Tyrosh, a hidden chamber beneath the city
The torchlight wavered against damp stone as Nekania held the letter in his hand. He read it again and again, his narrow eyes fixed upon the lines, as if willing them to change. A faint hesitation flickered across his face, quickly buried beneath calculation.
"Can the message be trusted?" he asked at last, his voice low.
"It can," came the reply. "Prince Aegon has withdrawn from the Stepstones. Fifty warships sailed with him, and five dragons besides. Merchants from half the Free Cities witnessed it with their own eyes."
Nekania's gaze sharpened. A cold, cunning light glimmered within it.
"Aegon Targaryen is the most dangerous enemy I have ever faced."
Once, before he rose to become Chief of Tyrosh, Nekania had believed himself peerless in guile. He had outwitted rivals, broken conspiracies, and survived the brutal politics of the Triarchy. Now that certainty tasted bitter.
He turned to the man standing beside him, his newly appointed assistant. "Tell me," he said. "What would you do?"
Taylor fell silent, weighing his words carefully before speaking.
"This reeks of a snare. The Archons will see this as their chance to strike the Stepstones while the dragons are absent."
Nekania gave a thin smile. "What our enemies can imagine, Aegon Targaryen can imagine as well. Do you still remember his golden dragon?"
"How could I forget?" Taylor replied at once clenching his fist. "Sunfyre. That accursed beast bears no small share of the blame for Tyrosh's misery."
At the name, Nekania's teeth clenched. For a heartbeat, his hatred was naked and raw, as if he truly wished to flay the dragon and watch its gilded hide burn.
"That dragon is faster than the others," Taylor continued. "And the reason is simple. It does not always carry a rider."
Nekania's brow furrowed.
"If Sunfyre can strike Tyrosh without a man upon its back, then it can also guard the Stepstones in the same way."
The words sank in slowly. Nekania leaned back, exhaling through his nose. The logic was irrefutable.
"You are right," he said at last. "This is almost certainly a trap. Yet we have no choice but to walk into it."
Taylor frowned. "Why?"
"Because Tyrosh cannot endure much longer." Nekania's voice was heavy now. "Elville is dead. Two thousand men followed him to the Stranger. Our walls still stand, but the city is bleeding."
For a moment, the Chief's composure faltered.
"I am not ready to abandon Tyrosh," he said. "Trap or opportunity, I must give Recharino his chance. If we succeed, there is still hope. If we fail, I will retreat to the Disputed Lands and continue the struggle there. I will not bend my knee to Aegon Targaryen."
Taylor considered this, then spoke again. "There is another path. We could seek terms. The dragon bolts have proven worthless. They might kill a hatchling, but they are nothing to grown dragons."
His thoughts drifted back to the attack on Tyrosh, when one of the dragons had flown low and slow over the harbor. Ballistae had loosed again and again, the bolts striking scale and wing.
"And what came of it?" Taylor went on. "Nothing. It was like a man brushed by gnats. We even poisoned the bolts, and still the dragon did not falter."
"Negotiation will lead nowhere," Nekania said flatly. "Aegon never meant to spare Tyrosh. Not from the beginning."
Resentment burned in his eyes.
"You may not yet know this, but ships from Myr and Lys now pass the Stepstones freely. Even Volantene traders have slipped through."
He struck the table once with his palm.
"I told the Council before, Aegon Targaryen is the most cunning foe I have ever known. His war began long before he set foot upon those islands."
Another strike of his hand echoed through the chamber.
"He did not need to destroy the Triarchy by force. He simply split us apart. Myr and Lys shout of unity and justice, but they send little aid. Why would they, when their own ships sail unmolested?"
Nekania laughed bitterly.
"Let them rejoice while they can. When Tyrosh falls, Myr will be next."
For a moment, his voice softened, thick with regret.
"Perhaps I should have surrendered earlier. Sold what I owned, fled to some distant Free City beyond the Triarchy. I might have lived out my days in comfort."
He slammed the table twice more, the sound sharp and angry. The confident commander who had once led Tyrosh through the Stepstones Wars seemed worn down, his spirit ground thin by relentless loss.
Taylor had no answer. The truth was plain enough.
Dragons came and went like ghosts in the sky, striking where they pleased and vanishing beyond reach. Every movement within Tyrosh was watched. Air raids could come at any hour, and there was no way to strike back.
The harbor lay silent. Ships dared not dock, and the workshops that once sent fine goods across the Narrow Sea now stood idle. Merchants had fled to safer ports. The slave markets were closed, their chains cold and unused. Those who lived by the trade had scattered to distant lands.
Two banks had been reduced to molten stone by dragonflame. The estates beyond the walls were nothing but blackened fields and drifting ash.
At last, Taylor broke the silence.
"I will go to Drakoncrest," he said. "I will speak with Aegon himself and plead for peace, for coexistence. Allow me to try, my lord."
Nekania studied him for a long moment. Then, slowly, he nodded.
"Very well. You may go."
Taylor inclined his head, solemn and resolute, and departed the hidden chamber.
The moment his footsteps faded, Nekania summoned another servant.
"Bring Recharino to me."
Soon after, Recharino entered, clad in a flowing purple gown, bowing low. Nekania forced himself not to grimace. The man's attire, half courtesan and half commander, turned his stomach.
"Tomorrow," Nekania said coldly, "Taylor will depart as our envoy. Once he is gone, you will gather every ship we have."
Recharino lifted his head, eyes sharp.
"You will strike the Stepstones at once. If their defenses are weak, show no mercy. Kill who must be killed. Burn what must be burned."
Nekania's voice hardened into iron.
"See that all of Aegon Targaryen's labors are reduced to smoke and ruin."
-------
A/N:
Read ahead on Patreon, 22 advance chapters available, with the first 2 free.
patreon.com/Captain_Lag