Hey there folks, another update for Blackfyre's Shadow here. A big thanks to Aerylyx/Ragnarok who commissioned this fic and continues to commission chapters for it. Man has even commissioned another chapter after this one already, so yeah I'm kinda behind. Trying to catch up without completely shifting to commission only.
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Now let's get on to the story.
Chapter Two
Guests
Kallipetra village
Essos
295 AC
Naruto watched over the small village as it burned. Pillars of smoke drifted into the air and he couldn't help the slight guilt that wormed its way into his heart. He told himself that he had to do what he could to feed and clothe those that followed him. They were his responsibility.
He told himself that if those following him were his responsibility then that meant that those that stood against him were his enemies. If they refused his offer to join his group or surrender goods then he didn't really have a choice. The alternative was his own people starving.
"They're getting better at this sort of thing. It'll get them ready for facing the Mercenaries when we get to them. Plus we needed the food and supplies." Asher said, knowing what Naruto was thinking about.
"He knows that Asher." Beskha said. She was a bit on edge with what they were doing these days, but she, like Asher was pragmatic enough that she knew this was for their survival.
"I was just trying to help Beskha. I don't want him acting more broody than he already does." Asher said with a shrug.
Naruto would have chuckled at their banter, he knew that was what they were trying to get him to do, but as he heard some woman down below them screaming for her son who had been killed he couldn't force a smile onto his face. The best he could do was keep up his blank uninterested look as he stared down at the village.
"Send word down, wrap this up. I want to move out soon and we still need to haul our new supplies back to camp." Naruto instructed his friends before returning to the horse he had liberated from another village a few days prior.
He rode back with Beskha beside him. Asher having gone to give out his orders. They made it back to camp quickly enough and those not actively working as soldiers for their little band greeted them once they made it back. They weren't in very high spirits though. None of them were especially thrilled about being no better than bandits. Probably because most had found themselves bound up in slavery due to some band of brigands not too dissimilar from Naruto's own.
The difference was Naruto took no slaves. He didn't really need to. Even after their losses and many of the people he had recruited in Mantarys deciding to go their own way, he had well over a hundred fighters with another fifty or so people that effectively acted as camp followers.
That was the better way to think of their group. Not a nomadic band of reavers but an army on campaign. One that drew ever closer to its objective. One that was no different than the other armies of the world that burned its way through the landscape as it hunted its enemy. He wasn't the first to raid the coast of the Sea of Sighs.
He could be the last though.
Over the last few months of time he had gradually formulated a new dream. After all he was always a single battle and interrogation from returning to Nurn and his people. Hopefully. From what he understood the town was still there. He just hoped the people wouldn't try and keep him away.
Nurn was his by right after all. He didn't want to have to harm his people to remind them of that fact.
That thought caused him to pause. He focused on it and ran it through his mind again and again. He hadn't ever really worried that they would refuse him when he returned. Or at least he never considered it realistically or what he would do in response. However he knew what he would do. He hated that he knew what he would do, but he did.
After all, his parents had made it clear when he was a boy he was meant for something, and his right to Nurn and this band of freed slaves…no this band of warriors, would form the foundation for that greatness that they envisioned for him.
"Are you alright?" Beskha suddenly asked him.
"Excellent. Really. Just a bit tired of having to raid for supplies. I didn't realize just how much a hundred people ate and drank. Or how slow they moved." Naruto replied.
Beskha snorted in amusement but nodded. "Welcome to the life of a commander Naruto. I can't wait till you are trying to rule when we get to that little town of yours. It's going to be something."
"Har har, Beskha. I'll have you know I was raised to rule. Specifically that 'little town of mine' too. You'll see, I may be new to this whole leading an army thing but once I'm running the show in Nurn everything will go smoothly." Naruto said confidently.
"Uh-huh. Well, at least you'll have me, Asher, and about a hundred of the most loyal fighters on the continent to pull your pompous ass out of the fire once you mess up royally." She said with a grin.
"Bah, you'll see. Then I think I'll make you call me something like Boss, or maybe Chief. Oh I like that. Beskha from now on call me Chief." Naruto said childishly as he dismounted outside his tent getting the woman to roll her eyes, though she was plenty amused by his antics.
Naruto could play up a childish facade when he wanted to relax from a stressful event. It conflicted so much with his usual demeanor that the first few times he had done it everyone had been a bit worried something had happened to him, like all the siphoning of people's lives to heal himself or recover had hurt his mind somehow. Then again that could still have been happening they just weren't as worried about it anymore.
Beskha wisely decided not to think about how Naruto using magic to suck the life out of other people and heal his followers as well as the stinking corpse of a puppet he kept around as a shite diplomat was now just normal for her.
"So, where next?" She asked him as she followed him into his tent.
Naruto hummed as he walked over to the small light table they had arrayed a series of maps out on. He traced a finger from Mantarys to the approximate location they were now camped out in, a short distance from Kallipetra.
"We're here." He said, before tracing a slightly longer line over to the approximate location of their eventual destination. The semi-permanent residence of the mercenary company he wished to have words with.
"They're here, and between us are a few dozen villages just like this one. Thankfully they lost so many men recently. They'll stay where they are, fattening up like a pig getting ready to be butchered. Meanwhile our force is just getting tougher and nastier." Naruto said with a faint grin at the thought of wreaking vengeance on the mercenaries that had sold him into slavery all those years ago.
Beskha nodded looking most specifically at the path between their camp and the next village. It would be a couple weeks, since a lot of the group still lacked horses and they couldn't fit them all on carts and still carry their supplies. It might be cutting it close on their supplies really.
"We'll need to set up some hunting parties. Or something at least. Just to pad out our supply situation." She pointed out.
"Good idea. We could have done that before, but the villages were closer together the closer you get to Mantarys. They are starting to be more spaced out now." He said as he looked over their route on the map.
"Exactly. We also need to ration a bit better. There's going to be grumbling but we can't let anything go to waste." Beskha pointed out.
"How do you know all this about running an army? Really it's very helpful but kind of surprising too." Naruto said.
Beskha snorted. "You should get it. I'm a mercenary. Well, I guess I was a mercenary until my idiot partner introduced me to this smart ass kid with all this weird shit around him."
"Sounds like bad news." Naruto said jokingly those his eyes brightened as she confirmed her loyalty to him.
"Oh, he is the worst news. Thankfully I think I'm on his good side. Like a big sister or something." She said with a grin before she realized what she had said and both of them stared at one another in open shock.
The pair of former slaves remained silent as they both contemplated the concept of them being siblings. While Asher was gone, he was easily a part of their little group as well. Clearly. Still, to be like siblings. Officially proclaiming that. It was a new feeling.
"Beskha…do you really think of me like-" Naruto began quietly.
"As a family, yeah sure." She interrupted him awkwardly while scratching at the back of her neck. Emotions and discussing them was not something she was really comfortable with. Naruto wasn't much better.
Naruto stared up at the taller woman intently until she reached out to lightly rub his head.
"Don't dwell too much on it I guess. You're mine and Asher's baby brother. So we have to look out for you and show you the ropes I guess." She teased.
Naruto snorted at the thought.
"Lets not bring this up to Asher. He'll be insufferable." The boy said.
"Oh I am bringing it up the first chance I get. I can't wait till I watch him try to bring it up with you." She snickered.
"Do it and I'll tell him how jealous you get when he goes off with one of the girls from the camp." Naruto said before dodging around a swipe of Beskha's hands with ease.
The young teen cackled as Beskha's smile disappeared and was replaced by a snarl and a bright blush. One that he was a bit shocked by being as nothing really fazed her normally.
"Naruto, that isn't funny." She groaned.
The blond stopped and frowned. He knew what was on her mind. There was some woman in Asher's past. Back across the Narrow Sea in Westeros somewhere that still held his heart. Sure he slept around plenty here, but his heart still belonged to that far off and unattainable woman in his homeland. It annoyed Naruto to an extent when he thought about it but that was likely because he didn't know this woman in the slightest.
He knew Beskha though, and she was truly in love with Asher even if she was never going to have the nerve to tell him. Worrying about seeming too feminine for her line of work or something which was insane to Naruto. Beskha was easily one of the toughest people he had met in his life and he had fought in gladiator pits for years and been a prisoner of a mercenary band.
"You really should talk to him, Beskha. You might be surprised. You two could really-" Naruto began before she ruffled his hair a little more roughly than before.
"Don't worry about it. You have more than enough things to think about other than some silly romance between him and I, right?" She asked, getting him to roll his eyes. He wouldn't drop it so easily, but for now he could hear the first of the raiding party returning and needed to make an appearance.
"I still think you should tell him. Let's get everyone settled though." Naruto said as he returned his focus to the growing crowd in camp.
"Leave that to me." She said seriously before following him back out to meet up with their troops.
Quel'Dorei Encampment
Essos
295 AC
It had taken months to reach their destination. The brindle men tribes had been ready and waiting for them along the entire route of the river. They had descended upon the flotilla of Quel'Dorei in the fashion only savages could. The survivors could all still recall the sound of smacking lips and cracking bones as their fellows were literally devoured by the cannibals of Sothoryos.
Eventually they escaped the jungles of the southern continent and the brindle men with it. The cost had been terrible though. Of Celebrien's followers less than a tenth had survived. A scant two hundred. It was horrible but they had made it.
For another several weeks they had sailed through the seas. They passed by the Basilisk isles which had been clearly marked on Janaera Baelerys' old maps. Sadly when they came to what should have been the old lands of the dragon the Quel'Dorei found only a terrible hellscape awaiting them.
Long gone was the homeland of the Dragon lords. All that remained was a twisted set of islands populated by monsters, never ending flames, ruins, and the Stone men. It was horrible and even more of Celebrien's people succumbed to the new threats found in the Smoking Sea.
Wether by desertion or death, by the time the fleet had made it to good lands to attempt to settle they were less than a hundred in number. Even Celebrien herself had fallen terribly ill, hardly able to stand on her own and growing paler and thinner with every passing day.
Theron the Usurper may have intended for all of them to be killed on their journey, but while that hadn't come to pass he had succeeded in breaking their spirits. At least he had.
In the short few weeks they had settled onto the coastline of the Lands of the Long Summer, they had already found this new home to be perfect for them. The earth was healthy and arable, the local wildlife was bountiful for hunting, and the nearest other settlement seemed wary of them but not openly hostile.
The locals had simply watched as Celebrien's people established their encampment. Tents and rudimentary huts as well as a small palisade around the camp's perimeter were quickly erected. All while the locals would simply send out riders to stare down at them and watch in suspicion.
"The watchers are back." Sylvanas said with distaste.
"So? If they meant us harm they would have attacked. Their town is decently sized, they could easily overrun us if even a portion of their numbers are fighters." Liadrin replied.
Sylvanas grimaced but continued to stare up at the single figure atop the ridge. He sat upon a horse and simply watched them. It was unsettling for her, but Liadrin seemed to somehow twist it into a good omen. Sylvanas didn't believe in such things. After everything their people had suffered through she was certain these strangers were watching and waiting for a chance to strike. The perfect chance after they had studied the strangers who had come to their shores.
"Sylvanas, you can't assume the worst just because of the trials of our past." Celebrien's weak voice said from where she was resting on a pallet.
"I have to assume the worst because you two always assume the best. I have to make sure we are ready so that we don't become easy prey for others in this world." Sylvanas replied resolutely.
Celebrien sighed as she eyed her friend with guilt. The Quel'Dorei leader felt that Sylvanas had only become more aggressive and standoffish since leaving Quel'Thalas. An understandable reaction, truth be told she wasn't the only one, but Celebrien was worried that any future they hoped to have in this new land would be spoiled by the wounds of their people's past. Wounds she was responsible for not preparing them for the horrors they would face in their exile after the war.
"Perhaps they are simply as worried about our actions as we are theirs. We are the strangers to this land after all, they are probably worried about strangers from the south suddenly settling their lands. After all we've seen leading up to this, I cannot truly blame them or disagree with their wary reaction." Celebrien said.
"Maybe we should send an envoy? Just try and talk with them to figure a way to cohabitate in peace?" Liadrin suggested.
"Good luck finding someone to volunteer for that suicide mission. As far as we know they could be just as bad as the Brindle Men. Cannibals. Or worse." Sylvanas replied thinking of the fate of several of their female followers at the hands of the Brindle Men. Being murdered and eaten would be preferrable in her opinion.
"We'll send a guarded envoy." Celebrien stated getting both of her seconds to turn to look at her once again.
"Very well…but who?" Sylvanas asked, not happy about her lady's decision but still willing to follow it.
"You of course." Celebrien replied with a tired smile.
"Me? You must be joking!" Sylvanas said in surprise. Wondering if Celebrien had become feverish or if she simply wanted any hope of talks to break down.
"Yes, my lady, perhaps I should go instead?" Liadrin asked.
Sylvanas shot the other woman a glance but had to agree. Liadrin was tough and could take care of herself but she was far more prone to negotiate than Sylvanas herself was. She was happy to let Liadrin take her place. Not that she was thrilled about the idea at all, it still seemed like a death trap to her.
"You're both going." Celebrien said simply.
"Both? Shouldn't someone stay here with you?" Liadrin asked worriedly.
"Liadrin, I am surrounded by our people. You two will act as my envoys to the natives and we will try to reach a compromise so that we don't become hostile with one another. It won't do for us to have to literally carve out a new home will it?" Celebrien asked with a chuckle, as if certain they would win against a force easily capable of raising at least a thousand people to attack them.
The two younger women shared a look at their lady's orders but didn't speak of disagreement. It was clear Celebrien's mind was made up and they would be going to meet with these strangers.
"Within the hour. I want you both underway within the hour." Celebrien commanded.
"Understood." Sylvanas said before leaving to visit her family.
Liadrin was quiet for a time before she sighed. "I truly hope this works out, my lady."
As Liadrin left, the sickly Celebrien sighed as well. "So do I, my friend."
Just as they had been instructed Sylvanas and Liadrin were mounting up to meet with the locals. They had both learned the dragon tongue alongside Celebrien so if that language was still spoken, the hope was they could avoid confrontation.
If not, well hopefully their soon to be hosts were capable at charades.
"This is foolish. We should wait for them to send an envoy to us, we're the ones at disadvantage." Sylvanas said as she and Liadrin began trotting along toward the human settlement.
"Syl, you really must calm down. It could cause issues if you don't. Besides, we may be disadvantaged but we are also the new arrivals. We're guests in their land." Liadrin replied.
"Invaders are more like. If this was Quel'Thalas and humans were suddenly settling in our lands we would have razed their encampment and butchered their people in their sleep." Sylvanas said.
"We aren't in Quel'Thalas and we don't have to be so vicious anymore." Liadrin said.
"Don't be so naive Lia. We have to be even more vicious now. That's the only way people survive in this world. By being willing to go that much further than their opponent." Sylvanas said, causing Liadrin to fall silent with a sad sigh.
The pair rode on in silence after that. They could see the small handful of riders from the human town nearby. Shadowing them as they rode along the hills toward the town. They continued to watch but not act aggressively so Liadrin took that as a good sign.
Sylvanas was less comforted by that and more worried about the fact that prior to this point she had only ever seen a single rider at a time. Now there were more than half a dozen shadowing them.
"Syl, no." Liadrin hissed as she noticed the other woman's hands slipping toward the hilts of her blades.
"What do you mean no? They could be upon us in an instant." Sylvanas hissed with more venom than was necessary.
"But they haven't attacked. We have to try peaceful means first. It's what Celebrien wants. She ordered us to act as her envoy, now remove your hand." Liadrin commanded, surprising Sylvanas with the steel in her voice.
Slowly her hand slipped away from her weapons. Liadrin seemed so sure of what she was doing, but still Sylvanas would be ready. If these humans tried something she wouldn't hesitate carving a path for herself and her friend to escape.
"We'll do it your way but when they attack us I'm holding it over your head for life." Sylvanas grumbled halfheartedly, getting Liadrin to laugh quietly.
They returned to their silence and rode on. It didn't take much longer before they came to the walls of the town. In comparison to the palisade surrounding the Quel'dorei encampment the walls of this town were far greater for defense.
An old fortress acted as part of the defenses with looming stone walls while a mix of earth, stone, and wood formed tall sturdy walls for the rest of the town. The gatehouses were made of much fresher stone than of the old fortress and clearly had been constructed relatively recently compared to most of the defenses this place had.
"Well, so much for fighting our way out if things go poorly." Sylvanas quietly murmured as they came to a stop outside the walls.
"All the more reason to make sure that they don't go poorly then, hmm?" Liadrin said with a tight smile.
The small collection of guards ahead of them shouted something out to them. It sounded similar to the language of the old dragon lords but different enough for neither Liadrin or Sylvanas to really understand what was being said.
"Now what?" Sylvanas asked.
"We do our best, of course." Liadrin said before clearing her throat.
"We come in peace and hope to simply speak with your…your uhm ruler" Liadrin said struggling with the Old Valyrian words.
The guards exchanged glances before a rapid exchange of words occurred. An older guard, a short stocky man with scars and a steely gray beard began to bark what appeared to be commands at the others. Soon a young man that had been watching from the walls disappeared and the rest of the force seemed to snap back to doing menial takes.
Sylvanas and Liadrin looked at one another before turning back to stare at the old man once again. He shot them a gap toothed grin filled with surprisingly white teeth, though clearly was awkward with the long silence between them. He seemed to be growing impatient when finally a series of bellowed shouts came from the other side of the gates and one of them began to slowly creak open.
The old man snapped something then and those gathered seemed to stop what they were doing to form up more properly around whoever it was that was coming to meet with Sylvanas and Liadrin.
Both women dismounted, Sylvanas only after an insistent look from her friend, and took up places just in front of their horses.
They imagined some minor lord or some other warrior caste individual to come meet them. Or perhaps a courtier of some kind meeting them on behalf of their ruler. They hadn't expected a scarred up old man that made the old guard look young to approach them.
Furthering his odd appearance was the fact that he wore a ragged black robe with a rope belt and no shoes. He was unarmed and dressed like a wretch but he carried himself with inhuman grace and strength and the humans all clearly respected him.
He seemed to stop and size the women up. Clearly he'd never seen any of their kind before. It wasn't surprising. If there ever had been any of their kind in these northern lands they had been driven to extinction millennia ago. Before even the Dragon Lords had tamed their mounts.
"I bid you welcome strangers. My friends here have told me that you speak the language of Old Valyria. Something I find rare but a blessing so that we might speak to one another." The man said much more fluently than either Sylvanas or Liadrian could accomplish with the Old Valyrian.
"Greetings." Liadrin replied in her stilted accent. "We come in peace and wish to discuss things with your leader."
The man hummed and nodded at that.
"I am he, I suppose. As far as being a stand in I think. You may call me Lyssario, representative of our lord until his return." The old man said.
"You may call me Liadrin and this is Sylvanas. We come to represent our Lady Celebrien. She remains at the encampment. I believe your riders have returned to monitor the encampment already." Liadrin replied as fluidly as she could manage.
Lyssario looked a bit confused but then quickly motioned for the gates to be fully opened.
"Come, come I am certain we have much to speak on. I must also see if I can acquire a vision of my Lord and give you a day he might return to us." Lyssario said as he began making his way back into the town.
The two Quel'dorei women exchanged a look at the oddness of Lyssario's words before they followed after him into the town.
"We will find a place for you to stay at the holdfast." Lyssario said, pointing up at the remains of the stone fortress.
"We thank you." Liadrin replied as she and Sylvanas took in the sight of the town.
It was a surprisingly well maintained place. The people seemed hearty and healthy as well as strong. However there was an oddity that neither woman could quite place. Something strange that stuck out about this town.
"Lyssario, tell me, what is the name of this town?" Liadrin said.
"Ah, this is the town of Nurn." Lyssario replied with pride in his voice.
Sylvanas ignored them as she kept her focus on the townsfolk that pointed and whispered. Gradually she noticed something.
The people of the village were almost all either adults or elderly, smaller children were mixed in as well, but older children and the younger adults seemed to be missing. As if there was a gap in ages among their population.
"Lyssario," Sylvanas spoke for the first time, surprising the old man that she spoke Old Valyrian as well, though not quite as well as Liadrin did.
"Yes, Sylvanas, correct?" Lyssario replied.
"Yes, answer a question for me." Sylvanas said with a hint of danger in her voice. One that had Liadrin worried and on edge. Things were going so smoothly she hoped that Sylvanas wouldn't do something to ruin that.
"If I can answer you I will be happy to." The old man said with a weary smile.
"Where are all your children?" She asked bluntly, causing Liadrin to blink in confusion before realizing what Sylvanas was speaking of. She too now grew suspicious.
Lyssario sighed sadly before nodding his head. "Come, we have much to discuss, and I will tell you of our home's plight."
The women exchanged looks once again before surrendering their mounts to a stableboy at the entrance to the old fort and following Lyssario into the stone tower at its heart.
They soon found themselves stepping into a room that was far more ornate and less utilitarian than the rest of the town had been. It felt like an odd cross between a chapel and a simple sitting room, albeit with a pallet neatly stowed nearby. Sylvanas imagined that Lyssario rarely left this room and often slept here for some reason.
"Please make yourselves comfortable. We no doubt have much to discuss, not to mention a rather long tale to tell." Lyssario said as he made himself comfortable as well.
The women gingerly lowered themselves into the cushions provided and gave the old man their attention.
"Now, I suppose the question is where to begin." Lyssario idly stated.
"Perhaps we should start with you answering my question." Sylvanas said evenly, ignoring the look Liadrin shot her way.
"As good a place as any." Lyssario replied after a moment of quiet contemplation.
"A few years ago a band of mercenaries was hired to attack our home…" Lyssario began to tell them about the raid that had claimed the leaders of the town as well as the fact that their children were kidnapped and sold off.
It would be only the first portion of a very long process of the people of Nurn and the Quel'dorei coming to terms with one another and avoiding battle. But they would indeed avoid battle.
At least with one another.
King's Landing
Westeros
295 AC
Rhaegar had long grown used to his dreams being more than simple dreams. Eventually he had grown used to the strange double meanings and messages, some subtle and other obvious, that had come to his sleeping mind.
Over the last few months he had begun to grow used to the new style of dreams he was experiencing as well. No longer were they a series of prophetic visions filled with one metaphor or riddle after another. The image was clearer and it was like he was visiting a place he had never been before.
These dreams gradually grew more intense and clear. As if he was there, living, experiencing it himself. He had yet to bring that up to his mother or his wives. Only Arthur knew and the King's Guard knight had handled it awkwardly as he had nothing he could do with such information.
Rhaegar felt much the same, only the situation was worse as he was experiencing these dreams directly. Slowly though things came to make more sense. They were events in another's life.
At first Rhaegar began to believe it was a previous life of his own. One he was being shown of a boy growing up and coming to manhood. He wasn't sure of the reason, perhaps the gods desired him to learn some sort of lesson or his previous self had found a way to send him a message.
His theory was quickly proven wrong when he realized who this boy's mother was. The last Blackfyre. Or he believed the last Blackfyre. Clearly she had an heir.
As the dreams continued on he found the guilt within himself built. If things had gone as he wished then this boy would have been raised closely with his own children and Rhaegar could have fulfilled that dream that seemed so distant now. A peaceful and content world under the sway of the two dragon houses.
It continued like that for a time. Watching his distant relation suffer and survive the tribulations heaped upon him and his fellow children that had been kidnapped and sold off. It was horrifying to see the kind of struggle these mere children went through just to survive.
Never before had he found himself so thankful that his ancestors had been wise enough to bar such practices here in Westeros. He could not even bear to imagine the mindset of these 'masters' at the way they treated human life. Rhaegar's own hands were not clean of blood, but he could happily note he was nothing like these demons across the Narrow Sea.
He could only continue to watch as the boy was purchased by an elderly master. A strange sort, made all the more strange by his kind and caring demeanor toward the boy. Rhaegar watched on as the old master began to educate the boy in all manner of things.
Most notably in magic.
The talent the child had at the arts clearly surprised the old man though pleasantly so he supposed. Still the things they could so easily do with these spells both inspired awe and dread within the King of Westeros. It was so unnatural. Yet Rhaegar could feel the emotions and powers in the very being of the boy he was dreaming through.
Where Rhaegar felt intrigued but also off put by the abilities the little scion of House Blackfyre, that same little scion was in his element so to speak. Euphoria washed over him every time he mastered a new facet of his abilities.
The difference in how the magic was seen by both of them seemed less of an instinct, and more to Rhaegar like the fact that being raised in the Church of the Seven, Rhaegar himself had developed a bias against warlocks and other wielders of mystical abilities. He would need to reel that ingrown bias in if he wished to fix the damage done and align the Targaryen and Blackfyre families once more..
That thought made him weary. The stubborn and unpredictable nature of this boy made that seem a herculean task. That was not including the fact that when it came down to it he was partially responsible for the pain the boy suffered. This all also came from the man who was literally in the child's head on an almost nightly basis reliving his day.
When things changed, they changed rapidly. It was as if one night the boy was living a surprisingly good life for a slave in Mantarys of all places, and the next he was building an army had begun using actual necromancy. His former master, the vile treacherous snake that he was, had become a sort of puppet for the boy.
He wasn't sure even one such as this man deserved such a fate…though he couldn't say for certain if the old man was even still in the corpse's head or if it really was nothing more than a puppet now.
The speed at which the boy, no he deserved proper respect, he was no mere boy. The speed at which Naruto seemed to build a small army was astounding. They were solid as well. They practically worshipped him and those that had wavering loyalty abandoned him already once they freed themselves from Mantarys. A feat which would likely wind up in the tomes of historians and masters even here in Westeros.
That was where Rhaegar found himself now. Naruto and his band of survivors turned battle hardened warriors had made camp beside a river. They were well off on supplies for the time being and beginning to close in on Naruto's true objective.
The mercenaries that had raided his home and led him to this life in the first place.
Rhaegar grew mildly nervous at that. Should the young Blackfyre follow the line of questioning up through the various people responsible for the attack and assassination of his parents then he would surely come to realize at the end of that long chain was the House of Targaryen. His own family's ancestral enemy.
One all too easy to pick up arms against once more. Just as his forefathers had.
He wished he could help him. Meet with him as not himself and forge a bond with him so he could tell him the full story and spare their families and the world a war in the future.
As he thought such things the most unlikely of people approached him, within the dream itself.
"I can open a path between your minds if you like." Brachys said in his old voice causing Rhaegar to startle before he grew suspicious. Yet before he could even begin to question the former magi, the old man answered for himself.
"Fear no betrayal from myself. I am merely an imprint of my former self within my Lord's mind. I have no true will of my own beyond that to help and strengthen my new master." Brachys explained.
"Here in this place between your minds and spirits you have somehow anchored yourself to my young Lord. Unintentionally, I am certain as you lack even the most rudimentary of training in your latent magical abilities. Either way I have watched you as you have watched the memories of my master. It is clear to me you mean him no harm, at least at this time so I am happy to make the introductions between you that you so wish for." Brachys said without a change in expression or tone. Simply speaking a placid dead tone.
Rhaegar eyed the dead man with trepidation. He wasn't sure what he should do in this event. He had an opportunity to do as he had wished but he couldn't help but feel suspicious of this magic and of the implanted being that was Brachys, or whatever was left of him.
He was known to be somewhat reckless, one need only look at his two wives, one that had essentially caused a war to break out, to know that. It was with that same reckless drive to do what he believed to be right thanks to his visions that lead to his accepting of Brachys' offer.
It was bound to be an awkward meeting. Especially as it was all taking place within the heads of arguable strangers on the other side of the world from one another.
Naruto would typically be the first person to admit his life was far from what someone else might consider normal, or boring for that manner. He doubted that it ever would qualify for that criteria either, even if he lived to be a hundred years old or more he expected strangeness would still hover about his existence till the end of his days.
That being said even he had to acknowledge the fact that lately the strangeness seemed to have become a lot stranger and more frequent than he previously recalled. Sadly there wasn't really another descriptor for a strange man showing up with the mental imprint of his former and late Master Brachys.
As if the company wasn't odd enough, the fact that this meeting was evidently taking place within his own mind whilst he was sleeping surely chalked the encounter in the top ten or better strange things from his life so far.
The more worrisome side of that was very clear as well. He was no longer alone inside his head and the imprint that Brachys had left, unwillingly as it was, seemed to display far more autonomous ability than Naruto had previously been aware of. Far more than he was comfortable with as well.
As for the stranger, well who would feel pleased to have someone they didn't know poking around in their head, evidently witnessing their memories.
"I'm sorry, forgive me for being rude here," Naruto began to say, his sarcastic tone clearly not caring if he came off as rude. "Who are you precisely? And why are you here?"
The figment of a former warlock once known as Brachys began to step forward only to wilt faintly under the pointed glare directed his way by Naruto.
"I am no one all that important to you. At least for now. In fact it was never my intention to view your memories or thoughts. I didn't even know you existed beforehand." The stranger said awkwardly.
Naruto eyed him with even more suspicion. "That doesn't ease my worries."
"I suppose it wouldn't, would it…maybe there is something I can say or do to prove myself to you-" The man began to ask.
"Perhaps telling me who you are?" Naruto suggested with a raised eyebrow and annoyed voice.
"I was just about to say something other than that." The stranger said with a good natured chuckle.
The young man took in this stranger's appearance though he supposed that it wasn't unimaginable that he could be disguising his appearance in some way. After all, they were in Naruto's mind. He was middle aged though clearly healthy and in good shape for his age. He looked to be of Valyrian blood, but that didn't necessarily narrow it down as the freehold had plenty of those that possessed the markings of Valyria.
He wished that he could get a bead on his accent but truth be told they weren't actually speaking. Neither was he actually seeing them, he just had an image in his mind of what the man appeared like, for some reason.
"Why is that? I don't understand why you can't at least give me your name." Naruto said, still plenty suspicious of the stranger.
"It would be distracting for you I think. Also it makes it easier in the long run if I tell you who I am at a later time." The man said with conviction.
"You are still not helping your case." Naruto huffed.
"Too true." The stranger hummed thoughtfully before they both realized that soon Naruto would have to wake for the day.
"I will return tomorrow night. Maybe I will have a way to convince you that I mean you no harm then?" The stranger said hopefully but Naruto simply continued to eye him warily until he disappeared leaving only Naruto himself and the shadow of his one time master behind.
With the stranger gone, Naruto pivoted his attention to Brachys. The imprint simply stared back at him in silence as Naruto narrowed his eyes into a fierce glare.
"You seem to have been fooling me all this time, huh? I should have known you were a sneaky bastard after what you tried to pull in the past. That's what landed you here in the first place, after all." Naruto said with obvious anger in his voice.
"I am bound to help your mind and ambitions in any way that I can. That is quite literally all that I exist for. At least all that I exist for now. I do not even recall the desires that led me here. Well, not the emotions and desires themselves. I do recall the events and the decisions I made that led to it." Brachys explained clinically.
"Do not attempt to distract me." Naruto barked at his mental servant.
"I am not trying to master. Though if you are distracted I suggest some form of mental exercises to strengthen your mental acuity. I fear that if I am distracting you with such simple words then you are at danger when it will come time to play the game of diplomats and rulers." Brachys replied. He seemed quite earnest as well which only served to agitate Naruto's darkening mood.
"Enough. You brought a stranger into my mind! Someone who could have done irreparable damage if they had desired to." Naruto snarled now, his anger was actually affecting the mindscape as it darkened and heated up to insane temperatures. None of which bothered Naruto. Brachys was not so lucky.
"Master, I would not have allowed him to affect your mind whilst here. I literally cannot allow something like that to happen. Furthermore is that not proof of what the stranger was attempting to say. He meant no harm, and now you have proof to begin trusting him." Brachys pointed out desperately.
Naruto grew silent but the mindscape cooled and brightened slightly. The young Lord huffed in mild irritation before turning away from Brachys and slowly beginning to fade from his one mind as he began to wake up in the physical world.
"It is not enough, Brachys…but I will allow him to prove himself to me I suppose." Naruto said before fully fading.
"That is all that I ask,master. It is my intention for this interaction to help you after all." Brachys said with a bowed head.
Naruto awoke to the warmth of his makeshift bed within his tent and grunted in annoyance as he stretched. He didn't feel very well rested but they had a long ways to go today.
Nurn
Essos
295 AC
Sylvanas had come to the very easy conclusion some time ago that Lyssario and his people were not in fact a threat to her own. They could fight, she had no doubt about that, and clearly they were wary of outsiders, but if Lyssario's quick acceptance of her and Liadrin was any sort of example of how the people of Nurn would act then, well they literally had nothing to fear.
Lyssario had lost himself in asking all manner of questions of Sothoryos and their people. The man was clearly a scholar that had somehow found himself acting as regent for a few thousand people. It was refreshing to meet someone that wasn't either a warlord or barbarian. He also commanded the respect and obedience of his people, despite being a mere frail old man. That spoke to his skill as a leader.
Liadrin had managed to weasel out from the man that he had been improving the town for years now. Advancements that he planned and made reality with only the labor of the citizens of Nurn as aid. All in the name of his Lord and his inevitable return.
That had been something of great interest. After all the young lord of Nurn was apparently one of the many children stolen away from the townsfolk by slavers the same time that their rulers had been murdered.
The thought of Lyssario and the people awaiting the return of this…boy for so many years after he was taken into slavery had been apalling. They clung to a hope for their vaunted chosen ruler, but in Sylvanas' mind there was no hope. These people, or rather Lyssario had told her horrible stories of what the slavers of Mantarys were capable of. She couldn't help but wonder what inspired such faith in the son of their last ruler returning ever let alone as any kind of figure competent enough to lead them.
Lyssario had told her he had consulted the flames of course. Of course. As if that just answered all her questions and settled all her doubts toward the mental state of Lyssario and his people. If anything it worsened it. It also filled Liadrin with a thousand more questions.
Soon the two Quel'dorei found themselves being educated in the faith of R'hllor the God of Fire, as well as the people of Nurn's supposedly heretical faith in R'hllor's mirrored form, Melkor the God of Shadow.
Understandably it had all been quite a lot to take in. Though she had to say she was rather pleased that the people of Nurn didn't practice human sacrifice to fire on the level their former brothers and sisters did. That wasn't to say they didn't sacrifice criminals, but they weren't about to start torching people due to their disbelief in R'hllor and Melkor. It wasn't all that much of a relief, truth be told, but it at least made it unlikely that Liadrin and herself would find themselves bound on a pyre and set alight.
"Sylvanas, Liadrin, you two mentioned riders trailing after you and watching your encampment?" Lyssario questioned, pulling Sylvanas from her own rabbit hole of thoughts.
"Yes, your scouts and sentries we assumed." Liadrin replied.
Lyssario grimaced at that and slowly began to shake his head. That filled Sylvanas with a mild panic that burned in her stomach. If they were not men of Nurn, then who exactly was watching and stalking their people.
"I fear those are likely a band of slavers. You must hurriedly complete your defenses. Should they fall upon your people, it is unlikely you will see them again as very few have the chosen protection of our god in this living world and even less among those that do not believe." Lyssario said with worry.
Sylvanas ignored the religious talk and focused on the fact that slavers were evidently prowling around her people. Her family and friends. What was left of them. The thought of them being kidnapped and taken to a place like Mantarys, which Lyssario had described in detail. Like Nurn her people would never be able to mount a successful rescue of them. Not against these cities that boasted armies of soldiers and guards several times larger than all of the Quel'dorei let alone the numbers of their warriors.
"Do you know where the slavers are camped?" Liadrin asked.
"I'm afraid not. It's possible they are not even truly camped anywhere. This coastline had a great many places to temporarily beach a ship, long enough to raid several towns and villages before taking to sea once again. There are often even raiders from as far off as the Iron Islands of the Ironborn. You must hurry home and prepare your people!" Lyssario was quickly on his feet and leading Sylvanas and Liadrin back out into the town.
"Horys!" Lyssario bellowed in a voice that caught both women by surprise. The soft spoken old man seemed to change before their very eyes, and now Sylvanas truly saw it. The leader that kept these people devoted to their supposed prince wherever he was and had built Nurn into a strong sizable settlement.
The older guard from the gate came running to the old man's side immediately. Many of the townsfolk stared as well as Lyssario and the now named Horys quickly had a discussion. Horus evidently disagreed with Lyssario but was not going to go against his orders and soon ran off to rally a band of fighters and what looked like laborers.
"My friends, I do truly hope our peoples can get along. I won't sit by and allow others we are trying to befriend to suffer the same tragedy that our own home has in the past. I am not sure how long your encampment has before it is raided but I am sending soldiers and laborers as well as some supplies to try and strengthen your defenses. You must hurry with word to your Lady though. Prepare for the raiders and know that you have friends coming. Those blessed by R'hllor and Melkor themselves!" Lyssario almost spoke as if he was giving a sermon.
It finally clicked for Sylvanas that Lyssario was less of a ruler and more a clergyman that had the trust of his flock. More so than any other she had seen in the past. It didn't matter at the moment though. She and Liadrin truly did need to hurry back to the Encampment if they wished to warn their people and prepare for the inevitable raid.
"Come on Liadrin!" Sylvanas barked as she led the way back to where the stable hands had been caring for their horses. Both women quickly readied their horses for the journey and mounted up before trotting off to the gate.
Sylvanas found herself growing jealous of the large stone gatehouse now as well as the old fort that acted as a keep for the town. She wished that her people had such defenses already but perhaps once they drove off these attackers they could focus on constructing something like that so the thought of slavers could be almost a non-issue.
"I wish you luck my friends!" Lyssario called from beside the gates as they began to ride through them.
"Thank you Lyssario. Until we meet again!" Liadrin hollered back.
"We're counting on your help, still old man!" Sylvanas added.
"Sylvanas!" Liadrin hissed.
"As soon as they are ready they will be on their way, I vow it!" Lyssario replied and soon the pair of riders were too far away to continue their shouted conversation.
Liadrin and Sylvanas rode hard. The encampment was close enough and large enough that should a raid come then surely they would see the plumes of smoke from such an attack. Nothing sat upon the horizon like that though so it filled them both with hope that they had time.
That didn't mean they slowed of course, soon their horses were struggling to maintain the pace and even the two warrior women found themselves growing tired from the rough ride back toward home. They were only halfway back when they were forced to stop and rest. It angered Sylvanas but she was no fool. If their horses gave out on them they would take even longer to reach their people.
"Sylvanas, it will be alright. We have a warning and as scant as they are, the encampment does have some defenses set up. Even should they attack before Lyssario's people can arrive then we can hold them off for a time. Perhaps indefinitely. We're no slouches when it comes to fighting off barbarians and raiders after all." Liadrin said before sucking down a large swallow of water.
"Be that as it may, our people don't even know the raiders are planning an attack." Sylvanas said.
"No, they think Nurn is though. We thought the riders were scouts from Nurn this whole time and have been on high alert since we noticed them. Celebrien isn't going to be unprepared should the attack come before we return home. We are just going to make her better prepared for it." Liadrin again comforted.
Sylvanas said nothing, instead turning her attention back to her mount and checking it over. Mentally she willed it to recover more quickly so that she and Liadrin might take to the rode home sooner, but it was only wishful thinking.
"You need to distract yourself. Staring at the horse until it is capable of riding again is like staring at a pot of water waiting for it to boil." Liadrin said.
Sylvanas huffed but turned back to the small stream they had stopped along to let the horses drink. The water was shallow and fast running but also extremely clear and fresh. It looked almost like a mirror, reflecting the sky and clouds as well as the treetops of the sharp embankment that made up the far side of the riverbank.
It was only because of that that Sylvanas saw the men readying their ambush. She paused, but only briefly before pretending she hadn't seen them. She turned away from the water and casually walked back to her horse and began subtly preparing to fight while acting as if she was simply checking over her horse once more.
"Liadrin. Act casually." Sylvanas said, causing the other woman to tense only for a split second before she continued doing as she had been. Not long enough for their ambushers to really notice.
"What is it?" The other woman asked.
"We are about to be attacked by those riders that followed us to the town to meet with Lyssario. Act casually but be ready, there are at least six of them just on the other side of the stream hidden among the bushes and trees. " Sylvanas explained, while keeping the tone she'd had earlier while just talking with Liadrin.
"So we just wait for them to attack?" Liadrin asked with a bit of heat in her tone but otherwise seemed oblivious of the raiders in hiding.
"They don't have any bows or anything and they aren't expecting us to be ready. The moment the first ones jump down we strike. Kill them in at the edge of the stream, it's deep and fast enough to slow them down, but not enough to knock them off balance or anything." Sylvanas theorized.
"I hope you're right." Liadrin said.
"I usually am, though when we kill the first three or four the last of them will probably make a run for it, so we will need to head for the encampment immediately. I don't think we'll be getting Lyssario's men before the raiders attack after all." Sylvanas said.
Liadrin didn't reply, simply masking a shaky breath to calm herself as an annoyed huff. Sylvanas tensed as she heard the bushes rustle and the raiders began to make their move. As the first man leapt from his hiding place and landed loudly in the water of the stream, Sylvanas was already moving in his direction while also drawing a sword with full intentions of removing the bastard's head.
The second and third man both landed shortly after the first, weapons all drawn and started following the first toward where Sylvanas was racing to meet them with Liadrin following right behind her.
The two Quel'dorei stopped just in the shallowest portion of the stream while the remaining raiders loudly splashed down from their hiding places into the water and followed after their faster comrades. Truth be told, Sylvanas couldn't decide if she was disappointed or relieved by how clearly underprepared her opponents were for a real fight.
As the first man came within reach of her weapon, Sylvanas wasted no time in launching a vicious swing toward him that he managed to block with his own roughly forged blade. He was far slower to recover from the clash though and with a twist of her arm and little more than a grun she broke into his guard and slashed him deeply across the chest.
The man screamed and stumbled back, tripping under the stones beneath the water's surface and sending himself tumbling onto his backside in the water. The second and third quickly passed by him with no mind though and attempted to overrun Sylvanas. Liadrin was already at her side ready to jump into the fight herself though and both men found that the women they had thought to capture and haul back to their camp as early trophies in the coming raid were not to be trifled with. Unfortunately for them this realization would come too late and they would have no choice but to remain and fight on.
Liadrin caught her opponents blade with her shield before disarming him, quite literally, with her own sword. She didn't allow him more than a chance to gasp at the sudden act before she also removed his head.
Sylvanas' handled her enemy much the same way. Easily sidestepping his telegraphed attack and lopping off the offending arm with brutally cold efficiency, she kicked the screaming man onto his back with a clear contemptuous glare on her face. He collapsed under the shadow waters, gurgling as he began to drown while her boot kept him submerged and pinned to the floor of the stream. He didn't suffer long though as she brought her blade down to finish him before she stood fully to face his remaining companions.
The remainder of the raiders had paused at the sight of their companions being dealt with so quickly and easily. One of them helped the injured man that had fallen back into the stream to his feet and both groups stared at one another as they paused to plan their next move.
Sylvanas all but growled at the stupidity of her enemy. She wanted them to rush her so she could get this over with already. These men weren't true warriors. They preyed upon defenseless or at least nearly defenseless villages and had hardly fought a true battle in their life. Sylvanas had lived in a war that encompassed the entirety of her people. There was no real comparison and she just wanted this over and done with.
Liadrin felt much the same way though she had less of a draw from the bloodlust coursing in Sylvanas' veins.
"What the hell are you waiting for? Come on!" Sylvanas hissed while beckoning the raiders toward her.
The men glanced between one another until the wounded one began shoving the others forward, howling at them. No doubt demanding they make Sylvanas and Liadrin pay for daring to defend themselves.
As the men advanced, Liadrin kicked the base of her shield splashing water mixed with mud and small stones up into the faces of the three advancing men. They lasted only a brief moment longer after that. Liadrin and Sylvanas had fought side by side for so long they needed no real communication and simply engaged the three enemies and butchered them in a quick fashion.
The last man, and apparent leader paled greatly at seeing the last of his fellows cut down, before trying to turn and run. The mix of his bloodloss, panic, and the stream caused him to stumble though and Sylvanas was upon him in a moment, keeping a boot pressed down harshly on his back.
Liadrin frowned as her friend brutally drowned the man, but she said nothing. She wasn't about to stop her from placing some rightful punishment on a man who no doubt had raped, murdered, and kidnapped for many years.
Still, she wasn't fond of Sylvanas acting so cruelly.
"Syl, we need to head out soon. We still need to tell Celebrien." Liadrin said as she saw the man stop struggling and air bubbles stop leaving his mouth.
"Right, right. Let's go." Sylvanas said as she stepped off of the man and met back up with Liadrin to get the horses ready to ride once again.
As they began to turn away from the bloody spot, Sylvanas stopped herself just long enough to spit at the corpses of their attackers before they continued on back toward the encampment.
That is that, I hope you enjoyed, this took way longer than it should have. Sadly with Summer hours at work i probably will have a slower update schedule than normal. That being said, I look forward to writing more when I can.
Till Next Time.