From Extinction to Glory
Disclaimer: Characters belong to their rightful owners. Not taking ownership of nothing.
Chapter 6:
The ships were approaching rather quickly as Perseus once again sprinted up the creaky wooden steps of the ship. He witnessed his men opening crates of extra weapons and giving the weapons to any available man on the Titan's Daughter.Ternesio continued to monitor the incoming ships and looking at the cloudless skies hoping it wasn't the last time he would ever see the radiant sky-blue color.
A distinct horn could be heard from the direction of the other ships as the men mounting and sailing the enemy ships could be seen hurrying around the base of the deck getting ready and into their positions. They were only a mere fifty yards away. Percy could see them grasping planks ready to drop them into position and onto the Titan's Daughter and ready to board the ship.
Two of the enemy ships surrounded the Titan's Daughter on both of its sides while the last remaining ship blocked the bow of the ship. It even rammed the bow of the ship knocking the wooden crafted mermaid off of the bow itself and plunging it into the sea.
The planks were harshly tossed which landed on the Titan's Daughter as men in silky and leather vestments began to board the planks to Ternesio's transport ship. None of them looked particularly nasty or threatening. Despite them wearing similar silky vestments and having the scent of the strong Free City fragrances, neither of the many men standing on the planks looked like a leader.
One of the pirates spoke as he walked cautiously midway through the wooden bridge that connected Ternesio's ship and the other pirate ships. Like Ternesio his face was sunburnt from the constant sailing and feeling the wrath of the harsh sun. As the intrepid pirate smiled in greeting Percy could witness a few of the man's missing teeth whilst the remaining teeth were yellow and rotting which was a common occurrence. His hair untamed and messy almost savage like. The dark and bulgy eyes monitoring Percy and the rest of his men.
"We will be taking your belongings." The nameless pirate responded as he became more courageous by the second daring to step onto the Titan's Daughter.
"Who are you?" Percy demanded as his hand was on the hilt of Tempest ready to engage into battle.
"Names do not matter. These formalities aren't akin to pirates such as myself and the rest of my fellow crew." The nameless pirate responded as he revealed his yellow and rotting smile again.
"I find it rather amusing that you believe that we would simply hand them over." Percy continued coolly with a slight smile at the edge of his lips as he noticed his men start to stir ready for the thrill of combat.
The pirate seemed confused by Percy's response as he was unaccustomed from meeting resistance. He recollected himself and could only laugh out loud. His laugh loud and rough as if his lungs were ready to collapse.
"Very well we will simply take it." The pirate responded confidently and quietly. Without another word the pirate unsheathed his sword from his scabbard and jumped onto the Titan's Daughter main deck as the rest of the pirate crew followed.
As the pirate hopped into midair to land onto their ship, he was struck down immediately by a large great sword held by Ser Berin Cave. His lifeless body crashing to the floor, blood spooling onto the old and worn wooden tiles. The face of the fallen pirate was one of half confusion and half pain as his body was nearly cut in half by Percy's loyal guard.
Percy's men weren't accustomed to fight in small quarters as they struggled to swing their swords and continued to bump into each other. The inexperience with different mercenaries not knowing each other and the lack of awareness to their tendencies proved to be a huge factor in the pirates getting the upper hand.
His men were pushed back with force and were met by another party of pirates behind them. They were being sandwiched in on the already compact deck of the small transport ship. They were battling on three fronts as the pirates mounted from the bow of the ship limiting their movement even more.
The lordling turned to his left and witnessed one of Ternesio's sailors be impaled with a sword in his chest and thrown overboard. The wooden tiles of the Titan's Daughter were flooded with blood. The stench of iron could be smelled throughout the entire ship even masking the salty smell of the sea. Miraculously, none of Percy's men seemed to slip on the liquid substance.
Percy with renewed effort began cutting down anyone in his path. None of the pirates particularly any good at combat except in the element of surprise. Percy swung Tempest in an arch as Valyrian steel cut into the man's skull even piercing the bony solid itself has he heard the sickening crunch. He continued to parry sword after sword easily deflecting hits and slicing and piercing men to their deaths
Percy's hair was full of sweat with blood intermixed. His boiled leather cuirass felt heavier than usual with the blood spills weighing him down. Throughout the battle Percy didn't feel particularly angsty rather he felt joy and excitement. This is what his life had been missing, the thrill of near death. He thrived on adrenaline and fear.
During the thrill of battle, he felt freedom. The burden of his House' legacy didn't weigh him down. The Iron Bank's high demands weren't on his mind. Their sublime power of having their hand in every economic structure in Essos and Westeros also slipped his mind during battle, the only thought in his mind was that he wasn't going to die, he couldn't.
Percy continued to hack his enemies down with extreme speed and power as his enemies cowered in fear as the last hope of House Jackson destroyed anything in his path. Ser Berin Cave right on at his side as they continued to mow down their enemies.
The Armored Bravos easily and quickly pierced the hearts of the pirates as they were much quicker and lighter on their feet. The rest of the mercenaries either using two handed great swords to cut their enemies in half or using a steel sword and shield to fend of the lightly armored pirates.
The battle lasted about two hours as the final pirate yielded, realizing his brethren were massacred with ease. The casualties for Percy's men was about fifteen dead and several more wounded. Most of the deceased on his side were male servants and some of Terenesio' sailors. The victory of the battle due to the superior battle capabilities of armor and experience and the underprepared pirates.
The last sailor looked at Ternesio and Percy with contempt and utter hatred as he was transported to a holding cell within the transport ship. The remaining surviving servants quickly getting on the task of scrubbing the now dry blood off the wooden tiles. Percy hastily cleaned Tempest as blood dropped off the blade itself. Even after cutting down dozens of men the Valyrian Steel sword held the same sharpness as before.
Ternesio lingered behind the lordling like a puppy with his tail behind his legs now witnessing that Percy wasn't an individual to be trifled with. From first glance Ternesio believed that the haughty young lord could be easily manipulated. He thought he would be naïve. He couldn't be any more wrong.
"Very well. Let's lay our dead to rest. Cover them in the finest silks we brought along and throw them overboard. We must appease whatever deity lingers beneath the sea or blesses Naval warfare." Percy gave orders to the servants as they hastily began to open crates full of cloth.
Percy lamented the fallen men he had lost. However, he knew not to be distressed over death, it would eventually gain a grasp of him as well. As they laid the dead to rest many of the mercenaries themselves begun to pick the corpses of the fallen servants and warriors as they tossed them overboard and watched as they submerged into the unknown depths of the sea.
Page Break
It was nearing dusk as half of the sun could only be seen now. The sky the brilliant color of orange and the last hope of natural light. They had stayed anchored in the same exact spot of the naval battle. After they had paid their respect to their fallen men and laid them to rest, they had gathered to eat a makeshift banquet in the cabin of the Titan's Daughter.
Percy, however, knew he had to hurry his men to eat because he wanted to explore the ships left behind by the pirates. He knew they were still in excellent condition. Those ships were a spoil of war in his eyes. The start of perhaps of his navy. But he wasn't going to get ahead of himself. He knew those three ships would be the transport for him and his men to Dragonstone and he would dispose of Ternesio and his whimpering.
As they explored the first ship, they noticed how much more spacious it was compared to their current transport. The wooden tiles were polished and held an impeccable shine as Percy continued to walk through the bottom cabin. The living quarters were surprisingly tidy and clean and held better sleeping bunkers overall as the beds were bunked on top of each other with the nicest and smoothest blankets.
As they dwelled deeper and deeper into the cargo area of the ship, they found crates upon crates full of supplies. Some exquisite items from Lorath such as the fine velvet, walrus tusks, and whale oil. The fine red wine of Lys also included. However, the greatest loot of all was the chest full of thousands of Golden Dragons. The mercenaries behind Percy licking their lips in greed and vanity.
"Golden Dragons. The currency used in Westeros by wealthy nobles for the most part. I'm guessing they intercepted a ship transporting it." Ser Berin Cave said as he looked at the valuable currency.
"That's odd. Wouldn't the Iron Bank or the lords in charge of their money want it heavily protected?" Cave asked himself out loud.
"They don't care anymore. As soon as it leaves the ports of Braavos it isn't their issue anymore. Tycho once told me that it was the individual who needed the coin that was in charge of transporting to its necessary destination. They only supplied the finances the one in debt supplies the brawn. From then on the Iron Bank just collects its debt." Percy smiled as he couldn't believe his luck.
"Besides what man wants to die for another man's coin?" The mercenaries behind Percy stirred a bit knowing fully the rhetorical question Percy was asking.
"So, what shall we do the wealth?" One of the mercenaries asked the underlying question.
"We'll keep it. Once we get to land, we will need destriers." Percy responded knowing he had to plan ahead with everything. Make sure every single coin was spent resourcefully without loss.
Seeing how easily pirates could intercept coin transports worried him even more. He knew that Tycho would be sending the mercenaries wages through ships. The scenarios that transpired through his head weren't pretty. A mutiny from the lack of wages and getting himself killed by his own mercenary company wasn't a fitting end either.
Before Nightfall the entire ships worth of ill-gotten gains was rounded onto one ship. The total Golden Dragon count neared one hundred thousand. Knowing that was nothing compared to the wealth, vassals and lords of the other kingdoms held. That was mere spending money for some. Some of the vassals and lords in the Reach were banks themselves holding insurmountable wealth.
Ternesio was tossed aside onto the Titan's Daughter, he was no longer needed after Percy and his men had decided to confiscate the other three battle ships left behind by the pirates. His services were no longer required. Ternesio was not paid a single golden dragon for the troubles as Percy realized he was only a vulture looking to find easy prey and easy coin.
Even some of his longest tenured sailors had defected to Percy's cause. Well those that had survived the battle. The sailors realizing the young teen's courageous actions and fighting capabilities made him a much safer candidate to lead them and fight for their safety.
By the time the moon had risen the Titan's Daughter was heading in a different direction towards Braavos and Percy's campaign nearing the edge of Blackwater Bay and into the ports of Dragonstone. Then being on the land of Dragonstone itself the former seat of power where the Targaryens had once established their right to rule.
A/N So I finals are done. They went pretty well did good on every single one of them.
Now let's get away from that boring stuff and into the more pressing matters. I updated. It was an ehh chapter in my opinion but there it is. Also, I'm going to create a poll on my profile for the love interest for this story because keeping track of the votes is a little bit tedious.
Now, I know Percy might be a bit bland with little emotion for the time being, but it will get better. Being forced into a campaign that he doesn't want to be on does that to him. Tycho using him as a mere pawn doesn't help his morale either.
Also, I wanted to involve some of the folklore from GOT, such as the Night King, White Walkers, but also Squishers, basically fish people that is believed in by the Culture of Crackclaw citizens. Basically, water fish men… But if it's to unrealistic I get it.
But if you guys don't want that I totally get it. And I will not put that into the story.
Anyways thanks for reading.
PS Grammar and sentence structure will eventually get better as I edit the chapters.