The Dragon of Sothoryos

by Fantasymaker76

172 years before the events of Rise of the Divines, House Targaryen stands at the height of it's power with it's dragons. But a succession crisis is emerging with factions forming to support two rival claims to the throne which will start a civil war that will decimate the House of the Dragon. Among this, a lone Targaryen sets off on an adventure and trying so hard to stay neutral.

4. Tempest Island

Tempest Island:

Within a year of the announcement, King Viserys I married Lady Alicent Hightower during a magnificent ceremony in King's Landing. Many lords over the realm attended the wedding and while it was said that the commoners celebrated since Alicent was a very pious woman, many lords were more cautious. My father was right about the feelings towards Otto Hightower, many lords felt that he was getting too power hungry and there were rumours that he was preventing the Stepstones from being dealt with so Oldtown would get more trade though there has never been any official proof.

As for the Stepstones, Lord Corlys Velaryon along with my uncle Daemon Targaryen began preparations for a military campaign in the Stepstones without the king's approval. Daemon helped build an army mostly from younger sons and landless knights but he also managed to gain support from Houses Manderly and Grafton as both Houses shared the same issues as House Velaryon. Corlys gathered his navy but before they could begin their campaign, something happened which would shape my own personal journey and my life would never be the same again.

Macea Targaryen: The Dragon of Sothoryos:

Narrow Sea:

High above the waters of the Narrow Sea, Macea Targaryen was flying her dragon Shadowfyre on a small scouting mission. Despite the worries of her father, she had been determined to join her uncle Daemon on this. She had no desire to remain in King's Landing anymore and she had even stopped calling herself princess. She knew it wouldn't be long before Otto Hightower tried to arrange a match for her and there was no way she was going to allow that. She wanted to go and adventure and this also gave her an opportunity to help make alliances, she was not blind to Otto's ambitions and knew she needed to secure her father's position as well as Rhaenyra's.

It was also useful that she had Shadowfyre to help, after all dragons were one of the most powerful weapons in war and the more they had the better. They had four dragons for this campaign, Shadowfyre, Caraxes, Rhaenys' dragon Meleys and Laenor's young dragon Seasmoke. Meleys and Caraxes were already veteran war dragons as both had fought pirates off Tarth in the later years of King Jaehaerys' reign. The one worry they had was the possibility that the Triarchy may had Scorpion Crossbows with them, they were one of the few weapons that could bring down a dragon just like how the Dornish did to Queen Rhaenys and Meraxes during the First Dornish War and the first attack would be done by the fleet in case they had Scorpion crossbows.

First off the dragons would be performing several scouting missions from Tarth where the Velaryon fleet had waiting for now until the time was right. Tarth had been attacked before by raiders from Myr and so they Lord Tarth was concerned about the Triarchy and had allowed the fleet to use the ruined castle of Morne as a staging ground.

Macea was flying as normal but soon noticed the clouds were getting darker and almost in a split second, the weather changed from a normal calm day into a fierce storm. There was heavy rain and heavy wind which made it very difficult for Shadowfyre to fly as the winds were shaking him from side to side.

"Where did this come from?" Macea asked herself, the clouds had been clear before and she was nowhere near the stormy seas of the Stormlands, the rain was heavy and she was struggling to see "Come one Shadowfyre, we need to get out of this storm." Stormfyre began to descend hoping to get out of the storm clouds and make their way to land. It was fast and difficult but soon the large black dragon came out of the clouds but Macea was confused by what she saw.

Nearby lay a large island right in the middle of the sea. The island was mountainous and at the tallest peak of the island seemed to be a large beam of light coming from a large pillar and from the beam of light, clouds were beginning to form. Macea was confused, she was still not close to the Stepstones yet and was this light creating this storm. Before she could think about it, she saw a large blast of lighting coming from the pillar and to her horror, it was heading straight towards her. She tried to get Shadowfyre to fly away to avoid the strike but the dragon was strike direct in the chest which caused him to screech and begin falling from the sky. Macea had been shocked as well but still alive, she tried to get Shadowfyre awake who seemed to have been knocked out and was falling towards the island.

Shadowfyre struck the ground hard and the force threw Macea from the saddle. She was in quite a bit of pain from the fall but tried to gain her bearings. She quickly went over to check on Shadowfyre but as she was going so, he heard the clanging of armour and watched as multiple armoured figures came into view, they wore silver coloured armour but they seemed to have deep white skin and pointy ears.

The leader had thicker armour and a wicked smirk on her face "Well well, seemed we've brought down a dragon lads, Stormreeve Neidir will be pleased. Take her alive, she will be a valuable hostage, the crabfeeder will reward us."

"Understood Commander Ohmanil." One of the soldiers replied and they drew their swords while Macea got hers out ready for a fight, she was glad that her father had helped train her to fight but she was unsure if she could take out all these men at once.

King's Landing: Red Keep gardens:

Rhaenyra Targaryen sat below the heart tree alone reading a book. Despite Macea's warnings about Alicent being a victim, Rhaenyra still felt betrayed and couldn't bring herself to talk with Alicent even though she had tried several times. It was hard seeing her best friend as her stepmother now, Alicent was kind but it still hit hard about how sudden this had been. Alicent was pregnant now as tried to reassure Rhaenyra that this child would not push her away from her father, she would still be his daughter but the whispers followed throughout the court about how Alicent was pregnant with the heir to the Iron Throne and that Rhaenyra would be married off soon.

Rhaenyra tried not to let the feelings get the better of her and went back to her reading only for her name being called to interrupt him. "I thought you would be here." Aerys Targaryen said walking towards her "Macea did say that this was your favourite place." Rhaenyra said nothing making Aerys sighed "How are you doing?"

Rhaenyra sighed "It's been a year and I've never felt so alone. Macea's gone off on an adventure with uncle Daemon, my best friend has become my stepmother and I'm expecting a brother or sister who will supplant me as heir."

Aerys sighed "The heir thing may have happened regardless of who my brother married." He commented "It's just harder to see because it's Otto's daughter."

Rhaenyra looked at her uncle "Rhaenys spoke to me before the wedding and before all of this happened. She said the realm would tear itself apart than see a woman on the throne."

Aerys sighed "Some people are bigots and fools." He stated firmly "Women can rule just as well as men, who do you think runs the household while the men are away, the women. Who looks after the children, the women. Women have just as important job as men but some people just see them as pawns or as baby makers. But Rhaenys is right, I may have been a young man when the Great Council happened but your father won by a landslide. The lords opinions were made clear there, men come first. Many of us though are concerned about Otto's ambitions and power. I love my brother but he can be such a fool at times. Otto is gaining too much power for our liking, not just me, Beesbury and Strong have similar opinions but your father trusts Otto and Melos too much. It was Melos who suggested the operation on your mother, he and Otto are closely aligned."

Rhaenyra looked at her uncle "Is there something we can do about them?" she asked

Aerys sighed "Otto is clever, he's careful enough not to make his moves too oblivious but makes good arguments but he may slip up eventually. Everyone makes mistakes and when he does, we may be able to make an argument for his removal. Patiance is a quality of a ruler, it makes you wise. If you rush into things then you make mistakes, that is a worry that I have with Corlys and Daemon's plan but I too got tired of Viserys' inaction. This problem has been festering for years. Even when the Triarchy first began getting greedy the king did nothing and now they've begun attacking our ships even when outside their waters, it's an act of war but waiting around is only going to go so far. Best to cut the head off the snake then let it slither and hide planning its next move.

Before Rhaenyra could reply, she heard voices and saw Master of Laws Lyonel Strong arriving with a grim face "Prince Aerys, Princess Rhaenyra, you must come to the council room quick, there's been a situation."

"What kind of situation?" Rhaenyra asked

Lyonel looked at Aerys with an apologetic look "I think you best see for yourself but it concerns your daughter, Princess Macea."

...

Rhaenyra and Aerys arrived at the Council chamber where King Viserys sat with a grim look on his face along with the rest of the council. Something that Aerys noticed "What's going on?" he asked

Viserys sighed and handed over a raven scroll "Read it, it arrived this morning." He stated simply

Aerys took the scroll and read it to himself. It took him a second to realize what it said and then it read it again "This can't be true?"

"The raven came from the southern direction." Mellos added "Plus this came as well." He held out a large gold necklace with a ruby studded in. Aerys recognised it as the necklace he gave to his wife on their wedding day, the one that was passed down to Macea "I can only say that it is true."

Rhaenyra then looked over the letter and her eyes widened, it had been sent directly from the Stepstones from the Crabfeeder himself who claimed that his men had captured Macea Targaryen and taken down her dragon. They were demanding a massive ransom for her or they would sell her to a pleasure House in Lys.

"We must respond with a show of strength." Lyonel Strong stated "This cannot go unanswered, a few merchant ships is one thing but taking a princess is an act of war."

"She should never have gone down there in the first place." Otto bluntly stated "She is facing the consequences of her actions."

Aerys' eyes narrowed at Otto "Careful what you say Otto!" he hissed "That's my daughter we're talking about, not some minor lady."

"We cannot afford to pay such a ransom." Mellos added "Such a thing would bankrupt the realm. Plus it will set a bad example."

"Then we send the dragons." Rhaenyra stated firmly "We send the Triarchy a clear message that this kind of actions will not be tolerated."

Viserys sighed in both annoyance and worry. Macea was his niece, gods above if it had been Rhaenyra he would have gone all out on the Triarchy to get her back but an all out war with the Triarchy would be costly in both gold and men. "We need to try and solve this peacefully." He said "I can use allies in the other Free Cities, put pressure on the Triarchy to force them to release her."

Aerys' eyes narrowed "And how long will that take huh?" he demanded "I will not allow my daughter to be sold like some whore. Rhaenyra is right, we need to show strength, we should attack the Stepstones and show the Triarchy that this will not be excepted. I will burn the Triarchy's cities if they touch her." His face was full of fury, earlier he had been calm with Rhaenyra but now that his daughter's life was in danger, he was full of fury. He didn't know who to blame, Macea for going off, Corlys and Daemon for going on this adventure in the first place or Viserys and the council for not doing something sooner.

Otto tried to calm things down "Now Aerys, I understand you're upset."

Aerys shoved a pitcher of wine off the table which shattered which froze everyone "You're fucking right I'm upset. Maybe if you had listened to my warnings before about the threat the Triarchy poses then Corlys wouldn't have gone off on this war."

"It was still your daughter's choice to go off." Otto stated "Maybe if you had helped her become a proper lady then she wouldn't have gone off." That was the wrong thing to say as Aerys threw a goblet at him which struck him on the head.

"Watch it Otto!" Aerys snapped angrily "I will not allow you to disrespect my daughter like that!" then he glared at her brother "I have been patience but this is the last straw, consider this my resignation, I'm joining Daemon and Corlys. Maybe you will learn to make your own decisions instead of relying on Hightower here and don't give me that talk about him being a loyal hand; he's a manipulative cunt who seems to control you. I pray to the Gods that you see it soon." With that he stormed off with Rhaenyra running after him.

...

Rhaenyra found Aerys in his chambers who was packing his bag preparing to go "Are you really leaving?" she asked

"I have to." Aerys said "As much as I wish I could stay to keep an eye on Hightower, my daughter comes first. I may not know how to fight like Daemon does or fly a dragon but I can't just sit back and do nothing."

Rhaenyra knew that Aerys was right and gave him a hug "Be careful uncle, make sure that you bring Macea back and if those Triarchy cunts harm her in any way, show them why our Houses words are Fire and Blood. I know Macea would."

Aerys patted Rhaenyra on the head "I will niece. Remember your position and never let anyone doubt you just because you are a woman. Also I know how you feel about Alicent but remember Macea's words; she is just as much of a victim as well, one of Hightower's manipulations. If he fails to convince Viserys to name a son of hers as heir then he will probably use vague threats to force Alicent to make a hard choice. And be careful what you do, Otto has eyes and ears everywhere, anything you do may be used against you." And with that, Aerys left Rhaenyra and the Red Keep making his way to the docks to look for a ship that would take him to Corlys and Daemon's fleet, he knew they were currently at Tarth and so he books a ship there.

Tarth: The Stormlands:

The island of Tarth lay off the coast of the Stormlands and was ruled by House Tarth at Evenfall Hall on the western part of the island facing the mainland. The island acted as a buffer for the Stormlands from both pirates and also from storms since the island acted as shield protecting the straits of Tarth from the worst of the storms allowing ships to sail through. The island itself was beautiful with crystal blue water and wonderful landscapes that gave the island the nickname the sapphire island because of the colour of the water.

The Velaryon fleet had docked at the eastern side of the island near the ruined castle of Morne. This was not Corlys' first time on the island, he had been here when Myrish pirates had invaded the island in 91AC and had resulted in a small war which had seen the invaders removed but also saw the death of the heir to the Iron Throne Prince Aemon who was Corlys' father in law. Because Tarth still remembered this invasion nearly 20 years ago, the people were more than happy to allow the Velaryon fleet to dock since they feared another invasion.

Corlys was in the remains of the castle with his wife Princess Rhaenys and young son Laenor who was growing up fast and ready for his first real battle, their daughter Laena was back on Dragonstone with the island's Castilian ruling while Rhaenys and Corlys were away.. Also attending was Corlys' younger brother Vaemond and his two sons Daemion and Daeron. Rhaenys didn't think much of her brother in law, Vaemond seemed to be ambitious, too ambitious even more so than Corlys and he thought he was better than he was but his only real fame was that he was the younger brother of the sea snake.

The only member not here right now was Daemon who had gone off on a scouting trip after Macea had not returned, it was for the best, Daemon could lead men into battle but he was no strategist so Corlys was planning his attack.

The Stepstones consisted of about a dozen rocky islands, most were small and not worth mentioning but the largest was Bloodstone which was also the most heavily guarded of the islands. It was where the Triarchy forces had dug in so for now Corlys was focusing on the smaller islands. He was also careful not to try and attack near Dorne out of concern that the Dornish could join on the side of the Triarchy, the Dornish had never been conquered by the Targaryens and so they would not like having a Targaryen foothold close to their home so Corlys had to be careful.

"The three most important islands in the Stepstones are Bloodstone, Grey Gallows and Tortures Deep." Corlys said "They will be the most guarded in particular Bloodstone. Grey Gallows is also close to Tyrosh so taking that island might show the Triarchy that we can threaten them."

"Our navy is strong father but I'm worried about our army." Laenor stated

Vaemond smirked "Their army won't matter. They can't stand up to the might of our dragons and we have two fully grown adults plus one another one ready for battle."

Rhaenys scowled "Don't get cocky with the dragons." She stated "There not invincible and neither are the riders. I remember seeing my father being shot by a crossbow here on this very island by a Myrish pirate and he had a dragon."

"We still need to take one of the islands in order to have a stronghold to take the others." Corlys stated "This particular island Dwarfstone seems to be largely undefended. We can set up our main base here and then take the surrounding islands. One we've consolidated our hold, we can move onto the three main islands of Bloodstone, Grey Gallows and Tortures Deep."

"We should wait for Prince Daemon to return first." Rhaenys stated "We need to try and find out what happened to Princess Macea, she must be found."

Narrow Sea:

Prince Daemon Targaryen rode his dragon high in the sky. He had been on a scouting mission and a hunt to try and locate his niece Princess Macea. After she had not returned from a scouting mission, he had grown worried and rode off to try and find her. Caraxes had a strong sense of smell and rode off in the direction that Macea and Shadowfyre had flown off in. He had been surprised when he encountered a severe storm that even Caraxes struggled to fly in. He had eventually been able to turn around but not before catching a glimpse of a small island in the distance which confused him as he was not near the Stepstones right now.

He was flying back to Tarth to report to Corlys when he spotted a ship nearby. He didn't pay any attention to it but then he saw an arrow fly into the air, not aimed at him but as a signal, the ship was trying to signal him. He took Caraxes down ready in case this was a trap and landed on the deck of the ship, he smirked as the crew cowered in fear.

"You seem to have wanted my attention." Daemon firmly stated "Now you have it."

"It was me that wanted your attention." A familiar voice called and Daemon was surprised to see his brother Aerys step out with a bow in his hand "I was coming to find you on Tarth but then I saw Caraxes in the sky and figured I should try and get your attention. Think you can bring me with you to Tarth."

Daemon looked a bit confused "I thought you couldn't fight?" he questioned "Is this to do with Macea?"

Aerys sighed "I'll tell you on the way. I need your help." Daemon nodded and helped Aerys on the dragon after he had paid the ship's captain some gold for the trouble before they flew off again.

King's Landing: Red Keep Gardens:

Rhaenyra Targaryen sat on her own again under the Heart Tree in the Godswood. Now she had never felt so alone before as she had no one to talk to. Both her uncle's had gone off to fight in the Stepstones, her cousin was missing, her mother was dead and her she was not on talking terms with her father or her best friend. Despite both Macea and Aerys words, Rhaenyra found it hard to talk with Alicent after everything that had happened.

Speaking of Alicent, she arrived in the Godswood wearing a deep red dress symbolising her position as a Targaryen Queen. She was heavily pregnant and the Maesters say that she was due to give birth to her first child any day now.

"I heard about what happened." Alicent said "I heard about Macea."

"I bet your father told you." Rhaenyra simply said not looking up from her book "And I bet he told you that she brought it on herself by not acting like a lady."

Alicent sighed "He said..." she began only for Rhaenyra to interrupt.

"I don't want to hear it." Rhaenyra snapped and glared at her after she shut her book her "Why didn't you tell me, that you were seeing my father? Do you know how I felt when he announced it? Do you know how betrayed I feel? My best friend becoming my stepmother, how we lost a key ally?"

Alicent struggled to speak "It took me by surprise as well." She said truthfully, she had indeed not expected it at all, "My father only said I should help your father get over his loss."

Rhaenyra however did not believe it "You're a smart woman Alicent, surely you should have seen that your father was using you to gain more power for himself, many lords talk about how he's gathered too much power and now you've been caught in his schemes. Does your father claim he loves you, well he just seems to have used you to cement his position as the favourite of the king which will make him a target by his rivals?"

Alicent struggled to speak "You think I wanted this, to be queen?"

"What girl doesn't dream of being queen?" Rhaenyra hissed before walking away "Maybe one day we can be friends again, after all Macea said that you are a victim as well but you have to show me that I can trust you again after you broken the trust that I've had in you for years." She then left leaving Alicent with tears beginning in her eyes but she wiped them away before they fell.

Moore: Tarth:

The army of Corlys Velaryon was preparing to begin their voyage to the Stepstones to begin their campaign against the forces of the Triarchy. Corlys was getting the ships ready to sail, while he would lead the naval campaign, Daemon would lead the army. Corlys wanted to be ready to sail once Daemon returned.

Right on cue, the roar of a dragon was heard and everyone watched as the Blood Wyrm Caraxes flew overhead before landing in the remains of the castle's great Hall. Corlys quickly saw that Daemon was not alone.

"Lord Corlys." Prince Aerys greeted as he got off the dragon.

"Prince Aerys." Corlys replied with a little bit of hesitation. He knew that Aerys had support Corlys' concerns about the Triarchy but was confused as to why he was here as unlike Daemon, he was not a fighter "Did the king send you?"

Aerys sighed and shook his head "No one sent me, I came of my own accord when I got the message."

"What message?" Corlys asked and was then handed the raven scroll by Aerys. When Corlys read the scroll, he was shocked "Those bastards! They've gone too far."

"And Otto was dismissive as always!" Aerys snarled

Daemon also looked angry when he read the scroll "If Hightower had said such things to me I would have split him in two, damn whatever Viserys says."

"We need to get her back." Corlys firmly stated "And fast."

"But how?" Aerys asked "I would let the world burn if it means my daughter is safe. But we have no idea where she is."

No one could say anything or come up with a solution until a voice called out "I can help you with that."

They all looked to see a tall dark skinned man approaching them. The guards were on alert and ready to draw their swords but Aerys held them back "Wait, I want to hear what he has to say." He said

"I have been watching you all for some time." The man says although I am shocked you don't remember me, after all I thought you would remember someone who gave you a hard fight."

Daemon then recognised him "Wait, you the man who beat me in the heir's tournament." He hissed

"Sai Sahan." He stated with a smile "And we have a saying, every loss is a lesson, learn from it. Anyway, I think I know where princess Macea is currently being held but my friend could explain it more." They all turned and were surprised at the new figure who approached them, it was a very pale woman with skin whiter than anyone had seen as hair as white as snow but the most shocking thing were the pointy ears.

"The name's Siravaen." She replied "And I think we all better sit down and let me explain everything."

...

Later, Damon and Corlys had gathered Vaemond, Rhaenys and Laenor so that Sai and Siravaen could explain everything.

"To understand what we're about to tell you, I should first explain who I am." Siravaen said "I am a Sea Elf from the land of Pyandonea which is far south, further than anyone from your land has ever travelled. I'm not going to go into details but I will say that I was sent by my people's king Orgnum to hunt down a faction of my people called the Sea Vipers. That's why I am here."

"What does your mission have to do with us?" Daemon demanded

"It wouldn't normally but the Sea Vipers have cut a deal with your enemy." Siravaen explained "They've cut a deal with the Crabfeeder, the Sea Vipers are little more than pirates but they hold a power lost to your people, magic."

Vaemond scoffed "Oh please, tell me you don't believe this shit." He said to Corlys.

Siravaen just glared and shot a blast of lightning into the air proving him wrong "Do you believe me now?" she asked "Anyway, the Sea Vipers under their leader Stormreeve Neidir made a deal with the Crabfeeder who seems to be going his own way."

"What does that mean?" Corlys asked

"The Crabfeeder has lost the support of others in the Triarchy leadership." Sai said "I am part of a group that was hired to help deal with the Sea Vipers, my order has connections with kingdoms who are concerned about the Triarchy's influence and we learnt that the Crabfeeder has became overambitious. He's trying to form his own kingdom and cut the Triarchy out of it. They won't give him any support but they won't hesitate to fight you when you take him out."

"As for the Sea Vipers, they've helping the Crabfeeder get more targets." Siravaen added and then pointed down to the map "They've set up a base on a remote island here where they're using their magic to create storms that force any ship towards the Stepstones where the Triarchy are waiting."

Corlys looked a bit sceptical "Hang on, there's nothing marked on the map."

"Because the island has never been mapped." Siravaen explained "The island is surrounded by mist and storms so no one sees it and comes back."

Daemon realised "Wait, I flew near that area and encountered a powerful storm and I saw some kind of island with a bright light coming from it."

"That would be the island itself." Siravaen confirmed "I can guild a small force there and if we can take out its source, then the your fleet can sail on. You can't take on the Stepstones until you've taken out this base so right now your interests are aligned."

Daemon looked at them "What kind of force can we expected on this island?"

"The Sea Vipers will have a quite a force there." Sai said "My investigations say that their top commanders are Neidir and a man named Ohmanil. They both need to be taken out but I estimate they have a force of about 300, the Vipers have other bases elsewhere but they're not important right now. Be warned though, they've brought over native creatures from their homeland such as Lamias and sea serpents."

"Our army outnumbers them." Daemon boasted "We can land there and take them out."

Siravaen sighed "I'm afraid it's not as simple." She said "The island is filled with natural caves that they hide in. Plus with the storm your dragons are useless. The island itself is called Tempest Island and is surrounded by mist but I can get one ship through but only one. With the storms it will be impossible for me to lead a whole fleet through. Plus with one ship, I can maybe sneak through and land without being detected"

"One ship can transport enough men for an assault." Corlys stated "If this island is there then we need to take them out."

"Plus I'm guessing my daughter is there." Aerys stated

Sai nodded "Yes I believe so." He said

"Then we should get a move on." Daemon stated "The faster we get moving the better. I can lead the soldiers once we make landfall"

"I'm coming with you." Aerys stated "Macea is my daughter and it's my duty as her father to help her."

Corlys sighed "I wouldn't recommend that Aerys." He said "You don't know how to fight, your daughter would not want to hear that you got yourself killed. Stay back with the ship. Laenor will go though, it will be good for him to get some combat experience."

Laenor Velaryon looked at his father "I won't let you down father." He said

Rhaenys smiled at him "I know you won't son. You may have a dragon but you are also a Velaryon and the future of our house."

Tempest Island: Sea Elf Camp:

Macea Targaryen was annoyed at how she had gotten caught in this situation. She had been captured after Shadowfyre had crashed on this island. Shadowfyre had managed to recover enough to help fight back but his wing was injured and unable to fly. Macea and Shadowfyre had been able to fight back against the mysterious group who attacked them but despite Shadowfyre blasting them with fire and Macea's fighting skills, there had been too many and eventually, Macea had been captured and Shadowfyre secured and tight down after being drugged by some kind of plant to keep him docile.

Macea had been placed in a wooden cage while Shadowfyre was chained nearby with a metal chain wrapped around his mouth with was made of a metal strong enough to resist the force of a dragon opening its mouth. The army had moved the two of them to a secure camp where one of the commanders known as Ohmanil was based with 2 lieutenants of his which she hear were called Yalorasse and Valaran from conversations. Right now Macea could hear Ohmanil talking with who she heard was the leader of these pirates, Stormreave Neidir.

"Cragas has ordered the girl be taken to him." Neidir stated "She's valuable to him."

"She is a princess." Ohmanil smirked "She's worth a lot but was it wise to reveal that we captured her, she could attract a lot of unwanted attention. The Targaryens are not going to take kindly to one of their own and it's not going to be long before they come here."

Neidir scoffed "There's no way they can get through our storm power." She said looking at the storm conduit at the highest peak of the island "The storm covers us and by the time they see us, there's no getting out, they get shipwrecked here. Besides, while I am happy that Cragas has been paying us for our service, he's been taking all the credit for himself. I vowed to make the Sea Vipers a force to be reckoned with, not pawns for their games."

"So we're going off on our own then?" Ohmanil asked

"Once Cragas is defeated. Let them think that he has the girl and then when he is gone, we head back to the Basalisk Isles and carry on our campaign against the Dominion, they may think they've won against the Inheritance rebels but they're not the only threat they face from the inside. We'll take the girl with us; she'll be more valuable to us. For now keep an eye out, I'm heading out to the conduit." Neidir explained

"Understood Stormreeve." Ohmanil replied and looked at his lieutenants "Valaran, get down to the lower conduit, Yalorasse, stay here and guard the prisoner. I'm going to guard the tunnel to the second conduit where Stormfist is."

"Understood commander." Valaran nodded.

Off the Coast of the island:

On board Siravaen's personal ship, the Mad Maiden, Daemon stood at the bow with Laenor watching as they sailed through the storm. Siravaen was clearly a skilled sailor just like Corlys but it still made Daemon seasick from the storm. He was not use to sailing as he would more often fly on his dragon but because of the storm, that was impossible. The clouds were dark and the wind and rain was heavy but Siravaen's sailing made it look like nothing more than a simple breeze. As they sailed, they saw the island itself which Daemon had only glanced at before. The island itself seemed to be a large jungle like island with a large mountain and he could see not one but 3 beams of light coming from the island.

"Looks like the Sea Vipers have 3 conduits channelling this storm." Sai said to Siravaen."

"We will have to take them all out to stop the storm." Siravaen stated "Once we land on the beach, we will need to establish a front to hold. If we focus on the conduits first then we Lord Corlys can land with the rest and then finish off the Sea Vipers. They will be guarded though."

"Well get ready." Laenor replied "We'll landing."

Very quickly, the ship soon made it into the shallow waters of the island and the soldiers all disembarked the ship and onto the island. Very quickly they came across some kind of creature that none of them had ever seen before. They had long serpent like tails but the body of women and had either green or brown scales, their hands were covered with sharp claws and they had vicious bear like mouths filled with sharp teeth. As soon as they landed, they attacked with their claws and Daemon quickly began fighting back with his men. Once they were all dead, Siravaen looked at them.

"I was right." She stated "Lamias, the Sea Vipers brought them in to do the fighting for them. These creatures are like wolves or bears, easy to fight when alone but dangerous in large groups. We'll need to take the alpha out and then they will flee and then we can establish a full beachfront on the island."

Laenor looked up and saw the conduits "How are we going to get up there?" he asked

Sai looked at him "This island is covered in cave systems where the Sea Vipers keep their prisoners and their bases to take cover from their own storm. We should split into two groups. One will take the caves to the First Conduit and I can lead a small group by climbing the rocks themselves to the second. Then we can regroup to take out the third which is at the highest peak."

Daemon looked at him and then the rocky hill "You want to climb that, you're insane."

Sai just shrugged "I've climbed worse before. I have trained in climbing."

"As have my own men." Siravaen added "It's a good way to infiltrate enemy strongholds. You take you men to the First Conduit and take out the Lamia leader. Be careful though, the Conduits will be heavily guarded and I wouldn't be surprised if the Vipers have summoned Storm Atronachs, magical creatures make of rock and lightning."

"We'll meet at the second conduit." Daemon said "And we'll search the camps for Macea."

King's Landing: Red Keep:

It was time, time for Queen to give birth to her first child. Just like with Aemma Arryn almost a year and a half ago, midwives and Grand Maester Mellos had gathered in the room along with King Viserys himself. Only Rhaenyra had refused to be here and Viserys intended to have a word with her later, he did not want this bitterness to carry on and make Rhaenyra hate her half siblings.

Alicent was screaming bloody murder. She was young and had no experience in giving birth but there was good news, the baby was in the right position quickly so there was no threat to mother or child like what happened with Aemma and Baelon. It was still hard for Viserys as Alicent's screams reminded him of the decision he had made before. Finally a new sound came into the room, the sound of a baby's cry. The midwives quickly cleaned the child and the bedsheets.

"It's a boy your grace." Grand Maester Mellos said after the baby was wrapped in a blanket "Congratulations."

Viserys took the bundle as the baby carried on crying "And Alicent?" he asked

"Alive and fine." Mellos said "She's just tired, she needs some rest. What shall be the boy's name."

Alicent was awake and feeling very tired but she still had enough energy to suggest a name "Aegon." She suggested "After the conqueror himself. No Targaryen has had that name since the conquest."

Viserys smiled at the name "Aegon Targaryen. It's perfect." He got up and kissed Alicent's forehead "Now you get some rest, I'll see to Rhaenyra, I won't have my children growing up as enemies."

Alicent smiled, she still wanted to be friends with Rhaenyra and hoped that maybe this child would help bring them closer together.

Tempest Islands: Caves:

Macea looked out from the bars of her wooden cage as the Sea Vipers sat around a campfire led by Yalorasse. They were laughing and drinking like they were having fun and bantering. Some were betting about when their next target would come and what it would be. Then they heard a loud rumble but not from the storm, this one sounded like an explosion.

"What the hell was that?" Yalorasse hissed.

Unknown to any of them, Daemon and his forces had killed the leader of the Lamias and then managed to make it to the first Conduit where they had killed Valaran. Then they had knocked the conduit out which had caused the other two to become unstable which had also created a loud explosion.

Macea thought quickly, while there was confusion, she grabbed the guard though the bars and strangled him. With the cage at the back of the cave, she was able to do it without being seen. When the guard was down, she quickly grabbed the keys and unlocked the door to the cage. She still hadn't been spotted and she was able to make it over to Shadowfyre and looked at the dragon in the eye then unlocked the muzzle over his face. With the dragon's mouth now free, Shadowfyre roared which got the attention.

"The prisoner and dragon have escaped!" Yalorasse yelled "Kill them, kill them both."

But before anyone could move, Shadowfyre let out a stream of fire from his mouth which spread throughout the cave. While Shadowfyre was still chained down and Macea was unlocking the chains, he could still move his head around and attack anyone who came close. Yalorasse screamed after being engulfed by a stream of fire and by the time Macea unlocked the final chain freeing Shadowfyre, all the Sea Vipers were all dead and burning.

With the camp burning, Macea went over to a chest nearby where her equipment had been stored. She remember hearing the Vipers argue over it until Neidir decided that she was going to sell it when they got the chance. The equipment wasn't anything special, just a simple sword and armour but it was hers and that was enough to make it special. When she was dressed in her armour, she had Shadowfyre made their way out of the cave, it was good that the tunnel was large enough for the dragon otherwise they would have to blast their way out. When they came out, they saw the second Conduit not far from them just up a small cliff, it was still storm and being so close to the conduits, it was still dangerous for Shadowfyre to fly, he could be struck again but that wouldn't stop Macea from helping.

She looked at the dragon "Remember how you worked in your old hunting ground?" she asked "Well now you can use those climbing skills again."

Shadowfyre let out some smoke and then began to climb up the sheer cliff face using his claws, a skill he used back on Dragonstone and hide since his dark skin camouflaged him with the black rocks of the volcanic island. While not as stealthy here, it was better to climb and try and take these conduits out to try and stop this storm.

...

Shortly after Macea began climbing the cliff on Shadowfyre, Daemon and his forces arrived in the cave where she had been held prisoner. They had taken out the first conduit not long after they had killed the leader of the Lamias. After that, most of the others had fled though there were still pockets of resistance.

When they came through the caves and saw all the charred bodies they all looked confused "What the hell, who took these men out?" Laenor questioned

"They're charred beyond recognition." Daemon said "Only dragonfire could do this." Then he found some shedded black scales "Shadowfyre was here, probably Macea too. They must have escaped and with the bodies still smoking, very recently."

"She must have gone on ahead." Laenor replied "Maybe we can catch up with her."

...

Further along the path, Sai and Siravaen along with some of their own men had managed to climb directly up the sheer cliff face and arrived at the second Conduit which was guarded by a creature of stone and lightning.

"A Storm Atronach." Sai said

"And a powerful one at that." Siravaen said "A guardian for this conduit."

"Indeed." A voice called and they turned to see Commander Ohmanil with some men "You may have taken out 1 conduit but you won't take out another."

"Want to bet on that!" a new voice shouted and then Macea arrived on Shadowfyre after climbing the cliff. Macea was riding with a look of fury and resolve on her face "Dracarys!" That one word ended the fight before it even began and Ohmanil was engulfed by fire before he could even react as where his men.

Sai and Siravaen also quickly took out the Storm Atronach and then the second conduit overloaded and exploded.

Macea then dismounted and walked over to Sai "I remember you." She said "You won the Heir's Tourney."

"I did. Sai Sahan at your service." Sai introduced herself "Commander of the Order of the Dragonguard."

"The Dragonguard?" Macea gasped "You mean the lone sellsword company that stayed behind at the Battle of Qohor who held the Dothraki off long ago until the Unsullied arrived."

"I prefer the term Fighters Guild." Sai said "Sellswords have a bad reputation of fighting for gold, we have a strict code."

"So why are you here?" Macea asked

"Our interests align with the Velaryons." Siravaen stated "Well sort off. The name's Siravaen and I've was ordered by my own people's leaders to hunt down these pirates called the Sea Vipers. They've made an alliance with the Crabfeeder, they use this island as a base to create storms to force ships into Triarchy seas where they can be attacked."

"We're only taking out the Sea Vipers." Sai said "After that, we'll be going our own way."

"There's still one more conduit to take out." Siravaen said "But the Sea Viper leader will probably be waiting for us. We need to wait for Daemon to arrive."

"Not for long you won't." Daemon's voice called and Daemon, Laenor and his men arrived. "Two Conduits down, one to go." He then looked at Macea "And I'm glad you're alright, your father will want to see you when this is over."

"Father's here?" Macea gasped

"Back with my father." Laenor said "He resigned from the council when he heard what happened.

Macea looked a bit shocked but then nodded "Let's finish this then.

Red Keep Gardens:

Rhaenyra Targaryen was doing her favourite thing again in the gardens, reading while under the Heart Tree. She had a local musician playing a lute sing a soft tune as a distraction for her while she carried on reading one of her favourite stories, the conquest of Westeros by Aegon and his sister wives. The music was soft and helped her forget all of the current issues going on.

Her reading was interrupted by the sound of her father calling her name followed by a wailing noise. Rhaenyra looked up to see him holding a swaddling baby boy who had begun crying. "Rhaenyra." Viserys said "Meet your new baby brother, Aegon."

'Half brother' Rhaenyra thought to herself but said nothing. She looked at the baby, he looked very much like Viserys with silver hair and amethyst eyes. This was actually the first time she had seen any baby as her mother had suffered many stillbirths and miscarriages and the only surviving baby, Baelon, had died before she could even see her. Rhaenyra was struggling on what to think, she had still not forgiven Alicent or her father for their betrayals but this baby was innocent and may be caught in the middle of plots. But seeing the baby crying brought tears to her eyes and she carefully approached and stroke her brother's cheek.

Viserys seeing the interaction then handed the baby into Rhaenyra's arms, she was caught by surprise but the baby had stopped crying and even begun smiling. Rhaenyra then let the tears fall as she sat back down on the ground holding her baby half-brother, she had no idea what she was doing but remembered a few lessons from her Septa and began rocking her arms and soon baby Aegon fell asleep again while Viserys watched with a smile, perhaps this baby would be the way that she could help mend her relationship with his daughter and fix the relationship between Rhaenyra and Alicent.

Tempest Island:

After leaving the second conduit, the infiltration team had to make their way through a set of old ruins but now the Sea Vipers were alerted to their presence. Even though Shadowfyre couldn't fly because of the storm, he had been a major source of assistance. Macea had helped him climb around the ruins and then cling to the side which he burnt many of the pirates that stood on the path between the summit where the final conduit was and the ruins.

This allowed the rest of the team to arrive at the summit where Stormreave Neidir was waiting. She laughed when she spotted Siravaen. "So, King Orgnum servant has decided to grace us with her presence." She sneered "Has the king come to his senses."

"His senses?" Siravaen hissed "Your actions attracted unwanted attention. The days of the Pyandonea armada are over. The king wishes for us to move forward."

"By making allies with our ancient enemies!" Neidir hissed "The Aldmeri forced us from Sothoryos and forced us to live on a set of cold rocks."

"The Aldmeri species are long dead now!" Siravaen replied "The Aldmeri Dominion is giving us a chance to become something again."

"And be slaves to those stuck up Altmer bastards." Neidir scowled "No thank you!"

Siravaen didn't look impressed "That's rich considering you assisted those Veilded Inheritance traitors who see anyone who isn't an Altmer subspecies."

Neidir just glowed and drew her staff which glowed blue "Enough, let's end this now!" she let out a charged blast as lightning began to spread across the ground shocking anyone unlucky to be caught in it which included Daemon and Laenor, it hurt but was not lethal.

Neidir's staff was strong to withstand blows from Daemon's Valyrian Steel sword Dark Sister and Sai's Akaviri katana. But she was outnumbered. The fight lasted quite a while as Neidir would charged around and change target but eventually, her magicka was drained and she was unable to defend herself. Siravaen finished her off with an axe buried deep into Neidir's shoulder, her eyes rolled back as she fell over dead.

Sai then quickly destroyed the Conduit and then the rains stopped and the clouds cleared leaving the skies clear.

...

Out to sea, Corlys Velaryon saw the skies cleared and knew that the infiltration team had finished their job. "Begin the assault." He ordered.

The Velaryon ships quickly sailed forward and the soldiers quickly got into their boats and began landing over the small jungle island. The Sea Vipers and Laimias that remained were taken aback by the sudden end of the storm. They didn't have time to react when the Velaryons landed and quickly were overcome. It was a massacre as the Sea Vipers weren't trained soldiers, just pirates better off fighting against unarmed sailors and using surprise to their advantage. Also Princess Rhaenys, Corlys' husband was here riding Meleys who seemed to be eager for a fight that she had not had for nearly 20 years. Meleys quickly cleared off the beaches while Corlys personally led the army into the caves taking out the Sea Vipers.

...

While the Velaryons were clearing the island, Daemon and the other members of the infiltration team made their way down the mountain. Daemon hoped to join in again but by the time they had reached the beach where camp was already being established, most of the fighting was over.

"Prince Daemon." Corlys greeted "Good job in taking out those Conduits."

"Well, they helped as well." Daemon replied pointing at Sai and Siravaen.

"The power of the Sea Vipers has been smashed." Siravaen said "There are still small groups spread across the Basilisk isles but they won't have the power to be a major threat again. And without their leadership here, they will fall soon."

Corlys nodded and looked around the island "And this island seems like a good place to establish a base." He said "Close to the Stepstones, it will be a good launching point for our invasion of the archipelago and a good place for a supply base."

Then Macea arrived with Shadowfyre which made everyone look at her "You know I am glad to see you all. These pirates said that you wouldn't come for me and a part of me believed them because I had no idea if you even knew about this place."

"We wouldn't if it wasn't for Sai and Siravaen." Macea's father Aerys replied as he spotted her then quickly pulled her into a hug "Don't ever scar me like that again."

Macea sighed "I'm sorry father." She apologized "But I had no idea about this place."

"We will have to be more careful in the future." Corlys said "The Crabfeeder may have other traps ready for us."

Sai sighed "And I'm afraid you will have to do it without us." He said "Our mission was to take out the Sea Vipers. We have other commitments elsewhere."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Aerys said "But if you ever find yourselves back in Westeros, then I would welcome you for saving my daughter."

Sai nodded and looked at Macea "And I believe you have quite a future ahead of you lady." He said and handed her a piece of parchment and a coin "If you ever wish to get in contact with me again, just visit this address in King's Landing and give the man this special coin, he will know what to do."

"I might take your offer one day." She said.

As Sai and Siravaen along with their men left on a rowboat back to Siravaen's ship, Corlys looked at them "We have won a major victory here, we have defeated a major ally of the Crabfeeder and taken a base for our operations. But the war has only just begun, we will take the Stepstones and end the Triarchy's blockade on our trade routes."

"Let's just hope they have no more surprises." Aerys said "We almost lost my daughter and a dragon. If we fail then we only give Otto more ammunition against us, we need to show the realm that he only has his own interests in mind, not the realms and we can show this to me brother before it is too late."

Everyone nodded in agreement, Otto Hightower was a dangerous man who only cared about his own power and he had to be stopped, hopefully securing the Stepstone shipping lanes would give them an edge over the Hightower influence.

Chapter end:

Notes: Here is my first created chapter for this story that doesn't cover an episode. It will be the only one until the mid season break in which there will be a group of chapters that will cover Macea's adventures between episodes 5 and 6 which has a large time skip. This chapter mostly uses the Tempest Island Group dungeon from Elder Scrolls Online which I used as a major base of the Sea Vipers, a major enemy faction for the Aldmeri Dominion. In this story they had a historical influence but have mostly been destroyed by the time this story takes place. There are some changes from the Lore involving the Sea Elves so don't say anything about that as I know that the Sea Elves were more hostile to the Dominion which included King Orgnum. I have also included a few changes to Rhaenyra's character as for now, she will form a relationship with her half siblings but that will not last forever. I also decided to bring Rhaenys into the Stepstones campaign as she was a skilled dragon rider but while it's not said, she probably remained behind to look after Driftmark and Laena but here she wants to fight as she has not been able to ride for a long time.