Chapter 38: Late Surrender
The Sealord of Braavos was shaken to the core as he looked upon the result of the battle. Every single ship he had sent out was shredded by the mighty winds which seemed to have appeared out of thin air. Not only that, but the winds had also taken all of his men into the gates of death. Not a single one had made it out alive.... not a single one...
This was the power of the Stormcaller, he who had yet to lose a sea battle... or a battle in general, for that matter.
"My lord... this is not the end."
"He cannot... be defeated..."
The Sealord stated, coughing halfway through his sentence. Ferrego Antaryon, the Sealord of Braavos, was no longer in the best condition. He hadn't been for quite some time, in fact. His growing sickness made it difficult to lead which was why he remained in the Sealord's Palace and left the fighting to his subjects.
"We only need to kill the false Emperor and the conquest will fall apart like a building with no foundations." The First Sword replied.
That was easier said than done. After witnessing Aerion's devastating Aeromancy, the Sealord had lost his will to fight this battle and so did the men protecting the Free City of Braavos. It seemed like a pointless battle... a slaughter, to be more precise.
However, there was no turning back. He had already shown enough defiance to seal his fate. That fate being, of course, death.
"I will... surrender."
"My lord, we cannot-"
"I have... spoken." The Sealord stated, in a sharper tone. He had left no space for further inquiries as his mind had already been made.
"My people deserve better than... to die for... nothing."
The First Sword of Braavos nodded, acknowledging his Sealord's decision and helping him towards his ship which was a good walk away.
~
Meanwhile, in the Purple Harbour.
A burning ship seconds away from breaking apart crashed into the Purple Harbour, leading to a group of twenty Soul Knights landing onto the port. The ship, unfortunately, didn't hold on but it fulfilled its purpose.
"I doubt there is a more irritating weapon than the scorpion." The archer smiled. "But... at least there are plenty more ships to take here."
"They... they've breached the harbour!"
"It is our Lord's harbour now."
The garrison defending the Purple Harbour was massive compared to the number of Soul Knights but it mattered not since they had no means of killing them. Half a thousand men were to die with nothing to show for their efforts...
The archer looked at the shaky soldiers who stood all around the harbour and further towards the city.
"We can do this in a civilised manner or by force, warriors of Braavos. Surrender to our Lord and pledge eternal loyalty to Him, Emperor Aerion 'Stormcaller' of House Targaryen! You will be forgiven for your defiance and perhaps even given the honour of serving him in battle. It is not your fault that you fight this battle. I see that the majority of you lot are merely following the orders of your foolish superiors who don't know any better!"
"Now then... drop your arms and live to see the sun fall."
Some soldiers looked at each other before dropping their weapons to the ground. However, there were still quite a few who would not surrender.
"There's only twenty of them... what are you fools doing!? KILL THEM!"
The order from the leader of the garrison led to some of them grabbing hold of their weapons once more while others started to walk closer towards the wooden platform.
"What a tiresome bastard he is." The archer looked at the person who had given the order, who was now hiding behind a shield.
"Let's just kill them all. It would benefit our Lord more... living people have flaws and needs while we have no such things." One Soul Knight stated.
"We are the warriors of Braavos! What will the world think of us if we surrender like spineless cravens!? Go on, strike them! Show these invaders your courageous spirit! For the Sealord, for the Free City of Braavos, for your freedom, for your families... FIGHT!"
The leader continued to encourage the garrison to fight the Soul Knights... while he stood at a safe distance in case things went south.
More and more soldiers approached the platform which the Soul Knights stood upon.
"They're begging for death. I'll give it to them."
"Wait-" The archer looked at the garrison which had gained some backbone. He sighed before loading his first fire arrow. "Very well."
And so, the garrison faced the fiery wrath of the Soul Knights. Swords clashed, blood was spilt, arrows flew and landed, screams of pain and rage were heard along with hasty steps of retreat...
In the end, their valiant efforts amounted to nothing. It was meaningless.
They had all fallen to the ruthless Soul Knights, all except those fortunate enough to escape the Purple Harbour alive.
In the middle of the battle, the Sealord had tried to end the conflict but he only got himself imprisoned and put to the side by a Soul Knight. The First Sword of Braavos fought 'bravely' but he suffered an arrow to the head from the archer only seconds after getting involved in the battle.
The entire Purple Harbour had been secured within a good ten minutes. Currently, the City of Braavos was relatively silent as all of its citizens had barred themselves inside their homes.
"Hahahaha, we've completed our task along with the most important part of Phase 3! Our Lord will certainly be pleased with the result."
"And you ignored my pleas... of surrender... *cough*... will he be pleased with that as well?" The chained Sealord replied. "Every soldier has a family... with every death, you have broken one."
"Our Lord could not care less about your pleas. It is like a mouse squealing... why would he even hear you out? You were dead to Him the moment you refused to bend." A Soul Knight stated. "And those soldiers? They were begging for death so we provided it for them!"
"Ah... *cough*... but would he not care... about his people? Hahaha... of course, he would not... what was I even saying? His people are in Westeros, where the Iron Fleet is feasting on them like sheep... *cough*... while the King has no navy large enough to defeat it. Why would he even care... about us Braavosi?"
"They are not his responsibility, you old fool." The archer sharply replied. "Who is the Protector of the Realm? The Usurper took up the title and now he must live by it! Hmph, now that the Usurper is incapable of protecting his realm, must our Lord sacrifice his time and efforts to save him?"
"He calls himself the rightful King... *cough*... does he not?" The Sealord countered. "If he wishes to be known as that... he must bear all that comes with it. This means protecting the realm... *cough*... if he makes the sacrifices to accomplish this, then his people will see him as the true King."
"And when the time comes for him to take the throne through conquest or surrender... *cough*... the majority of his people will welcome him with open arms."
The archer let the Sealord's words of advice sink in. "Why did you even bother telling me this? This advice would be better said to my Lord directly..."
"There is no need... he already knows this. Nor would he hear me out, unfortunately." The Sealord replied. "I believe that his pride and hatred for the rebels is what chains him... *cough*... along with ending this conquest. Once the Free Cities are united, the decision on how to proceed will be his... and his alone to make."
~
The Arsenal.
While the main fleet remained at a safe distance from the Arsenal, the Soul Knights were given their own ships. They were ordered to strike first and destroy all the siege weapons before the rest would join them. Some ships were lost but, eventually, all of the Soul Knights reached the Arsenal and completed their objective swiftly.
Once the Arsenal's weapons were destroyed or occupied, the rest of the navy sailed onwards to slay the garrison of the Arsenal. The first ship to dock with the port was none other than the splendid yet menacing Mad King which had yet to be harmed, much like the captain leading it.
"My great warriors, draw your weapons and slay all who dare stand in the way of a united land!!"
Aerion drew his sword from its sheath. The moment it left the sheath, his sword was enshrouded in fiery flames which thirsted for blood
"END THIS CONQUEST IN MY NAME!"
"YES, MY LORD!"
With their Emperor in the lead, the first wave of soldiers broke through into the Arsenal to finish off the weakened garrison that remained.
The first opponent Aerion faced was a hesitant soldier who clashed with him twice before being parried and pierced. He was as calm as the summer sea throughout the short duel. After having faced and defeated Khal Drogo in single combat, these average men were no more than fodder for his blade.
Slash... slash... slash...
One by one, every man in front of him began to fall like flies as his flaming sword continued to dance across the massive shipyard.
"Our prince fights like the Warrior possessed... does he truly need our protection?" Oswell Whent remarked.
Jaime chuckled. "He will grow tired... eventually."
With the Kingsguard around Aerion, the remnants of the garrison continued to sharply dwindle until his bloodlust started to wane. That was also when his fatigue caught up to him as he held onto his sword.
"Please... don't kill me... I have a family to return to!"
The soldier dropped his sword and raised in hands in surrender as Aerion looked down on him.
His menacing yet tired violet eyes glowed through the shadow of his hair as he stared down on the prey before him. The battle was close to ending as his warriors continued to tear through the ranks of the garrison ahead.
"Don't we all?"
It is too late to surrender, braavosi.
Aerion spoke coldly as he removed his sword from the ground. "Give me a better reason to spare you."
"I will pledge my loyalty to you... that should be enough..."
As he gazed upon the helpless soldier, his will to kill him continued to dwindle.
"Leave... I have no use for cravens in my army, living or dead."
Aerion grabbed the soldier by the collar and threw him to the side. The braavosi soldier did not stick around for long as he ran to the docks of the Arsenal for a rowing boat.
Afterwards, Aerion leaned to the wall and eventually sat down to regain his strength.
The battle was as good as over by then.
"It seems as if you overdid yourself in this battle, my prince," Arthur remarked. "Even allowing an enemy to escape... that does not happen often."
"It never happens." Oswell corrected him.
"There is no reason to kill men who are already defeated," Barristan replied. "The prince realised this and let him go."
Aerion gathered his strength and stood up before justifying his reasoning. "I was tired and that craven certainly was not worth the effort."
"You could have ordered us to dispatch him, in that case. Perhaps you truly pitied him and showed mercy..." Jaime stated his view on the matter.
"No, I did not." Aerion refuted, though he wasn't bothered to counter with anything clever. Without wasting much time, he turned towards the docks and started to make his way towards the Mad King.
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