Pre-Chapter A/N: More chapters on my patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/Oghenevwogaga)— same username as here and link in bio. Experimenting with two chapters a week, we'll see how long I can keep this up for.
We felt the wind whip against us as we folded our body into as small a profile as possible, cutting through the air like a ship cut through the sea and enjoying every second of it. Even our smaller body, the one that held on the saddle with all its might, was having a tremendous time as we approached our target. They had seen us coming, but these ones did not have any weapons that could threaten us. They did not even try. By the time we spread our wings, catching the wind at the very last second and turning our dive into a glide, all those directly underneath us had flown the coop, abandoning their ships. Nevertheless, we had a job to do.
'Dracarys,' we mentally commanded ourselves before opening our mouth and unleashing our fire with the same ease that our smaller body would breathe. In seconds, the ships were lit aflame, acting as natural barriers to leaving the harbor. We did the same thing all around the islands, flying a single circuit to set all the farthest ships on fire. Whatever must be said about them, those humans at least knew how to understand a message as they turned around to the island on the other ships. At least most of them did, we thought with a roar as we spotted some to the east attempting to retreat. We flew over, setting them alight and continuing our circuit a second time. When the ships had finally all returned to the harbor, we executed the final part of the plan.
We banked left, and in two circuits of the twin islands, we had set every single ship the pirates owned on fire, completing the plan and trapping them on this rock until the time came to deal with them.
In the end, it took us close to a month to ensure that all the pirates were contained to their respective Islands and would not be in position to contest Daemon's arrival. Once we had done so, we sent word to the fleet that they could move in, and so that is what led us to our present position, patrolling and policing the corridor that covered the straightest route between Tarth and Bloodstone.
Like expected, it was busy work, and not very productive busywork at that. We had gotten rid of all the threats, so there wasn't anything that we expected to threaten the fleet as it made its journey, but the experience with the pirates and the Tyroshi had Corlys paranoid, and so here I was now watching and waiting for anything to change. Nothing did.
I caught sight of the fleet about two hours into my patrol and I watched from above as they cut through the water, heading at full speed towards their quarry. Bloodstone was the most imposing of the islands on the Stepstones. The largest by a wide margin, almost about half again the size of Driftmark, and the only one to boast several fortifications. Three different Pirate Kings laid claim to the Island and they were in a constant state of war against each other, so Bloodstone would also be defended by bloodied and battle-hardened men who would be unlikely to give up the land they were already so used to fighting over. It was going to be a tough nut to crack, and part of me was disappointed that I would never get to try my hand at it.
An hour into watching the Fleet, I finally got to see something happen. Even if it was something as routine as one of our caravels being sent to ferry Borros over to Daemon's fleet. While he had been less than enthused at having to give up his squire for part of the war, he had easily been appeased once it was clear that the only way we would be remaining together was if he agreed to forego the slaughter that was sure to be the taking of Bloodstone in favor of joining Corlys' fleet at Grey Gallows, a much smaller, less noteworthy island. Needless to say, he was more than willing to say goodbye to me once those terms were clear. Not like his insistence on keeping me close was anything other than an attempt to annoy Corlys as much as possible.
The exchange happened without a hitch, and I returned to my patrol. The Stepstones, normally a hive of traffic, seemed near deserted as Daemon's fleet crossed unopposed. Of course, our war here had caused all the trade that normally flowed across to cease. Especially when Corlys had shown some weeks ago that he had no compunctions against seizing any trade ships that we came across under suspicion of piracy. Of course, it wasn't piracy when we were the ones doing it. We had royal writ, I thought with a chuckle as I banked left and just about managed to miss the missile of red that shot through the space I had just been.
Igneel roared, far from pleased, as Daemon turned his mount to face us.
"Laenor Velaryon!" he shouted over the winds roaring in our ears. I looked at him—really looked at him. It was only my second time seeing Daemon Targaryen, and I found myself far from impressed. This was the man that was going to contribute at least a third of the factors that led to the eventual Targaryen downfall. His influence over Rhaenyra, his cantankerous personality, his temper. All things that could cost us in the future. It would be so easy now. With how close we were, and all the training I'd done with Igneel, there was no chance he'd manage to dodge it if we opened fire. The only issue would be the most definitely pissed dragon that was bigger than we were, and most definitely meaner. I abandoned the thought quickly enough.
"Daemon Targaryen," I returned his greeting, or at least what passed for one.
"That dragon of yours continues to grow quicker than it has any right to."
"Must be an effect of our bond. You know I was his first rider, aye?" I said, returning his subtle swipe with one of my own. He chuckled in lieu of replying.
"You can leave now," he said.
"My orders were to escort your fleet until you made landfall," I clarified.
"And does it seem that this fleet needs your protection? Especially with me here to defend her from whatever troubles her?" he asked, arms spread wide, referring to himself.
"Orders are orders."
"And now I have given you a new set of orders, boy. See to it that you obey them." I bristled at his words. Who the hell was he to think that he could command me?
"Good thing I don't get my orders from you then," I challenged, and I could see his smile sharpen at my reply.
"What do you think would happen if we fought here?" he asked, unknowingly echoing the question I'd been wondering about earlier.
"One of us would die. Both of our dragons would probably be too injured to continue this war. Whoever wins would probably be exiled—either to the Wall or to Essos." I said simply, staring him down. I wasn't completely certain that I didn't just want to risk it regardless. Something about this man's face, his bearing, his whole existence got on my nerves. Maybe it was the arrogance. He was the perfect example of undeserved arrogance because what was he in truth—an above-average fighter who just happened to fall out from the right pair of legs. He'd lost to Criston Cole, proving that he wasn't the greatest warrior of the age. He mutual suicided along with Aemon, proving he wasn't the undisputed greatest dragon rider either. And yet, he held himself like god's gift to mankind. This man whose greed, selfishness, and stupidity would play a massive role in the realm's burning.
"Indeed. But whoever? What whoever? I would win, boy."
"Want to find that out for ourselves?" I challenged again. I could feel Igneel rearing up beneath me. Just like me, he was ready for a fight. We trained day and night while Caraxes gorged himself on sheep and peasants. He was bigger and definitely stronger, but we were faster, and I'd bet our flames against the Blood Wyrm's any day.
Maybe it was something he saw in my eyes. Maybe it was the understanding that if we fought here there would be no true winner, but Daemon harrumphed and turned about, leaving on his dragon and continuing to shadow his fleet. I considered it then. If we attacked now, there would be no chance of him reacting in time. We could take Daemon out in one swoop and outrun Caraxes with little difficulty. I looked beneath us. There was a fleet filled with men who wouldn't hesitate to spread word of what happened. Taking down Daemon was possible; I just had to do it with the knowledge that it would be the end of my own life as well.
And a draw was no true victory. I turned about and left. My orders had been to protect the fleet, but if Daemon was there, there was no point either way. Say what you would about him, but he was at least competent enough to burn some pirates. Besides, Igneel and I had been flying for hours now and could do with a bit of rest before we had to get in the skies again.
Daemon had started the assault on Bloodstone some hours ago, our scout reported after making the journey between islands on a Caravel. We were sitting, our fleet at least, behind an outcropping of rocks that kept us from view of those who called Grey Gallows their home. While the island did not have as many natural caves or protections as Bloodstone, it was still a large island and one of the few with a sizable forest for the pirates to retreat to. We wanted to give them as little warning as we could. That way they would have less time to run about and give us a harder time.
I waited patiently by Igneel's side as we watched Corlys get the fleet in order and prepare to attack. Grey Gallows was a large island but was almost impossible to attack from the South as it was guarded by the outcropping of rocks that we presently moored behind. That meant that the Pirate King who called this place home had placed the bulk of their shipbuilding facilities here rather than on any other area in the island. Those shipbuilding facilities would be one of the first things we seized on the island and would act as the launching point for our full-scale invasion. That was why when Corlys blew the horn, Igneel and I shot into the air, planning to start the attack from the East.
The shipyard, while far from the quality of ours or even the Bravosi's, was at least something and that meant that we could not risk destroying it. Not when it would be much harder and less efficient to build a new one from scratch all over again. We banked left and got to see one of the many shantytowns on this island. Another difference between Grey Gallows and Bloodstone was that despite the latter's smaller size, it had a much larger population. Probably because of the forest to sustain some hunting and gathering, and the fact that the pirate king that called this place home was less stupid than the average pirate and less prone to killing and torturing people for no reason.
We turned towards the town, and I took a deep breath. There was only one policy that we would be enacting when it came to these islands for our pacification—scorched earth. As long as there are those who remember the old, then there can be no acceptance of the new. "Dracarys!" I roared.
We unleashed the full wrath of our flames on the first line of buildings. One of them had to be a tavern of some sort as men and women spilled from it like water from an overfull bucket as our flames washed over it. I amended that assessment as I noticed the state of dress of those spilling out—whorehouse was more appropriate. We turned sharply to the left. The town was not a well-built one, more like a collection of buildings that just happened to be close to each other. This meant it had no defined boundaries or anything of the sort. From above, it was shaped roughly like a funnel, but that could only be seen if one did a lot of squinting, and even more imagining. Still, it meant that we could not approach dealing with this as we ordinarily would burn a town—going from the outside in.
So we did what we did best—we sowed chaos. With our speed, we could make it from one end of the town to the other in a minute or so. And so we used that speed to set as many buildings on fire as we could. We set them on fire at a random order. We would get every structure in this place in time, but it was more important that we cut off escape and make it as hard as possible for them to regroup or get themselves in order.
We spotted some men and women running towards the forest, and sharply banked before landing on the ground in front of them.
"Please—" One of the men began in bastard Valyrian before I ordered, "Dracarys!" The woman behind him, the one who held two children in her hands, was the first to try to run, but they were too slow. They were naught but charred bones in a matter of seconds. Hopefully, that would dissuade anyone from trying any of that again. We shot into the air once again and set a straight line of shops on fire as we flew over one of the last unharmed areas of the town. Once we were finished, we turned right, continuing on towards another town that I had sighted on my flight over.
The need for the element of surprise meant that I hadn't been able to scout the island as thoroughly as I would have liked before the assault began, but I had a clear enough mental picture from the first flight over I'd done to burn their ships that I wasn't going in completely blind. Just with way more fog than I would have liked. For this town, we started in the middle at the conspicuously largest building and setting it on fire before banking right and burning straight down until we reached the end before turning left and burning along the town's makeshift boundary. This one was better organized than the other one, and the people that came out of the burning buildings were much better dressed, wearing gaudy jewelry one and all. They burned just the same as the others though, as I commanded Igneel to keep going.
After a long afternoon, we made landfall at what remained of the pirate's castle. Castle was a strong word. It was a building made of wood, bigger than the others in what passed for a capital city on this island, but not much so, and mostly by virtue of the other buildings being little better than hovels.
"Well done, my son," Corlys said, clapping me on the shoulder while I walked over to the flask on the desk that he sat in front of and poured myself a healthy gulp. So much fire, I thought, reminiscing about what I had just finished. Igneel was outside the castle, looking for something else to amuse himself, and I could not bring myself to stop him from playing what he considered to be a prank on a few of the men-at-arms that got too close. Let him have his fun. At least one of us ought to.
"Your mother used to get a similar look on her face," Corlys said, cutting through my thoughts.
"What?"
"This isn't the first time we've moved against pirates. Before you or your sister were born, some pirates had taken Vaemond as well as several of my ships hostage on one of those islands too small to earn a name. She put me on Meleys' back with her, and we flew over it, setting fire to everyone and everything we saw. They returned your Uncle in no time, and all was well. But after that, she had this look on her face. Being on dragon back lets you see just how small we humans are—just how weak and helpless we truly are when faced with the apex predators of the world," he said with a smile that I returned.
"Does the smell of burning flesh ever leave?" I asked. I couldn't regret any of what I had done. At least I shouldn't have. They had been pirates, the scum of the earth—less than human—they would have done the same to innocents if given half the chance; they had done the same to innocents themselves. But I just couldn't stop seeing the woman and those boys she held in my mind. Had they deserved it?
"You learn to ignore it," Corlys said, giving me a meaningful look. I nodded.
"Now, there is another matter to deal with. Somehow we were spotted on the way. When we arrived here, the town was more or less empty."
"The pirates escaped?"
"With their King," he added. I felt myself flush.
"Vaemond is preparing a chasing party now. They went into the forest and can't have made it all that far. It's a small island. We'll find them sooner or later," he completed, and I nodded, feeling my rage begin to subside.
"Give me leave, I'll take Igneel and flush them out."
"And waste the wood we need to build our own ships? I think not. This will be done by men on horses, not on dragons," he said. I nodded. He was right.
"To a stupid man with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. You are not a stupid man, my son," he said. I nodded.
"Give me leave to join the search then," I said.
"Feel free. Amuse yourself," he said, waving me away.
A/N: And so we have it. Little things happening that drive us towards the big outcome in the end. Next five chapters up on patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/Oghenevwogaga)(same username as here and link in bio), support me there and read them early.