With my focus on the other stories and completely replanning the end of this story, it's been a long 98 weeks since I uploaded the last chapter. Now though, I'm back! The recent filming news and trailer of House of the Dragon has upped my excitement for both that show and for this story, so, providing I can stick to my one chapter per week schedule, for the next 14 months we are going to be pushing further into the story of Lucerys Targaryen!

And what a chapter to jump into… part of this has been written for a couple of weeks, part of it has been written for almost 100 weeks! All I can say is I hope you enjoy this chapter, and welcome back!

Some housekeeping firstly: According to various places on Google Stannis had around 200 ships on the Blackwater and around 30 of those were Salladhor Saan's sell sails. As Salladhor is dead and his fleet scattered (Chapter 1) for this battle, Stannis will have around 150 ships sailing towards Dragonstone, though we all know who makes up a large portion of those numbers…

Despite the book canon saying one thing, this is a show fic and so I'm going to follow the House of the Dragon's lead in Velaryon castings, all with the Valyrian silver hair and purple eyes. My personal idea on who I am imagining to play these characters are:

Lord Monford Velaryon – Michael B Jordan

Aurane Waters – Jaden Smith.

I own nothing but the OC's. All the familiar characters and locations are the property of either HBO or George R R Martin.

Melisandre was right in one way, the night was certainly very dark. Stannis stood on the deck of the Fury as the castle that he had begrudgingly called his home for almost 17 years was barely visible in the night sky, only illuminated by both the moon and the odd flickers of torchlight from the Targaryen's garrison. The sight of it made Stannis angrier still, knowing that Shireen was somewhere in the middle of it all probably scared half to death.

He was at the back of his fleet as he tended to be whenever he sailed into battle, watching carefully as his ships sailed towards the island with the sole purpose of finishing what Robert had started all those years ago and ending the Targaryen menace. Unfortunately for Stannis however, there were thousands of men that were in his way, eager to fight for this pretender. He could just about see the Golden Company ships in the distance as they rushed to get into formation in order to mount a defence, and Stannis was silently pleased that the tides had given them the chance to attack by night, but the sight of the Golden Company angered him further. He knew his histories well and recalled well enough that his Grandfather had died at the Golden Companies hands.

The faint flicker of flames started to light up across the first wave of Targaryen ships then, and Stannis could only watch as a first volley of catapults shot flaming objects towards them. Only one managed to fire as far as Fury luckily, as the small object flew over Stannis' head and landed in the middle of the deck. Stannis turned and strode towards it, recognising it as a burning head that he presumed was one of his former garrison used as a scare tactic. Stannis wasn't so easily cowered however, and he quickly turned back around to watch the battle, where he saw that only a couple of the flaming heads had managed to hit sails and that a ship belonging to Ser Ormund Wylde was starting to burn slowly. More missiles came quickly, although they must have been heavier as none reached so far as Fury, and over the waves he was starting to hear splintering wood and screams.

He was joined by Melisandre as the third wave was released and found it unsurprising that she would show herself as the fires started claiming men instead of cloth and wood. "If your Lord is to do something, can he do it now so I can rescue my daughter quickly." He muttered dryly.

"The Lord has been quiet recently." Melisandre admitted coldly, a tone at which Stannis almost scoffed.

"Your Lord only shows up when you've gotten something you wanted, My Lady." The Baratheon complained. "You can have the Targaryen once he is in my captivity. They say Targaryen's are occasionally immune to fire, you are free to test that theory out."

From seeing the first engagements from the Chamber of the Painted Table, Luke quickly made his way through the castle of his ancestors, walking through the obsidian Throne Room where he bid Valaxes to remain, and then on into the main entrance hall. There he found himself joined by his Kingsguard knights Ser Franklyn Flowers, Ser Rolly Duckfield and his squire, Ned Dayne. He didn't stop to greet them as he continued to walk, hearing their footsteps slot in behind him.

It was a lengthy walk as he made his way down to the rowboats and it was made in relative silence, as only the howling of the wind and the distant screams of the dying soldiers out in the sea surrounding the island filled Luke's ears. The quartet entered the rowboat and Luke sat facing forwards as they ventured out into the black ocean, where the Vhaegon lay in wait for them.

His crew were the very best sailors and pirates that the lure of the Golden Company could pull, and Luke himself took the helm as he stared towards the flames. He could see several burning husks of ships already, but only two looked like his own. Luke took a deep breath and noticed that the wind was on their side, and so he placed one hand on the wheel and called out. "HALF MAST!"

The call got filtered down the ranks, and Luke looked up and smirked at the brand-new sails that had been attached to the Vhaegon, the golden three headed dragon etched on a black background that had once been Aegon the Second's, and now belonged to him as the perfect blend of his upbringing. It was a symbol as to which ship was his, but Luke enjoyed his enemies hunting him down.

The wind caught the sails and the boat lurched forwards, he could hear his temporary first officer Ser Tristan Rivers barking out orders, the gold rings on his arms knocking together making metallic noises, but the Targaryen's sole focus was aimed at his enemy. Stannis Baratheon was somewhere in the mass of ships firing flaming missiles at one another, and Luke would find him.

The drums started as they passed the last line of Golden Company defence, and Luke began tapping his boot on the wood in time with the tune as he angled the ships wheel to snake seamlessly through his fleet. He had men in charge of the catapults and weapons, so as flaming stones were sent out towards the Stormlander and Florent ships facing him and occasionally setting them alight, Luke just focused on the directions he was aiming as he led his navy towards the flagship of Stannis Baratheon.

Lord Monford Velaryon felt at ease on the water. His ancestors had been seafarers since long before the Targaryen's had abandoned their holdings in Valyria and ever since then had always been loyal to their dragon lord neighbours. Monford's ancestors had ferried the Conqueror's forces over to start his conquest, they had formed a sizable portion of Princess Rhaenyra's armada, and they had stuck with the Dragons as they crumbled into the abyss under Mad Aerys.

Monford had been just a young ship hand serving in his Grandfather's fleet, Lord Lucerys Velaryon the Master of Ships, when the Usurper Robert Baratheon had climbed over dead babies to take the Iron Throne, and both his Grandfather and Father had been among the dead as the storm raged off the coast of Dragonstone the last time Stannis Baratheon came with an armada vying for Targaryen blood. That had cost Monford both of the paternal figures in his life and left him as the Lord of Driftmark as a 13-year-old boy, as well as with a broken fleet he had barely been able to rebuild to the size it had once been. This war however, he was unwillingly on the side of the stag commanding the left flank of the invasion fleet, though not for long.

He had 30 ships under his direct command, not as many as some of his famed ancestors, but enough to make his mark. As the Lord of the Tides noticed a huge, hulking ship with the sigil of Lucerys Targaryen charge forwards, almost shining in the illumination of the flames and the moonlight, Monford smirked.

"Sound the horn, Ser Jason." He told his first officer, a large, bearded knight of House Correy and one of his bannermen. "Let Aurane know to start."

"As you say, My Lord." Ser Jason Correy bowed his head and moved towards the mast, where a large horn was strapped into place. Monford held the ship's wheel in place as he awaited the noise, and the sound of the low, ominous instrument sent chills down his spine.

Almost immediately however his plan was put into place. He could see Velaryon and Celtigar sails all dropping and immediately afterwards the ships began to turn to their right, cutting across the lines of the Stormlander ships so that Ser Davos Seaworth's vanguard filled with Florent and Tarth ships were cut off from the supporting ships. "FULL MAST!" Monford roared. "ALL HANDS TO STARBOARD!" Below him all the archers and weapons experts rushed to the right of the ship as it was the turn of Monford's ship, the Pride of Driftmark, to make its turn. Monford spun the wheel to the right and locked his knees so that he didn't lurch as the Velaryon flagship spun around, at a 90-degree angle to all of the ships in the battle. "FOR DRIFTMARK! FIRE!" Monford roared.

Fire arrows and large boulders were shot out from his right-hand side, and he could hear the screams and the impact caused by his assault on the nearby Estermont ship. In the distance he grinned as he saw Aurane's ship, the Loyal Bastard, make a beeline for Lord Alester Florent's ship. Grinning, he in turn looked around and saw the silhouette of the large, triple decked war galley of Stannis Baratheon. Grinning, Monford began shouting orders once more. "TO ARMS EVERYONE! TO ARMS!" He himself moved one hand to check his sword was still in place as he swung the Pride of Driftmark to face the Baratheon flagship, ready to take out the man that he blamed for his Father and Grandfather's death.

The rightful King of the Seven Kingdom's had always hated Dragonstone. Robert had given it to him as an insult, and despite the peace of Robert's rule, the bannermen had always kept their distance from Stannis. Now, despite them all bending their knee and swearing their swords and ships to him, Stannis saw their betrayal first hand.

"Oars." He said calmly to Ser Imry Florent at his side. "Ram Lord Velaryon and break his pride apart."

He didn't wait long as the call went up, and Stannis unsheathed his blade and walked down the steps as the Fury lurched forwards with pace despite the winds being against them. "To arms!" He called. "Swords and spears!" He then walked over to the captain of the scorpions that lined his top deck. "Fire at the Pride of Driftmark as much as you can before we hit them." He ordered, and then that call went up. Stannis began moving to the middle of his ship as he took off his cape, thinking that it would only get in the way. Standing by the middle mast he looked around as his soldiers all had their swords out, waiting for him to say something. "The Velaryon's have turned their cloaks!" Stannis called out to them. "Let us put the traitors to the sword."

Some cheers went up, but Stannis didn't care. He gripped onto one of the ropes awaiting the impact as he noticed the dark silhouette of the Pride of Driftmark grow closer, the sails turning from black to turquoise until he was jolted forwards.

The air was filled with a loud crack as the Fury just managed to crash into the left side of the Velaryon flagship head on. Looking out he saw that the two ships were locked together, and Velaryon men were rushing onto the Fury with swords out. "Get us free of them!" Stannis heard Ser Imry call from behind, and he nodded at the instruction before a man in Velaryon colours was running at him. Stannis ducked the axe blow and hacked his sword into his assailant's midriff, pulling his sword free with a splash of blood and guts. As the smell of blood filled his nose and screams of the dying filled his ears, it was clear that the battle had truly begun now, and as Stannis carved through men he had once thought of as his own, he was determined that he would get past them all to rescue his daughter.

As the Velaryon deception took place, Luke had his part of the battle to focus on. While planning with the Velaryon bastard Luke had discovered that one of the better sailors and the leader of the first wave of ships was to be a former smuggler and among one of the only people in the world Stannis Baratheon called a friend. As Luke had both hands on the wheel he was watching the Baratheon fleet being split in half by his new friends. Peering forwards Luke could see the onion sigil adorning shields on the nearest ship and he smirked. "PREPARE THE DRAGON!" He screamed.

Men rushed to the front of the ship, and Luke just steered directly at the Black Bertha until the assault ramp was lowered, crunching into the smugglers ship and sending splintered wood everywhere. Luke heard the roar of his men as they went to board the enemy ship and he knew he needed to go too. "Rivers, man the wheel." He commanded.

"Aye, Your Grace." Tristan Rivers bowed, and Luke handed control of the ship over to the bastard. He rushed down the steps and towards the dragon ramp, stepping up and running between the ships, unsheathing Blackfyre before he jumped off and rammed the Valyrian Steel sword into the chest of a Stormlander. Retrieving his blade, he then jabbed it into somebody else's throat, relishing the adrenaline of battle.

House Velaryon were sailors, not warriors. That was evident to Stannis after the seventh man he killed in quick succession, opening the dark-haired sailor's throat. His men were holding off those of Driftmark that had tried to take the Fury rather than abandon there almost sunken ship easily enough, but outside of his vessel the battle didn't look like it was going well at all.

But instead of being distracted, Stannis thrust his blade into yet another Velaryon midriff, pulling it back out and then slashing out at the vulnerable neck sending his attacker to the floor. He took a quick glance over the side of the ship and saw the Pride of Driftmark finally being claimed by the black sea. As the fighting on the Fury began to die down, Stannis took a breath as he watched the wider sea battle.

For every aflame Golden Company ship, three of his own were burning. The Evenstar of Tarth had rallied with his Grandfather's own Estermont ships and had punched a hole back through the Velaryon blockade, but even then beyond the horizon he could see that Ser Davos' squad of ships were being overrun. Stannis rarely got emotional, but as he stared out over the side of the Fury he hoped that the former smuggler would be able to regroup and push on towards the island.

Then he felt a punch in his right shoulder as the Baratheon was sent down to the deck onto his hands and knees. He growled in agony as he saw the turquoise arrow fletching indicating House Velaryon again. He grimaced and then forced himself up to his feet, only to be assaulted with a large body before a loud slamming sounded by Stannis' left ear.

"Your Grace, we have to move!" Ser Imry cried, and Stannis noticed that he was holding a shield up by Stannis' head, an arrow just poking out beyond the steel and oak. Stannis himself was starting to feel too weak to complain as he was getting dragged away towards the lower decks. "SOUND THE RETREAT!" Ser Imry was calling. "GET OUR SHIPS OUT OF THERE!"

"No!" Stannis tried to cry out, but his protestations weren't getting listened to. "We fight on!"

The horn blast bellowed anyway however, and as rough hands dragged him below deck, the last thing Stannis said before he passed out was. "I'm sorry, Shireen…"

His hair was getting whipped around his face from the winds that Luke was almost finding it difficult to see despite the trail of bodies being left behind him. His adrenaline and his bloodlust was up so high that the sound of the horn bellowing through the winds came as a disappointment. Luke hacked one knight of House Amberly's arm off before bringing Blackfyre back to punch through his neck before allowing himself a moment to look around.

The fighting was still going strong on the ships nearest to him, but in the distance through the fires and the darkness he could see ships turning away. Grinning, Luke returned his focus to the fighting in front of him and continued to kill the Stormlanders that rushed toward him. Separating limbs and opening bodies of half a dozen more men when a ringing bell sounded from the captain's quarters.

Looking over, Luke saw an elderly man ringing a bell with his left hand, his sword still bouncing around on the wooden floor. As the bell continued to ring he heard more clattering, as weapons of all kinds were dropped in surrender.

Still with Blackfyre out and dripping with blood, Luke made the short walk over to the bellringer. "A wise decision, Ser…?"

"Davos Seaworth milord." The man stated, taking his hand away from the bell and facing the Targaryen. Luke looked him up and down and nodded, taking note of the pouch around his neck.

"The famed Onion Knight." Luke smirked. "Your heroics at Storm's End are widely known even to me."

Ser Davos shrugged. "I only did what I thought was right."

"And you have been well rewarded by the Usurper's brother for it." Luke said, his mirth gone from his voice. "Until now, it seems that he has abandoned you, Onion Knight."

Ser Davos, too his credit, gave no reaction other than defiance. "He will live to fight another day, whilst I am but a smuggler who will only be mourned by a few."

Luke took a deep breath in frustration. "Nonetheless, you were smart in surrendering." He commented, before turning to face his men. "Gather the prisoners and chain them to the rails." He ordered, turning back to Ser Davos. "The battle is ours!"

He listened to the cheers with a smirk upon his lips, but in the back of his mind Luke was furious. He had captured a loyal advisor of course, but Stannis Baratheon still drew breath, and that thought irritated the Targaryen King more than he would ever care to admit.

I'm not very good with naval battles, especially in this period without cannons and gunpowder, but I hope I did alright!

With so many ships it's difficult to guess how many need to be sunk before it's obvious that the day is lost, but I did some research and throughout history it was often never many, and with an injured Stannis I felt that his first mate would have sounded the retreat rather than try and push through both the Velaryon lines as well as the Golden Company behind them.

Davos led the charge on the Blackwater, and he did so again here. He is also a smart man, so knows when to stop fighting.

Thank you all for reading! I promise the next upload won't take as long!

Next Time: After sending Stannis scurrying Luke plans for the next phase of his conquest, while Jon Connington tries to gain the alliance of the Reach.

Reviews:

Silver crow: It'll be a tough ask for Luke to claim he's greater than the Conqueror himself at the moment, let alone greater than famed warriors like Aemon the Dragonknight, Daemon Targaryen and Daeron the Young.

TheOnlyKing: I think Melisandre does have good intentions, she's just a fanatic which is always dangerous.

Blackwidow713: At the moment the only person that knows about Jon's claim is in Greywater Watch and isn't moving. For this story Jon will be a mid to late game player for the most, his first appearance according to my plan is Chapter 33!

Moshi: It's a good job that this is a show fic then and all the characters are aged up from the books. Shireen has had her period in this story, as was mentioned and confirmed in Chapter 13. Luke doesn't care about Shireen, he cares about Storm's End and Shireen is the heir to Storm's End. Therefore all Shireen is to Luke is a tool to control the Stormlands with.

Guest (AHAH Sequel): It is fully planned out so it will definitely be happening! I'm just not sure if it will happen at the same time as this story or not as this is the one I want to focus on. I've learnt from previous experiences that too many massive ideas at once is a disaster waiting to happen.

Guest (Margaery): She's a lot smarter than eating shit just to climb the social ranks…

Black Magic99: It will slow down at some point, but for the most part in my stories the major conflicts come later on, whereas we are in Season 2 territory in this one.

sovietgod03: That would have been such a funny idea if Stannis would have died!

Hail King Cerion: Well eventually it's here… sorry it's so late! Stannis is still about… I'm not sure how in depth I'll go later on with Ronnet, but he's got a few scenes over the next few chapters and as for the last one, it was important for him to be there as a Stormlander voice that's got familial ties with a supposed traitor.

Balerus the black dread: Here you are!

Nicolaclair: It's been too long I know, but if you're reading again then I hope it continues to interest you!

Guest (continuing): I was always going to, I just needed to get around to it!