A/N: Miss me yet? Seriously, this has been the second week in a row that I hadnt uploaded much. Well good news, I'm back and so is my editors. I had to do a retake of my SAT, so I had to prepare for that. It's not that y'all aren't important enough for me to update during it, it's just that I don't want to fail my SAT or get a lower score than the last time, where I was 10 points short of the mark I needed to even be considered by an ivy league school. Anyway here is new chapter from the last POV OC, which had to be included, because he is the only POV in Essos for a while. Next will be Stafford for those curious on what his next chapter is. Then we'll add some cannon to it. Jon Connington is in this chapter, and it will be apparent even though he is not referred to as Jon Connington. In this scenario, he does not join the golden company, and therefore does not know about "Aegon". He will be part of Aegon's invasion though, so stay tuned to how this plays out.

Enjoy

Ellion

Ellion gazed upon the black, monolithic walls of Volantis, deep in awe. He had lived in the free cities for as long as he remembered, but the black walls always amazed him. Ever since he was only a boy of nine, he remembered thinking about the builders of such a wall. The wall separated the palaces and other important buildings of what people outside the walls called Old Volantis.

Now a boy of nineteen, Ellion was the wanderer of the free cities, roaming their streets beneath the stars, when the cities slept and he walked alone. Griff could never stop reciting how he came to bring Ellion to Essos. From across the sea, he brought him from his home, the land of knights and chivalry, seven kingdoms beneath the Iron Throne. But no matter how far Ellion pressed, why he came to be in Essos remained a mystery.

He had been given over to Griff by some masked smuggler, who Griff got paid handsomely to take care of and to keep him safe. Ellion remained restless, reaching out and grasping onto the mystery of his past, no matter how much empty air filled his clenched fists instead. The past be damned, for after the night when I wake up, I'll see what tomorrow brings.

Griff had been a sellsword, and he established his owned mercenary company in the city known as the Talon Company. Ellion had grown up training with his guardian and learning various fighting styles from around the free cities. Griff had become accomplished, and even said himself that if he had remained in Westeros, he would have likely not gotten the experience in fighting that he got in the free cities, and died there in the time of peace.

The story in the free cities is being written in blood. There are always plenty of people who need someone killed, bandits brought back, dead or alive, in the name of justice, and plenty of people who need a private fighting force for an expedition into parts unknown. Gold is gold, Griff once told him, and there ain't nothing in this world for free.

Ellion looked at the walls for a moment reflecting on their height and width. They say they were big enough for six four horse chariots to race atop them abreast. It was a marvel of architecture. Ellion simply sighed a little, while his mercenary group was trying to find work in the city. The mercenary army was large, larger than ten times the size of the Second Sons mercenary group at about 5,000. The Talon Company have definitely made a name for themselves in the realm. Ellion had been waiting for the day he would accompany them in a job, and Griff told him that once they found a job in Volantis, they would allow him to get his first taste of mercenary work. Ellion had trained hard, and felt he would do better than most of the mercenaries in the group, even a couple of years prior to the announcement he would be joining in his first job.

Ellion was supposed to be finding a contract somewhere in the city they could enter in, but there were hardly any people who were willing to take the fresh faced sellsword's propositions for work seriously. Some jobs he had been offered were only minor ones, and Griff wanted a big one for his first job.

Griff told him that he needed to prove his worth not by doing grunt work, but by doing something exceptional, like capture a stronghold for a local noble, or help track down a group of bandits without much man power. Griff told him he would make him a lieutenant right away if he were to accomplish this, and Ellion aimed to be important to the mercenary group. He did not want to be the wasteful load. Ellion silently reassured himself. I will not fail. I will not fail.

Ellion, a bit disheartened to not find a job within the walls, went across the Long Bridge and to an old tavern Griff told everyone to meet before dusk. It was dusk, so he hurried his way to the tavern in the new districts of the city of Volantis. Ellion wondered if anyone found any worthwhile tasks or jobs. Ellion found the tavern, and before he entered it did his usual routine. He grabbed two gloves from his belt, and looked at his left hand before putting it on. It was grey and it looked like it had been rotting away. Ellion had survived Greyscale as an infant, and his entire left arm and shoulder had become disfigured, because of it. This is why he always wore long sleeves underneath his leather jerkin, as to conceal his scars. He left his hands uncovered, because most don't notice it, but in a place filled with new faces, he hoped to keep them at ease with shaking his hands. Ellion took a deep breath and entered the tavern.

The tavern was filled, mostly with much of the mercenaries and sellswords employed by Griff himself. The tavern was noisy and filled with the loud chatter of the men. Some spoke of conquests and violence and braggadocio, too much Ellion to distinguish in the chaotic din of the mercenary's voices. He pushed his way through the men, some preoccupied with pretty girls bouncing upon their laps, hands undoing their breeches. And after a few shoves around, a couple obscenities thrown at him, and a few caresses from some whores, he found his guardian Griff sitting with his top lieutenants.

Griff was a man nearing the age of forty. His hair was blue, though his eyebrows are still red and his red roots show. He had aged much since he had remembered him in the hazy memories he had in the past. Griff had raised him to become a part of the mercenary company. He had told him that since he had been paid to raise and protect him, he might as well make himself useful. He was cautious though, and allowed his body to mature and his combat abilities to grow before he joined the mercenary company. Griff knew much about the occupation and the mercenary group was the most feared mercenary company in Essos.

"So boy, have you got any leads?" Griff stated roughly. Ellion looked at him for a moment and gave his answer.

"No, I wandered around the new parts of the city and even into the black walls, still I got nothing," Ellion stated. Griff grunted a little.

"Consider yourself lucky then, I heard word of a settlement that needs our help. Here, I'll mark it on the map," Griff explained marking some village on the map. Ellion thought it would be simple enough. Secure a settlement with a group of their mercenaries and fortify it, before the regular garrison can get it back under their control. Easy enough.

"When do we set out for the settlement?" Ellion asked him.

"At the break of dawn on the morrow. We will send a detachment of men with you, as well as some of my more accomplished lieutenants," Griff explained. Ellion nodded in reply. "In the meantime, you can go rest. You've got a bloody big day ahead of you, boy. But I'm not worried. Neither should you." Ellion got up, smiled and shook his head solemnly to Griff, and after wading through the tavern's crowds of mercenaries and whores, he strode to a nearby training ground. He knew it was never too late to get some last minute training in.

Dawn broke after Ellion got a somewhat restful, dreamless sleep the night before. Ellion never felt nervous or panicked, not matter the situation. He remained ever-stoic as they rode on horseback to the village that they had been hired to liberate. It was just another day for him. Griff was to accompany them to a place where they would set up a temporary battle camp before the battle in afternoon, and wait there for Ellion to complete the job while readying the resources they had brought for the settlement's fortification. It was his chance to prove himself, and it was his chance to show him his skills in the field. He would be tested on his leadership capabilities, his prowess in battle, and most of all, his courage. Don't be afraid.

The ride to the battle camp and to the nearby village was a chance for Ellion to relax a little before they would exterminate the bandits. Ellion ran through the battle plans in his head. He needed to stay calm and patient in the battlespace. Bravado makes the worst of even the best. Ellion feared nothing, but he was unwilling to take risks that might risk him being at any disadvantage. He fought with defensive offense and offensive defense, and no matter what, he fought smartly.

They gained sight of the village, smoke rising high in the sky from burning houses. Bandits had probably tried to raze it to the ground before the band of mercenaries even came. Griff pulled up beside Ellion.

"Are you prepared to fight, boy?" Griff asked him.

"As ready as I'll ever be, sir," Ellion replied. Griff gave a laugh.

"Glory and victory, for me and for you and for the Talon Company, my boy!" He ordered, "Now everyone tighten formation and the infantry will proceed on foot with Ellion. Cavalry, stay with me, and we'll clean up whatever scum remains after Ellion and the infantry deals with the majority of the bandits."

The men did as they were ordered and they set up began light fortifications, a crude war camp a little closer to the village than they had originally wanted to be, but the bandits had not spotted them, so they did not get attacked. The crude war camp was only a couple of tents, mostly for armorers and smiths, to get some of the equipment ready of the mercenaries, and for the large one for some battle strategies. There was one setup for temporary quarters just in case the battle lasted all night, and the reserves had to sleep before they are called upon if needed. Ellion helped out with the camp set up, and it was about noon, when the camp was all ready and set up for the battle. It took them only three hours to do so, the company efficient and well-organized.

Ellion met with Griff and some of his lieutenants. Griff had been discussing some of the plan with them when he entered the main battle strategy tent.

"Ellion, glad you could join us. We were going over the infantry's role in the assault. The Infantry like yourself will be the first wave of attack in this assault. You, Devron, and Jaron will storm the village and leave no survivors." Griff growled as he gestured at the two lieutenants next to him. Devron had been one of the most experienced lieutenants, he had been with Griff since he had founded the mercenary company. Devron was tall broad shouldered, and armored like a warhorse. He wielded a giant pole axe, a monstrous beast of a weapon, and wore a rounded close helmet of dinted grey steel over an older style of unadorned plate, rusted and battle scarred. Jaron was a little shorter, built like an ox. He wore a sleeveless, checkered black and white surcoat over polished mail, leather greaves and gauntlets, an old armet, a wicked flail, and a heater shield that bore his personal arms of a burning crown own a jet-black field.

"We got experience, lad. Just stick with us, and you should be fine'" Jaron stated. He had a faint accent of indeterminable origin. Ellion could tell he spoke a different language when he spoke and probably didn't use common all that much.

"Indeed, we shall make a slaughter of them. Just use whatever skills you can muster, and try your best," Devron spoke rapidly in fluent common. Devron sounded refined, which surprised him, as though he had seen Devron around the camps of their other contracts, he nary spoke. He would have expected it more from Jaron than Devron from what he had experienced from the two of them thus far.

"Alright, let's discuss the other tasks that you must accomplish. You must search for any survivors in hiding. I know it took us an entire day to make it here, and most have probably fled by now, but sometimes there are some people who are good at hiding. I aim to find as many as we can," Griff stated. Ellion nodded, staying silent and focused the entire meeting. He was mostly maintaining composure to make sure he absorbed every detail of the battle plan. Ellion wanted to go into the battle knowing what he needed to do, what he needed to accomplish in terms of objectives, and the strategies needed to utilize to defeat his opponents. He needed to have a strategy in mind, and without a strategy he would just go into the fray without a plan. That was a recipe for disaster, especially since he did not have sufficient experience just to think up of plans and other things on the go. He couldn't just make up an entire strategy of how to capture an entire village.

Once Griff had finished his battle meeting, he called Ellion over once everyone left the tent.

"I have some final words for you before you go into battle today," Griff stated.

"What is it?" Ellion asked.

"You have been like a son to me since you were entrusted into my care. I thought I could earn gold by taking care of you, but it has become more than that. Try not to do anything dumb on your first job and go off and get yourself killed. I'd never forgive myself if you did that," Griff told Ellion.

"How would it be your fault if I died out there? Wouldn't it be my skills that decide whether I live or die on the battlefield? Isn't that what you taught me during my first lessons with the sword?" Ellion remarked to Griff as he adjusted his own longsword sheathed at his side.

"I taught you the skills that you know right now. If you die it would be because I didn't teach you good enough. That is why I would feel responsible, but I have full faith that you won't mess up. Just don't underestimate your opponents, and above all else, don't get reckless,"

"I won't, Griff."

"You better not. No go on now, don't let old Griff hold you back." And with that, Ellion left the tent and went out the camp to continue the final preparations.

It had been early afternoon after the rest of the preparations had become done. Ellion had gotten his armor fitted and prepared for combat by the armorer, his sword sharpened for the battle, and finally got some extra advice from Jaron while they talked before being given the order to march for the village. Once the order from Griff came to Ellion to march, Ellion remained calm and began to stride towards the village. They had finished the two mile walk to the village, where they were standing next to granary right next to village, which had been looted. They spotted some of the bandits, which to them seemed like a couple dozen from where they were. They only had about two-hundred fifty with the group. Griff only brought about a quarter of the full thousand man-strong detachment to deal with these bandits, because it would be overkill to tire out and sent a less mobile five-hundred man force. He only fielded one-hundred infantry, with fifty in reserve, along with a hundred cavalrymen. Ellion, Jaron, and Devron's infantry group came within range of some of the houses and with it, the bandits finally took notice of them.

The bandits spoke a weird dialect of language that Ellion did not recognize or understands. To him it sounded like a bunch of grunts, snarls, and generally barbaric talk. All he saw was them pointing at his group and about fifty of the bandits charge towards his group. They were wearing fur and leather armor, equipped with a variety of weapons, like spears, clubs, and even axes. Some even had traditional swords, albeit in terrible condition.

"To arms!" Ellion and the other lieutenants yelled to the men behind him. Ellion made sure to let them come to him, as he wasn't about to risk running at them only to get slashed by a running slash from one of them. He drew his longsword, the only weapon he needed. He felt that his skill in parrying and blocking meant he didn't need a shield. He wanted to be as fast as possible with his sword, and even carried a hand crossbow for ranged purposes.

One of the bandits with a giant axe came at him trying to tackle and take him down. He knew better to fall for any of that business and he quickly dodged it and gave him a slash of his own. Ellion hit him on the shoulder and the sword dug right into the opponent like scrib jelly. It cut through his flesh, and while the bandit tried to hide his pain and anguish, there was no use hiding it. He grabbed the pommel of his sword and gave a forward slash through the neck of the opponent and threw his sword up in the air, catching it. Ellion then turned around to see that a bandit had tried to sneak behind him, but he noticed it and he gave quick sweeping blow. It managed to catch three of the enemies, who tried to surprise and he managed to defend from their assault. He stabbed one of the others in the gut and pulled out the sword in time to catch one of the swords of an opponent, who tried to catch him off guard. Ellion quickly parried the sword to the side and delivered a swift sidestep which slit the poor man's throat. While his friend tried to run away as soon as he saw that, Ellion was a quick one and grabbed his own sword by the near tip, because his gauntlets protected him from the sword's blade, and he was able to make it so that the pommel smashed the bandit, causing him to crack his skull and fall to the ground. He stabbed him in the chest on the ground to make sure he had died, and that he left no survivors.

Suddenly, he heard a roar from behind, and it was a bandit with a sword raised ready to strike. He had no time to regain his sword stance to parry or deflect as he was busy trying to pull out his sword out of the scalp of his fallen opponent, who had tried to run away. However, he saw Jaron bash him with a shield causing the bandit to lose balance and fall to the floor. Before he could get up, the bandit's face met Jaron's spiked flail. He had fallen and cannot get up.

"Best be more careful, boy. Keep your guard up." Jaron instructed as they continued fighting more of the bandits. They held their ground against more bandits as some of them had heard the fighting going on, and had tried to join in. Most of the bandits were struck down quickly, not even putting up much of a fight to begin with. Ellion could not believe how easy these brigands were to bring down. He must have lost count as to how many heads he had cut off. This is why they had to prey on innocent people, who could not fight back, because lacked skill to prey on someone who could actually fight back against them. One incident that made the bandits break even faster was Devron's mighty axe slash, which managed to decapitate two of them and maul two more next to them.

"Don't lose your head." He laughed mightily as he fell those idiot bandits. Ellion roared victoriously as the bandits broke en masse, trying to hold the line when the fight had reached the village center. Just then, Jaron blew a horn in his belt to signal a cavalry charge.

The sound of the hooves soon overtook the sound of the fighting as the bandits simply tried to flee as soon as they saw the horse come straight for them. They were helpless as Griff and some of his top riders finished the job quickly. Ellion tracked down most of the fleeing bandits, until he was knocked to the ground by a particularly large bandit, who wielded an axe. He was a muscled savage, wearing hairy breeches, and bore tribal tattoos all over his body.

"You don' think it over yet, do ya? It ain't a over," The bandit bellowed as he tried to strike down Ellion as he tried regaining his balance. Ellion got up quickly and he could not believe how much it drained him to do so. He couldn't believe how easy it had been to get knocked down by the blood-crazed bandit. Ellion had sustained a few bruises from it. The bandit leaned forward and tried his hardest to strike Ellion with wild swings. Ellion dodged most of it, and deflected the rest of it, but each of the times he had tried to avoid the hits, he had his stamina drained. All his energy had been disappearing as the battle had raged on for a bit, even though the other bandits weren't much of a challenge. Ellion knew he had to get a little more aggressive and wait patiently for the right moment, when this bandit would get tired. Patient aggression is the key to winning a one on one battle with someone. Ellion craved this type of honorable battle between two men, and found himself lucky the rest were breaking and being chased down by mercenaries for them to double team him. Ellion noticing a long winded strike dodged to the side and delivered two swift strikes to the mid section. This angered the brute even more as his sword had cut into him pretty badly.

"You piece of shit." the brute roared as he continued to attack him. Just when he raised with all his might for a giant axe smash downward. Ellion seeing a grand opening delivered a bash with his shoulder with all his might, which caused the brute to double back a bit, giving him the time and room to deliver a slash to his shoulder. The sword went through the unarmored brute's flesh easily, but the brute continued to press on with a fight, painfully removing the blade with his bare hands. This man had such a high pain threshold that even Ellion admired him for it. The brute hobbled his axe up and tried to hit Ellion again with it. Ellion simply side stepped past it, and hit him with two sharp blows to both sides.

"RAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHH!" The man howled as he struggled to keep the axe in his hands. Ellion could not find out how much pain and suffering this man could handle. The brute began to breathe heavily and began to try to grab at Ellion. Ellion quickly pushed away all of his attempts. Frustrated and holding on to his life as he was heavily wounded, Ellion was only lightly wounded and bruised from the confrontation, he raised his axe one more time in a last ditch attempt to try to finish Ellion off. Ellion simply smiled, and to upset him he tried to parry it. It was at that moment he realized. He had fucked up. Ellion ended up getting slashed in the arm, as the axe hit the mail in in his gauntlets, penetrating them. It went deep into the bone of his forearm, but luckily not enough to damage the bone, only the skin. Ellion doubled back in pain, but just as the brute flashed up, his head just flew up, a sword jutting from his throat.

Ellion looked up and saw Griff on a horse, staring down at him.

"Like I said, don't underestimate your opponents," Ellion smiled.