Gabrielle.

As they stood there, all twelve in identical armor and holding the axes, Aurora and Gabrielle couldn't help but be a little impressed. Turning to her wife Aurora gave her a small grin and asked softly, "Shall we give them the name we thought about?"

Gabrielle nodded and turning to their audience she said, "Gentlemen, I would like to introduce; The Immortals."

"Ooh, I like that name," Ferrego muttered clearly audible and to the amusement of Aurora and Gabrielle.

"I must admit," Tycho threw in his piece, "The name does fit. They truly look like immortals the way they are standing there."

What Aurora and Gabrielle did not tell the men was where they got the inspiration for that name. The ten-thousand Immortals of the Persian kings on Earth, which were named thusly by later sources for the fact that their numbers were constantly kept at exactly 10,000. This was something that they would be able to do with the Forlorn, if one got injured or otherwise incapacitated, they could just replace him with someone else.

Shortly after they made their way back onboard the Chain Breaker, after saying their goodbye's to Ferrego and Tycho. Aurora gave the order to release the anchors and followed by the Sapphire, and the Emerald, they led the way towards the canal that led back to the Narrow Sea.

Once they cleared the canal, the three lead ships, the flat-deck, and the four ships they had taken during their trip to the North that followed them turned right, whereas the rest of the fleet turned southwards, towards the Stepstones.

Aurora and Gabrielle removed the outer parts of their armor and their weapons before they jumped overboard. Underwater Aurora changed into her dragon form and Gabrielle held onto her spike-crown, while she dived towards the bottom, in search of the dragon they had left there.

It took them about two minutes before they found it and Gabrielle swam down to remove the chain from around the boulder they had attached it to. Once it was loose, Aurora grabbed the dragon in her front claw and as soon as Gabrielle had a grip on her horn again, she swam back towards the surface.

They surfaced close to exit of the canal, startling the people on the ships that were sailing past them. They ignored the yells and screams that Aurora's appearance caused and instead swam towards the flat-deck.

Her own massive bulk was just enough to lift the corpse out of the water and Aurora carefully reached up with her front paw and dropped the dragon on the deck of the ship, the wood creaking under the added weight and lowering the ship's draught by three feet. Once the dragon was safely onboard, Aurora submerged herself again and turned back to her human form, before she and Gabrielle climbed onboard of the flat-deck by means of a rope that was hung from the railing.

Once they had climbed onboard themselves, they begun to inspect the dragon in detail, something they had been unable to do while it was still in the waters of the lagoon. Its color was midnight black, the overall length was just shy of a hundred feet and overall it just looked like a fully-grown version of Saphirus and Violet.

The saddle was made of weirwood and fully molded to allow a rider a secure seat. It had a high back, to lean against and the lines of nails indicated where padding had once been installed to offer comfort to the rider, though it was now rotted away.

Upon closer inspection, they saw that all the metalwork on the saddle was Valyrian steel though it lacked the, by lack of a better word, 'personality', of the blades they had held thus far. They concluded that there were two kinds of Valyrian steel, the 'normal' Valyrian steel and the Spell-forged Valyrian steel that was used for the swords.

With the help of the crew of the flat-bed, three dozen Forlorn they had stationed on it, they used ropes and chains to secure the body to the deck and afterwards they ran additional ropes to the Sapphire and the Emerald, which would tow it all the way to Valyria, before they returned to the Chain Breaker.

They turned the bows of their ships southwards and slowly returned to the head of the fleet, starting their trip to the Stepstones.

It took them four weeks to reach the western edge of the sea of Myrth. Leaving the transports and the forty warships carrying the gold from the Iron Bank, the remaining sixty-seven galleys turned their bows eastwards, towards Myr.

During the trip, Aurora and Gabrielle had received a raven from Oberyn and Dagmer, informing them that an increasing number of ships had been moving towards Tyrosh. In and on itself this wasn't so surprising, but many of the ships carried banners of Myr and Lys. This led them to believe that in light of their invasion of the Stepstones, the days of the Triarchy had returned.

Dagmer had sent several ships in disguise to the harbor of Tyrosh and they had returned with the news that large numbers of sellswords, sellsails and troops from Myr and Lys had been moving towards the city. Whether they were anticipating an attack, or if they were planning to retake the Stepstones they did not know, but it did offer them an opportunity.

If most of the troops from Myr were at Tyrosh, it would leave Myr itself vulnerable. Aurora and Gabrielle, with Tychel, Orus and Syrio, who had formed their unofficial Small Council, had had many discussions and eventually they all agreed. Taking Myr would only benefit them in the long run and they were close enough to the Stepstones for Aurora and Gabrielle to return posthaste if the Tyroshi would make any attempt to retake the Stepstones.

It was decided that Aurora, Gabrielle, the Forlorn and the seven-thousand men from Braavos would invade the city and take it by storm. The 'dragons' would induce their victory as the walls of Myr were not as tall and strong as those of Tyrosh.

The Chain Breaker, the Sapphire, the Emerald and the Titan's Pride led the assault, followed by the remaining ships carrying the Forlorn. They had about 700 of them, so the first line would be quite effective at breaking through the city's defenses.

Silvana, Lissena, Yara, Ashara and Elia, and Ygritte and Willow had been sent to one of the other ships, to keep them away from the battle. So, the only ones on the deck were Aurora and Gabrielle, the newly named Immortals, and the remaining Forlorn.

It did not take long before they were noticed and the alarm bells were rung in the city, calling what few men remained in the city to the battlements. Aurora looked at her wife with a grin and said, "What are we gonne do, do you want to turn or shall I?"

Gabrielle gave her a loving kiss before she replied, "Have fun love, I'll follow with the Immortals."

Aurora nodded and after giving her one last kiss, Aurora put her helmet on and made sure all her weapons were secure before she dove overboard and turned under water.

A few minutes later, loud screams of fear and panic erupted from the walls as the gigantic ruby and black dragon emerged from the water. Making a show of it, Aurora shook her body to clear the water and spreading her wings, she jumped/glided, towards the gatehouse, crashing into it and destroying it utterly.

A few soft cries came from under the rubble but they were quickly silenced when she bathed the debris in ruby flames, melting the stones and leaving a clear path for the army to follow through. Turning left and right she cleared the walls for 500 feet in either direction with great blasts of fire before turning her attention towards the harbor itself.

Many of the ships docked there were trying to flee, rather taking their chances with the enemy fleet than against the dragon, but a fourth fire blast cleared most of the guards from the docks. She was careful not to hit the ships, as most of the rowers onboard would probably be slaves and she didn't want to harm them.

She turned back to the city, keeping any soldiers that might still remain from entering the harbor and allowing their own army to land unobstructed.

It took less than two hours for their troops to land, move into the city and clear out any remaining resistance, which was nearly non-existent after Aurora destroyed the gates, and the defenders' morale along with it.

Gabrielle, Syrio and Orus, were able to ride all the way to the Conclave's palace, without the need to even draw their weapons. As the Immortals were battering down the doors of the palace, using a wooden pillar they found in the garden, what must have been the last of the guards came running towards them from a side door of the palace.

The roughly two dozen men were dressed in thick leather tunics and had a distinctive spike on the tip of their leather helmets. They each carried a mid-length spear and a round shield that was branded with the city seal, a crossed lens and scroll of fabric.

"Unsullied," Orus growled before jumping from his horse and taking his large heather shield from his saddle. Drawing his sword, a weapon that was eerily similar to a falcata and made of castle-forged steel, Orus took up a defensive position.

Before the Unsullied could reach them though, the Immortals came running and swinging their new weapons, they crashed into the flank of the Unsullied group. For Gabrielle, this was her first image of the Unsullied and she was very curious to see how they would perform against their own elite soldiers.

She was not disappointed. Four of the Unsullied were cut down on the initial charge, but the others were able to close ranks with an incredible amount of discipline and effectiveness. Using their spears and shields in a phalanx formation, they were able to withstand the onslaught of the Immortals and even find a few rare weak spots in their new armor.

Utilizing the superior speed and maneuverability of their weapons, the Unsullied were able to push back the Immortals and even wound them, until Gabrielle jumped into the fray. Surprising both Syrio and Orus, she jumped from her horse and using a bench as a step, she somersaulted through the air before landing directly on the Unsullied, breaking apart their formation. Using only the flat side of her axe, she knocked the Unsullied unconscious and ordered the Immortals to bind them.

When that was done, Gabrielle walked back to the gates, once again flanked by the Immortals who, despite some small cuts and other minor wounds, were still very much fit to fight. Upon reaching the gates she threw a single look at the pillar that lay in the exact place where it was discarded by the Immortals, before looking back to the axe in her hands.

Chuckling softly under her breath she turned back to the gates and hefted her axe in preparation to strike. Upon reaching the gates she started hacking at the already weakened spots left by the makeshift battering ram and it did not take too long before she was through, the two doors slamming open with the force of her last blow.

Inside the doors, they found something resembling a throne room, but instead of only one throne on the raised dais, it held a half round table with nine chairs behind it. Cowering behind the table were who Gabrielle thought to be the nine men who would normally occupy those chairs.

Standing before the dais were a double line of city-guards, 60 strong in total, all armed with spears, shields and swords. Gabrielle grinned savagely and because she wasn't wearing her helmet, everyone could see her eyes when she looked back up. Pitch black and burning.

"Let's dance motherfuckers."

Before anyone could respond she dropped her axe and crossed her arms before her chest. Quickly swinging them outwards again, a great half-moon of sapphire blue fire spread out before her and slammed into the guards, instantly knocking them away and out cold. Picking up her axe again she marched towards the nearest unconscious guard and pulling off her right glove, she pressed her bare hand against the men's face.

Using the tricks, she and Aurora learned on Grey Gallows, she 'connected' to the other 59 unconscious men and 'recruited' them all. Within a minute, the men stood up, picked up their weapons, walked over to Gabrielle and spread out on either side of her and the Immortals, pointing their weapons towards the dais and their former employers.

"How did you do that?" The surprised voice from Orus sounded from behind her and when Gabrielle turned towards him and Syrio, she saw them standing there with a slack jawed expression on their faces.

With a cheeky grin on her face she replied innocently, "How did I do what?" This completely confused Orus and Syrio and feeling a little pity, Gabrielle added, "When Valyria rose, we didn't use just dragons to conquer the world, but magic as well."

"Wait a moment," Syrio asked with a different kind of confusion on his face, "you said 'we' didn't you? How can that be when you and Aurora look not a day older than 25 name days?"

Holding up a finger for him to wait, Gabrielle turned to the soldiers besides her and said, "Arrest and secure them, full incapacitation." The men all saluted and as a single unit they marched forward, closing in on the cowering men behind the table.

While they were busy, Gabrielle motioned for Syrio and Orus to follow her and she led them up a flight of stairs that was hidden by a side door and they climbed up till they reached the over walk of one of the towers.

Pointing at the harbor, where even from the mile away they were, they could clearly see the large red dragon dozing in the sun, Gabrielle asked, "Do you know why you are only seeing one of our dragons?"

"You mean there really is a second one of that size?" Orus sounded a little frightened.

Gabrielle nodded before looking very serious at the two men. "You two are going to be part our military council, so you should know about this. However, I will require an oath from both of you not to tell anyone else."

Both men immediately nodded and after Gabrielle gave them the words, they both made the oath, unknowing it was a magical oath fueled by the inner fire of Gabrielle and Aurora.

Once they were done, Gabrielle raised her re-gloved right hand and before the eyes of both men, she changed it into a sapphire blue paw with razor sharp claws. "We don't ride the dragons, Aurora and I are the dragons."

Syrio had to grab the railing to keep standing while Orus just fainted on the spot. "How… how…"

Gabrielle smiled softly while she turned her paw back to her gloved hand and replied to Syrio, and the re-awakened Orus, "We are not from around here. We were sent by the Old Gods to fix matters around here. And to prepare the world for the return of the Long Night and the resurgence of the Others.

But in order to do so, we need an army, and that's why we are going to Valyria and why we are taking on slavery. We estimate that there are between three- and four million people suffering in slavery all over Essos. If we save them, we'll have no shortage of volunteers for that army."

Both Syrio and Orus had to sit down upon hearing that until Orus looked up and asked softly, "So for you we are just a means to an end?"

Gabrielle sat down before them and said carefully, "Yes and no. Yes, we need to use you to get what we need, but we are not going to misuse you. We value human life and we'll do our best to save as many as we can, but sometimes we have no choice. If we are not ready when the Long Night returns, the whole world will fall under its influence and that will be the end of human life."

The two men across from her nodded softly in understanding before they all fell into a thoughtful silence. Much had been revealed to them and they would need time to come to terms with it.

It took them just till the end of the day to gain complete control of the city, after all it wasn't hard with a gigantic dragon discouraging any and all possible resistance, and the ruling body in chains.

Gabrielle had ordered any and all slaves to be released and the magisters were forced to transfer control of every Unsullied left in the city, numbering around five-hundred. Once that was done, they left Tychel with 2,500 soldiers to maintain control in the city and to oversee the preparations for emptying it out. Aurora and Gabrielle had decided that it would be best to not give anyone a reason to return here and after the city was abandoned, they would completely destroy it.

The next day they rejoined the fleet, taking the five-hundred Unsullied with them, and they resumed their journey to the Stepstones, the fall of Tyrosh was coming ever nearer.

Author's note :

So here is another chapter of Angels in Westeros. I hope you all enjoy it and we're getting ever closer to the big climax of the first part. Just one more chapter and then it's time for the big moment, the Battle of Tyrosh.

So, please review and tell me what you think, the more reviews I get, the more motivated I'll be to update sooner.

Till next time,

Medieval Maniak