"As promised by the Sealord, Daria Visenya, the new fleet has arrived on time," said the Braavosi noble who acted as the emissary between the Targaryen Freehold and the Free City of Braavos.
Visenya looked at the fleet before her, anchored in Myr's harbor. After the disaster of the Battle of the Bay of Myr, it was a relief to see that Braavos could live up to its boast of creating more ships in such a short amount of time.
Visenya's mind went back to the battle and the invasion of Myr. It had happened two moons ago.
All three of them had been there on their dragons, expecting an easy victory. But the Myrish and Tyroshi had used bottled fire, some alchemical mixture from Old Valyria, and fireships. Unmanned vessels packed with the same fire, sent sailing into the Braavosi and Targaryen formations.
The result had been catastrophic. The Braavosi fleet had burned, dozens of ships consumed in moments. Part of their own fleet had burned as well.
Their uncle Daemon, commanding the Velaryon fleet, had been the hardest hit. The Velaryon fleet was almost completely gone, burned to ashs sank in to the depths of the bay.
Seeing this, they had unleashed their dragons upon the city.
Balerion, who had grown another two hundred feet in length over the past year by the blessing of their new patron, was able to easily destroy major parts of the city where its nobles and richest merchants lived.
But they had to be careful. The Myrish had created a new type of scorpion, massive bolt throwers that could fire five rounds successively, a devastating rate of fire. Meraxes had almost been hit, a bolt passing so close to Rhaenys that she had almost fallen off. Aegon had gone into a rage and destroyed an entire district of the city in response.
The casualties among the slaves and other freemen had been significant, not what they wanted, but it was a loss they could stomach. Soon after, they had learned from their mistakes and had taken Tyrosh with far fewer civilian deaths.
Visenya looked around at the devastation in parts of Myr. Smoke still rose from some districts even now, weeks after the conquest.
Then she heard thunderous roars.
From the south, she saw her brother and sister returning on dragonback, Balerion's massive shadow falling across the city first, followed by the smaller but still impressive form of Meraxes.
The Braavosi emissary cowered slightly, instinctively, as Balerion approached.
That is how they all react, Visenya thought with a bit of glee. They were gods among men, after all.
Balerion's massive form, over six hundred feet long now, with a wingspan that exceeded nine hundred feet, completely enveloped parts of the city as he descended. The great black dragon was the largest living creature in the world, and his shadow alone was enough to make entire armies flee.
Sounds erupted from the city as the people saw their liberators return. Even after the nightmare the city had gone through during the conquest, the former slaves revered Aegon, Rhaenys, and Visenya. The red priestesses had done their work well, hailing Aegon as the Breaker of Chains, the King Who Would Lead Them to a Greater Tomorrow, the founder of a New Freehold without the taint of slavery.
They were being worshiped by these freed slaves as living gods, and Visenya found she rather enjoyed it.
"I will mention your efforts to the Darys himself," Visenya said to the emissary.
The Braavosi bowed deeply. "I am honored, Daria Visenya. Braavos stands with the Freehold in this great endeavor."
Visenya made her way through the city toward the palace that had belonged to one of the richest nobles of Myr before his execution. On her way, she was looked upon and revered by many, former slaves bowing, some even prostrating themselves. Other free inhabitants of the city looked at her with veiled anger or fear, knowing that their world had been turned upside down and would never return to what it was.
They had purged all of Tyrosh's and Myr's nobility and ruling class, anyone who had owned slaves or profited significantly from the trade. Now the cities were being administered by Braavosi trained men, magisters and merchants who understood commerce but also understood governance.
It was hard to create proper states, especially after freeing slaves so readily. The economy was nearly nonexistent. The skilled ones could work, but what of the unskilled? Thankfully, the Disputed Lands, the fertile regions between the Three Daughters which had been fought over since the fall of Valyria, were there. Aegon and Rhaenys had been clearing out the bandits and free companies hired by the Three Daughters from those regions so that many freedmen could settle there peacefully, given land of their own to work.
It would take time, but they would build something new. Something better.
Visenya arrived inside the palace to find Aegon sitting on a comfortable seat, and Rhaenys straddling him.
Rhaenys saw Visenya enter and immediately got off a clearly disappointed Aegon, walking over to embrace her sister wife.
"Vis! We found the last of the free companies causing trouble," Rhaenys said excitedly, pulling back from the hug.
"Good," Visenya said with satisfaction. "Now we can focus on Lys. With the Braavosi fleet reinforced and Myr and Tyrosh secured, we can move on to the final sister."
"We need to make sure our fleet can easily access the Stepstones first," Aegon said, his tone becoming more serious. "A large, well supplied fleet is needed to hold Lys. The same men who created those scorpions that nearly killed Rhaenys have fled there as well. They will have had time to build more, to prepare defenses."
He stood, beginning to pace, his anger building. "And whatever the Volantenes are plotting... I should have flown there the moment I heard the news of the Red Temple's sack."
"Beloved," Rhaenys said soothingly, moving to his side. "The Volantenes know of old Valyrian sorcery, secrets of dragons that even we have lost knowledge of. We have been warned by the surviving priests. Even Vis is wary of facing them directly without preparation."
"Yes, yes," Aegon said, forcing himself to calm. "We take Lys first, consolidate our hold on what we have. And then Volantis..."
"I will leave tomorrow with the new Braavosi fleet and secure the Stepstones," Visenya said. "Prince Morgan Martell has assured me that he will trap half of Xhobar's fleet near Bloodstone. We can crush them there and secure the islands."
"I do not think we need Dorne's help," Aegon said dismissively. "We have dragons. What are pirates to dragonfire?"
"The Dornish could be useful for our future plans for Westeros," Visenya pointed out.
Aegon nodded reluctantly. "Perhaps. But be careful, sister. The rumors that Xhobar is actually being supported by Volantis are concerning, and considering his origins in the Basilisk Isles..."
"I will be back in three days," Visenya promised. "I will make sure Xhobar is dead and the Basilisk Brotherhood broken. Then, with Dornish help, we will find Saathos's fleet as well. With the Stepstones secured, Lys will be completely vulnerable."
"Well, now that you are here, sister..." Rhaenys began to say.
Visenya turned and walked out, leaving Rhaenys and Aegon to their devices. While Rhaenys had tried her best over the years to have all three of them share a bed together, it did not appeal to Visenya as much as Rhaenys seemed to hope. She loved her siblings, would die for them, but she preferred her independence in certain matters.
============
Visenya left the next day at dawn.
She flew over the fleet as they made their way south toward where Morgan's forces should be engaged with the pirates.
She arrived after a day and a half of flight, Vhagar carrying her swiftly over the waves.
But what she found was not what she expected.
"It cannot be," she muttered, banking Vhagar to circle the area.
There were few Dornish ships remaining. She had expected them to have taken losses, to be desperately holding on until she arrived. But the pirate fleet was almost completely gone as well. Dozens of wrecks floated in the water, burning or sinking. Bodies were everywhere.
And most of the ships that were there, the ones still intact and victorious, flew banners she recognized with shock.
The Ironborn.
The Ironborn had been confined to their islands since the rebellion of the Riverlords. The fear of Harald Stormcrown had kept them subdued. But now they had been unleashed.
This was not good.
As Visenya flew closer to the beach where the Martell flagship was beached, she felt something she had never felt before.
Not from herself, but from Vhagar.
Fear.
Pure, instinctive, primal fear radiating through their bond, making Visenya's own heart race in response.
"What is wrong?" Visenya demanded, speaking aloud to her dragon. "Vhagar, what is it? What do you sense?"
Vhagar made a low roar, the sound filled with distress unlike anything Visenya had heard from her since she became the dragon's rider. The feeling only increased as they descended, the dread building in waves.
What is this? Visenya thought in confusion. What could make a dragon feel this way?
She spotted Morgan Martell himself talking with another man. Dornish soldiers were gathered around.
As she brought Vhagar down to land, the dragon's fear only increased. Vhagar actually refused to land, pulling up at the last moment despite Visenya's commands.
"Land!" Visenya commanded. "Vhagar, land now!"
The increasing dread filled Visenya as well now, secondhand through the bond but still potent. She had never felt her dragon so terrified, so unwilling to obey.
Finally, with great effort, Vhagar landed on the beach, but the moment her claws touched sand, she tried to move backward, away from the two men walking toward them.
Morgan Martell, smiling and waving.
And a man in black armor, not looking at Visenya at all but at Vhagar, his gaze intense.
Vhagar continued to act out, making sounds of distress, trying to back away even as the men approached. The great dragon was behaving like a frightened horse facing a predator.
Visenya could not bear to see her like this. Her pride, her companion of two years, reduced to this state.
She dismounted, climbing down from the vast dragon.
"Go," she commanded. "Vhagar, fly away. leave!"
Vhagar obeyed with clear relief, launching herself into the air with powerful wingbeats, away from whatever had terrified her so thoroughly.
Visenya turned to the two men and walked forward.
She had deduced the identity of the black armored man.
The Ironborn present.
The way Vhagar had reacted.
This was Harald Stormcrown. The Dragonborn.
The False Dragon, as her brother liked to call him.
And now, as she looked at him, she felt what her dragon had felt, something rising within her even as she tried to suppress it.
Fear.
.
.
.
Harald looked at the retreating dragon with disappointment.
He had expected, perhaps hoped, to see descendants of the dragons he had witnessed in the memories shared by the earthsingers during that first meeting, the ancient dragons from the dawn of this world.
But what he was looking at was something else entirely.
"A mix of wyverns and something else," Harald said out loud, studying the distant form of Vhagar.
"What?" he heard Visenya say sharply.
Harald realized he had walked past her without properly acknowledging her, so focused had he been on the dragon flying away.
He turned slightly. "I was wondering how your ancestors made the ancestors of that beast up there. They must have had impressive magic to combine two magical creatures to create... well, that."
Visenya's eyes flashed with anger. "What nonsense are you spouting? My ancestors tamed dragons, the greatest creatures to ever exist!"
"It is a dragon, yes," Harald said thoughtfully. "But like an almost perfect imitation of one. The form is close, but the essence... it is different."
He could sense it. These Valyrian dragons were similar to the dragons of old, but they were artificial, made from two species bred together with magic. More research was needed here.
Harald then turned fully to Visenya, giving her his complete attention for the first time. "But I am not here to discuss the origins of Valyrian dragons."
"And what are you here for, King Harald?" Visenya asked, her voice cold.
"You know me then, Queen Visenya," Harald observed with a slight smile.
"My half brother could not stop talking about you," Visenya said. "Orys was quite... impressed."
"Oh, Orys!" Harald's smile widened genuinely. "How is he? I miss that bastard. He was good company."
"Orys serves his king and queens faithfully," Visenya said stiffly. "In Pentos, administering the Freehold in our name."
"Might visit him if I have time," Harald said casually.
Morgan decided to chime in. "As much as I would love for you two to continue your conversation, we have more pressing matters!"
He turned to Visenya with clear frustration. "You were late. If it were not for King Harald's arrival, I would be dead and most of my fleet would be at the bottom of the sea!"
"It was you who started the battle early, Martell," Visenya shot back. "I was on time according to our agreed schedule. What is done is done. Xhobar still awaits Vhagar's fire, and his fleet will burn."
"No, no, no, you cannot do that!" Morgan protested urgently. "I told you in our correspondence, Xhobar has fortified himself in one of the old Valyrian fortresses on Bloodstone. According to my spy, he has been using slaves, and also Dornish men and women taken during raids five moons ago, as a human shield of sorts. He plans to use them to deter your dragons, betting you will not burn hundreds of innocents to get to him."
"People die in war, Martell," Visenya said coldly. "Acceptable losses for the greater good."
"No!" Morgan's voice rose. "I promised I would bring the men and women taken from my homeland safely back home! I gave my word to their families! I will not break that oath!"
A silence passed between them.
"I can offer you something better," Harald said calmly, drawing both their attention.
Morgan turned to him. "What?"
"I did not bring an army here for no reason," Harald said. "I came here to take the Stepstones, to conquer them, settle them, and bring order to these islands that have been a nest of pirates and chaos since the Doom."
Visenya immediately objected, stepping forward. "You have no place here, Stormcrown. These islands are vital to the Freehold. You have no claim!"
"My army and I beg to differ," Harald said mildly. "I plan to conquer the Stepstones and establish proper governance. No more pirate havens. No more slave raids."
He turned to Morgan. "And I plan to impose no tolls on any ships passing through after my conquest. The sea lanes will be free and safe from piracy. That is worth something to Dorne, is it not?"
Morgan's eyes widened slightly. "That is... quite an offer."
"And I will help you kill Xhobar," Harald added. "Not the fire and blood the queen offers here, but in a way that ensures those Dornish captives all live to return home to their families."
Visenya glared at Harald. "I have an army behind me as well, and my dragon too."
Harald leaned in closer to her, their faces now mere inches apart. "A dragon? Where?" He smiled slightly and then looked to the sky and to the sea. "I do not see any dragon here. It must have run off..."
"I have that effect on dragons, fake or true." he added facing her again.
"You insolent—" Visenya began, her hand moving toward Dark Sister at her hip.
"Enough!" Morgan said loudly, stepping physically between them with his arms spread. "If this continues, you two are either going to fight or fuck, and I am not interested in witnessing either!"
He pushed them gently apart.
Harald stepped back, though his eyes never left Visenya's. A grin remained on his face.
Visenya also stepped back, though her glare could have melted steel.
Morgan raised his hands in a placating gesture. "What Dorne wants is simple, the safe return of those taken from our lands during the raids, and a calm Stepstones where our merchants can trade without being slaughtered by pirates every other voyage."
He looked between Harald and Visenya. "Both of you, it seems, have the means to achieve those goals."
He paused. "Perhaps we can all three work together to deal with both Xhobar and Saathos. Break the pirates completely, secure the islands, save the hostages. Then, once the immediate threats are eliminated, we can sit down like civilized people and decide who gets what."
Harald and Visenya looked at Morgan, then at each other, the tension still crackling between them like lightning before a storm.
"Fine," Harald said finally. "We can work together for now. But do not think my plans will change. I came here to take the Stepstones, and I will take what I came for."
"We will see," Visenya said, her voice carrying a challenge.
"So... looks like we have an agreement," Morgan said, looking between them cautiously. "We have an agreement, yes?"
Before either could object or add conditions, Morgan took both their hands, Harald's right and Visenya's left, and brought them together with his own in the middle, forcing them into a three way handshake.
"Excellent!" he said brightly, holding their hands together perhaps a moment longer than necessary to prevent either from pulling away. "The alliance of the two Dragons and Dorne. May history remember this moment as the beginning of the end of piracy in the Stepstones."
.
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Balerion