Chapter 9
Pyke: The Iron Islands
288: Seven years after the rebellion
Balon Greyjoy, Lord Reaper of Pyke, had waited and bided his time to strike. For too long, the IronBorn had suffered under the rule of the mainlanders. The Iron Islands had no use for farming; they only survived by the sea.
His father before him had been a fool to support the Stag, what had that gotten him dead? leaving the ruling of Pyke to Balon. The once-fruitful raiding targets of the North Western Coast were no longer an option.
The Wolf at Seadragon Point had a fucking navy of his own. It would be suicide to raid south of the North. The Lannister Fleet would tear them to pieces. Still, Balon wanted his people free. Why should the Iron Born bend and scrape to the mainlanders?
He, Euron, Victarion, and Aeron had planned the attacks so they would be foolproof; House Harlaw, Botley, and Blacktyde had answered the call to arms. Balon had three hundred ships built in seven years.
"How many ships do the wolves have to the north?" Rodrik asked, looking at his father as they looked over the maps.
"At last, count anywhere from ten to fifteen. well-armed and trained. The head of the fleet is a former smuggler named Davos Seaworth. Most of the captains are from the Summer Isles. The last three raids we attempted against the North ended in disaster. We would be better off focusing on the South Lannisterport and the Riverlands." Victarion answered his nephew.
"We attack both. That way, Benjen Stark's fleet will be destroyed." Balon dismissed his brother's worries about the Northern Fleet.
The Drowned Gods smiled at them, and the King of the Iron Islands would rise again.
The Red Keep-Kings Landing, the Crownlands
288 AC: Seven years after the Rebellion
Jon Arryn made his way to the daily small council meeting. Unsurprisingly, Robert was not in attendance. He was off getting drunk, perhaps at the news that the Queen was with child once more—what would be their fourth child?
Prince Joffrey was now three-names days old. The boy was unruly, and Jon only hoped he grew out of it before he was grown. Maester Pycelle was there with them, the Master of Coins Lord Rosby, the Master of Laws Randall Tarly, and Stannis Baratheon he was never present at the meeting anyway. Jon could recall on one hand the number of times Stannis had attended Small Council Meetings.
Varys was there, as was Ser. Barristan Selmy, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. The former Lord Commander was somewhere in Esso building an army for Aemon for the day he wished to retake his birthright.
Tarly and Rosby opened the meeting by talking about new taxation, tariffs on trade coming into Westores, and possible new laws to introduce.
"Lord Varys, have you anything to add?" The meeting had been rather quiet for a change.
"My little birds have information about the Old White Bull, Ser Gerold Hightower. It seems the Targaryen Army has swelled in size; it now numbers close to thirty thousand men. the majority of it being the Gold Company.
Jon Connington is in charge of the company. "There were whispers among the council members.
"Has the King been informed?" Lord Tarly asked after a time.
"You know the King; he doesn't like to be bothered with council matters. But he may want to hear this. Do you know where the Targaryen Army is now?"
"The information I have received back is limited. They were last seen somewhere near Valysar. It seems the Northern Navy is paying. Iron Born attacks have been reduced greatly."
The Iron Born had been quieter than normal. Jon, for some reason, couldn't shake the feeling he had that Balon Greyjoy may be up to something. Maybe he was just overthinking things. At the back of his mind, he had the uneasy feeling that a war was once again coming.
Ser Arthur Dayne
Arthur Dayne trailed behind his king and one of the lad's future wives. The young king ran about, with his intended, through the garden in the Red Keep. The two grew closer with each passing year.
Arthur sighed, remembering the love he'd lost. Elison Lefford, who worked in the kitchen, made an unlikely pair: the second son of a lord and the daughter of a groom. It was never going to last.
Arthur had higher hopes for Aemon and Myrcella lasting and perhaps even having a love for the ages. How Margaery Tyrell would fit into this marriage would be interesting. Aemon and the Tyrell Girl had gotten along quite well when they had gone to High Garden two years earlier.
Elison hadn't been the only woman Arthur had loved that he had lost. Though he never voiced it, he had been a little in love with Queen Lyanna. He knew she would never feel the same way he did. He accepted that his friend and prince, Prince Rhaegar, was the only man for her.
He had slowly fallen in love with her over the moons spent at that tower. He held her as she cried and mourned for Rhaegar, who was killed at the Trident. He cried with her when word came of Princess Elia, Rhaenys, and Prince Aegon.
Arthur wondered what might have happened had Lyanna survived childbirth. Where would they have gone, across to the Essos or to Dragonstone to the Dowager Queen Rhaella? How different would things have been?
Would she have come to love him like he did her over time? Though it is possible, she never would have gotten over losing Rhaegar and Elia. Been time may have helped heal the hole in her heart at the loss of the two loves of her life.
Arthur would have loved Aemon if he were his own. He did love the boy as if he were his own son. He was the living part of the woman he loved, lost but never had.
"Look, Jaspar, a cat. I wonder where he came from." Prince Mrycella pointed to a straggle-looking stray; his black fur was dull and matted; he was missing an eye. It couldn't be. Princess Rhaenys's cat, Balerion, could. The cat looked similar and was about the right age.
Arthur had sometimes wondered what had become of the cat in the aftermath of the sacking. The furry feline had survived and had been through some battles in the last seven years.
"Myrcella sweetling" The cat took off at the sound of Queen Cersei's voice. She was flanked by her brother, Ser Jamie Lannister.
"Oh mama, you scared him."
"Scared, who, sweetling?" Cersei asked if the little terror better known as Prince Joffrey, wasn't hiding behind his mother's skirts today. The boy was spoilt rotten and could get away with murder. He was the Crown Prince.
Aemon was a crown prince too but he didn't act like that. The little shit was too much like a Lannister. Arthur couldn't quite work out what seemed off about the boy. There seemed to be something rotten upstairs.
Arthur had seen similar looks before in The Mad King. Though it was possible that he would grow out of being, he was only three-name days old.
"The cat he was just there." Myrcella pointed to the now empty spot where the cat had been.
"Myrcella, sweetling, come, you have lessons with Septa Darlyne. Say goodbye to Lord Jaspar and Ser Arthur."
"Bye, Ser Arthur, Jaspar." She kissed Jaspar on the cheek. The lad blushed bright red. Arthur hid a smile at the pair as Queen Cersei, Princess Myrcella, and Jamie Lannister left.
"Speaking of which, you have lessons with Maester Colmon."
"Oh, do I have to?" Jaspar still didn't like going to his lessons.
"Yes, my lord. We'll spar afterward," Arthur offered. '
"Promise"
"Have I ever broken my word to you, my Lord?" Arthur asked.
"No"
"Good, then let's go; the sooner we get there, the earlier we can leave," Arthur followed after his king.
Skane Island, the North
288 AC, Seven Years After the Rebellion
Darkfrye opened his eyes. Someone had come to his island. An intruder. He growled lowly as he got to his feet. Darkfrye measures 17 and a half meters long and has a wing span of 30.625 meters wide.
A ship dropped anchor off the shore, a yellow kraken on a black background. Darkfrye took to the sky; he had to defend his home. The island was his home for now until his rider came for him.
Darkfyre didn't trust anyone besides Rider. These men meant him harm.
"Are you sure there's even a dragon here, Captain?" The Iron Born turned to his captain.
"He's here. My brother will win his war with a dragon. Come, he can't be far," Euron Greyjoy answered, getting out of the longboat. The great beast should be here somewhere.
A dragon would make the war a breeze; gods, they could take the whole seven kingdoms if they wanted. His brother on the Iron Throne made him laugh. One way or another, Euron was leaving here with that dragon.
The dragonbinder would come in handy. Euron and his crew began to scale the island, looking for the dragon. Darkfrye was above them in the clouds, watching.
An awful rumbling sound came from the horn in the hands of humans below. Dark magic tried to take over Darkfrye. Trying to bind him to the human's will No. Darkfrye fought against dark magic; he was meant for one man. The dragonwolf is his rider, not this kraken or squid.
Darkfrye let out an angry roar. The only way he would be safe till his dragon rider came was for the man with the horn to die. Not one of them would leave this island alive.
Darkfrye dove from the sky, roaring in anger.
Euron smiled; his dragon had come to him. He let out another blast of the horn, and the dragon, unfazed, kept charging towards them. Why wasn't the horn working? The dragon opened its mouth and spat a steadfast flame of black, green, and red at his men.
Those who were not killed outright by the wave of flames were screaming. Again, Euron tried the horn, but still nothing. The dragon came for a second pass, and more of his men burned alive. It was just he and the dragon now.
The dragon landed on the ground, shaking as he did. Euron blew the horn again and again, but still nothing happened. Sensing the horn was useless; Euron threw the horn to one side. He pulled his sword in the hope of defending himself.
Darkfrye roared at him in anger. The man stood his ground. Man and dragon face off. Darkfrye breathed his flame onto the man who had come to take him against his will. Euron's last moments where agony was buried to death. Darkfrye turned his nose up at the smell. Burning squid didn't smell nice.
He took the sky once more, just the ship deal with now. Darkfrye burned the ship until it sank beneath the waves. He was safe for now.
Beyond the Wall
The Three-Eyed Raven Brynden Rivers
288 AC—seven years after the Rebellion.
Squids and Krakens plot to start a war they cannot win. War will once again rip the kingdoms apart. Two bears will go down fighting. Squids and Krakens will bring death and misery to the kingdoms that are still recovering.
King Squid's brother pays the price for his greed, attempting to use dark magic to take Darkfrye. He and his men die screaming. betrayed by the dark magic of the dragonbinder, they tried unsuccessfully.
The dragonwolf's mount has taken his first kill. The smell of burning squid and Krakens has no appeal to Darkfrye. The inbred lion is starting to show his true colors. He will bring great misery and inflict it on others.
The stag has the wool pooled over his eyes again. For the Lioness-Stag Queen has another inbred cub in her womb. For the only true child the Stag King will have will be the Stag Princess, who will be a dragon.