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Chapter 14 Part 1

=Sith=

291 AC

war gallery Ghiscari Pride

Yunkai's harbor

Despite everything, a part of Oznak zo Pahl's mind dared hope that Meereen's reinforcements would reach Yunkai in time and make all the difference in the world. Surely, even an unbelievably powerful Sorcerer couldn't just storm the city without seeing their army suffer heavy casualties in the process!

Encountering more and more fleeing ships as they approached Yunkai's harbor dashed those hopes, though they still darer smolder in the noble's heart. That persisted until the lead squadron the Ghiscari Pride was part of sailed past a group of desperately fleeing vessels chock-full of people shouting warnings. Their target came into view, leaving Oznak to stare in incomprehension.

The Pahl scion didn't need the Captain's Myrish lens to figure out that the enemy was busy overrunning the docks. While they looked tiny at this distance, it was clear that Unsullied in dark armor were securing piers and boarding ships that failed to leave in time. It immediately became clear that the reinforcements from Meereen could not safely disembark. Trying to do in the face of Unsullied ready for them would be suicide, and not what their sell swords signed up for. That was a failure enough but not enough to stun Oznak into gaping in disbelief.

One of the Yunkish warships that managed to leave the piers in time was running at an unseemly speed and was close enough to the fleet to be clearly seen. The vessel suddenly froze in place as if the waters below it turned into quicksand. Oznak stared in disbelief at the rowers, who kept desperately rowing in a futile effort to get the ship moving again. Instead, in spite of their efforts, the boat slid backward, slowly moving back towards the docks.

"Turn around! Run, you fools!" A familiar voice screamed, dragging Oznak out of his stupor. He looked to the left to see a galley rapidly sailing past his ship.

Agnak was on board, and despite the distance, it was clear he was as shocked at what was happening as Oznak. He waved wildly, gesturing for them to turn back.

This was all the Sorcerer's doing, Oznak's mind supplies as it somewhat recovered from the shock. If he could pluck ships back from fleeing, was it a wonder he managed to breach Yunkai's defenses far easier than anyone dared fear? And they were foolishly sailing right into his grasp! A sudden chill spread through Oznak's blood, making him feel faint.

"Captain, turn us around!"

The ship's master shook himself out of his own stupor and spent a few endless moments looking around before gathering his wits.

"Turn to starboard! Rowers, row as if your lives depend on it! Signal the rest of the fleet! We are leaving with utmost haste!" The Captain bellowed.

He shoved his Myrish lens in Oznak's hands and rapidly walked among the rowers shouting encouragements.
Before the ship could even begin changing its direction, Agnak's boat was past them, rapidly leaving the harbor. Oznak glanced at the device in his hands and raised it to look through it. Finding out more about what was happening in Yunkai was the only thing he could do right now.

Getting out of there was up to the Captain, the ship's crew, and potentially the Sorcerer if he decided to target them. That by itself cut as deeply as any blade, for until this very moment, Oznak thought himself on top of the world and ready to face all challenges to make his people great again. Instead, he was beginning to wonder if it would be a fight for their survival in the face of a mad Valyrian Sorcerer.

Oznak fumbled with the device for a few moments, feeling creeping frustration on top of everything else until the view through the lens sharpened and cleared. Finally, he could properly see what had happened at the docks. For once, Oznak felt no joy at being proven right.

Unsullied were sweeping from right to left, corralling a crowd of nobles and well-off merchants away from the piers. Here and there, small groups of guards tried to fight, making a doomed last stand. More often, the Yunkish warriors fought to cut themselves a path through their fleeing betters and get away from the enemy. It was clear that dealing with all these people was an afterthought for the Unsullied. Most of the slave soldiers marched to the piers, and either helped secure the ships there or waited for the Sorcerer to pull one within their reach.

Oznak swung the Myrish lens towards the vessel that the Sorcerer was dragging back to his soldiers. Everyone on board was panicking now, with more and more people jumping in the water and trying to swim for the dubious safety of a different fleeing boat. Oznak shuddered at the knowledge that only mere luck kept him from suffering such a fate. For now, anyway. The ship heaved under his feet and turned sharply as it sped up into a rapid turn to gain as much distance between them and the Sorcerer as fast as possible.

=Sith=

From his perch, Viserys idly noted the arrival of a small fleet that swung into view from around the city walls protecting the harbor. He wasn't enough of a mariner to recognize their allegiance, though that didn't really matter. They couldn't be friendly, especially not coming from that direction, and that was all that mattered. More importantly, they were too late to make any difference in saving Yunkai from his forces.

The question was what to do about them.

Viserys was already dragging a fifth war galley back to the piers for his Unsullied to seize. That, combined with his earlier fun, drained him quite a bit, though he was by no means spent. He could push his body some more, and in the future, when he fully matured and got more accustomed to channeling the Force, his limits would increase somewhat. However, the unpleasant truth was that in this body, he simply lacked the potential he had enjoyed before merging with Viserys Targaryen and, more or less, becoming a better version of the boy.

When all was said and done, it was a very good thing that the caliber of the opposition he was facing and would likely face wasn't the same as he was accustomed to dealing with. That clear fact did nothing for his desire to face worthy opponents, even if that should logically be the last thing he wanted.

Those musings were enough to disrupt Viserys' concentration and momentarily slacken his hold on the war galley he was reeling in. He glared at the helpless vessel and pulled harder, making it lurch towards the nearest pier.

The enemy reinforcements, whoever they were, reacted with commendable speed and turned to flee, likely as fast as their vessels allowed. Letting most of them get away was going to be a pity. However, even a glance told Viserys all he needed to go – at best, he would be able to snatch only a couple of them before they got out of sight. To add insult to injury, that would likely be at the cost of letting a few more of the ponderous merchant vessels get away as well. While those would be far less useful until the current war was resolved, they were still valuable prizes in the long run – both for their utility and how useful anyone trying to flee on board might be.

Viserys let go of the ship he was pulling and focused on the closest vessel among the reinforcing fleet. Capturing them would take too long, and the opportunity cost would be too high. However, letting them go without a parting gift simply wouldn't do.

The Sith grasped one of the turning ships and pushed it sharply into the turn, relishing the increased amount of fear pouring into the Dark Side like fuel feeding an inferno already out of control. Viserys kept pushing, channeling more of the Force into it to speed up the vessel. The rest of the fleet did its best to scatter and escape, but it was too late. The Sith's puppet ship rammed another galley, shattering most oars on its left side, then splintering its hull and lodging into it at a sharp angle.

Viserys let go of the crippled vessel and took a deep breath, feeling far hotter than his armor and the Essoss' climate could account for. A wave of weariness spread through him because of the greater effort required to pull off his latest stunt. He could do it perhaps one more without risking too many ships running away. Either way, Viserys couldn't fully exhaust himself when there might be threats still lurking within Yunkai that might become a credible danger in that case.

The Sith pushed through the weariness, weighing him down, and focused on another fleeing warship.

=Sith=

Chapter 14 Part 2

=Sith=

291 AC

Yunkai

Viserys sat on a crate at the docks, taking a brief rest and supervising his Unsullied while they were busy processing prisoners. A chunk of the crowd swarming the area managed to flee when they reached it, while the Sith's soldiers focused on reaching the piers and the ships still there. They managed to secure three merchant vessels that didn't have enough crew on board to set sail before it was too late. Viserys had to drag all other ships his people captured to the piers so they could board them, deal with any resistance, and capture whoever they could.

The Prince's efforts netted him six mostly intact war galleys and five more merchant vessels that were too slow to leave due to lack of good wind. By the end of the exercise, a swift breeze carried over the harbor, pushing the fleeing vessels beyond the Sith's range. At any rate, at that point, Viserys was quite tired from dragging a bunch of vessels back to the piers, so the wind helping the rest escape was almost a moot point.

The Sith perked up when he sensed Dany's approach. She was clearly disgruntled and dejected, which raised some interesting questions. Viserys pushed himself off the crate and walked up the street, where he felt his sister approach. A Spear of Unsullied fell in around him, acting as honor guard.

Ser Richard came into sight first, leading a group of Royal Guards and Unsullied marching in a defensive formation around what had to be Dany. The Lord Commander gave the impression of someone quite irritated – something strongly reinforced by the way the man felt in the Force. That, combined with what Viserys sensed coming from his sister earlier while he was busy marching on the docks, put things into perspective. He really should have seen some kind of shenanigans coming from her. Dany's youth combined with the Force and Dark Side was an explosive combination at the best of times, even if she had been handling it like a champion so far.

"My Prince," Lonmouth saluted, sounding less than pleased with the situation. He stepped aside, revealing Dany's short form.
It was a good thing that Viserys didn't feel her getting injured or sense her experiencing physical pain. Dany looked almost like she had bathed in blood.

Only her face and hair were mostly free of drying blood.

"Sister, I see you found a way to entertain yourself." Viserys was pleasantly surprised at how level his voice was. Did he need to murder someone about this, he wondered?

"He's dead!" Dany exclaimed and waved her hands in vexation. "I couldn't save him!"

A wave of pain and resentment washed over Viserys at those words.

"I'll need a bit of context," Viserys noted and slowly walked to stand before his sister.

"That poor man, those slaving bastards crucified above the gates!" Dany spat. The venom in her voice was impressive for someone so young. Her smoldering anger was delicious if concerning, but at least it was aimed at an acceptable target. Then, there was a tang of simmering hatred below all other emotions, bidding its time to shine.

Ah. That one. Viserys might have been able to save him if he had the time and a few appropriate sacrifices to drain the life force of. However, he had more pressing concerns to deal with. Or not, depending on how far the man was gone. It wasn't like he had a natural inclination for healing with the Force.

Viserys sighed and stepped forward. He hugged his vexed sister, sending her a wave of reassurance through the Force. He was relieved that she didn't throw herself into combat. If that had been the case, Viserys would have been compelled to give an example of his Royal Guard, even if they would have been hard-pressed to stop his sister.

"They will pay," he promised.

"It won't bring him back! It won't bring any of them back!" Dany hissed.

"No. But it will make everyone else think long and hard if it will be a good idea to murder our people in such a way," Viserys spoke in his best soothing voice.

"I hate them, brother! I hate them so much it hurts!"

Dany shook in Viserys' arms. Her hatred was flared like a raw, open wound that gleefully fed the Dark Side.

"Ser Richard, continue securing the city. You have command," Viserys ordered.

There should be no coordinated resistance able to stop their Unsullied and garrison troops from securing the rest of Yunkai. Viserys could worry about everything else in the city later. His sister was more important.

"Little Dragon, you're coming with me. I'm not letting you out of my sight for now," Viserys told his sister.

"What? Why?" Dany squirmed in her brother's hands. "Gah, you're all bloody!"

Viserys pointedly didn't mention how Dany looked.

"We both can use a bath, sister, but that will wait. The people responsible for your anger are either our prisoners, about to be captured by our forces, or out of reach for the time being. We will decide how to deal with them tomorrow."

Viserys gently guided his sister to the docks, where he rested before her arrival until they reached a convenient stack of crates. He deftly picked Dany up and perched her on a crate before sitting beside her.

"Some of those responsible are dead around us. Our Unsullied are in the process of capturing others," the Sith pointed at the soldiers busy with the part of the crowd that failed to flee.

"That doesn't make me feel any better! I was useless!" Dany pouted.

"Sister, you are doing incredible for someone so young and with so little training and experience. I am afraid that there is no substitute for the latter. No matter how you want to utilize the power in your blood, you need to hone your skills with it. Some applications come in easier and require less skill to be useful. Blunt force can be a very effective tool. However, healing, for example, requires skill and finesse. Having a natural aptitude for healing with this power also helps," Viserys explained. "However, that's not a trait we have."

"This doesn't make me feel any better!" Dany grumbled dejectedly.

"You can practice putting back together some of our prisoners," Viserys suggested. While he needed to make a proper example of them, he had more important things to deal with than dedicate much of his time to properly dealing with the Wise Masters. However, they may be useful as more than a mere example.

"Why would I want to heal those people!?" Dany exclaimed. The sheer incredulity and offense radiating from her was quite amusing.

"That way, they will suffer longer for their crimes. And if some of them die while you learn how to better heal people you want to keep safe, it will be no great loss," Viserys reasonably pointed out.

Dany opened her mouth to interject before a thoughtful look spread over her face, stretching a smudge of blood over her cheek.
"Huh. I think I might like that," Dany allowed.

"Good. Speaking of teaching opportunities," Viserys changed the topic to distract his sister. "What do you see?" He pointed at the ships at the piers. "Why do you think I immediately headed this way after securing the gates?"

Dany looked at the dead people on the streets, the Unsullied on the piers and swarming over ships, as well as the prisoners.
"You wanted to stop them from escaping!" she beamed at that.

"That was one of the reasons why. The only ways out of the city are either by ship from here or by road leading to Meereen. We might still get some of the people fleeing overland," Viserys noted. "What else?"

"We're building a navy. You wanted to capture more ships," Dany waved at the nearby vessels.

"That was another reason, yes. Until recently, I was busy using our magic to pull back fleeing ships so our Unsullied could board and capture them. I could have destroyed ships instead. Perhaps, that way, I would have denied more ships to the enemy instead of spending the time and power needed to capture them," Viserys looked expectantly at his sister.

Dany looked around with narrowed eyes. Her emotions settled up a bit, so the distraction worked. Viserys mentally patted himself on the back for a job well done and waited to see what conclusion his sister would reach.

"Our fleet is small, isn't it? Wouldn't sinking more enemy ships benefit us more than capturing a smaller number?" Dany asked.
"Will it?" Viserys shot back.

Dany looked at the Unsullied and then at the ships. Her head snapped towards Viserys, and she looked at him. Her eyes shone with speculation.

"Training! Soldiers, scholars, administrators, sailors! You've been hammering on that point. Me too! Training all the time, all kinds of training, and not all of it boring!" Dany eagerly blurted out.

"While that's true, what does that have to do with capturing instead of sinking ships?" Viserys prodded.

"You need ships to properly train sailors on! We can train more sailors with the ships you captured, so they will be ready to crew any new ships we build!"

"That's correct. Building a navy is a long-term project. We need to speed it up any way we can. Further, our enemies can replace lost ships and crew faster than we could. Sinking a few more of their ships doesn't reduce their naval strength compared to ours in a meaningful way. However, capturing as many ships as possible to use and train our sailors on can shift the balance of naval power in our favor faster than the alternative."