The Chronicles of Valyria,

Book 1 Resurrection

Chapter 32

During the weeks they had to prepare for the arrival of the fleet, the group of new Valyrians kept themselves rather busy. The scouts they had sent out with Daisy and Buttercup, came back after a few days with tales of the most wondrous and terrifying beasts they had seen.

The herds of horses Boltrock had mentioned, where no ordinary horses. All seemed to be remarkably large and even more aggressive than most destriers. They had witnessed a pack of hyena's, Daisy and Buttercup did not like their scent one bit, while they were hunting down a wounded horse that had lagged behind the main herd. To their amazement, the wounded horse had fought ferociously against the pack of hyena's before going down, kicking away 5 of them, 2 of which did not get up again.

Near one of the rivers they had found a species that had scared the shit out of them. If not the top of the local food chain, then it was definitely second, as they saw Vermithrax scoop one up when it came charging towards where they were. Small herds of rhinoceros dominated the riversides. Unlike their normal vegetarian counterparts from the mainland of Essos, these were obviously carnivorous judging by the bone fields that littered the riversides, and they were hyper aggressive, fighting amongst themselves for practically nothing.

After Vermithrax had scared off the herd that had noticed them, they saw them charge down a small group of deer, simply trampling them or eviscerating them with their horns. After the slaughter, they turned around and calmly started to eat, even the calves tore at the carcasses with gusto until their heads were dripping with blood.

Vermithrax had informed them that during his own scouting trip he had flown all the way to the northern mountains. There he had found that he was not the only flying alpha-predator. Large mountain goats were scattered on the mountain sides, to high for any land-based predator to hunt them. The images he had given them of the beast that hunted them was immediately recognized, a Griffon. Having the head, wings and front legs of a gigantic eagle, and the hindquarters of a lion, the beast stood 7 foot at the withers. The massive beak was lined with razor sharp teeth, and the front claws held talons 3 inches in length.

They were not sure where these monstrous predators had come from, but they were pretty sure they were not natural, as Francine had found accounts of the so-called 'Flesh Pits'. These were abominable laboratories where the Blood mages experimented with combining different species to form new ones. The most well known of these experiments where obviously the dragons, but it would appear that they were not the only ones.

Of course, Ivan and Francine immediately demanded to be allowed to try and tame some of these beasts to use as their mounts, as having to rely on Aurora and Gabrielle for transportation was rather bothersome for all. Ivan chose to attempt to tame a rhinoceros, as he much preferred solid ground over fluffy clouds, while Francine wanted a griffon, always having enjoyed the feel of the wind blowing through her hair while high in the sky.

Deciding to split up for the moment, Aurora went with Ivan to the rivers, while Gabrielle flew Francine towards the northern mountains.

XXX

Ivan was rather picky with choosing one he liked, as he reasoned that his size and his position demanded he chose the biggest and strongest one he could possibly find. In the end it took them nearly two days of searching before they found the undisputed 'King of the Rhino's' along a river near the city of Oros.

Standing 6 foot 2 at the shoulder and 13 feet 6 inches in length, the beast weighted what they estimated to be around 8,000 or 9,000 pounds. Thick layers of near armor-like skin covered its body and the two horns on his head could easily penetrate even the strongest plate armor, judging by the skewered tree trunks that were scattered around his domain.

Demanding he do this himself, Ivan jumped off Aurora's back and pulled out his mace. Keeping the spikes withdrawn, the weapon was less likely to kill the rhino, though it would still knock him out quite nicely if Ivan could hit him right.

The rhino watched him suspiciously but did not immediately charge, obviously he didn't trust the massive-ass dragon encroaching on his territory. As soon as Aurora had flown off though, just going out of sight but staying close by just in case, the rhino did charge. Ivan could literally feel the ground shake under his armored feet as the rhino came barreling towards him at 30 mph.

Ivan managed to barely jump out of reach of the horns as the rhino ran past him, being hampered by his mass preventing him from turning quickly. Spinning away from the rhino time and time again, Ivan intended to tire him out. After 10 minutes of dodging charges and the beast not tiring in the slightest, it dawned on him that the rhino would not be beaten this way.

The next pass the rhino made managed to surprise him. At the last moment, he swung his head to the side nipping Ivan in the shoulder with the tip of his front horn. The blow managed to actually penetrate his chest plate but was stopped by the mail underneath. Being stuck on the horn, the rhino dragged him along for a few dozen yards. Eventually, the force of the blow having damaged it already, Ivan's weight and resistance was too much for the horn and it snapped off, nearly a foot below the tip.

As Ivan lay on the ground, the rhino ran along for a few dozen yards more before slowing down enough to turn around. Jumping up, Ivan snarled at the rhino and gripping his mace in two hands, he awaited the next charge, which came immediately. Timing it just right, Ivan jumped up and aside just before the rhino reached him and he swung his mace against the beast's head. The rhino crashed to the ground and he saw it roll underneath him as he temporarily hung in the air.

The rhino eventually stopped rolling and came to a halt in a small puddle of mud. The rising and falling of his chest showed that the rhino was still alive, but it was obviously knocked out and would no doubt have a massive headache when he woke up. Seeing the battle was won, Aurora landed and quickly changed before hurrying towards the fallen beast.

Putting her hands on the rhino's head, she scanned him for any damage before muttering, "Holy shit, that is one tough bastard." Turning to Ivan she asked with a small grin, "Was that blow full strength? Cause if it was, then that thing has one hell of thick skull. He's got like no damage whatsoever and I think he'll wake up at any moment. So, we best do this quickly."

As Ivan approached he pulled off his right gauntlet and Aurora did the same. Pulling a dagger from her boot, she tried to make a gash on the rhino's shoulder, only to discover that the inch-thick layer of hardened skin was extremely resistant to being cut. Eventually she settled for placing the knife upright on the shoulder and carefully slamming her fist on the end until it cut through.

Now having an open wound, small as it was, Ivan pulled a knife of his own from his belt and cut his palm. Squeezing his hand shut above the wound, he poured a stream of thick, dark red blood into the wound. After a few seconds, his hand stopped bleeding and he licked off the few drops of blood that clung to the quickly healing cut on his palm. When he was done, Aurora pricked her own index finger and dropped three drops of her own boiling hot blood into the wound, causing it to start to sizzle and eventually slowly knit the torn skin back together, leaving only a small scar behind.

"Congratulations Ivan," Aurora grinned to him, "He's your problem now."

Grinning a little maniacally Ivan turned towards his new mount and said, "Thanks, and I think I know how to name this new race of rhinos, The Juggernauts." Turning back to Aurora he saw her smile in appreciation and slapping the armor-like skin he added, "I think I'll call him Ironhide."

"Fitting…" was all she could reply before the newly named Ironhide began to move. They both carefully took some distance to let him wake up on his own. When he did so, the massive beast curiously smelled at them before walking towards Ivan and starting to nudge the piece of horn still imbedded in his armor.

Ivan pulled the horn out and showed it to Ironhide who licked it and tried to place his stump against the broken edge, in an obvious attempt to reattach it. When it didn't work, he made a soft, almost whining sound. Slowly, and very carefully, Ivan reached out his bare right hand and touched Ironhide on the head, between the eyes and started to softly rub him there. "It's all right buddy," he half whispered, "We'll get you a new one once we get home."

Somehow Ironhide seemed to understand him and the whining sound stopped, only to be replaced by him nudging Ivan with his head towards his back, almost as if to say, 'go on, get up'.

Opening her pouch, Aurora removed a large saddle which was originally meant for a dragon but would serve adequately for now. Handing it to Ivan, she helped him place the saddle on Ironhide's back and to strap it securely in place. After making a few adjustments to the belts and attaching makeshift stirrups, she handed Ivan the reins and helped him to get in the saddle.

"Okay buddy, show me what you've got," Ivan said while patting the right shoulder of his new mount. Words he would soon regret.

Turning towards the open plains in the direction of Tyria, Ironhide began a slow trot, which soon developed into a full gallop. When he reached what Ivan hoped was his top speed, at around 30 miles an hour, his rider was tossed about on the saddle. Only the straps securing his legs and the death-grip he held on the saddle ring before him prevented Ivan from being thrown off.

Aurora partially transformed and spread her wings, using them she was able to keep track of where Ivan was brought by his new companion. To her surprise, and Ivan's dismay, Ironhide kept up the tempo for nearly ten minutes, showing an immense stamina for such a massive beast. When he finally stopped, Ivan quickly loosened the straps holding his legs before literally falling out of the saddle. Grabbing a few handfuls of sand he muttered, "Sweet, sweet, solid ground."

When Aurora landed next to him, she withdrew her wings and offered him a hand. pulling him back to his feet she said, "I'm sure Boltrock can come up with a solution to keep you from being thrown about every time he gets moving."

"Let's hope so," Ivan grumbled softly while the shivers ran down his back, "That was worse than Francine's first driving lesson." Looking up at hearing Aurora's amused scoff he added quickly, "Please don't tell her I said that."

"Your secret's safe with me Ivan," she reassured him before saying, "Help me keep him calm will you, I'm gonne fly you back to Valyria and I do not want an 8,000 pound beast to go hysteric in my claws."

"I'll do my best," he replied while looking a bit worriedly at Ironhide, who stood close by with his ears directed at them and a suspiciously curled up upper lip, almost as if he knew what was going to happen and daring them to try it.

XXX

Gabrielle and Francine had flown all the way towards the northern mountains where they were now circling around the highest snow-covered peaks. Using their incredibly sharp eyesight, they were trying to peer into the sunlight-reflecting snow to get a glimpse of the quarry they had briefly spotted earlier in the afternoon. A magnificent griffon, as big as the one Vermithrax had shown them, with a snow-white coat of feathers and hair. Understandably such a natural camouflage made spotting the griffon almost impossible in these surroundings, even for their eyesight.

For several hours they flew around the mountain peaks, scaring the shit out of the local goat population when Gabrielle's shadow darkened entire clearings as she soared overhead. Eventually it was Francine who spotted the first movement. A sliver of white shot from the mountain below them and quickly descended towards the valley below them.

"THERE," she yelled, "below us." Gabrielle followed her directions and as soon as she saw it, she turned her wings and dove downwards with a dazzling speed. Within a minute she had fallen 5,000 feet and was now hot on the pursuit.

Despite her greater speed, Gabrielle's size made her less agile and the griffon was able to stay ahead of them by diving away from her grasping claws. They chased after the griffon for several hours until finally, the magnificent creature retreated back to the top they had chased it from.

When it landed, the griffon retreated back towards a large cave and stayed protectively in the opening. Whilst obviously exhausted, the griffon kept its head raised proudly and pawed at the ground with its front claws. The fearsome beak was opened threateningly and a warning shriek came forward from its throat.

Gabrielle landed a fair ways away from the opening of the cave and Francine quickly jumped off. "Leave me," she muttered to Gabrielle and the great dragon blinked at her once before flapping her wings and jumping off the mountain peak.

As soon as she was alone again, Francine carefully made her way up to the cave. The griffon shrieked again to scare her off, but she stood her ground. Removing her gauntlets, she raised her bare hand and said softly in a soothing tone, "Shh, relax gorgeous, I'm not going to harm you. Just let me come a little closer. I'm not going to harm you. Please, just let me come a little closer."

As she was just inches away from the opened beak, the fearsome razor teeth ready to rip apart her fingers. Taking a deep breath, she said once more, "I'm not going to harm you, please don't harm me." She raised her hand and looked away showing the griffon the extent of her trust.

One more shriek echoed around the mountain peak before she felt a very soft something touch the palm of her hand. Turning her head slowly back towards the griffon, she saw that it had placed its head against her hand and was rubbing its forehead against it. Slowly raising her left hand, she brought it to the side of the griffon's head and softly stroked it.

"Hey gorgeous, you want to show me why you're being so defensive?" Removing its head from her hands, the griffon turned around and led Francine into the cave. At the end was a large nest made of twigs, moss and feathers, and in the nest, where 5 large eggs.

"You're a girl, aren't you?" The griffon nudged her softly with her head and let out a soft squeak. "You wanne come with me girl, give your young ones a safe place to grow up?" The soft nudge she received in her back, pushing her towards the nest was all the answer she required.

"Wait here for a moment girl, I need to get someone." Francine patted her head once more before swiftly walking out of the cave. Looking up she saw Gabrielle gliding above her. "CAN YOU COME DOWN HERE?" The massive dragon folded her wings and sped down. A few dozen yards above the mountain she changed and landed on her two feet with a clang that echoed over the mountain peak.

"So, you got it on board I take it?" Francine nodded and the question and replied,

"Yea I did, and it is a girl by the way. She has a nest of 5 eggs in there."

With a slight grin Gabrielle began counting down names on her fingers and said softly, "Ygritte, Layla, Yara, Sandor and Valaya, yea that could work." Looking towards the cave she asked, "You think she'll be willing to part with her young ones once they hatch?"

"I guess, but we'll have to see once we get to that part. Let's just get the bonding over first, then we'll be able to understand her better."

"Okay, let's get to it then." Gabrielle replied before following Francine back into the cave.

Once back inside Francine introduced Gabrielle to the griffon and said to the griffon, "Now don't freak out okay gorgeous." It was good she said that as once Gabrielle drew a knife, the griffon's eyes widened in fear.

Making sure the griffon saw every move they made, Gabrielle handed the knife to Francine and Francine made sure the griffon saw her slicing open her own hand. Motioning towards the griffon's right front claw, Francine handed the knife back to Gabrielle while carefully reaching down to grab the griffon's leg and carefully pull it up and towards her.

Very carefully the leg was raised and once it was at a suitable height, Gabrielle took over holding the leg up while Francine took back the knife and very carefully made a small cut on the leg until she saw blood. Re-slicing her own hand, since it had already closed, she dropped a stream of blood into the wound and watched as the two kinds of blood mixed. Quickly biting her finger with a fang, Gabrielle dropped three drops of her own blood into the wound and they watched the results.

Surprisingly enough, the bonding for the griffon came with a small physical change as well. Some of the snow-white feathers on her head turned black and the pattern showed a tiara-like design. At the same time, a design of a teardrop-shaped collar appeared at her breast in golden feathers.

"Wow," both Francine and Gabrielle exclaimed at the same time and looked in wonder at the new decorations.

"Hey beautiful, I think I have a name for you, Duchess. You like it?" The affectionate nudge she received was all the answer she required.

"I like it," Gabrielle said with a smile as she looked at the interaction. Muttering the name for herself she said, "Duchess, yea it sounds fitting." Pulling open her pouch she removed a dragon saddle and gave it to Francine. "Here, let's get her saddled up and get you two in the air."

Working together they quickly got the saddle up on Duchess and made some adjustments to make it fit properly. As soon as Gabrielle was satisfied, Francine swung herself into the saddle and secured her legs into the straps to hold her in during aerial maneuvers.

Unknowingly echoing her husband, Francine padded Duchess' her neck and said, "Let's go girl, show me what you've got." Taking that as a challenge, Duchess shook her head and walked out of the cave. Flapping her wings, the magnificent griffon took a small running start before jumping down the mountain. As they fell, Francine screamed her lungs out in joy and exhilaration as the wind made her long hair flow after her.

From where she stood on the edge of the cliff, Gabrielle watched with a grin as Duchess pulled off one stunt after the other, to the utter joy of her new rider. After about half an hour Duchess turned back towards her cave and landed heavily on the short plateau before it. With the previous chase and now the acrobatics, she was obviously exhausted.

Walking up to them, Gabrielle softly placed her hand of the griffon's neck and sent her an image of Duchess lying on Gabrielle's back during flight. When she gave her approval, Gabrielle moved back into the cave and under Duchess' watchful eyes, she pulled an empty pouch from her belt and opened it out before the nest. Carefully, she and Francine picked up the nest and placed it as a whole into the pouch eggs and all. When it was in, Gabrielle folded the pouch back up and attached it to a long leather rope. Making a loop from the rope, she hung it around Duchess' neck.

When everything was settled, Gabrielle walked out of the cave and jumped off the cliff herself. Changing during the fall she made a wide turn before hovering before the plateau. Clamping herself down against the mountain side, she arched her neck thusly that both Francine and Duchess could walk over her head and take a hold on her back. Having left the saddle in Valyria, Francine used a rope to attach herself to two of the spikes on Gabrielle's neck, while duchess clamped her front claws around two larger spikes and nestled herself securely between the largest spikes on Gabrielle's spine.

Once her passengers were secure, Gabrielle carefully pulled herself up until she was barely able to stand on the plateau. Turning around, she stretched her wings and carefully jumped off the mountain peak, gliding downwards and flying smoothly on to their new capital.

XXX

A few weeks later Vermithrax interrupted their cleanup work with the message that a single ship had dropped anchor at the old watch tower, with a gigantic armada moving in quickly from the west.

"That's our fleet moving in," Aurora told him when the golden dragon had landed in the courtyard. "You are going to have to make a choice my friend," Aurora said slowly while looking into one of his big golden eyes. "Do you want our people to know about you, or do you want to keep your existence a secret?"

His reply was to show her an image of him flying freely over the land, clearly visible for all to see.

"Very well brother, then we shall tell them of you, and let our enemies learn to fear your name."

The next morning Gabrielle changed into her dragon form and accompanied Vermithrax towards the storms over the seaward river. When they arrived, two hours after dawn, Vermithrax let out a roar before flying upwards, higher and higher until he reached the middle of the storms. There he dove in, splitting the storms beneath him and creating a tunnel for the armada to safely pass through and enter the lands of Valyria.

Gabrielle met the fleet and led them through the tunnel towards their new capital where the others were waiting to receive them.

XXX

By the time the Chain Breaker approached the docks, the largest part of the Forlorn and the Unsullied had already marched halfway towards the city, while the others of their armed forces had begun making camp near the harbor. By Aurora's orders, only those two groups were allowed into the city until they had completed their search for 'booby traps'.

While the crew worked on docking the ship, Silvana, Lissena, and Ygritte were eagerly waiting to see their adoptive parents again after their six-week separation. Especially Ygritte was bouncing around on the deck, followed on her heels by Layla while Sandor stood against the railing, keeping a close eye on his two young charges. Ashara and Ygritte's babysitter Willow stood on the sideline, with Ashara holding little Elia and looking in awe up to the city that would be their new home.

As soon as the gangplank was laid across, Ygritte and Layla stormed down it and into the waiting arms of Aurora and Gabrielle. Laughing in joy at being reunited, their youngest daughter and her best friend were hugged for dear life and soon were joined by the twins and Yara.

Seeing Sandor walk down from the gangplank and keeping a respectful distance, Gabrielle smiled at him and opening one arm towards him she said, "Come Sandor, join the rest of your family." Sandor did so after a short hesitation and was immediately enveloped in the group hug, finding the feeling oddly satisfying.

After a minute, the two adults released the children and turning to the direction of the city Gabrielle said with a smile, "Kids we would like to introduce you to someone." As they looked towards where she was looking they got the fear of their lives. Standing there was the biggest non-giant person any of them had ever seen, and Sandor had known his brother all too well.

Both Sandor and Layla looked in awe at the figure as the mountain might have been a similar height, but in sheer size he couldn't even stand in this man's shadow. At more than twice Gregor's bulk, he must have weighed at least 1,000 pounds, armor included that is.

"Allow me to introduce you to the husband of Lady Francine; Ivan, the Lord Marshal of Valyria and supreme commander of our armies." At Aurora's words, Ivan removed his helmet and knelt down, so he was at the same height as the kids, giving them a gentle smile he said,

"Hello, nice to meet you all. I have heard a lot about all of you from Aurora and Gabrielle."

Ygritte was the first to talk back, being used to seeing giants she wasn't that scared of the stranger. "Are you a giant?" She asked, her grey-blue eyes looking curiously towards Ivan's green ones.

Ivan grinned softly before replying, "No little one, I am not a giant. I am simply blessed by the Old Gods."

"Then I want to be blessed too." Ygritte said with a determined, but very cute, look on her face and her arms crossed defiantly before her chest.

"Yea and me too," Layla added while taking a similar pose as her best friend and standing beside her.

A loud and cheerful laughter came from the adults while Aurora and Gabrielle picked up the two little girls and gave them both a hug. "Then we shall make it so little ones. Come, let us go to your new house and see what blessings await you there."

A cheer came from the family as they all followed Aurora and Gabrielle towards the city and into the gates. Everywhere they looked they saw Forlorn and Unsullied clearing the streets of skeletons and dragging the remains to piles where they were relieved of their armor, which was promptly put on by the Forlorn themselves. The Unsullied did not trade in their armor, as they were trained as light infantry and with them being eunuchs, they could not effectively fight in full heavy armor.

Aurora and Gabrielle brought them to a palace that stood apart from all the others. Standing at the top of a hill, close to the fortress overlooking the harbor and looking out towards the sea, it was made of white marble and larger than all the others they had passed. Surrounded by tall marble walls it was nearly a fortress in itself and the newcomers all looked in awe as they saw the sigil of House Valaris that was imbedded into the marble walls and above the gatehouse.

"Welcome to your new home kids." Gabrielle said with a smile as the children looked out their eyes at their surroundings while they walked underneath the gatehouse and into the gardens. The past 400 years had obviously left their mark here as the once perfectly kept gardens had turned into a jungle. Trees and bushes had overgrown everything but the lanes where still visible and a clear path had been cut towards the front gates of the house.

Once inside they received the grand tour before they were brought to a single tower that stood a bit apart from the others. Francine took the lead up the stairs and after a long way up, they came to a closed door. Pulling a key from a chain on her neck, Francine unlocked the door and said, "Make no sudden moves and before approaching them, ask for permission before you move."

The kids all looked a little confused before Francine opened the door. As they walked through, the kids all looked in amazement at seeing the creature before them. In a large nest made of twigs, moss and feathers, lay a magnificent white griffon. "Allow me to introduce, Duchess, my animal companion and mount." Francine's words caused Duchess to raise her head and let out a soft squeak.

"Hey girl," Francine said softly while walking towards her and caressed her feathered head. "Can we see them?" Duchess looked at her questioningly before slowly raising her left wing.

"Ahhh," all the girls said as one when 5 small feathered heads became visible from underneath their mother's wing. When they tried to approach the nest, Duchess screeched at them and flared her wings protectively to guard her young.

"Hush, calm girl," Francine quickly said before turning to the girls and hissing, "I told you to ask permission first."

"Sorry," they all muttered before doing exactly as Francine said. Once they had all apologized and asked permission, Duchess slowly lifted her wing to again reveal the extremely cute little griffons bumbling over each other in the nest.

As the girls doted on the little cuties, Sandor tried his very best to remain calm and not let through that he too found them rather adorable. Getting a poke in the side from Aurora he looked up towards her and she said softly, "It's okay Sandor, one of them is for you. Go pick one out." A grin stretched over his scarred face, now made far less gruesome thanks to Gabrielle's care, and he quickly joined the girls after asking Duchess for permission.

In the end, Sandor chose the one that was as black as night and called him Darkness. Ygritte chose one that was a dark reddish brown and when he scratched her by accident she called him Deathclaw. Layla chose one that was speckled white with black and named her Lilly. Yara was the last to choose one, a grey female she named Stormwing. The one that was left was a golden-brown male with red wings, named Bloodwing by Valaya.

The little ones stayed with Duchess until they were older, but the kids visited them every chance they got over the next two weeks.

XXX

In the meantime, the people got settled in their new city. The streets where cleared of skeletons and outside the city, the first fields were made ready for planting. Aurora and Gabrielle used their dragon forms to clear the city of the dragon corpses that were scattered around, and they dumped them in Vermithrax's old prison for storage before they could be harvested for useful materials.

The Forlorn had quickly adapted to their new environment and now they patrolled the city in the intimidating black armors they had found on the guards. For the moment the armory had been declared off limits to everyone and placed under permanent guard by no less than 100 Forlorn. The blacksmiths that had joined them from Braavos, Tyros and Westeros where quickly put to work under Boltrock's supervision. Any resentment they might have felt to be put to work under the command of a dwarf was soon vaporized by the presence of Daisy and Buttercup who followed him everywhere.

As promised by Ivan, Boltrock had made a new horn for Ironhide, and boy was it a fright for the people when they saw those two riding down the streets for the first time. It was a foot-long blade made from blackened Spell-Forged steel and sharpened to a razor's edge.

Boltrock had taken it upon himself to fashion armor for both Ironhide and Duchess, and that was what he did. Using the carcass of a snow-white dragon, he created a supple suit of dragon hide armor, which when cured was thrice as strong as normal leather, and covered it with small white scales to form a supple yet very strong suit of armor. A helmet and neck plates shaped from whitened Valyrian Steel finished the look. For Ironhide he went the other way. Cannibalizing several sets of horse armor, he made a large set of rust-red Chainmail armor which was reinforced with thick blackened Valyrian Steel plates to create a set of very intimidating heavy armor in the same style as Ivan's.

XXX

After the two weeks were over, most of the Forlorn, the Unsullied, a large part of the Sellswords, the Dornish, and 1.500 of Francine's warrior maidens which had been renamed as the Amazons, took to ship again. All of them were now clad in identical armor, if not from the city then from the armory, and now properly armed with Valyrian Steel.

Aurora had immediately fulfilled her promise of incredible riches to the Ironborn by giving them all a pick from one of the weapons in the armory, each more valuable than a chest full of Gold Dragons. The Ironborn would sail with them to Astapor but would not join in on their campaign. Instead they would be tasked with protecting the armada as it ferried between Valyria and slaver's bay to bring the soon to be new inhabitants to the peninsula.

After bonding them to their chosen griffon, they left the children behind in the city as well, as they were too young to be brought along on a military campaign. Duchess stayed behind to, since the young ones could not be without their mother yet. Ironhide did come along though and Ivan was filled with glee as he imagined the looks on the Slaver's faces as they saw him riding on his massive new war mount. Boltrock had taken a look at the saddle after Ivan complained to him about being shaken around like bag of wheat when Ironhide went to a run. Eventually he came with a solution of using coil springs to negate most of the movement, giving him a much more comfortable time in the saddle.

The military council was placed in temporary command of the city with Tychel, Orus and Syrio installed as governors until their return. Taking the entire fleet with them, the Cinnamon Wind joined them, as the captain had sworn his allegiance to Aurora after he had been richly rewarded for bringing Valaya back to them. With their 30,000 men, Aurora and Gabrielle, with Ivan, Francine, Oberyn, Harry Strickland, Tatters, and Valaya at their side, took sail for Astapor, to begin their Slaver's Bay campaign and burn the wretched place to the ground.

As the armada left the storms, one thought was present in the minds of all those many tens-of-thousands that sailed north-east; the slavers had no idea what was coming. But they would soon learn, to Fear the Dragon's Wrath.

Author's note:

And there it is, next chapter the Slaver's Bay campaign kicks off with a literal BANG as the Ladies arrive in Astapor. I hope you are all enjoying the story as much I enjoy writing it, so please let me know what you think by leaving a review they mean so much to me.

Anyway, see you all next time,

MM