NOVEL NEXT Chapter 14: Chapter 14: The Dragon Descends
289 AC
Casterly Rock
The Westerlands
Kevan Lannister
Ever since the Greyjoys burnt our fleet at the port, to say that Tywin was upset would be an understatement, he was furious and he was more than ready to marshal the entire strength of the West to destroy Balon Greyjoy but then Rhaegar sent a missive to all the Houses, asking to send only five hundred men from each region.
No doubt, he wants to destroy the Greyjoys on his own to display his power over the nobles, and while other Lords are happy that this means that Rhaegar will be footing the cost of the invasion it also means that Rhaegar will be taking all the glory.
And this was yet another blow to Tywin's pride dealt by Targaryens. First, it was Aerys, and now it's Rhaegar.
Now as I sit in his solar with both Tygett and Gerion, I wonder what he has in mind for he has not said a word since Rhaegar's orders came and the silence got even more silent when the news of the Battle of Fair Isle arrived, looks like the flamethrowers that Velaryons spent so much money on has paid off every dragon spent on it, which was yet another blow to Tywin's pride as he said to our vassals that the flamethrowers would end up like Aegon IV's 'dragons'.
"So, cat got your tongue brother, or will you keep on pretending to be intimidating even though Rhaegar has declawed you" Gerion snarks while Tygett chuckles,
"Both of you enough," I tell them exasperatedly, both of them are always the same when it comes to annoying Tywin and it has only increased with Rhaegar's ascension and his policies.
"Why, is it because the flamethrowers turned out to throw flames," Tygett asks with a grin,
"I spoke to the Farmans, it turns out that the Ironborn were caught with their pants down and they didn't stand a chance the flamethrowers burned down all their ships, and the entire Ironborn fleet has been destroyed, and to add on top of all that, the Greyjoy attack on Seagard failed as well, Lord Mallister killed Roderick Greyjoy" Gerion adds in,
"Victarion Greyjoy was killed by a bunch of Velaryon marines while Aeron Greyjoy was burned alive in the wildfire, while Euron Greyjoy was almost captured before they say he fell overboard, he is also considered to be dead," Tygett tells us before adding "In the Royal fleet, Monford Velaryon was killed and so was Paxter Redwyne, Velaryon got killed by Victarion while Redwyne was killed by a stray arrow"
"So who is in charge of the Royal Fleet," I ask, Gerion promptly answers "Ser Richard Lonmouth" The Master of Whisperers, who is also considered as Rhaegar's left hand while Jon Connington is said to be his right hand.
"Just out of curiosity, how many of those contraptions are there on each ship," I ask, I know that Tywin is thinking the same thing,
"On a standard ship, I would say four, one on the prow, another on the stern, one on Portside, and the other on Starboard," Tygett tells us, he was quite fascinated by the flamethrowers as were we all.
Gerion adds "To the larger dromonds, they have eight, three on either side and one on both front and back"
"Thank the gods, Aerys did not live to see those things" I murmur, Heaven knows what he would have done.
When the flamethrowers first came, Tywin did try to buy them and so did Paxter Redwyne but Rhaegar put very high restrictions on their use and maintenance and we decided against it in the end, thinking that they would be nothing more than a waste of money. Looks like we were very much wrong.
"He knew" Tywin finally says quietly,
"He knew what brother?" I ask confused, Even Tygett and Gerion look confused.
"He knew that there would be a rebellion and he was prepared for it, he allowed my fleet to be burned" Tywin softly speaks, This is not good, whenever Tywin speaks softly it means that he is really angry.
"How can that be possible?" Tygett asks,
"If the Royal Fleet left from Dragonstone and arrived at Fair Isle when they did, I would put their speed to the credit of their commander and their luck of having a good wind, but they were already in the Stepstones at the time of the attack on Lannisport"
"So what, they must have been in the Stepstones for another anti-pirate mission, which happens all the time," Gerion remarks, but Tywin shakes his head "Not to this scale, nearly two hundred and fifty ships of the Royal Navy were in the Stepstones in addition to a hundred Velaryon ships, Even the other Free Cities got anxious at such a large gathering of ships"
"Three hundred and fifty ships for some mission in the Stepstones, even during Aerys' time no more than fifty ships sent at a given time" I recall,
Tywin nods at that "And to add to it I received word from my spies in Seagard that Jason Mallister received word from the King that there would be an attack on Seagard two days before it happened"
"Two days, but the burning happened at least a week before the attack on Seagard, for a raven to fly that fast from King's Landing," I tell puzzled, Something is not adding up, If Rhaegar warned the Mallisters after receiving word from Lannisport it would take another four days for the raven to reach Seagard, it's impossible unless Rhaegar knew beforehand.
"The raven came from Dragonstone, not King's Landing," Tywin tells us quietly, "Dragonstone, that's even further," Tygett says, He is right, It's like Rhaegar sent word to Seagard on the very day that the Greyjoys attacked us.
"Either he knew about the rebellion or he has bred a new breed of ravens that can fly faster" Tywin continues, Now this is a worrying thought.
Before anyone can say anything more, Tywin changes the topic, however, "Anything about where the King might be"
Gerold Hightower, Jaime, and Jon Darry arrived a week ago with the Royal Army, and along with them Jon Connington and Mace Tyrell arrived, a few days later Oberyn Martell came with his men. But Rhaegar wasn't there and the Kingsguard didn't know where he was either.
According to Jaime, the King left a week before they left, which doesn't make any sense. We did receive word that Rhaegar was in the North and almost immediately following that, he was in the Vale and then he was in the Riverlands which again didn't make any sense, we sent a raven to White Harbor asking our cousin Theomore on anything but we received no word back and to add to all of that we received some ridiculous claims that Rhaegar was riding a dragon,
Just then our cousin Stafford enters the solar "My Lord, the Stark, Blackwood, and Royce banners have been spotted along the River Road, and the same for the Royal Banner"
"The King is with them," I ask but Stafford instead says "Um,... No" What does he mean by that?
"What do you mean no?" Tygett asked, He was as confused as I was,
"I checked with the Far-Eye and I found both Sers Arthur and Oswell but I didn't find the King," He tells us,
"Are you sure that you didn't recognize the King" Gerion asks a bit patronizingly, Stafford looks affronted "I know how Rhaegar looks like and I am pretty sure that I would know him when I see him"
"That doesn't make any sense then, if three members of the Kingsguard are in the Rock, two in Dragonstone protecting the Royal Family, and two in the River Road where the King is not there, then who is with the King," Tygett says,
Then Tywin adds "More importantly, where is the King?"
Just then as if on cue, a loud screeching roar is heard from outside.
Rhaegar Targaryen
Cannibal was a showboater, every time we land he needs to roar and blast away huge gout of his wildfire flames, I, on the other hand, wanted him to ooze out that silent strength and danger but no this guy got his way to roll.
Riding a dragon is something that I will never forget, I mean like it feels so wonderful that I simply can't describe it, the first few tries were a little bit topsy-turvy but soon I got control and then it was smooth sailing, figuratively.
After I visited the North where I also killed the Maester for being a Lannister, I headed for the Eyrie where I met Yohn Royce and Viserys, boy was Viserys more than happy to see the Dragon, and Royce was equally shocked, I showed off the Cannibal in front of all the lords of the Vale who were present and I managed to coerce them into coming personally,
I believe that most of the Vale Lords had no intention of going to the Iron Islands I believe that Royce's authority was not so strong on the Vale Lords as I would have thought, especially Waynwood who expected that Harrold should become the Lord of the Vale, me showing up on the Cannibal did put an end to all the grumblings in the Vale for which Royce is more than grateful for.
Viserys seems to be doing alright in the Vale, He has made good friends with Yohn Royce's sons which is good.
I told my men not to bother coming to the Vale but rather go straight for Maidenpool and then march on to Raventree Hall, and after my visit to the Vale was concluded I left for Raventreehall and surprisingly enough I reached right on time.
My arrival to Raventree Hall was in a way a godsend to Tytos Blackwood, the poor guy was busy deciding on which lord will get to send how many men, and none of them were happy with anything but then I showed and everything changed instantly for him and for the other lords who now realized that there was now a new game to be played,
The stunned silence of the Hall when I entered was something to behold and then after a few stutters and a lot more ass-licking, I gave Blackwood my blessing for whatever composition of men he has in mind, and looking back I believe that this will be the moment when all the Lords who have problems in the Riverlands will head for King's Landing instead of Raventreehall just like how it used to be during the days before the Dance.
And the same goes for the Reach as well, I need to talk with Lord Hightower and clean out the Citadel, Marwyn, and Qyburn have been helpful in that regard and put an end to Olenna Tyrell's machinations.
After landing on a clearing outside Casterly Rock, I unchain myself from the saddle and get off, the Royal Guards and Arthur and Oswell are approaching to form a perimeter around me and the Cannibal,
I turn to my newest friend and say, "Try not to do anything stupid alright, if you want anything to eat, I will get you an ox or a sheep, just don't eat any human will you" I feel so stupid talking to him but sure enough he roars back in return, I wonder what that means and more importantly does he understand me. I hope it was a roar of understanding.
I walk down the clearing where I landed to meet up with my men, I turn to the Royal Guard, "Put a hundred men on guard duty for the Cannibal at all times, I don't want anyone near him, is that understood, and see to it that proper arrangements are made for him" He nods and heads off to coordinate with the men,
I turn to Arthur who has a smile on his face while Oswell has a full-on grin, "This is gonna be so much fun" Yes it will be.
Arthur and Oswell flank me along with a few more Royal Guards as we make our way to the Rock.
What would I give to see Tywin Lannister's face right now as he sees me with a Big Ass Dragon?
We walk in a very intimidating manner to the Rock like how I have seen in Star Wars movies with Darth Vader and everyone just parts ways as if I am a God which I might as well be. This is so much fun, I would love to see my family's faces for this, better yet I want to see the Martells and Tyrells together gape at this. Jon will be over the moon at this.
And sure enough, it was as glorious as I expected it to be, Mace was open-mouthed at what happened and so were all the other minor lords, the ones I had eyes for didn't disappoint,
Jon had stars in his eyes, I need to give him closure before he goes overboard. Oberyn was speechless for the first time in his life, he tried to school his features back to indifferent like he always is, but it didn't work,
And then the star of the show Tywin Lannister himself, Boy was he shocked like anything, I mean I have never seen him so stunned, Normally his eyes have a calculating look that promises a very painful death to anything that annoys him but this time his eyes are filled with wonder, awe and most importantly fear. Now, this is fun, I should do this more often.
At first when I enter the hall where all the lords are gathered, Damn this might as well be another Great Council, Jon starts clapping and cheering loudly which starts another whole round of celebrations and cheering. I take it all with an imperious look showing myself to be above them all, but mostly above Tywin. And then I seat myself on the Great throne of the Rock, a seat that once used to have the ass of the Kings of the Rock. Tywin is forced to clap politely for me, I love this.
After a few minutes, I raise my hand to quiet the crowd, and soon enough everyone is silent,
"I am glad to see that all the Great Houses have answered my call even if three of them needed to be visited personally" I start, it is received with laughter amongst the ones, not of the three in question.
"So where are we at, Ser Richard, give me the latest on the rebellion," I ask Richard to give a report on everything that has happened and also to make everyone aware of the status of the war, He nods and begins his report,
"The Iron Fleet has been destroyed at the Fair Isle, this great victory, however, was at the cost of Lords Monford Velaryon and Paxter Redwyne" Looks like the Velaryon-Redwyne conflict has reared its ugly head, I raise my eyebrows slightly to ask Richard if it is what I think it is and he nods, looks like my hunch was right.
A moment of silence for them. No doubt Lucerys will ask for Aurane to be legitimized, he won't be the first Velaryon bastard to be legitimized.
"Our Flamethrowers have completely devastated any opposition to the Royal Navy on the Seas, House Targaryen rules the waves," He says with a smirk, now while most of the Lords cheered for that, a select few who knew what this meant, kept quiet or gave a polite clap, I had this part rehearsed with Richard long before and it gave me a clear cut idea on how many lords are understanding what I am doing.
I have already upset many lords by raising commoners and rich merchants to high levels of position in my government, I have thrown out the old system of favoring the nobles for a more meritocratic system when it comes to my bureaucracy, and with the introduction of a Civil Services Examination where everyone is equal, the old blood nobles are not happy and the same applies to the army, where everyone has to go through the same training and commoners can be expected to command nobles, for the nobles if any one of them fails to get into Officer Corp they tend to leave the army then and there, mostly because they can't stand to serve alongside the commoners or be commanded by them.
Tywin, Olenna, and Doran, the main players of the game know what I am doing, while for the others it depends, some understand what's going on and are willing to live in my new system of Merit while others are just plain old stupid to know what is going on.
Following that Richard continues "Victarion Greyjoy and Aeron Greyjoy were killed in the Battle of Fair Isle, Euron Greyjoy is presumed to be dead after falling overboard"
What? Presumed? Falling overboard? WTF? Dammit maybe he managed to escape, I need to watch out for him alright, I thought that I might have had him. I school my features not to give anything away.
"Roderick Greyjoy was killed in the Battle of Seagard by Lord Mallister," Richard says to cheers from the Riverlords, "All other raids on the Western coast of the Reach and the Riverlands and the Westerlands have been beaten back, decisively, the Ironborn have nowhere to run, they are trapped"
That news is greeted with cheers and whoops from the lords who are more than happy to see that the Ironborn are finally done for.
I then call upon one of the squires to come forward with a bowl, the bowl has seven slips of paper, I raise my hand to silence the crowd and then I say
"In this bowl, there are seven slips of parchment, in each of them I have written the names of one of the main islands of the Iron Isles, the one which I draw out will be spared and the others will be ravaged to destruction" There is a quiet murmuring at that, nobody what to say or what to expect.
I put my hand into the bowl and take one out and read loudly "HARLAW"
Now, of course, all the slips contained Harlaw but no one needs to know that before the rebellion began I sent a messenger to Roderick the Reader with my terms and he accepted,
He will give lip service support to the Greyjoys until I arrive and then I will spare his Island while I take out the rest. He gets to become Lord Paramount and finally brings his people out of their backward ass ways. On the condition that I spare his sister and her children (who did not raid), I told him to get whomever he wants to safety on his Island but at the same time I also told him that the Drowned priests do not come under that protection and he agreed.
"Dalton Greyjoy, Dagon Greyjoy, and now Balon Greyjoy, these three fools thought that they could poke the dragon, they genuinely thought that they could go about raiding and reaving as nobody could stop them but no more for this is THE LAST TIME THE IRONBORN WILL EVER REBEL"
I am now going full-on General Hux.
"I WILL DO WHAT MY ANCESTOR AEGON THE CONQUEROR FAILED TO DO, I WILL EXTERMINATE THEM OUTRIGHT ONCE AND FOR ALL, I WILL KILL EVERY MAN, WOMAN, AND CHILD FROM THOSE CURSED ISLANDS AND ALL OF WESTEROS WILL REMEMBER THE PRICE OF REBELLION"
The reason why I feel so apathetic to human lives in this world is that I still consider them to be nothing more than pages on a book, Maybe I still don't consider them human except for my kids. That's why it's so easy for me to go full-on extermination mode.
Jon cheers at my genocidal speech which in turn translates to the entire hall soon exploding in cheers and shouts of agreements and claps and a lot of slurs towards the Ironborn.
Well, looks like it's time to start a genocide. How hard can it possibly be?