AN: So, I apparently forgot to put Maester Caleotte's name down and instead referred to him as Maester X last chapter. It's fixed now!
Alright then, here we go.
DORAN
SUNSPEAR
"Starfall has been destroyed?" Doran asked his advisors, unable to fully comprehend such a drastic upset.
"Aye, I am afraid so." Maester Caleotte murmured after informing his Prince. "We had received word from Ser Gerold, who had been ordered to Starfall to unite the two Dayne households to better pose a challenge to the Throne's army. But by the time he arrived, the place was burnt down by purple flames. He claims when the flames died down that Starfall resembled Harrenhal."
Doran was at a loss of words. The Dayne's were one of his most powerful bannermen, and though their heir Edric was a squire turned hostage as far as they knew, they had said they would defend their lands at the very least. Now they, and their forces of three thousand soldiers had all burned to death. It was a hefty blow to both the long and short term situation in Dorne.
"Do we know the cause?" He asked.
"We had previously received a raven saying that a former alchemist from King's Landing had been invited to Dorne by House Dayne. They must have had an accident with the Wildfire, no doubt planning to use it against the Crown."
Doran looked at the map. A family almost as old as Dorne itself if the legends were to be believed. And it was gone because they thought to try an unexpected way to combat superior numbers.
"In any case, Ser Gerold said in his raven that we did not have enough men left to himself to defend the Torrentine. He is leaving it up to Blackmont and taking his men to Yronwood and making a stand there."
Doran nodded at that. He never liked Gerold and his ridiculous self anointed title of Darkstar, but the boy was a decent fighter and High Hermitage being emptied out would deny the Throne of any resources when they inevitably take the small keep. Securing the larger keeps would do more than fighting in every small keep or castle.
"Why Yronwood? Is not Skyreach closer?" Doran asked as he examined a map, moving the star shaped piece from Starfall.
"He did not say my Prince, but...If I would hazard a guess, I would put stock in the rumors about him and Jeyne Fowler. Knowing lord Franklyn, he may see it as an acceptable accident if Ser Gerold is put on the front lines. In any case, it is too late to get a message to him now to go there."
Doran nodded as he examined the part of the map that was most concerning. The Lion piece just north of Skyreach.
Kingsgrave was held by Ser Beric Dondarrion, but most of the forces he had invaded with had continued on to Skyreach, and were beginning to siege the castle. Franklyn had surrounded the keep using Yellow Luster Shield, which seemed to make the keep sturdier and deterred any direct attacks for now, but Daven Lannister had set up a siege. Yellow Luster Shield would not last forever, especially if Daven used De-spell or something. A flanking attack from what remained of the Daynes could give Franklyn the opportunity to launch his own attack and kill a Lannister. Any revenge on Tywin would be sweet to Doran, even if it was a cousin Tywin had little personal relation to.
"At the very least, Skyreach will hold long enough for the rest of us to get back into focus. Our preparations have been halted for long enough.." Doran said as he looked towards the greatest distraction from the war. Ghaston Grey.
A prison meant to hold the dangerous Dornish who were too cruel to let free. War Mode had affected them as well. It took awhile for them to get word, but the prisoners had also used War Mode. They had turned their monsters on the gaolers and killed them all. There were a total of fifty prisoners in there, ranging from a smallfolk farmer named Arnolf who decided to see what the King tasted when the Rat King tricked him into eating his son, to Daeron Uller, the uncle of the current Lord Uller, who was discovered to have informed Robert's forces of prince Rhaegar's plans on the Trident for a promise of Hellholt when the Targeryeans fell. Had he not then decided to go on to sack the Stormlands before heading back to Dorne, Robert may have given it to him. But he did, so Robert revealed the man's treachery as an appeasement to Dorne after the war.
And now they were all free.
Trebor Jordayne was sending his men out from The Tor to capture or kill them, but they were Dornish. They knew how to use the desert just as well as their pursuers. And if they were captured by the Throne, they may reveal secrets no Dornish had ever surrendered.
The war was not all lost just yet. Wyl still held out, it was isolated and Beric Dondarrion was likely moving to strike at them, but he had not yet. Even the abandoned keeps were sending their men to reinforce places like Yronwood or Salt Shore. And The Crown's fleets were beginning to retreat, if only because they were running low on supplies. The one's near Sunspear had left just this morning, but Hellholt said they were being replaced by ships stocked up from the Arbor.
"Are there any other reports I should be aware of?" Doran asked.
Myles, Caleotte's assistant, cleared his throat. "There is one thing, A letter from the Red Keep. More terms of surrender." He said as he pulled the scroll out and handed it to the Prince.
Doran grabbed it and unrolled it. Robert was ordering him to lay down his people's weapons and decks, and surrender before any more blood was shed. In exchange, he would keep his position of Prince of Dorne in the family, but have to name a Castellan to do the actual work for his life. No doubt Varys spoke quite vividly of how much time he spent in the Water Gardens. But if Robert thought that was because he hated the work of being Prince, then he was mistaken.
Other concessions the throne could make included arranging good marriages for his children, clemency for the lords who would surrender, or…
Doran froze as he spotted the last point on the scroll. Something Robert said Tywin would be willing to part with if the war ended, which no doubt was written without Tywin's knowledge.
The Mountain.
ROBERT
KING'S LANDING-SMALL COUNCIL
"Are we sure this report is accurate?" Ned asked, breaking the silence of the small council since Pycelle read the note out loud.
They had gathered like this every day in order to discuss the war and what to do next. Meanwhile Jon Arryn saw to the day to day running of the city and Crownlands. Today, they had heard news that was hard to believe.
House Dayne was gone. Burned away by WILDFIRE of all things. At least the main branch. They still had Edric, but he was just a squire.
Pycelle cleared his throat, "Yes, I am afraid so. What reason would they have to lie? Starfall is close enough to the Reach for a lord to confirm it without falling into any trap. There is no reason to lie about this." Pycelle spoke just above a mutter.
Robert looked at his friend and understood his pain. By all accounts, Ashara was Ned's first woman. She may be gone after Ned killed Arthur, but he likely still had a soft spot for the girl's family.
"The real question is...why does this Ser Gerold tell us of his cousins' death?" Stannis brought up.
"I believe I can attest to that, My lords." Varys spoke up. "Ser Gerold Dayne has a small keep of his own, but it paled in comparison to Starfall. Now, with Starfall gone, High Hermitage is in the position of being the seat of House Dayne, but the man who is its lord is not the head of the house. Likely, he hopes to provide us with information so that we can ensure he keeps his keep and the lands of Starfall."
"Seems easy enough." Renly spoke up.
"Aye, when the fighting is done and it is time to punish the lords, simply claim that house Dayne's tragedy was punishment enough, and leave Ser Gerold the task of rebuilding his once great house. " Littlefinger agreed.
"And what of young Edric? He is before Gerold in the succession, yet you speak of passing him over for this landed knight." Stannis pointed out.
"A loss of a keep such as this is unheard of. Even Harrenhal and Summerhall both were additional keeps, not the ancestral one." Pycelle spoke again.
"The Dornish have Vulture's Roost. If need be we can give that to Ser Gerold and have Edric take High Hermitage. Or the other way around if need be. Now, before we go rewarding those who help us, let us get back to actually winning the war." Tywin spoke up, giving a solution.
"I agree." Ned said, though it was obvious he hated his own statement. "What is important is that the war ends as quickly as possible. How goes the plan with Sand Hill?"
"House Estermont has secured the island. They actually already started using it as a place to restock supplies for the ships along the Dornish coasts. They are ready to house additional troops on the island." Davos Seaworth spoke up.
"So then, we shall fill the ships with our men, send them to Sand Hill, Take Ghost Hill, and rush straight to Sunspear?" Renly summarized.
"Aye. Hopefully by then Doran will be willing to sue for peace. He will lose much, but I plan on giving him something that may just tip the scales in our favor."
"And what pray tell is that?" Tywin asked the king. It was obvious that this was the first he had heard of this.
"The Mountain."
The room was silent. Everyone was staring at Robert, everyone but Stannis, who was aware of it, and had had the raven flown to Dragonstone first to keep Pycelle unaware.
"You would have us give the Westerlands' best warrior?" Tywin asked simply. "Might I remind you that this war is because Dorne attacked the Westerlands. Why should we have to lose more?"
"Because, even if it does not bring Dorne back fully, it will smooth out the main reason for their hatred." Robert declared. He looked his father by law in the eye. "The real question is, what will it take to outweigh Ser Gregor's usefulness?"
Tywin stared him down for a moment. "One of the other conditions is control over who Princess Arianne marries, is it not?"
"Aye. A husband not from Dorne, even if Arriane desires revenge like her father and his brother, someone who can hold her back, or at least not let her poison her children against us."
"Tyrion." Tywin stated.
"I-what?" Robert asked, confused. Tywin's hatred of the imp was legendary. Now he was arranging a marriage of such a level that it was just under his and Cersei's? There must have been a catch. "Why him?"
"He fits the criteria. He will not let her challenge us, if he dies of mysterious causes we can put her under too much scrutiny to call her banners, and he is clever enough to tell us what she is plotting without her realizing it."
"Is there anything else, or is that it? Robert asked, starting to get an idea of what Tywin was planning.
"Give me leeway to arrange her brother's marriages as well, and I will give you Gregor and erase two thirds of the Crown's debt." Tywin announced.
Robert considered this. Such an act would greatly help the Crown's finances. But if Tywin had all three wed by Lannisters, then Dorne would become nothing more than a puppet of the Westerland.
"You may arrange one of her brother's marriages. But it can not be to another Lannister." Robert declared.
"In that case, I will erase one fourth of the debt." Tywin said.
"Very well then. Now as to Ser Gregor himself. After the War is officially over, you shall order him to do one final attack on the Dornish as a reminder of House Lannister's wrath. But, when he attacks, he will be ambushed by Dornish forces that outnumber him. If he manages to escape, we will leave our troops at the border to intercept him. If War Mode has ended, it will come down to a duel. Do you know what his deck is?" Robert outlined the plan
"It is a pure power deck. It's filled with nothing but high level and high attack monsters. A Gravity Bind or Crush Card Virus should destroy any chance of victory. He actually has a fairly poor duel history. He loses ten times for every victory.
Robert could not help but feel he had been played. Tywin was explaining how The Mountain was useless since the cards appeared. Had Robert known that, he could have used that fact to arrange better terms for the debt. Erasing an eighth of the total debt, and a fourth of the Lannisters would be very useful, but Robert could have gotten it to half of it had he known beforehand.
They continued on the meeting, discussing strategies and what places would best use reinforcements.
Northern and Vale men were already marching to Dorne to hold the lands while Westerland and Stormlander forces would continue south. Once the northernmost part of Dorne was secured, they would not have to worry about being flanked by the Dornish.
Once the meeting was over, Ned came by and talked to him. It was of course, about The Mountain.
"It's strange. He should die, and I am all for justice, but he should be arrested and handled the proper way. Not by serving him as an offering to cease a conflict."
"You and your damned honor Ned! Doran gets his justice, we punish a man Varys has informed me is a cause of war all on his own before he can do so, and the fighting ends faster. Like it or not, this is how we get things done."
"I know that. But it does not change the taste it leaves. Especially regarding the children's marriages."
"Ah, I knew you would object to that. But look! You found love in a marriage to a woman you knew of but did not know. If you're so worried, then try to give those two the answers you have." Robert tried to suggest.
"Speaking of marriage, I was honestly expecting you to arrange one between our kids. You said something similar during the Greyjoy Rebellion. Yet you have not brought it up once." Ned pointed out.
Robert had a more embarrassed look on his face, "Yes, uh, that. Well" Robert sighed. "Ned, would you ever betray me?"
Ned looked at the man. Robert actually began to fear what his oldest friend was going to respond to. When he did respond, it was with his own question.
"Would you ever seek to kill or harm my blood?"
"Of course not! I would never harm you or your family, and I will swear as many vows as it takes to get you to believe that." Robert sighed, relieved. He should have known. Ned had lost all his family save for one brother who for some reason preferred the company of thieves and rapers. Ned had to rebuild his entire family by himself. If Robert ever threatened them, he would pick his kids, they were all he had left of the family that was taken from him.
"As long as that remains true, I will never abandon you."
"Yes! Exactly. I do not need to earn your loyalty, but other houses... There are still those who would name me Usurper. If they decide they have had enough of me, I need all the allies I can get. So, I was thinking of having my kids marry to houses that would disway betrayal. Had Oberyn not started this whole bloody war, I may have sent Myrcella off to Yronwood, or had one of their daughters come here for Tommen. That would make the Martells think twice about trying anything. Alas, it's too late for that plan."
"And Joffrey?" Ned asked. "Come to think about it, I haven't seen the lad around much."
"Joffrey...Joffrey is his mother's son. Joffrey did complain that he should go out there, but when she heard it, she threatened to burn the Red Keep down if I did not keep him away."
"You have a harder time connecting with him?" Ned surmised.
"Aye. He's just so different from me. I want him to grow into a good king, someone I know will lead Westeros better than I did for most of my reign. I just don't know how to get through to him."
"Perhaps some time away from court would do him some good? I could bring him to Winterfell, or even Tywin could handle him for a bit. You know my opinion on him, but he is the kind of man who would mold Joffrey into a competent ruler." Ned said while considering the heir to the throne.
"Mayhaps. I'm gonna give it a year. A year to get through to him. If not, then I may have him be a ward. That will also give me time to get Cersei off my back."
BERIC
5 MILES SOUTH OF VULTURE'S ROOST
Say what you will about War Mode. It made travel considerably quicker.
The soldiers who had beast, winged beast, or machine monsters brought them to good use in transporting the soldiers without actually tiring. Beric should know, as he was currently riding on the back of a Mystic Horseman. The centaur monster did not require any rest as the rest of the soldiers followed behind them. Those actually a part of cavalry rode their own steeds, but the foot soldiers needed the monsters. Beric's horse had ended up being a casualty of taking Kingsgrave, so he rode Mystic Horseman. He looked to the men under his command. Some of them were his marcher men, but most were the Lannister reinforcements. This time, all of them knew what to expect from battle.
Within hours, they had arrived at Vulture's Roost. Almost as fresh as if the castles were adjacent.
"Alright now! Set traps up! Quick!" He yelled to his men as he put his own traps down. A Magical Cylinder and Spikeshield with Chain. Thousands of Duel Disks did similarly.
"Think they are gonna wait us out?" Ser Tytos Stackspear, a distant cousin of Lord Selmund asked. There were guards on the walls. They knew they were under siege.
"The longer they take to attack us, the more time we both have to organize our forces and summon strong monsters. Let us see what they are planning. Karl!" Beric declared.
Ser Karl Buckler was a knight in service to Storm's End, but he was visiting his original home of Bronzegate when war was declared, so he had joined the war forces.
Karl ran up and brought out a spell card. One that was almost useless, but War Mode turned into a powerful weapon.
"Fengsheng Mirror!" the knight called out. This card would practically be useless, as few people used spirit cards, but it allowed one to look at a foes hand. And that translated to giving them a view of the inside of the keep.
The mirror materialized in front of them. It showed an interior filled with soldiers summoning monsters, as was to be expected. It panned over to show more men doing the same thing. Beric tried to focus on the monsters themselves.
'A Berfomet, Feral Imp, Gearfried, that will be a tough one. Prevent Rat-likely for protection. And...SHIT!'
"THEY GOT A JINZO!" He yelled to everyone in earshot. That was when the gates opened and the monsters came forth.
Those who did not hear or understand tried to use their traps, only to be shocked when they did not work. The Feral Imp charged straight at him, only to be cut down by Mystic Horseman. To his side, he noticed the soldiers who had panicked before starting to engage. The Berfomet was engaged in the air with a Baby Dragon and a Sonic Bird, their riders unable to land before battle began.
'It won't last' Beric thought to himself. So long as Jinzo was safe in Vulture's Roost, they would be unable to use any traps. Neither would the Dornish, but that meant they prepared for it.
As he thought that, he saw one soldier be ripped off his horse and beheaded by a slash of Gearfried's sword. Gearfried then looked at him.
Kicking Mystic Horseman like he would a horse, he started to take evasive maneuvers. He needed to think of something fast. He began rummaging through his deck, that was when he spotted the card that could save him. But the cost…
Mystic Horseman just avoided a fatal strike.
'Fuck the cost, At worst I die later than I would now.'
He knew if Mystic Horseman died, he would be thrown off and killed the old fashioned way.
He called out the card he had just found.
"Acid Rain"
The card faded, and the once clear skies filled with dark clouds. As a Stormlander, Beric was familiar with it.
Gearfried went to cut Mystic Horseman in two, separating the man from the horse half, only to be wrapped up in a chain, as Mystic Horseman wielded Spikeshield with Chain.
Acid Rain was a card that destroyed all machines on the field. And despite Jinzo being inside Vulture's Roost, he was still affected by the battle. Now that he was gone, the trap cards had returned.
Everyone began activating them. The Dornish had not set any, so they could do nothing but watch as Berfomet was trapped in a Spellbinding Circle and cut down by a Baby Dragon with Dragon Treasure. An Axe Raider has his axe thrown back at him from a Magical Cylinder, and all the monsters fell victim to traps of one kind or another. Before the gates could be closed Beric and the soldiers who remained on their steeds charged the keep, hoping to take it quickly. With aerial support not seen since the Dance, they busted into the courtyard of the once abandoned keep.
Once inside, they were able to take the Wyl soldiers by surprise. One of the cavalry men used Nightmare Steel Cage, locking those with the strongest monsters already out from attacking. Beric drew his sword, and while Mystic Horseman cut down those in front, Beric cut down those who approached by the side. A Hitotsu-Me Giant tried to attack them, but Beric blinded it before another soldier stabbed it in the leg with his spear, sending the green giant falling on against the wall, where a third soldier stabbed it in the heart to keep it down.
Suddenly, Beric was knocked off of Mystic Horseman, who had also lost the Spikeshield and had a hole in his head. He looked over to see Jinzo, resurrected by Monster Reborn it seemed. And it had its sights right on him. The man who controlled Jinzo right next to him.
Beric checked his Life Points.
B:2950
He could hardly afford to be hit and lose most of his Life Points. But, before they could attack Beric, the soldier on Baby Dragon tried to attack them himself, holding something in his hand. Jinzo barely acknowledged him as it shot light from his eyes and killed Baby Dragon. As the soldier was falling, he threw the thing in his hand at the monster. It was a cup of some kind, and it's contents spilled onto Jinzo. This actually seemed to empower him. He went to strike at the soldier, now Beric could tell that he was a boy, probably a squire. Before he could, the squire activated a trap card.
"Gravity Bind!" Suddenly, Jinzo and other monsters on the field were stuck, frozen in a sphere of blue light.
Beric looked at the cup the squire had thrown. He then recognized it.
'Forbidden Chalice! He empowered Jinzo, but took his ability to seal traps away!' Beric realized.
Walking up to Jinzo, Beric buried his sword in the burn victim's brain, ending the monster for a second time in that battle. He turned to Jinzo's owner, and the man yielded, his Duel Disk sending the message out.
It was at that moment that Beric recognized the man, Ser Bryan Wyl, second son of Wyl. With his surrender, the battle was over.
Beric ordered his own men to take Ser Bryan into a room befitting his status, and he himself went over to the squire who had saved his life.
The boy had broken his leg when he fell, and had taken damage from the rest of the battle. He was down to just 1500 Life Points.
"That was some quick thinking there son. What's your name?" Beric asked after making sure the boy was in no immediate danger of dying.
"Podrick Ser, Podrick Payne." The boy answered.
"Well then Podrick, what made you think to do that?" Beric asked.
"I figured it would give us back our traps, and I still had Gravity Bind. And I don't have many strong cards actually."
Beric smiled at the boy. "I take it you're a squire?" The boy nodded. "Where is the knight in charge of you?"
"My uncle, Ser Cedric. He was on the ground though."
"Well then, let's go find your uncle." Beric brought Podrick up and held his arm on his shoulder, to keep the boy off his broken leg.
Some hours later, when the Dornish were in chains or restricted to certain rooms, a count was made of the dead.
The Dornish had totaled 500. 200 had died, another 60 were on the brink, with less than a thousand or Life Points when the battle ended, and injuries to match. Ser Bryan had avoided any injury, and surrendered before he could be attacked.
On their own side, Beric had brought 2000 men, and they had mainly suffered at the beginning of the battle. 167 died before he had destroyed Jinzo, and another hundred had died before the battle had ended. Ser Tytos was among the first group. Their injured however was nearly a third of the survivors. Ser Karl was among those.
After the count was given to him, Beric ordered the most injured be treated first so they could defend against an attack from Wyl, though he doubted such a thing would happen. He then went to speak to Ser Bryan.
He was in a room in the main keep, down a side passage from the main hall. He wore full armor, emblazoned with a leg being bit by snakes.
"Ser Beric, I take it you have come to discuss using me as a hostage?" The knight asked.
"Mayhaps. You are a second son, but your mother can not hold out now that Wyl is completely isolated. It is better for everyone if this ends quickly."
"By all means, send a raven. I doubt it will do much. My mother was a handmaid to Doran's mother. She will not betray the Martells easily. She would rather see Wyl become a second Starfall." He said in a cavalier way.
Beric's mind stopped. What did he say?
"What do you mean a second Starfall?" He asked, scared of the answer.
Ser Bryan looked at him, and then a sense of realization appeared on his face. "My gods, you haven't heard?"
Beric was then told what happened. Wildfire. Disgraced alchemist. Secret Weapon. No survivors.
Even as he realized the woman he loved was dead, his thoughts were more of what he would tell Young Ned.
QUENTYN
YRONWOOD
Darkstar rode into Yronwood with what remained of House Dayne's troops. Compared to what one of Dorne's Principal Houses should be capable of, they were a mere fraction of what they should be. What once was a house capable of controlling thousands, had been reduced to a mere 200 fighting men.
'At least they are here to help hold Yronwood. Gerold could probably just surrender and get off light.' Quentyn thought to himself. He supposed the man had some honor after all.
He watched from the walls as Ser Gerold met with Lord Yronwood, and the two talked about the war. He could only hear small pieces, but one thing he heard well was that a Dayne scout reported a battle about to start at Skyreach. Outnumbered, Lord Franklyn would not last long once a monster managed to breach the gate.
Gerold then motioned, and some Dornish men brought forth men in chains. From what Quentyn overheard, they had ambushed a scouting party, and took them all prisoner to interrogate.
Later, Quentyn and Arch were heading to dinner when they saw Ser Gerold getting into an argument with Drink.
"You have something to say to me? Spit it out." Darkstar said.
"Yeah, how are you alive? Every other Dayne dies but you?" Drink said with an accusation evident in his voice.
"What are you talking about? I don't live at Starfall. I was preparing High Hermitage for battle when I received a raven telling me to abandon it and reinforce my cousins. It would be stranger if I was there when the Wildfire started." Gerold pointed out.
"That's another thing! Wildfire of all things? Why in the seven hells would Lord Dayne think to use that?" Drink countered.
"How would I know the mind of my cousin? All I can say is that whatever plan he had, it failed. Now the house has been so reduced as to render us practically dead." Gerold said, irritation obvious. Most worryingly, they both went to place their hands near their blades.
Feeling nothing good would come, Quentyn decided to intervene. 'What would father do?'
"That is enough!" Quentyn made himself and Arch known to the two knights. He and Arch physically stood between them.
"Drink, we know he wasn't there. Starfall burned down from WILDFIRE. Even if he did it, he would have burned up too. Gerold, I apologize for his words. We are all stressed out, and you just represent the reality that we needlessly lost many of our men. Please, let us all just walk away." Quentyn spoke to both of them.
Ser Gerold moved his hand from his blade. "You'd best be growing up. This. Is. War. We've been lucky, being too young to be a part of the last few. But now? There is a chance of death every day. Grow up. We are all knights. Start acting like it. If you continue on being the foolish boys we have been till now, then we die as those foolish boys." With those words, the formerly arrogant landed knight walked away from the conflict.
Quentyn looked at Drink. "Really? What was that all about?"
"Quentyn, let's go talk somewhere the guards won't complain we're distracting them." Arch said, wanting to get to dinner.
"Don't worry, I'll be quick. Drink, what in the Seven Hells possessed you to accuse him of such an outrageous crime?"
Drink scoffed. "Come on, It's Darkstar. Since when does anyone take him for his word? Remember how many ladies have spoken against his claims of laying with him? Why is he suddenly so truthful?"
Quentyn looked his friend in the eye. "How would he lie about Starfall. As I said, if he was there, he would have died."
Drink looked at him, a bit more uneasy. "I wasn't just accusing him for no reason. I wanted him to pull that sword of his out."
Quentyn grew confused. "You wanted to be cut to pieces?"
"Really. The guards will be here any minute." Arch voiced.
"No. But I am pretty sure that sword was Dawn."
Quentyn started to get annoyed. "Drink, have you ever actually seen Dawn? I have. It WAS on a mantle in Starfall, but it was not Gerold's. Even if he was able to wield it, Dawn glows when unsheathed, and it is longer than the short sword he wore on his belt."
"Seriously, where are the guards? A patrol should have come by now." Arch voiced, checking the perimeter for guards.
"Now then, when you next see Ser Gerold, you will apologize for making you both fools." Quentyn said, trying to copy his father's ruling style, but scaled down for the level of the argument.
"ROPE" Arch yelled, grabbing the other two knight's attention. Their eyes followed Arch and saw a rope hanging off the outer wall. Before they could react, all three were enveloped in metal bars.
"I recognize this. It is Nightmare Steel Cage." Drink surmised for the others.
But those would also be his last words, as two Ape Fighters materialized next to him, and tore his limbs off. A sword entered his heart, putting him out of his misery.
Arch and Quentyn turned to see who had just stabbed their friend. And they were shocked it was Darkstar.
"You know, he had no proof, but he was largely right. If I did not fear he would cause me to lash out, I would have waited. Oh well, it makes no matter." Darkstar said as he pulled out two cards.
The first card had hands come out of it. They reached for Arch's head and soon Arch was unable to help Quentyn.
"Brain Control. Very useful." Darkstar snapped his fingers and Arch walked out of the cage like it was not there.
Then, Quentyn watched as Darkstar walked up to him, and cut his cheek with his sword.
Q: 3950
"A Parting gift to remember me by, My Prince." Darkstar then raised his left arm, and Quentyn watched as Arch swung his blade and cut it clean off.
Darkstar remained standing, as if his arm had not just been removed. Instead, he raised the other card in his hand. By Quentyn's feet, a corpse appeared. It wore a tunic with a black ship in front of a setting sun.
"Creature Swap." He heard Darkstar's voice say before the world began to spin.
The next thing Quentyn knew, he was in the middle of the desert, and in front of him, weapons drawn, were dozens of Ironborn.
"Prince Quentyn!" The captain spoke with a grin. "Thank you for agreeing to help bring this war to a close. We lost a good man, but this way I don't have to explain to Darlton why his wife is pregnant when he was at sea."
Within moments, Quentyn was bound, and soon after, the sea was visible. By sunrise, he was thrown in the bottom decks of a ship.
The entire time, Quentyn's cut cheek refused to close or stop bleeding.
Q: 3500
AN: Wow this chapter was longer than I thought.
In other news, like many authors on here I read, I experienced a computer crash while writing this. Thankfully I use Google Drive, so I did not lose anything when my Hard Drive failed.
So, here we see Robert and Doran's reactions to Starfall, as well as the taking of Vulture's Roost. Pod is now in the story, and just like the Blackwater, plays an important role despite just being a squire. We also have Darkstar reach Yronwood, and the Ironborn manage to capture Quentyn.
In other news, while writing the outlines to future stories, I also added Chaotic to the list of possibilities. How I would introduce that into Westeros, I have yet to figure out, as I do not want to just repeat this and Power Shift's explanation of it just appearing. Fate makes sense to do that with, as it has several dimension hopping characters. As for my Pokémon Story, I have a bit of an outline, and am debating between having Pokemon always be around, or having Valyria's doom turn animals into Pokémon, thus giving 4 centuries for the idea of gyms to develop. Personally leaning to the later, as then I can have non-pokémon animals that I can use for meat avoid having to write that people eat Pokémon. Chaotic, right now has like a 10% chance of actually being written.
Also thanks to Everyone who comments. Glad I can give you people something to do in these trying times. It's things like that which give me joy as an amateur writer.
With all that said, I will see you all in the next chapter. Feel free to comment.