Year 1272
It's strange how somethings seem to just come together perfectly yet also seem to be extremely problematic at the same time. For example. Nilfgaard seemed to finally make its move on the Northern Kingdoms. It was rather obvious too though not many seemed to see it. I mean who else would benefit from the murders of various Northern Kings… Well besides him of course.
"Merri, it's time to go conquer Kaedwen, are you all packed?" Harry called out into the woman's house.
"No, I am not ready. Why are we doing this?" Merri shouted back. Harry sighed.
"Well, King Henselt is dead and I hear some interesting rumors that Radovid is about to take advantage of such a fact. We are going to do so first. Last thing we need is that freak having more room to spread his hate. Besides, if he decides to attack me then it gives me an excuse to also attack Redania. Two kingdoms for the price of one." Harry explained.
"Yes, but WHY? What's the point of expanding our kingdom? We have over two hundred thousand citizens to deal with now. Why do we want more?" Merri asked as she finally appeared at the door in her custom leather armor.
"Exactly. People keep moving here, especially with the wars, and were running out of room. We've had to build seven towns and countless villages in the past year alone." Harry explained patiently to his second in command.
"So, we just waltz in and take over the place?" She asked him with a raised eyebrow. Harry smiled.
"Of course. What else would we do? Their army is weak and their king has just been murdered. We do this or Radovid does. Plus, Kaer Morhen is in Kaedwen and having control of that kingdom would give easy access to the Witcher's if needed." Harry responded. He didn't mention how Ciri considered Kaer Morhen home and having it in his territory would no doubt make it easy to go there.
"This seems a little much in my opinion but if you say we need to do it then I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. You haven't steered us wrong before." She said begrudgingly.
"I feel like you wished I had failed at least once so you could tell me to stop." Harry said with a smile.
"Yes well, we don't always get what we want in life do we?" She asked rhetorically. Harry shook his head in amusement.
"No, I guess not. Let's move out. You want a dragon to ride or do you want to go by horseback?" Harry asked her. She glared at him. She couldn't really ride one without magic since there weren't actually saddles for the beast and letting anyone else ride them would probably not go very well. He was alpha so they listened to him but it only went so far unless he did a mental assault on them.
"Stop making fun of me. I'll be there with the reserve force in a week to stomp out anyone still resisting. Not that there will be of course." Merri told him as he they walked through the city. Many passing civilians were walking past and greeting them which they would return. He hadn't hidden his invasion from the and his people seemed to still support him. Being such a well-respected ruler did that for you.
"I'm sure you will not disappoint. What about Asal, he is becoming braver in his attempts to gain more knowledge that I have. It is becoming annoying." Harry admitted.
"We should just kill him then. If any potential enemy becomes more trouble than they're worth then you dispose of them. Was it not you who taught me that?" She hissed. Harry considered her words for a moment as they made it to the walls surrounding the city. Outside the city was an army waiting for her and him. Over six thousand men. An impressive number compared to what their army had started as and this wasn't even half of it.
"You are right. When we return, arrest Azal and send him to dungeons. If he does not go willingly then use lethal force. Let him know you are authorized to use lethal force before you actually use it. Be nice about it if you can. He has technically not done anything harmful, he has just become more of a pain then I wish to have around. He has, however, served our city in many ways including healing and I will give him some credit for such service." Harry told her with a pointed look. Merri scowled but her smile returned and she nodded.
"This better be quick then. I can't wait to beat… I mean arrest a potential enemy of the kingdom." She said, just catching herself. Harry smiled and rolled his eyes.
"Well I must be off to the main force now. I shall see you soon." Harry said as he turned and whistled, not waiting for a response. Immediately, a roar answered back and a giant white shape came soaring down from above the tree cover and landed right in front of him. He smiled and easily mounted his dragon. He looked back over at Merri who rolled her eyes while the rest of the men seemed to gaze at him in awe.
He gave a slight wave and spurred the dragon back into the air and was off again. Time to get off to conquering, but just a quick stop along the way.
Dragon Mountains, less than an hour later
"Hello, Isabel." Harry greeted the vampire warmly. Said vampire scowled when seeing him and pouted.
"I hate it when you look at me like that." She told him as she lounged on a couch he had gifted her for her new home.
"What? Do you mean the same way you looked at me for several months when you had power over me?" Harry asked rhetorically.
"Exactly." She responded as she sipped something from a goblet that looked like wine but he had a feeling it was something a little more… gruesome.
"Well, that's what happens when the tables turn. You did not really think I would let you have an advantage over me forever did you, though I will admit, your advantages certainly weren't easy to overcome. I think countering it is the most complicated magic I have ever created." Harry said softly as his mind drifted into the biggest experiment he had ever undertaken, a way to fight off creatures such as Isabel who had immense superior strength, speed, or both. It had not been easy nor had it been fun but the payoff was immense. Of course he could only use such power so much but she didn't need to know that.
"How lucky for me. Is there a reason you are in my home?" She asked bored. Harry knew she was actually excited. She usually got something out these visits after all. Although he may now have the upper hand in battle, he had not lorded his power over her and he certainly still treated her as an equal. Their relationship would be described more as respectfully playful.
"I need a favor. I am about to leave for a little while and it has reached my ears there might a potential assassin or two who is going after my head. Regular men do not concern me and likely will be stopped at the dragon pass but there are those who are more… resourceful. I do not ask you to kill them but when I return, if you noticed anything, I would like you to tell me." Harry said seriously as he finally faced her. She smiled at his words and took another sip of her drink.
"And what… is in it for me?" She questioned softly.
"What do you want?" Harry asked.
"It's awfully dark in my home, don't you think. Candles don't seem to burn as bright as I remember." Harry smirked. In his home, he had magical light devices that served similarly to light bulbs. Much brighter than candles. She had seen them when she had temporarily lived with him.
"You want my light then you can have it. In exchange for your services of course." Harry replied back. She nodded and with that, they had an agreement.
"Thank you, Isabel. I will see you in a several weeks or a month or so. We will see how long this takes." Harry said as he walked calmly out of the cave. He saw his dragon waiting patiently for him and he hopped on to it.
"Alright, let's get to Kaedwen." Harry said to the beast and they were back up in the air.
Two Weeks Later
Harry walked slowly through the now destroyed and flaming gates into the city of Ard CarraIgh, the capital of Kaedwen. He saw the army waiting inside for him in a half circle around the entrance with shields up and spears out.
"Please, surrender. I have an army and two dragons here. The result of this will not change no matter what you do. Please give up before more blood is spilt on this day." Harry urged softly. Silence was all that met his request. He sighed.
"Fine, we can do this the hard way." Harry said. His hand flashed out just as they charged. A seemingly telekinetic blast powerfully erupted from him blasting several rows of soldiers backwards and into their own companions. His own forces rushed in and immediately fell upon the downed and disoriented men. Harry made a noise as he walked through the city towards the keep. Occasionally, a group of soldiers would find him and he would have to blast them to pieces.
"Such needless bloodshed. You don't have a monarch, an army, or even sorceresses left to combat me. You are just wasting your lives but if you wish to keep pushing this then I will oblige." Harry said almost to himself as he continued to push through. He saw several civilians looking down from windows and hiding in alleys as he walked by. He sighed as he reached the keep. Whatever lords were left here would bend the knee or die.
With silence, a red light came out of him with a crack and smashed into the keeps gate. The gate blasted open and Harry found it surprising to find barely any soldiers on the other side. He walked in slowly as he saw several soldiers with weapons ready as they surrounded a middle-aged woman who was looking at him sternly. She had black hair with streaks of grey and it was braided as it went down her back.
"I take it you are the current ruler of Ard Carraigh then? Am I going to have to kill you as well or will you be reasonable." Harry asked calmly.
"I am. I am Cassandra, the wife of the late King Henselt. I have been ruling in his place since his death. It seems you have killed your way through my city." She said with disapproval.
"Strange, I could have sworn I asked your men to surrender and end this without bloodshed several times. They seemed to refuse to do so at every turn. So yes, because your men kept hopelessly charging at me, I reluctantly had to kill my way through them. Am I going to have to do that here or are you going to finally surrender?" Harry asked with slight venom at her accusation. The woman frowned at him and his words. For a moment all is quiet and her men shifted uncomfortably.
"Very well. I surrender. Ard Carraigh is yours King Hadrian." She said as she bowed slightly. She nodded at one of her men and he pulled a horn off his side and blew into it. Harry let him, he knew it to be a signal to surrender. He could already hear his men starting to cheer. He looked at Cassandra.
"How noble to finally surrender once it is your life under threat." Harry shot at her as he walked up to the woman who seemed to tense at his words and movement. Her men tensed back up as well. He ignored it and walked right past them and looked at the keep. It was still in good condition which was a good thing since one of his dragons was still flying overhead and they liked to swoop in and eat or breath on things.
"The city is beautiful, besides the parts that are broken." Harry commented as he looked back at the former queen. Cassandra nodded cautiously at his assessment.
"As you say your grace. Ard Carraigh is one of the major cities in the Northern Kingdom and of course one of the biggest. I am sure you will find it to meet any of your needs." Cassandra replied. He watched her guards shift, clearly not sure what to do in the situation.
"Hm." Harry said as he moved back over to the exit of the keep and watched his men arrive. He raised his hand to signal he was fine before they assumed the former queen was trying to attack with her men.
"The queen has surrendered, please escort her and her men to their chambers until we fully secure our hold on the city." Harry ordered to the platoon of men in front of him. They immediately snapped into action and executed the orders. The queen held herself up straighter as she was surrounded by his men, to proud to show any far.
Harry had to bite back a snort. He had no love for King Henselt, the man was both proud and annoying and had tried to bully Harry when he had first taken Kovir and Poviss by assembling his armies at his borders in a show of force. In response, Harry flew several dragons to the mans doorstep and had unsubtly threatened to murder both him and his entire family if he had ever tried to do such again. At the time he had a young sorceress, or an appearing to be young. You never really knew with sorceresses.
He remembered her threatening him and talking about how audacious it was to be making such claims in her presence. She had tried to throw a fireball at him which was amusing to say the least since his control of fire magic as a dragon animagus was second to none. He had caught the ball and blew out a wall in the keep which he could still see the charred marks on even with the repairs as he looked around.
As punishment, he had broken both her legs with his bare hands and left with a warning that the next time she rose a hand against him, she would die. She had managed to heal herself after but he was sure that it had left a mark on her mind watching him disappear in front of her and then suddenly her legs were magically broken and he was standing over her. It hadn't mattered as she had died sometime recently but still.
Harry jogged himself out of his thoughts when he realized he was in the main hall of the keep and standing in front of the gaudy throne Henselt used to sit on. He made a sound of digest before waving his hand and watching the chair quickly dissolve into a pile of rubble on the floor. With another wave of his hand the rubble seemed to build back up into a simplistic black throne with several sharp points on it to give it a factor of intimidation.
Now, who should he install as the representative to rule Kaedwen? The place was huge and so he needed someone he could trust in the position. His first choice was obviously Merri but he has her running administrative duties in Avalon already. He could switch her to Kaedwen but then he would have less of his own time to plot and scheme. That was dangerous considering how Nilfgaard was on the move killing rulers like him. Of course, that could also put a target on her. Someone trustworthy but not someone he was willing to lose. He'd have to think on it.
One Month Later
Harry walked with several people, one was the commander of his armed forces, a man by the name of Phellix. A peculiar man but he came at the personal recommendation of Merri as she had apparently known him for years and knew him to have a sharp mind and an excellence in combat. On his other side was Merri herself looking rather disgruntled as usual.
"Both the Northern and Southern ends have been quelled and all lords have made their vows to their new king. Rebellions of citizens have been quelled and I assume we will have no more real trouble with Kaedwen what with the various lords coming to gain favor." Phellix said seriously but Harry could hear the lack of care in his voice. The man was bored with politics which was fine as that was not the area he desired Phellix's presence in.
"I am sure a few gifts in the pockets of the lords coming to visit will secure the loyalty of the lords and their armies. Thank you for your report Commander. Congratulations as well, Merri was right about your skill, I was most impressed with your tactics used to take the North. You will find your position in my army permanent should you so wish." Harry offered easily to the man. The bored look seemed to disappear as the man smiled looking very pleased at his words.
"Thank you, your grace. I will aim to please in the future." The commander said with a smile. Harry nodded with one of his own.
"Good, now you are dismissed to go about with whatever else you wish to do today, I only require Lady Merri's place in this next part of the conversation." Harry told him easily. It was an order and Phellix seemed to understand that as he bid them both farewell as he turned and headed back to the keep. The man certainly loved to train, and it paid off from what Harry had seen. The man could probably go up against a witcher, he may not win but Harry was sure he could put up a real fight.
"So, you like him then?" Merri asked with a smirk as they watched the man walk off.
"Were you afraid I wouldn't? The man is as talented with a sword as I am with magic." Harry admitted as they turned and continued walking through the capital.
"High praise coming from you. And he should be good with the sword as he picked one up when he was just four and I don't think he has put them down since. When he was sixteen he left our settlement to go challenge foes and kill bandits to sharpen his skills." Merri told him. Harry raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? And how did that go?" Harry asked curiously.
"He was back in a week with a black eye and a large gash across his chest smiling like an idiot." Merri told him with a cheeky grin on her face. Harry laughed at the mental image before calming himself once more.
"We have a problem you know?" Harry sighed.
"You have a problem maybe. My only problem is that you haven't let me return home to arrest the snake." Merri grunted in annoyance.
"Hmm. I can't decide who to place in control of Kaedwen. It needs to be someone I trust but also someone that is expendable. So far, no such names come to mind." Harry explained to her. Merri gained a thoughtful expression.
"Why don't you rule it personally. Kaedwen is not that far from Avalon, only a week or twos journey from here. That's not too much of a hassle for these people to make if they have requests for you.
"True, but they would be unused to the distance and may think it more than it is, this may encourage them to do stupid things thinking I am far away and will not notice or they are once more untouchable. I can of course teleport but it is they who need transportation, not I. I also really need an administrative system to weed out some of the low tier things that I shouldn't bother with." Harry complained as he listed his issues.
'Why don't you make one then? I am sure Kovir and Poviss as well as this place have plenty of people who could do such jobs." Merri suggested.
"The more people In government, the more chances of corruption. Then again, maybe I could fix that too. A police force that watches over officials to make sure they do not abuse their powers. I cannot use my crows, there spread thin as it is and making more is risky considering how many are already attached. Hmm. This bares more thought, but back to Kaedwen." Harry said controlling his tangent mind.
"Too bad travel isn't instantaneous for anyone but sorcerers, then it wouldn't matter how far you were." Merri said as she seemed to get distracted by a vendor selling something delicious smelling.
Harry froze in place. Travel instantly! Of course, how could he have not thought of It sooner. He could make portals. Connected portals and place them in all the kingdoms. It would be easy and he could make them small enough to not used by an invading force. A travel agency perhaps but instead of a vehicle, you just stepped into a gateway. He could directly rule over all his kingdoms with ease. Of course, he would need to eventually place representatives when it became too much for one person but it was a temporary solve and would also help with other issues of his.
"That stupid look is on your face again." Merri deadpanned and Harry realized that she had apparently moved to stand directly in front of him.
"Merri dearest, you have just given me the most marvelous idea." Harry said with a spreading grin. She looked at him suspiciously.
"Is this going to be like the time incident again?" she asked him. Harry smiled.
"No, not as dangerous I assure you. Still, it's potential is amazing. Oh boy, I could make it like an airport of gateways. In each kingdom, or maybe even in major cities! No, maybe just kingdoms, that's a lot of work after all." Harry started on again unknowingly talking to himself and ignoring his friend.
"Harry! Seriously stop that. It freaks me out." Merri demanded as she punched his arm. Harry gripped the appendage in mock pain.
"Ow. You're violent when your angry. Very well, I will stop. By the way, you may leave in the morning if you wish to go back to Avalon. I know you have… business there." Harry hinted unsubtly. The evil grin spread across her face as she nodded.
"Suddenly I feel tired and want to go to sleep as soon as possible. I will bid you farewell." She said to him. Harry nodded and returned the sentiment before walking away. He smiled as he watched her go before turning to continue you.
It was only after he turned that he realized there was nowhere to continue to. He was at the front gates of the city and was about to leave. He took in a deep breath as he calmed himself. To the right, he could see the sun setting as it dipped slowly below the horizon.
With nothing left to think on, he left his mind to drift on to the girl he was doing this all for, Cirilla. He knew it to be strange to do all this for someone he had only known for several months but Harry was strange. No one, not even her, would probably ever understand the impact she had. She had lit a fire in him that had not gone out since they met. She was a being he felt connected on the deepest level and the universe had somehow seen fit to give him a chance to pay her back.
And he was sure that she would be back here one day. She was stubborn and since she had decided to come back after she had initially left Harry all those years ago, it was not a matter of if but when. The Wild Hunt would still be chasing her down, he knew this for a fact. They would continue until they physically could not anymore. But, when she returned, she would not find herself without allies. He had the full weight of an entire kingdom he would throw behind her. He himself would scorch her enemies to bone and not just the Hunt either. They were not the only individuals who desired her power, everyone seemed to for some reason. Her father had never stopped looking and he doubted he ever would.
Harry could no longer guess the man's motivations but if they were sinister to his daughter, he would cut down the man as easily as he had done the rest of his enemies. Until then, he was nothing more than a nuisance and Harry was hesitant to let anyone, including himself, decide his fate without Ciri's approval.
Besides her father there was also the various sorcerers trying to go after her. He had learned more on the lodge in the past to years and it seemed to him that they found the idea of being under his rule the most lucrative of their current options. They seemed to be under the impression that he would be willing to give magic users the most rights and freedoms considering his own stance and position. Nilfgaard was closing in but they also seemed to think his dragons could possible stop the Emperors advance north or maybe take on the man himself. They were playing both sides and seeing who would win it seems. He was sure to use that information against them at a later point when they wanted something.
He was sure there would be more who wished for her for various reasons and he was just as sure he would stand up to them as a shield and possibly a sword if necessary.
He drifted back into the present as he felt something pass him by. He turned to look and saw nothing. No, it wasn't something, it was a presence, a signature that he was familiar with. He closed his eyes and tried to think where he recognized it but couldn't quite place it, it was like something on the tip of your tongue.
Harry was sure if he spent enough time standing here, he would figure it out but he figured he might as well investigate considering he had nothing but time at the moment. With that settled, he decided to follow the signature as well as he could through his city. It wasn't hard, most people didn't have magic and while this person didn't have much magic, the fact that they had any made them stand out quite a bit more than the average person. Although it got hard when the person seemed to go through town squares where there were some many signatures to keep up with.
He idly noticed that the person seemed to be making their way through the city without stopping and also seemed to be making their way to the opposite end of the city where the keep was. The man couldn't be an assassin could they ? He hadn't met many and running through the list of the ones he knew wasn't matching up with what he was feeling now.
He stopped trying to follow it for a moment and silently apparated away after making sure no one was watching him. He reappeared at the courtyard of the keep in a particularly shadowy corner and sure enough, he felt the familiar signature again. Hmm you know, it actually felt quite a bit like…
"Ah, your grace. I had just sent several messengers into the city looking for you. An elder gentleman is here to see you. He seemed…" A man he recognized as one of the keeps head servants. A very professional elderly man who had salt and pepper hair.
"Say no more. He is expected. Where did you last leave him?" Harry questioned the man though he had no real need. This close, he could feel the signature inside the main hall.
"He is in the main hall waiting for you sir." The man told him.
"Thank you, Luther. Take the night off from here, I shall be fine from here." Harry said as he moved to enter the hall, not waiting for a response from the man. He opened the door and walked inside.
There the man was, sitting on his knees without so much as a twitch. Head down and gray/white hair loosely tied behind the man and a dark light combat vest around him.
"Well well well, Geralt of Rivia. It's about fucking time."