I do not own the World of Ice and Fire
High Valyrian: Italic
Bold: Low Valyrian
Bastard Valyrian: Underline
Normal: Common Tongue
Tyrosh
One of the many rocks in Archon Myrmello's heart has been lifted, he looks out towards the harbour of Tyrosh from the bleeding tower and was delighted to see 200 ships with the Dragon banner of Stepstones on it.
But his good mood was plucked away when his city watch commander spoke in Bastard Valyrian "My Lord, is it truly wise to defy Volantis? The legacy of Old Valyria"?
Myrmello sighed at the stupid loyalty to the legacy of Valyria of his commander, so he answers "Volantis is no legacy of Old Valyria, they only claim to be. There is a large difference between claiming to be and actually being. Besides, I will not let this city be taken by foreign invaders".
Before the city watch commander can reply, a household guard of Myrmello barged in and announced, "My Lord, the Stepstone ships are nearing"!
Archon Myrmello nodded and said to the city watch commander "We will speak of this later".
Draeden and his commanders were on the Sea Dragon discussing plans.
Draeden looks at all his commanders after his briefing and asks "Does everyone understand their roles"?
Everyone nodded and replied "Yes my lord"!
Draeden nodded at that and went to prepare for the landing. Draeden went to prepare his outfit, he decided to wear his signature armour, alongside his dual blades.
As the Sea Dragon docked, Draeden was the first one to walk down the plank towards the docks, a party to welcome Draeden wwas already there. But everyone in that group was shocked at the sight of Draeden, some audibly gasped at the Valyrian beauty.
The welcome party was grand, but in their eyes the Valyrian Beauty was grander. The City Watch's commander was in awe at the blood of Valyria.
The mismatched eyes of Draeden glimmer with determination.
Even Archon Myrmello is surprised by the High Valyrian. But he quickly regathered his senses and bowed in greeting. After he went back up, he greeted Draeden in High Valyrian "Greetings Lord Draeden, words cannot describe my gratitude for helping us in our struggles"!
Draeden smiled and replied "The pleasure is all mine, together we will destroy the Volantis invaders".
The Archon smiled and replied "Well said my lord".
Two girls walked forward and gave two bouquets of flowers to Draeden, Draeden accepted the flowers and kissed their cheeks, causing the girls to giggle and the women in the party to blush.
Archon Myrmello then said "Now, my men will show yours a place for them to settle, but we need to discuss our plans to fight Volantis, but first we must not talk with an empty stomach".
When they were starting to make their way to the palace, a screech from the sky and shadows engulfing some parts of the city caused the welcome party to panic.
Draeden quickly calmed them "Please don't panic, I must apologize, but they are my dragons. They are here to assist us".
Archon Myrmello's eyes widened in shock. He had heard of the intel about dragons in Stepstones, but he did not think that they would be real. Myrmello squinted his eyes to get a better look on the dragons.
And there they were, beautiful, graceful, majestic and dangerous.
The commander of the city watch was in awe as well, Here they are, the true legacy of Valyria.
The Admiral of Tyrosh's fleet is looking at the dragons as well, He is also in awe at the dragons as he shares the same passion for the legacy of Valyria just as the commander of the city watch...
Draeden and Myrmello were in his solar after eating Baked Honeyfingers, they will need to discuss their next step of action before the Volantene host arrives.
Myrmello was the first to say "Volantis has mustered an army of around 100,000 in Volon Therys, I believe that they are still waiting to muster more men, at the mean time, I think you know Myr and Lys have fallen."
Draeden answered next "What of our allies"?
Myrmello gritted his teeth before replying"They are no more but false friends, Argilac Durrandon refuses to come and help defend Tyrosh, instead he disembarks on the western coasts of the disputed lands. And Dragonstone has not responded to any of our calls".
Draeden nodded while Myrmello continued "I must thank you Lord Draeden. For actually coming to our aid".
Draeden smiled and said "It is nothing, what is important is that we repel the false Legacy of Old Valyria."
Myrmello smiled and said "Of course".
Draeden then said "Last time your messenger spoke to me, he said that Myr had fallen to Volantis, that the rebellion failed".
Myrmello sighed and said "Indeed, the attack was led by the mad dog, Lyorro."
Draeden nodded and said "They mean to use Myr as the invasion's launching point to take here".
Myrmello eyes widen and asks "How do you know, do you hold an important piece of intel"?
Draeden shook his head and replied "No, it is only my speculation, the Volantene army is large, they will need to end this war swiftly if they don't want to strain their supply lines. The reason the host in Volon Therys is still there is because they lack the resources. And to end this war swiftly, they will need Myr as a launching point as it is closer to Tyrosh".
Archon Myrmello considers for a second and finds it evident. But he asks "But why not through the sea, why not go through Lys"?
Draeden smirked and said "Because they will have to go through the Stepstones. The Stepstones have a strong fleet and host despite I have brought some here".
Archon Myrmello nodded, and the dread of the invasion from Myr settled in, so he asked Draeden for any advice. "Well then, do you have any plans"?
Myrmello is not a martial man, and he won't deny it when Tyrosh is facing a catastrophe.
Draeden thought for a second before answering "There is, lead an assault on Myr, take it and leave a garrison there to hold the Volantene host, long enough to give the Volantene a reason to treat with us, so that they will not invade in the future".
Myrmello thought about this plan and he believed that it could work, but as soon as he realised that it could work, he remembered a big problem so he said to Draeden "I must apologize, Lord Draeden, despite your plan being a good one, the Volantene garrison now holding Myr is far greater than your own."
Draeden puts his hand to his chin and asks "How many men are there in Myr"?
Myrmello sighs but he answers "About 35,000 men"
Draeden nodded, but he asks "What if I borrowed some of your men, let me take Myr and hold the Volantene host out".
Myrmello looks at Draeden shockingly but asks "And what good will it do you"?
Draeden looked him right in the eye and replied "If the Volantene Invaders aren't stopped here, then the Stepstones will be next".
Myrmello nodded and said "I will need time to consider, Lord Draeden, please give me time".
Draeden nodded and said "Very well Archon".
Tyrosh, Nighttime.
The Commander of Tyrosh's city watch is pouring over a book. The book was given to him by his grandmother, and she had demanded that he read every page of the book and keep it safe.
He read of a man that was killed by his brother for the greater good. She read of the man's sister who sacrificed herself to prevent the same thing from happening again.
He read of the Conqueror of Chroyane, how he gave a Rhoynish princess a direction.
He read of the Conqueror of the broken arm of Dorne, how he hatched the Flying Flame.
He had read it when he was little, even though they were only stories, they were branded into his brain. Maybe it's because of her origin...
She believed that the legacy of Valyria are the rightful rulers of Tyrosh and not only Tyrosh, she had thought The First Daughter, Volantis to be the rightful rulers. But now after seeing living dragons flying...
And indeed, he is a she. She has hidden her true gender for years even before she became Commander of the City Watch.
Or she wouldn't even have a chance to be a regular footman.
Suddenly a knock sounded on her door and she immediately hid the book.
Outside the door is a hooded figure armed with only words to sway her...
The next morning after Draeden had broken his fast, Archon Myrmello had requested a meeting with Draeden in his solar.
Archon sat in his seat across Draeden, his desk between them. Myrmello then said "I've thought carefully about your plan, and I believe it is a good and reasonable one".
Myrmello took out a whip and handed it to Draeden.
Draeden looked at the whip curiously and asks "What is this"?
Myrmello smiled and answered "The whip of the slave soldiers, Unsullied."
Draeden looked at it for a moment before asking "And you will hand it to me"?
Myrmello then answers "You will lead them, all 15,000 of them towards victory".
Draeden took the whip over and said "Thank you Archon, the world will thank you for this".
The Archon who didn't know what was going to happen said "No, it is I who must thank you".
Draeden lowered his head and nodded, later Myrmello gave Draeden the whereabouts of the Unsullied and after calmly walking out of the solar Draeden rushed towards the square the Unsullied were in.
An hour before noon
Draeden and his commanders were gathered together in a chamber to discuss 'business'.
"So you all remember your rolls?" asked Draeden, everyone nodded in agreement. They were at the end of their meeting for the day and Draeden went to meet the gathered Unsullied at the square.
The other commanders all rushed to their positions after Draeden had left the chamber.
Draeden made his way to the unsullied that were gathered in a large square.
Draeden mounted his black destrier and pulled out his sword with his right hand while holding the whip on his left.
After Draeden made his way to the front of the army, Draeden scanned the army before he began his speech, "Unsullied! "
With a loud banging, the Unsullied slammed their shields to their spears to show their discipline. After that, Draeden spoke "Unsullied, for too long, haveTyrosh has held men against their free will, for too long, have Tyrosh enslaved men"!
Draeden rode left and right to make sure everyone can hear him, after that, he continued "No longer! Today you will act as breaker of chains! Today is the day where we reap the punishments of those slave owners have sowed"!
Draeden paused for a moment before continuing "Unsullied! kill every slave owner you come across! Break every chain you see on slaves! Imprison all the slave owner's family!"
On the order, the Unsullied all flood out of the square to execute their commander's orders.
A slave owner tried to run from an Unsullied, but his fat flesh hindered his movement and he was stabbed from his back to his chest by the Unsullied's spear.
A manor of a slave owning family was stormed, the men in the house were all killed, the children and women were taken in chains to imprisonment.
The chains on slaves were broken open and they joined the Unsullied's attack. The fury of the Slaves were unleashed that day, the fire of vengeance burned heavily on the masters.
Noon
Upon hearing the chaos erupt, Taelan and his men stormed the multiple armoury in the city owned by the Masters.
The guards sworn to the masters were cut down by Taelan and his men.
Taelan's Valyrian Cataphracts were fierce in fighting, heavily armoured men on top of equally armoured horses charged aggressively to ram and batter the Guard's lines.
Lances of the Cataphracts hit so strong, it pierced through the armour of the guards that went to retrieve their weapon. Multiple yells and grunts of pain echoed through the streets.
The hooves of the horses slammed and trampled the guards, the force of the hooves cracked the skulls and ribs of the guards that dared to take the charge on.
The charge was so strong that it left a bloody mess after the Cataphracts regroup. It is a mangled mess of flesh and blood and bones and shit on the floor in front of the armoury.
Jaeron Saraenor and the admiral of Tyrosh's fleet who had turned sides guard the harbour of Tyrosh, any master who made an attempt to escape was sunken by them.
Their fleet had intercepted many ships who made an attempt to run. But they were all rammed by Stepstone Triremes.
Dozens of ships sank that day, those that survived were dragged up to the planks with metal hooks to their flesh and killed.
After Noon
The Palace of the Archon was shut tight, the 2,000 strong household guards of Myrmello and the 5,000 strong City Watch of Tyrosh were stuck inside in order to protect Archon Myrmello.
"Fucking Dragonspawn"! yelled Archon Myrmello in Low Valyrian.
The captain of the household guard then said "We have to get you out of here Archon"!
Archon Myrmello's face turned red and yelled "And HOW will I do that!? Our admiral has turned against us, the harbour is now theirs"!
Before the captain of the Household guard can respond, a large pound came from the door.
Cracks can already be seen on the wooden doors just on the first ram, so the captain of the household guard orders, "Prepare for combat"!
Every member of the household guard unsheathed their steel and faced the door, the household guards were so focused on facing the door, they didn't realise that they have their backs against the city watch.
A sound of a painful yell sounded across the hall, only to be followed by more.
The city watch has turned against Archon Myrmello and had started cut down the unaware Household Guards from behind.
Archon Myrmello that was at the back with the City Guards was quickly restrained and pressed against the floor by the City Guards who were loyal only to there commander.
"Traitors!" yelled the Archon.
While the household guards turned around to face the City Watch, the door broke apart and the Unsullied flooded through the door and started forming a shield wall to attack the household guards from behind.
The household guards were skilled, but they were flanked and overwhelmed. The fighting stopped after an hour, resulting in thousands of household guards dead, while the others were captured or heavily wounded.
Archon Myrmello was dragged out of his own Palace and into the city's square, Draeden was already there, cladded in armour and blood of his enemies.
The Archon was brought on top of a stage where Draeden stood.
Myrmello opened his mout to speak, only to be gagged by the city guards.
Draeden stood tall, thousands of people were beneath the stage, most of them former slaves.
The slaves cheered for Draeden, while cursed for the death of the Archon.
Draeden raised both his arms to silence the crowd so that he may speak.
After the crowd settled down, Draeden spreaded his arms like a welcoming a guest and spoke in Low Valyrian "Free people of Tyrosh"!
The crowd once again cheered at the top of their lungs while archon Myrmello curses through his gag.
Draeden then continued after the crowd settled a little "For too long, have these Archons tolerate the system where powerful men have treated humans as their property"!
The crowd cheered again, and cursed at the Archon.
Draeden once again spoke "But that's not all!"
The crowd silenced at that and allowed Draeden to continue "The Archon Myrmello may claim that what he did was protecting Tyrosh! But secretly he had made an agreement with Volantis"!
The crowd cursed Myrmello's ancestor and his name, while Myrmello's eyes widened in shock. All he had ever done was for the good of Tyrosh, now he is accused of treachery.
Draeden stopped for a moment to let this information sink in before continuing "He even tried to convince me to join Volantis, he even said that he will give all the inhabitants in Tyrosh, slave or not as gifts to the Triarchs to prove his loyalty!"
Tears rolled down Myrmello's cheeks as he took this all in. His efforts at the end were manipulated by false charges.
Draeden then continued "But I will not have it! I will not let the people of Tyrosh fall into slavery!"
The people continued cheering for Draeden, and Draeden finally said his big reveal "Because I, Draeden of house Draeterys IS the true legacy of Valyria"!
The people silenced for a moment before cheering again!
Myrmello wept instead, he had worked hard to repel an invader, only to invite another invader into his walls.
Draeden then declared "And I hereby abolish all forms of slavery in my lands! There will be no owning another human as property in my administration"!
The crowd cheered for Draeden, they cheered for the legacy of Valyria. And they honoured him as their rightful liege.
"As for the lies of Tyrosh"! declared Draeden as he pointed at the former Archon Myrmello.
The people then chanted "Death! Death! Death! Death! Death...
Draeden then slowly walked towards Myrmello, the former Archon looked towards Draeden with angry eyes.
Once Draeden reached Myrmello he whispered "I apologize Archon, but your death is necessary for the greater good, on behalf of the future, I thank you".
Draeden then unleashed his slashing blade and immediately chopped Myrmello's head down in one clean swing.
The people cheered as Myrmello's head rolled down the stage.
Draeden whispered a prayer for Myrmello, what he did was wrong, but it was necessary for the greater good As greatness has no room for the honourable.
The crowd started to disperse once Myrmello's head was placed on a spike, the square started to clear once the Unsullied entered it.
Once the Unsullied had settled down, Draeden declared. "Unsullied! Since your birth, you have been held captive! They have defiled you! Those masters have held you and commanded you against your free will! No Longer!"
The 15,000 Unsullied still stood imperiously while Draeden continued "Today I return you, all of you to free men! And I will bestow upon you your first choice as free men"!
Draeden's war council stood above the stage and took in everything. Taelan and Jaeron had a smile on their face.
Draeden then said "Fight for me as a free man! Fight for me as a glorious warrior you are! Fight with me to free other slaves!'
At first there was nothing, but then an Unsullied tapped the stone ground with the tip of his spear. And then another joined, and another, and another, and another, and another...
Moments later the tapping of the spear turned into a roaring thunder.
Taelan and Jaeron smiled widely at the scene, all 15,000 Unsullied were tapping their spears for Draeden Draeterys, the Legacy of Valyria .
In the Bleeding Tower
Draeden and his councilors were inside the main chamber in the Bleeding tower to discuss the following action to take.
The Head of Healers, Zanda is there to report to Draeden of her work "We do not have deaths on our side my lord, but some are heavily and lightly wounded, we will do our best to heal their wounds. We have healed the injured citizens of Tyrosh during the battle as you commanded my lord. A small number of them have died, but most of them are unharmed, we will do our best to care for the injured".
Draeden nodded and said "Nicely done Zanda, I must thank and compliment your work".
Zanda smiled and bowed.
The commander of Tyrosh's city watch is there as well, but this time she had openly revealed her gender. Her short blond hair was cut close to her ears similar to Draeden, and she no longer tied her chest with linen to make her more masculine.
Her name is Rohanndra, she had revealed her own name when the meeting had just started.
And now Draeden is addressing her following tasks in High Valyrian "Rohanndra, when judging the masters and their family, you will give them two choices, first, be exiled or second, die".
Rohanndra nodded and said "It will be done my lord".
Draeden isn't finished and said "We will cease all the possessions of the masters and their families, half of them will be given to the slaves so that they can build a life of their own".
Rohanndra once again nodded.
Draeden then turned to his newly recruited Governor of Tyrosh, Moreo and said "Your duties include governing Tyrosh in whole, except for its military and City Watch, your children will not inherit Tyrosh if you die as Tyrosh belongs to me, but I gave you power to rule, but you will govern Tyrosh until your death, unless I have other plans for you or Tyrosh, if you disobey me I will burn you with dragon fire, do you understand"?
Moreo bowed and said "Understood maste- I mean My lord, forgive me." Moreo was a former slave just hours ago, but he is a wise and competent steward for one of the former masters.
Draeden then moved on to the former Admiral Racallio of Tyrosh, Draeden had made him Grand Commander of Tyrosh, Draeden said "Racallio, your duties include keeping the peace of Tyrosh, you will be in charge of building a new standing army of Tyrosh, you will work together with Moreo to keep the peace, the city watch of Tyrosh is not yours to watch as it belongs to the Justicar, and Racallio, if you were to defy me, you will be met with my dragons. Do you understand"?
Grand Commander Racallio answered "I understand my lord".
Right after Racallio finished, a knock sounded from the large doors. Draeden nodded and two guards opened the door of the spacious chamber they are in.
15 Unsullied that has three spikes on their bronze caps march into the chamber in three columns neatly.
They tapped their feet as they come to a stop in the middle of the chamber, facing Draeden.
Draeden smiled and walked forward to ask "So have you all chosen a new Commander"?
The Unsullied parted neatly with discipline for their chosen Commander to come forth and take his helmet off to present himself to Draeden.
The commander chosen among the officers has an emotionless and serious face. He has average height but is lanky. Yet as a fellow warrior, Draeden can tell that the lanky body is robust and swift.
The Commander of the Unsullied then spoke. "This one has the honour to be chosen".
Draeden smiled and said "And the honour is mine as well".
Draeden then asks "May I enquire your name"?
The Commander then answers"Black Snake".
Draeden sighed and said "I believe I have said that all of you may choose your own name. A name that gives you pride".
Black Snake then immediately replies "The name does give this one pride my lord. It is the name given to me the day Draeden Draeterys granted Black Snake's freedom".
Draeden then suddenly felt the importance, so Draeden nodded.
After a few seconds Draeden invited Black Snake over to discuss their next step "Now come my friend. Let us discuss our next course of action".
Draeden then returned to the desk while Black Snake and his officers followed. Taelan Rexagon then took out a piece of map of Essos and placed it on the desk.
Once Taelan placed the map down, Draeden spoke "According to our former friend, Myr has about 35,000 men defending it".
Rohanndra nodded and added "But according to our spies in Myr a few day ago, the Volantene army has no discipline".
Everyone listened to her carefully as she spoke "The army is still looting, raping and robbing. The commander, Lyorro is not even bothering to try and regather any sense of discipline they have left".
Everyone nodded at the information, but Jaeron Saraenor asked "But still, despite them being 35,000 drunken bastards, they are still 35,000 of them".
Draeden then answered "Number does not decide a battles outcome".
Jaeron then says politely"But My Lord, in a battle, an army with the largest army wins nine times out of ten".
Draeden then answered him without blinking "It is never about numbers in the arts of warfare, a capable commander uses all the advantages available for him to create Victory, even though the numbers are one of them, they are still other advantages a commander can take".
Jaeron Saraenor then calmly says "I am just suggesting My Lord, that we should use a great weapon in our arsenal".
Draeden blinked and realised what Jaeron is suggesting "You wish to have me deploy my dragons".
Jaeron nodded and said "Indeed my lord".
Draeden then rationally said "The dragons are our trump card. We will only use them when it is neccessary."
Jaeron wishes to argue, but he decided to trust his judgement as Lord Draeden's daring plans have yet to fail them.
Draeden then suggests "We will need to take Myr".
The others all nodded, while Taelan said "It will be hard as we will be outnumbered".
Black Snake then suggested "We will need to be quick, strike when they are yet to be ready".
Draeden nodded and added "And unnoticed as we strike".
Draeden nodded to his commanders and pulled out a map of Myr and said "Now all we need to discuss is the details".
Comments
Yeah I borrowed a page off of Dany's book! So conquering cities is not an easy task, ruling it is even harder. So Draeden needs to justify his conquest to lubricate his hold on Tyosh. And also, RIP Myrmello, the hero that was not to be.
And Draeden will not use his Dragons unless the situation is dire because he needs to prove that he is a capable commander on the battlefield to earn the respect and loyalty of his men.
Thank you everyone for your compliments, I hope this story doesn't dissappoint you in the future.
I need to ask, where can I get art for the cover photo of this story, I tried the AI generated one but they are all weird. Any suggestions?
I do plan for a millitary rivalry between Draeden and Grohan. But I can't leak anything.
Yeah I am sorry I didn't mention it in the story, but Volantis just thought that the dragons were just rumours.
So the relationship between the Citadel and the Keepers of the Knowledges are complicated. They are both curious about the knowledge the other kept, but due to the Citadel's relationship with the Faith of The Seven the Citadel must stay away from them because the Keepers have knowledge about magic, which is considered to be evil in the faith.
As for the healers, The Citadel just thinks that their healing methods are queer, but they are curious of their methods.
I really, really appreciate your enthusiasm on my story Moran. It keeps me motivated about the little world I have created in a larger world!
As for the dragon banner, the dragon is gold but is red on its ridges and wing.
As for the prophecy about the gold of the Lannisters... well. I have another interpretation on the matter because Septon Barth only speculated it, I will have my own speculations on this prophecy...