Game of Thrones: Path to Glory
A Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice & Fire/Cyberpunk 2077/Witcher/Elder Scrolls/Fallout crossover
…
Chapter 1: The Swallow
Essos. The Disputed Lands.
Flags fluttered in the wind followed by the sounds of cheers and the clattering cacophony of hooves hammering earth and splintering crashes of wood and metal. Aegon wheeled his horse, a charger black as sin, around as he took up another tourney lance offered to him. Hefting it in his arm, getting a feel for the weight of it, Aegon looked over at his opponent.
It had been a few weeks since Aegon and his teachers/family had joined up with the Golden Company. They had recently received word from the Spider that war had now engulfed Westeros following the death of the Usurper Robert Baratheon and the trial and execution of Lord Eddard Stark at the command, or more accurately the whim of the newly crowned Joffrey Baratheon. The Quiet Wolf's eldest son and heir Robb Stark had rallied and mustered his bannermen and levies and marched south from the North and had earned the epithet the Young Wolf after smashing a Lannister host led by the Kingslayer Ser Jaime Lannister of the Kingsguard in the Riverlands and captured the Lion in chains. There were other claimants to the Iron Throne such as the Usurper's younger brothers, Stannis, and Renly Baratheon.
Renly didn't last long despite him having a vast number of soldiers and support from the Stormlands and the Tyrells on his side, but he'd been killed all the same in his own tent. There had been many rumours of how Renly had been assassinated, the most common and popular belief was that his newly appointed Kingsguard, Lady Brienne of Tarth had murdered him for rejecting her advances. With Renly dead, the Tyrells had retreated back to Highgarden in the Reach and the Stormlanders had merged with Stannis' host, making him by far the largest and strongest contender for the Iron Throne.
With the chaos that had been happening in Westeros, Varys had sent word to Aegon's mentor and father-figure, Lord Jon Connington, to join the Golden Company and have Aegon learn the life of a soldier. A couple of months of drilling and a few skirmishes later, Aegon had been learning what it meant to be a soldier. It was then Captain-General Myles 'Blackheart' Toyne had called for a squire's tourney, for a variety of reasons; one was to reveal Aegon to the Golden Company captains, the second being to give the squires in the Golden Company a chance to show off their skills and give them a chance to earn their spurs.
After being introduced to the Golden Company, Aegon had then taken part in the Tourney. He'd faced off against other squires, riding hard and sure, knocking a few off their horses. Some his lance broke off their shields earning him a point. His opponents had given as good as they got against him, and a few had come close to knocking him off his horse. But whether it was through luck or skill (Aegon liked to think it was skill), Aegon had prevailed and was now facing off the next squire, a pimply dark-skinned Dornish boy that rode a horse that was as foul tempered as him.
Aegon's charger snorted and pawed the ground with one hoof. It seemed like to charge before the herald could even sound his trumpet, and in all honesty, Aegon couldn't blame his steed for its eagerness. He'd have liked to charge out and meet his foe too instead of waiting. After a torturously long moment that felt like an hour rather than a minute, the herald blew his horn and Aegon hardly needed to kick his horse into a gallop for it did so as the horn was called. Setting his eyes firmly on his opponent, Aegon couched his lance, aiming for the chest. His opponent seemed to be aiming his lance at his head. As the lance neared Aegon's head, he twisted his head to the side, narrowly avoiding the blunted tip of the lance and lunged with his own lance. The Dornish boy gave a strangled cry and fell off his horse as Aegon's lance smashed and shattered against his chest, knocking him backwards through the force and inertia.
The crowd of assembled knights, lords, ladies, magisters, and the like cheered wildly as Aegon raised his now shattered lance in triumph while a maester and a team of stretcher bearers carried the dazed and winded squire off the field to be treated.
The next two squires made their passes at each other, giving Aegon a chance to rest his charger. Ser Rolly Duckfield helped Aegon off his horse and helped him pull of his helmet. "You're doing well, lad. I've taught you well it seems," the shaggy-haired knight proclaimed proudly as he offered Aegon a skin of water.
"I like to think so, ser," Aegon replied with a smile, but then his smile faltered as he said, "My pardon, but for a moment when I'm tilting against the other squires, it almost feels like they're letting me win."
"How do you mean, my prince?" Rolly asked.
"I don't really know," Aegon replied. "It feels as though when I come nearer to them, their aim isn't quite as sure or they slow down as they ride closer," he said uncertainly.
"Perhaps you're seeing things," Rolly said easily. "I mean, you were revealed to everyone as the lost son of Prince Rhaegar Targaryen," he added. "So, mayhap the other squires don't intend to harm you too much?" he offered.
"I'd rather they did intend to, Ser," Aegon said sternly. "How else will I win the respect of the Golden Company captains if the other squires go easy on me?"
"As you say, my prince," Rolly said with a nod of his head. "Anyway, best get your helmet back on and onto your horse. You're up against the last squire," he advised.
"Good," Aegon said with a nod of his head as he put his helm back on, fastening it before climbing back onto his charger. Flicking the reins, Aegon had his horse trot out and he picked up a tourney lance. He looked over at his opponent and spotted the three castles on a field of orange on his shield. House Peake, Aegon thought vaguely, a house that had lost two of its castles in their numerous rebellions. Ages before during the Dance of Dragons, the patriarch of House Peake had tried to have his daughter wed to the then King Aegon III but had failed spectacularly to do so. A wry smirk passed over Aegon's lips under his helm as he thought of denying a house of rebels another victory.
Readying himself, Aegon waited for the sound of the horn and quickly enough, the trumpeting sound of the horn blew. With a kick, Aegon's steed charged into a gallop same as the Peake's did. Aegon and his opponent made numerous passes at each, breaking their lances off each other's shields. One pass, Aegon was nearly knocked off his horse, but he quickly caught himself and pulled himself upright and grabbed another lance and charged again. Again, his lance broke off his opponent's shield, but the same was for the Peake squire.
Soon after, Lord Jon called it a to halt and bade them to present themselves and asked for Blackheart to make the final judgement. Aegon tried not to let his tiredness show as the Blackheart stared at him and Peake in a calculating manner with hard eyes before speaking loudly for all who were present to hear.
"Both of these young men performed admirably. They've both shown great skill at lances and horsemanship. A true show of chivalry," he said slowly before adding, "But from what I'd seen with my own eyes, it was Prince Aegon who couched his lance more skilfully throughout this tourney. Let it be known that the prince has won!"
The crowd cheered and clapped wildly. Aegon raised his helmet high and gave a beaming smile, elated that he'd won his first tourney. The Peake boy scowled and left the field, muttering curses under his breath.
"Prince Aegon. Approach, please," Lord Jon said, his face stern but proud. Aegon dismounted his horse and stood before his mentor. "Kneel." Aegon did so as Lord Jon drew his sword and spoke, "Aegon Targaryen, do you swear before the eyes of the gods and men to defend those who cannot defend themselves, to protect all women and children, to obey your captains, to fight bravely when needed and do other such tasks, no matter how hard or humble or dangerous they may be?"
Aegon looked up at Lord Jon and nodded his head. "I do, my lord," he said bravely.
Lord Jon then rested the tip of his sword on Aegon's right shoulder before moving it to his left and spoke the words. "In the name of the Warrior, I charge you to be brave. In the name of the Father, I charge you to be just. In the name of the Mother, I charge you to protect the young and innocent. In the name of the Maiden, I charge you to protect all women. In the name of the Smith, I charge you to be diligent. In the name of the Crone, I charge you to be wise and serve as a guiding force for all those who come after you. Arise, Ser Aegon Targaryen!"
Aegon rose to his feet and if he had thought the cheering before was loud, this was colossal. "A knight, a knight!" one woman cried out. One man shouted at the top of his lungs, "Ser Aegon Targaryen! The Conqueror Reborn!"
Myles Toyne stepped down from his seat as servants rushed forward, carrying a chest of cedar wood and polished copper. Myles bowed his head as the chest was opened.
"Blackfyre!" Aegon breathed out as he gazed upon what lay within. The fabled sword of Aegon the Conqueror and used by many Targaryen Kings until it was given away. The sword of kings and pretenders. It was beautiful; the blade was all Valyrian steel, dark and smoky, almost black in colour with ripples all along from there metal had been folded a thousand times over. A gleaming red faceted ruby was set in the pommel, beautifully and elegantly cut into a diamond shape while the hilt was fashioned out of smooth and polished dragonglass and the ends of the crossguard were wrought into roaring dragon heads of cold black iron.
'The sword that was lost has now returned to its rightful owners' Aegon thought to himself. He smiled bowing his head in thanks before taking up the sword and was given an ebon wood and leather sheath for it and tied to it to his belt.
Lord Jon then spoke to Aegon in a whisper. "Well done, my prince." Although the exiled Lord of Griffin's Roost face was stern, his pale blue eyes shone with pride and joy.
"Thank you, Lord Jon. I won't let you down," Aegon whispered to him before turning to the crowd and raised his gauntleted hand high and everyone cheered.
Soon, a call for refreshments was announced and Jon said to Aegon, "You'd best get out of that armour for the feast now, boy. I'll see you there." Aegon nodded at this and headed into the camp where his tent would be, intent of taking off his armour and changing into something more suitable for the feast. As he neared his tent, Aegon spied dark cloud growing on the horizon.
"A storm? That's unfortunate," he muttered to himself as he entered his tent where he began to take off his armour and set it aside in a neat pile.
…
Some servants had drawn Aegon a bath, something he was grateful for. He had worked up quite a bit of sweat and dust in the tourney, so a hot bath was certainly a welcome sight. After spending almost an hour in the large wooden tub, scrubbing his skin until it was pink and raw, Aegon climbed out of the bath, dried himself off before dressing himself.
Dressing himself in black trousers, a lambswool shirt and leather jerkin and fine but plain leather boots, Aegon looked at himself in the looking glass. His reflection stared back at him with a small smile present on its lips.
"I'm a knight," Aegon murmured to himself before giving a chuckle. "Still can't believe it," he added before he looked at his sword, Blackfyre, propped up against the table. His smile widening, Aegon tied the sword onto his belt and looked at himself once again in the looking glass.
"Did the Conqueror ever feel this way?" Aegon asked himself. And then there came a rumble of thunder and wind began to blow. The tent flaps began to flap and ripple as wind blew into the tent.
"A storm? At this hour?" Aegon asked himself with a sigh of frustration as he prepared to exit his tent. Then there came a fizzing, hissing crackling sound and a strange scent hit Aegon's nose making it wrinkle as he tried to identify what the smell was. Then a burst of light filled the tent, blinding Aegon forcing him to cover his eyes with his hands and a shockwave knocked him to the ground. Fumbling for his sword, Aegon drew it out and uncovered his eyes to see a bizarre sight before him.
A young woman with ash blonde hair done up in a bun with a few loose strands waving about her face. She was quite pretty Aegon observed, although the scar that started from the bottom of her left eye and curved down her cheek did diminish her beauty, but she was still lovely to behold. Her eyes opened to reveal bright emerald orbs. She wore a white tunic with elbow length leather gloves, form fitting trousers that showed of her long and toned legs. A metal belt hung low on her wide hips and Aegon spotted the hilt of a longsword poking over the young woman's shoulder.
Aegon locked eyes with the young woman who stared. "Umm, hello?" Aegon said awkwardly. "Are you alright? How did you get in my tent?" he then asked.
"Where am I?" the young woman said ignoring Aegon's query.
"You're in the Disputed Lands of Essos," Aegon said to his seemingly otherworldly guest. "Who are you, my lady?" he asked.
The young woman looked at him for a long moment before she smiled politely and gave her name. "Ciri. My name is Ciri," she told him.
"A pleasure to meet you, Lady Ciri," Aegon then said letting the strange name roll off his tongue. "I am Ser Aegon Targaryen, recently knighted," he introduced himself before going back to his earlier question. "How did you get here in my tent?" he asked her.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Ciri said with a smile.
"Try me," Aegon said with a smile of his own.
"I have the power to move between time and space to other worlds," Ciri said matter-of-factly.
"Time and space? Other worlds?" Aegon echoed. "How can such a thing be possible?" he wondered out loud.
"Magic. Very powerful magic," Ciri said as though it were that simple.
"I see," Aegon said with a nod of his head. "Can anyone do what you do?" he enquired.
"Not quite. My power is… unique," Ciri replied.
"I see," Aegon muttered. Before he could say or ask anything further, a sudden gust of cold freezing wind blew through the tent making him shiver.
"Seven Hells! Has Winter come already?" he said with a curse. Ciri on the other hand froze up, a look of fear on her features.
"Oh, no. They've found me!" she said in a hushed voice. "I thought I'd shaken them off?" she asked herself.
"Who's found you?" Aegon asked Ciri in confusion. Ciri did not answer as she ran out of the tent. Curious as to what his guest had referred to, Aegon ran out after her and when he saw what was happening outside, he could not help but gape like a trout.
It was utter bedlam outside as a blizzard raged all around the encampment. Even more disturbingly, massive horses bearing armoured men of a size that Aegon would wager that rivalled Gregor Clegane rode about. Galloping alongside the riders they caused chaos and carnage were what Aegon thought looked like hounds but were covered in icicles and crystal growths.
"What in Seven Hells is going on?!" Aegon exclaimed as he prepared his sword. He soon spotted Ciri who was looking at the confusion with horror in her emerald eyes. "Lady Ciri? What the bloody fuck is going on?!" he asked.
"The Wild Hunt!" Ciri quickly said. "They're after me!" she added and she looked at Aegon and asked, "Do you have horses?"
"What?" Aegon squawked in confusion.
"Do you have horses? I need to draw them away from here!" Ciri shouted.
"This way!" Aegon said as he began to lead Ciri over to where the horses were hitched. The horses whinnied in fear and were trying to break free of their bonds. Aegon grabbed the nearest two and handed the reins of one to Ciri. "Do you know how to ride?" he asked her.
Ciri easily swung herself up into the saddle and flicked the reins. Aegon shrugged his shoulders and mounted his horse and with a kick, he spurred his steed into following Ciri's.
The pair then galloped through the encampment and sure enough, the Wild Hunt spotted them and gave chase on their massive warhorses.
"Faster! Go!" Aegon urged his steed who huffed and snorted as its hooves pounded the earth. The wind filled the air like the howling of wolves. Aegon heard guttural snarls and huffs and looked to see the strange hounds catching up towards him and Ciri. Drawing Blackfyre, Aegon prepared to swing the Valyrian blade at the closest one to him when it suddenly lunged and dug its claws deep into the horse. The horse gave a scream of pain and fell over and Aegon went flying out of the saddle and hit the ground, landing on his back. The wind driven from him, Aegon gasped his vision filled with stars and it was sheer luck he still gripped his sword as one of the hounds came bounding up to him.
But before Aegon could recover his breath and lift his sword in time, Ciri leapt over him and swung her own sword at the hound, slicing it in half. The ashen-haired girl twirled her sword almost theatrically, her emerald eyes burning fiercely.
Then a deep growling voice spoke. "Cirilla…" The sound of heavy armour clinking as it moved was heard and Aegon managed to sit up and see what he could only assume was the leader of those that hunted Ciri walking towards them. A massive sword with a jagged blade was in the monstrosity's gauntleted hand as the skull-faced helmet stared at them balefully.
"You cannot run forever, Cirilla!" the leader of the Hunt said in his deep menacing voice. "Wherever you go, we shall hunt you!" he threatened.
"You haven't caught me yet!" Ciri bit out as her frame suddenly glowed with bright green-white light. She whirled around and grabbed a hold of Aegon and in a flash of light, they disappeared.
…
It was a kaleidoscope of colours, images, people and things Aegon had never seen or imagined before. Ciri was nowhere to be seen and suddenly Aegon's vision was filled with darkness and he floated gently down.
'Is this how it ends?' Aegon thought to himself. 'Spend the rest of eternity in godsforsaken darkness?' He almost wanted to weep at the harshness of such a fate.
Then walking out of the darkness was a rather odd man. He wore a mustard yellow tunic with loose brown pants and fingerless gloves on his hands. His facial features were plain to an unnerving degree as a friendly smile curved on his lips.
The man then spoke with a friendly tone in his voice. "Well, now, what have we here?" he said. "Awful place to be, isn't it?" he added in a jesting tone.
"Who are you?" Aegon asked the man cautiously.
"Me? Merely a vagrant merchant who caters to the wishes of his clients. That's all," the man replied easily. "Seems you're in a spot of bother right now, aren't you?" he said knowingly.
"Where are we?" Aegon asked as he looked around the dark void.
"Oh, not a place you want to be," the 'merchant' said nonchalantly. "Let's see if we can fix that, hmm?" he suddenly scooped Aegon up in his arms and carried him to… somewhere.
"Why are you helping me?" Aegon asked cautiously. "You don't even know who I am," he pointed.
"Why ever not?" the merchant said jovially. "Besides, you interest me. You seem like someone on the path to glory," he added. He then set Aegon down somewhere and Aegon suddenly realised they were now in a desert. The merchant then started to walk away but not before looking over his shoulder and saying, "I'm curious about something, Aegon Targaryen; would rather live in peace as a perfect Mr Nobody? Or go down for all time as a legend in a blaze of glory?" He smiled before continuing on his way and said, "I look forward to your answer."
Aegon then heard more footsteps crunching on desert sand and he looked up to see a shadowy figure standing over him before he lost consciousness.
…
Aegon awoke to feel something damp being dabbed on his forehead and he was suddenly greeted by the sight of a young woman with tan skin and dark curly hair done in a braided bun. Warm brown eyes looked at Aegon's own purple as the young woman smiled and said, "Morning there, sleepyhead." Her accent was clearly foreign and it wasn't any accent Aegon recognised and he had heard most of them growing up in Essos.
"Where am I?" Aegon asked, his voice slurring a little as he tried to sit up in what he assumed was a bed or cot of some kind. The young woman dabbing at his forehead pushed him back down with strong arms.
"Easy there, kid," she said to him firmly. "You've been out for a while now," she told him.
"How long?" Aegon asked.
"About a day," the young woman told him. "How did you end up in the Badlands? Were you with a convoy? Or did you get attacked by Raffen-Shiv?" she asked.
"Raffen-Shiv?" Aegon parroted the strange word.
"Nomad outlaws," the young woman clarified for him. "So, I'm guessing you don't know who the Raffen-Shiv are, but that still doesn't explain why I found you out in the Badlands," she said with a raised eyebrow.
"Where are the Badlands?" Aegon asked.
"Badlands are just outside of Night City," his nurse said. A blank look from Aegon and she added, "Night City of the New United States of America?" A slow shake of his head came from Aegon. "Where are you from?" she then asked seriously.
"The Disputed Lands of Essos," Aegon said immediately.
"Disputed Lands of Essos? Is that somewhere in Europe?"
"Europe?"
The young woman stared at Aegon and asked him, "What's your name?"
"Aegon Targaryen, Sixth of his name, recently knighted," Aegon replied deciding to tell the truth.
"Funny name. And recently knighted, you're like an actual knight? As in rescuing princesses from towers, slaying dragons and all that shit?" the young woman asked sceptically.
"Well, I haven't rescued any princesses from towers just yet," Aegon said dryly as he sat up in the bed. "And dragons are all dead where I'm from," he added.
"Huh," came the woman's response. "Well, I'm Panam Palmer. I found you out near the Aldecaldo camp when I was doing my patrol and brought you here," she then said.
"Thank you, my lady," Aegon said to his rescuer gratefully.
"I'm no lady," Panam said with an amused smile on her lips. "Anyway, Saul will want to talk to you. Find out how you got here and see if you need some help," she added as she stood up and prepared to leave when suddenly a bearded man wearing rugged looking clothes walked into the tent.
"Saul? I thought you were busy," Panam said rather than asked.
"I was, but I finished sooner than expected," Saul replied stiffly as he looked at her with what Aegon could guess was a glare. "Hope you don't mind if I talk with your stray here," he said as he walked over to sit near Aegon.
"I was just leaving," Panam said with a slight glare before leaving the tent. Aegon watched her leave before focussing his attention on Saul who stared at him calmly.
"So, what's your name, kid?" Saul then asked.
"Aegon Targaryen," Aegon replied formally.
"Not the strangest I've heard, but definitely unique," Saul said with a nod of his head. "Funny accent you got there. You from Europe?" he asked.
"Don't even know where Europe is," Aegon stated.
"Huh, would've thought with an accent like yours you'd be British or European," Saul muttered. "So, how did you end up in the Badlands?" he asked.
"I don't quite know," Aegon admitted and he then told Saul of how he came to be in the Badlands wherever they were. Saul listened, a slight look of disbelief on his rugged features and when Aegon finished, he spoke.
"Well, I don't know if the cyber-ware you're packing is on the fritz or you're smoking some seriously good shit, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt," he said. "Still, it isn't the Aldecaldo way to leave someone in distress," he added.
"Cyber-ware?" Aegon parroted.
"What? You ain't got cyber-ware on you?" Saul asked.
Aegon shook his head and Saul's eyes suddenly focussed intensely on Aegon for a moment before he relaxed his eyes and said, "Well, shit. You got no chrome whatsoever in you at all. Pretty rare to find someone like that these days."
"What is this cyber-ware and chrome?" Aegon asked curiously.
"We'll tell you later. For now, rest up. We'll talk again later," Saul replied as he prepared to leave the tent.
Aegon then stopped him, "Where are my effects? My sword and my clothes?" he asked.
"Just in that chest there," Saul replied pointing to a long metal chest resting at the foot of the bed. "Get some rest, now, kid," he advised before leaving.
Aegon lay back on the bed and heaved a tired sigh. "Seven Hells, what have I gotten myself into?" he asked himself.
"I guess… I guess I'll just deal with it as I go," he finally said to himself after a long moment of thought before he closed his eyes and surrendered himself to sleep.
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: There! First chapter of this is done and dusted! I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter of the very first Cyberpunk/Game of Thrones crossover because I was a little hesitant to write this, so any feedback and constructive criticisms is appreciated.
I was also inspired by Rio Skyron's Fallout New Vegas/Cyberpunk crossover, but I decided to go a different route by having Aegon land in the care of Panam and the Aldecaldos instead of Judy and Mox. I'd thought about Aegon being found by Jackie and Mama Welles, but I decided against, but rest assured Aegon will meet and become friends with Jackie and later on V.
So, some of you might ask if Aegon will get any cyber-ware. Truth be told, I'm not entirely certain if Aegon would be open to getting cyber-ware. Of course, one would need cyber-ware in Night City just to use even the simplest of things in such a place and have some modicum of decent living. And I'll bet Aegon could see the benefits of having cyber-ware like Mantis-Blades, Gorilla Arms and the like, but he might hesitate at the thought of changing his own flesh and blood form so much that he may no longer be able to recognise himself in the end. Of course, Aegon will definitely use his sword to fight with, and pick up the use of guns/firearms. Plus being an actual knight might start a growing legend around Aegon being the legendary Knight of Night City.
Anyways, that's about all I have so I'll leave this here and see you all in the next one.
Be kind to one another,
Angry lil' elf.