Halfhand's Legacy: A Dance of Dragons - A Self-Insert Tale

129 AC

The braziers and torches burned brightly as I sat upon the Iron Throne with Blackfyre in my hands with the rest of the Small Council standing next to the Iron Throne, Hel and Alicent are also present. Otto is still in seclusion in Maegor's Holdfast. It was a closed night session, not open to anyone except a select few, the Green Council. Orwyle has returned from Dragonstone after what everyone can say is a failed peace mission. It is practically written on his face.

"The Princess has outright refused the terms given unto her," Orwyle quietly said and by the looks of it, she did more than just that. His chain is missing, just like in the books.

"Mind telling what more she did? Because I see that your chain is somehow missing and unless you took it away and flung it into the Blackwater for some reason during the return trip, I am assuming she had something to do with it," I drawled.

Orwyle nervously nodded, "Yes, Your Grace, she had her knights hold me down and she took away my chains and gave them to Maester Gerardys."

"I gathered that as much, but what did she say specifically about me?" I ask with a smirk.

"She said that she will have her throne," He stammers, I know there is more to this.

"Or?" I press with my smirk.

"Or... she will have... your head... Your Grace?" Orwyle stammers frightfully. This guy should grow a pair, I do not doubt that he pissed himself in front of Rhaenyra.

I laugh upon hearing Rhaenyra's threat, I snarl back at him, "Send a raven to Rhaenyra, tell her that she will have her throne once I grow my fingers back. Also, tell her bastard that he has a debt to pay and he will pay it just like how his brother will soon pay his debt to Aemond."

I turn to Tyland and Jasper, "Have every single one of them attainted, from Rhaenyra and Daemon to the Velaryons who side with them to the Celtigars and the Stauntons and to every other son of a bitch who has bent the knee to her." The two of them nod dutifully.

I get up and start walking down the steps of the Iron Throne, "That is all for now, call me once Aemond or Daeron have arrived. Ser Criston, and Ser Tyland, we have some pressing matters to attend to, come with me. In the meantime, Lord Jasper I need you to make preparations for the executions to be held tomorrow, and Lord Larys I believe that a certain someone is in your custody."

"Yes, Your Grace, I have that person under my care in the torture chambers," Larys said as he bowed, his voice was so slick that I suppressed a shudder. I will be using him until he outlives his usefulness which hopefully will come sooner rather than later.

I walk along the battlements of the Red Keep, looking out into the city below, even though it is night the city is in full war mode. I have ramped up the production of weapons and I directed Tyland to start building a new fleet and train its sailors, if Stannis could do it then so could I. Conscription was introduced with a healthy dose of propaganda to raise a new army that was being trained in a camp outside the city by the Blackwater River. Mercenaries are being hired and are integrated into a unified command with the rest of the Royal Army. Grain has been requisitioned for the war effort and a new granary is being built for the army alone.

"How is the war effort progressing?" I asked them as I savoured the cool breeze of the night.

"Your Grace, the recruits have started training, it will take around four months to train them all as a proper army. I would put our numbers at around six thousand," Criston answered. "The recruits that have been chosen are the able-bodied men, not the weaklings from the streets."

I nodded, "Four months, huh, good, We can wait that long. Six thousand is more than enough when you have three dragons. If things go bad we will have to levy the green boys and greybeards from the city. Let us hope it doesn't come to that, what about the fleet?"

Tyland promptly responds, "We have laid the hulls for around twenty-five ships, once the shipyards have been expanded we will be able to double that number. As for getting a fleet with trained sailors and oarsmen that will take at least a year as I have stated before, Your Grace."

"What were you doing all this while back when you were the Master of Ships?" Criston questions Tyland.

Tyland defends himself, "There was no possible way to justify a sudden expansion of the fleet to the king that he would accept. I did try at first but Ser Otto and the king told me to stop. The king did not want to offend the Velaryons by building a large fleet." Man, Viserys was a cuck for the Velaryons.

"How many do we have at this moment?" I asked him.

Tyland reveals, "Twenty ships to be exact, Your Grace. Cogs, carracks, war galleys, and a couple of dromonds. To prevent much confusion and problems in the production of the new ships we have stuck to a single-ship design. That of the galley, we are accepting all willing men with or without experience in sailing or rowing, they will be trained in the Blackwater Bay once the ships are ready until then, the rowers will be training on land."

I nodded, "As good as can be hoped for."

Tyland then says, "Your Grace, as you have ordered. I have arranged for a hundred cats to be brought to the Red Keep to deal with the pests. The Ratcatcher's Guild is not happy about it, however."

"We must put them all to death," Criston growls, "They are a risk to the safety of the Royal family. They know all the secret passages in the Red Keep like how His Grace has warned us."

"We can destroy the Ratcatchers Guild while we purge the Gold Cloaks." Tyland points out.

"We will destroy the Ratcatchers Guild when it is time," I decided to continue, "Now on to the next important things, Rosby and Stokeworth."

"They have been executed in the cells as you have ordered, Your Grace. Their houses have been attainted and our knights have been dispatched to take control of their castles and lands. Soon, we will add their men to our numbers." Criston informed me.

"Your Grace, why did you not give Rosby and Stokeworth a final chance to kneel before we executed them like how we shall give to the rest tomorrow?" Tyland bemusedly asks, even Criston wants to know.

I snorted, "People need to know that not bending the knee to me can have real and serious consequences. Rosby and Stokeworth are cowards, if I gave them a final chance to save their lives they would have taken it but I don't need cowards fighting for me. They were my half-sister's beloved sycophants, and Rosby was the first to laugh when that bloody Mushroom called me the elder of the Maimed Princes." Also, I want to expand Royal power and domains at the cost of the surrounding nobles.

I turn to Criston, "What have you thought about my proposal for a new set of guards solely for the Red Keep?"

Criston nodded, "I have, Your Grace, your mistrust of the Gold Cloaks is well warranted. It would be ideal to remove them from the Red Keep. A new and loyal force would be needed. I have already started making a list of the most trustworthy knights and men-at-arms but they are not enough to garrison the entire Red Keep."

"Before we do that we need to clean out all of Daemon's men from the City Watch and for that, we need our army ready," Tyland adds.

"What about Luthor Largent? If His Grace is true about his allegiances, we must remove him immediately." Criston says adamantly. "His failure to capture Lady Misery is a sign that he is in league with Daemon. He must have allowed her to escape."

"We cannot just remove him alone, we need to purge the entire Watch else Daemon's men might mutiny whilst we are unready," Tyland replies.

"What about the mercenaries, the men-at-arms, knights, and the loyal officers of the Watch? The ones who are trained and loyal, will they be enough for conducting a purge. I will join along with Sunfyre to even the odds if need be." I ask them.

Criston thinks for a while before saying, "Yes, we can do so but we will need to be quick. We can gather all the traitorous gold cloaks in the East and West barracks under the guise of a feast, have it surrounded and bar the halls of the barracks and set fire to it or Your Grace can do it from the sky. Our men can cut down any of the fleeing gold cloaks. As for Luthor Largent, Balon Byrch, and Garth Harelip, we can kill them in the Red Keep barracks where most of them are loyal to us."

"But then who will keep the peace in the city?" Tyland then asks. That is another headache to deal with. I can't leave the city lawless once I purge the City Watch.

"We can have parts of the Royal Army sent to the city to keep the peace in rotation. We can make it a part of their training." Criston suggests. That sounds good enough for me, I cannot sleep knowing that Daemon's dogs guard the Red Keep.

I nod, "I like that, we must purge the City Watch soon. When can we be ready?" I ask them.

Criston resolutely answers, "Whenever His Grace wants."

A hint of a smile forms on my face, "What about tomorrow? After the executions and while you are at it, destroy the Ratcatcher's Guild."

Tyland nods, "It will be done, Your Grace."

The next morning is a crisp one, a sign of the coming winter. All the Blacks imprisoned in the dungeons from the start of the coup have been dragged out into the Red Keep's yard. A wooden stage has been constructed in the middle of the yard with the King's Justice, Ser Roger Crone standing there with an axe along with Septon Eustace to give prayers for the executed person's soul. Normally the King's Justice is in charge of the Lord Confessor but since Larys is the Lord Confessor and the Master of Whisperers, he gets to be in charge. This man is in charge of too many things.

To help people change their minds and for my convenience for the events to occur later in the day, I went to the Dragonpit at dawn and flew Sunfyre in for the show. I alone was sitting on a wooden chair a little further away from the stage for an ideal viewing experience, while the rest of my court stood behind me the Small Council, my mother, and the Kingsguard stood near me while the men-at-arms and the household knights kept watch. I have made sure that even Otto watches from the balcony of his room while Hel and the kids are mercifully away from the gory scene.

The Lords came first, Butterwell, Hayford, Merryweather, Harte, Buckler, Caswell, and Fell. Other than Butterwell who was shitting his breeches, the rest stood resolutely. Then came the landed knights and servants who were affiliated with the aforementioned Blacks or with Dragonstone.

Ser Criston says in a loud voice, "You have but one final chance, my Lords and Lady. Bend the knee and accept Aegon Targaryen, second of his name as your king or lose your heads. Your Houses will be attainted and your lands will be seized. Bend the knee to your rightful king and live or resist and pay the ultimate price."

Butterwell fell to his knees and begins sobbing, he lost his shit when he saw Sunfyre, "Mercy, mercy, Your Grace, I bend the knee, I bend the knee." Many of the landed knights and most of the servants follow suit in bending the knee. Leaving handfuls of knights and a score of servants defiant.

I nodded to Tyland and he directed the knights to remove Butterwell's shackles and took him away from the yard. Then I signalled Larys to bring forth the man who would have one day killed my son, Blood. A former serjeant of the Gold Cloaks who was kicked out after he beat a whore to death and now a butcher, he was easy to find.

Dragged out by two guards is a huge and hulking but brutalised and bloodied man. He leaves a trail of blood as he is dragged out and dropped in front of Sunfyre. He has been flayed at parts, gelded at others. Sunfyre is very much interested in the bloody man before him and he looks at me expectantly hoping for a command to burn and eat him.

I get up from my chair and walk over to Sunfyre, "Behold, this man not only dared to declare for Rhaenyra but also tried to foment rebellion inside the city in her name. Treason be it from those on high or those below in the streets, none will be tolerated in the slightest and let this be an example." Of course, none of this is true, but I need a reason to kill him. Maybe his execution might arouse Largent's suspicions but it will be too late for him.

I tell the guards, "Make him stand." The guards make him stand as much as he can which is not much and back away. Blood or as his real name was revealed to me Sam the Butcher, he lifts his head and we lock eyes. I whisper only for him to hear, "I know you are Daemon's dog and don't worry. The rest of your friends will soon follow."

"DRACARYS," I scream and Sunfyre opens his maw and unleashes a torrent of his golden flames that engulf the man. He screams in agony for a second before he goes silent as the flames eat him away. I plan on having all the headless corpses eaten by Sunfyre as well. Rhaenyra isn't the only one who can pull that stunt off. I bathed in the wash of Sunfyre's heat but I suffer through it.

The sight is enough to break some of the remaining landed knights and servants into bending the knee as well but not the Lords and that Lady. It also shocks the court assembled, I don't think many of them have seen how a dragon kills and eats his prey. The smell of burnt hair fills my nose as I walk away with a wave to Sunfyre that he can now eat him.

While Sunfyre starts to eat Blood, his first human, I sit back down on my chair and nod to continue the executions, Ser Roger nods and Lord Hayford is brought forth and his neck is placed on the block. As Septon Eustace says a prayer for him, I motion to Criston with my finger, he bends down to me, and I whisper, "Send knights to seize Hayford as we have done for Rosby and Stokeworth." He nods, I am the Lord Paramount of the Crownlands so I can do whatever the fuck I want with the houses of the Crownlands.

Hayford is placed on the block and the headsman makes his mark with the axe. It is quiet as even Sunfyre stops eating for a minute to see the execution. I sit calmly while I hear others heavily breathing. Hayford begins to shake and pant in fear before whimpering while I can hear the shaky breathing of the others in the execution line. Then the axe rises for the final strike and the sunlight glints off the metal before it descends. It is a clean strike as the head rolls off and in the silence of the post execution, Sunfyre gives out a growl asking me if he can eat him as well. Yes, you little gluttonous shit, you can eat him and the others, just not the heads. I need the heads for display.

As the executed body is dragged off to be placed before Sunfyre while the head is placed on a pike to be displayed above the city gates, the next lord Merryweather comes to take his place. Soon the five lords and the lady are executed along with four landed knights and a dozen servants and retainers.

Then as the court began to break into groups to gossip while others left, Tyland and Criston came to me to tell me that a detachment of the Royal army had arrived and that the purge was now a go. My uncle Gwayne arrives, "Uncle, I trust that Ser Criston and Ser Tyland have explained to you what is to happen in a few hours."

"They have, Your Grace," Gwayne nods, "I have already assembled the men in my trust and those of proven loyalty to us to be stationed in the Red Keep. I shall go myself to see to the destruction of the Ratcatchers Guild."

"Good," I nod. "See to it that none escape."

Gwayne nods, "Yes, Your Grace, I shall see to it that not a soul escapes, even those that are not present in the building will be hunted down and killed." Ever since his father was removed from the position of Hand, I haven't talked with him but it seems that he knows not to show his feelings openly.

A roar was heard across the city, Sunfyre looked up from his meal as did everyone else, it wasn't the loud rumbling roar of Vhagar, no it was the shrill screeching roar of the Blue Queen. Daeron had finally arrived. As he circled the city and the Red Keep, he saw Sunfyre in the courtyard along with a large gathering which may have prompted Daeron to land in the yard instead of flying off to the Dragonpit. Which was good as I could use him for the purge.

"Daeron, finally you came," I said to him happily as I walked over to him with my arms stretched out Daeron began to dismount from Tessarion, the Blue Queen exchanged a few growls with Sunfyre over the corpses but Sunfyre, being the greedy bastard that he is, refused to share.

"Brother, it has been a long time," Daeron said with a smile as he embraced me. "I hear that you are a king now." He jested as the crowd began to clap behind us.

Alicent quickly rushed over to us as well, she was never one to to be comfortable around the dragons but for Daeron she came as close as she could. "Oh, my son, you are finally home." She said with tears of joy in her eyes as she embraced Daeron as well.

"It is good that you are here Daeron, there is a lot that will soon occur. Don't move Tessarion to the Dragonpit for today," I said to him and he raised his eyebrow but didn't ask any follow-up questions and nodded. His arrival was the perfect excuse for a feast, this would be nice and easy.

"A FEAST FOR MY BROTHERS ARRIVAL," I loudly announced to cheers from the courtiers.

Once the eventide approaches, the time for the feast grows closer. As the courtiers began filling into the Great Hall. I have told Alicent to commence the feast without me or Daeron, Tyland, and Criston. She was surprised at first but she accepted once she realized that something important was afoot.

After Daeron met Hel and the kids, I took him aside on battlements of the Red Keep, Criston, Tyland, and Gwayne were with us. "So you know what to do, fly over to the West Barracks, it is by the Cobbler's Square and the Gate of the Gods. It is right down the main street," I say to him pointing to the direction of the Gate of the Gods. "It will be surrounded by our men who will cut down any escapees and prevent the fire from spreading, so you will know where to burn."

Daeron nods, "Tessarion can do that. I can do that"

"Good, so did you meet Lady Tyrell in Highgarden as I instructed," I ask him and he nods.

"I did, I broke my journey in Highgarden, Lady Tyrell assured me of her full support and the castellan and the steward began levying their troops in front of me." Daeron replies before continuing, "I also told her that within a moon, you expect to see Tyrell banners alongside ours in King's Landing and if they don't reach on time then she can expect a visit from Aemond or you and none of you are of the merciful type."

I chuckle, "Good, very good. Rowan will join Rhaenyra so I will be visiting the Reach soon enough, the Tyrells better show up."

I then turn to Gwayne, "Bring forth your commander and his lackeys."

He nods and descends the steps of the walls. I turn to the others, "Prepare the crossbowmen."

Luthor Largent, Balon Byrch, and Garth Harelip are brought before me, I stand on the very stage used for the executions, my brother, Criston, and Tyland by my side. The smell of the blood is still pungent and present in the air while the crossbowmen take their places on the battlements behind them and the dragons, already saddled are waiting behind us.

"Your Grace," The three of them kneel before me. Luthor Largent is a massive man, somewhat like the Hound. In his plate armor, he made a fearsome sight which explained why the Council chose him, not realizing that he was loyal to Daemon. He was a member of the Gold Cloaks from the time of Daemon, he supposedly switched sides to the Greens once Otto came for his second term for the sake of his career.

"Rise, Commander and Captains," I say to them with an expressionless face.

"I have summoned the three of you here for I am hearing rumours that your loyalty to me is suspect," I say to them and the three of them look shocked.

"Your Grace, these are baseless rumours. We are fiercely loyal to you and to you alone." Luthor tries to reassure me. His tone is convincing but not convincing enough.

"Yet when I commanded you to find Lady Misery you failed and now people say that you purposefully let her escape," I reiterate.

Balon then speaks, "Your Grace, we are your loyal servants. We searched the entire city but we couldn't find her for she had already left the city a week before, we were told as much by the whores who worked for her." And that seals his fate. I wasn't told that, I know full well that Mysaria left after the search began, when Criston entered her brothel on that same day, the whores told him that she left a few hours prior. I give a slight nod to Criston

"Is that so?" I ask, "Then why didn't you say so." Luthor realizes that he is fucked and as he tries to place his hand on his longsword, Criston gives a signal that results in thirty crossbowmen releasing their quarry aimed at the three men. In the blink of an eye, as Luthor tries to draw his sword out, the swoosh sound of the crossbow bolts flying through the air is heard the three of them are riddled with quarrels.

One finds the back of Luthor's head, one the back of his neck, and another his temple, the others punch through his armour and the same goes for both Byrch and Harelip.

I turn to my uncle, "Congratulations, uncle, you are now the new commander of the City Watch." I turn to others with me on the stage, "Let the purge begin."

As Gwayne rides out of the Red Keep with his men alongside Criston and Tyland. Daeron and I take to the skies upon our dragons. We fly low and slowly to our targets that are in the city itself. In less than a minute I reach the East Barracks by the Dragon's Gate, which has been surrounded by soldiers of the Royal Army. The Dragon's Gate has also been occupied and the few Gold Cloaks with the bad luck of being on guard instead of being inside the feast have been disarmed.

Without further ado, I shout, "DRACARYS," and Sunfyre unleashes a maelstrom of golden fire upon the fortlet. Most of them are feasting in trestle tables placed on the courtyard outside rather than inside the barrack which isn't a problem as it makes it all the more easier for me as the unsuspecting gold cloaks are bathed in Sunfyre's flames.

I make sure to thoroughly cover the entire courtyard before turning to the barracks. The screams of the burning men fill the air even as the smell of burning flesh, metal, and hair makes me retch. The wooden roof of the barracks catches fire first before collapsing, those who might have survived the thorough fire cleansing as few as they may be are bound to die of smoke inhalation.

I can see a few of the survivors trying to scamper out of the barracks by scaling the walls of the fortlet, I direct Sunfyre's flames to them and in a blink, they are no more. A few do jump off the walls only to find themselves speared or filled with quarrels by the mercenaries waiting outside for them.

I can hear screams coming from even outside the city which means Daeron must have begun and the people in the streets are horrified at the sight of their king and his brother on the dragons attack the City Watch. I already instructed Tyland and Criston to impose a curfew on the city once we began until this was cleared up.

At nightfall, we have yet another closed session this time with Daeron and Gwayne. Look at that Otto, your children are part of the Green Council that you founded but not you. The feast came to an abrupt end and with the city now under curfew, the Small Council met to decide our next moves and the effects of the evening's massacre. The midnight oil will be burning bright and long tonight.

"The purge is now almost complete," Tyland announces, "I think it safe to call it a victory."

"I do not understand why the rest of us were not told about this," Alicent complains, she is still in a little shock at how a whole plot to wipe out three-quarters of the City Watch slipped right under her nose, "Is it because you do not trust us?"

"Mother, it was less about trust and more about mistakes. The fewer people knew fewer the chances of mistakes." Daeron placatingly answers her.

"Yes, My Queen," Criston nods along with him, "Even the mercenaries were not told of their task until the very last moment. We told everyone that this was merely a drill to teach a particular group of training soldiers to serve as Watchmen."

Alicent is not happy with it but she accepts it, the treachery of Luthor Largent was a shock to her as it was her and Otto's idea to place him in charge of the City Watch.

Jasper Wylde looks on enviously at Criston and Tyland while Larys is still quiet as ever before he speaks, "A truly remarkable victory indeed, Your Grace. You have prevented a plot against Iron Throne before it even began, even my little mice were unable to catch a whisper but since most of the rank and file are Daemon's men from Fleabottom, it was truly the only option at this stage."

"We have also destroyed the Ratcatchers Guild to the last man," Gwayne reports, "We will also have to begin a hiring surge for the City Watch and it will take some time to get them ready. They will not be reliable soldiers at this point, we will have to work on their discipline and training but it is better to have a loyal but inexperienced City Watch rather than an experienced but disloyal one."

I nod, "You have four months to train the recruits, in the meantime, you have to make do with the Royal Army which will now include keeping the peace inside the city as part of its duties."

Gwayne nods in agreement, "Yes, Your Grace, it shall be done."

Then a huge deafening roar is heard, it is a very familiar roar to me, the loud rumbling roar that nearly shakes the foundations of the Red Keep. I exchange glances with both Alicent and Daeron. Vhagar has arrived, I have a very good feeling.

Aemond entered the Great Hall wet from the Stormlands, he strode into the Hall with a feeling of purpose that I hadn't seen before and that only meant one thing.

"I did it," Aemond proudly proclaims, "I have avenged my eye."

While the rest of the hall looks on in shock, I chuckle before saying, "Good, to war then."