AAAAAAANNNNNNNDDDDDD WE'RE BACK!
High Valyrian will be italicized
Dothraki will be bolded
Inner thoughts will be in between apostrophes
Captain Strickland sat there, ruminating over the choice he was about to make. He knew that it had the potential to be life changing, not only for him and the Golden Company, but for everyone. But, it was ultimately his choice to make. And make it, he did. The Captain-General of the Golden Company and Lord of the exiled House Strickland stood up, walked around his desk to stand in front of the dragon prince, bowed his head and bent to one knee. "Do you swear to serve House Targaryen with your hand, heart, and voice?" Zacrys asked "I do," Strickland answers. "My children will serve Dragonstone as men-at-arms and handmaidens. Neither they nor I will rule here." "Rise, as a courtier in the service of House Targaryen" Zacrys finished, sealing the oath. He smiled to himself, a little surprised but relieved that Captain Strickland bent the knee. The might of the Golden Company will be a credit to his forces. Though he would make it a priority to solidify their loyalty as soon as possible. He was sure that a fly-by on Abraxas should do the trick, maybe burn something too. "Excellent" Zacrys said "Know, before we go forward on mobilizing your, or rather MY TROOPS, I have two questions for you Captain" "Yes Your Grace, I am at your service" Zacrys' eye twitched at being called 'Your Grace', seeing as how he isn't a king JUST yet, but decided to let it slide this time "First, I must ask, how certain are you that the rest of the Company will bend the knee and fight for me as soldiers and not sellswords?" "Quite sure. The Golden Company will follow their Captain, meaning they will follow you as well" Captain Strickland said with certainty. Zacrys decided to take him at his word. For now. "Good. Very good. Then that brings me to my second question" "Yes Your Grace?" Strickland asked. Zacrys' eye twitched again, he took a deep breath and said "Where is Blackfyre?" The Captain stepped back in slight shock, not expecting to be asked that. "I know that when Daemon I Blackfyre was defeated at the end of the first Blackfyre Rebellion, his brother Aegor Bittersteel escaped to Essos with the remainder of the Blackfyre forces, and with Blackfyre itself. And I somehow sincerely doubt that you would lose or get rid of a Valyrian Steel sword so, where is it hm?" Zacrys finished. Captain Strickland shook himself of his surprise and said "Yes, of course Your Grace. Right this way" He made for the door when Zacrys stopped him "Firstly, do not refer to me as 'Your Grace'. That is something you call a king and I am not a king until I take the Iron Throne, so you will refer to me as 'My Prince'. Am I understood?" Zacrys asked. Strickland nodded "Yes, of course You- My Prince" Zacrys continued "Good. Secondly, until I am fully certain that the Golden Company will follow me, I would like for you to keep your newly sworn fealty secret." "Understood My Prince" the Captain answered affirmatively.
"Wonderful. Now, take me to my sword" Zacrys said. Strickland nodded and opened the doors. The guards standing outside stood at attention with Ser Arthur. Captain Strickland told them to go down and start preparing the troops. The guards both nodded and left with out saying a word. Meanwhile, Ser Arthur looked at Zacrys hoping to get an explanation of some sort, to which Zacrys simply mouthed "Later". Ser Arthur nodded and the of them followed Strickland as he lead them to the Crypt, where all the former captains of the Golden Company are buried. The path to the Crypt was...interesting; there were numerous twists and turns and stairs leading down, which seemed a little overcomplicated for no particular reason. Eventually, they made it to a pair of wooden doors with the Golden Company's sigil on them. Captain Strickland pushed the doors open, showing a corridor with stone coffins lining both sides of it. They went down the corridor until they made it to the one at the very end. A simple coffin with dragon statuettes on it and the three-headed Targaryen dragon on the lid. Although given who is kept here, it was probably the Blackfyre sigil, seeing as how it is rather difficult to portray color on plain stone. Strickland moved to open the coffin, but Zacrys put a hand on his shoulder "No. I must be the one to open it." Ser Arthur and the Captain both stepped back as Zacrys stood over the coffin. He placed both hands on the lid and pushed it open, letting the lid hit the floor. He let out a small gasp of wonder. There he was, the remains of Aegor "Bittersteel" Rivers, founder of the Golden Company. And in his skeletal, decayed hands was Blackfyre. Zacrys grabbed the hilt and pulled the sword out of Aegor's cold, dead hands, raising it up in the air. After a almost a full century, the ancestral sword of House Targaryen is back in the hands of its rightful owner.
Zacrys gave the ancient sword a few test swings, causing Strickland and Ser Arthur to step back, lest they have their heads accidently removed from their shoulders. "nearly 400 years old and yet still as sharp and clean as the day it was forged. Gods, I love Valyrian Steel." Zacrys took Blackfyre and sheathed it on his back, then turned to Strickland and said "Captain" Strickland stood at attention "Take me to the courtyard. I believe it is time for me to see my army." "Of course My Prince" he bowed and turned to lead us out of the crypt. They proceeded to take the same long and overly complicated route back 'Note to self, see about obtaining a map of the Golden Keep. The place is like a blasted labyrinth' Zacrys thought as they walked. They finally made it to the courtyard where the Golden Company's forces had organized. Zacrys took the precaution of putting his hood back on and asked "is this everyone?" Strickland turned to one of his lieutenants and asked the same question. The lieutenant, a middle aged man with a milky right eye, nodded yes. "This is everyone My Prince" Strickland said with a bowed head. Zacrys turned his attention to the crowd and scanned them, looking for anything or anyone out of place. he noticed a child, a small girl that was pouring wine for the officers that seemed to be eyeing Zacrys very intently. He noticed another, a boy tending to the stables that was glancing at him every few seconds. Zacrys smiled, having found what he was looking for; he turned to Strickland and whispered to him to bring the two children to him after he addressed the troops, then whispered to Ser Arthur to keep an eye on them subtly. Both nodded, with Strickland stepping forward to speak "GOLDEN COMPANY!" he yelled in Valyrian. An army 30,000 strong snapped to attention. Strickland turned to Zacrys to receive confirmation, to which Zacrys nodded. Strickland turned back to his forces "100 YEARS AGO, AEGOR BITTERSTEEL FLED WESTEROS WITH HIS BLACKFYRE FORCES AND FOUNDED THE GOLDEN COMPANY!" The soldiers stomped the ground three times "SINCE THEN, WE HAVE CEMENTED OUR REPUTATION AS THE BEST SELLSWORD COMPANY IN ESSOS!" Again, they stomped the ground three times "TODAY, IS A NEW AND GLORIOUS DAY IN OUR HISTORY. FOR TODAY, WE RETURN TO OR ORIGINAL PURPOSE. OUR TRUE PURPOSE: TO SERVE THE BLOOD OF THE DRAGON" To this, the soldiers instead of stomping the ground looked at each other and at their Captain-General with confusion. " I PRESENT TO YOU ALL, PRINCE ZACRYS TARGARYEN, TRUEBORN SON OF RHAEGHAR TARGARYEN. THE RIGHTFUL KING OF WESTEROS, AND OUR NEW LIEGE LORD!" Zacrys stepped forward and took of his hood, revealing his platinum hair, causing many to gasp in recognition of this telltale trait of Valyrians and of House Targaryen. the older officers all frowned at this revelation, many of them being descended from the houses that were exiled with Bittersteel, and other being old enough to have under the command of Maelys the Monstrous and know of the losses the had suffered at the hands of the Targaryen forces. Zacrys saw the apprehension in the crowd and decided to say something "My friends" he said "I understand your apprehension. I know of what my family has put your ancestors through. But I stand before you now not as a lord, a prince, or a king. I stand before as an exile. As someone who was FORCED to leave his homeland to survive. I stand here before you as someone who wants to avenge the family he lost, the family who was slaughtered by those who swore to serve them. I stand here and ask you as a fellow exile to join me in my fight. To help me take back what has belonged to my house for centuries. But more than that, I ask for your help so that I could return home. So that we all could return home. For too long, the families that helped found the Golden Company have lived in exile from their homeland. Today I ask you to help me TAKE IT BACK! They who live there in Westeros believe us exiles to have no honor. I say, we go over there, and show just how honorable we truly are. I say we take their slanderous words, and shoved them back down their throats. IT IS TIME, TO TAKE OUR HOME BACK! TO FIGHT! TO WIN! AND TO DO SO, THROUGH FIRE...AND BLOOOOOD! WHAT SAY YOU?! WILL YOU JOIN ME?!" For a few moments, nothing happened. They simply stood there and processed what had just happened. Then, a man stood forward, took of his helmet, and bent the knee. "I SHALL FIGHT FOR YOU, MY KING" Another stepped forward and did the same "I SHALL FIGHT FOR YOU ASWELL, GREAT DRAGON!" One by one, the knights of the Golden Company all kneeled before Zacrys, each one proclaiming to serve him until their dying breath. Even the officers bent the knee, despite still being a bit apprehensive. Captain Strickland turned towards Zacrys, kneeled and said "ALL HAIL ZACRYS TARGARYEN, THE DRAGON OF THE NORTH!" The soldiers started chanting "HAOO, HAOO, HAOO, HAOO" Zacrys looked at his new army and smiled, thinking to himself 'And so. another piece falls into place. I wonder how Aunt Daenerys is doing?'
AAAAAAANNNNNNDDDDD THAT'S A WRAP
Until next time
Valar Morghulis